Mipha was at an impasse.

For so long she had been here, in this uncharted land. It was rapidly changing from unfamiliar to familiar, and the ensuing thoughts that taunted her, saying that she would be trapped here in this place forever, worried her to no end. Though she was making plans to finally leave in search of any possible way to get back to the world she knew, she dared not venture far yet; fearing that she would only head off in the wrong direction, or else miss something important that might pass by.

Till then, she hid out within a large, dark, dank and deep cave with a very high roof to it that laid protruding from the shoreline and into the wall of a small, green, rocky gorge the river ducked and flowed through. It wasn't a place of secrecy many would call ideal in terms of luxury, but it was more than ideal enough for her.

This gorge, and this cave to be specific, was the perfect spot to set up her camp. It was beside a body of water, the river, which she could just dive into to escape a predator or other creature that had a chance to discover her. It provided ample shelter, should the elements prove to be unkind. With its sheer depth, it was even perfect to keep the smoke of a lit fire from escaping out in a cloud and reveal to anyone of where she was, as she had created now.

In truth, she didn't even need the fire. Zora had long adapted to living in environments that were wet and cool, and fire was the last thing her kind would need for most circumstances, save for lighting up extremely dark environments, or a more mundane action, such as cooking. If anything, its warmth was a simple, soothing comfort she wanted to savor. Though a shy individual at heart, companionship was something she still craved, and this fire was the closest thing she could think of to substitute it with. Well, it was much better than the company that she did have, anyhow.

Yes, there was another presence here with her; less than fifteen meters feet away from her and situated all the way in the back of the cave. Sitting upon a roughly-hewn 'throne' that had been crudely carved from the stone of the cavern's furthermost wall, a giant figure rested there, eternally unmoving. The only hint of life he possessed was the gnarled gasps of breath, as ragged in sound as he was in appearance, that he exhaled every few dozen seconds. Even then the sound was reminiscent of a passing wind that whistled from outside of the cavern's entrance, and as such, was easy to miss.

Mipha stared at the armored creature through the flames that laid in front of her. In spite of his colossal height he was a being of lanky proportions, though that wasn't to say his long limbs weren't extraordinarily thick compared to the kinds possessed by most creatures. The exposed parts of his skin, which to say were his arms and small portions of his legs, were as wrinkled, shriveled and dark as the coals of the fire in front of her. With the fact that some of his upper body was also outlined by a dulled, glowing texture, giving it a close resemblance to a fading ember, it seemed to be as though his flesh truly was made up of the dying coals of a flame. His face was partially concealed in darkness provided by a hood of chain mail he had over his head, and atop that was what seemed like a jagged, spiky crown of sorts. Also in his possession, with its end laying unused between his sandal-clad feet, was a great machete with a cleaver-esque blade and a notch in its tip that was as long in its magnificent and curved length as he was tall. His hands clutched to the handle of it that rested, with a statue's stillness, in the air beside his bowed head.

All he would ever do was sit there on his poorly-sculpted seat and do nothing. Not sleeping, not meditating - simply nothing. However, there was one time the Zora witnessed him perform one action. Murmuring with the all liveliness of something positively haggard dripping out of a coffin, from his scar-covered mouth came a deep and throaty voice that spoke of something in a dialect of yore; a sad musing about losing something he held most dear to something utterly cataclysmic in its magnitude. Mipha, with all that had happened, and her hope having taken a fair beating over the last, entire month, found herself empathizing with him greatly on such a subject of incredible loss.

But, like a fleeting breeze, that was all he ever said. No sooner had he spoken, his speech ceased and he went right back to his uncaring silence.

Sighing in tedium, Mipha picked up a thin stick from the kindling pile stationed behind her and prodded it at the logs of wood. She did this until one of the pieces lost its balance over the current one it was leaning upon and collapsed into the thick of the fire. Embers and ash shot up into the air from the force of its impact and shot away like fluttering bird attempting to escape, before inevitably fading away with the transparent cloud of smoke from the fire as they reached the roof of the cave; failing to drift outside and expose her hideout. Still the flames below them danced on.

