Mushroom covered ground. Dry tree bark. Moldy leaves. Fusty water.

That myriad of smells was what met her nostrils and she coughed, unable to hold it back. Mentally cursing she brought her sword to bear as she tried to make sense of where the portal had sent her…

The trees around her were bent and gnarled, their branches heavily draped with dark, thick vines and drooping foliage—and the air was heavy with moisture and rot, and she coughed again, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

It looked like Shadeleaf Swamp, and smelled like it too…but nothing looked familiar. Then again, from what she had learned from Princess Zelda…

Things may have changed. The land itself under Ganondorf’s foul magic would have changed.

The landscape was also covered with pools of stinking water—it was almost a dark purple in color, and smelling it warned her that it was fouled to the point it was undrinkable. Picking up a dead stick, she poked it into the water…

The vile liquid bubbled and hissed as revolting purple smoke issued from the top of the water as she pulled the stick out—or what was left of it. Most of it had been disintegrated on contact—which meant it wasn’t water at all.

It was corrosive poison.

She threw the remains aside and kept going deeper into the murky, ominous woods, her sword out and her senses primed. Underhoof the semi-dry grass crackled, and she kept her ears pricked for any odd noises.

She didn’t have to go too far from the portal—about twenty minutes later she emerged into a murky clearing—the foliage overhead was overlapping and made it hard to see. There was still some light, but not a lot—Skyward lit her horn and summoned a series of small silver spheres, each which glowed with its own light. She spread them outward so she could see better…

Her hooves soon sounded on weathered stone rather than half-mushy or parched ground, and she looked down, pawing at the cracked, slightly misaligned flagstones she could barely see under the overgrowth of moss and grass. She followed the path, turning a corner…a Skulltula dropped out of the trees in front of her, making her jump back, bringing her sword to bear. It clattered hungrily as it tried to reach for her with its long, spindly legs…

Skyward used her magic—she was in NO mood for nonsense and she spun the magical beast around, exposing its soft belly. The monster keened as she ruthlessly eviscerated it, blackish-green blood oozing from the clean slice she had made. She tossed the Skulltula’s corpse into the brush, cleaning her sword with a practiced flick and a water spell to cleanse it of the remaining ichor, but she didn’t sheathe it…
The stone paths were lined by huge oak trees—but they were in a sorry state right now. Most of them didn’t even look healthy, and the rest were clearly dying—probably because of the poison water in the swamp. The path split into three—left, right, and center—Skyward glanced left, right, and chose the left path…

Only to have a wall of black wooden spikes sprout up in front of her, and she balked, glaring at them…when she backed away, they receded, when she tried to advance, they sprouted. She looked down at the flagstones underhoof, testing them with her weight, but none of them gave under her steps.

She eyed them before she lowered her head and focused on a part of the wall—a crackling noise sounded in the air before part of it turned to ice…and she spun around and bucked it, hard.

It splintered—the rest of the wall shuddered and retreated, and she eyed the splinters of ice on the ground—melting them for good measure before she continued down the path formerly barred to her.

There was an old chest in the middle of the room—the wood was weathered with age, the steel binding and lock dulled, but it still stood there. Wary, Skyward prodded it with her magic from a distance—nothing happened. She ventured further in and opened the chest…

Inside lay a worn looking scroll—she gingerly ‘lifted’ it out and unrolled it. The runes inked on the ancient paper was a spell—a spell called Backdraft Burst. Clearly a fire spell, but it was obviously a hard one to use—the spell enacted a swirling, spherical explosion of fire, but if not controlled properly, the blaze would get out of control very quickly; and likely consume the caster as well.

Skyward sat in the dim room, conjuring a light sphere to see better as she studied the actual spell runes intently. She tucked the scroll away carefully into her satchel, before exiting the room. This time, she tried the center path when she came out of the left hand path—this one was also barred, but not by black vile looking spikes, it was in truth a huge door, carved out of stone with the Haylian symbol on it, and the goddess Farore’s relief also carved into the door. Binding the door was a series of glowing, translucent magical chains, set in place with an ornate looking lock—all of it a gleaming golden color.

Skyward’s ears laid back—of course the door would be magically sealed!

Meaning, she’d have to find the key first.

