As when he went in, so when he came out... A pillar of light blue energy erupted from the top-most platform within the room beyond the Door of Time. In those few moments, Link materialized with the fading of the light, complete with his full-grown adult body. He held the Sword of Masters blade-down. Navi flew around his taller frame and examined him better than she could in the Chamber of Sages.

"You're really a grown-up now... But have 7 years really passed?" she asked, making her way up to his face.

Link stepped back and righted the blade, looking at the insignia a few inches above the guard. "Yeah. I wouldn't believe it if I couldn't see my reflection. I got a mature-looking face." He glanced to his ears "And I have earrings. Huh... He didn't say anything about that..." Blade of Evil's Bane, huh... Link stowed his new weapon and pulled out his journal. "Let's see here... Today should be the 8th still..." He sat down, dated a page and began writing as he spoke. "'The Master Sword. Blade of Evil's Bane. Divine relic of ages long past created to dispel and seal evil.'" Carefully, he set the journal aside to let it dry. "I'll draw up a picture later." Soon as the ink was dry, he closed it and put it away. "Let's get moving."

He stood up and stretched a little before taking a few steps forward. His head turned to examine the room he was in. The room was largely untouched by the forest, which was a welcome sight. The door leading in was also still open. Link made his way to the door and paused a dozen feet away. Sensing an unfamiliar presence, he drew his new sword with ease and turned hastily to face the intruder.

Just in front of the pedestal stood an earth pony who appeared to be wrapped head to hoof in cloth of grays and dark blues. Only the eyes - which burned a crimson shade - were visible below a turban and above a mask. Not even the muzzle was visible. "I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time..."

"And you just so happen to show up at the exact moment I come back?" Link asked in disbelief.

"7 years ago, to this morning, you drew the Sword of Masters and were given a new mission. I have spent that time tracking down clues to the Sages' whereabouts, and I have information you might need," the pony offered.

Link looked close at the muzzle structure and determined the pony was a stallion. "And you know that... How?" He readied his sword to attack.

"If you're going to make a habit of not listening to me, then maybe waiting seven years for your return was a waste of my time." Link eased his stance and stood normally, keeping the Sword of Masters drawn at his side. "That's better."

"So, you gonna tell me who you are?"

There was quiet, before the reply. "Shadow."

"Sure took your time answering," Link accused.

"Given that I haven't needed a name in 7 years, you can forgive me for not knowing what to go by." He waited for Link to calm down some more. "There is already a Sage's power within you... I can sense it." Link nodded, but only once. "You will need the help of the remaining five. One you will find in a temple hidden in the leaves. One is hiding in a temple at the heart of a fiery mountain. One is within a temple at the bottom of a vast ocean. One is inside a temple guarded by the dead. One last Sage is kept prisoner within a temple watched over by the goddess of the sand."

Link tilted his head to one side. "And I take it you're not coming with me? Two would be better than one."

"No. Only with help from the Hero of Time can the power of the Sages be awakened and seal the evil of this land. I suggest you start with the temple hidden in the leaves. Dubbed the Temple of Nature by its neighbors. The Sage you will find there is a friend from your past. Because of the evil released inside said temple, her power counts for naught on its own. Equipped as you are now, not even you can enter the temple. You will need help from others. Seek out Kakariko Mura. You will find my village is very different than what you remember. Somepony there will be able to furnish you with the tool you need."

After a few moments' time, Link stowed the Master Sword and glared at Shadow. "But not you..." Shadow did not reply. "Fine." He turned and walked out.

On his way, he happened to see all three stones had kept their place in the tablet.

The castle of old felt very different. It lacked a certain presence. Confused a fair amount, Link ventured to the upper floor to find Ruby, who might be asleep at this time of morning. When he entered her room, it looked lived in. Books and some clothes were strewn about. He noticed Ruby was gone, as were most of her writing material and saddlebags. "Hmm..." he mused. Link traversed the castle in all the rooms he knew about and found it all empty. He was surely alone.

Even as he went outside the castle entirely, he felt nothing. Not even the familiarity of the forest. The dark presence he was used to - likely emitted by the alicorn of darkness - had disappeared entirely.

The forest was silent...

He began his known route back into town. Back to Ponyville. Along the way, he'd glanced around for signs of the dark one, finding nothing.

