Having made their way back out of Faron Woods, with Midna now back in her true form, Link mounted Epona and they set off for Ordon village.
Since she was no longer an imp, she couldn't hide in Link's shadow and so he had suggested that they go speak to the goat farmer and see if he could loan them a horse for her to ride on their travels.
As they neared the worn down old wooden bridge, a thought crossed his mind as he began to think about how they were going to travel to the Twilight Realm and launch a sneak attack on Zant. He stopped right at the end of the bridge and turned to his loyal companion.
"What is it?" Midna asked, concerned by their sudden stop.
"No... No, it's nothing. I was just thinking... After stopping Zant the first time, you destroyed the mirror. How are we going to get back into the Twili Realm?" He questioned.
Midna pondered Link's question for a moment, remembering how she had destroyed the mirror after the Twilight invasion of Hyrule had been stopped. Afterwards, she never truly discovered what had happened to the shards. The only thing that she knew about them now was that they had been scattered. Each of the four pieces hidden in a different location.
"I'm not exactly sure on the locations of the shards, but I do know that after I shattered the mirror the shards were scattered." She informed him.
Link thought hard about the last time they'd had to hunt down the mirror shards and the locations they'd been in. The last time he'd seen Midna, before she had gone back to the Twilight Realm, he had stuck around for a few minutes more before finally being able to accept how things had ended and leaving. Before that though, he had stood witness to the mirror shards levitating and then vanishing into thin air after appearing to have imploded.
"So I guess this means that we have to figure out the locations, then put the mirror back together so that we can enter the Realm and take down Zant." He stated confidently.
"Yeah, but where do we even begin looking?" Midna questioned, her mind running over several possibilities.
Unable to answer her question, Link continued moving across the bridge and towards Ordon Village. Once they'd spoken to the farmer, they would need to think carefully about where their next stop would be.
The pair remained silent as they passed by Link's old house and went through the little walk way that led back to the bigger part of the village. Link dismounted Epona, leaving her at the entrance before continuing on foot. After crossing the little foot bridge, he realised that there was something different about Ordon compared to the last time they'd visited. Usually the place was full of life; children running around together, people fishing and socialising with one another. But today there was no sign of anyone outside.
"Wow... It seems that losing Ilia really has taken its toll on the people here." Midna commented, looking from side to side as they passed the mayor's house.
Making their way up to the little farm that was just on the outskirts of the village, Link felt huge relief as he saw that the goats were out as per usual and the farmer was keeping a close watch. At least one person seemed to be holding up.
The farmer, having already spotted Link and Midna making their way over, gave them a wave and waited for them to approach him.
"Master Link, and uh... I don't believe that we have met before?" He questioned, taking in the sight of Midna standing next to Link, towering over him ever so slightly.
"It's good to see you too, and this is Midna. She's a friend of mine." Link introduced the two.
"Ha, trust our boy to make yet another female friend." He joked.
"You just had to crack that one, didn't you?" Link retorted with a chuckle.
"Sorry bud, I couldn't resist. Anyways, what can I do for you?" The farmer questioned.
Glancing at Midna who gave him an encouraging nod, Link turned his attention back to the farmer and politely asked him if he had any available horses. After confirming that he did, the farmer led them into the back of the barn where there was a choice of three horses; A midnight black stallion, a grey and white mare, and a brown filly that was almost identical to Epona with the exception of a black mane instead of white.
"These are the only three that I currently board, go ahead and take your pick." The farmer informed them.
Looking over her options for a moment, Midna felt herself being drawn towards the black stallion. Cautiously reaching out with her hand, the majestic horse startled her as it snorted and blew out warm air before lowering its head to allow her access to pet it. She slowly placed her hand on the top of its head and stroked its mane gently with her thumb.
"Awe, he likes you." Link gushed, feeling his heart warm at the sight.
"He- He does?" Midna questioned in surprise as she let the reality hit her.
Most of the animals in Hyrule became spooked by her presence due to how different she was to a Hylian, Zora or Goron. Likewise, she'd never felt a connection to any animal in her entire life. But this horse... This black beauty, she felt a strong bond to already.
"This the one?" The farmer asked, admiring how trusting the stallion was of her.
"Yeah, he is." Midna confirmed.
"Balthazar! What a great choice. Unfortunately due to his appearance, not many folk choose to take him out." The farmer explained, excited that the horse had been chosen.
"Well, I think he's just wonderful!" She stated as her face lit up with joy.
As he lead the stallion out of the stable, the farmer gave Midna a friendly smile as he continued to prepare Balthazar; combing his mane and saddling him up. Once the horse was ready, he handed the reins over to her and muttered a few tips on how to control him and take care of him, before watching the two heroes head back towards the village.