Mipha poked at it for a few more minutes until she could feel her stomach grow hungry. Getting to her webbed feet, she decided to walk over to the entrance. Reaching it after several steps and seeing that the night sky was out and the moon, a thin crescent in its shape, had risen to the middle of the star-covered sky, she decided now was safest time to go out and forage for food. After using enough thrown clumps of sand lining the floor of the cave to douse the fire in wet earth until she was sure no flame would further be spawned forth from it, she grabbed a makeshift spear she had carved from the branch of a tree several days prior, made her way back to the shoreline at the front of her hideaway, and dove into the river.

With a pair of gills situated on the sides of her body, she breathed in the fresh water with a heavy heart, as just experiencing the cool sensation left the princess thinking of her home in Lanayru - specifically Zora's Domain. Swimming quickly, she moved against the current with ease and spotted a great many fish while she did so. It would be easy to catch one or two, but right now Mipha's appetite was not in the mood for the meat of fish. After taking a few chances to stealthily explore the area of forested land surrounding the river on nights not unlike this one, she remembered having located a spot rich with bushes containing a whole variety of berries. They heavily resembled the kind cultivated from the forests of Hyrule, and after witnessing birds readily devouring them without succumbing to any form of poison, she decided they were safe enough to harvest.

She left the river after a short journey when she realized she had arrived at the proper location. As she silently moved through the woods she held the spear in her hands in a more relaxed grip. Despite her small size, seemingly meek disposition, and main talent being in the realm of healing, her spearmanship was second to none. She had been taught everything she knew from a member of the Zora Royal Guard, a fellow by the name of Seggin, who saw her talent for the craft blossom early on in her life and sought to refine it. As an expert in the field, Mipha once had a weapon of exquisite craftsmanship equal to her skill that was known as the Lightscale Trident, but upon her death, it was left in the care of her people. From what she last remembered witnessing before vanishing and ending up here, she thought she caught a brief glimpse of it on the person of her beloved Link, showing him as its new owner.

Her thoughts still in the present, Mipha remained focused on her current objective. After a quiet venture spanning three minutes she reached the small patch containing the bushes, and on their thin, leafy branches sat clusters of berries. Mipha hurriedly set to grabbing as many as she could and stuffed them into a small pouch she had hanging from her hip; constructed by cutting out bits of the cloth she possessed that was slowly becoming more worn with use. It was a practical, and greatly more pragmatic use for it.

She had grabbed no more than several plump, reddish berries from one of the bushes when a sound went out, a moan, causing her to stop and listen. It was a hurt moan, but not one that sounded like it belonged to a large creature, or a threatening one for that matter. It was light and came from somewhere nearby. Hesitant but curious, Mipha stopped collecting the berries and began to venture a little further through the wilderness with her spear at the ready.

Passing through a final shrub, what the Zora princess came across next was a hollowed-out log laying on a flat area of the forest floor like a stone. It seemed empty to the unwary, but the sounds of pain were blatantly coming from inside of it, so Mipha crept to one end of it and peeked in. Within the log, as she could see with a loosened jaw, was a small figure.

Right off, before even checking to see if it was alive or merely unconscious, Mipha noticed that this creature heavily resembled the one she saw a great many days previously. The only difference, it seemed, was the yellow color of its fur and pinkish mane, and that was all without counting the dried crimson color hanging over her wounds.

Pierced into her yellow-furred flesh were three marks, surely provided by a great beast's fangs or claws. What told the Zora that she was alive, beside the occasional moan, was the fact that her chest shakily moved up and down with the air it was breathing, and its hoofed feet would sometimes twitch.

Mipha felt conflicted about what to do with this poor creature. She had no idea what they truly were or what their natures were like. Appearances could be deceiving, but then again, sometimes they weren't. Either way, if Mipha just up and left this ailing creature here it would most likely be found by some sort of predator, and that was assuming it didn't succumb to its injuries. The Zora Princess had a conscience firmer than many, and that conscience would not allow a possibly innocent creature like this to come to further harm on her watch.

Mipha, scolding herself either way for her still-reckless decision, placed her hands and finned arms inside of the log, around the equine creature's shoulders, and set to pulling her out and away from potential danger.

