With Tempest on Jeff's shoulders, he continued to walk further through the forest as the trees started to thin out. Jeff stopped in his tracks as he heard a mix of male and female voices calling out Tempest's name. Walking a little further out, Jeff spotted a small group of pegasi wearing gold armor, calling out and looking for someone, or something. One of the pegasus guards turned to look up at Jeff. Before Jeff knew it, they had surrounded him with their spears drawn, causing him to raise his arms in surrender.
"Don't hurt him!" Tempest spoke up as tensions were rising.
"Don't hurt him? Listen foal, we've been searching for you for two days straight, your mother has been worried sick!" One of the pegasus guards said as he looked up at Tempest.
"But!" Tempest objected.
"No buts! And besides, we've been ordered by Princess Celestia to take this creature back to Canterlot Castle." The pegasus guard said before looking over at another guard with a nod. Before Tempest could object, one of the pegasi flew down and removed Tempest from Jeff's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Tempest… Those guards are just doing their job." Jeff said with a cautious gentle voice, startling some of the guards that he is capable of speaking their language.
Tempest reached out with her hoof as she struggled and protested in the pegasus's forearm grip.
Jeff is guided and led away from the Everfree forest whilst looking down at the ground, as Tempest begs and screams out to him. Jeff felt a heavy sense of guilt considering the short time they had bonding, especially since he was the only one who saved her life.
After being taken from what almost seemed like the only normal thing in his life, Jeff begins to feel an unending sense of anxiety swelling up inside him. Only to be interrupted by a small shove from a unicorn guard. Staring upwards he sees a large carriage in front of him, primitive armored plating surrounds it while two pegasi are hooked up to two ropes that lead to the protected vehicle.
"Get in creature." A voice tells him, not sounding too rough. They actually sound a bit young, but yet still carry a stern tone.
"Alright-alright." Jeff said as he got into the large carriage. As of now, Jeff would have been scared if the triforce of courage wasn't fueling him.
The guard hops in after Jeff and slams the door. Their horn lightly glows as he's a little on edge about the situation. "Try not to do anything too crazy while you're detained alright?" The guard rhetorically asks. Then after that he telekinetically hits the frame of the door, signaling for the two pegasus guards to take off.
Two whole hours passes by with the guard silently judging Jeff before he actually decides to speak up. "So… You're a minotaur, right? I've been traveling around Equestria, even before I was a guard. But yet I've never seen a minotaur so skinny before and survive inside a forest with deadly creatures like Skulltulas waiting around to snatch you up." The guard darkly jokes but then shakes his head, exuding a passive seriousness to him
"I'm not a minotaur though. No tail or horns or anything like that.." Jeff said with a frown at hearing the words minotaur; just another thing to learn about in this world. "I'm a hylian." he said, still finding it weird to say.
The guard turns over and glares at Jeff with furrowed brows. "That's a load of manure if I've ever heard it. So why don't you tell me what you really are because I've never heard of a 'hylian' once in my three years of being a guard and traveler. So why don't you cut it out and tell me what you really are."
"I mean would this explain some things?" Jeff said as he reached up to lower his hood, revealing that his face is flat with no features of a minotaur like the unicorn thought.
"By Faust's garden… What in the world am I looking at here?" The unicorn questions himself. "Well I guess you weren't kidding when you said you weren't a bucking minotaur. Okay then 'hylian' why don't you tell me what you were doing in the Everfree forest, with a small filly, and some cloak wrapped around you that has blood on it, I could practically smell it on you as soon as you walked out of the forest."
"That was because I had killed Queen Gohma. Tempest Shadow was trapped in her webbing when I found her." Jeff explained.
The guard raises an eyebrow out of surprise. "Hold on there, Queen Gohma? Now [i]that [/i]is the funniest joke I've heard this week. Because if that's true then it'd mean I'd have to owe you something for all the trouble you saved the hunting division. So c'mon, tell me why you really have green blood on that cloak of yours." The unicorn, relaxing for a little bit around this weird creature who's probably more nervous than he is, decides to turn away for a moment to look outside the window and back to Jeff, with a neutral expression.