Once out of the woods, Link immediately noticed a wooden wall surrounding most of the town. The buildings that were left outside the wall had been stripped down to the cement foundation, and even that had been chipped away. Wandering through the wreckage, he'd found many broken boards and roofing tiles abandoned and forgotten. Even some toys were decayed, left behind by the fillies and foals of the past. Navi was flying low to the ground, looking close at one teddy bear. It was missing an arm and both eyes. "This is just horrible..." she admitted.

He turned his head and heard voices inside the great wall. One of those words was: "Proximity alert!" Link understood what it meant and turned full toward the wall.

"Navi, get inside my hat," he ordered. She obeyed and stayed calm. Several archers peeked over the wall and drew their weapons against him. Link raised his hands in surrender. If I hear 'Fire', I can probably get a barrier up before those archers release their arrows.

But they just stood there... Waiting for a command.

One of the hidden ponies peeked over the wall and squinted. "Who's out there at this time of morning?"

"My name is Link. I understand I've been gone seven years." He noticed the archers whisper back and forth to each other. "Look, I don't know what happened to make this place an outpost, but if you want me gone, I'll just leave. But I would like some information first, if that's alright."

"Just wait there," the archer ordered. He ordered the others to keep their weapons trained on him. "Head to that gate a few hundred feet that way." The stallion pointed a little to the south.

Link looked and saw a contraption designed to raise and lower a section of the wall. Alright, here we go. "Can I put my arms down?"

"Sure. But don't you dare try anything."

I'm not the sort to fire first, in cases like this. Link lowered his arms nice and slow and made his way to the designated gate. When he arrived, a whistle signaled the raising of the gate. It raised slowly, and surprisingly quiet, given the rope and pulley system in place. The bottom of the door was left pointed, and the ground below was indented to allow for easy balancing. Nice defenses. What are they trying to keep out though?

Just on the other side - maybe a dozen feet or so - stood a mare with a sleepy disposition. She adjusted her spectacles before half-closed eyes. Her mane was loosely tied back, holding her tan-tipped light green locks at bay.

"Alright. Come on in, nice and slow-like," the archer above ordered. Link nodded and started his walk under the stabby-looking gate. His hand was at the ready in case they decided to drop it on him. Thankfully, it was unnecessary as he made it through alright. "Okay, he's clean." The remaining archers lowered their weapons and cast their gazes to the debris behind Link, resuming their perimeter watch.

The mare ahead of him sighed and nodded. "Good," she admitted. With a tired smile, she greeted, "Morning."

"Hi..." Link waved his hand. He looked back at the slow-closing gate. "You scanned me, huh?"

"That's right. How'd you notice?"

"I'll give you credit, I didn't notice, but the guy up there said I was clean, so I had to do some guess-work." Link shrugged and approached the mare. "If I were to keep going, I'd say you're protecting this place from beings who aren't clean, magically. Like they're corrupted by some malevolent force. Dark magic, right?"

"You sure don't sound like you've been gone for seven years..." the mare argued.

"Lots of practice."

"I see..." she added. "Well, come with me. We have much to discuss."

The mare led him on a walk through what remained of Ponyville proper. Much like beyond the wall, a good portion of the houses had been stripped of all useful material. some of the bigger ones looked livable, even with various generations of patchwork. Ponies - though few at this time of day - were up and about, patching up or making from scratch their various projects. Link looked closer at the ponies and noticed there were very few - if any - pegasi. Looked like most of them were earth ponies.

She led him to Town Hall. Surprisingly well-built, given how long it lasted; that building had the fewest patches. The two took a seat inside with a desk between them. "Coffee?" she offered. Link waved in rejection. "Suit yourself." The mare began pouring a cup for herself. "So first of all, welcome back."

"Thank you. Seven years is an awful long time to be gone. I'm glad this place is still standing, however close to barely it is." He took off his had and set it aside. "C'mon out Navi. You're safe here." Navi flew off his head and sat on the table.

"The rumors are true then. You do have a fairy companion."

"Have since I was a child. She's been there at my side through it all," Link smiled.

The mare took her seat and began stirring sugar into her drink. "Second, where have you been? We could have used your help a couple years ago."

Link fell quiet, his smile faded. "I was stuck in a time box for that whole time. A second passed and I was here, seven years later. Considering the payoff, I'd say it wasn't the best decision..."