Mumbling curses, she turned and walked away from the sealed gateway, annoyed as she cantered back towards the central path…

But when she emerged—she tensed, raising her sword for a fight when she spotted what was lying in the clearing.
It was an emerald basilisk—the creatures roamed Shadeleaf Swamp, but only in the deepest part of the forest—they hated sunlight, contrary to the fact they were related to Dodongos to an extent, only that they spat acid instead of fire like their volcanic cousins. But there was one other main thing in common that they had—their underbellies were their weak point. Flipping the thing over with her magic was out of the question…they were damned heavy and near impossible to lift without another unicorn, she had no bombs, nor did she see any Bomb Flowers here…

The basilisk was currently sniffing around the clearing, seemingly uninterested, but she edged to the left, hoping it wouldn’t see her. It approached the left path…the spikes shot up again (minus the iced and broken part) at its approach, and it growled, opening its maw and hissing venomously.

Skyward took the opportunity to sneak past it, heading into the right-side path. The path split into two this time, and she kept to the right—a hissing, wet snapping noise got her attention, and she spotted a trio of Deku Baba swaying back and forth further down the path, acidic drool dripping from their maws.

Lighting her horn, Skyward conjured a light sphere, sending it down the path…one of the monsters snapped at it, and she juked it out of its reach. The second one wavered a bit as if unsure, and the third tried biting at it as well, only to get bit at by its companion. Skyward continued teasing them with the light ball—she sneaking closer until she was in range for a sword strike…

Her blade swept outward in a grand arc, neatly cleaving through two of the Deku Baba, the monsters shriveling away to nothing, leaving some Deku Nuts behind…the third turned on her, snarling and snapping…

Only for the light ball to enter its mouth—and explode in a burst of fiery heat, incinerating it on the spot. The right path had nothing but another sealed door—going to the left, revealed that this one was open.

Skyward ventured into the chamber—the lighting was a gentle, soft azure hue, tiny luminescent sparks and a light, pleasant scent pervaded the air; the floor beneath her seemed soft, plushy…not hard packed earth, weathered stone or…

A sibilant hiss filled her ears and she brought her sword to bear as a HUGE Deku Baba head—this one was far more colorful than its predecessors and with an odd looking peacockish crest atop it reared up from the center of the room—she looked around, diving off of the quivering platform she was standing on—

The ‘platform’ was in truth, no platform…

It was part of the evil monster itself!

She noticed that the beast looked like a giant blossom of some sort—the petals surrounding the Deku Baba’s central stem looked very thick and fleshy. The Baba Blossom had multiple stems—no wait…

She dived and rolled, coming to her hooves as a large vine like tendril shot from the ground and slapped at her…

The beast was connected to the ceiling by several vines—it had longer ones to attack with, and continued to slap and try to ensnare her, but she also saw it couldn’t move, it was using those petals as a shield and the vines…

Wait. The vines were the key!

She yelled as one of the vines smacked her and sent her sprawling against the wall…it reached out to grab her, but she swiped at it with her sword, severing the vine—she heard a muffled keen from inside the bulb, and smirked.

(Didn’t like that, did thou,) she thought darkly as she eyed it.

The vines at the top of the bulb…if she could cut them down…
Charging her horn, she angled her head and made a sweeping gesture…an arc of light shot from the tip of her horn to slice cleanly through the vines. Freed from its confines, the ‘flower’ dropped from the ceiling to land on the ground with a dusty ‘thud’…the petals flopping open. The lighting changed in the room to a soft, luminescent blue color as before when she’d entered the room proper—but the angry Haylian mare took no notice…

Her target was the stunned, swaying Deku Baba head in the center of the petals. The head screeched as she slashed at it—the stem of its neck was unnaturally thick, and she managed three vicious cuts, angled her blade for a fourth…

But she had been so focused in her trying to sever the head from the neck she’d forgotten about the petals under her hooves. They rippled underhoof—once, twice…

The petals snapped closed around her—she was uncomfortably jostled about in the darkness of the bulb as it pulsed several times…

Then it spat her out with a shower of pollen, unceremoniously throwing her out of the bulb and onto the ground with a clanking thump.

