Chapter 7: Party at the Ranch
Poump awoke in the sleeping quarters before the others woke up. He grabbed his sword and shield and walked back out to the main deck. The cat that was sleeping next to the cucco noticed Poump walking out and followed him. Poump discovered that they were on a large river that cut across the East region of Hyrule Field. He could tell since he saw the castle in the distance, and since Death Mountain was also much closer to them. He felt something near his feet and heard a "Meow!". It was the cat. Someone all of a sudden climbed onto the boat. It appeared to be Link, and he wasn't wearing a shirt or pants. He was only wearing his trunks. He had a spear in his hand.
"Hey there Poump." Link said nonchalantly. "Y'know, I really love cats. They remind me of myself."
"Why do you say that?" Poump asked.
"I feel like I can relate to them on a spiritual level." Link then picked up the cat. "They are really good hunters. Did you know that cats can see very clearly in the dark?"
"Yeah, I knew that." Poump replied.
"Awesome." Link put the cat down and grabbed his spear. He looked over board with his spear and positioned it to aim straight down. Swiftly, he stabbed the spear into the water, and brought it back up, with a fish skewered onto the tip of it. "Looks like we have breakfast!" The cat longfully looked at the fish on the spear and made noises as Link brought it towards a barrel and placed the fish onto it. He brought out a knife and started cutting the fish into different pieces. He handed one of the pieces down to the cat, which started nibbling away.
The Sheikah and the Zora woke up at the same time as each other. They both walked outside to the main deck. They saw Link sitting at a cooking pot with Poump at the other side. Link was tossing the pieces of fish around with a ladle and adding in some mushrooms. He then took some sticks and skewered the fish and mushroom bits together.
"Fish and Mushroom Skewer!" Link proclaimed. "Simply done, and simply filling!" Link handed each of the party members a skewer for each of them. The meal was quite filling as he said. They felt their energy coming back to themselves. Zelda approached them.
"Looks like you lot are having a fine morning." Zelda looked at all of them munching away at their meal. She sat down next to them. "I'd like to thank you for your assistance with the Yiga attack. All of you. We need all the help we can get. Although do try not to be so reckless. I need all of you alive to help with escorting the monsters."
"At least they are alive in the first place." Link replied, with a mouthful of mushrooms.
"At least they are alive. You're right Link." Zelda observed the sword and shield that Poump had. "Little Poump, stealing from Hyrule Castle's forge?"
Poump was befuddled and looked at his weapons. "I needed better gear, your highness."
"No worries about it. You serve under my mission, so it is fair that you are given weapons like these. These are Royal weapons, made to be wielded by people that serve the Royal Family. Since you serve me, it is alright that you have them."
Link wolfed down the last bit of his meal, got up and stretched. "I'll dress myself up." He headed towards the door at the other side of the boat and went inside.
Zelda waited a few seconds and then turned to the party. "Since you all risked your lives at the siege, I will reward you 5,000 rupees." She pulled out a wallet sack and handed the Sheikah 5,000 rupees.
The Sheikah had plenty of questions to ask. "What will happen at Hyrule Castle now that you're gone?"
"Oh yes. I've left the Chancellor in charge of Hyrule Castle. His name is Agahnim.. The Yiga Clan desperately want members of the Royal Family dead, and since the Yiga decided to attack Hyrule Castle, I need to stay as far away from there for now. Agahnim isn't a member of the Royal Family, however I trust that he will look over Hyrule with good intent." Zelda looked at Hyrule Castle in the distance. "I have immense trust in that man."
"Why do you trust him so much?" Poump asked.
"You are all familiar with the Great Calamity, correct?"
The party collectively nodded their heads. The Zora knew about the Great Calamity because of her very long lifespan. Zoras can live up to 200 years. She is 67 years old, so she is well acquainted with what life under the Calamity was like. The Sheikah is 39 years old, and the Sheikah Clan was very efficient at recording the history of Hyrule. And although Poump was only 17, he paid enough attention in history class to understand what life was like under the Calamity.
