A Mask Named Majoraby DihinnerChaptersThe First of the Final HoursDawn of the Second First DayThorns and TendrilsThe Second, Second daySecond third day and beginning of third first dayI'm completly at lossCancellation and RebirthThe First of the Final HoursThe sky was on fire. Twilight Sparkle stared at the sky in sadness and terror. But, there was not much to see in the sky. For it had been taken up by one large unmistakable object. The moon. Nopony knows how exactly it happened. Luna had been trying restlessly to try and prevent its descending. Many others have collaborated to gather to try to stop it. They probably would have succeeded if they had more time. But, not much can be done in three days’ notice. Everypony had gathered on Sweet Apple Acres to live out their final hours. All but one. A small green colt had been spotted in town three days prior to this one. He didn’t speak much and was often running around asking for directions and where he was. His name… escaped Twilight. ‘I hardly think me knowing his name really matters now,’ she thought as she gazed at the moon once again. Pinkie pie had decided to construct a clock to announce when the Summer Sun celebration was started, which was in five minutes. The sound of the bell's ringing filled the air. ‘Just our luck, on the biggest celebration of the year we are all going to be killed by the moon. Oh, the irony.’ A shaking knocked over some nearby ponies. A shockwave caused by the moon. Many were huddled near loved ones as they watched in fear as the infernal space rock grew closer. Twilight failed to notice Spike as he walked up to her. “Uh, Twilight,” he said, “What is going to happen when the moon crashes?” Twilight stopped, and told him quietly, “When the moon crashes, we are all going to die Spike.” ‘No point lying to him now.’ “Yeah but, what about the ones who will survive?” he asked. Twilight continued to stare at the moon. “Nopony is going to Survive Spike. The moon is too big for anything to survive,” said Twilight, she was crying softly now, “I just wish we had more time.” Spike nodded sadly, “where are your friends?” he asked. “There all huddled with their family somewhere around here,” replied Twilight. “Maybe you should go see them?” he asked, “if you go I won’t mind.” Twilight shook her head, “no Spike, they are with their families. I shouldn’t take them away from them during their final moments.” He nodded glumly and asked, “How much time do we have left?” Twilight stared at the position of the moon and where the large clock was and sighed, “About two minutes.” Spike nodded slowly, “this is it then?” Twilight also nodded, “I guess this is.” The two watched the moon descend on the seemingly empty clock tower. Little did anypony know, there was something on the clock. Two ponies, green and brown, were confronting a slightly larger purple one. It stared at the green one with rage. “YOU! Why can’t you leave me alone?! You beat my game and hit me! What more do you want you bully!” it screamed. The green pony glanced at what the purple one had in its magical grip: a small blue wind instrument. The purple one noticed this. “You want this?” it asked raising it in the air slightly, “well TOO BAD! You cheated and now I get this… thing,” the purple pony said smugly, “what are you going to do about it? Cry?” it taunted. The brown one glared at the purple one, “give it back to him!” she said. “Oh and what are you going to do about it you stupid horse? Kick me?” it laughed as it floated higher into the air. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a horse too,” she said. “Phhf, so what? Soon you’ll be ashes like the rest of these dumb horses,” is said in a childish tone, “and I’ll still be whole and laughing at you because you lost! HA, HA, HA!” The green pony was silent, he never was one for words. He guessed he could jump and grab the blue object but he needed a distraction. He glanced at his partner, Epona, she nodded and leaped into the air and grabbed the purple ponies back left hoof in her mouth. “HEY! No fair! You’re not allowed to bite!” it shouted, dropping the blue object out of its grip. The green pony started to run towards it. It did not go unnoticed by the purple one. “NO FAIR! You can’t take that! Its cheating!:it shouted as it beat Epona’s head and started to quickly float over to the blue object. Epona replaced her grip on the purple pony’s leg and shouted at the green pony. “HURRY LINK!” Link dove for the object and clamped his teeth around it. He spat it into his hooves and brought it up to his mouth. The tower shook, he had to do this fast. Trying to remember the song, the purple pony crashed into him making him lose his grip on it. It fell and landed near the edge of the tower. “Oh no you don’t!” cried the purple pony as it and Link raced for it. Epona ran as well in an attempt to grab the purple pony. “GAH!” It yelled as Epona bit its leg again. “LET GO OF ME!” it shouted, trying to shake Epona off.” “NEVER! She said, her voice muffled by its leg. “HURRY UP LINK!” Link had grabbed the object just as the purple pony shook Epona off. He kicked her head until she fell into unconsciousness. He stared at link in pure rage. “What are you trying to prove!” it yelled, “Nobody ever beats me, not you, not her, not the stupid sales man, not even the meanie Fierce Deity! I am MAJORA!” it screamed as it brought down the moon even faster than before. Link desperately wanted to help his friend Epona but had no time, ‘don’t worry, next time you see her, she’ll understand.’ He thought as he started to play the mysterious blue instrument in his hooves. The notes of the song echoed throughout the town abandoned town of Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acers. Twilight raised her ears at the sound of the calming notes that filled the air. Then everything started to move in reverse. Dawn of the Second First DayLink opened his tired eyes. He saw Epona and the blue instrument lying not far from him. He observed his surroundings: he was in a building. Getting to his feet (actually hooves) he started to walk around the inside of the building. It looked new, like someone just recently made it. He heard Epona getting up beside him. “Is that what you had to deal with in Termina?” she asked, suffering from something similar to mild motion sickness, “every single time?” Link nodded. Epona stared at him. “Every single time?! How did you not throw up? I can barely manage as it is!” she said as she sat in an upright position, trying not to lose what would be her only meal for three days. Link walked over to the stream that passed through the hasty made tower. He gazed into the reflection in the water. Looking back to him was not the boy he was before he came here. No, it was a green pony with blonde hair, blue eyes and the Hylian royal crest on the upper part of his hind legs. He sighed, ‘the happy mask sales man isn’t here,’ he thought, ‘I guess I have to stay like this for my entire time here.’ Epona noticed link staring into his reflection, “don’t worry Link, being a pony isn’t so bad. I’ve had to be one my whole life and I’m fine.” Link smiled slightly, and gazed back into the water. He noticed something glinting in the bottom of the stream. Dunking his head in, he pulled it out of the water and spat it out beside him. It appeared to be a shoe if some sort. But not like any Link had ever seen before. It looked vaguely like a type of shoe royalty might wear in Hyrule, except it was for a horse. It shone brightly on the concrete floor. Epona walked up to him. “What’s this? A horse shoe?” she asked. Link shrugged, he had no idea what it could be. “Well, you found it, I guess it’s yours,” she said, nudging it towards him, “go on, see it fits!” she said humorously. ‘Well, it’s just a shoe, what’s could possibly happen?’ Link thought, ‘it’s not like it’s going to turn me into something else like those masks…’ Link paused, remembering the brutally painful transformations he had to undergo to help save the people of Termina. He put his hoof on the shoe a searing pain shot throughout his body as his muscles grew as they took in the power of the mysterious object. When Link opened his eyes again he saw Epona staring at him. “What happened?” she asked concerned. Link went to the stream to look at his reflection again. Although nothing appeared out of the ordinary (besides being a pony), but Link felt a new found strength. He glanced at the hoof the he put the shoe on. A strange symbol had been etched onto his fur. The symbol radiated power, like the Goron mask in Termina. “What happened?” she asked. He pointed to the symbol on his left foreleg, she nodded. “So… it’s not bad?” Link shrugged, only time will tell. Fortunately, he and Epona had all the time in the world. He walked over and picked up the blue instrument in his mouth. He turned his head and deposited it into his small bag. He looked at the door to the tower, then to Epona. “You’re going to try to save them aren’t you?” she asked. He nodded. She laughed slightly, “You can’t resist a chance to go an adventure huh?” Link pushed the doors open and shielded his eyes from the sun. The sun was rising in the early morning sky the moon was looming menacingly above them and Majora was at the top of the tower. ‘Note to self: stop going into the lost woods.’ It was Termina all over again. **************************************************************************************** “The moon is falling?! How is that possible?!” exclaimed Twilight as she ran franticly around the library. She had just received a letter from Princess Celestia that the moon was falling and Luna had left to deal with the problem. “How can the moon fall?” asked Spike, “isn’t it in, like, space or something?” “Yes it is! It’s not physically possible that the moon is falling! It must be a mistake,” said Twilight trying to calm herself down, “yes, it’s just a simple mistake. The moon is just getting bigger. It’s not falling, that’s just silly.” “Whatever you say…” said Spike as he looked out the window at the moon. He had the strangest feeling that the moon was grinning evilly at the town. He shook his head and resumed his daily chores when somepony knocked at the door. He walked over and opened it. A green colt and a brown filly were standing outside. “Uh, hello, were looking for a book about legends,” asked the brown filly, “do you have any?” “Yes, there this way,” he said as he lead them to the history section of the library. He pulled out a book titled: ‘History of Ancient Equestria’. “Thanks Mr.” said Epona as she and Link left the library after checking the book out. They stopped at a nearby bench. Epona opened it. As soon as he saw it, Link noticed he couldn’t understand the text. Epona looked at him, then laughed slightly, “I’m guessing you can’t read this?” she asked, “don’t worry, I can read it to you.” Ok, from what I understand there are four places nearby, a forest, the plains, the mountain and the clouds. Each place has a temple or palace that was dedicated to four of the six alicorns. The four were killed fighting a demon known as ‘Discord’. They each had an object of power that had aided them in the past. Only two of the original six alicorns remain, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They were the only two alicorn in history to be blood related. Many have tried to breach the temples but all were unsuccessful.” Epona and Link gazed into the sky past the advancing moon. They saw the outlines of the flying ponies called pegasi. “I wonder what it’s like to have wings…” said Epona quietly to herself. She turned to Link. “Ok, so like you said yesterday,” she paused, “or was it tomorrow? Three days ago? Ugh, like you said, we should go find your missing stuff.” Link nodded, he lost most of his stuff on the trip here. But the two most important things he lot were the mirror shield and his gilded sword. ‘And how am I supposed to use a sword and shield with just my mouth?’ he thought, ‘I could strap it around my neck to shield it, yeah, that might work. But how am I supposed to use the sword? It will be next to useless. Besides, I’ll find it on our way back.’ Epona shook him out of his thoughts. “So Link, you’re the big ‘hero of time’ and stuff, where do we go first?” asked Epona. Link thought about Epona’s question, ‘can’t go to the clouds, no wings. The mountain would take too long to get all the supplies and get there. The plains… we don’t know what’s out there so I guess we’re headed to the forest.’ Link turned to Epona and told her their first destination. She nodded. “I guess the forest is going to be the easiest. Maybe you can find that ‘object of power’ the book was talking about,” replied Epona as they got off the bench and started to head towards the forest. When they arrived at the outskirts of the town they saw a sign. Like the book, Link couldn’t understand what it was trying to say. “Hmm, it says ‘DANGER Everfree forest ahead’,” said Epona, “I guess that’s the name.” The two were about to enter when they were stopped by a yellow Pegasus. “Oh, um, sorry you can’t go into the forest. It’s too dangerous,” she said. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. My friend used to live in a forest not too long ago,’ said Epona. The Pegasus stared at them. “Um, where there big scary monsters and poisonous plants?” she asked. “Well, there was a legend that anyone who goes in it will become a stalfos,” said Epona, “but my friend has been there hundreds of times and he’s always ok.” The quiet yellow pony looked at the two, the one brown coat with a black and white mane looked curiously at her while the other one with the green coat and the blonde mane was staring into the depths of the forest. Finally, she asked, “um, if you don’t mine me asking, what’s a stalfos?” “A living skeleton,” replied Epona like she saw the things daily. The yellow pony gasped in shock. “He lived with living skeletons?!” “Well, not exactly, only people who didn’t live in the forest and got lost turned into stalfos. Link would have turned into a skull kid,” she replied. The yellow pony’s eye twitched slightly as she fainted right in front of them. Link raised an eyebrow at Epona. “I guess they are afraid of skull kids,” muttered Epona as she turned to Link, who himself was looking at a stray beam of light reflecting off something in the forest. Link slowly started to walk into the forest with Epona following. ‘I hope that’s the mirror shield,’ he thought, ‘the yellow pony might not be the bravest, but she seemed like she knew what she was talking about when she was speaking about this place. Better keep our eyes open.’ ********************************************************************************************* Majora giggled slightly as he gazed at the descending moon. ‘Nobody knows what’s going on,’ the demon thought, ‘not even the green boy and his dumb horse can save them this time!’ Majora’s orange eyes glinted evilly off the sunlight. ‘Even if he does try, he won’t get the things that can stop me! Not this time!' Thorns and TendrilsThe forest can be a dangerous place, even more so for the unprepared. Link and Epona walked silently in the Everfree forest, searching for the missing mirror shield. Link had seen something glinting in the forest not long before they entered. Although it was not the lost woods, there was still some comfort being in a forest that resembled home. “So Link, where do you think your shield is?” asked Epona. Link nodded and pointed to something glimmering in the underbrush. Cautiously, Link walked over to it. He parted the bush and saw that it indeed was his mirror shield. He flipped it over and grabbed the handle with his mouth. He then asked Epona if she could find some vines. “Sure thing,” she said as she started to bite vines away from the trees as Link drew out how he could wear the shield in the dirt. Satisfied with the design, Epona returned with the vines. After a complex procedure of tying the knots of the vines to the shield, Link managed to strap the shield to his chest. “So… it works?” asked Epona. Link nodded, “great! Now we go find the forest palace.” The two continued to walk through the forest until they heard the bell’s ring. Link gazed into the sky to see the sun setting. A wolf howled in the distance. ‘It’s night already? We should move faster.’ When the sun finally set, Link and Epona felt a sense of unease, like something was watching them. Twigs cracked under foot as they could slowly see some sort of building covered with greenery. After walking past some trees, they arrived at the old castle of the princesses. Link stared at the ruined building, for it was vaguely reminiscence of the Hyrule castle. “Well,” said Epona, “here we are.” The castle loomed menacingly over them as the moon loomed menacingly over the castle. Epona sighed, “Shall we start looking?” she asked as they entered the old stone doors. The thin rays from the stars reflected off the mirror shield as they walked past some shattered windows. “What do you think happened here?” asked Epona, “could this be the aftermath of the fight with the demon Discord?” Link shrugged as something in the air stirred. “DDDDDDDDiiiiiiiiisssssssscccccccccccooooooorrrrrrddddddddddddd” a chilling voice filled the air. “Who said that?” asked Epona as she looked around the room for the source of the voice. “Do not sssspeak of his filth in our presence… he killed us and turned us into freaksss…” “Who are you?” asked Epona who was clearly disturbed by the voice. “My name is shrouded in the darkest legends and the most horrific nightmaressss. Only few have known my true name. And all of them ended the ssssame way…” Suddenly, hundreds of bones and bodies of dead ponies rose from the ground and came out of the walls. Their blank, empty eyes stared at Link and Epona. By far the most disturbing one was the pony with the white pith helmet, as it still had some rotting tan flesh on it. “Only six have passed through this place unharmed… they were protected by the sssun. But you are not…” slowly, the shadows and greenery from across the room slowly started to mat together into a large shape. Link and Epona were pushed back by a bolt of shadow as a gigantic monster made from nothing but vines and shadows took form in the center of the room. It gave a deafening roar as it completed its formation. Thousands of thorns took the place of teeth in its mouth. It made what could only be described as a smile that would terrify even Discord as it walked up to the two ponies. “You are fools for coming here. Now you will share their fate,” whispered the monster. It lashed out giant shadow tendrils at Link and Epona, who narrowly dodged them in time. The monster shrieked as it let lose another barrage of the tendrils. Epona grabbed a sharp stone and brought it down on one of the close by tendrils. It shadow monster roared in pain. “Do you think that mere stones can best ME?!” Epona gave a half-hearted shrug as she dodged more tendrils, “it was worth a shot.” This caused Link to chuckle slightly, despite the threat against their lives. The monster shrieked again. “STOP THE VILE SOUND!” Epona looked confused, “what sound?” she jumped out of the way of an incoming barrage of thorns, “you mean his laughter? What’s so bad about that?” “It burnsss me!” said the monster as it fired a bolt of pure shadow at link, who managed to reflect it back at the monster. The reflected bolt shone brightly as it came in contact with Links mirror shield, causing it to become a bolt of light. The monster roared at Link as the newly formed light bolt hit it. “You’ll pay for that boy!” it said as it fired out hundreds of thousands of thorns at Link. He managed to dodge out of the way of most of them but only after a small black one struck his leg. It pulsated slightly and sank into his flesh. Link barely noticed the hit as the monster prepared to attack him again. Suddenly, the sounds of the clock bells were heard in the distance. ‘Morning already?’ thought Link as he saw that the sun was indeed coming in the sky. Multiple beams of light cascaded into the cold room causing the vine shadow monster to retreat into a darker part of the room. ‘It’s afraid of light?’ he thought, ‘maybe I can defeat it like I did with the solders of Ikana...’ the idea gave Link new found energy as he ran into the light and bent himself in a way so the shield was reflecting the light at the monster. A bright flame erupted on its demonic body. It screeched at Link as it replaced a combination of thorns and shadow tendrils at Link. He closed his eyes knowing there was no way he could dodge them and kill the monster at the same time. He braced himself for the impact when. “Watch out!” cried out Epona as she drove in the way of the incoming projectiles. An eruption of pure shadow enveloped Epona as she skidded across the ground, covered with thorns and impact marks from the tendrils. It took all of his self-control to not rush over to Epona. He had to kill it now or Epona would have sacrificed herself for nothing. Finally, the entire room was filled with sunlight and Link stepped forwards as the mirror shield reinforced the sunlight making it a pure beam of light energy. The monster hissed as it became fully engulfed in flames and exploded violently into burnt plant pieces. Link ran over to Epona to make sure she was alright. Doing so, he failed to notice a bright silver form emerge from the center of the dead remains of the monster. The being noticed Link trying to help his fallen friend and smiled. “You have shone great courage you two,” it said warmly as a thin beam of light came off of its horn and landed on Epona, curing her of her injuries. She slowly got up from the ground. “W-who are you?” she asked shakely. It made a small laugh, “I am the alicorn of laughter. I was slain by the demon Discord many years ago. Throughout the years I have been corrupted by him until I finally became… that,” it said gesturing to the burnt plant life. “My two friends defeated the demon and imprisoned him. Unfortunately, the seal broke little over a year ago and he nearly plunged the and into chaos. He was defeated yet again by six new ponies. Find them. I understand your task and what you must do. Here, take this,” it said producing an old silver helmet, “it will aid you on your quest to stop a new demon. Go now, and may time be in your favor.” With that, the alicorn of laughter faded into nothingness with the faint sound of happy laughter echoing in the room. The two stared at what they had just seen. “So uh, I guess we go back huh?” asked Epona. Link nodded and they left the battle scared room, the resting place of the original element of laughter. ********************************************************************************************************* “Stupid green boy. Stupid horse,” mused Majora. It had over powered the demon that had taken over the element of laughter. Unfortunately, it had not counted on Link finding his mirror shield. It remembered it being used against it on a moon not so different from this one. “Think your so clever green boy? Think you can save all the horses with just a funny blue music thing? Well, how do you like this?!” It said as a beam of dark purple shot across the sky and into the mountain… The Second, Second dayA light rain cascaded down onto the busy streets of Ponyville. Many looked into the sky with worry and confusion. It wasn’t scheduled to rain today. In fact, the next rain was supposed to be in a week. But, the ponies didn’t have time to worry about that. They have a far larger and more concerning problem to worry about. Yesterday there was a town meeting. It was concerning the moon. Of course there was panicking and riots but after that had blown over, a plan was conceived. It was simple and plausible. The plan was just to simply push it back into orbit. Of course it was going to take a lot of strength to do it and it won’t be easy. But, the way to pull it off was for all the unicorns in the town to concentrate on the moon and try to push it back. “Are you sure this will work?” asked Twilight to Rainbow dash, the one who thought of the plan. “Duh, of course it will work. Why wouldn’t it?” “Well, we have no idea how long it will take to move it back or if we have enough magic to do it,” said Twilight, “it’s a good idea but I think we need more time.” “Time? Hah, if I can clear the clouds in under eleven seconds, you’ll have no problem with a bunch of other unicorns helping you,” replied Rainbow dash, “now, I gotta figure out what’s with this rain. Bye!” she said as she zoomed off into the clouds. Meanwhile, Link and Epona were walking down a path leading back from the castle. They were inspecting the strange helmet that Laughter gave them. “Why do you think she gave it to us?” asked Epona. Link shrugged, he had no idea ether. But for some reason, he got a weird feeling in his right left foreleg when he held it. More specifically, the spot where the weird shoe was. ‘Maybe it’s like a mask,’ Link thought, ‘but, what could it possibly do?’ The two walked in silence until they arrived back in Ponyville. The first thing they noticed was that all the unicorns in the area were gathered in the center of town to try and push back the moon with a huge amount of concentrated magic. Link and Epona stared at the sight, all the concentrated magic caused by the unicorns made a brilliant white beam at the moon. For a moment, Link thought they might actually be able to push it back, making his and Epona’s job much easier. And then the ground started to shake. A dark aura like thing started to shine off the moon as two large craters glowed orange, like eyes. This disturbed Link at how similar it looked like the moon from Termina. Slowly, one by one the unicorns started to fall from the exhaustion of the beam. Finally, one purple unicorn remained. But, her efforts were futile because the beam of light was non-existent. Eventually, she fell too. A crushing silence enveloped the town as the realisation dawned on them. There was no stopping it. It was too big and they had so little time. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled… ************************************************************************** The library was silent. Twilight and her friends had, abet unspoken, all gathered here. The room had a crushing sadness in it that nothing in all their experience had they encountered. Failure. Sure, they had failed before, but not a failure of this magnitude. When Discord had broken their minds and spirits it was Twilight who had helped them. And not even Twilight could help them this time. Of course, Pinkie pie still had a shred of hope, but it was fading fast with every shockwave that the moon caused. She was desperately trying to keep smiling despite the situation. Not even a party could lighten the mood of the silent library. A cool wind passed through a window that sent shivered down the ponies’ spines. Finally, Rainbow dash spoke. “So, what now?” she asked. “I don’t know,” replied Twilight quietly, she still hadn’t heard from Princess Celestia about Luna’s mission to stop the moon. But, from the failure today, she had come to assume that the Princess of the night had too, failed. “What is going to happen when the moon falls?” asked Fluttershy quietly, hoping that her thoughts will be wrong about it. Twilight checked the room to make sure Spike wasn’t able to hear her; she did not want him to be crushed by this. Not now. “Well… I guess we die.” That statement just killed any thoughts of hope in the room. Pinkie pie’s hair fell straight and frankly, Twilight found that even more depressing that Pinkie pie, the most… energetic, happy pony she knew had been defeated by the cold fact. They were all going to die. Slowly, one by one Twilight’s friends left the house into the night to break the hard news to family and other close friends. But none of them noticed the strange green light that flashed out of the clock tower… ********************************************************************* “What happened?” asked Epona a Link got to his hooves. He groaned slightly, noticing something different. First, the shoe thing and much of his strength were gone. And second, he looked into a puddle on the floor and beamed at it. “He Link, what’s that?” asked Epona as she gestured to his head. On top of it was a green unicorn horn. Link wondered what exactly happened, all he did before this was put on the strange helmet that Laughter gave him. ‘The helmet!’ Link thought, ‘it must be like the masks from Termina! So that means…’ Link pulled the horn on his head with his hooves. A bright flash enveloped him as the helmet shot off his head and landed on the floor with a loud clang. “How’d you do that?” asked Epona. Link explained the masks of Termina and how the helmet was similar to them. “Oh… hey wait,” she asked, “so if you’re using the helmet, what about the shoe thing?” Link paused, and then began to search for it on the cobblestone floor. When he found it, he gave it to Epona and asked if she wanted to use it while he was wearing the helmet. “Hmm… I don’t know, from what you said the transformation thing sounds painful…” said Epona. ‘Then again, I guess I would be able to be more helpful with it…’ after a moment of thinking, she made her decision. “Eh, why not?” she said as she put on the shoe thing. She felt a sharp pain shoot throughout her body as her strength grew and her bones became sturdier. Finally, when it was over she noticed that Link had put the helmet back on. She saw Link yawn and noticed that she felt tired herself. ‘Tomorrow, we’ll find the ones Laughter was talking about. And then, we’ll be that much closer to beating Majora…’ Second third day and beginning of third first dayA large shake in the ground awakened Link and Epona, who were sleeping in the clock tower. They both looked at each other and nodded; they had a job to do. And that job was to find the current incarnation of laughter. When the two left the tower, Link checked the position of the sun. They had about sixteen hours before the moon caused the horrible, crushing end. The streets of Ponyville were quiet, empty and depressing. Link remembered the first time cycle; this was a mirror image of it except for one thing. This time, Link was a unicorn. The mysterious helmet that Laughter gave him had given him the powers of a unicorn, but removed the strength of the shoe thing, which was in Epona’s possession. Link had noticed that he had a feeling to go to a nearby bakery. Epona suggested that the helmet may give directions to the current Elements of Harmony. After a quick five minute walk, they arrived at the building knows as ‘Sugarcube corner’. The inside of the building was just as depressing as the outside. The building was deserted, except for a sad pink pony sitting by the cash register. She gazed silently at Link and Epona before staring back into nothingness. Epona, feeling sorry for her, asked what was wrong. “Do you know what’s going to happen?” the pink pony asked. “No, I’m afraid not,” lied Epona. Her and Link decided it was best to avoid suspicion until the right time. The pink pony sighed. “The moon is going to crash into Ponyville.” Epona blinked, “oh. Well, it’s not all bad right?” The pony shook her head, “Twilight said that we’re all going to…” the pink pony’s voice trailed off, trying to stop tears. Epona looked at the sad mare, “hey, don’t worry. I’m sure everything will turn out fine in the end.” The mare shook her head again, “no, it won’t. It’s too big and everypony is going to die.” Epona took a step back. She looked back at Link, who was staring at the floor. He looked up and shrugged. According to him, the pink mare was the current bearer of laughter. Epona sighed, “Look, we know how to stop the moon and we need your help.” The sad pony looked at Epona. Determination was in the brown filly’s eyes. “How are you going to stop it?” Epona smiled, “well, we can’t do it this time, or probably the next, but we will eventually. You see, we have all the time in the world.” The pink mare stared quizzically at Epona. “But, you said that you didn’t know it was going to crash just a minute ago.” Epona shrugged, “a second ago for you could be a month for us. We have something that can help. My friend knows what’s going on better than me so, Link; care to tell her what’s going on?” Link shrugged and told the mare, whose name was Pinkie pie, about Majora and the theory on how to prevent the moon fall with the fabled Elements of Harmony. He spoke of the harmony spirit, Laughter, who had become the monstrous Vinis Umbra. Pinkie pie stared at Link. In her time of being one of the elements of harmony, she had never known the story of the original. The one pony who she could think of that might was her friend, Twilight Sparkle. After Epona thanked Pinkie pie and reassured her that everything will turn out alright in the final end, her and Link left to go to the library again. “Well, I guess we talk to this Twilight and she tells us more about the legend huh?” asked Epona. Link nodded as he continued to walk down the path to the library. Upon arrival, they saw that much of the library was in ruins. “What happened here?” asked Epona to no one in particular. A loud thump came from the upstairs and a purple unicorn franticly bolted down the stairs. Her mane looked like it had been through a windstorm. This, Link assumed, must be Twilight. Twilight stared at the two, just two days ago, she recalled them taking out a book from the library, but something was off about them. She just couldn’t tell what. “Excuse my appearance; it’s been a rough past few hours.” Epona nodded, “yes, it has. We’re here to ask something about the Elements of harmony.” Twilight froze, and then nodded, “what do you want to ask?” “We were wondering if you knew the story of the original Elements of Harmony. From what we know, you are one of the current,” said Epona. Twilight stared at Epona and Link. She noticed that Link’s skull shined occasionally, like it was polished metal. Shaking her head and assuming it was just a trick of the light, she answered them. “I’m sorry but, I don’t know the entire story myself. I would tell you to meet a wise pony on top of the mountain but, giving the circumstances, it’s useless now,” said Twilight. Epona nodded, “I guess she’s right Link. Not much we can do this time huh? Well, I’m ready when you are.” “What are you..?” started Twilight as Link took out his pale blue ocarina, and played the notes for the song of time. The notes reverberated throughout the library and the city, sending the two back to the interior of the clock tower. Epona, this time still on her hooves, shook her head. “I think I’m getting the hang of this time travel stuff,” she said as she stumbled around slightly. Chuckling softly, Link opened the doors and saw the busy streets of Ponyville once again. He and Epona spoke briefly about what Twilight had said about going up the mountain to meet this ‘wise pony’. After they decided to do it, they gathered supplies and stopped at the base of the mountain. “You sure about this? Like, I know what you did at Snowhead Mountain back in Termina but, this is a really big mountain…” said Epona as she gazed at the mountain. Near the top was an opening for what looked like a cave. ‘That’s where the wise pony must be,’ thought Link, ‘all we need to do is get up there and ask him the story. Maybe then we can go find the other missing Elements of Harmony.’ With that thought in his mind, he and Epona set out to scale the mountain and continue to find a way to beat Majora and stop the moon… ************************************************************************************* “… Visitors? You’ve been watching them haven’t you?” said a quiet voice on top of the mountain towards the sky, “well, I guess they could use the help. But be careful, your appearance may frighten them.” A thunderous laughter echoed throughout the mind of the wise one, “seriously Loyalty, be careful. I cannot bear to lose another one of us again. They saved Laughter and now they are on their way to see me. If you prevent them from saving the little ones then I swear…” “Swear what?” came the crackling voice from far above the sky along with bones crunching together, “you’d never go through with it Kind. I know what you did with the Hydra was stunning but me or anyone else? I doubt it.” Kindness sighed, it sounded like a howl of a sad wolf, “Just don’t frighten them Loyalty, ok?” “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Author's Note think of this as an early Christmas gift (or whatever) anyway, hope you all survive friday, what with the end of the world and all. speaking of which, why am i hear typing this? i should be playing a good end of the world game like left 4 dead or (even better) Majora's mask for Nintendo 64 on the Wii. besides that, happy holidays and if you like dinosaurs (specificly raptors) check out my newerest story, Raptor. I'm completly at losswell, i certianly has been a while. *sigh*, well, as you might have guessed, no new chapter. well, i better explain why before you start throwing boulders at me for taking so long. I would normally blame it on school but... its not that. Its just life in general, i have some other stuff to work on and total lack of insperation takes a heavy toll on me. so, when will the next chapter be here? The dishonest awnser is soon. the honest one is who the hell knows. I haven't started on it yet. And it's going HEY, LISTEN! in the back of my head. well, i've wasted enough time already so... I might get insperation, eventually but for now, jut occupy your time with other stories until a get off my ass. -Dihinner Cancellation and Rebirthwell, i'm sad to announce that it's very unlikely that i'm going to update this again, so i'm sad to announce that my best story is now dead. but, I have an idea of remaking it better and more polished. it wont be the same, but I probably will use the general idea, such as Majora being it's own individual being and the various 'mask' replacements. I have no idea when I will put this into motion, but I hope it will come in during the summer. sorry for the hopes of a new chapter for a dead tale, Dihinner P.S. I plan on the new story being called 'At Time's End' for those who want to see it when it arrives. I will also link it here.