As they reached the exit, Link quickly mounted Epona and then led the way back out towards his old home and eventually back to the field. Having no idea where the four shards would be was going to set them back. Hyrule was fairly large and they didn't have the time to search the entire Kingdom.
"Hmm... Where do we even start?" Midna questioned.
Link looked around, his mind wandering for ideas on where the shards could be. The people of Castle Town would be no help since they'd all had their memories wiped, so that was one idea off the list. Their only options were the people of Kakariko, lake Hylia, speaking with the King or Royal Guard and if all else failed then the only places were Gerudo Desert and Snow Peak Mountain. Unfortunately, they couldn't possibly visit all of those regions in one day so they would have to choose carefully.
"Well, neither the King nor the people of Kakariko had anything to say about any of that... I think we should only search in unlikely places." Link answered.
"Alright, but you know this place better than I do, so you should take the lead on this one." She told him.
Agreeing on the matter, Link began leading the way, thinking hard before he decided on the first definitive location; Hyrule Field. Racing past all the bulblins that attempted to charged at them, both he and Midna made it to the Castle Town gates in no time. Although the people were still clueless about the recent attack, Link hoped that they at least had memories of before that would help to clue them in on the location of the first shard.
Stopping near the fountain, he thought hard for a moment about the friends he'd made in Castle Town and which, out of them all, were known to have a good memory. He had already planned a few stops whilst travelling and knew for sure that it would be a good idea to visit Agatha, Telma and Dr Borville.
"What are you doing? We don't have time for breaks!" Midna scolded.
"I know, this isn't a break. I'm trying to work out who is closest to us right now." He explained.
"Oh." She mouthed, thinking about it herself now.
Before either of them could make a suggestion, a high pitched and excited voice squealed Link's name from behind. Turning around, he stretched out his arms as Agatha came barrelling into him, knocking them both to the ground. Shaking off the shock, he blinked twice as he tried to see her clearly through all the butterflies that she had fluttering around her.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." She rambled.
Link chuckled at her crazy entrance. "Haha, that's quite alright." He said, getting to his feet and brushing himself off before helping her up as well. "So, to what do I owe the honour?" He asked.
Agatha giggled playfully before speaking. "Well, I came to tell you that while travelling out in Hyrule field last night, I saw something rather interesting." She began.
Not wanting to be rude, but knowing that they did not have the time to waste, Link gave the girl a friendly smile. "Interesting huh? What was it this time? A butterfly?" He questioned.
"Ha! No silly! This wasn't an insect. I saw a bulblin." She announced.
While Link kept his expression neutral so as not to offend the bug queen, Midna rolled her eyes and before he had the chance to respond, she was already talking.
"A bulblin? That's it! Seriously? That's your big news. Well, I have a news flash for you, that isn't anything new! There are thousands of those things out there every single day, thanks for wasting our time!" Midna snapped.
Link's eyes widened as he took in what his companion had just said, rather rudely, to his friend. He glared at Midna and turned his attention to Agatha, who was looking at him with a sad expression. The last thing he needed was to be held up by pathetic melodrama.
"Uh- She didn't mean that. I'm sorry Agatha, sometimes my companion here can forget to bring her manners with her. I hope that you can see past that because she is actually, believe it or not, a nice person. So, a bulblin huh? That sounds unfortunate." He stepped in before the queen could shed a tear.
"Oh no, Master Link, it didn't come near us. Though... It was carrying something rather interesting." She informed them.
"Hmm..." Link thought for a second. The only thing he'd seen those hideous creatures carry in the past were their weapons, so for them to be carrying another object seemed strange. "Could you please tell us what this object looked like?" He asked.
"Well... I can tell you, but I don't want to tell her." Agatha decided.
"Alright, that's a deal. Midna, please take your horse and wait near the gates, I'll be with you shortly." Link instructed.
Surprisingly without a fuss, Midna listened to him and took the black stallion away, heading towards the gates. Now alone with Link, Agatha smiled.
"I can't be certain of what this thing was, but I can tell you that it was very reflective. It looked like a broken shard of glass or something." She told him.
Her description of the object caught his full attention. The way she had described what the bublin was carrying made him almost one hundred percent certain that it was the first shard of the mirror.
"Right, and where abouts in Hyrule field was this Bulblin?" He questioned.
"Ah, it was... around the west side, more nearer the castle walls." She informed him.
Having gotten the information he needed, he thanked Agatha for her time and went on his way, reuniting with Midna at the front gates. After filling her in on the details, they decided to head over to Hyrule field; hoping to find the bulblin in question.
(A/N: Thank you for making it this far peeps and I'm sorry that it has been so long since my last update. Things got a little crazy around here for a while, but over the next few months leading up to Christmas and New Year I will be working towards finishing the works in progress that I have on here.)
