"LINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Malon and Navi screamed and covered their eyes, afraid to look.
Just as Epona was about the trample Link, the horse reared back wildly, her hooves slashing the air just inches from the hero's face. Her frightened whinny seemed to silence all the cuckoos and chaos around her.
Link watched the animal, unflinching. Epona's cries died down, and the sweet notes of the Ocarina of Time could be heard loud and clear. The animal settled down, its front hooves striking the earth sharply.
As Link watched, a dark silhouette seemed to slither off of the horse's form and crawl upon the ground. It looked like a shapeless poe, a shadow with dark, crimson eyes. Reacting quickly, he drew his sword and impaled it into the ground. It disintegrated immediately.
Exhausted from his brush with death, Link slumped to his knees, leaning on his sword for support. Epona, too, had gone through quite the ordeal, and sank with him.
"Link!" screamed Malon's voice as she barreled out of the house towards them.
"You're alive!" Navi chimed in.
Link was too exhausted to say anything. The last things he felt before passing out were Navi's warm light and Malon's arms catching him.
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Something cold and slimy dragging across his cheek returned Link to consciousness. When he finally opened his eyes, Epona and Malon were peering down at him.
"…Malon…?" he uttered weakly, regretting doing so when a slight twinge in his head turned instantly into a powerful migraine. He groaned, gritting his teeth to keep from swearing.
"You're gonna be ok…" the ranch girl smiled.
"Link, what the heck were you thinking!?" Navi's voice screeched. The hero winced as the high-pitched voice worsened his headache.
"Ow! Navi, could you keep it down? Please?" he pleaded.
"You could've been killed!" the fairy fumed, but she did lower her voice. "What in the name of the goddesses possessed you to just stand there with Epona charging at you!?"
"Epona…" he whispered. "It was Epona… she told me not run away… she told me…everything was going to be ok…"
"Epona?" Malon glanced at the horse beside her curiously. "But Link… Epona's a horse… horses can't talk to people…can they?"
It took all of his strength to do it, but Link managed to sit himself up in the bed. The wet cloth Malon had place on his forehead slipped off onto his lap, and he took a deep breath to see if his headache would ease up.
"No… you don't understand…it's…" he stuttered. "It's… a long story. The spirits… Epona's spirit… it said that if there was any doubt in my heart… I'd be trampled to death…"
"So you just STOOD THERE?!" Navi quickly forgot to keep her voice low. Link took a clumsy swipe at the fairy with his cap, but missed.
"If I had moved, I would've been killed!" he groaned at his failure.
"And if you HADN'T moved, you STILL might've been killed!" the fairy darted about, agitated.
"That thing was controlling Epona…" Link half-rambled. "A dark thing that crawled along the ground… it was possessing her… I got it though."
"Along the ground?" Malon replaced the wet cloth into the bedside bowl.
Navi was none too pleased by this bit of information.
"Link," the fairy flapped her wings sharply. "That was a Chaos Pawn! Do you realize just how much danger you were in?"
"Probably not," the hero said with a half-hearted grin. "but you're probably going to tell me anyway, aren't you?"
"I wouldn't be you're guardian fairy if I didn't" she replied. "A Chaos Pawn is a lost soul that can't get to the Afterworld because of doubts, unfinished business, or regrets. What happens is that these souls become easy prey for evil spirits, and the Spirits of Chaos pick them right up, turning them into their personal slaves. Usually they're sent to do odd jobs, like causing small accidents and starting arguments, but the really strong ones do a lot more horrible deeds like possession, sometimes even murder!"
"So that was what drove Epona mad…" Link barely whispered, reaching up to stroke Epona's muzzle reassuringly. "Are strong ones common?"
"Not really," Navi explained. "They get their powers from the Chaos Spirits themselves, but now that the Chaos Spirits are here, there could be a whole army of pawns running amok!"
"That would certainly explain the situation in Hyrule Market." the hero sighed. "Now the question is, how do we deal with them?"
A moment of silence froze the room. Only a deep breath from the horse was to be heard.
Link moved to get out of bed, but Malon stopped him.
"Don't get up." the ranch girl insisted. "You're still in bad shape. You need to rest."
"I'll rest when everybody else can" Link replied. "Until then, I have things to do. I'm sorry."
"I understand." Malon sighed reluctantly. "Just please, whatever happens, come back alive."
"I'll see what I can do." He flashed her a friendly smile and ambled out of bed. His feet slipped easily into his worn, leather boots, and his sword and shield where strapped on effortlessly, as though it were a routinely procedure.
Malon and Epona saw Link to the gates of the ranch and waved goodbye. At Link's insistence, she remained at the farm and hopefully out of site from anymore Chaos Pawns. Oddly enough, when Epona had been dispossessed of the pawn, the flock of cuckoos chasing after Ingo had ceased their rampage as well. One bird alighted on the horse's head, seeming to bid the hero farewell too.
Out on Hyrule Plain, Link surveyed the ominous horizon, pondering which direction to take now.
"Maybe we should see if Zelda is all right." He suggested.
"No way!" Navi cried. "If what happened at the ranch is going on there, I don't want anything to do with that town right now!"
"Fine, then where do you suggest that we head next?"
"How about the Zora's Domain? Maybe Gerudo Valley?"
"I still think that we should head for Hyrule Castle…"
"You are not ready to face what lies in Hyrule Castle, young hero." Came a voice from behind them. Link spun around, his sword drawn in the blink of an eye. He sighed and resheathed it upon recognizing the newcomer.
"Pohoto…" he uttered, his startled blood still pounding through his veins. "What are you doing here? It's not safe being out in the open like this."
"As much as you want to see to the princess's safety," Pohoto shook his head. "Your own will be at risk if you head there unprepared."
"Unprepared?" Link blinked. "What do you mean?"
"To face the Spirits of Chaos and stand even the slightest chance against them, follow the little spirits to the lands reversed by Chaos and restore them to their proper states. Then, you will ready to face them."
"Lands reversed by Chaos…?" Link repeated to himself, staring at the ground pensively. "What in the world does that mean? Hey, Pohoto-"
But when Link looked up, the old man was gone, nowhere to be seen on the vast plains. Navi, too, was surprised by this and promptly sought the safety of Link's cap. She peeked out timidly from just under the rim.
"I don't trust him, Link!" she whined. "I'm starting to think he might be a spirit too!"
"Whoever he is, though, he sure seems to know a lot about what's going on. Let's just hope he's not leading us into a trap."
A Wolfos bayed in the distance, lending its song to the wind. Link closed his eyes, concentrating on where the sound was coming from. Moments later, he and Navi were heading off towards Death Mountain.
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As for Link passing out despite not getting hit, there is such a thing as passing out just by being scared. It sometimes happens to people when they go to the doctor for blood work or try being brave in the dentist's chair. This is why Link passed out.
As for the 'cold and slimy' thing dragging across Link's face, well that was Epona being a little affectionate.
What's Epona doing in the house, you ask? Well, I figured that Epona is very close to both Malon and Link, and as such, Malon would allow Epona in the house from time to time as easily as her father would keep the cuckoos in there.
This is chapter 4. Where would you like to go next?