"She bled on me when I stabbed her eye multiple times." Jeff explained to the unicorn.
Being a bit skeptical of this the unicorn shrugs. "Well hey, I can't say you did it neither can I say you didn't do it, so I'll just leave that matter alone. Anyways besides that, what's your name? I can't just keep calling you creature."
"Jeff." the hylian said, earning a confused look due to how outlandish it sounds.
"Well Jeff, you better buckle up since we're headed for a pretty long ride. And you can call me Silver Bullet. Since you gave me your name it was only right I give you mine." Silver Bullet quietly responds. And he just stayed silent for roughly another thirty or so minutes before Silver Bullet started to try and pry into Jeff's life, asking him how he got here, where's the rest of his kind, how he slayed Queen Gohnma so easily, things of that nature. Jeff tried his best to answer all these questions to the best of his abilities but didn't have any satisfying answers for Silver, so they both had stopped talking to one another for the rest of the ride to Canterlot which only took an additional thirty minutes.
Jeff gazed out the carriages's window as he watched the landscape fly past him. Jeff had to blink a number of times when he spotted a few things out of this world such as the floating city of rainbows and clouds, especially the castle of canterlot that was built at the side of the mountain. Jeff narrows his eyes toward the far distance as he sees an island that has a strangely familiar volcano with a ring of smoke, reminding the hylian of Death Mountain.
As the carriage lands, a soft rumbling is felt beneath them both. The carriage door opens up revealing one of the pegasus guards that was flying the vehicle. "Okay, up and at 'em. We need to take this creature to the princess and see what she has to say." The pegasus tells them both.
"Their name is Jeff." Silver bullet corrects them, receiving an unapologetic look in return. "Yeah yeah, whatever their name is we still have a mission to carry out so c'mon."
Silver Bullet climbs out of the carriage with Jeff following soon afterwards. Jeff is led by what appears to be a higher ranking officer who helped pull the carriage along whilst being flanked by Silver Bullet and the other unnamed pegasus. Making their way through the castle's entrance. The castle is decorated with beautiful paintings, some being abstracted, but most have more profound canvases, suits of golden armor laid in pristine conditioning, accompanied by long spears that near the average ponies' height, and wonderful colored glass that hold ballads of their own, depicting battles, acts of kindness, as well as diplomatic meetings the two sisters have had over the course of their rule. While Jeff has a sense of admiration of them, the three guards simply look forward to the current destination.
The clopping of hooves slows down and eventually comes to a stop, much to Jeff's confusion until he's tapped on the shoulder by the high ranking officer. "Okay 'Jeff' listen up. You're about to meet the most important pony in Equestria so know this. If we walk in there and you cause a rude or dare I say [i]physical [/i]disruption then none of us will be pleased. Because the last thing we need is for somepony like yourself to get locked up in prison." The guard said, leaving Jeff is a little confused by the wording 'somepony', especially when Jeff isn't one. Not even waiting for Jeff's response the pegasus opens the doors, soon revealing one prestigious winged unicorn, her coat is a pure white color as well as having large wings and a larger horn than normal. Actually she was large in every manner possible, she was taller than any other pony Jeff had witnessed so far.
"Silent Susurrations reporting for duty, your highness. We've caught this weird creature who was found walking outside the Everfree forest with a small filly who was additionally missing for two days straight. Lance Corporal known as "Silver Bullet" gave me the tidbit of information that this creature is known as 'Jeff'. So we have brought him here for royal judgment." After bowing once more, Silver Bullet and the other pegasus both escort Jeff further up, just below the stairs of the princess.
"Oh dear, I hope my guards haven't been too rough with you, Jeff, was it? I'm surprised that that's the new name you go by now. But whatever floats your boat I suppose." The alicorn said
Jeff, surprised by the sudden hospitality that he's getting from a ruler he's never met up until now, shakes his head. "No, they haven't been rough with me. But why am I here though? I know that your guards said it was a direct order from you to capture me… And also, what do you mean by a new name? My name's always been Jeff… Miss." Jeff replies with some hesitation as royalty wasn't something normal in his everyday life.