"Good. So as you know, the Great Calamity started 110 years ago. When it started, Link, the Champions of Hyrule and I attempted to stop it, but we couldn't. The remaining Royal Family members assisted the citizens from Hyrule Castle Town in an attempt to evacuate. Some made it out, but most others fell to the carnage of the Calamity. The remaining Royal Family members with the surviving citizens managed to get to an emergency line of boats we had stationed on the East coast of Hyrule. They sailed away and settled on an island that wasn't too far from the mainland. As for the remaining heroes in Hyrule, the champions were defeated, and Link almost died, forcing us to put him to sleep and wait for his return. 10 years ago, Link was reawakened, and managed to defeat Calamity Ganon, freeing me and the country of it's reign. As we rebuilt Hyrule with assistance from the new Champions of Hyrule, the settlers from the island came back to the mainland. One of the settlers from the island was a man with magic powers, named Agahnim. He helped a lot with rebuilding Hyrule to its former state, and even reintroduced me to the Royal Family that had lived on the Island." Zelda had an awkward smile on her face. "It was so strange. I still had the body of a 17 year old, so I looked younger than some of my little cousins. Nevertheless, I trust Agahnim greatly for everything he did for this country."
Poump was taken aback by an overload of information. "It seems like you really trust this person. A lot."
"Yes, I do. I also trust that he will look over her gently." Zelda looked at the back of her hand. Three triangles were on the back of her hand, almost as if they were ingrained on it like a tattoo.
"Wait a moment, who do you mean by 'her'?" Poump asked with curiosity.
Zelda looked at her hands and slowly looked back at the party. "Do you promise that you won't tell Link about what I am about to tell you?"
"You have our everlasting trust, your highness." The Sheikah said, as the Zora and Poump nodded in agreement.
"Alright." Zelda took a deep breath. "Link and I have a child. He doesn't know this yet. Her name is Hilda. She is 8 years old."
"Why would you keep this a secret from him?" Poump asked.
"Because I know Link. Since I am the Queen of Hyrule, this would technically make him the King of Hyrule. However, he wouldn't like to be in such a role. He never liked politics that much. He prefers being able to go out and adventure around the landscape. Being around the people of Hyrule. The role of a King is very limiting to that lifestyle." Zelda had a worried expression on her face. "If he knew, I have no idea how he would react. So please keep this a secret."
"Have no fear, Queen. We will keep this secret to ourselves." The Sheikah said, with approval from the other party members.
Zelda had a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much."
"So what are you going to do since you're not at the castle anymore?" Poump asked.
"Oh yes. This river leads itself down South to a very well hidden settlement named Lurelin Village. This village was so far away from the reach of the Calamity that it remained almost completely untouched. In fact, even the Yiga Clan hasn't discovered it yet because of how out of the way it is. I will be there until the conflict at Hyrule Castle is over. I cannot risk myself during such a siege." Zelda then stood right up. As she stood up, Link came out of the door wearing his green tunic, and his sword and shield on his back.
"Hey Zelda, I take it you're discussing the monster quest with our guests?" Link said, as he walked right up.
"Yes, we are." Zelda then turned to the party. "In fact, how are you doing progress wise?"
"We've managed to learn the song of the forest, and we were actually headed towards the Hebra Region to escort that monster colony to Rito Village." The Zora replied.
"Oh yes, very good. I must warn you that the Hebra mountains are very dangerous, so you must prepare yourself for them." Zelda turned to Link. "Link, are you alright with assisting them in the Hebra region?"
"I was actually planning on going to the Gerudo region today, but I can help them out. They'll need a navigator." Link said.
"Not so fast." Poump interrupted. "I believe that all of us by ourselves can deal with escorting the monsters."
"Have any of you ever hiked through the Hebra mountains?" Link asked. The whole party was completely blank. None of them had previous experience with hiking through the Hebra region. "Don't be so boneheaded, Poump. I sometimes have difficulty traversing through those mountains. Tell you what, I'll meet you there tomorrow morning. It's currently mid-day, so I'll go off and do my own thing." Link turned to Zelda. "Zelda? Is it alright if I investigate the Yiga outbreak in the Gerudo region?"
"Yes Link. That is fine." Zelda replied.
"Thank you, my Queen." Link said. "See you guys around." Link brought out his Sheikah Slate, clicked on the screen, and then dissipated into blue streaks into the air.
"After what you witnessed last night, I believe a time for relaxation is overdue for all of you. From where we are, if you ride towards the Hebra Region, you should be able to pass Lon Lon Ranch, an establishment made for weary travelers. There is a festival going on at the ranch, so indulge yourselves with the entertainment. You deserve it."