"I agree to that, considering what we've had to deal with in your absence. Ponyville... After you left, things started rolling downhill. The pegasi were recalled to Cloudsdale, the unicorns were largely spread to the remaining cities scattered around Equestria. Mostly the bigger cities. More area to protect." She paused to take a drink. "Being covered in fertile soil, our earth ponies took their crops and brought them closer to Ponyville."

"That's a good plan. What about the rest of it?" Link asked. "There's not enough ground space in what you've got sectioned off for enough food to keep everypony fed."

"You're smart. Once a week, we send out a gathering squad to Sweet Apple Acres. They gather a bunch of apples and tend to the trees that remain. It's been slow work, but we've got a system." The mare pushed up her glasses and looked at the desk. "Link... These last seven years have been Tartarus without Princess Celestia's famed warrior. You-"

"Look, I wanted the guy to send my adult body back to when I first vanished, but then this timeline would have been forfeit anyway, so I'm here now and there's no changing it, alright?"

"You were supposed to prevent this!" She smacked the desk with her hoof, nearly spilling her coffee. They both took breathers. "I blame you for what happened, make no mistake... Ganondorf only rose to power because you weren't there to fight him off... We've really had to rally together just to get by... The Fall hit Equestria hard... And you weren't even there to suffer with the rest of us..."

Link was largely quiet, allowing them all to calm down. After a minute or so, he finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I really am. Equestria could have had my help. And if it had, nothing would have changed..." The mare looked up at him in confusion. "Seven years ago... When all this went down, you all faced impossible odds. The inclusion of one child wouldn't have changed what happened. I'd have died for my struggles and Equestria would have ended up here just the same. I'll admit, this Ganondorf is a major threat, and now that I'm back, taking him down is my ultimate goal." He took out his journal and began writing a tenth entry with a nearby ink and quill. "'One in a temple in the forest, one in a temple inside a volcano, one is in a temple at the bottom of the ocean somewhere, one is in a temple somewhere guarded by the undead and the last one is in a temple somewhere in some desert.'" He finished writing and set his journal aside to dry. "Sages that need to be awoken to help me fight back against Ganondorf. I'm assuming I have to do them in that order, since that's the order I got them in."

The mare calmed down after hearing his plan. "You're going to rescue 5 ponies from around Equestria in places you don't even know?" He gave a slow nod. "Well, I'm sorry, but I can't offer you any personnel support." She thought a moment. "But, that doesn't mean I can't help at all..." The mare stood up and walked to a closet. She swung wide the door and took out a gold-trimmed silver bow. "Personally made for yours truly. Just the material and draw strength." She levitated it over to him. "Go on, give it a feel."

Link grabbed it with his right hand and looked it over. The frame was metallic, slightly cold. Even the string was pulled taut. Looked as if the arrow could be drawn on both sides of the bow as each side had a small metal shelf. Link gave the string a pull and found little resistance. "Nice pull on it." Right when he pulled it back far enough, an arrow formed between his index and middle fingers, already nocked and resting on the right-side shelf. "That's neat."

"Yep. With that spell, you don't need to worry about renocking it on your own. You will, however, be required to aim and fire. It's a strong 100lb draw, but it's a piece of cake with magic. Looks like you're physically strong enough to handle it without." She fished out a matching quiver from the closet and hovered it over. Link took the arrow off the string and shelf and placed it in the quiver with the rest of them. "The spell had to be applied to the quiver as well, so if there are no arrows left, you're not getting anything when you draw. I suggest you use them wisely."

He glanced at the arrows again, noticing the feathers. "Where'd you get the feathers?"

"Donated by pegasi. The feathers allow the arrow to resist most elemental shifts. Fire, rain, snow, even some degree of electricity. It also means they aren't affected by wind, allowing them to fly perfectly straight for farther than normal."

"Impressive," Link admitted. "And you're giving it to me?"

"Lending it. See, there's a mission I would like you to undertake." She saw Link place the bow down and fold his arms. "Oh, don't be like that. Think of it as breaking in your adult frame. There's a convoy coming from the north side of town. They're bringing in metals to be used in making various tools and arms. We've had to go and get this material on our own, since the residents there have mysteriously disappeared... As per the rule, they've made camp a few miles north of here, since they couldn't get here by nightfall. Ordinarily, a venture like this wouldn't even get attention, but scouts have confirmed a unit of bandits have made their own camp not too far from the convoy themselves. Your mission is to deter the bandits from doing what they do so our convoy gets here safely."

