True to Bountiful Harvest's word, the earth pony mare woke her at dawn, cheerfully yelling in her ear that it was TIME TO GET UP, SLEEPYHEAD!

Skyward all but bounded out of the bed and stumbled, tangled in the simple linen sheets before she fell flat on her face, much to Bountiful Harvest's amusement. Head ringing and ears aching from the drill sergeant level wake up call she asked for, Skyward dragged herself out of the cot, scrubbing her face with one hoof and grumbling a little, but she got herself up and began rebrushing/rebraiding her mane and gathering her things together. She strode out into the greyish dawn, where Jade Mist and Dark Wind were waiting for her. Between the two of them there was a large, sturdy looking basket on wheels padded with straw and blankets sewn to the sides, lashed to them by strong leather harnesses. Coming from a forest village, Skyward had only heard of this sort of transportation...basket chariot travel was only used as a last resort when situations were dire, and clearly the Captain had exercised his rank to be sure she got a ride to the capital.

Bountiful Harvest stopped her before she could board, handing her a warm wrapped package with one hoof; the smell from it was slightly sweet...it was cornbread, she realized when she took it from the mare.

"I don't know what thy mission is, missy, but ye clearly aren't taking thy time to fill thy belly. Take this with ye, and Goddesses speed ye on thy way!"

"May thy days be filled with glory and thy nights full of peace," Skyward returned, and saluted her before she climbed into the basket. The two male pegasi opened their wings wide and were soon airborne...glancing at her two escorts, Skyward opened the package Bountiful Harvest gave her and split the round loaf of sweet, crumbly bread into three pieces. The two pegasi were surprised at the unexpected treat that rose into view in front of them borne by a silver aura, but they certainly were not going to pass up the chance for an impromptu breakfast!

Jade Mist brushed the crumbs from his muzzle and glanced back at their passenger with a warm smile. "Kind of thee to share thy bounty, Skyward of Fiador."

Skyward quietly smiled back at him. "T'would be unfair if I kept it all to myself, Jade Mist of Bridleriko. Father always said a gift is sweeter when shared with friends. Besides, the two of thou look like thou did not get thy morning meal either?"

Dark Wind shook his head, licking the honeyed crumbs from his muzzle and giving her a wink. "Not with ol' Blizzard Butt nagging at us to get this chariot up and going, milady."

Skyward facehoofed, snickering and shaking her head. "Here now, have a care about what thy say about thy leader; thou do not know if he is nearby to hear such things, aye?"

Jade Mist laughed and Dark Wind guffawed at her. "Missy, the lot of the battalion say worse, but tis' all in good fun. I call him Snowfart on occasion."

Skyward smirked at him in amusement. "I see...Is that why thy Captain is right there beside thou looking like a Wolfos waiting to pounce?"

Jade Mist actually turned white under his pale green coat and twisted his head around to look for his leader, but Dark Wind's uproarious laughter and Skyward's own giggling made him realize he'd been had! He snorted in amusement, grinning at the young mare.

"Minx, thou art. I shalt get ye for that later."

Skyward only gave him a 'bring it on' grin in return, and all three ponies shared a good laugh. The flight was noneventful, if not cold, making Skyward bundle herself in her cloak and look down over the lip of the basket. Hayrule looked so different from above...from this high, there was no sign of the beasts that plagued their homeland.

"Beautiful, is it not?"

She looked up at Dark Wind, who smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Aye. Shame my brother has wings and I do not; this is what I too could see if I had them..."

"Wings or no wings, thou art a lovely mare," Jade Mist told her with a gentle smile, and Skyward's eyes widened and she blushed scarlet under her fur, ducking her head under her cowl to hide her burning cheeks. Annoyed, Dark Wind swatted the back of his comrade's head with one hoof and glared at him in reproach. "Have thou no shame, Jade Mist? Thou embarrassed her; apologize at once!"

