After getting themselves cleaned off in a stream, the wandering heroes arrived at Dekudeku Village.

However, when they got there, the sun was only just breaking the horizon, so the entrance to the village was closed. They waited till morning, about three hours, for the gate to open.

"Finally, they're opening the village gate, Let's go."

Link stood up to comply, but Saria had fallen asleep, despite still being soaked from the stream. He nudged her, though he wasn't quite sure he wanted to wake her, she looked so peaceful.

"Hm... wha?... Oh... hey Link...Time to get up already? That was the best sleep I've had in a while..."

Saria crawled to her feet and stretched, then the group walked into the now open town. The gatekeeper greeted the children as they passed through.

"Welcome to Dekudeku Village! Hey, wait a minute, aren't you two the heroes that saved the mayor's son?"

"I helped too! Kind of."

"Oh, my apologies miss fairy, I didn't see you there! Welcome to our village!"

They continued back onto the familiar streets, and looked around themselves.

"Where is Junior? He shouldn't be hard to find, he's probably the only other Hylian boy in this village."

"If I had to guess, he's probably in the middle of some mischief."

"Hey! What are you doing kid? Get down from there! You'll get hurt!"

Link and Saria turned to face the origin of the voice. It came from a displeased Deku Scrub, and sure enough, he was fussing at Junior. The boy had somehow managed to get on top of the roof of a building, and he was climbing higher and higher up its steep slopes.

"I got this, just you wait!"

"I'm not getting payed to babysit you, get down!"

"I'll get down when I wanna get- aah!"

Junior's foot slipped out from under himself, and he started to slide down the roof. Without a thought, Link ran to the edge of the overhang and caught the boy, then lowered him gently to the ground.

"See boy! I told you to be careful! The mayor really ought to keep a better eye on you."

The grumpy scrub walked off in a huff, and Junior gave Link a hug.

"Oh thanks a bunch mister! I don't think Mr. Oakley likes me too much. Now I've been saved by you heroes twice! Wow!"

"Maybe you ought to be a pinch more careful? You wouldn't need saving if you didn't get into so much trouble."

"Sorry miss fairy, I'll try. So what are my new best friends doing here today?"

"Well, I guess we have a gift for you, from someone you might know."

"Oh really?! What is it?"

"Er... it's from the mask man."

"Him? I don't think he likes me too much either... what is it?"

"Well, he said if it truly makes you happy, you can keep this."

Saria pulled the Deku mask from her pocket and handed it to the boy. His eyes lit up at the sight of it, and he started to jump up and down with excitement.

"Oh boy! Oh boy oh boy oh boy! It's my mask! He really said I could keep it? Even after I stole it from him?"

"As long as it makes you happy, he said."

"Oh it does! It really really does! Thank you hero girl!"

Being called a hero made her feel slightly out of place, but what Junior did next really took Saria by surprise. The boy jumped and hugged her with his arms and legs, and she struggled to keep her balance from the sudden weight displacement.

"Woah! You're quite welcome! Could you please... let go of me?"

"Oh yeah, sorry."

The boy released his four limbed grip, and put his new mask on.

"You three are awesome, you know that? You'll have to come over and play sometime!"

"I'm sorry kid, but we have to get going, we have important hero things to do. Right?"

Link and Saria nodded in agreement, and started back for the town gate.

"Okay, but maybe another time? You are all my best friends after all!"

"Sometime, boy, sometime. Goodbye."

"Link, my legs are getting tired, can you carry me?"

"Saria, don't you think his legs might be getting tired too? Imagine if you had to carry him."

"Alright alright... sorry I asked. But we have been doing a lot of walking lately, haven't we? I kind of miss the days where everything was just a hop and a skip away."

"I haven't done any walking, I've been flying. Though yes, it is getting exhausting. How do you do this all the time, Link?"

Link didn't respond to Mari's question. Instead, he stopped, and perked his ears.

"Link?"

"Was it something we said?"

"No, he looks like he's listening for something. He usually is when he perks his ears like that."

"Why would you know? Have you been staring at his ears, Mari?"

"What? ...Saria, I have no idea why you say these things."

"Because it's fun to see how you react! Teehee!"

"Epona..."

The sound of Link's voice, even if a whisper, made both of them turn their heads.

"Epona? What's an Epona?"

Link did not respond, he simply ran across the plains without any regard for the other two.

"Hey, wait up! Where are you going?"

After he reached the top of a hill, he stopped and crouched down. Saria arrived and followed suit, but she was still unsure what was going on.

"Link, you could at least pretend to explain what you are do-"

"Shh!"

