The last note of the song echoed throughout the rocky cliffs of Kakariko Village. He waited, turning his head and twitching his ears in every direction until he heard the familiar pounding of hooves coming his way.
Smiling inside, he sat patiently on his haunches to show his oncoming friend that he meant no harm. A roan coloured mare galloped into view only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw the one who called her.
"Beast!" she snorted as she warily backed away, nostrils flaring and eyes flashing with anger instead of fear. "What have you done with my Master?!" Lowering her head, she stomped her front right foot and scraped her hoof into the dirt a few times, ready to charge.
It was the first time Link had ever heard her speak. He had never expected her tone to be soft yet strong when angered.
Link would have grinned at her reaction, but the thought of baring his sharp teeth at his dear friend would certainly frighten her. Or worse; accidentally provoke her into attacking. Given her size, she could easily kill him with one precise kick or stomp.
"Epona, don't you recognize me?" he asked, cocking his head slightly. The emotions of an animal were once hard to notice for Link, but having grown to love that he could interact with them as a wolf, speaking to an animal was the same as speaking to a person. And the expression on Epona's face was absolutely priceless. He laughed, but it came out more of a breathy rasp.
Epona blinked before narrowing her eyes, looking the wolf over. Slowly, she took a few careful steps closer. "You… You are…?"
Link did not move from his spot, knowing any sudden movement would startle her. Instead, he waited for her to figure it out on her own, anticipating the moment.
She soundly sniffed the air when she was a couple feet away and her eyes suddenly brightened. She reared her head with a joyous neigh and happily trotted over. "Link! It's really you, isn't it?!" she cried, nudging his nose with hers.
He let out a happy whine and slightly nodded. "Are you surprised?"
"Of course!" she replied. She suddenly looked confused as she glanced between him and his riding companion. "Why are you in that form and… who is that on your back?"
The wolf was about to answer, but a sharp tug on his mane brought his attention to his rider. "Hey, Link! Can we go already?" Midna groaned, obviously bored.
Link could only give her a short, annoyed growl in response.
She patted his head and grinned, baring her little fang. "All right, let's go!" she hollered, mistaking his answer.
The wolf returned his attention back on Epona and grumbled an answer to her previous question; "It's a long story. This is Midna, by the way."
Epona looked at the Twilight imp and said, "Hello." But when Midna seemed to ignore her, Epona asked, "Does she hear a word we say?"
"Are we going to Snowpeak or not?" Midna growled impatiently, waving her hand for Link to move.
"No, she does not understand what we're saying," Link answered Epona, giving her an amused glance.
The mare seemed to smile before she hung her head, a hint of sadness in her gaze. "You're not going without me, are you? But seeing that you don't need to ride me anymore…"
Letting out another raspy laugh, the wolf rose on all fours and grinned. "Epona, my friend, why do you think I called you here?"
Knowing the answer, her mood was lifted instantly. She happily nipped his ears and nudged her snout against his. "Hurry and return to normal! I wish to trample those fiends in the field again!"
Link was enthused by her excitement, relieved to know that the mare actually enjoyed riding into battle. With his loyal companion and close friend, no longer did he have to worry about traveling across Hyrule Field where monsters loved to roam.
"Let's race to the outskirts of the village first," Link challenged, wanting to see if his wolf body could outrace a trained horse.
Epona neighed and reared on her hind legs to face the dirt road leading out. "You're on!"
They both began with a burst of speed.
Midna, being clueless at what the pair were up to, almost tumbled off Link's back. "Warn me when you do that!" she shrieked in the wolf's ear as she clung tightly to his fur.
Link wanted to laugh. He loved tossing Midna around as he ran, knowing it annoyed her a lot. It was his way of teasing her as payback for the many tricks she loved to play on him.
Dust trailed behind the two animals as they sprinted down the path. Link glanced sideways at his companion, smirking internally at Epona's bold and confident attitude.
Ever since his first encounter with another animal as a wolf, Link had wanted to communicate with her; to hear her voice and listen to her words. He was so happy that now he could.
"Eat my dust, Link!" she yelled in delight as she galloped past him and into the open field to victory.
Smiling internally, Link huffed at the mare's neigh of triumph and trotted next to her. "Lucky," he scoffed, panting to catch his breath.
"It just goes to show that wolves aren't faster than me," she mocked, head held high. She nipped his ears playfully again. "Now, shall we?"
"Yeah, yeah, just a second," Link replied. He turned his head to glance back at his rider and let out a whine.
Midna, a bit frazzled from the race, but annoyed, nonetheless, crossed her arms at him and demanded, "What? You want to turn back into a human? We could just warp to Zora's Domain."
Link whined again, shaking his head slightly. The imp groaned then sighed. "Fine," she muttered, rolling her one visible eye. She rose from his back to revert the curse.
Before she did, Epona snorted at her master, "Why do you allow her to ride you?"
The wolf could not answer but instead gave her a toothy grin before the darkness of Twilight surrounded him.
"I'll tell you next time," Link whispered in her ear before climbing onto her saddle.
A/N: I had to write this for it was stuck in my head ever since playing through Twilight Princess. I hoped you all enjoyed it!