“Nayru’s azure flank; pay bucking attention! Lucky one did not get eaten!” Skyward muttered to herself as she readied her blade for another strike. The pollen however was the first of her worries—where the stuff had landed, had seeded the ground and more vines were sprouting.
A quick Flame Jet spell took care of the sprouts---she gasped in pain when another vine swatted her, and she growled, glaring at the hanging plant over her head. Angling her head again, another Crescent Scythe spell shot out—this time however, a few vines reared up in its way—only half the bulb’s holding vines were severed. Scowling, Skyward torched the other barrier vines, trying to get another Crescent Scythe shot in…

She missed the second time, but the shot wasn’t wasted—it had cleaved through more barrier vines that the plant was summoning to shield its connecting vines. She dodged another shot and yanked something else out of her satchel—a small glass vial containing a greenish substance. She ‘yanked’ the cork and chugged the contents, wincing at the strong grassy taste, shoving it back in her satchel as the potion took effect—she could feel her magic being restored as she broke into a full gallop towards the stunned, gasping head…
This time, she got in two nasty shots to the stem before she teleported herself off of the petals before they snapped shut again on her…the plant hissed in anger at being thwarted, pulsing as it had before to release more pollen…

Skyward however, had left a little ‘gift’ of sorts this time. She’d conjured a light ball and left it inside the flower’s confines…

And she activated her spell, the small ball of light expanding rapidly with light and heat—her Sun Burst spell. The flower screeched and flared open---the burst of heat from inside the plant had clearly hurt it, but the vines holding the plant to the ceiling hadn’t been touched.
That wasn’t Skyward’s aim however. She grasped her blade in her magic, aimed---

And with a mighty mental heave, sent it streaking through the air, straight on target for the Deku Baba head of the vile creature!

The ‘head’ was badly burned and the slashes to its ‘stem’ were clear…the telekinetically thrown sword cleaved right through the ‘neck’ of the stem, severing it from the huge blossom. It screamed as it fell to the ground, her sword lodging in one of the trunks of the massive trees that made up the ‘room’ they were in. The head bounced around, its maw opening and closing almost as if it was trying to breathe, before it lay still, its sharp, pointed tongue lolling out of its mouth. The blossom fell from the ceiling as well—it’s ‘head’ severed from the body, collapsing onto the floor, petals unfurling as if in a death gasp before it began to shrivel away…

As its body rapidly decayed, it left behind a gleaming, ornate looking golden key. Skyward yanked her sword out of the tree-wall and crossed to the key proper—she sheathed her sword, and picked it up. She turned it over in her hooves before sticking it in her satchel, fishing out the empty potion bottle and recorking it—it was empty, but no sense not putting things away proper.

When she exited the room, she noticed the area had gotten a lot darker, and conjured another Sun Burst so she could see. With the darkness however, she’d noticed that it was oddly quiet, and that put her on edge.

A vile smell reached her nose when she got closer to the main path leading back to the central chamber—she paid it no mind, turning to go to the other locked door she’d seen…

Only to find it was inaccessible. The key would not fit in the lock, and she frowned at it.

This key had to be for the main door bound by the magic chains.

The bluesteel furred unicorn knew something was definitely amiss when she found the body of the emerald basilisk in the main clearing—speared through the belly by one of the black wooden spikes.

There was something vile here, and she knew it knew, whatever it was, that something, or in her case, somepony, was here. Reaching the door, she inserted the key in the lock—it fit, and she turned it.

The glowing chains faded away, the lock falling to the ground to shatter into pieces like glass, vanishing in sparks of eldritch light, and the stone doors slowly ground open, revealing a long, tree lined hallway, just like the rest of the forest she’d been in.
Taking a deep breath, Skyward walked forward, keeping her sword at the ready even as the doors sealed shut behind her with an ominous boom.

“Hey! Quiet down! What’s the deal? Can’t anypony just leaf me alone for five minutes?”

Skyward blinked at the deep, raspy voice as she emerged into a massive clearing—which was oddly enough, bare of any grass or greenery. At the far edge of the clearing directly in front of her, was a huge, gnarled tree, planted right in front of another path which she could just faintly see behind him, considering he had massive holes in his trunk. He pointed one twisted twig at her and grinned—his grin was needless to say, unsettling at best and downright psychotic at worst. He looked like one of the trees decorated for Nightmare Night…but the spiderwebs were real, the bark was actually the color of coal, even if he wasn’t burned. Rotting leaves crowned his branches, and his eyes were burning pinpoints in holes of darkness, and he leered at her.

“What’s a pretty little pony like you doin’ in a place like this?”

Skyward snorted, but she didn’t sheathe her sword. “Thou art in my way. Please move thine branches so one may pass.”

The tree shook its twiggy finger at her. “But I spruce-d up the place just for you, girlie!”

The tree guffawed madly at its own jokes; Skyward rolled her eyes in disgust and turned to walk around him…
Only to have a row of thorny black branches sprout up right in front of her with a thunderous crash--he was the one behind the black spikes and what not early on in this place. Her ears turned back towards the tree as she readied herself for a fight. Bad jokes or not, this treant was definitely stark raving mad and had to be put out of his misery.