Jade Mist rubbed the back of his head with a wince, but expressed his apologies all the same; Skyward mutely nodded, choosing to look over the side of the basket again. She wasn't used to males flirting with her at all; most of the young stallions her age were just friends to her anyway. Then again, Tempest Wing was always glaring at any of them that got near her...

"Hah! There 'tis, my lady mage! Behold, Hayrule Castle itself!"

Skyward looked up at Dark Wind's shout and she turned her head. The clouds were parting for the two pegasi as they made their approach...the slate blue peaks of the massive whitestone castle keep were rising out of the clouds proper as they made their descent. It truly was a sight to behold, seeing the majestic structure from this distance. Yes, Skyward had heard tales, and pictures in the books her sire possessed, but this...this was the raw, amazing reality. The basket chariot circled before they landed on the eastern bridge leading into the town proper; much to Dark Wind's annoyance, Jade Wind unhitched himself and guided a blushing Skyward out of the basket, gesturing at the causeway into the city.

"And so have ye arrived, lady battlemage. Tell me, how do ye intend on traveling back to Fiador?"

"On hoof of course, Jade Mist, why dost thou ask?"

Dark Wind came up next to his comrade, giving her a light nudge with one wing, earning a stink eye from his partner. "If ye need a ride back to Shadowleaf Forest proper, t'would be our pleasure to return ye home."

Skyward smiled at them warmly. "I am honored by thy offer; mayhap I shall take thou two up on it, should I return to Bridleriko first. Fair winds to thou both!"

Before either pegasus could respond, she nuzzled them both and turned tail, galloping off towards the gates proper. Both stallions smiled foalishly after the mare, before noticing the others' expression and glaring at one another, wings ruffling and spreading wide in challenge towards the other.

"She nuzzled me first."
"She did not."
"Tch, what would a beauty such as she find in a fluffbrain like thou?"
"Fluffbrain? Oh thou are one to talk, Sir Plothead..."

The guards at the other end of the causeway couldn't hear the two arguing pegasi stallions from their distance, but it was pretty clear to why they were arguing, and they were both struggling not to bust a gut howling. They barely managed to keep straight faces as the unicorn mare in question approached their position and one of them moved to bar her path.

"Halt! State thy business in Hayrule Castle Town!"

Skyward jolted backwards at the forward statement, but she recovered her composure and held out the scroll,making sure they could see her father's seal. "I am delivering an urgent message to the Princess on behalf of my sire, Mossy Boulder."

The guards looked at one another before they nodded and let her pass through the huge, heavy iron bound gates proper. Before them, the noise level was stifled, but once she passed behind them...

Ponies. Ponies EVERYWHERE. Never mind the NOISE.

Skyward looked around her at all the hustle and bustle---this was definitely NOT her village! The streets were paved with white cobblestone, stone houses and establishments, wealthy, middle class and poor ponies of all types; pegasi, unicorn, earth pony...
They were all over the place, buying wares, talking in groups, laughing and trading goods and jokes; she could hear music playing somewhere and hear the rhythmic stomp of hooves as well, and she twitched a little...
She did like to dance, come to think of it...
Turning her head to the left, she blinked, seeing a bulky, brown colored pony...clearly an earth pony with a strange looking flower on his flank...it looked like a cross between a blossom and a bomb? Talk about WEIRD.
He looked normal enough, white mane, pale gold brown coat except...he sparkled, as if he was made from some sort of polished rock--hay, he looked like he was a living statue anyway! There was an odd symbol placed high on his left foreleg...it looked like a diamond with three smaller diamonds placed left, center and right atop the larger one. Somepony bumped her and grunted, and she hastily made her apologies, jolted back into reality. Time to deliver that message!

She asked a town guard for directions to the palace, and the unicorn pointed the way there. Thanking him, she managed to get through the crowd, trying to keep her cloak from being pulled, pushed, shoved, or even dislodged. The Bridleriko ponies didn't mind her not having her mark too much, but Castle Town ponies? That, she wasn't so sure about and she definitely didn't want to find out anyway. Thinking about the Bridleriko ponies, she blushed a bit, thinking about Jade Mist and Dark Wind...they seemed like nice stallions, if a little forward. Then again, most pegasi were brash in nature anyway...