The First of the Final HoursThe sky was on fire. Twilight Sparkle stared at the sky in sadness and terror. But, there was not much to see in the sky. For it had been taken up by one large unmistakable object. The moon. Nopony knows how exactly it happened. Luna had been trying restlessly to try and prevent its descending. Many others have collaborated to gather to try to stop it. They probably would have succeeded if they had more time. But, not much can be done in three days’ notice. Everypony had gathered on Sweet Apple Acres to live out their final hours. All but one. A small green colt had been spotted in town three days prior to this one. He didn’t speak much and was often running around asking for directions and where he was. His name… escaped Twilight. ‘I hardly think me knowing his name really matters now,’ she thought as she gazed at the moon once again. Pinkie pie had decided to construct a clock to announce when the Summer Sun celebration was started, which was in five minutes. The sound of the bell's ringing filled the air. ‘Just our luck, on the biggest celebration of the year we are all going to be killed by the moon. Oh, the irony.’ A shaking knocked over some nearby ponies. A shockwave caused by the moon. Many were huddled near loved ones as they watched in fear as the infernal space rock grew closer. Twilight failed to notice Spike as he walked up to her. “Uh, Twilight,” he said, “What is going to happen when the moon crashes?” Twilight stopped, and told him quietly, “When the moon crashes, we are all going to die Spike.” ‘No point lying to him now.’ “Yeah but, what about the ones who will survive?” he asked. Twilight continued to stare at the moon. “Nopony is going to Survive Spike. The moon is too big for anything to survive,” said Twilight, she was crying softly now, “I just wish we had more time.” Spike nodded sadly, “where are your friends?” he asked. “There all huddled with their family somewhere around here,” replied Twilight. “Maybe you should go see them?” he asked, “if you go I won’t mind.” Twilight shook her head, “no Spike, they are with their families. I shouldn’t take them away from them during their final moments.” He nodded glumly and asked, “How much time do we have left?” Twilight stared at the position of the moon and where the large clock was and sighed, “About two minutes.” Spike nodded slowly, “this is it then?” Twilight also nodded, “I guess this is.” The two watched the moon descend on the seemingly empty clock tower. Little did anypony know, there was something on the clock. Two ponies, green and brown, were confronting a slightly larger purple one. It stared at the green one with rage. “YOU! Why can’t you leave me alone?! You beat my game and hit me! What more do you want you bully!” it screamed. The green pony glanced at what the purple one had in its magical grip: a small blue wind instrument. The purple one noticed this. “You want this?” it asked raising it in the air slightly, “well TOO BAD! You cheated and now I get this… thing,” the purple pony said smugly, “what are you going to do about it? Cry?” it taunted. The brown one glared at the purple one, “give it back to him!” she said. “Oh and what are you going to do about it you stupid horse? Kick me?” it laughed as it floated higher into the air. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a horse too,” she said. “Phhf, so what? Soon you’ll be ashes like the rest of these dumb horses,” is said in a childish tone, “and I’ll still be whole and laughing at you because you lost! HA, HA, HA!” The green pony was silent, he never was one for words. He guessed he could jump and grab the blue object but he needed a distraction. He glanced at his partner, Epona, she nodded and leaped into the air and grabbed the purple ponies back left hoof in her mouth. “HEY! No fair! You’re not allowed to bite!” it shouted, dropping the blue object out of its grip. The green pony started to run towards it. It did not go unnoticed by the purple one. “NO FAIR! You can’t take that! Its cheating!:it shouted as it beat Epona’s head and started to quickly float over to the blue object. Epona replaced her grip on the purple pony’s leg and shouted at the green pony. “HURRY LINK!” Link dove for the object and clamped his teeth around it. He spat it into his hooves and brought it up to his mouth. The tower shook, he had to do this fast. Trying to remember the song, the purple pony crashed into him making him lose his grip on it. It fell and landed near the edge of the tower. “Oh no you don’t!” cried the purple pony as it and Link raced for it. Epona ran as well in an attempt to grab the purple pony. “GAH!” It yelled as Epona bit its leg again. “LET GO OF ME!” it shouted, trying to shake Epona off.” “NEVER! She said, her voice muffled by its leg. “HURRY UP LINK!” Link had grabbed the object just as the purple pony shook Epona off. He kicked her head until she fell into unconsciousness. He stared at link in pure rage. “What are you trying to prove!” it yelled, “Nobody ever beats me, not you, not her, not the stupid sales man, not even the meanie Fierce Deity! I am MAJORA!” it screamed as it brought down the moon even faster than before. Link desperately wanted to help his friend Epona but had no time, ‘don’t worry, next time you see her, she’ll understand.’ He thought as he started to play the mysterious blue instrument in his hooves. The notes of the song echoed throughout the town abandoned town of Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acers. Twilight raised her ears at the sound of the calming notes that filled the air. Then everything started to move in reverse.
Dawn of the Second First DayLink opened his tired eyes. He saw Epona and the blue instrument lying not far from him. He observed his surroundings: he was in a building. Getting to his feet (actually hooves) he started to walk around the inside of the building. It looked new, like someone just recently made it. He heard Epona getting up beside him. “Is that what you had to deal with in Termina?” she asked, suffering from something similar to mild motion sickness, “every single time?” Link nodded. Epona stared at him. “Every single time?! How did you not throw up? I can barely manage as it is!” she said as she sat in an upright position, trying not to lose what would be her only meal for three days. Link walked over to the stream that passed through the hasty made tower. He gazed into the reflection in the water. Looking back to him was not the boy he was before he came here. No, it was a green pony with blonde hair, blue eyes and the Hylian royal crest on the upper part of his hind legs. He sighed, ‘the happy mask sales man isn’t here,’ he thought, ‘I guess I have to stay like this for my entire time here.’ Epona noticed link staring into his reflection, “don’t worry Link, being a pony isn’t so bad. I’ve had to be one my whole life and I’m fine.” Link smiled slightly, and gazed back into the water. He noticed something glinting in the bottom of the stream. Dunking his head in, he pulled it out of the water and spat it out beside him. It appeared to be a shoe if some sort. But not like any Link had ever seen before. It looked vaguely like a type of shoe royalty might wear in Hyrule, except it was for a horse. It shone brightly on the concrete floor. Epona walked up to him. “What’s this? A horse shoe?” she asked. Link shrugged, he had no idea what it could be. “Well, you found it, I guess it’s yours,” she said, nudging it towards him, “go on, see it fits!” she said humorously. ‘Well, it’s just a shoe, what’s could possibly happen?’ Link thought, ‘it’s not like it’s going to turn me into something else like those masks…’ Link paused, remembering the brutally painful transformations he had to undergo to help save the people of Termina. He put his hoof on the shoe a searing pain shot throughout his body as his muscles grew as they took in the power of the mysterious object. When Link opened his eyes again he saw Epona staring at him. “What happened?” she asked concerned. Link went to the stream to look at his reflection again. Although nothing appeared out of the ordinary (besides being a pony), but Link felt a new found strength. He glanced at the hoof the he put the shoe on. A strange symbol had been etched onto his fur. The symbol radiated power, like the Goron mask in Termina. “What happened?” she asked. He pointed to the symbol on his left foreleg, she nodded. “So… it’s not bad?” Link shrugged, only time will tell. Fortunately, he and Epona had all the time in the world. He walked over and picked up the blue instrument in his mouth. He turned his head and deposited it into his small bag. He looked at the door to the tower, then to Epona. “You’re going to try to save them aren’t you?” she asked. He nodded. She laughed slightly, “You can’t resist a chance to go an adventure huh?” Link pushed the doors open and shielded his eyes from the sun. The sun was rising in the early morning sky the moon was looming menacingly above them and Majora was at the top of the tower. ‘Note to self: stop going into the lost woods.’ It was Termina all over again. **************************************************************************************** “The moon is falling?! How is that possible?!” exclaimed Twilight as she ran franticly around the library. She had just received a letter from Princess Celestia that the moon was falling and Luna had left to deal with the problem. “How can the moon fall?” asked Spike, “isn’t it in, like, space or something?” “Yes it is! It’s not physically possible that the moon is falling! It must be a mistake,” said Twilight trying to calm herself down, “yes, it’s just a simple mistake. The moon is just getting bigger. It’s not falling, that’s just silly.” “Whatever you say…” said Spike as he looked out the window at the moon. He had the strangest feeling that the moon was grinning evilly at the town. He shook his head and resumed his daily chores when somepony knocked at the door. He walked over and opened it. A green colt and a brown filly were standing outside. “Uh, hello, were looking for a book about legends,” asked the brown filly, “do you have any?” “Yes, there this way,” he said as he lead them to the history section of the library. He pulled out a book titled: ‘History of Ancient Equestria’. “Thanks Mr.” said Epona as she and Link left the library after checking the book out. They stopped at a nearby bench. Epona opened it. As soon as he saw it, Link noticed he couldn’t understand the text. Epona looked at him, then laughed slightly, “I’m guessing you can’t read this?” she asked, “don’t worry, I can read it to you.” Ok, from what I understand there are four places nearby, a forest, the plains, the mountain and the clouds. Each place has a temple or palace that was dedicated to four of the six alicorns. The four were killed fighting a demon known as ‘Discord’. They each had an object of power that had aided them in the past. Only two of the original six alicorns remain, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They were the only two alicorn in history to be blood related. Many have tried to breach the temples but all were unsuccessful.” Epona and Link gazed into the sky past the advancing moon. They saw the outlines of the flying ponies called pegasi. “I wonder what it’s like to have wings…” said Epona quietly to herself. She turned to Link. “Ok, so like you said yesterday,” she paused, “or was it tomorrow? Three days ago? Ugh, like you said, we should go find your missing stuff.” Link nodded, he lost most of his stuff on the trip here. But the two most important things he lot were the mirror shield and his gilded sword. ‘And how am I supposed to use a sword and shield with just my mouth?’ he thought, ‘I could strap it around my neck to shield it, yeah, that might work. But how am I supposed to use the sword? It will be next to useless. Besides, I’ll find it on our way back.’ Epona shook him out of his thoughts. “So Link, you’re the big ‘hero of time’ and stuff, where do we go first?” asked Epona. Link thought about Epona’s question, ‘can’t go to the clouds, no wings. The mountain would take too long to get all the supplies and get there. The plains… we don’t know what’s out there so I guess we’re headed to the forest.’ Link turned to Epona and told her their first destination. She nodded. “I guess the forest is going to be the easiest. Maybe you can find that ‘object of power’ the book was talking about,” replied Epona as they got off the bench and started to head towards the forest. When they arrived at the outskirts of the town they saw a sign. Like the book, Link couldn’t understand what it was trying to say. “Hmm, it says ‘DANGER Everfree forest ahead’,” said Epona, “I guess that’s the name.” The two were about to enter when they were stopped by a yellow Pegasus. “Oh, um, sorry you can’t go into the forest. It’s too dangerous,” she said. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. My friend used to live in a forest not too long ago,’ said Epona. The Pegasus stared at them. “Um, where there big scary monsters and poisonous plants?” she asked. “Well, there was a legend that anyone who goes in it will become a stalfos,” said Epona, “but my friend has been there hundreds of times and he’s always ok.” The quiet yellow pony looked at the two, the one brown coat with a black and white mane looked curiously at her while the other one with the green coat and the blonde mane was staring into the depths of the forest. Finally, she asked, “um, if you don’t mine me asking, what’s a stalfos?” “A living skeleton,” replied Epona like she saw the things daily. The yellow pony gasped in shock. “He lived with living skeletons?!” “Well, not exactly, only people who didn’t live in the forest and got lost turned into stalfos. Link would have turned into a skull kid,” she replied. The yellow pony’s eye twitched slightly as she fainted right in front of them. Link raised an eyebrow at Epona. “I guess they are afraid of skull kids,” muttered Epona as she turned to Link, who himself was looking at a stray beam of light reflecting off something in the forest. Link slowly started to walk into the forest with Epona following. ‘I hope that’s the mirror shield,’ he thought, ‘the yellow pony might not be the bravest, but she seemed like she knew what she was talking about when she was speaking about this place. Better keep our eyes open.’ ********************************************************************************************* Majora giggled slightly as he gazed at the descending moon. ‘Nobody knows what’s going on,’ the demon thought, ‘not even the green boy and his dumb horse can save them this time!’ Majora’s orange eyes glinted evilly off the sunlight. ‘Even if he does try, he won’t get the things that can stop me! Not this time!'
Thorns and TendrilsThe forest can be a dangerous place, even more so for the unprepared. Link and Epona walked silently in the Everfree forest, searching for the missing mirror shield. Link had seen something glinting in the forest not long before they entered. Although it was not the lost woods, there was still some comfort being in a forest that resembled home. “So Link, where do you think your shield is?” asked Epona. Link nodded and pointed to something glimmering in the underbrush. Cautiously, Link walked over to it. He parted the bush and saw that it indeed was his mirror shield. He flipped it over and grabbed the handle with his mouth. He then asked Epona if she could find some vines. “Sure thing,” she said as she started to bite vines away from the trees as Link drew out how he could wear the shield in the dirt. Satisfied with the design, Epona returned with the vines. After a complex procedure of tying the knots of the vines to the shield, Link managed to strap the shield to his chest. “So… it works?” asked Epona. Link nodded, “great! Now we go find the forest palace.” The two continued to walk through the forest until they heard the bell’s ring. Link gazed into the sky to see the sun setting. A wolf howled in the distance. ‘It’s night already? We should move faster.’ When the sun finally set, Link and Epona felt a sense of unease, like something was watching them. Twigs cracked under foot as they could slowly see some sort of building covered with greenery. After walking past some trees, they arrived at the old castle of the princesses. Link stared at the ruined building, for it was vaguely reminiscence of the Hyrule castle. “Well,” said Epona, “here we are.” The castle loomed menacingly over them as the moon loomed menacingly over the castle. Epona sighed, “Shall we start looking?” she asked as they entered the old stone doors. The thin rays from the stars reflected off the mirror shield as they walked past some shattered windows. “What do you think happened here?” asked Epona, “could this be the aftermath of the fight with the demon Discord?” Link shrugged as something in the air stirred. “DDDDDDDDiiiiiiiiisssssssscccccccccccooooooorrrrrrddddddddddddd” a chilling voice filled the air. “Who said that?” asked Epona as she looked around the room for the source of the voice. “Do not sssspeak of his filth in our presence… he killed us and turned us into freaksss…” “Who are you?” asked Epona who was clearly disturbed by the voice. “My name is shrouded in the darkest legends and the most horrific nightmaressss. Only few have known my true name. And all of them ended the ssssame way…” Suddenly, hundreds of bones and bodies of dead ponies rose from the ground and came out of the walls. Their blank, empty eyes stared at Link and Epona. By far the most disturbing one was the pony with the white pith helmet, as it still had some rotting tan flesh on it. “Only six have passed through this place unharmed… they were protected by the sssun. But you are not…” slowly, the shadows and greenery from across the room slowly started to mat together into a large shape. Link and Epona were pushed back by a bolt of shadow as a gigantic monster made from nothing but vines and shadows took form in the center of the room. It gave a deafening roar as it completed its formation. Thousands of thorns took the place of teeth in its mouth. It made what could only be described as a smile that would terrify even Discord as it walked up to the two ponies. “You are fools for coming here. Now you will share their fate,” whispered the monster. It lashed out giant shadow tendrils at Link and Epona, who narrowly dodged them in time. The monster shrieked as it let lose another barrage of the tendrils. Epona grabbed a sharp stone and brought it down on one of the close by tendrils. It shadow monster roared in pain. “Do you think that mere stones can best ME?!” Epona gave a half-hearted shrug as she dodged more tendrils, “it was worth a shot.” This caused Link to chuckle slightly, despite the threat against their lives. The monster shrieked again. “STOP THE VILE SOUND!” Epona looked confused, “what sound?” she jumped out of the way of an incoming barrage of thorns, “you mean his laughter? What’s so bad about that?” “It burnsss me!” said the monster as it fired a bolt of pure shadow at link, who managed to reflect it back at the monster. The reflected bolt shone brightly as it came in contact with Links mirror shield, causing it to become a bolt of light. The monster roared at Link as the newly formed light bolt hit it. “You’ll pay for that boy!” it said as it fired out hundreds of thousands of thorns at Link. He managed to dodge out of the way of most of them but only after a small black one struck his leg. It pulsated slightly and sank into his flesh. Link barely noticed the hit as the monster prepared to attack him again. Suddenly, the sounds of the clock bells were heard in the distance. ‘Morning already?’ thought Link as he saw that the sun was indeed coming in the sky. Multiple beams of light cascaded into the cold room causing the vine shadow monster to retreat into a darker part of the room. ‘It’s afraid of light?’ he thought, ‘maybe I can defeat it like I did with the solders of Ikana...’ the idea gave Link new found energy as he ran into the light and bent himself in a way so the shield was reflecting the light at the monster. A bright flame erupted on its demonic body. It screeched at Link as it replaced a combination of thorns and shadow tendrils at Link. He closed his eyes knowing there was no way he could dodge them and kill the monster at the same time. He braced himself for the impact when. “Watch out!” cried out Epona as she drove in the way of the incoming projectiles. An eruption of pure shadow enveloped Epona as she skidded across the ground, covered with thorns and impact marks from the tendrils. It took all of his self-control to not rush over to Epona. He had to kill it now or Epona would have sacrificed herself for nothing. Finally, the entire room was filled with sunlight and Link stepped forwards as the mirror shield reinforced the sunlight making it a pure beam of light energy. The monster hissed as it became fully engulfed in flames and exploded violently into burnt plant pieces. Link ran over to Epona to make sure she was alright. Doing so, he failed to notice a bright silver form emerge from the center of the dead remains of the monster. The being noticed Link trying to help his fallen friend and smiled. “You have shone great courage you two,” it said warmly as a thin beam of light came off of its horn and landed on Epona, curing her of her injuries. She slowly got up from the ground. “W-who are you?” she asked shakely. It made a small laugh, “I am the alicorn of laughter. I was slain by the demon Discord many years ago. Throughout the years I have been corrupted by him until I finally became… that,” it said gesturing to the burnt plant life. “My two friends defeated the demon and imprisoned him. Unfortunately, the seal broke little over a year ago and he nearly plunged the and into chaos. He was defeated yet again by six new ponies. Find them. I understand your task and what you must do. Here, take this,” it said producing an old silver helmet, “it will aid you on your quest to stop a new demon. Go now, and may time be in your favor.” With that, the alicorn of laughter faded into nothingness with the faint sound of happy laughter echoing in the room. The two stared at what they had just seen. “So uh, I guess we go back huh?” asked Epona. Link nodded and they left the battle scared room, the resting place of the original element of laughter. ********************************************************************************************************* “Stupid green boy. Stupid horse,” mused Majora. It had over powered the demon that had taken over the element of laughter. Unfortunately, it had not counted on Link finding his mirror shield. It remembered it being used against it on a moon not so different from this one. “Think your so clever green boy? Think you can save all the horses with just a funny blue music thing? Well, how do you like this?!” It said as a beam of dark purple shot across the sky and into the mountain…
The Second, Second dayA light rain cascaded down onto the busy streets of Ponyville. Many looked into the sky with worry and confusion. It wasn’t scheduled to rain today. In fact, the next rain was supposed to be in a week. But, the ponies didn’t have time to worry about that. They have a far larger and more concerning problem to worry about. Yesterday there was a town meeting. It was concerning the moon. Of course there was panicking and riots but after that had blown over, a plan was conceived. It was simple and plausible. The plan was just to simply push it back into orbit. Of course it was going to take a lot of strength to do it and it won’t be easy. But, the way to pull it off was for all the unicorns in the town to concentrate on the moon and try to push it back. “Are you sure this will work?” asked Twilight to Rainbow dash, the one who thought of the plan. “Duh, of course it will work. Why wouldn’t it?” “Well, we have no idea how long it will take to move it back or if we have enough magic to do it,” said Twilight, “it’s a good idea but I think we need more time.” “Time? Hah, if I can clear the clouds in under eleven seconds, you’ll have no problem with a bunch of other unicorns helping you,” replied Rainbow dash, “now, I gotta figure out what’s with this rain. Bye!” she said as she zoomed off into the clouds. Meanwhile, Link and Epona were walking down a path leading back from the castle. They were inspecting the strange helmet that Laughter gave them. “Why do you think she gave it to us?” asked Epona. Link shrugged, he had no idea ether. But for some reason, he got a weird feeling in his right left foreleg when he held it. More specifically, the spot where the weird shoe was. ‘Maybe it’s like a mask,’ Link thought, ‘but, what could it possibly do?’ The two walked in silence until they arrived back in Ponyville. The first thing they noticed was that all the unicorns in the area were gathered in the center of town to try and push back the moon with a huge amount of concentrated magic. Link and Epona stared at the sight, all the concentrated magic caused by the unicorns made a brilliant white beam at the moon. For a moment, Link thought they might actually be able to push it back, making his and Epona’s job much easier. And then the ground started to shake. A dark aura like thing started to shine off the moon as two large craters glowed orange, like eyes. This disturbed Link at how similar it looked like the moon from Termina. Slowly, one by one the unicorns started to fall from the exhaustion of the beam. Finally, one purple unicorn remained. But, her efforts were futile because the beam of light was non-existent. Eventually, she fell too. A crushing silence enveloped the town as the realisation dawned on them. There was no stopping it. It was too big and they had so little time. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled… ************************************************************************** The library was silent. Twilight and her friends had, abet unspoken, all gathered here. The room had a crushing sadness in it that nothing in all their experience had they encountered. Failure. Sure, they had failed before, but not a failure of this magnitude. When Discord had broken their minds and spirits it was Twilight who had helped them. And not even Twilight could help them this time. Of course, Pinkie pie still had a shred of hope, but it was fading fast with every shockwave that the moon caused. She was desperately trying to keep smiling despite the situation. Not even a party could lighten the mood of the silent library. A cool wind passed through a window that sent shivered down the ponies’ spines. Finally, Rainbow dash spoke. “So, what now?” she asked. “I don’t know,” replied Twilight quietly, she still hadn’t heard from Princess Celestia about Luna’s mission to stop the moon. But, from the failure today, she had come to assume that the Princess of the night had too, failed. “What is going to happen when the moon falls?” asked Fluttershy quietly, hoping that her thoughts will be wrong about it. Twilight checked the room to make sure Spike wasn’t able to hear her; she did not want him to be crushed by this. Not now. “Well… I guess we die.” That statement just killed any thoughts of hope in the room. Pinkie pie’s hair fell straight and frankly, Twilight found that even more depressing that Pinkie pie, the most… energetic, happy pony she knew had been defeated by the cold fact. They were all going to die. Slowly, one by one Twilight’s friends left the house into the night to break the hard news to family and other close friends. But none of them noticed the strange green light that flashed out of the clock tower… ********************************************************************* “What happened?” asked Epona a Link got to his hooves. He groaned slightly, noticing something different. First, the shoe thing and much of his strength were gone. And second, he looked into a puddle on the floor and beamed at it. “He Link, what’s that?” asked Epona as she gestured to his head. On top of it was a green unicorn horn. Link wondered what exactly happened, all he did before this was put on the strange helmet that Laughter gave him. ‘The helmet!’ Link thought, ‘it must be like the masks from Termina! So that means…’ Link pulled the horn on his head with his hooves. A bright flash enveloped him as the helmet shot off his head and landed on the floor with a loud clang. “How’d you do that?” asked Epona. Link explained the masks of Termina and how the helmet was similar to them. “Oh… hey wait,” she asked, “so if you’re using the helmet, what about the shoe thing?” Link paused, and then began to search for it on the cobblestone floor. When he found it, he gave it to Epona and asked if she wanted to use it while he was wearing the helmet. “Hmm… I don’t know, from what you said the transformation thing sounds painful…” said Epona. ‘Then again, I guess I would be able to be more helpful with it…’ after a moment of thinking, she made her decision. “Eh, why not?” she said as she put on the shoe thing. She felt a sharp pain shoot throughout her body as her strength grew and her bones became sturdier. Finally, when it was over she noticed that Link had put the helmet back on. She saw Link yawn and noticed that she felt tired herself. ‘Tomorrow, we’ll find the ones Laughter was talking about. And then, we’ll be that much closer to beating Majora…’