Link put his finger to his mouth, and Saria shut hers. He gestured out to the field, and she looked to find what he was pointing at. There was a pair of men attempting to push a young four legged animal into a carriage. It was two of the thieving brothers, Grenkar and Grenkam, they were stealing Link's horse!

"What are they doing to that creature?"

"It looks like they are trying to stuff it into that carriage, probably to sell it."

Nobody was selling that horse on his watch! Link removed his ocarina from his pocket and played a hearty melody with a country feel. It made both Saria and Mari think of grassy pastures.

"Where did you learn that song?"

Saria looked at Link with a deal of confusion, then looked back at the bandits. The steed had escaped from their clutches, and was bounding towards them at an incredible speed. Saria's eyes widened with terror when she recognized the creature.

"Aah! It's coming for us! Run!"

Saria got up and took off in the other direction, both Link and Mari stared after her as if she were crazy.

"Saria, get back here! It's just a horse!"

"It's a monster! Save yourself!"

What had gotten into her? Epona slowed her gallop to a trot, and then stopped entirely at Link's side. Link glared between the horse and Saria.

"What are you doing Link?! It's going to attack you!"

Link looked at Mari, and she sighed.

"Goodness, has she never seen a horse before? What's gotten into her?"

Link waved at Saria, and motioned for her to approach him. She shook her head wildly, and ducked behind her shield. Something about the animal clearly spooked her. Link had to think, what would she have such a negative reaction to a horse for? Then it hit him; she had been held captive by Phantom Ganon for nearly seven years, and he rode a horse. No wonder she was deathly frightened by the creature!

"Why can't you just leave us alone, you dreadful beast!"

"I'll go talk her, yeesh."

Mari buzzed over to Saria, who was still tucked behind her shield, trembling.

"Saria, that thing won't hurt you, what's the matter?"

"That thing... that abomination... it still haunts me in my dreams. I thought it was just bad memories resurfacing, I didn't know that awful creature was still out to get me!"

"What?"

"Phantom Ganon, Mari. A specter created by that awful man to destroy me! I told you about it, remember?"

This was going to be a difficult explanation. Mari glanced back at the horse. Nothing seemed evil about it to her. Link brushed Epona's neck and she whinnied in response.

"Saria... um... how do I put this? Would Link be so nice to it if it were a creature from Ganondorf?"

"Um... no..."

"Do you see anyone riding it? No, there aren't any creepy men sitting atop it, just Link at its side."

"I guess so..."

"And didn't you say that the one Phantom Ganon was riding floated through the air? This one seems pretty well grounded."

"I guess you do make a good point... maybe this isn't the same evil beast?"

"No, Saria, it's a horse. Link's horse, by the looks of it. If an evil man riding a horse makes it evil, then a nice boy riding a horse surely makes it nice, right?"

"I... I suppose so."

"Then come on over here, it may just be the solution to our walking problem."

"If you say so... are you sure it doesn't bite or anything?"

"Saria, if that thing so much as steps on your toe, I'll rip it into so many shreds, that it could cover this entire field."

Though Saria knew Mari certainly did not have this capacity of destruction hidden within her, the thought made her comfortable enough. She put away her shield, and slowly walked back towards Link and Epona.

"Hi Link... so this is your horse?"

Link made a simple nod and smiled. Epona whinnied, startling Saria into running behind Link's back. After looking it over and making sure the beast wasn't rearing to attack, she stepped back out.

"So... Mari says we can ride it... how?"

The boy crawled on top of his trusty steed, and once he was balanced, held his hand out to Saria. She reluctantly took it, and slowly climbed atop the animal's back, behind Link. Epona let out a snort, causing Saria to tense up and wrap her arms around Link's stomach. This made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but he let her hold onto him, since she was so nervous. He glanced back at her with a look that said 'Ready?', and she timidly nodded her head. Mari buzzed into Saria's hair and sat atop her shoulder, preparing herself for the ride. With a quick whip motion from Link's hand, Epona took off.

"Hey boy, wait!"

"Tyah!"

Saria clenched her arms around Link tighter, desperate not to fall off now that she was moving. She looked behind herself, and saw that the two thieves had nearly closed in without them noticing, but they were now left in Epona's dust. She chuckled lightly, and stuck her head out from behind Link. She had always loved the feeling of the wind in her hair, but this was certainly the fastest she had ever traveled. 'Maybe this thing isn't so bad after all.' She watched as grass, flowers, and other sorts of shrubbery breezed past them. The whole world seem to blow by on the back of the horse. They approached a stream, and with another prod from Link's hand, Epona jumped to cross it. Link and Saria bounced on Epona's back as they sailed brilliantly through the air, over the body of water.

"Woohoo!"