"Thank you very much, your highness." The Sheikah said.
"You may go off of the boat whenever you're ready." Zelda said.
The party immediately started packing things up. Alfonzo steered the boat towards a small docking area and let the party off. The boat left and continued going down river. It took them just a few steps to realize that they were missing something. "We left our horses at Hyrule Castle Town!" Poump exclaimed.
"Oh by the Goddess, does that mean we have to walk across the whole field? It will be night time before we even reach Lon Lon Ranch!" The Zora said. She didn't like the idea of walking on dry land. Zoras are exceptional swimmers, but Zoras never really lent themselves best to walking long distances.
"Let's not fret over it." The Sheikah said. "I'll bottle up the nearby water so that way you can pour it on yourself if you become too dehydrated."
"I guess that will help." The Zora said, although she still had doubts on being able to walk across the whole field.
The squad walked across Hyrule Field. The mountains of the Hebra Region were mere silhouettes to them. As they walked across the field, Poump took notice at the large towers that seemed to be around the landscape. He never paid much attention to them on horseback since when they were on horseback, they only had their destination in mind. The Sheikah and the Zora knew about the towers and their importance. To them, they're useful for navigation.
Eventually, as time went on, the Zora used up the water on herself. This didn't prove to be very effective because she was still tiring out. It was also past midday. "I don't think I can make it." The Zora said, feeling exhausted.
"Is there anything we could do?" Poump asked.
"No, leave me. I'll just be a burden on your shoulders."
"We will not leave you." The Sheikah replied. "We need each other, Zelda is counting on us. If we lose one of ourselves just like this, then it is all for nothing." As the Sheikah stated this, he heard the neighing of horses from over a nearby hill. He motioned for them to follow him. They scoped out a harras of 7 horses. "Let's try to tame them." The Sheikah said. "Follow my actions."
The Sheikah snook right through the grass, and the others watched him from afar. He arrived at a brown horse with white spots. He immediately climbed onto it, startling the horse in the process. The horse flailed around wildly, trying to buck him off. The other horses of the harras decided to run away, but not too far away. The Sheikah tried his best to hold onto the horse, but with one jerk in the right direction, the horse bucked the Sheikah right off. It ran away to the rest of the horses. The Sheikah was left tumbling through the grass.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt." Poump said. The Sheikah crawled back to the group. "Are you alright?"
"Never better." The Sheikah replied, while massaging his arms. "I should've fed it something, usually they like it more when you feed them something. You've tamed a horse before, right Poump?"
"I never tamed one, I just kinda got one to own for myself and I understand how to ride them." Poump's other horse was gifted to him when he was younger, so he never got to tame it. It just grew on him.
The Sheikah pulled something from out of his pockets. "Here, take some of this wheat. Go up to a horse and feed it some of this. It might like it more."
"Alright, got it." With the wheat in hand, Poump trudged through the grass towards the nearest horse in the herd. It had black fur. Very gently, he brought the wheat closer to the horse, and got closer to its mouth. The horse noticed the wheat and happily ate at it while salivating on Poump's hand. The horse looked at Poump but didn't move much. Poump took this opportunity and went on top of the horse. The horse was fine at first, but then it neighed loudly and all of the other horses started running. The black horse ran wildly along with the herd, with Poump holding on for dear life. He tried petting it, but it didn't help. Eventually the horse ran so quickly that Poump fell off and landed belly first into the grass and dirt below.
The Sheikah didn't like this. So he impatiently decided to teleport directly on top of one of the horses. The horse that he teleported onto was instantly startled and attempted to buck the Sheikah right off. The Sheikah held on tighter. The other horses decided to run into Poump's direction. "Poump! Watch out!" The Sheikah exclaimed.
Poump quickly got up and saw the horses running at him. Instead of running to the side, he ran right at them, and grabbed onto one of them and mounted on it. The horse he went on started running even faster, but he held on even better than last time. The horse slowed down, as well as the other horses. The Sheikah pulled up right next to Poump's horse. "I've got this one. Let's go get the Zora and book it for Lon Lon Ranch."
"Good idea." The two of them rode up to the Zora, and she hopped onto the Sheikah's horse, while the cucco hopped onto the Poump's horse. They rode off in the direction of the Hebra mountains.