“I can’t be-leaf this! You’re leaf-ing already? I haven’t gotten to the best ones yet! They’ll really drive ya bark-ing mad!”

Skyward turned, bringing her sword to bear as she eyed the tree, choosing to remain silent.

“Sheesh, what a tough audience! I guess you could say I’m pine-ing for your attention!”

Skyward bounded to the side as one of the tree’s boughs shot out towards her, slamming into the ground where the bluesteel unicorn had once been. More spears of wood shot up from the barren ground…Skyward yelped when one of them clipped her right hind hoof and she went sprawling onto her side, sliding on the rough ground. Feeling the ground rumble, she rolled just as more wood spears arced out of the dirt.

(One could use fire but one might burn the entire swamp down! How does one defeat an arbor that tells bad jokes?!)

She gained her hooves and ran, avoiding the spears of black wood that shot up around her, firing a lance of ice magic from her horn to strike one of the tree’s branches. He screeched in pain as the limb, now useless, broke off from his body and landed on the ground with a splintering crash. Creaking and growling in rage, he opened his maw wide—
Something glittered inside his mouth, but she didn’t have time to look for long as she raised her shield as a hail of acorns flew at her, her shield ringing as they pelted off of the metal surface and fell all around her.

“No need for the cold shoulder treatment!”

She hissed in pain when one of the jutting thorn like twigs scratched her left hind leg—the ‘twig’ suddenly uncurled and went for her, trying to grab at her rear hooves…

She lashed back with her sword, sending a bolt of magic through its confines to decimate the vine completely, then turned and fired a powerful shot of raw silver light at the huge tree. The light was a blast of her own innate arcane might, and Sable Oak howled in agony at the blast. “Ohhh…now you’ve done it, missy. And be-leaf me…you’re bark-ing up the wrong tree! Sable Oak’s gonna tear you limb from limb!”

He broke out into psychotic amusement at his intentional pun---and with each heaving burst of laughter, spewed a storm of thorny, evil looking black spikes at her…she summoned her magic and shielded herself from the onslaught…
And yelped when something nipped her in the flank. She turned her head to see that one of the petrified acorns had sprouted, and had turned into a waving black seedling with a very sharp point on the top of its head. Growling, Skyward concentrated—sweat trickled down her brow as she focused her energy…

It was risky, but she had no choice. Her horn lit up, burning silver like a falling star as she concentrated on her spell…

The temperature abruptly shot sky-high before an explosion of flame engulfed the clearing, the crimson and golden flames hungrily devouring anything tree-related…the seedlings keened as the flames consumed them, the acorns disintegrating to ash, the twigs, vines and spikes evaporating into cinders in the intense heat.

But the fiery explosion was contained by Skyward’s magic in the clearing…she dampened the spell, snuffing out any remaining fires by focusing her own shield down and spreading out onto the ground—this cut off any oxygen to any stray embers or cinders, and ‘stamped’ out any small fires.

But, the Backdraft Burst spell had taken some of her magical strength, and a wave of fatigue swamped the armored unicorn…

“GOTCHA, YOU PESKY LITTLE SPROUT!”

Skyward screamed in pain when the huge, gnarled ‘hand’ of the tree suddenly closed around her; his grip unforgiving, the pressure threatening to cut off her breath. She lost her ‘hold’ on her sword as she gasped for air, glaring at the vile black arbor who grinned at her maliciously with his jaggedy maw of a mouth…

Wait. That was it!

His mouth!

His mouth was his weak point—specifically the inside of his mouth! When he had opened his mouth to spew acorns at her, she had seen something glittering in the back of it…

“Nice little firework display there—you’re almost too ‘hot’ to handle. Any last words, Bluey?”

“A-aye. (cough) Why didst the pine tree get in trouble?”

Sable Oak blinked at the armored unicorn he had in his clutches. “Huh? Whuzzat?”

Skyward managed to wriggle a little to draw better breath; she couldn’t believe she was going to do this…“One asked thee…why didst the pine tree…get in trouble?”

Nonplussed at the question, Sable Oak scratched his ‘head’ with one twiggy finger. “Uhh….I don’t know. Why didst the pine tree get in trouble?”

The bluesteel unicorn pointed at him with one hoof. “Because a crime was committed in the forest, and the guards’ art stumped!”