Link stared expressionless at the mare's request. "You want me to drive them away?"

"I want you to do whatever it takes to make sure this convoy gets here," the mare reiterated. "However you do it is up to you."

Slowly, Link stood up to his full height, easily towering over the seated mare. "I've never killed anypony who wasn't already dead. I'm not about to start now, if I can help it." He pocketed the bow and matching quiver with ease and adjusted his sword strap. "I never got your name..."

"My name is not important enough to give," the mare argued.

"Oh, I don't believe that..." He remembered having given a similar response to Emmy when they first met in the scroll store. "That would make you a Royal Guard, then. Rank?"

"How'd you-"

"I gave the same response a while back. The mare changed my opinion of it rather quickly."

The mare was quiet in her reply. "I don't have a rank anymore... The Royal Guard - and Luna's Nightwatch - was dismissed from duty after The Fall of Canterlot."

Link chuckled. "I'm surprised at you. A rank isn't just a position you hold. It's a representation of the level of responsibility you have. On duty, or not." Link jabbed his chest with his thumb. "I'm a Corporal, and I'll be that until I get the chance to promote. Your name is also important, whether you want to believe it or not. Those ponies out there look up to you to guide them. To keep this place safe. You are their leader. Now, what is your name?" he asked firmly.

She sighed. "Get back to me after your mission. I'll tell you. Now go."

He nodded and left Town Hall. Navi followed after him with his hat and landed on his head. Link put his hat on the right way. "They're coming from the north..."

"Bandits though? Seven years ago, I wouldn't have thought it possible."

"Times changed. So must we all." Link ventured out the northern gate.

In little more than an hour, Link came across the bandit campsite. Thankfully, he went entirely unnoticed, allowing him to assess the situation. They set up camp a few hundred feet off the west side of the main road. Just far enough to not be spotted by the convoy when it was set to stroll by.

Link looked around at the bandits themselves. Each of them wore a black cloak. Some had hoods on, others did not. Three of them were sitting around a smoldering campfire, one was sitting with his back turned to them sharpening his sword on a grindstone while the fifth pony patrolled the perimeter with a spear in hoof. Link thought to go for his bow, but stopped short. No. It's too lethal. Have to knock them out. He made his way behind some bushes a few feet from the clearing.

Instead of his bow, Link retrieved a pair of slingshot ammo and put them both in his right hand. He waited until the patrol passed in front of him. Link took careful aim and flicked one of the seeds, hitting the pony in the neck. "Ow," the mare flinched. She aimed her spear toward the bushes. It was still rather dark to see clearly. "Come out, ye coward..." she whispered. Link took aim at a nearby bush and flicked the second seed so hard it rattled the entire thing. "There!" Proffering no hesitation, the mare threw her spear into the rattled bush.

That could have hurt... Link admitted. He watched the mare trudge through the foliage to retrieve her weapon. Soon as she came within a few feet of him, she saw him. Before she could properly act, Link slid toward her and tripped her, crashing her to the forest floor. She only managed to get one hoof under her before getting Link's elbow to her face. He struck with enough force to knock her out in one go.

Link eased her to the ground quietly and grabbed her spear. He ventured out into the open area and got the attention of the others. They all fell quiet. Seeing their mate's spear in his hand, the nearest cloaked figure produced a pair of daggers enveloped in light blue magic and darted toward him. First the right one was thrown at him, then the left. Link swatted each one away with the spear. He brought the shaft around to hit the pony in the head when they got close enough, but the cloaked figure ducked under it. The hood came off, revealing a stallion's face and grimace. In his surprise, Link was kicked in the chin as the stallion backflipped forward over him.

When he landed, Link had turned and made the attempt to take out his hind legs with the shaft end of the spear. The stallion leaned forward and raised his legs off the ground and balanced for a split second before firing off a sharp kick. Link was faster in bringing the handle over his own chest to block. He pushed forward against the stallion's kick, sending him fumbling forward with ease. Just as Link turned to get a look at the other two by the campfire, he had to bring the spear around to catch the end of a red whip, held by the earth pony.