As they rode across the field, they eventually came upon a ranch, with a big sign at the front. "LON LON RANCH" it read. It looked like there were some festivities inside. The sun was starting to set, so the party rode their horses into the ranch.
The ranch was chock full with many different people from around Hyrule. There were Hylians, Gorons, Gerudos, Ritos, Zoras, and even some Sheikah villagers. A lot of food stands were set up, among other vendors. There also appeared to be an auction, with people betting their rupees on several items.
"Hello, and welcome to Lon Lon Ranch!" A jolly fellow exclaimed at the sight of the party on their two horses. "Right now we are having a harvest festival, in which we celebrate the coming of Spring! My name is Talon, I will humbly put your horses into the stable here so that way you can enjoy the festivities to their best!"
"Thank you very much, Talon." The Sheikah said, as he got off his horse, followed by the Zora. Him and Poump handed Talon their horses.
"You have no saddle for these stallions! Did you just tame them out in the wild?" Talon said.
"Yes, we did." Poump replied.
"Surely you would like to name these horses?" Talon brought out a notepad and a quill.
"W-we don't need to name them. We only used these horses to transport our Zora friend here." Poump didn't like the idea of replacing his older horse.
"I see that look in your eyes." Talon said as he looked at Poump's face. "You're feeling emotional because you have another horse and you feel like you're replacing it by having a new one. Have no fear! The Lon Lon Ranch Stable System will allow you to register up to 5 horses! You've already registered 1 since you already own a horse, so a second horse will be just fine. What would you like to name your horse?"
Poump thought for a bit. "Bessie."
The Sheikah patted his horse softly. "I will name mine Mia."
"Alright, it is settled! If you ever want to ride on these horses again, just find a stable and request for the horse that you want." Talon, wrote the names down. "Normally we charge people for registering a horse, but since there's a festival happening right now, registration is free! Now go and enjoy the festivities, I will take care of these horses." Talon brought the horses into a stable area.
The squad looked around the festival. The Zora was instantly enthralled with the auction. The items that were up for bidding looked very interesting to her. The auctioneer was a Hylian woman wearing a long and elegant dress. "Come one, come all! We are bidding off for these wonderful and rare items! From left to right, we have a Diamond Ore! These usually fetch very high prices, so a good bid here could get you a real deal! The Diamond Ore starts at 300 rupees! The next item is an ancient core! This is an essential part of the Guardian's anatomy, and it too is quite an expensive and rare find! The ancient core starts at 250 rupees! The next item is a Hinox Toenail! Hinoxs have been hunted to extinction in Hyrule, so getting your hand on an artifact like this one will be great for your own collection! The Hinox Toenail will start at 400 rupees! And last but definitely not least, a Hylian Shield! Only 15 of these exist in Hyrule, as they are made of some of the rarest material ever found! This extremely durable shield will start at 1,000 rupees!" The Zora didn't like the prices for a lot of these items. Even though Zelda gave them a really huge sum of rupees, the Zora didn't like the idea of bidding for something that wouldn't offer them much use during their travels. She also knows of someone in Zora's Domain who has a much better deal on getting diamonds.
"I bid 1,050 rupees for the Hylian Shield!" Poump shouted out at random with his hand raised, determined to get the shield for himself. The Zora looked at Poump with a look of confusion.
"Alrighty good people anymore takers for the Hylian Shield?" The auctioneer lady observed the crowd.
"I'll bid for 1,100 rupees for the Shield." A Hylian man raised his hand. He was wearing rich attire. Poump took this as a challenge.
"I bid 1,500 rupees for the Shield!" As Poump declared this, the crowd fell in awe at the amount of money this kid was bidding for. They all looked at the Hylian man.
"I bid 2,500 rupees." The crowd went hysterical. The man was bidding quite a lot.
"I bid…" Poump took a deep breath. "5,000 rupees!" The whole crowd went bonkers at Poump's tenacity. The rich man stood there with his eyes closed. Poump saw victory!
The auctioneer was wondering if anyone else wanted to add in their own bids. "Going once. Going twice. So-"
"Wait." The man pronounced. "I bid 10,000 rupees for the Shield." The whole crowd was stunned at this man's wallet. Even Poump couldn't do anything about that, since he didn't have anywhere close to that amount of rupees on him or the other party members.
