On the morning of the fourth day after Link departed New Ponyville, he and Navi arrived in Kakariko Mura. Its building had proceeded beyond what he expected, given the state of Ponyville after Ganondorf arrived. Kakariko Mura was filled with more ponies than he remembered being there. The center tree had grown bigger, some houses had been finished and occupied.

"Link, c'mon now. We're here. Please rest," Navi near pleaded.

"I keep telling you, I'm not tired in the slightest." Link cast his glance around the town, having stopped just under the entry arch. "Now, let's see about getting-" He stared at the building on the rise just before the well. "That's new. Wait, is that the shooting gallery?" Happy, he began his approach to the new structure. "7 years ago, that was still being built. Now that it's done, and that I have a bow, I should probably-" Again, Link stopped, both walking and talking.

His happiness faded, causing Navi to hover in front of him. "What? What now?"

Link lowered his eyelids some, adopting a serious demeanor. "I should probably ask the owner what else has changed in the time I've been gone..." He continued his path up to the building.

Navi gave him a concerned look as he walked, then flew after him. "Hey, are... Are you okay?"

"We're not here for fun or games," Link replied quickly, briskly making his way past the tree in the center of town.

A red stallion rounded the corner near the well and - at near full speed - blasted past him, skidding to a stop just before the tree. Link stopped and turned, listening close to the incoming conversation. "Bud!" he said, looking up the tree. "I know you're up there! You're not gonna believe what I just saw!"

Similarly, a blue stallion - this one a pegasus, which was strange to see, given what Angle Bless had said - popped out of the upper branches and hovered to land in front of his friend. Link wandered closer to listen. "You say that every time, you know that?"

"I ain't playin, bud! I'm serious this time! That old gravedigger guy that died? I just saw his ghost hovering over his grave. And he even looked at me! His eyes were cold... Like he wanted to take me down and bury me with him!" The red guy was panicking.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" the blue one laughed, keeling over and beating the ground with a forehoof. "You really- really are a hoot, you know that?!" He struggled to look up at the stallion with a crying smile. "Ghosts aren't real, dummy!" He got to his hooves and wiped away the tears. "But if they were, what would he want with you? He died of illness long before you and I came to town."

"Laugh if you want, but I'm telling you, he's real."

Link slowly backed away from the craziness he just witnessed. Once out of earshot... "Well, I know where I want to go."

"Really? But ghosts-"

"Have been helpful, so far. And what I need is here somewhere. That grave guy is really old, so He'd know better than anyone else the changes to this town, right?" Link made his way to the graveyard, passing by the same coop he and Emmy returned the chickens to what felt like two weeks ago. It had fallen largely into disrepair; the fence was broke in several places, the awning had fallen down completely and the haybales were missing.

When he entered the graveyard. he felt a sense of unease. Like somepony was watching over his shoulder. Link turned to double check, and saw nothing. He cast his gaze left and right, before slowly turning forward.

"Let's check his hut first," he suggested. "That colt from last time we were here can tell us more."

"What colt?" Navi asked. Link didn't answer. "That little one that gave us directions?" Link nodded. "Hmm... Well, it is worth a try at least."

Link meandered to the door of the shed, raising his hand and knocking twice. "Hello? Anypony home?" No response, so he knocked again, this time, knocking the door clean off the hinges. "Uhh... Old door..."

The door fell inward, hitting the back wall and breaking in half. It housed a bed, a counter, a bookshelf and a stove. Resting upon the stove was a pot half-full of years-old food and an empty plate. On the counter was a bookmarked journal, old and faded.

He opened it and read silently, then clapped it closed. A dust cloud drifted from the book and filled the little shed. Link and Navi both coughed. "So the guy found a treasure while digging, and took it with him to his grave. If that's what we need, then we have to do a little digging ourselves."

Navi took the time to examine her surroundings and found a map of the graveyard. "Hey, look." She turned to Link and pointed at the map. It hung in a rotting wooden frame beside the door from a nail. Link walked over and looked down at the drawing.

"A map of graves." He inspected the names on the gravestones and stopped when he found 'Gravekeeper.' "Died of illness, huh? The poor kid."

"Eh?"