Easily resisting the follow-up pull, Link stood his ground. He wrapped the whip around the spear's shaft end and stabbed it into the ground almost a foot. With his left hand, he reached back and drew his sword, cutting the end of the whip off the spear. Link stepped to the left, to allow for more swinging room, and launched a magic wave at the two by the fire. Acting on instinct, Link turned further, gripped the handle with both hands and brought the Master Sword down on the blade of the stallion who was sharpening it earlier.

Didn't do him any good, since the weaker weapon shattered on impact. He just stood there, in shock of what Link had done. Link hadn't realized until the red whip had reformed and wrapped around Link's wrist that the wave of magic was shot down by the unicorn at the stallion's side. With much more effort, the stallion pulled ever harder, forcing Link to let go of the sword or be taken with. The sword was flung so far, it disappeared behind them and past the tree line. Swordless, Link grabbed the spear and drew it from the ground. He aimed it at the two ponies remaining, noticing that the end of the whip was gone from the weapon.

Again, the stallion took crack after crack at Link, while the unicorn shot blast after blast at him. Link did his best to swat away the blasts with a magic-enhanced spear. When the whip caught the middle of the shaft once more, Link wound it as he did before and aimed the spearhead forward. He thrust quickly, releasing the held magic in a more focused shot, tearing through the whip leaving nothing of it behind.

The unicorn at his side fired an intercepting shot at almost point-blank, exploding in a purple range of hues. It was way too close, as the explosion knocked the two clean off their hooves and into the tents behind them. Satisfied, and a little calmer, he almost didn't notice the stallion's voice overhead. Link didn't bother looking up, opting to side-step out of the way. With his step, he side-kicked the swordsman in the face, sending him to the ground with ease.

On his return, he tried a right round house to the dagger user. He ducked it, and tried to pull his daggers free from the ground. Before he was able to, Link turned full 180 and thrust his left foot into the stallion's side, launching him all the way to the tree line where the patrol was unconscious. Link bent over and picked up the pair of daggers, putting them in his pocket for later use.

The dagger pony was struggling to stand. The swordsman was also in pain. The whip user was on his hooves with his unicorn partner. Link saw the unicorn charge an attack and held up his hand. "Enough!" he shouted. He powered down, realizing his situation. "Your weapons are either broken or in my possession. You are either injured or weaponless..." Link paused. "You're done. You failed. Go-"

From the corner of his eye, Link saw a glint from a nearby tree. He hopped back, drew his bow and fired an arrow at where he saw the glint. A loud thunk rang through the site. He looked forward and saw an arrow had been shot at him. A pony - hidden in a black cloak - fell from the branch with a feminine yell. She landed on her wing and cried out in pain.

"And you have injured. I suggest you get them medical attention." Link stepped forward and picked up the spear casually. "Unless, of course, you really want to keep going..."

There was some rustling in the bushes to his left. When he looked, the patrol pony had woken up and stumbled out of the bushes, holding her head. "Oi!" she said, glaring at Link. She then saw the remains of her team and stood shocked. "Y-you did all this then?" Link nodded. "Hmm... Who sent you?" she asked, walking toward the fallen dagger stallion. Link had noticed the swordsman had gone to the side to help the fallen archer.

"Army of One. I sent myself." Link tried to keep them all in his view. "Will you withdraw?"

"Aye, we be withdrawin'. Jus' one more question, then we be off. Can we 'ave our weapons back?" she asked.

"Afraid not. Your weapons are confiscated and are now in my personal possession. Well, the ones that aren't broken or that you still have." The archer had her bow picked up and carried by the swordsman back to the unicorn and whip wielder. Both the patrol and dagger stallion hobbled over as well.

"That's that then." She looked to the hooded unicorn - the only pony who hadn't had their cloak blown off or taken down - and ordered, "A'right you. Fire it up."

A crimson field of magic enveloped them and teleported them elsewhere.

"That settled that then. I doubt they'll be able to do anything to the convoy now." Link stowed the spear and walked the direction his sword had been flung. "Now, where's my sword..."

Link and Navi had wandered a few dozen feet into the woods and found the Sword of Masters had embedded its blade tip-first into a boulder. "Wow, Link! You really flung that puppy, huh?"