"Going once. Going twice. SOLD! The Hylian Shield has been claimed for 10,000 rupees!" The Hylian man walked up to the stand with the item. "May I ask what your name is so that way the crowd knows who you are?"
"Of course, my name is Bruce. Bruce Payne." Poump looked in envy at the Hylian Shield being held by Bruce. If this guy wasn't here, he could've snatched it for himself! For a relatively low price as well! The Zora was glad Poump lost the auction, since she thought that a purchase like that would be a waste.
"Poof. Bruce Payne. Who does he think he is." Poump said as he kicked some dirt walking away from the auction.
"Let's just be happy that we still have all of that money on us." The Zora proclaimed. The Sheikah nodded in agreement.
"I guess you're right. Let's look at other things around this festival." Poump was still a bit salty from his loss. The party walked towards an area that had bleachers and a race track. There were horse races happening on the race track.
"It looks like Roach is picking up speed!" An announcer said. A brown horse with black hair was starting to lead itself into first. A warrior with white hair was on the back of this horse. "And Roach pulled right through and crossed the finish line!" The rider got off of the horse. "Gerald of the Sheikah is a mighty opponent not only in a sword fight, but even in a horse race!" The Sheikah recognized Gerald. As Gerald was fiddling with his horse's saddle, the Sheikah took the opportunity to speak to him.
"Long time no see old friend." The Sheikah said. Gerald turned around.
"Oh hey there, I haven't seen you in a while buddy. I heard you've been watching over the Royal Family at Hyrule Castle." Gerald replied and he continued fiddling with the saddle.
"As we should be. So you decided to go into horse racing?"
"Yes, it's a fun past time when I'm not out and about making sure those traitorous Yiga Clan members meet their graves. I find this sport to be liberating." Geralt finished fiddling with the saddle. "Also being on this ranch allows me to make sure no Yiga members attack this place, so I'm killing two birds with one stone." When he said that, the cucco raised its head in concern. "You have a cucco with you?"
"Yes." The Zora said. "And it is our cucco. We even gave it armor."
"Well. That's pretty insane." As Gerald took a moment to observe the cucco, the race announcer spoke again.
"The next race starts in 3 minutes!"
"It's been nice seeing you again old friend. I'm going to go into this next horse race, but if you'll need me, I'll be here on the ranch most likely." Gerald got onto his horse.
"Take good care of this place, Gerald." The Sheikah said.
"I sure will." Gerald then diverted his attention to the race track. "Run, Roach." And then he galloped onto the race track.
"How many friends do you have?" Poump asked.
"A lot." The Sheikah stated. The party continued walking around the festival. There were many food stands, some selling fruit, some selling vegetables, others selling meat. But the strangest of them was one that was just selling rocks. The other stands had either Hylians or Ritos behind them, but the one with rocks had a Goron commandeering the stand. Poump had an unreasonable hatred for Gorons. He found all of them to be annoying.
"Buy a tasty rock. It'll reinvigorate the iron inside of your body." The Goron said with it's slow and heavy voice.
"No!" Poump screamed at the Goron.
"I wasn't talking to you, Hylian. You guys don't even eat rocks, that would shatter your fragile teeth. I was talking to those brothers behind you." Poump turned around and saw three Gorons walking towards the rock stand.
"Mmmmm. Rocks." The Gorons said in unison.
"Yes, very good and very tasty. Only 20 rupees each." The Goron seller said.
"That is a very good bargain. I'll buy four rocks."
"Let's get out of here right now." Poump said to the others, and they all agreed to go elsewhere. Since it was night time, they decided it was good to get some sleep and readjust their sleep cycle. They went into the Inn, which had some food. The Sheikah paid 200 rupees for a meal for them to enjoy.
"Would you like a drink with that?" The waitress asked.
"What do you have?" The Sheikah asked.
"We have Pumpkin Juice, made with pumpkins from Kakariko Village, Noble Pursuit, which is a Gerudo specialty, fresh drinking water from Zora's Domain, and our own special drink, Lon Lon Milk, coming from our very own cows here on the ranch."
"I'll have a Noble Pursuit." The Sheikah said.
"I'll do just fine with water." The Zora said.
"I'd like to try out that famous Lon Lon Milk." Poump said.
The waitress was counting out the purchases. "Alright, that will be 50 rupees extra."
