Equestrians in Termina

Chapters

#1, Pegascrubs
#2, Three Days
#3, Restart
#4 Marsh

#1, Pegascrubs

AN: Welcome one and all to my first fanfic! If you see any mistakes or have some constructive criticism for me, then please feel free to post a comment. I’m pretty sure I will make a lot of comma errors.

In a dark and gloomy forest, a lone figure traveled. A young swordsman in a green tunic rode on his trusted horse through the wood. He was searching for a lost friend, someone that accompanied him on a quest long ago. As he passed on, two balls of light appeared in front of his horse, startling it so much that it reared up onto its hind legs. The swordsman was thrown off and landed on a jagged rock behind him. Crimson liquid escaped him and pooled on the forest’s floor.

From the shadows came an echoing chuckle. It sounded childlike, but any listener would feel the malice within it. A small creature came from where the hideous sound originated. The creature was shorter than the swordsman and looked much like a walking scarecrow. On its face was a mask.

The mask was shaped like a Valentine’s Day heart. Adorning the mask were ten spikes; two of them were on the top to look like horns while four adorned each side at the bottom of the mask. The eyes of the mask were large with yellow were normal eyes would be white, small green irises, and tiny pupils. The two lights that startled the horse came to the creature. If one looked closer, they could see wings adorning the purple and white lights.

“Hee hee, you two fairies did great!” the creature said. “I wonder if he has anything good on him…” The creature walked up to the swordsman, eager to see what he could take. He kicked the body to turn it over and started to look for anything of value. He pulled out what looked like a blue potato with holes. The creature blew in the long part of it and it played a note. It laughed once more and continued to blow in it to make sound. The purple fairy spoke up.

“Ooh, ooh!” it said in a boyish voice, “What a pretty ocarina… Hey, Skull Kid, lemme touch it! I wanna see!”

The white fairy bumped into the purple fairy. “You can’t Tael!” it said with a girlish voice, “What would we do if you dropped it and broke it? No way! You can’t touch it!”

“Aw, but sis… Why can’t I try it out too?”

Fluttershy stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest. She didn’t want to go in, but she knew she had too. Zecora had to stay in Ponyvile due to an outbreak of manticores so some of the ponies had to help with relocating the beasts. Fluttershy was one of them because she was an animal expert. She was tense, but then she felt something on her back and smiled. “Thanks for coming, Rainbow Dash.” She turned to the cyan pegasus whom had placed her wing on Fluttershy’s back.

“No problem, Fluttershy. I know how much you hate this place so you might as well have your crush help calm you down.” Fluttershy blushed at this. She indeed had a crush on Rainbow Dash and everypony knew about it. Rainbow Dash didn’t have any strong feelings for her but didn’t mind being the crush of a mare. “Anyways, we’re not gonna get anything done by just standing ‘round here.”

“Um, right. Let’s-” Fluttershy stopped mid-sentence when she heard something similar to a foal’s laughter. She turned to the sound’s direction. “Rainbow Dash, did you hear something?”

The rainbow maned pegasus nodded. “It sounded a lot like a foal to me, although it sounded pretty creepy.”

“Do you think a foal could have wandered into the forest?”

“Not really, but we should still go check it out just in case. They might be in danger.” The two pegasi ran into the forest to investigate the sound.

As Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash traveled into the forest, they could hear more of the laughter. If they had been paying attention to the surrounding area, they would have noticed a transition in the trees. They became darker as the two pegasi galloped out of their world and into another. Soon they saw the Skull Kid, the fairies, the horse, and the dead swordsman.
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash yelled to get the Skull Kid’s attention, “What do you think you’re doing?!” It turned to look at the two pegasi, causing Fluttershy to quickly hide behind her friend, and then jumped on the large earth pony and made its escape with the fairies close behind. “Get back here!” yelled Rainbow Dash as she prepared to chase the creature.

“Wait,” Fluttershy protested, “I think it would be best if we stuck together. Please don’t fly or run too fast.”

Rainbow Dash turned to her friend and nodded. “You’re right there. I’ll pace myself so you can keep up.” Fluttershy ran as fast as she could while Rainbow Dash paced herself to match her speed. It looked like the Skull Kid had ran into a cave but when the two reached it they found no floor. On instinct they opened their wings and started to descend.

Landing softly on a large flower, the two mares faced the Skull Kid. The room they were in was large and cavernous with two torches lit at the other side of the room. The Skull Kid floated in the center of the room. “What’s with you stupid horses? Why can’t you let me just have my fun?” it said in its childlike yet malicious voice.

“You think hurting others is fun?! You’re sick!” Rainbow Dash yelled with spite. She unfurled her wings. “I’m gonna kick you so hard, you won’t be able to-”

The Skull Kid laughed, interrupting the cyan pegasus. “Oh, come now… Do you really think you can beat me as I am now? Fools!” Before either pegasus could react, the mask glowed and rattled. They felt a sharp pain all over their bodies and passed out for a second. They came to and looked in the water to see their reflections. Fluttershy was speechless and Rainbow Dash gave a scream to what they had become.

The two former pegasi were now much different. Instead of standing on four legs, they now stood on two. Their eyes glowed yellow without pupils and they had large snout-like mouths. The biggest change of all however, was their bodies were made from wood. They looked almost exactly the same except Fluttershy still had her long pink mane that curled at the end and Rainbow Dash had her messy, yet stylish, rainbow mane.

Once again the Skull Kid let out his eerie laughter. “Hee, hee! Now, that’s a good look for you two! You’ll stay here looking like that forever!”

For some reason everyone could hear a girlish voice say “FOREEEEEEVER!” but then they passed it off.

Skull Kid and his fairies backed away. Rainbow Dash tried to pursue them but the white fairy rammed into her and knocked her back. The purple fairy turned around and cried “S-sis!” before the wall closed up.

The white fairy turned and flied to the closed wall. “Whoa! Hey, Skull Kid, wait for me! I’m still here! Tael, you can’t leave without me!” She rammed the wall and then sighed. She then turned to Rainbow Dash. “YOU! If I wasn’t dealing with you, I wouldn’t have gotten separated from my brother!” Rainbow would have crossed her eyebrows but in her new form she didn’t have any. “Well don’t just sit there, Deku girl! Do something!”

Rainbow Dash was about to smack the fairy but Fluttershy tapped her back. “Um, Rainbow Dash, maybe we should help her.”

“What?! Fluttershy, in case you haven’t noticed we are in a rather bad situation. We’re trapped, lost, and we’re currently made of wood! Right now, we need help more!”

“I know, and that’s why I think we should help her. If we help her, maybe she’ll help us.”

“Will you two stop chatting and open the door for me?!” The white fairy then looked at the door which looked more like part of the wall. “Oh, Tael… I wonder if that child will be okay on his own…”

Sighing, Rainbow Dash walked up to the door. She tried to lift it up but it was a little too heavy for her. “Hey Fluttershy, can ya help me lift this thing?” Fluttershy might not have been strong, but she had enough strength to help her friend get the door open. The two went further into the cave when suddenly the fairy flew in front of them.

“Hey, wait for me! Don’t leave me behind!” Rainbow Dash gave her a weird look, at least as weird a look as she could make, to the fairy. “So, um… that stuff back there… I, um apologize so take me with you! You two wanna know about that Skull Kid right?”

“Is that what the little bucker is called?”

“I don’t know what that means but I do have an idea of where he might be going. Take me with you and I’ll help you out. Do we have a deal?”

Fluttershy smiled. “We sure do.”

“Good! So then it’s settled. I’ll be your helper, or at least until we catch up to that Skull Kid. My name is Tatl. So, uh, nice to meet you or whatever…”

“Pleased to meet you Tatl, my name is Fluttershy.” Fluttershy said. If she had a better mouth she would have been smiling.

“My name is Rainbow Dash, and I’m the fastest flier in all of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash said with her usual bravado. “At least I was…”

“Well now that we know each other, can we stop messing around and get moving? Let me know if you need help.”
The two nodded and proceeded down the path until they stopped where there was a large chasm.

“How the hay are we gonna cross this?” Rainbow dash asked, “Ugh, if we weren’t…wood things then we could cross this with ease!”

Tatl came up and observed the floor. “I can tell you two aren’t used to being Deku Scrubs. See the large flowers beneath you?” The two pegascrubs looked down to see flowers wider than them. “If you dive into them and launch yourselves, then you can fly over to the other side.”

Fluttershy shuffled uncomfortably. Rainbow Dash picked up on her anxiety and decided to try it first. She dove in the flower and launched herself in the air with two flowers in hoof that acted like propellers. Hmm, if I got this right then if I shift my weight… Rainbow Dash leaned forward and moved to the other side of the room. After she reached it the flowers ran out of energy and fell apart making her land. “It’s okay Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called out after she landed, “All you have to do is shift your weight to move in the air! The petals don’t last long, but that shouldn’t be an issue!”