"Poor kid. You know, the colt we met here a while back. He was so sure the Gravekeeper was going to make a recovery, but he didn't. Guess when it came down to experiencing death, the colt couldn't handle it. Not much use for a Gravekeeper that can't stomach the dead." Link walked outside and closed the door softly. "That grave would be... there." He started walking and quick turned around with a scowl. Link's eyes darted side to side as he backstepped toward the grave in question.

Some laughter was heard from the grave as they got in front of it. "Hoo, you're a paranoid one, ain't ya." A ghost, brown in coat and eyes, floated up from the grave. "Half surprised you're still here, considering." His teeth looked all jagged, as did his face in general. "So, what be it ye want?"

Link looked the stallion over as he hovered above the grave. "I wasn't expecting somepony so..."

"Alive?" the ghost asked.

"Animated... You seem to be pretty content with being dead." Link crossed his arms.

The ghost flew back and landed behind his grave, then walked around to meet him. "Well, in my defense, being dead is uite fun. Now, I can dig all the holes I want without even lifting a shovel." He stopped in front of Link. "But you never answered me question, boy: what be it ye want?"

Link took a slow breath and uncrossed his arms. "Some folks in town were saying they saw you in the graveyard. Your journal speaks of a tool you found while digging around. If you still have it, I would like to take it off your hooves."

"Then you'll have to earn it, boy!" The ghost gave a creepy shake of his head before flying up. "If you want it, come and claim it!" Then, he flew straight down, through the headstone, splitting it on his way down. It revealed a hole with a teeny tiny light at the bottom.

"That's... a long way down..." Link noted, peering down the hole. He looked behind him and noticed the fence was metal. "Alright. Been a while." Link got up and took out his rope, swiftly tying it to the base of the fence before giving it a solid tug. "Good enough. Grab on, Navi." She obeyed and descended with him into the hole.

The whole way down, Navi was lit up, illuminating their descent to reveal roots and rocks sticking out from the walls. The rope reached the bottom with so much length to spare. When he got to the bottom, he lamented the fact he didn't know how to untie the rope from the far end. "There you are, boy," the ghost muttered. "Sure took your time."

"I'm sorry, I'm not the one who decided to dig a 30 foot hole in the ground."

"You're right, there... I did get a little carried away. But when you lived to dig holes, you just couldn't help yourself sometimes." He stomped his hoof and torches lit along a path behind him. "You said you're here for treasure, right?" Link nodded. "Then you just have to beat me to the end of this path. Do that, it's yours."

Link looked over the shoulder of the ghost at the path. "A race? That's your test?" The ghost nodded with a smile. "And you wouldn't think to deceive me, right?"

"Signs are posted with arrows saying which way to go, on the off chance you're ahead of me."

Slowly, Link nodded his head. "I trust a good sign." He dropped and started a few warm up stretches. "How long is it?"

"Quarter mile."

"Turns?"

"Of course."

"I mean how many," Link clarified.

"I didn't count."

Link sighed and got up once he finished. "Okay, so let's get this started."

"I'll count down from three and we go when I say Go." Link got into a pony sprinter's form beside the ghost, who stood there like normal. "Three..." Link inhaled and held it a moment, "two..." before exhaling. "One..." He tightened his legs and started putting pressure on his hands. "Go!"

Both took off like lightning and made it to the first corner in seconds. The ghost rounded the corner with ease; perks of being able to fly. Link, however, had started his turn much sooner, so his momentum didn't slam him into the wall. Wen he turned the second corner, he saw a hole in the wall. Arrows so I don't get lost... I get it.

The two were neck and neck until they passed the next pair of corners, since all it asked of him was that he stepped to the side each time. Following those corners was a turn that came so quick, Link had to stop his turn with his foot on the wall. He looked and saw the ghost take the lead.

He had disappeared around the corner before Link got going again. "He's fast..." By the time Link got to where he last saw his opponent, a door had started sliding closed from the ceiling. Luckily, he and Navi made it under before it closed. "Navi?!" She flew out from under his hat. "Good. Hang on tight." Link had lost all sign of the spirit, even after the next few rights. He came to a room full of boulders. No signs, save for one above an exit. "There!" Again, he took off, trying to catch up. Around the left and right he went.