"Here you go." The Sheikah paid an extra 50 rupees. The party chatted a bit and then the meal was served. The cucco was walking around on the floor, picking up dropped pieces of food. After their meal, the party decided to sleep. The Sheikah and the Zora paid for their own beds to sleep in, but Poump decided to sleep in some hay in the barn instead. The cucco joined him.
Poump was awoken the next morning by something wet. He opened his eyes and realized that a dog was licking his face. The cucco made a chuckling noise as the Hylian Retriever continued licking his face. "Get off me, dog." Poump said, as he got up. The Hylian Retriever followed him through the barn, which had cows walking around. Poump made it to the main restaurant room, which had a stage set up. Talon walked on stage with an announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in 10 minutes, the lovely Malon will be performing a new song!" Talon said with enthusiasm.
Poump saw the Sheikah walking out, with the Zora following behind him. "We're going to the Hebra Region now. We can't stall much longer." The Sheikah said.
"But what about the music? Don't you want to stay for the music?" The Zora wanted to stay just a bit longer.
"We've stayed as long as we should've." The Sheikah replied.
"You're not much fun." The Zora submitted and followed him. Poump followed along too, knowing that objecting to the Sheikah wouldn't do much. They walked out of the building and noticed a commotion at a Hylian's fruit stand. Some guards were there.
"Do you know why we have a problem with these bananas?" The guard asked the shopkeeper.
"Oh let me guess. It's because the Yiga treasure bananas above their own lives. Yeah, I've heard this time and time again, these bananas have been plucked by my very own hands!" The shopkeeper replied.
"You're going to need a much better argument for yourself." The guards started grabbing the shopkeeper and dragging him away.
"Hey! You can't do this to me!" The shopkeeper was helpless.
"We will confiscate your stand's items, including fruits that aren't bananas. This will show you to not mess with matters you don't understand." One of the guards said.
Poump stepped in. "Hey you two." The guards turned around. "Put the guy down, he's just selling regular fruit. It's not his fault that bananas are a common fruit that people enjoy eating."
"Yeah!" The shopkeeper said. "You hear that! I'm just running a business, and bananas happen to be on demand by a lot of people!"
"How do we know those people weren't Yiga assassins in disguise?" The guard replied.
"That's not up to me to decide. Business is business! I need to sell my fruits to anyone who wants them!"
"You could be helping the enemy!"
"Put him down!" Poump said. "How about the both of you face me in a fist fight, and if I win, the shopkeeper can stay where he was. If I lose, you can decide what you want with him!"
The guards looked at each other. "You think that you and your scrubby little arms could take us both? You've got to be joking!"
"No. Stick 'em up! We fight fair and square!" Poump said, and he brought his fists up.
"Alright then, this'll be easy. Let's try not to hurt the kid." The guards said. They stood the shopkeeper up and put their fists up. Poump shuffled forward towards the guards. One of the guards went in for a right hook, but Poump dodged it and landed his knuckles square into the guard's stomach, knocking him down to the ground. "Whoa!" The other guard was in shock, but decided to try and uppercut Poump. Poump anticipated the attack and dodged, and then he landed one blow onto the other guard's stomach, knocking him to the ground as well.
The guards were winded by the attacks and still on the floor. "How did you do that kid?"
"I'm just really strong." Poump said. He wasn't actually that strong, his Power Bracelets from earlier proved to be very good for punching, so he wanted to test it out on two people who looked like they could take the hit.
"Alright, well then the fruit seller can sell whatever he wants. Ooof." The guards got up, feeling their stomachs.
"Thank you so much kind sir." The shopkeeper said to Poump.
"You're welcome." Poump then took this as an opportunity. "Would you be willing to give me some fruit for free?"
"What? No! I got these fruits fresh myself. I don't offer discounts to anyone I know!" The shopkeeper went behind his stand. "If you want a fruit, I'll gladly allow you to buy any of them."
Poump looked at the fruit stand thinking to himself. "Sure, why not. I'll have two apples and a banana."
"That will be 15 rupees." The shopkeeper said.
"Here you go." Poump handed the shopkeeper 15 rupees. Poump got the fruits and gave them to the other party members.
The shopkeeper started mumbling to himself. "Man, people outside of Lurelin Village are really mean."
"You did a good thing, Poump." The Zora said. "Keep that up, and you might find yourself as a good body guard or something like that." The party started heading out of the Ranch. All of a sudden, a girl from inside the restaurant ran outside.