Chuckling to herself, she made her final approach to the grand gates of the palace...

Only to have twin spears crossed with a harsh SCH-CLANG to bar her path. One of the imposing guards was a huge pegasus, slate gray with a black mane, and he glared down at her through the slits in his helm.

"Nopony passes through the castle gates!"

"Sir, with all due respect, I have an urgent message to deliver to Her Royal Highness..."

"I said, nopony passes through the castle gates! Begone, before I have thee thrown in the dungeon for thy cheek!"

Skyward's ears turned back, but she knew there was no getting around it; he obviously meant business. She turned and walked back towards the market, and once she was away from the gates proper she sat beside a stone wall and put a hoof to her chin to think.
How the buck was she going to get to the princess if those blockheaded horseapples for brains guards weren't going to let her in? She doubted using her sire's name would help this time; that massive pegasus guard did mean what he said, she had no doubt of that.
"Damn it, Skyward, think....there has to be a way," she muttered to herself as she got to her hooves and traveled further down into the market proper. She looked at some market wares...tools, weapons, fruit and vegetables...she purchased some seeds from one stall with some of the snaffles her sire had given her, and got some jewel apples from another stall to snack on. She munched on one of the apples...it was a bright sapphire one, and she smiled at the cooling taste of the fruit, putting the rest of the bag in her satchel for later, not her saddlebags. Grumbling under her breath, she walked by the castle walls, shaking her head as she gazed up at the cold white and blue edifice.

So close yet so far...but she wasn't giving up. Not by a long shot.

Skyward meandered further around the walls and saw two ponies loitering around close to the side near a service entrance doorway with an open window overhead, a stack of large crates close to them as well on a rolling pallet. Skyward's royal blue eyes narrowed upon seeing the window--that could be her ticket in, if she was lucky. Peering around the corner, the two ponies...one was a mare and the other a stallion, both earth ponies and wearing the livery of the royal household. The problem was however she knew one of them would see her if she rounded the corner.

How to distract them...?

Giggling caught her attention, and she turned her attention to them again; the mare was clearly the target of the stallion's affections, and she shook her head as the stallion tried stealing a kiss from the mare in question. Biting her lip, she regarded them, eyes casting about for anything she could use as a distraction without hurting anypony...
The wind kicked up, as if a silent answer to her dilemma, and the mare squealed as the breeze caused her skirt to fly up around her, much to the stallion's amusement and pleasure, though he did mask that reaction with concern for the object of his affections. However, the dust that stirred and caused him to sneeze and cough brought the mare's concern to him in return. Upon seeing that, a devilish grin touched Skyward's muzzle. She shrouded herself with her cloak, and focused her magic.

There were two ornate looking lamps that hung low over the mare and stallion's positions, and she summoned another brisk wind, smirking as she heard the mare squeal again, making sure the hem of her dress got caught on the lamp's outstretched hook, with a little arcane help from hers truly. But this time, she also moved the dust and dirt that was lodged in and around the pathway, and used it to blind the two ponies in question. Moving swiftly she ducked around them, jumped onto the stacked crates, and was in the window above the door before they noticed anything.

In the cool, dark room, she pressed herself against the stone wall, waited a few tense moments to see if they noticed anything amiss. When no shout of alarm was forthcoming, only laughter and cooing from the stallion below, Skyward moved forward; stepping carefully as she could to avoid making noise as she edged towards the door she could see. Nayru's sacred teats, why the hay didn't Blazing Dawn teach her how to turn invisible yet? She passed by a mirror that was stored in the room, along with some boxes and sealed chests...and froze up when her cloak was suddenly pulled taut behind her. Out came her sword, and she whipped around, raising it high...

Only to see the edge of the cloak had snagged on one of the mirror's feet.