Fluttershy inhaled and exhaled to calm herself and then dived into the flower. She repeated what Rainbow Dash did, except she landed on her face. Rainbow Dash helped her up and Fluttershy’s cheeks turned a dark purple.

“Hey, what’s with the blushing? Falling after your first flight is nothing to be embarrassed about." Then the fairy remembered how the two were interacting like they were very close. "You know, if you two weren’t the same gender I’d think you two were into each other.”

“I’m not into Fluttershy, but she does have a crush on me.” Fluttershy’s whole face turned purple at that.

“Wha? Um, okay. I guess I can deal with that.”

The two pegascrubs and fairy continued down the path. One room had a few ledges but with the launchlillies as Fluttershy named them they managed to proceed. After a while they managed to reach a room with machinery. There was running water too. Tatl spoke up. “Be careful with water. Deku Scrubs can’t swim.”

As the three walked around the room and got close to the door a low voice was heard behind them. “You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

The three turned to see a thin but tall creature. It had a pale pink coat similar to the swordsman but the middle part of its coat was purple. It had two sets of eyebrows but no eyes. On its face was a rather large grin and something that stuck out above the mouth. It had a red mane that only covered the top of his head but no tail. It walked on two legs and its front hooves seemed to have five claws on each hoof. There was a large bag on the creature’s back. Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow Dash for safety while she made an aggressive pose, although considering her form she didn't really make a threatening stance .

“How do you know that?! Are you a spy? How the buck did you fallow us anyhow?!”

The creature approached slowly and held out one of its hooves. “I own the Happy Mask Shop. I travel far and wide in search of masks. During my travels, a very important mask was stolen from me by an imp from the woods. So here I am at a loss, and now I found you… Now don’t think me rude but I have been fallowing you.”

“Again, how the buck have you been fallowing us?”

Suddenly the creature changed positions faster than anypony could see. “I know of a way to return you to your former selves.” Instantly the two pegascrubs perked up. “If you can get the ocarina the imp stole from the swordsman, I can return you to normal.” He changed his position again. “All I ask is that you also get back my precious mask that the imp stole from me.”

“Hey, no problem. Even in this form I can still kick that bucker’s flank.”
“Um, Rainbow Dash, are you sure-”

“WONDERFUL!” the creature cried, “However, there is one small catch. I’m a busy fellow, and I must leave in three days. Please get back my mask before my time is up.”

“You got it!” Rainbow Dash opened up the door and went outside. “Man, that guy was creepy. Did you see the way he looked?”

“Um, Rainbow Dash.”

“I mean, he had no eyes, and did you see his hooves? Freaky!”

“Rainbow…”

“But if he can turn us back to our normal selves then I guess he’s not all bad. I still want to know how he fallowed us.”

“WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE SCENERY?!” Fluttershy yelled uncharacteristically. “Oh, sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Then Rainbow Dash saw her surroundings and gasped. “Oh crap…there’s more of that creature.”

I think that’s a good stopping point. How will the two pegasi deal with their new forms? How will they fare in this new world? Will that creature really change them back to their new forms? You’ll just have to keep reading.

#2, Three Days

AN: Welcome back everypony to the story! I must say that I was surprised that the story got over 100 views while I slept. Thanks for the comments. I must apologize for the pacing of the last chapter and this chapter, however when retelling the story of Majora’s Mask the first two chapters will have horrible pacing. Hopefully I’ll handle some of the inconsistencies of the last chapter.

For those of you into Easter Egg hunts, I placed a non-pony reference somewhere in the chapter. I will place a few of these thought the story but only as comic relief. There’s no prize for guessing where they come from but it’s always fun to spot a reference.

After taking a full two minutes to get over the fact that there were more of the mask salesman creature, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Only three days huh? Even if we don’t sleep that only gives us seventy-two hours. Jeez, talk about demanding.”

Tatl spoke up. “Well, don’t just stand there! We’re going to see the Great Fairy!” Rainbow Dash stared at the fairy. “Look, you wanna find Skull Kid right? The Great Fairy will know what he’s up to. She watches over everything. Just go to the shrine near the north gate. You’ll find the Great Fairy there!” As Tatl finished talking, she noticed that Fluttershy was hiding behind Rainbow Dash. “Hey, what’s wrong with her?”

“You know her name, right?” Rainbow Dash asked the fairy.

“Yeah but what does-” Tatl stopped asking and the two pegascrubs could hear a tiny smack sound from her.

The three started walking to the north. Fluttershy was still close behind Rainbow Dash but she suddenly stopped. “Um…guys? What’s that?”

The two turned to see a creature in a similar body type to what Rainbow Dash called the salesmanites, however it was much smaller with a pink glow and little wings. For some reason it followed the group without making a sound. Fluttershy was as nervous as ever with all of this happening.

“Hey, don’t worry Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said to her friend, “As soon as we get our forms back we’ll head back to Ponyvile. For now, let’s just concentrate on the task at hand.” Fluttershy didn’t stop worrying but she did feel a little comfort from Rainbow Dash’s words. “Besides, I’m not gonna let anything hurt you here. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Fluttershy blushed once more as the group continued heading north. Soon they came across a small cave. “This is where the Great Fairy lives!” Tatl exclaimed. When they entered it, they saw many creatures like the one they just found. “Oh no, something happened to the Great Fairy!”

As Tatl said that; the creature following them joined the others and they joined together. The creatures shrank and then suddenly a large creature looking similar to a salesmanite came out with a haunting laugh. Fluttershy was now petrified with fear as Rainbow Dash stood in front of her friend defensively. Getting a better look, she could see some differences. The most obvious was the size. The creature was twice as large as a normal salesmanite. Its mane was a pale shade of yellow and it was barely covered by vines.

“Young ones of altered shape,” began the creature in a very soothing voice that seemed to echo, “Thank you for returning my broken and shattered body to normal. I am the Great Fairy of Magic. I thought the masked child was helping me, and I grew careless. I can only offer you magic power and mere trinkets as a sign of my gratitude. Please take them.”

Strange lights descended upon Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, making the two feel light headed. As the lights descended, two large bags and two tiny bags appeared behind the pegascrubs. Eventually the light stopped and they both felt a newfound energy in their bodies.

“If you focus your energy you can make bubbles of magic to attack your foes. Behind you are some bags. The large bags are magically enhanced to carry whatever you put in them and the smaller bags are small wallets to carry rupees in them.”

“Um, thank you miss fairy for these gifts.” Fluttershy said, still behind Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, thanks. For a gigantic fairy, you’re not bad at all.”

The fairy chuckled and then started to speak again. “The man in the observatory outside of town may know of the Skull Kid’s whereabouts, but be careful. You must not underestimate that child’s powers. Return to me in an improved form and I shall grant you more help.” After she said that she returned to the fountain.

After a little bit of silence Rainbow Dash spoke up. “So we can shoot out magic bubbles? If only Ditzy Doo were here.” She looked to the ceiling. I might as well try it out. She thought of the energy in her and a bubble formed in her mouth. She thought of releasing it and it flied up to the ceiling leaving a green pool on it. “I can put snot on things! Nothing is safe from my mucus anymore!” After getting a not-so-weird look from Fluttershy she blushed. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

They left the fountain and wandered outside. Rainbow Dash saw a small salesmanite with a straw thing aiming at a large balloon. It gave her an idea. “Hey Fluttershy, why don’t we practice our aim on that balloon? We’re probably not any good at it and if bubbles are our method of defense then we might want to shape up.” Fluttershy nodded and the two started to shoot bubbles at the balloon. Rainbow Dash had horrible aim and never got close, but Fluttershy had a few bubbles that only missed by a little bit. Eventually she shot a bubble and it hit the balloon in the middle, bursting it. “Hey, nice shot there Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and gave her signature cheer. “Yay.”

Rainbow Dash giggled and turned to see that the small salesmanite was in front of them. “Hey, were you the ones that popped that up there?”

“No, it was just Fluttershy here.” Dash said turning to her friend whom was averting her gaze.

“Heh, not bad for a Deku Scrub. We bombers have a hideout that leads to the observatory outside of town. You need a code to get in. Maybe I’ll tell you what it is.”

“Well that’s great,” Rainbow Dash said, “So what’s the code?”

“Hang on, I can’t just give you the code. You’ll have to pass my test first. Line up guys!” Four other similar salesmanites ran up. “If you can find all five of us by tomorrow morning, I’ll teach you the code.” Then all five of them ran off in separate directions too quickly for anyone to keep track of them.

