Twilit Moments
Her master pulled gently on her reins, commanding her to slow her gait. She could feel the change in his body, the slight tension that hadn't been there moments before, and she understood why it was there. She felt the change in the air, too, like always.
It was that time of day again.
The old swordsman used to talk about dusk, how it was the time of day when the despair of otherworldly beings seeped through most easily. He was right, too right. Now he didn't talk about twilight anymore. Nobody talked about twilight anymore.
She halted completely at her master's whim, holding still so he could slip from her back with ease. He patted her flank gently, running his hand up her side as he walked forward. She bumped his shoulder with her muzzle when he stopped by her head, and together they stared out at the sky over Hyrule Field.
The look on her master's face told her that the sky must be beautiful, but she couldn't tell; everything was the same shade to her, like the strange energy fences that had appeared during the dark times. Yet something about the twilit sky seemed sad somehow, sadder than it ever had before. Something about the twilit air seemed more bitter, almost as if she could scent a faraway land. Her master's face, too, seemed sad and embittered, at twilight more than any other time of day, as if he himself became twilit like the sky and the air.
She nickered quietly as the sun dipped farther below the horizon. Her master seemed to sink against her chest, and she pressed her muzzle close to him once more. The day had been a long one for both of them, and it was not yet over. Her master was always worse on long days, when they were still far from home at this time.
The sky turned bright for a brief time, just like it always did, and the wind chose that moment to rise. She and her master stood against it, his hair and her mane and tail flapping wildly around them.
Link…
Her ears pricked at the sound of her master's name, but he made no movement to suggest he had heard it. He never seemed to hear the call of his old friend.
Link… sighed the wind once more, and then it died down and was gone with a last whisper. …someday…
Her master stood upright at the cessation of the gale and wiped his eyes. Their break was through. The spell of twilight had been broken, and it was time to go on.
As she broke into a canter at her master's behest, she tried her best to leave the heaviness of her heart and his in the dust of her hooves. Twilight was when the sadness of the other side came through the strongest, but it always managed to leave a little bit behind in its stead.
And if she was not mistaken, that bitter scent of twilight lingered a little longer every night.
Khgirl08: It has been such a long time since I posted on here. Inspiration finally struck at the end of a Let's Play (I used it as a study break from grad school; grad school is hard, by the way), and I just had to get this out.
The Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite things in the world, but I've never much dabbled in writing it until now. Twilight Princess in particular has always grabbed my attention, probably from a combination of its amazing cinematography, its throwbacks to Ocarina of Time (which was the first video game I ever beat without my brother's help), and, most importantly, the heartrending story. I hope you enjoyed my little dabble as much as I enjoyed writing it.