**Spoiler alert** If you have not finished the Water Temple (or never read the guide all the way through) this story sort of spoils a small cutscene... nothing serious, I mean they don't make any attempt at really hiding the events of the cutscene... (unlike a later cutscene after the fall of Twinrova at the Spirit Temple) and not that I actually have Dark anywhere near it... it's still there... so yeah... don't hate me for it please.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, nor do I think I own anything about it... except the work fan fiction that you are about to read. (If I did own it, Dark Link would have had a bigger role in the game) Yes, I wrote this, using my extensive knowledge of the world of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' that I gained from spending WAY too much time playing it since... well, longer than I care to admit, I did not copy it from any other fan author, this sprang forth from my own fangirl imagination, and it can indeed be found on Deviant Art, I know that, because that's where it was originally posted BY ME.
Author Note: This was a great deal of fun to play around with Dark and Epona not getting along, but a pain to actually get the story moving around it... and what's an Ocarina of Time story without a trip to LonLon Ranch? NOTHING, that's what! (Shorter, that's what) Besides, Malon was fun to write. It also prevented me from dealing with the epic cut scene of Kakariko... Yay! (because as I was writing it, I'd forgotten exactly what happened because i've been stuck in the shadow Temple for a LONG TIME)
Yeah, on with the story!
When Dark had finally reached the end of the bridge he gave Epona a good spur and the two sped towards Hyrule field. As horse and rider neared the high iron fence blocking off the lake, Dark spurred the horse again, and leaned forward, getting ready for the jump. At the last possible second Epona stopped in her tracks then reared with a whinny, and Dark was nearly thrown. After collecting his nerves, he turned the horse around and moved far enough away to get up enough speed to make the jump and again spurred the horse into action. Once again he readied himself for the jump and again Epona stopped in her tracks before rearing. This time Dark had been so sure she'd jump that he lost hold of the reins when Epona reared and he fell off, landing hard on his back.
"Stupid horse." Dark remarked as he picked himself up off the ground. Epona answered with a snort and scrapped her hoof on the ground. Dark glared angrily at the horse as he rubbed his throbbing behind. "Fine, be that way, I'll leave you here!" Dark spat, spying a ladder on the brick wall on one side of the iron fence. After climbing the ladder and walking to the other end of the brick wall, Dark looked out across the field and visibly sank. The last time he'd gone across the field it had been night, and he'd been able to use his shadow traveling trick. There was no way he could use it during the day, and there was no way he was going to walk. Rolling his eyes, he turned around and looked at Link's horse.
"What do you say we call a truce? You need me to take you somewhere Link can find you, and I need you to get to Kakariko." Dark said as he walked back to the ladder and jumped down off of the wall. The large horse just looked at him, but then permitted him to climb into the saddle. Dark turned Epona around again and moved back again, then leaned to whisper in the horse's ear. "And if you don't jump this time, I really will leave you here." Dark said in the sweetest voice he could manage, before giving Epona a solid spur and again, they sped towards the fence. This time Epona cleared the fence with ease, and Dark gave another spur and she cleared the second fence as well. Without stopping, Dark and Epona rode across Hyrule Field until he could see the remains of Castle town.
Dark pulled back on the reins, and Epona slowed down, and he directed her cautiously towards the ruined town. As he reached a ledge held in place by a brick wall he suddenly caught sight of a dark figure on the stairs that lead to Kakariko, and he nearly panicked. Dark quickly hid Epona behind the ledge, and snuck around the top, hiding as best he could in the meager afternoon shadows. There was no mistaking that the tall, dark man with the flowing cape was none other than the King of Evil, Gannondorf. Dark rubbed his throat as the dark figure mounted an enormous horse, galloped over the bridge spanning the Zora's River, went wide before he circled around and easily cleared the broken drawbridge that lead to the old Castle town.
"That was close." Dark sighed in relief as he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He knew he should head to Kakariko to look into the graveyard for himself, but he was afraid of what Gannondorf had done on his little 'visit'. Dark had no idea where else he could be useful, but he was not about to get anywhere near Kakariko to come face to face with any of Gannondorf's minions or monsters. At a complete loss as to what to do, Dark sat down on the low wall at the top of the ledge and stared off towards Death Mountain. Before long, Dark noticed a plume of smoke start to rise from the vicinity of Kakariko Village, and he smiled to himself that he had chosen not to go there.