“Well, looks like to get some answers we’ll have to play some hide and seek.” Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy. “So how are we gonna-” she stopped talking when she saw Fluttershy following the ground intently. Rainbow Dash was about to ask what she was doing, but then she had a flashback.

Rainbow Dash was practicing a new trick when she saw Fluttershy walking hunched over in the distance. She wondered what was the matter so she flew over to her friend. “Hey Fluttershy, are you alright?”

Fluttershy looked up from the ground and saw Rainbow Dash. She blushed a little and smiled. “Oh, hey Rainbow Dash. I’m fine but Opel Essence ran off and Rarity asked me to find her.”

“Uh huh, and why are you so close to the ground?”

“I’m tracking her paw prints to she were she went. No matter how lightly you tread on ground, you always leave at least a tiny print on the ground. I had to track down a few animals this way so I got really good at it.”

Rainbow stood with her jaw agape. “But, those prints must be so small! I knew your vision was good but not THAT good! That’s so awesome!”

Fluttershy blushed again. “Well, my special talent is taking care of animals…”

Rainbow Dash followed Fluttershy as she tracked the bombers. The first one was easy as he was barely hidden behind a tree. Rainbow Dash chased after him and caught him quickly. Next up was a kid hiding behind a wall. He might have gotten a head start but Rainbow Dash closed the gap in record time. Fluttershy lead them to the west part of town. Rainbow Dash saw one of the bombers on the roof holding a chicken. She chased after him but he jumped with it. It took her a few seconds but she eventually caught up. Another bomber was on a different roof but Fluttershy was still tracking him. She found him and he ran off the roof and right into Rainbow Dash. They found the last one to the south and he was still looking for a hiding place. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gave each other a high-hoof. They returned to the tree where all the bombers were waiting.

“Man, you two are amazing Deku Scrubs!” Jim said to them both. “Too bad you aren’t humans, then I could give you two bomber notebooks and make you official members.” He turned to the other humans. “What do you guys think?”

“No way! No Scrubs!” They all said while jumping.

“I guess not… Once we let a kid that wasn’t a human join us, and boy, did we ever regret it! Sorry! I’ll still tell you the code though. It’s one, six, one, seven. Got it?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Thanks for letting us know. Take it easy guys!”

The group left and headed east and saw a pathway blocked by a kid, but not before seeing a sign that said “Mayor’s Office.” Since they were new to the town and didn't know anything about the town, they decided to walk in, although they had trouble with the doorknob. When they opened it up they found themselves in the middle of a debate.

“Most of the townsfolk already have taken shelter without waiting for the mayor’s orders.” One human said. He was tall and covered in what looked like steel armor. He had a pole with a sharp tip and was obviously a guard of some sort. “The only ones left are public servants and committee members. Mister Mayor and Carnival Committee Members, please order those who remain to evacuate!”

Rainbow Dash looked up to the guard. “Excuse me sir, but why should we evacuate?”

The guard turned to face her and Fluttershy whom had once again hid behind her friend. “I’m not sure how you didn’t notice it, but the moon is slowly getting closer to the ground. It looks as if it will crash into the clock tower!”

“YOU COWARDS!” A human yelled so loud that Fluttershy shut down. Rainbow Dash did not notice this because she was looking at the man. He was muscle-bound with an open blue shirt and green workpants. On his face was a white mustache. “Do you honestly believe the moon will fall?! The confused townsfolk simply caused a panic by believing this ridiculous, groundless theory! The soldiers couldn’t prevent the panic, but outside the town walls is where the danger is! The carnival should not be canceled!”

“Are you serious Munto?!” The guard cried catching the attention of Rainbow Dash. “It seems that giant chunk of rock above us hasn’t caught your eye! We are always overrun by tourists this time of year, so why is the town so empty? It may be your job to make sure the carnival is operational, but that’s only if there are people here for it. Don’t drag the soldiers and merchants into this!”

“If the soldiers wish to run then so be it! This carnival will be a success! I’ve never heard of a defense abandoning its town!”

It looked like it would continue on with Rainbow Dash just staring at them but Tatl bumped into Rainbow Dash. “Hey Rainbow Dash, is Fluttershy alright?”

Rainbow Dash turned to face Fluttershy and finally noticed her distraught state. Her eyes were shut tight and her hands were on her head. Rainbow Dash was surprised she was standing. She turned back to the guard. “Excuse me again, but my friend is in a state of shock. Could you open the door so I can take her outside?” The guard nodded and opened the door for Rainbow Dash. She pulled Fluttershy out of the room as gently as she could. “Thanks,” she said to the guard on her way out, “my friend is quite shy and debates probably aren’t the best place for her to be.”

“You’re a good friend mam.”

After she was out of the office with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash lightly tapped her. “Hey, you can calm down now.” Fluttershy let go of her head and slowly opened her eyes. “Sorry for not noticing earlier. I guess I was focused on the debate. You alright?”

A few tears fell from Fluttershy’s wooden face. “It just brought back some… old memories.”

Rainbow Dash put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t think about it. That monster is behind bars, remember?” Fluttershy nodded.

Tatl was confused. “What monster? Is there something I should know?”

Rainbow Dash spoke without looking at the fairy. “All you need to know is that Fluttershy does not fare well when grown men shout at her. Unlike the crush she has on me, the reason for her issue is top secret.”

Tatl didn’t understand what was going on, but she did not press the issue further. “Well, it seems to be the afternoon now. Aren’t you guys hungry?”

Both pegascrubs turned to the fairy. If they had proper mouths, they would be agape. “But it’s only been an hour at most!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I might not be the smartest pegasus in existence, but every pegasus has an amazing sense of time and can tell time using the sun’s position! It was six in the morning when we came out of that weird place!”

“It was, but now it’s twelve in the afternoon.”

Rainbow Dash looked up and saw that the sun was right in the twelve o clock position. “How the hay does that work?!”

“Um, maybe time moves faster here.” Fluttershy suggested. “After all, this is another world.”

Rainbow Dash nodded there was no way to deny that fact now. “So if you’re right on this, then this place moves at six times the speed of Equestria. With that knowledge we can assume that instead of seventy-two hours, we really only have about twelve hours to find that mask.”

“Well if that’s the case then you two need to stop yacking and hurry up!”

Approaching the bomber’s hideout one human foal blocked the pegascrubs’ paths. “What’s the code?” he asked. Rainbow Dash gave him the code and he moved out of their way. Before they walked through he shouted “The bomber’s secret society of justice forever!”

As they passed by Fluttershy giggled. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just reminded of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“Oh yeah, those guys. If they were here they’d probably go ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders, Justice Makers!’ or something similar.”

Fluttershy was outright laughing now as Tatl just watched wishing she knew what the two were talking about. Fluttershy looked ahead and screamed in fear. Rainbow Dash turned around too late and got hit by something and knocked back a fair way. She groaned as she got back up and saw a spider with a torso that looked like a skull. Tatl spoke up. “That’s a Skullitualla! Its back is protected by its skull-like shell but its belly is soft!” The spider turned around and showed its belly. Rainbow Dash quickly shot a bubble from close range at and it made a direct hit. The body of the spider dropped to the floor and then burned up. Rainbow Dash ignored the spider and rushed to Fluttershy’s side.

“Fluttershy, I took care of it.” Once again the scared pegascrub opened her eyes. “Don’t worry. Like I said, I won’t let you get hurt.”

“I-I heard an impact… are you…”

“Don’t worry. It knocked the wind out of me, but I’m fine. I've had worse crashes than that. Let’s keep moving.”

The two continued down the dark path while Tatl looked at them from a bit back. “Hmm, I wonder…” she said to herself before catching up to them.

There was a staircase which they climbed and it lead into a small building. There was a scarecrow which Fluttershy approached. “Yo! Hey Buddy!” it said from nowhere startling poor Fluttershy for the umpteenth time that day. “I’m a stylin’ scarecrow wandering in search of pleasant music. Time will pass in the blink of an eye if you dance with me! Speaking of music, I know of a mysterious song that can let you manipulate the flow of time! Are you interested?”

Fluttershy got over her startled state at the thought of a song that could manipulate time. While animals were her diehard passion and special talent, music was a very close second. “Sure, I’d like to know about it.”

“I’ve hear that if you play that song backwards then you can make time slow down and playing each note twice in a row lets you move half a day forward through time.”

“Oh my, that’s amazing. I’ll remember that for sure.”

“Hey, if you’re done talking to the scarecrow then can we move on? It feels like thirty minutes have past so that means it must be three in the afternoon.”