The second door had already fallen half way. Doing as she was told, Navi gripped his hair firmly. Link sped up, reached up and held his hat in place as he leaned back and slid under the closing wall. Out the other side, he picked himself up in one fluid motion and kept going.

Soon as he rounded a corner, Link leapt over a fire trap in the path. "Not cool, Ghost." And several more as he tried to close the gap. On the final stretch - which curled up the left wall around the circular room - Link saw the ghost just walking through the final doorway at the top. Using what energy he had left from running and dodging, he bolted around the room and made it under the door in time to see the ghost turn around. "I should burn you for those fires."

"Well, had to keep you on your hooves. I gotta say, ya did better than everypony else that came down here." He gestured to a wooden chest sitting upon a stone step. "You might not have won, but you showed heart. It's yours."

Link walked over, catching his breath, and kicked it open. Inside was a shiny metal object. "And what is this?" He picked it up and noticed it was lightweight, despite its metal composition.

"That there's a hook-shot. Fund it on tour, I did. Cleaned it up, gave it a test fire and works well. It fires a hook-ended metal chain that pierces wood and - if strong your jaw be - can pull you to where it latches. Should be a button on the handle. Press that, the hooks retract and returns to the base."

"What do I do about the recoil?" Link asked, finding the button.

"The... what?"

"Recoil. You said it pierces wood. Well, to do that, it has to be fired with a certain amount of force. And that force has to be shouldered somewhere," Link said. The ghost blinked a few times. "If you push something, your hooves slide back. If you're heavy enough, they don't. Either way, output equals input, so where does the force go to counter the output?" Again, the ghost blinks. Link looks at the tool.

"Are you being serious?" The ghost tilted his head. "Because if you are..."

"Only a little."

Slowly, the ghost breathed. "Boy... It's magic. I ain't gotta explain it. It works. Why do you want to science it? Especially when I'm giving it to you for free. You know what that's called, right? Looking a gift horse in the mouth."

Link took his chastising in silence, and absorbed it until the end. "You're right I'm sorry. I should be thanking you for your part in the war." He stowed his newest tool, earning a cautious look from the ghost. "The war... You don't know about that?" He shook his head. "Well, be glad, because you must have died before he took over the nation."

"Agreed. So, you'll be off then?"

Looking around, Link saw exactly one exit. "Yeah. I got places to be, paths to take. Thanks again." Link walked past the disappearing ghost of the gravekeeper.

Navi looked ahead and saw a big blue stone blocking what Link perceived to be an air current. "Hmm... Link?" she started. "There's a breeze coming through here..."

"Must be a way out..." Link eyed the stone before him and recognized the mark on its surface. It bore a striking resemblance to the Door of Time. He took out his ocarina and played the same one that opened that door, then watched in awe as the stone brightened before disappearing. Behind it stood a stairwell, leading to a room filled with music.

Link and Navi ascended the stairs and came out to the windmill's second floor. "Huh?" she asked. They looked down and saw the stallion - aged 7 years - winding away on an instrument off to the side. He took the time to put away his music device.

The two hopped down and approached the stallion. "I remember you. You were trying to compose a song that best fit the turning of the windmill, right?"

"That's right!" he replied loudly. "No thanks to you and your instrument of chaos."

Confused, Link tilted his head and crossed his arms. "My what?"

"Your blue ocarina! You played a song in here 6 - going on 7 - years ago, and sent this windmill into a tizzy, draining the well! You don't remember-"

Link took out his ocarina and showed it to the stallion. "This thing?" Just the sight of it made the stallion even angrier, causing link to back away slowly.

"You put that thing away before you drown us all in rain and lightning!" he shouted in rage, borderline hatred.

"Look, I'm sorry. What I did-" Whatever it was... "I'm sorry for. But it was for a good reason, I assure you." The stallion was just about to counter. "But before you go and say anything else, I have to stress that I'm already 7 years late. It won't do to keep my friend waiting any longer. Goodbye." With that, Link stowed his ocarina as he turned and left the windmill.

""And never come back!" the stallion shouted.

Outside the closed door, Link looked down at the drained well. "I did that, huh... Why?"

Navi entertained an option. "Maybe you had to get down there, and you couldn't as a child... Not when it was full of water."