"Malon is going to be singing in 2 minutes everyone! Come inside!" The girl ran back in.
"Are you really sure we should be leaving right now?" The Zora said to the Sheikah. "We might have a really fun time with this!"
"Alright then, we will stay for the music and nothing else." The Sheikah and the party went into the restaurant.
There were people at all of the tables inside. The party was able to grab themselves the last available table. The lights went dark and a light shone down onto the stage. "And now presenting, Malon!" A cute girl with red hair walked on stage. She looked like she was around 23 years old. She looked at the audience.
"I've been practicing this song for a long time. This is the first time I'm performing it in front of a crowd. I dedicate this song to all of the horse enthusiasts I know." Malon then took a deep breath. Some guitars started playing, and after a few seconds, she started singing.
Epona, Epona
Where is it you roam?
Grazing among the fields
Never far from home
Epona, Epona
Can you hear this song?
Singing from in my heart
All along
As the song went on, all of the people in the Inn started swaying to the rhythm of the song. Some of them even brought out their own instruments and started joining in.
Even if you're wandering far away from here
Listen for this melody calling you
Remember that you have a journey to complete
I trust that you know what to do
Soon enough the whole Inn was swaying along with their own instruments. The Sheikah took the Ocarina of Time and started whistling along.
Even if you're galloping far away from here
Listen for this melody calling you
Following the sound, you will find your way to him
Trust that he will know what to do
Epona, Epona
Please don't be afraid
Run fearlessly into
Whatever awaits
Epona, Epona
Loyal as you are
Don't you forget that home's
Never far
The music stopped, and the whole Inn roared with applause. The applause died down. "Thank you so much for listening to my song! It means a lot to me. Now enjoy yourselves!" Malon then walked off stage and the lights in the room returned.
"See, that wasn't half bad!" The Zora said to the Sheikah. "You even enjoyed it!"
"It was a good idea to stay for this." The Sheikah replied. "That was quite soothing."
"I really liked it as well!" Poump said.
"Backaw!" The cucco said. The party started walking out of the Inn, but they were stopped by Malon.
"I really liked that you had an Ocarina! I've always wanted to sing that song with an Ocarina's tune to it." She said to the Sheikah. "By the way, if you play that song, your own horse will come running back to you!"
"Thank you for the advice, Malon." The Sheikah said.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have other fans that want to speak to me!" Malon walked towards a large crowd of people and brought out her quill to sign her signature.
"That was great! Now we even have the ability to call out horses to ourselves!" Poump exclaimed. The party walked out of the Inn and weaved their way through the crowd outside.
"We're going to the Hebra Region now." The Sheikah said.
"Did someone say, Hebra Region?" The party turned to a stand that was being handled by a Rito. It looked like it sold clothes. "If you want to travel to the Hebra Region, you'll need a lot more than heat potions!" The Sheikah squinted his eyes and recognized that this was the Rito that they helped out a few days ago.
"Nice to see you here." The Sheikah said to the Rito.
"And it's nice to see you as well! Alive and thriving! I'm selling several Snowquill sets to people for discounted prices here! And for you, I'll give an even better offer! Usually buying a full set of Snowquill gear will set you back by 2,150 rupees a person, but for you guys, I'll sell them for 500 rupees a person!"
"Well that's quite a steal, take my money good friend." The Sheikah handed the Rito 1,500 rupees, and the Rito then gave the party three full sets of the Snowquill outfit.
"Thank you for coming here! Have a good day!" The Rito waved goodbye to the party, and they waved goodbye back. They made their way to the entrance of the Ranch. Their horses were in the stable. A rather unenthusiastic fellow handling the stable.
"Would you like to check your horses out?" He asked in a boring tone of voice, as one of the horses munched on a carrot he was feeding it.
"We'll be fine without them, thanks anyway." The Sheikah said and the party headed right out of the ranch.
"Phooey." The ranch hand said to himself.
The party walked out onto Hyrule Field. The Sheikah pulled out the Ocarina of Time. He whistled Malon's Melody. Shortly after that, all of the party's previous horses ran up towards them from the direction of Hyrule Castle.
"It worked!" Poump exclaimed. The party got onto their horses and rode towards the Hebra Mountains, with plenty of day ahead of them.