Huffing out a breath of annoyance, cheeks tinging red, she unsnared her cloak, and re-sheathed her blade, shaking her head at herself.
"Get it together, dammit," she muttered under her breath as she bunched the cloak and moved towards the door. She pressed her ear to the door; heard nothing, so she opened the door using her magic, just a crack...

The scents of flowers, strange and exotic, fresh water, grass met her nose, and she slowly opened the door wider. In front of her was...
A stone entryway framed by tall hedges, and two massive pots of peonies and marigolds sitting stately side by side on either side of the entryway leading to the apparent hedgemaze in front of her. Laying back her ears, the unicorn glanced around...no guards here, apparently. Where was she now? She moved out proper and closed the door silently...only to dive behind one of the potted plants when she heard the 'clank-clank' of armor.

"Did you hear anything, sir?"

"Nothing to report here, Sergeant."

"Good. Carry on soldier."

Skyward waited until they were gone, and began to get up once more...only to freeze when she heard the clinking of something inside of her saddlebags. She winced---she'd have to leave them behind to make sure she stayed quiet. Glancing back at the door, she let herself back in, and pulled the message and the Snaffle Wallet out of her saddlebags and stuffed them into her satchel proper, making sure to cinch the strap tight so it wouldn't make noise. She shoved the bags in a dusty corner and covered them with a piece of linen she'd found in another open box, and slipped back out.

She slinked down the path and poked her head around the corner. No guard, so far. But the path split, going two ways...

She hid once again as the guard clanked past her, carrying a spear and wearing polished steel plate armor. He was going to the right, apparently...

Skyward watched his movements carefully. He paused at where this hedge clearly ended, and then he turned the corner. She couldn't see through the hedge proper...it was too closely packed together for one, and the royal gardeners obviously knew their work. She watched him circle around once more before she took a deep breath...

And followed him from behind. She followed him as quietly as possible, ducking behind another hedge to avoid another soldier. She followed him around too, hiding behind a large ornamental pot filled with roses this time...purple ones. The smell tempted her, but she gritted her teeth--there was just NO time for a snack right now. She ducked through the entryway, glancing around. Clearly entryways to other hedge-gardens were marked by the flowered pots. But which one led into the castle? She bit her lip as she snuck behind a few more guards...this was really starting to rag on her nerves. She ducked behind the pot again when the guard passed her, and this time, she went the other way. This hedge path opened up to a small garden...there was a shallow pool, several stacked baskets, more baskets with linen in them...

Hearing clanking hoofsteps coming up behind her and to the right, she ran for one of the linen baskets. Grasping some of it, she yanked it out and dove into it, burying herself in the silken white material, and covering herself with the rest, pushing the excess into another basket off to the side. Biting her lower lip, she waited with bated breath as another set of armored hooves sounded.

Both guards came into view...one a male unicorn, the other an earth pony.

"Tch...high security and for what, exactly? Remind me why we're doing this again, Shatter Point?"

The unicorn heaved a sigh and cleared his throat a few times before speaking in a very deep and obnoxiously pompous tone of voice.
" 'By order of High Chancellor Gilded Lock, there is to be no visitors until further notice due to the threat of war with the Gerudo tribe.' Bah! Horsefeathers the lot of it! We are already at war and the damn foal can't even see that because he has his gilded head shoved all the way up his perfumed plot!"

Skyward stuffed her cloak in her mouth to keep from braying with laughter the way the earth pony guardsman was. He slammed a hoof against the ground, laughing fit to split until tears ran from his eyes. He jerked off his helm and sniffed, shaking his dark brown mane and chuckling.

"Forgive me, my brother in arms. It..it is just so damned funny when thou imitate His Lordship..."

Shatter Point chuckled at the earth pony,giving him a shove with one shod hoof. "All right, all right. One shalt admit it is amusing. But, come, hurry, we cannot be found tarrying here for long, Golden Marble."

"Aye, aye, I know. Thankfully the princess is sensible."

"Praise be to the Goddessses for that."