Second third day and beginning of third first dayA large shake in the ground awakened Link and Epona, who were sleeping in the clock tower. They both looked at each other and nodded; they had a job to do. And that job was to find the current incarnation of laughter. When the two left the tower, Link checked the position of the sun. They had about sixteen hours before the moon caused the horrible, crushing end. The streets of Ponyville were quiet, empty and depressing. Link remembered the first time cycle; this was a mirror image of it except for one thing. This time, Link was a unicorn. The mysterious helmet that Laughter gave him had given him the powers of a unicorn, but removed the strength of the shoe thing, which was in Epona’s possession. Link had noticed that he had a feeling to go to a nearby bakery. Epona suggested that the helmet may give directions to the current Elements of Harmony. After a quick five minute walk, they arrived at the building knows as ‘Sugarcube corner’. The inside of the building was just as depressing as the outside. The building was deserted, except for a sad pink pony sitting by the cash register. She gazed silently at Link and Epona before staring back into nothingness. Epona, feeling sorry for her, asked what was wrong. “Do you know what’s going to happen?” the pink pony asked. “No, I’m afraid not,” lied Epona. Her and Link decided it was best to avoid suspicion until the right time. The pink pony sighed. “The moon is going to crash into Ponyville.” Epona blinked, “oh. Well, it’s not all bad right?” The pony shook her head, “Twilight said that we’re all going to…” the pink pony’s voice trailed off, trying to stop tears. Epona looked at the sad mare, “hey, don’t worry. I’m sure everything will turn out fine in the end.” The mare shook her head again, “no, it won’t. It’s too big and everypony is going to die.” Epona took a step back. She looked back at Link, who was staring at the floor. He looked up and shrugged. According to him, the pink mare was the current bearer of laughter. Epona sighed, “Look, we know how to stop the moon and we need your help.” The sad pony looked at Epona. Determination was in the brown filly’s eyes. “How are you going to stop it?” Epona smiled, “well, we can’t do it this time, or probably the next, but we will eventually. You see, we have all the time in the world.” The pink mare stared quizzically at Epona. “But, you said that you didn’t know it was going to crash just a minute ago.” Epona shrugged, “a second ago for you could be a month for us. We have something that can help. My friend knows what’s going on better than me so, Link; care to tell her what’s going on?” Link shrugged and told the mare, whose name was Pinkie pie, about Majora and the theory on how to prevent the moon fall with the fabled Elements of Harmony. He spoke of the harmony spirit, Laughter, who had become the monstrous Vinis Umbra. Pinkie pie stared at Link. In her time of being one of the elements of harmony, she had never known the story of the original. The one pony who she could think of that might was her friend, Twilight Sparkle. After Epona thanked Pinkie pie and reassured her that everything will turn out alright in the final end, her and Link left to go to the library again. “Well, I guess we talk to this Twilight and she tells us more about the legend huh?” asked Epona. Link nodded as he continued to walk down the path to the library. Upon arrival, they saw that much of the library was in ruins. “What happened here?” asked Epona to no one in particular. A loud thump came from the upstairs and a purple unicorn franticly bolted down the stairs. Her mane looked like it had been through a windstorm. This, Link assumed, must be Twilight. Twilight stared at the two, just two days ago, she recalled them taking out a book from the library, but something was off about them. She just couldn’t tell what. “Excuse my appearance; it’s been a rough past few hours.” Epona nodded, “yes, it has. We’re here to ask something about the Elements of harmony.” Twilight froze, and then nodded, “what do you want to ask?” “We were wondering if you knew the story of the original Elements of Harmony. From what we know, you are one of the current,” said Epona. Twilight stared at Epona and Link. She noticed that Link’s skull shined occasionally, like it was polished metal. Shaking her head and assuming it was just a trick of the light, she answered them. “I’m sorry but, I don’t know the entire story myself. I would tell you to meet a wise pony on top of the mountain but, giving the circumstances, it’s useless now,” said Twilight. Epona nodded, “I guess she’s right Link. Not much we can do this time huh? Well, I’m ready when you are.” “What are you..?” started Twilight as Link took out his pale blue ocarina, and played the notes for the song of time. The notes reverberated throughout the library and the city, sending the two back to the interior of the clock tower. Epona, this time still on her hooves, shook her head. “I think I’m getting the hang of this time travel stuff,” she said as she stumbled around slightly. Chuckling softly, Link opened the doors and saw the busy streets of Ponyville once again. He and Epona spoke briefly about what Twilight had said about going up the mountain to meet this ‘wise pony’. After they decided to do it, they gathered supplies and stopped at the base of the mountain. “You sure about this? Like, I know what you did at Snowhead Mountain back in Termina but, this is a really big mountain…” said Epona as she gazed at the mountain. Near the top was an opening for what looked like a cave. ‘That’s where the wise pony must be,’ thought Link, ‘all we need to do is get up there and ask him the story. Maybe then we can go find the other missing Elements of Harmony.’ With that thought in his mind, he and Epona set out to scale the mountain and continue to find a way to beat Majora and stop the moon… ************************************************************************************* “… Visitors? You’ve been watching them haven’t you?” said a quiet voice on top of the mountain towards the sky, “well, I guess they could use the help. But be careful, your appearance may frighten them.” A thunderous laughter echoed throughout the mind of the wise one, “seriously Loyalty, be careful. I cannot bear to lose another one of us again. They saved Laughter and now they are on their way to see me. If you prevent them from saving the little ones then I swear…” “Swear what?” came the crackling voice from far above the sky along with bones crunching together, “you’d never go through with it Kind. I know what you did with the Hydra was stunning but me or anyone else? I doubt it.” Kindness sighed, it sounded like a howl of a sad wolf, “Just don’t frighten them Loyalty, ok?” “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Author's Note think of this as an early Christmas gift (or whatever) anyway, hope you all survive friday, what with the end of the world and all. speaking of which, why am i hear typing this? i should be playing a good end of the world game like left 4 dead or (even better) Majora's mask for Nintendo 64 on the Wii. besides that, happy holidays and if you like dinosaurs (specificly raptors) check out my newerest story, Raptor.
I'm completly at losswell, i certianly has been a while. *sigh*, well, as you might have guessed, no new chapter. well, i better explain why before you start throwing boulders at me for taking so long. I would normally blame it on school but... its not that. Its just life in general, i have some other stuff to work on and total lack of insperation takes a heavy toll on me. so, when will the next chapter be here? The dishonest awnser is soon. the honest one is who the hell knows. I haven't started on it yet. And it's going HEY, LISTEN! in the back of my head. well, i've wasted enough time already so... I might get insperation, eventually but for now, jut occupy your time with other stories until a get off my ass. -Dihinner
Cancellation and Rebirthwell, i'm sad to announce that it's very unlikely that i'm going to update this again, so i'm sad to announce that my best story is now dead. but, I have an idea of remaking it better and more polished. it wont be the same, but I probably will use the general idea, such as Majora being it's own individual being and the various 'mask' replacements. I have no idea when I will put this into motion, but I hope it will come in during the summer. sorry for the hopes of a new chapter for a dead tale, Dihinner P.S. I plan on the new story being called 'At Time's End' for those who want to see it when it arrives. I will also link it here.