After a few minutes of watching the cloud of smoke grow and spread Dark was startled by Epona whinnying, and he jumped to his feet, his hand on the hilt of his sword. After a quick scan of the surrounding area, including the sky, he relaxed and walked over to look down at the horse. Epona seemed to be watching the valley from which the Zora's River flowed, but he didn't see anything there. Moments later, movement on the other side of the outcrop of rock caught his eye, and he quickly saw that it was Link, running towards the stairs to Kakariko.
"Why that sneaky... how'd he get to the Zora's domain? That's a dead end up there. Lucky though, any sooner and he would have had a battle on his hands." Dark mused to himself. "It seems to be my lucky day too, I'll let Link handle whatever Gannondorf did before I go." Link disappeared up the stairs and Dark slowly turned around in a circle, looking for a good place to bide his time, and his attention was drawn to the high walls of Lon Lon Ranch. He'd never been there himself, but he'd overheard Gannondorf talking about the ranch, and that they kept many horses at the ranch. Dark smiled at the thought of getting a better horse than Link's stubborn animal, and decided to pay Lon Lon Ranch a visit. After quickly glancing back at the broken drawbridge then the remains of the towers in castle town, Dark went back to Epona, and within moments was on his way to the ranch.
Dark slowed the horse to a trot as they reached the entrance, then made Epona walk past the ranch house and the stables. Dark glanced down at a man standing at the edge of the field, thinking he seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place him, and quickly shrugged it off. Quickly, he noticed a young woman with long red hair standing at the gate in the fence in the center of the ranch. The girl was shielding her eyes against the sun, trying to get a good look at him. It appeared as though she nearly called out to him, but then changed her mind.
"Who are you and what are you doing with that horse?!" The girl demanded, her demeanor as fiery as her hair. Dark was caught off guard, he had not expected having to introduce himself. He couldn't very well announce that he was an incarnation of the Hero of Time from the Dark Realm, so he decided to try and dodge the introduction.
"I'm a friend of Link's. He asked me to take care of his horse." Dark stated cooly, staring at the girl.
"You look more like one of Gannondorf's flunkies to me." The venom in her voice told of her distain for the King of Evil.
"Maybe." Dark smirked as he dismounted, and stood face to face with the girl. "But I hate him as much as you do, if not more." He watched her as she looked him over, deciding if she believed him. "Don't believe me? Here," Dark said, tugging on the collar of the white shirt beneath his tunic, revealing bruises on his pale skin. "made by HIS hand." The girl's eyes went wide, seemingly feeling sorry for the young man before her. "Now, let's get down to business. Link's horse here doesn't like me one bit, but I promised him I'd keep her safe. So, I'd like to leave her in your care, and hopefully leave with a horse that will cooperate with me." Dark did his best to flash her a charming smile, and she looked at him for a few moments before speaking.
"I'd be happy to let Epona stay here, as long as the Fairy Boy needs. And if you really are a friend of his, maybe we can make a deal. I'm Malon." The girl said with a smile.
"You can call me Dark. How many rupees will I need to get a horse?" He smiled, eager to make a deal to get a horse that would cooperate with him.
"Okay, Dark. Our horses aren't exactly for sale to just anyone. But if you can find a horse on this ranch that likes you, and you can beat the record time for two laps around the track along the fence, then maybe we'll talk money." Malon smiled and folded her arms in front of her chest.
"That sounds fairly easy, it's a deal." Dark's smile turned into more of a smirk, but was met with a smirk from Malon.
"The old record was fifty seconds, and it took a long time for anyone to beat it. The fairy boy holds the new record of forty-six seconds." Dark just stared at her for a moment, then nodded and went to find a horse that he could get along with.
Initially unimpressed with the other horses at the ranch, he was nearly about to give up when he noticed a sleek, somewhat lighter colored young stallion galloping around the perimeter of the ranch. Dark stood and stared at the horse, awed by it's graceful movements. As the horse he'd been watching trotted back in through the gate, Dark strode towards him. The stallion noticed him and stopped, allowed Dark to approach, then permitted the young man to greet him.
"Hey there. You're my kind of horse. Will you let me ride you?" Dark asked, stroking the horse's left flank. The stallion didn't make a move, but stared at Dark with it's large brown eyes. "Is that a yes?" The horse just kept staring at Dark in anticipation, and Dark smiled. The stallion was not saddled, but Dark was eager to go to Kakariko, so he mounted the horse bareback, and put his fingers in the thick black mane.
"Are you sure you want THAT horse? He's more of a troublemaker than Epona." Malon said as Dark returned on horseback.
"I'm sure. Does he have a name?" Dark inquired, hoping it wasn't a stupid name.