"I say, where art the laundry maids? Were they not supposed to deliver these to Her Highness's bedchamber yet?"

"Ah, 'tis lunch time, remember? Speaking of which, the Princess is likely in the Ruby Garden having her own lunch. Let us go get ours, brother, I am starving!"

The two guards left...and Skyward popped out of the basket of silk, shaking herself. That was a close one to be sure!

Ruby Garden. Right then. Ruby...red....red roses, perhaps? She'd figured out by this point that the pots with flowers signified a new entry to the next garden, so maybe if she found red roses, or red flowers, she'd find the princess. She moved forward, checking for the guards, and skirted down the hedges again. Blue flowers...nope. She ducked down another hedgeway and rounded the corner...yellow peonies...
Ugh.
Pink azaleas was next. She was about to give up hope when she rounded another hedge after trailing yet another guard's shining armored rear...
She spotted not a pot, but a huge trellis of crimson roses framing a graceful marble archway with the Triforce symbol set high above it and a broad smile touched her muzzle. Finally! She checked for guards, saw none, and stepped out towards the entrance. Closer and closer she came, following one of the guards. He stepped around the corner, and she approached the rose trellised entrance...

"Hoi! Who art thou?! Thou art not allowed in here!"

Aw, buck.

Skyward snapped her head around...realizing too late there had been a second guard and he had decided to reverse his travel path. She bolted into the trellised entrance, the guards shouts rising behind her along with the rapid pounding of hooves. She burst through the entrance and into a beautiful rose garden. White marble inlaid with gold was the floor plan, the lush emerald beds of thorned blossoms laid out in a rainbow of color; blue, purple, yellow, orange, red...there seemed to even be one that was multihued in color. Fountains spouted crystalline water from three sides, each statue akin to one of the Great Golden Goddesses themselves---Din, Nayru and Farore, respectively. In the center of this rainbowed tableau was a white dining table, and seated at that table was none other than Princess Zelda of Hayrule herself.

Zelda's coat was a beautiful alabaster white hue, and her mane was akin to flowing sunshine, a golden living river of honey that draped to the floor, some of it tied back in braids. Her great wings were also snowy white, neatly folded to her sides, and her lavender and white gown was made of the finest silk, gilded with golden ornaments and thread, the crest of the Royal Family emblazoned on the front. A golden diadem set with a single large ice blue gem in the center graced the princess's head, enhancing her long white horn that rose from the middle of her forehead. The princess's eyes were a warm cerulean hue, much lighter than Skyward's own eye color.

The princess was clearly dining on some sort of berry trifle, but looked up in surprise when Skyward clattered into the garden proper. The unicorn skidded to a halt in front of her, and removed the message from her pouch...but it went flying into the air and landed right in the princess's meal like a mock unlit candle when three royal guards rushed in, one of them a familiar looking earth pony. He rushed forward, throwing the spear he carried at her--Skyward snared it in midair and threw it aside...

But it turned out to be a distraction, because she then shrieked in pain when he landed on her full force and dimly heard something go 'crack'...

The searing pain however was the match to the tinder...anger roared high inside her...she couldn't fail, not here, not now...

And she twisted her head around and summoned all her magical strength, her horn erupting in silver flame...

One second earlier Golden Marble was body slamming the cowled intruder to the ground...the next he found himself sailing through the air...before he slammed into the wall with the echoing sound of a large bell ringing and fell right into the azure rose bushes with a howl of pain. Even though he was wearing armor, what could get into the nooks and crannies was painful enough.

The second guard was a unicorn...Shatter Point. He charged the female unicorn...she was in pain from a cracked rib, but she was obviously not going to go down without a fight. She reared and lashed out with her sword, blocking his spear strike. They struggled for dominance...Skyward struck out with a front hoof thrust, which he moved back from...she used that split second to hit him with a fire spell and he shouted in pain as the superheated armor seared his skin...