Fluttershy nodded and followed her friend up some small steps. At the top of them was what looked like an old human and a telescope. He turned to the pegascrubs and raised an eyebrow. “Well… two strange looking children have joined me today… Are you new friends of the bombers?” They nodded. “Well, your manners are much better than that of the mischievous child from the other day. That troublemaker said he’d break my instruments, and on top of that he stole my Moon’s Tear! He’s probably causing trouble at the clock tower! Just look into my telescope and you’ll see.”

Fluttershy peered into the telescope and saw the Skull Kid on the top of the tower. She turned to see the moon, which was very close to the earth. It looked like something fell out of it and then landed into the ground with a loud impact. She then turned the telescope back to the Skull Kid whom was shaking his butt at her. She stopped looking and faced the old man. “He is there, and something fell out of the moon.”

“It might be another Moon’s Tear, but what’s curious to me is how the child got up there.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“The only way to get to the top of the clock tower is through the clock door, and that only opens on the eve of the carnival.”

“So it will open at midnight two days from now?”

“Correct.”

“Okay, thank you for the information.”

“Come on Fluttershy! Something landed outside and I wanna see what it is!” Rainbow Dash went out the nearby door and Fluttershy followed. There was a glowing gem which Rainbow Dash picked up. “I guess this is a Moon’s Tear. Man, if Rarity was here she’d be drooling over it!” Rainbow Dash let out a laugh and then put it in her large bag. “Still, it kinda sucks that we have to wait for…” she looked up at the sky to check the time. It looked like it was four in the afternoon. “Um… nine hours and twenty minutes before we can chase down Skull Kid. So what do you want to do Fluttershy?”

“Maybe we could tell Tatl about where we’re from. It might help her understand us better.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, and then she looked at Tatl. “I think that’s a good way to pass the time.”

“And then Fluttershy told off the dragon something NASTY and made him cry!” Rainbow Dash was recounting the events of when Fluttershy stared down the dragon. It was around midnight.

“Wow! I don’t know that much about dragons but they sound ferocious! Fluttershy, you never told me you were a badass!”

“A badass?” Fluttershy asked, “I’m not sure what that means.”

“Nevermind, what else can you tell me?”

“Stop that man!” an elderly voice cried out. A slender man was running with a large bag on his back. There was an elderly lady on the ground. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy knew what was happening. Rainbow Dash run at the man but he merely shoved her out of the way. Fluttershy tried shooting a bubble at him, but it hit the bag instead and nothing happened. The thief had gotten away.

“Sorry we couldn’t get your stuff back.” Rainbow Dash said to the woman.

“It’s okay deary, you’re just a child. I could have stocked bigger bomb bags if he hadn’t have robbed me.” She walked off sadly.

Fluttershy sighed. “If only we could turn back time… then we could warn her about that.”

“And basically, that’s how I got my cutie mark.” Fluttershy looked at Tatl. “Would you like to listen to another story?”

“No thanks you two. I’ve got a pretty good picture.”

“Well of course you do Tatl!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Anyways, I think it might be the start of the third day, right?” As soon as the pegascrub said that, the sun rose. “So only three more hours until we can fight Skull Kid and become pegasi again.” Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy whom was shaking. “What’s up now, Fluttershy?” She only pointed.

Rainbow Dash turned around and saw the moon. “Heh, it looks bigger than before.” Then it hit her. The moon wasn’t bigger, it was closer. What the guard said was true. “F-Fluttershy…”

“The moon… the moon really is going to crash…”

The severity of the situation hit the two of them right there. The moon was going to crash into the world. An impact like that would create a massive explosion that would scorch the land for miles. Thousands would be dead in an instant.

“Fluttershy…” Rainbow Dash said with a quivering voice, “This…” she shook her head and regained her composure. “This isn’t about us anymore.” she said with a serious voice. “Our forms aren’t the only thing on the line now. Now thousands of lives are there too. I’m not just gonna sit on my flank and let this happen. Even if we get our forms back, we still have to stop that moon.”

Fluttershy nodded. Tatl understood where this was coming from. “I knew that you guys wouldn’t turn down this land. If you’re the bearers the elements of kindness and loyalty in your world then there’s no way you would just leave.”

Fluttershy spoke with a hint of determination, although she was still quiet. “We have to get to that tower’s door.”

They got up and walked to the center of the town. They saw the door to the clock tower, an easy to spot building, and saw there was no way there. “Oh dear…” Fluttershy said. “I think we’ll need a launchlilly to get up there.”

Rainbow Dash looked around and saw a golden flower on the ground that otherwise looked like a launchlilly as Fluttershy called them. She approached it but then she heard a voice cry out. “Wait! Wait!” She turned to see a large Deku Scrub flying by his… leafy mane. He was a bit portly and had a mustache formed by two leaves. He landed on the flower and put on a hat to cover his mane. “This is my private property. Don’t try using it when I’m not around!”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Sir, I don’t mean any disrespect, but we need to use your, erm, property to reach the clock tower.”

The scrub looked at her for a while, but then he sighed. “Perhaps we can make a trade. I’m out of wares to sell so I was planning on closing up shop to buy a gift for my wife. She likes jewelry and the like so if you have something like that and you give it to me then I will give you my spot here with the Deku Flower.”

Rainbow Dash looked into her bag and pulled out the Moon’s Tear. “Will this do?” As soon as she finished talking she noticed that she had a piece of paper in her hand and not the Moon’s Tear. The Deku Scrub was already leaving. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She launched herself up to the entrance of the Clock Tower and Fluttershy followed suit. “So now we just have to wait… ugh, I hate waiting!”

After Rainbow Dash said that, there was a tremor. It was short but it made both the pegascrubs nervous. “How… how can there be tremors?” Fluttershy asked.

Tatl looked up. “It’s probably due to the gravitational force the moon is exerting from how close it is.”

Fluttershy was confused. “How does that work? I thought gravity was what pulled everything down to earth.”

“It’s complicated. Let’s just say that the moon has gravity and that’s causing the tremors.” Tatl then looked at Rainbow Dash and was shocked to find her asleep. “Uh, why is your friend sleeping?”

“Oh, she’s probably taking a nap.”

“On a hard wooden… ugh, nevermind. You guys are so weird.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Not as weird as Pinkie Pie. Now there’s a pony that takes getting used to.”

Rainbow Dash woke to the sound of fireworks. “Good to see something wakes you up,” she heard Tatl say, “It’s midnight.”

Rainbow Dash looked up to the sky and saw stars and a moon looking like it was about to crash. She turned when she heard another sound behind her. The door to the clock tower had opened up. The ground was shaking beneath their feet. “We need to get in there now,” she said turning to Fluttershy, “It’s time to take down the Skull Kid.”

Fluttershy nodded and followed her friend into the tower. When they got to the top of it they saw Skull Kid with the ocarina. He was facing away from them and tossing the ocarina up and down, but then he turned to see them. The purple fairy hovered at the Skull Kid’s side. “Sis!” he cried out.

“Ah, Tael, we’ve been looking for you two. Skull Kid, do you know how much trouble you’ve been causing?! Why don’t you give back that mask you have?” The Skull Kid didn’t respond. “Hey, are you listening?”

Tael flew ahead a little bit and spoke up. “Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Canyon. Hurry… The four who are there… Bring them here.”

Skull Kid struck the fairy. “Don’t speak out of line!”

Tatl was shocked. “What are you doing to my brother?! Skull Kid, do you think you’re still our friend after that?!”

Skull Kid continued to toss the ocarina in his hand. “No matter… Even if they were to come now, they wouldn’t be able to handle me… Just look above you! If it’s something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!” The Skull Kid straightened his posture to look like he was standing on air and then he let out a blood chilling scream. It lasted for fifteen seconds and when it was done the moon was shaking. Now it was falling at an accelerated rate.

Rainbow Dash’s heart sunk. She never felt this feeling before. It was pure dread. There was nothing she could do but wait for the moon to remove her from existence. I can't believe it... I never thought I'd die so young...

Fluttershy however was a different story. She wasn’t listening when the Skull Kid was talking. Her eyes were focused on the ocarina. Surrounding the seemingly normal instrument was an aura of hope. It went against all forms of logic, but she felt that it held something important.

I have to get that instrument.

She made a magic bubble and fired it at the Skull Kid. It hit him and he dropped the ocarina. Fluttershy immediately ran to it. When she grabbed it her vision turned white…

In Fluttershy’s vision, she saw a human with its back to her. “You are already leaving this land of Hyrule, aren’t you?” Fluttershy could tell it was a female from the voice and that was further supported when she saw that the human was wearing a dress. It was a light pink color with purple trim in some spots. There was a matching veil on her head. She turned to face whomever this girl was talking to. “Even though it was a short time, I feel like I’ve known you forever. I’ll never forget the days we spent together. I truly believe you’ll return one day, but until you do I ask you take this.” The human held out what looked like the ocarina. “I am praying for safety on your journey. If something should happen to you, remember this song.”