Link started nodding his head in agreement, walking down the stairs to the left. "Yeah, that makes sense." He withdrew his hookshot and gave it another look. "So, this thing shoots a hook at a target... And can pull me close to it, or pull it close to me, given it's a light enough object." He aimed it at the ground in front of him and found the trigger. Lightly squeezing it, a red point appeared on the ground, easily seen against the green grass. "It's got an aim assist on it. That's neat." Link released the trigger and held it up. "Hmm... I don't see any information on who made it..."

The two rounded the corner at the bottom near the graveyard. "So now that you have the tool Shadow directed you to, how long will it take you to get back to the forest?" Navi asked.

"About as long as it took me to get to here from Ponyville." Link stopped and stared off into space. Navi flew off and waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention. "Unless..." Again, Link put away the hookshot and traded it for his ocarina. From memory, he played Emmy's Song flawlessly. And listened...

"-st as much as the next pony, but our solution has been the same as it has been the last 7 years: wait for our hero to return. He is the only-" ugh. He just loves hearing his own voice... "I get that, really I do, but right now, faith is all we have. I have to believe he'll come back."

"Hi there," Link greeted.

"AAAAHHHH!!!" Silence on both ends. "I'm fine!" Wait... I know that voice. It's a little deeper, but... Link?!

"That's right. I'm back. Took me a-" He was cut off.

"You've been gone 7 years! Well, almost. Guys, I'm talking to him right now!"

"I haven't done any heroics yet..." Link argued.

"I'm not lying this time! I'll prove it!" Brace yourself, I'm coming for you!

Link tucked away his ocarina and waited. Emmy appeared right in front of him. "Hey there."

She reached out for him, and Link instinctively swatted her hoof away. "Eh?"

"Sorry, I still need to get my rope." He started walking toward where he had it tied. "So, what's the situation?"

"Not good, I'm afraid," Emmy replied with a sigh, following him closely. "The nation's in absolute disarray, the princesses are gone, I've had to go home due to an emergency..."

"And the others?" Link asked. "Where did our friends go?" Emmy was quiet. "Twilight and the rest of them?"

"I don't know about Twilight, or much about the others, but I know that Ruby went into the mountain, and Dash straight up vanished. I don't really know about any of the others. But I know they're just... gone." She looked down and almost started crying. "We tried to do something, but when the princesses fell, it was already too late to make a difference."

Link sighed as well. "Yeah, I heard about the two. That was bad news to take..." Link looked down and stopped, just inside the graveyard. "I've been gone too long, and I'm not even the reason why. The decision was made without my consent. But I'm here now, and I'm gonna do my best, because that's what soldiers do. I'm no hero."

Emmy looked up at him and saw the sword on his back. "Hey... You upgraded your weaponry."

"I sure did." Link continued walking. "'Sword of Masters'. I pulled it and got warped 7 years into the future, which is why I disappeared back then. But somepony said I've been gone 6 going on 7, so I have to believe I make several trips to and from the past after this."

"That's right. When you disappeared the first time, Twilight and some of us went searching for you. We went to see Princess Celestia, and she didn't have an answer. Twilight came up with some brilliant theory to wait for you to come back, and she took it all on faith you knew what you were doing. ... Do you?"

"You already know the answer to that, don't you... What path do I take?"

"I can't answer that," Emmy rejected. "To tell you, could change the future. You're supposed to come up with answers on your own." She watched him reach down and untie his rope, stowing it in one go. "Besides... You were pretty hush-hush about the future. Didn't really say much after you started coming and going."

Link grinned. "You know, by telling me this now, when I go back to the past, I can't tell you anything of what happens, because it then won't happen. Right?"

"That's.. right..."

"So by telling me I'm reserved in the past once I make these frequent trips, you're telling me I have to be silent, despite your prodding, which I can already see coming." Emmy nodded. "Thanks for the head's up."

"I didn't do it on purpose..." His rope disappeared inside his pouch. "Can we go now?"

Link patted his pouch with a nod. "Yep. Good to go."

She reached out her hoof to him. "It really has been too long. It's good to finally have you back, Link."

"Yeah," he admitted, reaching out. "I leave for seven years, and the nation falls to Tartarus. Imagine how long it'll take to piece it back together once I'm done with Ganondorf." Link grabbed her hoof, disappearing without a trace.

Been a hot minute. Back in action. We go to the forest now.