While all this was going on, Princess Zelda's shimmering golden aura wrapped around the scroll that had landed in her food. When her eyes lighted on the seal holding the scroll shut, they widened and she spun towards the melee just as the third guard, a pegasus, shot down and bucked Skyward into the western garden wall. Skyward, dazed from the painful armored kick, waited for the inevitable unforgiving impact against cold marble that was sure to come...

But it never came.

She glanced around, blinking at the golden glow that had suddenly surrounded her. The pegasus...an electric yellow one from the hue of his wings, started forward to capture her proper, but one graceful alabaster hoof swept outwards in a regal gesture, stopping him in his tracks.

"Neigh, Thunderous Maelstrom. This mare is no threat. Return to thy posts, all of thee...ah, Golden Marble, allow me to aid thou..."

The princess levitated the dusky golden colored earth pony guard out of the thorns and carefully picked out any remaining brambles from his armor. "A thousand thanks, Your Royal Highness. Shall we take the intruder to the dungeons?"

"Neigh, Golden Marble. We shalt speak with her. In truth, I hath been expecting a visitor from Shadowleaf Forest, and 'tis this young mare who hath been chosen."

By this point, Zelda had placed Skyward on the ground, and the young mare gasped for breath. She coughed harshly and blood spattered from her mouth onto the pristine marble; upon seeing that, Shatter Point moved forward...and flattened himself to the ground when Skyward whirled on him, a lance of thunder erupting from her horn and flash frying a small ornamental tree on impact.

"Away from me, thou armored son of a chimera! Touch me again and it shalt be thy funeral!" the mare roared, rearing and stomping her hooves against the marble harshly...then gasping for breath again. Princess Zelda realized that the young unicorn mare had been injured in the fight, and she firmly shooed her guards away, approaching Skyward carefully.

"Ye bear great courage and magic prowess, to be certain. What is thy name, young one?"

Her horn began to glow as she gently passed it over the shaking mare's body, who bowed her head before her princess. "I am Skyward of Fiador, Princess Zelda, second foal and daughter of Mossy Boulder and Inferno Flare. I pray thou wilt forgive my sire, Mossy Boulder. I do not yet bear my cutie mark, yet he sent me all the same."

"Ye need not beg forgiveness; there is naught to forgive...I shalt sanction thy journey, never fear. Thy father sent thee to me for two reasons...one, to deliver this message, and second..."

The princess looked down at her with a gentle smile. "He hath requested me to have thee trained in Nayru's Arts."

Skyward's eyes bugged out at this piece of news and she turned to stare up at the alicorn above her in shock. Her father...

Had requested...

Princess Zelda...

To have her trained in Nayru's Arts?!?!

The princess smiled benevolently at her as she finished casting her healing spell, mending the cracked rib and the torn muscles the young mare had. There would be a little pain, but no more spitting blood or labored breathing to be certain. "...Wha...what...Princess, I beg thine pardon for asking...what makes you so certain that...that I am worthy of..."

Princess Zelda gestured for Skyward to follow her, and indicated for her to sit at the table with her. She poured a glass of ruby strawberry juice for her guest, and took a drink from her own cup.

"Mossy Boulder was once my late father's Captain of the Guard. He retired, mainly because he had fallen for thy mother, Inferno Flare, and wished a quieter life, away from the hustle and bustle of the town. He is a very dear friend of the family, and I told him should he have any foals, that if he deemed them worthy to send them to me to be trained in the battle arts of Nayru's Wisdom."

"But I hath not even earned my cutie mark yet..."

"That wilt come in time, Skyward. You show great promise...your sire trained thee well. Considering the guile and skill thou used to get into the castle and slip past mine own guardponies, it shows thy sire taught thou well. Wilt thou accept thy training?"

The resounding joyful whoop of acceptance from the younger unicorn, never mind the impromptu victory prancing in the garden made the princess smile broadly at her newest student, for that was all the answer she needed to hear, despite the dire news she had received from her retired Captain of the Guard, that Ganon's forces now included demons and dark creatures...