The human put the ocarina to her mouth and played a short song. It was six notes long. Fluttershy memorized the tune. Middle note, deep note, low note, and then repeat. The song was sealed into Fluttershy’s mind and she fell out of her vision. Tatl bounced on her head.

“Both of you, snap out of it! This is no time to cower or get lost in memories! Getting that ocarina does nothing!” She was frantic. “Somebody, anybody! Goddess of Time, help us please! We need more time!”

Fluttershy looked at the instrument. Why was she so obsessed with it? She shook away her thoughts and decided to put the instrument to her snout when it turned into a tuba-like contraption! Pinkie Pie would be proud. Despite all the hectic stuff around her, Fluttershy felt like she had to play the song she was taught.

And that’s what she did. She played each note. After she finished the last note, she felt something. Everything turned white as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash fell into a void. Around them they could hear clocks go in reverse. It was like they were going back in time.

Well, that was a crapton of words. Again, I apologies for the pacing, and huge chapter. I promise that once we get to chapter 3 it will not be this rushed. In the next chapter we will see what happens when Fluttershy plays the song of healing.

Also, for those of you that want to have a translation guide for the songs, here it is. Deep note is A, low note is down, middle note is right, high note is left, and pitch note is up.

#3, Restart

AN: Ready for more adventure in the land of Termina? I am. Now that I got those first two chapters out of the way this story will be much better paced.

Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy regained their vision slowly. They were surprised to see the town was back to how it was on the first day. Tatl spoke up in amazement. “Everything has… started over.” Curious, all three ran out a bit and looked up. The moon was further away from the clock tower. Tatl turned to Fluttershy. “How did you do that? That song you played… that instrument… Wait! That was the swordsman’s instrument right? The mask salesman said that if you got that then he could turn you back to normal!”

Rainbow Dash thought for a bit. “Still, it seems kinda weird. Fluttershy, why did you grab that thing anyway? How did you know that song?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “It sort of… called to me. When I picked it up I had a vision that taught me the song.”

“Well if you guys want your forms back then you’d best see that mask salesman.” Tatl approached the door that they used to get into the village. Rainbow Dash opened it and went inside with Fluttershy following her.

Inside was the mask salesman. “Were you two able to recover the precious item the imp had?” Fluttershy took out the ocarina from her bag and the mask sales man pounced on her and shook her violently. “Oh!!! You got it!” Rainbow Dash was about to charge up a bubble when he teleported without flashing to a large organ with way too many keys. “Then listen to me. Please play this song that I am about to preform and remember it well…”

He played six notes on the organ. Despite recently being shaken by a creepy man Fluttershy listened to the song. So for this song, I should play a high note, then a middle note, and follow it with a low note and then repeat it. She put the ocarina to her snout which once again turned it into a tuba-like instrument. Playing the song note by note, she felt like something was putting her soul at ease. Rainbow Dash also felt this feeling. After playing the last note, they each felt something, although it wasn’t as soothing as the song.

Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy dropped to the ground in pain. Two masks dropped to the floor as they glowed in a white light. A sharp pain tore thought their bodies as they felt the changes on their body. First were the hind legs. It felt like somepony was pulling them to stretch them and the hooves felt like they were getting separated at the tips. The front legs were pulled less but the separation on the hooves was much more severe. Their heads felt like they were getting rearranged.

Eventually the pain ended, but neither pegasus opened their eyes. They were too tired to do so at the moment. “O-oh my!” they could hear Tatl say, “Hey! You said that you could restore their original forms! Why are they not in the form I first saw them in?!”

“I don’t know,” The mask salesman said, “The melody should have healed them from the evil magic, but perhaps it was not strong enough to heal the curse that was placed on them.”

“Well stop staring at them you pervert! Get them some clothing!”

“Well I do have the swordsman’s tunic and a dress on hand.” Rainbow Dash felt something be put on her. It felt similar to when Rarity put a dress on her put it was a bit more fitting to her form. “It’s a good thing that tunic is one size fits all.” Fluttershy felt a dress being put on her. “Yes, that will do. Can you two open your eyes?”

The two pegasi winced and slowly opened their eyes. The mask salesman and Tatl came into view. They turn to look at each other and then their eyes widened. They had turned into humans. Rainbow Dash spoke up. “How, what, huh?!” Fluttershy just looked with her mouth wide open.

After being helped up by the mask salesman, the two humans looked at each other. Rainbow Dash had the same peachy hue that most humans had and stood at roughly five feet and two inches. Both of her sets of legs were a bit thick from muscles. She was wearing the same tunic the swordsman had been wearing and it covered her well. Her mane went down to her shoulders and was still a rainbow. Her eyes were the same shade of maroon from her pony form.

Fluttershy was slender compared to her friend. She stood at a petite four feet and seven inches. She was also peachy skinned but she wore a cannery yellow dress that matched her skin tone as a pony. The dress went down to her ankles. Her mane was very long, reaching to her knees. It was the same shade of pink from her pony form. Her eyes also retained the cyan color.

HOLD IT! Please do not change that browser page! Sorry for interrupting but I’m pretty sure I turned some people off so I am going to justify myself. Some of the stuff Link does in the game requires hands to do, like shooting a bow, so I was forced to turn the pegasi into humans. I promise that the human form thing will not be sexual. Now back to the story.

“So,” Rainbow Dash started, “would you mind telling us how to use this form? It’s not coming naturally like the Deku form.”

The mask salesman sighed. “This is going to take a while, and time is short.”

Then Fluttershy remembered what the scarecrow said about the song that manipulates time. She got out the ocarina and put it to her mouth and waited. Huh? It turned into a tuba last time. She played the song that manipulated time in reverse. “That should extend the time we have.”

“Yes, well I can see you already know how to hold things with your hands,” Tatl mused, “I know you were ponies before so I will help compare things. Your front legs are now called arms and your hooves are hands. The stringy things on your hands are known as fingers. The hooves you have on your back legs, which are still called legs, are called feet. Lastly the mane you have is called hair.”

“Anyways,” the mask salesman started, “I give you this mask in commemoration of this day. When you wear it you will once again attain the form of a Deku Scrub, and when you remove it you will turn back to humans.” Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash bent their knees to pick up the masks, getting some weird glances from the other two in the room, and put them in their own bags.

“Well, I guess we better practice moving,” Rainbow Dash said, “Otherwise we’ll never get back that mask from the Skull Kid.”

“WHAT?!” The mask cried. In quite literally a blink of an eye he was shaking Rainbow Dash. “What have you done to me?!” In another instant he was holding his head. “If you leave my mask out there something terrible will happen!”

“Um, we… we already know that… Please tell us just what that mask is.”

The salesman calmed down and stared at Fluttershy. “Yes, I suppose you two could use an explanation. The mask stolen from me is called Majora’s Mask. It is an accursed item said to have been used by an ancient tribe during hexing rituals.” Fluttershy was already shaking. “It is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears that mask. According to legend, the mask was so powerful that ancient ones sealed the mask away to prevent its misuse.” Rainbow Dash gave him a glare.

If it was sealed to prevent misuse then how did he get it and why does he want it?

“I went to great lengths to get that legendary mask, and when I finally had it I could sense the doom of a dark omen brewing! It was that unwelcome feeling that makes your hair stand on end, and now that imp has it… You must get that mask back before something terrible happens! I’m begging you!”

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “We’ll do it, but not for you. We have forms to regain and a home to get back to. Besides, we can’t just leave a world to come ruin.”

“Really? You’ll do it for me?” Both humans sighed and nodded. “I was certain you would tell me that.”

Yeah, begging to us makes you look REALLY certain.

“You’ll be fine, surely you can do it. Believe in your strengths… believe…”

Fluttershy turned to leave but Rainbow Dash said something. “So you’re gonna let us leave with nothing to protect ourselves? If you want us to get the mask that you lost then we need something to kick flank with.”

“Oh right, the swordsman did have a sword and a shield.” The mask salesman pulled out the items from nowhere. “You should take them.” He gave them to Rainbow Dash, as well as a sword sheath to hold the two items on her back. “It would be best if you practiced with that sword before using it.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and put on the sheath to store her sword and clipped the shield onto her back. The sword was short with no real design to it other than a blue hilt that was too small to hold with both hands. The shield was different with an actual design. It had a blue background with some gray details. The most striking part of it was the red birdlike creature in the middle of it. Fluttershy thought it looked like a falcon swooping in for its prey. Beneath it were three small yellow triangles that were positioned to form a bigger triangle.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy turned to the door and took a step forward. Rainbow Dash had difficulty with the step but she managed to stay steady. Fluttershy was not as lucky and landed on her face. Rainbow Dash staggered to her friend and tried to help her up, only to fall right on top of her. This is gonna be tougher than I thought.

