Link didn't want to alarm Zelda by telling her that he was leaving, so he simply didn't tell her at all. He knew he'd be back soon, and he'd rather not answer any official questions about his "mission." So he just left her a small note informing her that he was headed out to see the local wildlife for a bit and took off.

Even so, there wasn't any stealth required of him. As the sun began to set that evening, he simply made his way into town dressed in his traditional green tunic and then walked right out of the front gate. It was as easy as that.

As he stepped out of town, he slung his magic satchel around his waist. He'd been carrying it for as long as he could remember — a bottomless bag that held all of the items he'd acquired over his years of adventuring, and could still hold an infinite number more. All he had to do was think of what he wanted and reach in, and out it came. So with the satchel on his waist and his Great Fairy's Sword and Mirror Shield strapped to his back, Link set off across Hyrule Field, with Navi peering out from beneath his green hat as usual.

"Hey... where are we going?" Navi asked.

"I don't know yet," Link said with a smile, "but it feels great just being out here again."

"Well, wherever you're headed, it's going to be one heck of a walk," Navi pointed out.

Link suddenly froze in his tracks. "Not necessarily," he said slyly, breaking into a grin.

Navi's face flooded with realization. "Epona?"

Link nodded happily. "I haven't gotten to ride her since I got back from Termina! I'm sure Malon and Talon will be willing to let me borrow her again. Y'know... just for a while."

And with that, Link felt a sudden surge of joyous energy. He turned and took off running in the direction of Lon Lon Ranch. Navi held onto his head tightly to keep from being tossed off of her ride.

"Oh man, this is gonna be so great!" he yelled gleefully. "I can't wait to race across the plains with her again, the wind in my hair, going anywhere I want as fast as she can carry us!"

By the time Link and Navi had made it to the entrance of Lon Lon Ranch, night had fallen over Hyrule. With the wood frame sign that marked the entrance arching over his head, Link leaned against the stone wall that lined the entry and tried to catch his breath. He was exhausted from his run, but he felt renewed when he heard the sound of singing from inside the ranch.

Strolling inside as casually as he could, he spied Malon standing in the corral with the horses, beautifully singing her mother's song. The song that Epona so loved. Sure enough, Epona stood beside her, nuzzling her shoulder as she sang. The years had been kind to both of them. Link had already seen how those two were going to grow up when he had traveled into the future as the Hero of Time, and they hadn't disappointed. Malon was a beautiful young woman, her blue eyes and red hair shining in the moonlight. And Epona was a strong, gorgeous red horse now. When he had last seen her, she was still such a little animal...

"Malon?" Link interrupted cautiously.

The song stopped abruptly as Malon spun around to see this new visitor. At the sight of Link, her face flooded with a combination of relief and joy, and she hopped over the fence of the corral before jogging up and embraced him. Navi chose this moment to sneak out from under Link's hat and fly over to greet Epona.

Link returned Malon's hug as long as she allowed it before she finally jumped back from him nervously.

"I..." she started, glancing down towards the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy to see you," she finished, looking up again and smiling. "I can't believe you're here."

"I'm sorry I haven't come by sooner," Link started. "I came back to Hyrule a few weeks ago, but Zelda asked me to keep an eye on the castle and I didn't want to-"

At the mention of Zelda's name, he saw a little of the sparkle in Malon's eyes fade away. He stopped suddenly.

"Nevermind. Sorry, it's not important."

"What?" Malon asked, genuinely confused. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I... don't worry about it," Link fumbled, trying to explain. He couldn't very well tell her that he had always sensed she didn't like Zelda. After he had returned from the future, he had stayed at the ranch for nearly a month, working to earn rupees and to get the younger Epona acclimated to his presence so that he could borrow her for his search throughout Hyrule. Even then, Malon seemed to flinch a little when her name came up during his stories. He'd never asked why she felt that way, but then, maybe he was a little afraid of the answer.

Malon still looked confused by that last exchange, but opted to move on. "I remember," she began slowly, "that you had been looking for your friend. You brought Epona back to us because you said you couldn't find her in the Hylian forests, where you'd expected her to be." Her eyes gleamed with hope. "Did you ever-"

"No," he interrupted, perhaps too harshly. His face turned sad, his eyes growing distant as he remembered. "But I found the answer I was looking for."

Malon's smile faded in sympathy. "I get the feeling that it wasn't...s what you wanted."

Link turned and started to walk around the outside of the corral. Malon followed, strolling casually beside him, her skirt blowing through the evening breeze.

"No," Link admitted, looking down towards his boots. He looked up again, his eyes once more drifting towards that blasted moon. "The sages — she's gone now. When I defeated Ganondorf in the future, and his defeat was extended by the sages back into the past... their disappearance was simultaneous in both times, too. All of them other than Zelda vanished the same as he did. I guess I hoped maybe they had only disappeared in that future, and that they'd all be around back in my own time, but... " He stopped himself, shaking his head. "The point is, she's gone now." Link stopped walking, staring straight ahead, frozen by his own words.