"Better that than my wrist getting broke. I had another weapon, so I was gonna be just fine." He walked to the stone and put a hand to his chin. "Hey... Navi? Can you hover around the blade for a minute or so? I feel like this'd be the perfect picture to add to my journal."

She accepted his request and hovered a few inches from the blade. Link pulled out his writing supplies and spent a few minutes drawing a pretty good looking picture of the Master Sword stuck in the boulder. He even added the three flowers visible behind said boulder.

"That should do it," Link admitted, setting the journal down to let the ink dry. "Now, let's see if I can draw it for real." He stepped on top of the boulder and pulled with a little effort, freeing the blade as if the hole was there before the sword. "That wasn't as difficult as I thought it'd be..."

He sheathed his sword with surprising ease - given that the blade was far longer than his reach would allow - and closed his journal. Link held the latter and looked at it for a while. Navi returned to his shoulder. "What are you thinking?"

Link stared sat his journal for at least a minute longer before answering. "It's... This journal was a birthday gift. If I'm gonna tell Epona everything, I should be writing in it way more often. Like... Every single day I'm out here." He put away the book and writing supplies. "C'mon. We have a convoy to meet up with."

The two of them wandered for about an hour before they found the convoy. They were finishing up their breakfast and preparing to continue their journey south. Link explained the situation, showed them the bow he received as proof of his affiliation with Ponyville and escorted them safely back. The cart was rather heavy, being pulled by a pair of earth ponies. Outside of that, there was just one more earth pony who sat in the back, making sure none of the precious metal fell out.

When they all returned to Ponyville, the cart was dropped off at one of the houses that was missing a wall, which was a converted blacksmith workshop. The three earth ponies got a drink near the fountain by Town Hall and Link and Navi returned to the unicorn that sent them on their mission.

"Well done, Link. Your files don't give you enough credit," the ex-Royal Guard praised. The mare was far more presentable than she was before, having had at least two hours to fix herself up.

Link placed the spear on the table. "What is this..." he asked, almost demandingly.

"Looks like a spear to me..." she replied, looking it over. "Why?"

"It's not just a spear. It's a Royal Guard Standard Issue spear. Given to the pegasi of the Guard. I had the opportunity to take one when I was a child. And somehow, these bandits have access to one?"

The mare sat back and pushed up her glasses slightly. "Canterlot fell to Ganondorf's might. That much you know. Its Guard was scattered, turned or worse. Those who fled - like me - ended up being enemies of the crowned King. Given he never leaves the castle, he would need eyes on the ground making sure his enemies stay weak.

"Our convoys get stolen so often, it's a wonder any get through at all. Our runs to and from the farm are all so often cut off... As payment for their efforts, Ganondorf arms the robbers and thugs with weapons that are too good for them, and all he asks in return is that they use those weapons to keep the rest of us in check."

"Oh great. More stuff that's my fault," he surrendered. Link relinquished the bow and quiver. "These are yours."

"No they're not. They're yours." Link looked confused. "You've... Got a way with words, you know... I thought about it while you were gone and... Well... I was a Royal Guard. I was a Sergeant Second Class, in fact. Medical division. Angel Bless."

"If you were in Medical, why do you have a bow?" Navi asked.

"I had it made when we fortified this town. Don't worry, I can have another made. It'll just take a week or so. Oh, right. The arrows. We're the only place that makes them, so if ever you run out, feel free to come back and resupply," Bless offered.

"So, Second Sergeant Angel Bless. I'm going to assume the trains are out of order?" She nodded. "I guess if they worked, you'd be using them to transport your metal." Another nod, that one with a smile.

Bless also added, "Since you're heading out, is there any food or water we can get you? Maybe a bedroll?"

"Hmm..." he thought a moment. "Actually, yeah. I could use those."

Angel Bless supplied him with a moderate amount of food and water, as well as a rolled up blanket. He thanked her for her kindness and willingness to part with her personal bow. Link claimed that even with a rest every night, the trip to where he needed to go would take about 6 days just walking. Receiving a few farewells from some of the main residents, Link departed through the train station, believing the track path would be the one of least resistance.

He stopped, just as he hopped down to the tracks from the platform. "Well... Here we go..." Link took his first step of what was sure to be thousands...

Alright, folks. He's an adult now.

Royal Bow Acquired! (and also a pair of daggers)