Tatl flew over to them. “Maybe you two should stick to the Deku form and go see the Great Fairy. I’m sure she’ll have something to help you get used to being humans.”

Rainbow Dash got off of Fluttershy and pulled out the Deku mask. She put it to her face and in a bright flash she turned into a Deku Scrub once more. Fluttershy did the same. They tried walking and they didn’t fall.

Once outside Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky. She saw that the time was now nine in the morning, judging the sun’s position. “We were in there for an hour… so why isn’t it noon already?”

“I guess when I played the… um… Song of Time in reverse it made time go by half as fast.” Fluttershy mused.

“Well if you two are done remarking about time,” Tatl started, “We need to see the great fairy about getting you used to being humans.”

The group once again headed to the north section of town. Fluttershy noticed that the creature that fallowed them last cycle was fallowing them again. They made their way to the cave from last time to see that the great fairy was broken again. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took off their masks as the last… fairy fragment came to the fairy. The Great Fairy once again erupted from the fountain with her haunting laughter. Fluttershy fell on her rear when she tried to move behind Rainbow Dash.

“Young ones of new shape, allow me to assist you.” Once again, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were bathed in light. After a while it stopped. “Try to move now.” Fluttershy stood up and then walked with no difficulty as Rainbow Dash ran about the room. “I have given you the power of adaptability. Any items you come across your quest will now come naturally to you and moving in your new forms should be no problem.”

Rainbow Dash stopped running and jumped up. “Now this is awesome! I’d still prefer being able to fly, but I think I like this form too now that I can use it!” She turned to Fluttershy. “So how do you like it?”

Fluttershy looked to the ground. “It’s… nice.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Maybe I should rephrase that. How do you like it, really?”

Fluttershy shifted in her dress uncomfortably. “It’s just… I feel defenseless. When I was a pegasus I could use The Stare in an emergency to stop an attacker and run away, but in this form I don’t think I can use it.”

Tatl sighed. “Rainbow Dash has a sword. She can protect you if I think correctly.”

“But… she has never used a sword… How can she defend anyone with it?”

“OBJECTION!” Rainbow Dash cried as loudly as she could, resulting in stares from the other three in the room. “Sorry, I just wanted to say that ever since I read that story about a lawyer named Just Ice. Anyways, I’m sure I can practice with the sword before we run into the wild. Is there a sword training place around here?”

The Great Fairy nodded. “There is a swordsman school nearby. If you go south and then head west you should come across it. You’ll need some rupees to get lessons from him though. Check the bushes for some, people tend to drop their spare change there.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Alright, let’s go!”

As Rainbow Dash ran through the place looking for spare change, Fluttershy decided to finally get a look at the place. From her vantage point in the cave she could see a few things. There were two trees that looked a bit barren. Looks like they had the running of the leaves already. In all honesty there wasn’t much to see. Grass was growing, there was a dirt path, a launchlilly was on the ground, a human foal was shooting a purple balloon, but one thing stood out to the pegasus. A tiny man in green tights was floating on a red balloon. Fluttershy didn’t have time to think about the anomaly as Rainbow Dash ran up to her.

“Hey Fluttershy, I think I got enough rupees for some lessons.” Rainbow Dash held her small wallet containing about twenty tiny green gems. “Let’s go to the swordsman school so I can use this sword to protect us.”

Rainbow Dash ran on the path so quickly that Fluttershy couldn’t keep up. Tatl noticed this and flew in front of Rainbow Dash, causing her to stop. “Slow down! Fluttershy doesn’t seem as fast as you.” Rainbow Dash looked behind her and saw Fluttershy running up to her. She panted and put her hands on her legs after she caught up. “I take it you’re not that good of a runner.”

Fluttershy was busy catching her breath so Rainbow Dash answered for her. “Actually, it does make sense if you think about it. I’m the fastest pegasus in my world and Fluttershy was rather poor at flying.” Although that is somepony else’s fault. “Sorry Fluttershy. I’ll pace myself so you can keep up.”

The three continued to head to the west part of town. They reached it quickly, despite walking, and found it to be plain. To the left was an ally with several shops and to the right were two buildings. One of the buildings was a post office and the other building was a swordsman school. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked in and looked at place. The floor was tan with some darker spots. On the left side was a large coin-like object hung a few inches from the ground. There was a man in the far back with gigantic hair that covered his eyes and looked like a large bag from a distance. He also had a mustache and both pieces of hair looked like they could have been made from rope. He wore an open vest and blue slacks. It was worth noting that he had a large amount of chest hair. Behind him were some trophies and a large slab with two symbols that were foreign to the pegasi. The man stood up.

“Young ladies, this is a school for learning the ways of the sword. Where are you trying to go?”

“Actually,” Rainbow Dash started, “I’m looking to practice being a swordsman, or whatever the term is for the female version of a swordsman.”

The swordsman was about to deny her training, but then a thought crossed his mind. “Very well, I will give you lessons, but on one condition. You must answer me this. Why do you wish to learn the ways of the sword?” He wanted to know if she wanted to become a swordsman just to be a female swordsman or if she had a good reason.

Rainbow Dash answered in a serious tone. “My friend and I have a task set for us and I need a sword to protect us. I have never used one before so I need training.”

The swordsman thought for a few seconds, and then he looked at Rainbow Dash. “Grab a wooden sword and shield and we will begin.”

After two hours of training, Rainbow Dash was really good with a sword. She could thrust, parry, block, and slash with skill that impressed the swordsman. He coughed and looked at her. “You seem to have a natural talent. Perhaps you can use the spin attack.”

Rainbow Dash looked at the swordsman. “What’s the spin attack?”

The swordsman chuckled. “It is a strong but difficult attack to pull off. Step back and I’ll demonstrate.” Rainbow Dash stepped back and the swordsman put his sword low to the ground for two seconds and then spun his entire body around. “Now you try it.”

Rainbow Dash got in the same position, but her sword glowed blue. She performed the same attack, but a blue circle surrounded her. Everyone in the room looked at her in amazement.

“You, you mastered the spin attack on your first try! It took me a year to get it right!”

Rainbow Dash put her hands on the back of her head in a relaxed position. “I guess it’s because I’m so awesome. Anyways, thanks for the lessons. How much do I owe you?”

“For the lessons given, I ask for five rupees.” Rainbow Dash pulled out her wallet and took five rupees from it and gave it to the swordsman. “Thank you.”

“Hey, it’s no problem.”

Zecora was standing at the edge of the Everfree Forest with Twilight Sparkle at her side. “The guards said it was safe to return to my home of wood, but something in my mind says there has been an act of no good.”

The lavender unicorn looked at Zecora. “What do you mean? The manticores have been relocated and nopony got hurt during the process.”

The zebra shook her head. “Seventeen hours have passed since I have seen Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash. I do not mean to make you alarmed, but I still fear they might be harmed.”

Twilight was about to ask what she meant but was interrupted by a voice. “Hey, have y'all seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?” Twilight and Zecora turned to see their orange earth pony friend Applejack. “She was supposed to be helping me out at the farm an hour ago but she didn’t show up. I know she’s lazy and all, but she never backs out on a promise.”

“Well Zecora saw her last,” Twilight started, “and that was seventeen hours ago when she and Fluttershy went in to help with the manticore problem.”

Applejack looked worried. “Do you think something bad could’ve happened to them?”

“That is what I fear too. I think we should search for them, what about you?”

Twilight nodded. “But we should tell the princess. She can send her royal guards to search the woods better than we could. Besides, it’s getting late and it’s nearly impossible to see in those woods at night.”

Applejack nodded. “I’ll head to Rarity’s and Pinkie Pie’s places to tell them about the situation.”

The two ponies walked off. Twilight came to her tree library and opened the door. “Spike, are you awake?”

A groan was heard and a small purple dragon came down the spiral staircase in the library. “What is it, Twilight? I’m trying to get some sleep.”

“Sorry Spike, but I need to get a letter to the princess.” Spike got a scroll and a quill and waited for Twilight to begin.

“Dear Princess Celestia, during the manticore relocation Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy went missing. Zecora saw them seventeen hours ago before they went in. I ask that you send some of the royal guards to help search for them in the Everfree Forest. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike took in a deep breath and burned the scroll to send it. After thirty seconds he burped out a scroll and opened it up. He cleared his throat and read it.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle, while I don’t often send the royal guard to find missing ponies that can defend themselves I will make an exception in this case due to a concerning detail. From what you told me of Fluttershy, she knows the forest well and would not simply get lost in it.” The fact hit Twilight like a piano getting dropped on her head. Fluttershy, despite hating the Everfree Forest, knew the place like it was her backyard, and it technically was. Any other pony might get lost but Fluttershy could find the path easily. Spike continued reading. “I will send four pegasi guards to search the forest tomorrow. Hopefully they will find Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash alive. With concern, Princess Celestia.”