Malon put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Snapping out of it, Link turned to face Malon and nodded at her. "Yeah, so was I." He sighed heavily. "But I found that out pretty early after I left Hyrule. So I just tried to explore and learn about other lands and cultures and — just listen to me, I'm rambling on about myself," he said, suddenly smiling.

Malon laughed. "I don't mind! It sounds like you've had quite a few more adventures."

"Some," Link admitted with a shrug. "But what's been going on with you?"

Malon's eyes played themselves over the ranch grounds awkwardly. "Not much to tell. I'm still here... dad's gone."

Link's face fell suddenly. "Oh Din, I'm sorry. If you don't mind my asking, how did it-"

Malon shook her head suddenly "No no, he's not dead."

"Oh!" Link said in surprise, smiling a little at his confusion. "Then where'd he go?"

"He's living in Kakariko now with some family. Ever since we lost the ranch-"

Link inhaled sharply, practically feeling his heart seize up. Navi heard it and flew back over to him in a split-second.

"Hey, what is it?!" Navi asked. "What's wrong?!"

Link was too shocked to say anything to her. He stayed focused on Malon, and cautiously asked "How... Ingo?"

Malon furrowed her brow in confusion. "Yes, he bought the ranch out from us. How did you-"

"No, no, no, no!" Link said in disbelieving horror. "This isn't possible. I stopped this!"

"What?! What are you talking about?" Malon said, her eyes darting between Link and Navi.

Link turned to Navi, who had landed on his shoulder.

"It's happening again," he explained. "Ingo's taken over the ranch from Talon."

Navi just looked at him silently for few seconds, unsure of how to reply.

"No," she ultimately responded. "That's not possible."

"That's what I said," he countered.

"Somebody want to let me in on what in the heck you're talking about?!" Malon pleaded.

Link and Navi shared a look. Then Link turned back to Malon, sympathy in his eyes.

"Malon, there's... something I never told you about my adventures," Link began "The time when I went into the future?"

Malon nodded cautiously. "Well," Link continued, "I saw you there. You, your father, Ingo, your ranch... all of this. Ingo had taken over the ranch and your father was driven to go live in Kakariko Village, just like now."

Malon's face flushed with shock. "You... knew this was going to happen to us, and you never told us anything? You never did anything to help us?!"

"No!" Link cried pleadingly. "It's not like that!"

"Link already stopped this!" Navi explained. "Ganondorf was responsible for it. He and Ingo made a deal that Ingo would become the head manager of the ranch, and in return, Ganon would get his pick of any of the animals... "

Still baffled, Malon nodded quickly. "They're the reason I stayed on," she acknowledged. "Ingo's a terrible rancher. I had to protect the animals from his own stupidity."

"But when I defeated Ganon," Link said, seemingly pleading to no one, "that should've been the end of it. This should've been over."

"Listen, this isn't like... Ingo didn't just magically become the manager," Malon explained, shaking her head. "Like I said, he bought us out. We have a safe, no one but my father knew the combination. But it was broken into by thieves, and we lost everything. We had to sell, and suddenly Ingo had all these rupees... "

"And no one ever investigated that?" Link questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Malon sighed. "Of course they did, but they couldn't find any evidence to support Ingo being the thief. There were footprints in the mud leading to and from the safe that didn't match his, and the rupees weren't the same. Different number of them, different denominations, and Ingo hadn't visited a bank for months." She shook her head in frustration. "In fact, the footprints didn't match anybody that they could find in Hyrule. They were small and long, like a regular Hylian's, but heavy and sunken, like a Goron's, and they were far apart, like a creature with very long legs… I don't know what it could be. No one does."

Link looked down at his boots again, this time lost in concentration.

"There's only one band of thieves I know that can crack open a safe," he said finally.

Navi stood up on his shoulder, ready for action. "The Gerudo?"

Link nodded slowly. "If Ingo couldn't make a deal with Ganondorf, because Ganondorf doesn't exist, then he'd have to go to somebody else for help. The Gerudo are as good a place to start as any."

"You still think Ingo's somehow responsible for the robbery, then?" Malon asked cautiously.

"Definitely," Link agreed. His features turned determined. "Do you mind if I borrow Epona?"

Malon just smiled and looked past him. Link turned around to see Epona already there, standing behind him. She snorted softly.

"I think she was ready for you," Malon joked.

Link jumped up onto Epona's back and turned to face Malon.

"We'll be back as soon as I've got some answers," Link told her confidently.

She smiled warmly up at him. "I guess once a hero, always a hero," she said. He returned her smile. "Just try to leave quietly," Malon continued. "Ingo's asleep and he doesn't know I'm out here. I come out at night because it's the only time of the day that I can sing... Ingo doesn't allow it."

Link nodded. "I know."

Malon just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Time travel... " she started. "It's just confusing."

Link smiled softly at her. "Don't worry. Ingo won't be ordering you around much longer. I'll take care of this."

He gave Malon a wave as Epona trotted slowly towards out through the ranch's entrance.

Malon returned his wave as she watched him recede into the distance. "Don't be long, fairy boy," she murmured.