The gnarled oak blinked at her. Once…twice…three times…

Then he roared with laughter. He slapped his free branch on the charred ground repeatedly, guffawing heartily. Skyward mentally groaned at the joke but she kept going…she likely had a cracked rib by now but…

“That’s a good one! Tell me another one, Bluey!”

“All right; why art the leaves always involved in risky business?”

Sable Oak shrugged, shedding more rotting leaves. “I don’t know! Tell me!”

Skyward flicked a hoof. “Because they constantly have to go out on a limb!”

Sableoak howled with laughter—the more jokes Skyward told him, the more he laughed, and the wider his mouth opened. Silently she prepared herself, gathering her magic slowly, so he wouldn’t notice.

“What didst one tree say to her incredibly annoying sibling?”

“Give it to me, girlie!”

“Leaf me alone, birch!”

The tree laughed so hard he shook—pieces of dried bark fell off from how hard he was giggling…and he had his ‘eyes’ closed…
Her sword was lying discarded on the ground…in seconds she’d levitated it into the air and sent it screaming downward into his gaping maw. It impacted the glittering object with a sickening crrrrunch-crackle, and the treant dropped her as it flailed madly in pain. He thrashed and howled, sending dead leaves and twigs and debris everywhere, before he flung himself backwards, reaching upwards to the sky as if pleading with the heavens…

A shroud of pure darkness emerged from his bark, covering him completely in the stuff…before a sudden explosion threw her off her hooves. Dazed from the explosion, she managed to get up just as her sword, having been freed from the blast, landed in front of her point down in the ground. She grabbed it and brandished it in the tree’s direction…

Or rather, where the tree had been.

There was no sign of Sable Oak—just a verdant green path, lined with stately oak trees. Now, that path was clear—the tree had been a guardian of some sort. But guarding what, exactly? Seeing something shining in the distance, Skyward moved forward and cantered down the path. The further she went, the brighter it seemed to become—real sunlight coming through the dense foliage, birds beginning to sing and chirp in the trees…a fresh breeze, gentle and sweet, wafted through the air.

She exited the path onto a clearing…and in the center, was a large stone dais, covered with moss and vines. And hovering over that dais’s surface was a glowing emerald jewel, set in a semi-circular filigree gold setting. It looked oddly enough, like an oversized nut, or seed. The Haylian unicorn came forward and picked it up, turning it over in her hoof with her magic.

She felt that strange presence again—as if she was being watched; Skyward spun around, unsheathing her sword and bringing her shield to bear, ready to pick a fight; she knew she’d sensed something behind her!

Or…somepony, for that matter.

She aimed her sword at the newcomer, waiting to see what he or she would do. She hadn’t heard the pony come up behind her, but still! He or she hadn’t proven to be friend or foe, yet. This pony was clad in dark purple leathers and pale wrappings—the mane was blond, the coat a light tan, but the eyes were a deep, bloody red. He or she bore a unicorn’s horn and their gait was graceful as the unicorn walked towards her, but she could tell this pony was ready to strike at a moment’s notice when they had to.

From the weeping blood red eye sigil on the front of their tunic, she knew that this was a Sheikah pony—like Princess Zelda’s bodyguard and hoof-maiden, Impa. “Ye hath claimed Farore’s Heart, Heroine of Time, and broken the vile curse on Shadeleaf Swamp. Truly thou art living up to thine ancestor’s legacy.”

Skyward didn't lower her blade. “Who art thou, and what brings thee to this place? For that matter, stranger, what is this place?”

The pony lifted one sable wrapped hoof—his voice was a light baritone. “One is called Sheik. This place is hidden deep in Shadeleaf Swamp; this, is the Shadelight Sanctuary. But, as thou likely hast figured out by now; this place was cursed by the vile Ganondorf, it’s guardian tainted with unspeakable evil. As to why I am here…”

He gestured at the jewel she was holding in one hoof. “One is here to safeguard that gem—‘tis a Goddess Stone, so the vile minions of the Triforce of Power do not find it.”

“And how dost one know that thou art not one of Ganondorf’s own puppets?” she snarled back. “How do I know thou art no traitor like that wretched coward Gilded Lock?”

Crimson eyes blinked at her. “I am no traitor, Skyward, daughter of Mossy Boulder, five-time great grandniece of Time Link, the Hero of Time. If thou wish proof, know then it was I that aided the princess to safety. She sends thou this...she told me to keep watch for thee, if thou appeared here.”

Sheik conjured a scroll and held it out for her—Skyward eyed it, then slowly took it with her magic. She could feel Zelda’s magic pulsing through the scroll.