Every now and then I will put in a “meanwhile in Ponyvile” to show how the other ponies are doing. It’s like the Peach interludes from Paper Mario, but more frequent and sometimes have foreshadowing in them.

Anyways, in the next chapter we get to go to a swamp, but not before learning some music.

#4 Marsh

AN: I am sooooo sorry for the late chapter! I was just having some nasty writer’s block, but I’m fine now!

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked out of the swordsman’s school. As they walked down the alley Rainbow Dash spoke up. “You know, you’re gonna have to get a weapon too.”

Fluttershy stopped and looked at her friend with wide eyes. “B-but, I can’t… hurt some-”

“I’m not opening this up to debate, Fluttershy. We might run into more than I can handle alone and you need something to defend yourself with.” She looked Fluttershy directly into her eyes. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Reluctantly, Fluttershy nodded. She didn’t want to hurt anything, but this land was different from Equestria and she just might have to harm something to survive. She just hoped it would never come to that.

The two continued down the alley when they saw a strange human. Due to the hair and clothing it had neither pegasus could tell what gender it was. It wore a long dark green shirt and matching pants. It had brown shoes and a brown belt. It had red hair that went down to its chin and it had a round hat that hid its eyes. “Hey you two ladies,” it called out in a masculine voice, “Come here please.”

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other and shrugged. They walked up to the strange man. “Sorry if this sounds strange, but are you two called Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash got right into the man’s face. “How do you know our names?!”

The strange man laughed. “Then my dream was correct! You see, last night I had a dream that told me to teach this song to someone named Fluttershy and that they would be close to someone named Rainbow Dash. I assumed that would be your name because of your hair.”

Rainbow Dash backed off while Fluttershy got out the ocarina. The man got out a violin and played six notes. Okay, I play a pitch note, a low note, and a middle note and then repeat. Fluttershy put the ocarina to her mouth and played the song. Both of the pegasi felt something tingly in them after she played it. The man spoke up once more.

“I’ll tell you what the dream told me. That song is called The Song of Binds. It is a mystical song with strange powers. If you play it and think ‘come to me’ then the one you have your strongest bind with will teleport to you. If you play it and think ‘go to you’ then you will teleport to the one whose bond is the strongest with you.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well that sounds good to have. Oh, can I ask you something?” The man nodded. “Do you know where we can buy a weapon?”

“I’m sorry, but our weapon smith has fled town.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and waved to the man while Fluttershy made a cheer in her mind. They continued down the alley and arrived in south Clock Town. There wasn’t really much to look at besides the clock tower and even that was a bit bland. Other than being tall the only thing worth noting about it was the large disc with a design so outlandish that the only thing Fluttershy could tell was that there was a sun on it. The rest of this part of town looked like it was under construction with lots of wooden structures that lacked walls and paint.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked to the gate to see another human in armor. He got in their way. “Stop right there!” he said loud enough to cause Fluttershy to squeak, “Do you have some errand in the swamp?” Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “It’s dangerous outside the town walls so I cannot allow unarmed civilians like you to-” he stopped and noticed that Rainbow Dash had a sword. “Oh.” He stood up straight and coughed. “My apologies for not noticing your sword earlier. It was wrong for me to treat you like ladies that couldn’t handle themselves. The southern swamp at Woodfall lies in this direction. Be careful.” Rainbow Dash saluted the guard and went out of the town with Fluttershy in tow.

Fluttershy stood in awe of Termina Field. The place had lush grass and beautiful oak trees dotted the place. A mountain stood stoic in the background. Rainbow Dash wasn’t really interested in the greenery, although it was understandable as a strange man landed in front of her.

Strange was an understatement for this man. He was only three feet tall and he looked like he was wearing a green jumpsuit. He had what looked like red underwear on top of that. His face was very wrinkly and his nose protruded seven inches from the rest of his face. “What’s this? Green cloths, rainbow hair, madam are you a forest fairy?” He said with a voice that sounded like a male Pinkie Pie.

What the buck is with this guy? He looks and sounds like a complete nutjob. Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

“My name is Tingle! I think I am the same as you, madam. A forest fairy!”

Scratch that, he is the nutjob to end all nutjobs.

“Alas, though I am thirty-five years old, no fairy has come to see me just yet. My father tells me to grow up and act my own age, but why? I tell you, I am the very reincarnation of a fairy!” Rainbow Dash had to use all her control to prevent her hand from greeting her face. “While I wait for my fairy I sell maps to help out my father. Because you are the reincarnation of a fairy as well then we should be friends.”

How about no?

“As a sign of our friendship, I’ll give you one map for free! Where would you like a map of?”

Fluttershy knew that Rainbow Dash would tell this creep to buck off so nervously she spoke up. “Well, we are headed to the swamp…”

Tingle didn’t let her say anything else and practically shoved a map into Rainbow Dash’s hands. “I must be off now.” He spun around and threw some sparkling dust saying “Tingle, Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!” then he inflated a balloon from his pants and floated away leaving Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with odd looks on their faces. Tatl floated out of Rainbow Dash’s bag and yawned.

“Well that was a good nap. Did I miss anything?”

“Yeah, you missed a freak in tights that was obsessed with fairies. Let’s move on.”

The three continued down the path before they saw something weird. They saw what looked like a living blob of green gel with beady eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth. It made a growling noise and hopped at the group. Rainbow Dash pulled out her sword and shield. “Get behind me, Fluttershy!” Fluttershy ran behind her friend Tatl flew to the monster.

“Rainbow Dash, I can help in battle! If you focus on me, I can help you target the enemy!” Rainbow Dash didn’t question the fairy and focused on her. Instantly she found herself locked onto the monster. She hit it with a powerful downward slash and it dissolved. “Wow, it went down fast!”

Rainbow Dash put away her equipment and turned to Fluttershy. “Are you alright?” Fluttershy nodded slowly. “Are you absolutely sure?” Rainbow Dash wanted to know for certain if Fluttershy was okay. She just witnessed her best friend kill another creature. This was the second time, but this was the first time her eyes were open.

“I-I am sure.” Fluttershy was put off by the death, but she could put it to the back of her mind for now. The group continued down the path until Tatl stopped suddenly and flew to a large dead tree. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed her to find that there was a drawing on the tree. It looked like a small bipedal creature with a boomerang on its head with two little lines. “Tatl, does this picture mean anything to you?”

“Yeah, it does…”

It was a dark and stormy night in Termina Field and Tatl and Tael were seeking shelter. They found a large log and flew in it. Tael shivered from the cold so Tatl flew close to him to give him warmth. Then they were startled by a weird gasping sound. They found Skull Kid without his mask. His face was simple with two tiny orange eyes and a beak-like mouth. He was shivering terribly so the fairies flew close to him to give him warmth. They stayed there for the night.

Skull Kid told the fairies about his life. How nobody wanted to be with him because of his looks, how some people would shove him into the mud, and how children would throw rotten food at him. He only just recently made friends with people but those friends had left him and he was alone.

The next day Skull Kid played with the fairies. They chased each other around the fields, engaged in the old game of hide and seek, and one time Skull Kid hid around the bushes to jump out and startle the fairies. They spent every day playing around and they were happy…

But then one day while playing hide and seek Skull Kid met a man. It is unknown what the man did but he made Skull Kid mad and the imp knocked him out and stole a mask. After that, he started to play nasty tricks on the people in Clock Town.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Why do bullies always have to make other people feel like crap!? I guess now we know why Skull Kid did that stuff, but it’s not an excuse! Anyways, we need to continue.”

The three once again set off for the swamp. There wasn’t really much in the way of scenery and thankfully there weren’t any more enemies along the way. As they passed by a huge tree Fluttershy stopped. Rainbow Dash turned to her friend and raised an eyebrow. “Is something wrong, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I smell something pungent.”

“I don’t smell anything.” Tatl said.

Rainbow Dash was well aware of Fluttershy’s heightened senses so she understood why both she and Tatl couldn't smell whatever Fluttershy could. “Well we are getting close to a swamp so maybe that’s it.”

“I guess… but there’s something off about it. Maybe it’s nothing. We should get a move on.” The trio didn’t have far to walk and they soon reached the southern swamp. Fluttershy frowned at the sight. “This isn’t a swamp, this is a marshland.”

