Author's note: Just for the heck of it I have decided to add Legend of Zelda facts for those hardcore Zelda fans out there. They may explain some small details I put in the story that have nothing to do with the main plot, so they're not that important. I've added them to previous chapters too.

Chapter 11

Link was ready to start his day getting a horse. He decided Lon Lon Ranch was the best place to start because they were known for their horse race competitions. On his way out of town he happened by a Gerudo merchant with her wares spread out on a blanket. She had a small canopy protecting her from the sun. All of this stuff was most likely stolen goods, but he saw a relatively small satchel for 20,000 rupees!

"I can't think of any satchel worth that much my friend. Not even the biggest bomb bag full of bombs would be worth that." Link said to the Gerudo.

The Gerudo laughed with delight, or insanity, it was hard to tell. "This is no ordinary satchel my friend. This small bag has been blessed by a giant fairy from the far east. This satchel acts as tiny portal, attached to a holding space in another dimension. It can hold many, many items, without the burden of weight or space."

Link didn't have 20,000 rupees to buy it, even if he did believe the crazy cook. A man walking by carrying a large crate of produce overheard the dirt merchant and didn't hesitate much to buy the bag. The man went to put his fruits into his newly purchased bag, but the only fruit it would hold is nuts, just like the woman who sold it.

"Ah, ah, ah." The Gerudo shook her finger. "No refunds."

The man turned red as the tomatoes in his crate as he stormed off, 20,000 rupees poorer, and the thief 20,000 rupees richer. Link couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the sucker. It was all the more reason to try to get these Gerudos out of here. The first step, of course, was getting this horse.

Link approached Lon Lon Ranch. It wasn't too far from Castle Town. He went inside and found the owner. The owner was a tall skinny man in pink overalls with a jutting mustache and similar eyebrows. The guy used to be co-owner of the ranch with his brother, but they got into an argument over who could run a ranch better. The fat man left and started his own ranch, but it hasn't been as successful. The skinny one kept Lon Lon Ranch, which already had a name established for great milk. Adding on the horse races brought in even more people.

"Hooooweeee. We got a big fella over here." The ranch owner had a similar accent to Darigan's, although less intelligible. It sent a shiver down Link's spine. "My name's Injun, what can I do you for?"

"I'm looking for a horse," said Link.

"Well wes got plenty of horses 'round here. Just pick an' choose, you lookin' for anything 'pecific?" Asked Injun.

"No, just a good one. I want it to be fast and strong, a horse fit for the heat of battle." Explained Link

"Well I breed mostly racin' horses. But I do have one horse right over here." Injun led Link to the horse. "This breed of horse we call Epona. It's very hard breedin' this horse because there's none around like it. Every horse is asexual, and to stimulate her pregnancy we have to produce a special mix to feed this thing. Every horse is born female and can give birth once, maybe twice in their lifetime. Dis one 'ad her baby a while ago, but we sold that one. If you're interested in purchasing this horse it's 7,000 rupees. If it's too expensive then you can buy one a da cheaper ones, the cheapest is 2,000."

Link checked his wallet, only 600 rupees. He couldn't afford any horse, but he wanted Epona, and he couldn't leave here without her.

Link looked around. If there's one thing Link knew about Hylians it was their gambling spirit. The trick was finding something the person liked that they could gamble on. In this case it was horse racing, but Link wondered how he could use it to his advantage. He had to ride a horse in his training, even shoot targets while riding on the back of a horse. He knew how to ride a horse pretty well.

"What do you think is the fastest horse in this ranch?" Link asked Injun.

Injun laughed. "Well that'd be my baby right over there." He pointed to a sleek black horse. "I call that one there Arrow. Cuz that's about how fast she goes."

"Have you ever rode Epona?" Asked Link

"Nah. She just doesn't look right to me. She doesn't look like she'd be very fast." Injun grimaced a little at the thought.

Link had an idea, "I'll bet you I can ride Epona, and beat you on your fastest horse. If I win, I get Epona."

Injun looked intrigued, "An' what if you lose?"

Link thought for a second, he didn't have much on him. "You can have this sword. It can sell for a pretty penny, it's hand crafted from a master swordsman himself."

Injun didn't think it was too fair, a 7,000-rupee horse for what could be a 700-rupee sword at best. "Throw in the shield, yur bow, an' the satchel of rupees and we'll call it a deal." Injun still didn't think it was too fair, but he was confident he could win and would end up a little wealthier in the end.