“She knew about these portals?”

“She suspected that the portals would lead to Hayrule, but to close them proper thou must seal them from the Equestrian side. I shalt seal them from this side, as per the Princess’s orders. But the gem must remain here, even if thou must go back for now. To take it to the other side would spell disaster for this forest, and the fount of Farore’s power hidden here.”

Skyward frowned at this—to disrupt the balance further would make things that much worse for Hayrule in general. Removing a Goddess Stone from its chosen area would have serious repercussions for the place where it was hidden—in this case, if she took Farore’s Heart with her, the entire forest would begin to die, and the magical wards, never mind possible ancient secrets hidden in this swamp would be revealed…

And give Ganondorf more strength that would better be denied to him.

“…Very well. But, if thou art lying to me…”

Skyward left the threat hanging as she gave the magical gem to Sheik, who tilted his head at her as he tucked it into his tunic. “One can understand thine mistrust, Heroine of Time, but understand. We art on the same side. But thou must hurry—thou mustn’t linger here; go back to Equestria, and seal that portal!”

Skyward stamped an armored hoof, looking agitated. “How, pray tell? The princess did not give me specifics! One slew a Lizalfos and a Bulbin boar already, and I know not if more hath crossed!”

Sheik shook his head at her. “Nay. Those were the only two that managed to cross…I hath been keeping them away from the portal. As for sealing it…doth have thou the Harp of Ages?”

She nodded at him. “Aye. To what end does my great-uncle’s treasure have to do with the portal?”

Sheik pointed at the scroll in her ‘grip’ with one hoof. “That scroll thou possesses, that holds the key—now, hurry! Ganondorf will come here to find out why his curse hath been lifted, and he cannot find thee here! Now, go! The exit to the sanctuary is past the dais, and it shalt return thee to the entrance!”

Skyward turned on her hind legs, half-rearing a little at the urgent tone Sheik had taken, and she galloped past the stone dais, down a smaller path lined with wild violets and rosebushes. At the end of the path was a glowing platform, inscribed with ancient Haylian runes. She darted onto the platform…

The emerald glade vanished around her, to put her out at the entrance to the Sanctuary. Now she did recognize the area—this was one of the densest parts of the swamp, said to be nigh impenetrable because of the beasts and the guardian tree rumored to be here…

Sadness touched her and she bowed her head, turning to salute the Sanctuary’s entrance with her sword.

“May thou be renewed someday by Farore’s grace, Great Emerald Oak,” she murmured. Hearing the rustle of leaves, she ran for the portal, disappearing through it as the woods of the Everfree Forest met her eyes, leaving Shadeleaf Swamp far behind her…

And she rematerialized back in the Nightmare Moon statue clearing. Shaking her mane out, she turned to face the portal, opening the scroll she had gotten from Sheik to peruse the contents.

To my dearest student and sister in arms

I pray this letter finds you well. Please give this to the Princesses after thou hast sealed Ganondorf’s portal. In our last meeting, one was remiss in giving you the knowledge to close the portals that the Dark One may open to Equestria. I give you that knowledge now—Sheik is trustworthy, so have no fear of him, I know how thou art when meeting new ponies.
To close the portals, use the song I have enclosed…the Sonata of Sealing. This song will close the portals on the Equestrian side…use the Harp of Ages to do so. The Sonata of Sealing will seal portals, but it may also have other uses in Equestria that may come in handy—ware how thou uses it, however! I have enclosed a few other songs—the rest of the letter is for the Princesses’s eyes only; they shalt share the rest with thee when they have the chance.

Until our next meeting

Thine dearest mentor and friend
Princess Zelda

The next part of the letter was clearly, the Sonata of Sealing. The notes were akin to the Song of Time, she noticed, but the tempo was clearly slower than the original. She reached out with her magic, summoning the Harp of Ages using the spell Princess Luna had taught her, and the magical instrument appeared with a silent ‘pop’ next to her head. Gazing at the notes, she reached out with her magic and began to pluck the strings.

The Harp of Ages began to glow as she played the song she had just learned, the majestic melody echoing in the clearing as the magic in the harp reacted to the song’s notes. The portal began to shrink in concordance with the song, and when she lowered the harp, letting the final notes fade out into the air, the portal sealed shut, vanishing as if it had never been. Skyward gazed at where the portal had been, before she dispelled her ‘anchor’ to the Nightmare Moon statue, stuffing the Harp in her bag and ran off back towards Ponyville, hoping to find Twilight Sparkle or one of the others.