The statement was true. In the place was a lot of tall grass that extended up to a foot and a half. The ground beneath the pegasi’s feet was soft and muddy. Scattered around were odd trees. They were similar to palm trees but halfway up the trunk were yellow rings. The smell of the place was similar to rotten eggs and it made Fluttershy gag a little.

“Hey Fluttershy, are you gonna be okay?” Rainbow Dash asked. “The smell is bothering me a little so it’s probably much worse for you.”

Fluttershy gave a small nod. “I’ll be fine, I just need to get used to the smell.” Rainbow Dash decided to rest for a few minutes to let Fluttershy grow accustomed to the odor. She turned her head and saw the water and grew curious.

The water wasn’t clear at all. While water from places like this never was perfectly clear, it never looked like the water here. This water was a dark gray shade of color and you couldn’t see past the surface. Rainbow Dash got closer to the water and noticed that the smell got worse as she got closer to it, nearly making her gag as she stood next to it. She went back to Fluttershy whom had just now gotten used to the smell.

“Hey Fluttershy, there’s something wrong with the water.”

“Really? What do you mean, Rainbow Dash?”

“Well, it’s gray and I think the smell is coming from it.”

Fluttershy ran to the water and gagged again as she got to the edge. The smell was overpowering. She grimaced as she looked at the water. Reluctantly she put her hand to it. When she touched it, she let out a squeak and pulled it back. “Rainbow Dash, I think the water is contaminated. We should avoid touching it as much as possible.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Do you need to rest more to get used to the smell?” Fluttershy nodded. “Alright, take your time.”

Rainbow Dash sat down as Fluttershy accustomed herself to the foul odor. Tatl decided to strike a conversation. “So, um, Rainbow Dash? Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you like Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Of course I do! We’ve been best friends since we were fillies!”

“But do you like, like her?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Uh, what do you mean?”

Tatl sighed. “Do you have feelings for her?”

Rainbow Dash thought a bit. “You know, I’m not sure. I never really thought that hard about my feelings for anypony to be honest."

“Hey,” Fluttershy called out, “I’m used to the smell now. I think we can continue.”

The trio continued walking around when a building caught their eyes. It was a wooden hut on an elevated platform with two target-like decorations. There was a ladder to get to the building. Rainbow Dash climbed it first with Fluttershy following. They walked into the hut.

The inside of the hut was unremarkable. The floor was wooden and there was white wallpaper. There was a stand with a man that had more bulk than Big Macintosh. He wore a brown vest that failed to reach his stomach. His face was apparently glued to his hand. “Blimey, where is he? That spoiled child is playin’ hooky again! A child his age has no time looking for fairies!” His voice was loud and caused Fluttershy to once again use her hair as a shield.

“Um, hello?” Rainbow Dash wondered if this man was of sound mind.

The man removed his hand from his face and looked at the two ladies in front of him. He was bald with a big black mustache that looked like the handlebars of a bicycle. He also wore flight goggles.

“Oh!” he said noticing he had two customers with him. “Ahem, welcome! Why don’t you show me the pictograph you’ve taken?” Rainbow Dash blinked twice. “By the look on your face I’d say that this would be your first time entering a pictograph contest. We’re holdin’ a contest to see who can get the best pictograph and it’s open to all ages. Would you like to enter our contest?”

“I guess so.”

“Oh, but to enter you’ll need to take the boat cruise. You can get sign up for one at that window over there.” Rainbow Dash walked over to the indicated window to see a sign.

Old Koume’s Boat Cruise: Ticket office closed.
Please inquire at the Magic Hags’ Potion Shop near the edge of the swamp.

The three left the hut and set off to find the potion shop. Rainbow Dash read the map and they found it after only four minutes of walking. The shop was also elevated from the swamp but it was noteworthy, mainly due to it being shaped like a red pot. After getting to the door they walked inside to find it was actually bland on the inside. It had a wooden floor and stone walls. There was a little stand with an old woman with it.

The woman was so far the strangest thing this land had. She was small and was shaped more like a monkey than a human. Her hair was white and her eyes were so big that they looked like they could fall out of her skull. She also had a long skinny nose and a sapphire embedded in her head. Her skin was light brown instead of the usual peach hue.

“Tee-hee-hee! Welcome! My potions work very well, they do. Are you two boat cruse customers?” Fluttershy nodded. “How unfortunate. Koume has gone into the woods out back, looking for mushrooms… Now that I think about it, she’s a bit late coming back! Could you go and find her for me? It’s easy to get lost in the woods there so you’d best ask the monkeys that live there. Oh, and take this incase Koume is injured.” The hag gave Rainbow Dash a bottle of red liquid. “That potion is my special brand of energy potion. Drink it up and you’ll feel completely rejuvenated!”

Rainbow Dash put the bottle in her bag and the group left the hut. The woods were rather close by but a sign got Fluttershy’s attention. “Huh… Woods of Mystery: Beware of ferocious turtles.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Why would we need to beware turtles?” The trio went into the woods and saw a monkey with white fur. It was hopping up and down like it was doing the ‘I have to go to the Bathroom’ dance. “I guess this is one of the monkeys the hag was talking about.”

“You met hag? I find hurt hag! Follow me!” The monkey ran ahead pretty quickly. Normally both of the pegasi would be wondering why a monkey could talk, but they had seen enough weird stuff to make it seem like nothing.

Rainbow Dash jogged at a leisurely pace to keep up with the simian but Fluttershy had to outright sprint just to stay with the group, and even then she started to fall behind. Tatl just flew at a normal pace and hoped that Fluttershy didn’t trip.

The monkey led them along a path veering left first, then darting right and coming face to face with a tortoise. He jumped behind Rainbow Dash whom already drew her sword and shield. “You know, that sign’s inaccurate, but I think I’ll deal with that later.” Fluttershy caught up to Rainbow Dash and gasped for breath. “Hang tight Fluttershy, we got a bad tortoise to deal with.”

The tortoise let out a cry that sounded like a duck's quack and spin charged at Rainbow Dash. She planted her shield into the ground and stiffened her body to brace for impact. Her attacker slammed into the shield and the two were at an impasse as the tortoise continued to spin into Rainbow Dash's shield. Rainbow Dash gave a hard shove to get the tortoise off of her and it was flipped onto its back. After the brief conflict the four restarted their decent into the forest. After some running the three managed to find a clearing with a hag on the ground. She was groaning and looked just like the other hag except she had a ruby in her cranium and not a sapphire.

“I guess this is the hag that runs the boat shop, right Fluttershy?” There was no reply so Rainbow Dash turned around to see that Fluttershy wasn’t there. “Uh oh, I think we might have lost-”

Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a pillar of blue light reviling Fluttershy. As soon as the light dissipated, Fluttershy doubled over and panted heavily. “Good. Thing. That. Song. Works.” she said between the pants. She dropped to the ground and lay on her back.

“You gonna be okay there Fluttershy?” Fluttershy gave a thumbs up so Rainbow Dash turned to the hag. “Are you alright?”

The hag looked up from the ground. “I was just busy minding my own business, picking mushrooms, when BAM! I got hit from behind! That pesky Skull Kid! Did he think that I wouldn’t recognize him if he hid his face? And to think he’s that powerful, and now I can’t even move! Do you have anything that gives you energy?”

Rainbow Dash pulled out the bottle with the potion in it. “Will this do?”

“Ah! That color, that aroma, that’s definitely Kotake’s!” The old hag got right up and snatched the bottle from Rainbow Dash before drinking greedily and burping. “Ooh! Feel the energy flow! Koume is revived!” Her gem shined and she summoned her broom. “Thank you so much. I’m the swamp tour guide. I run the boat cruse so come by if you want a free ride.” She then laughed and darted away on her broomstick.

Rainbow Dash looked at her hand and noticed she now had the bottle again. She put it back in her bag. “You never know, it might be useful.” She then turned to Fluttershy, who was still on the ground panting. “Hey Fluttershy, would you mind if I carried you? I know you're tired so I can probably carry you for a bit while you rest up.” All she got in response was a grunt so Rainbow Dash picked up her friend and slung her over her back. Fluttershy was rather light and laid stomach down on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. Tatl giggled at the sight.

Rainbow Dash exited the forest going in the reverse path the monkey had showed her. When she got out, three monkeys dropped from above and approached her. “You have strange powers, no?” the middle monkey asked. “Me been watching you!”

Great, now I have a monkey stalker.

“Lately this swamp filled with poison water. Temple above waterfall strange… Brother go to temple. Brother no able to find temple entrance. Temple for Deku only. Brother captured by Deku. Now in palace.” The monkeys ran off leaving Rainbow Dash to fix their grammar, which wasn’t that hard. She readjusted Fluttershy on her shoulder and headed to the boat hut.

I think that’s enough for now. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the next part out in less than two weeks.