"Arawn." Malon replied simply. "Don't you want a saddle? Or are you ready to try and beat the record?"
"I don't need a saddle. Is there anything I should know about the track?" Dark didn't want any surprises, so he wasn't going to attempt to beat the record before he knew what he was dealing with.
"There's a series of fences around the track that you have to jump. If you skip one, you'll have to start over." The red-head explained, and Dark nodded.
"Okay, I think I'm ready." A smile crept across his face as he got ready to meet the challenge head on. Arawn seemed to understand what was going on, the horse got excited as Dark directed him to stand behind the chalk line in the dirt.
"Forty-five seconds for two laps and we'll talk about a price." Malon told him again as she moved inside the fence so as not to get trampled. "Ready, set, GO!" Malon shouted the last word.
"Ha!" Dark cried out and Arawn burst forward from the line. Dark was leaning forward to encourage the horse to run as fast as he could. The first few jumps were low fences that Dark and Arawn cleared easily, but when he saw a slightly higher fence coming up he gave the horse another spur and they cleared it easily. Through the high fence he could see a much higher fence, and he spurred the horse to go the fastest he possibly could, and it seemed forever before Dark felt Arawn's hooves hit the ground again.
Dark didn't pay any attention to Malon as they passed the line the first time, he was absolutely focused on beating Link's record. Arawn slowed a bit, and Dark let him have a moment as they dealt with the small fences before he spurred the horse on again to jump the two taller fences. Dark had not spurred Arawn as hard the second time he approached the last, and tallest jump, but instead spurred him to keep his speed in the last stretch of the track. After Arawn slowed and Dark turned him around to go back to Malon, Dark learned that his last second move had paid off.
"Forty-four seconds, Congratulations." Malon said happily as Dark dismounted.
"So, how much?" Dark asked flatly, getting down to business.
"How much do you have?" Malon folded her arms and shifted her weight to one side.
"I have this." Dark reached down into his shirt and pulled out a strange looking pendant with a bright greenish blue stone set in silver. There was an intricate sunken design in the silver with squared lines doubling in on themselves and circling other squares. The raised parts of the silver shone brightly, but the inset lines were a dark black, making the strange design all the more apparent. Dark frowned when he saw the look of dismay on the girl's face.
"Is it not enough? I have rupees if this doesn't cover it." Dark pulled the chain off over his head, then began to reach for his wallet.
"No, I can't accept that. My father would be upset because I'd never let him sell it off for anything. Keep it." Malon confessed, and Dark slipped the chain back over his head, not bothering to put the pendant back beneath his shirt.
"Besides that, I have five hundred rupees, will that be enough?" Dark was growing impatient, and was ready to hand over whatever she asked so he could be on his way. It was only a matter of time before Gannondorf figured out that Link was still alive, and would want revenge for Dark's betrayal. If he wanted to do anything with his free time, he had to hurry.
"That should be enough." The girl smiled, perhaps sensing Dark's impatience. Dark quickly pulled out the leather pouch that held his rupees, and handed the shining gems over to Malon. The girl smiled at him, and he returned the smile before he turned on his heel and headed back to Arawn. After he mounted the horse, Dark waved without looking back, already on his way out of the ranch.
When he reached the field, he first nervously glanced towards the old castle town, frightened that Gannondorf already knew of his treachery, and would have his minions waiting for him. There were, however, no minions waiting for him, he was safe for the moment. Dark turned his gaze towards Kakariko and noticed that there was no longer a plume of smoke rising from the village, and the smoke that had been there was already dissipating as it was blown by the wind. It seemed safe enough to go to Kakariko now, so he gave Arawn a light spur, and they galloped towards the passageway into the mountainous village.
Author Note: Yes, I gave Dark his own horse... so sue me. I couldn't work with him and Epona, so I gave him his own horse. I still have a sour feeling over how easily (and cheaply) he got Arawn, but remember, the horse was a trouble maker. (NO! I did NOT name his Horse after Arwen, the elf from LotR! see the note below)
On the name of his horse: When I went to name Dark's horse, it couldn't be just anything... Epona is the name of a Celtic Goddess (of the moon I think) and is associated with a horse... so I needed something equally significant for the name of Dark's horse. As I looked into Celtic myths, I found one in particular about the god of the underworld, named Arawn, who rode a pale horse. I thought, hey, a dark figure riding a pale horse, Link is a light figure riding a darker horse... why not reverse the roles? so Dark ended up with a pale horse named Arawn.