"Alright, you're on. I just have to run to town for a moment to prepare my riding clothes." Link had no intention of changing clothes. Instead he remembered something he saw at the Gerudo.

Link made his way back to town and walked up to the dirt merchant. "Hey, what do those carrots do?"

The Gerudo gave her stupid laugh, "Those are magic carrots, if you feed them to your horse he'll go faster."

"Figured as much, what do you want for them?"

"2,000 rupees a piece."

"I'll give you 20 for all of them." Link said as he stared firmly into the Gerudo's eyes.

"Fine, 20 it is. Chump." The Gerudo looked a little sad her con didn't work.

Link grabbed the carrots and ran back to the ranch. "Alright, ready!"

"Where'd you go? You didn't change," said Injun, confused.

"I lied. I went to go get these carrots."

"Carrots? what're you gonna do with some carrots?"

"They're magic carrots. They make my horse go faster."

"Hey, dats no fair, you tricked me!"

"Hey, deal's a deal. You have to race me."

"No way! I dun play wit cheats. Get outta my ranch."

"Okay, okay. What if I gave you half of my carrots? Would you still race me then?"

The rancher thought about it. "Sure, saddle up partner. You're in for a ride. Go ahead an' hop on yur horse." Injun gave a weird smirk.

Link approached Epona but she didn't really like Link. She backed up and rubbed her hooves on the ground as a warning to him. My type of horse. Link thought to himself. The rancher laughed at Link because of this predicament. Link has plenty tricks up his sleeve. Balthamor had taught Link a song that was theoretically supposed to help soothe horses, but Balthamor had never seen it work. If nothing else the song was a sweet song that could be sung by campfires to make people smile.

Link began to whistle the song. Epona seemed somewhat entranced by the sound. Even Injun couldn't help but be silent while he performed his magic. Epona walked over to Link and gave a soft neigh. Link pet Epona softly as he led her out of the stable.

Injun was in shock, "Well that doesn't make her a good race horse." Unfortunately he was right. Link was going to have to give it his all. Hopefully his plan would work.

They got on their marks on the racetrack. The racetrack was about 1 mile around.

"Rules are simple, 2 laps around wins. You can use the carrots whenever you want. You can't knock me down, you can't run into me on purpose, an' you can't throw them carrots at me either. Same rules go for me too," said Injun before they started.

One of the ranch helpers was on the side to give the ready, set, go. Link and Injun looked at each other as the ranch help gave the "GO!" Then they were off.

Injun's horse had remarkable speed. Injun was about 3 horses ahead of Link. Everything was going pretty fast but he could see what Injun was doing. Injun was lighter than Link, and Injun relied mostly on the horse to get him to the finish line. As Link expected, though, Injun's horse was a sprinter and wasn't as good in the long run. Link moved with the horse's movements instead of against them as Injun did. Link could also feel the pockets in the wind and tried to use them to help him get as little wind resistance as possible. Link slowly crept up behind Injun.

Injun looked back and saw Link closing in. He was about 1 horse length behind Injun. This race was going to be a close call, after passing the first lap there was only one lap left, and Link was steadily closing in. Injun had too much to lose, he needed a small burst. Injun figured Link had used all his carrots by now to catch up with him like that. Injun grabbed a carrot and tried to feed a carrot to his horse. The horse began chewing on the carrot and slowed down while he chewed.

Injun looked confused and furious at the same time as Link rode up beside him. Injun's horse was still chewing on the carrot, and was enjoying it while he cruised along the racetrack. There was no close call in this race. There was a definite winner, and the winner was Link.

Injun was upset and pulling his hair out screaming at the end of the race. "How could I lose! I had magic carrots, you tricked me! The carrots were anti magic carrots! They made my horse slow down! Ahhhhhhh!"

"The carrots were normal carrots. There's no such thing as magic carrots. You're horse can't run full speed and eat at the same time. Epona's mine, a deal's a deal, all the rules were followed in the race."

Injun was on the verge of tears. His arrogance, greed and gullibility caused him to lose the horse. I'm going to stop by Balthamor's cabin and tell him of my story. Link thought to himself as he rode out of Lon Lon Ranch on his new horse, Epona.

Link rode on Epona's back to the cabin of his trainer, his hero, and his eternal friend. He arrived at the cabin and couldn't find Balthamor anywhere. He eventually saw a note on the counter in the kitchen. Link could read it this time, thanks to Balthamor. Link looked at the note, his mouth dropped open with terror.