"There's no need to be coy with me, Link." She says with a joking attitude. "Sure you've changed a bit but you look like you haven't aged since all those years ago which is a little strange but knowing those strange magics you hylians use it's not out of the range of possibilities, and as for why I had my guards capture you? Is it so wrong as to see an old friend?" She responds in a dodging manner.
"Wha?" Jeff said in pure confusion, until it eventually clicked as the words of the golden wolf went through his head. The golden wolf mentioned that some goddess of time had summoned Jeff to have their visage. "I'm sorry, but I think you're getting me mixed with the original Link." Jeff said.
Celestia begins chuckling before stopping to stare at Jeff. "What? No you must be joking, there is no 'original Link' you [i]are [/i]link." She firmly declares
"The Link you're talking about is in Everfree Forest, that Golden Wolf with the red eyes.. I'm not him, I mean, isn't he alot more geared up than I? What with the Master Sword, and the hylian shield or.." Jeff paused as he wasn't sure which version of Link the golden wolf is, and he didn't want to guess incase the golden wolf isn't that of the hero of time; the hero's shade..
Shaking her head she slams a hoof into the armrest of her throne. "Dammit, then did I miss foresee it? Was I mistaken?!" Starting to lose her temper she glares at Jeff. But then her gaze slowly softens after seeing how confused and clueless about the entire situation he is. "... Jeff, I suppose since you are quite possibly the only hylian left alive. I have a request to make of you. Please help my kingdom for what's to come. I'm not sure who or what will happen but visions have been plaguing my dreams of the destruction of Equestria itself, and only Link can stop it. My guess is, is that [i]you[/i] still are Link in some way shape or form, [i]you[/i] are his predecessor. And the visions I've been having are about you saving us from this terrible calamity." Her royal mask falters, moving a hoof over to her chest she sighs. "Please Jeff, I know you are not the one I was expecting but you still are the one who can help us."
"I kind of figured from what I've seen and heard, I did promise the gold wo-." Jeff pauses to clear his throat. "Link, I'd do what I can." Jeff said, his voice having a mixture of fear and anxiety for the future, in fact the triforce that laid upon the back of his hand was the only reason he was able to fight Gohma without outright running for his life.
Celestia's once sombered expression brightens up from her new champion's willingness to help her kingdom. Stomping her hooves in place with mock-applause. "Oh what joy this has brought me Lin- I mean, Jeff. I am sure that with the proper training, weaponry, and resources, there will be a [b]warrior [/b]made out of you. The first hylian seen in nearly a thousand years. And already they have proven themself worthy of being Link's successor."
The room invites positive energy into it. Allowing all the ponies (and hylian) within to feel a strange warmth inside themselves. Yet this does make questions spark in the uninformed from the situation, one such is Silver Bullet. "Princess, I do not mean to be rude upon my intrusion into the conversation but what exactly is going on here? Who's Link and what do you mean we need a champion?" A concerned tone is laced under his stone guard attitude.
"Dear Silver, I promise to you that all shall be revealed soon. In fact, everything that has taken place in this conversation shall be revealed to the public once our hero gets himself situated. Now, Silent Susurrations and Stone Core, you are both dismissed." Celestia turns to Silver Bullet, pointing a hoof at him. "And Silver Bullet, would you please escort our newest resident to a free guest room, one of our maids shall guide you both there. Gentle Hoof, if you please." The pristine alicorn gestures to a medium sized earth pony mare who has a dark green coat and a soft, light orange mane and tail. She is also wearing standard maid attire that Jeff had seen while traveling through the several corridors of the castle.
"Good evening you two.." Slightly bowing her head she also adds. "It's a pleasure to serve, now if you'd both just follow me I can lead you two to your destinations." Gentle Hoof turns around and silently walks towards the exit, leaving both Jeff and Silver Bullet to follow her. Before they leave though Celestia pipes up one more time. "And don't worry Jeff, I'll send somepony to help give you directions after you get settled. I can't wait to meet you at dinner later this evening."
Jeff, before walking out, waves at his newest friend within this weird world. "See you later this evening Princess." He confirms back to her. After this encounter, he's feeling a lot better knowing that he has someone or rather somepony to help guide him through the upcoming trials ahead.