When Mipha returned to her campsite, having dragged the still-senseless creature to the river and used the current to get there quickly, she discarded her spear to the side and brought the being to the area close to where her put-out fire was. The giant was still there in the back of the cave on his chiseled throne, as usual. He didn't seem to mind having another warm body in this place, assuming he was paying attention to anything to begin with.

After sitting down beside her guest, Mipha concentrated. Placing one hand to the wounds she could see, blue energy began to emit from her palm, completely covering the bite marks in the glow. When but a few seconds had passed, the outline of dried blood started to recede, the marks looked like they were improving, and just a short time longer was all that was needed before it would be mended fully.

After a few minutes of this, Fluttershy's eyes slowly blinked open and she tiredly yawned. She awoke to the cool feeling of laying upon moistened dirt, as well as the sensation of something pressed against her side and a pleasant warmness radiating off of it. Turning her head, groggily as it was, she found herself staring into the face of an utterly alien creature she had never seen once before in her life, who stared back with a placid mien about her completely non-pony face.

Normally, Fluttershy probably would have screamed at having to wake up to such an abrupt surprise, or at least yelp in fear. But looking into the calm, amber eyes of this strange being, who upon a closer and more thorough inspection had an otherworldly sort of beauty to her, no such panic found its way into her. Only a little surprise took hold of her mind, and that was all. Her widened eyes slowly lowered and she thought of something to say.

"U-um..." she stammered. Mipha slowly turned her face away and looked to the wounds she was healing.

"There is no need to be afraid," she spoke in a voice that rivaled the softness of this pegasus' own. "I found you injured in the forest and brought you here. As we speak, my healing abilities are making you well again."

Looking down, Fluttershy saw that the warm feeling she had been experiencing was being performed by its hand. The blue glow, surrounding it like an aura, was almost blinding in its brightness.

She looked back to her healer's face and paused upon deciding on what to speak next. "My... my name's Fluttershy."

"I am... Mipha," Mipha replied with a nod, at first unsure if it was appropriate to speak her name to this stranger. "I am the princess and champion to the Zora people."

"Zora?" questioned the pegasus.

"I assume you have never seen a Zora before?" she tried to smile. "We are a water-dwelling race. This gift of healing is a power only I seem to possess among my people, wherever they are now..."

"You got separated from your people? Oh..." the pegasus said in a sympathetic tone. "How did it happen?"

"That is a long tale, I'm afraid," Mipha replied in a murmur. "Since I told you what I am, what sort of creature are you? You resemble creatures that lived in the lands surrounding the domain I hail from, but you all seem greatly more intelligent than them."

"Me?" Fluttershy questioned, motioning to herself with a hoof. "I'm a pony. Well, a pegasus to be specific. There are earth ponies and unicorns, too."

"You're all sentient ponies? That would explain the appearance, I guess," Mipha said, her eyelids lifting and the dark, vertical pupils her eyes themselves possessed dilating for a second in slight shock.

"You've never seen a pony like me before?"

"You're the first one I've spoken to who decided to speak back," she revealed. "I know not how your kind behaves, so I've been keeping my distance from you since I came to this land. If your kind doesn't appreciate my presence, it would fall into my interest to avoid you, after all."

"I can see your reasoning, but we ponies are a good people. We just... just..." the mare's voice cracked and soon stopped entirely as she suddenly caught sight of the colossal being sitting at the far end of the cave from the corner of her field of vision. "Wh-wh-who's that?" she asked next in a very panicked way, causing Mipha to speak something quickly to keep her still so she could continue to heal her properly.

"I don't know who that giant man is," she quietly spoke, "But I've grown to feel somewhat comfortable in his presence. He hasn't seemed to have moved since I set my camp up here a while ago, and I only realized he wasn't a statue two days after I made it. I believe he's harmless, so don't worry."

"But he's... glowing, a little," Fluttershy pointed out, growing calm and composed once more as she trusted her healer's words. "How didn't you notice him being alive because of that?"

Mipha hummed. "I... suppose I've been keeping my head hanging rather low over these past few weeks. Being away from my home and my family for so very long has left me feeling quite... lonely."

Fluttershy's ears lowered in compassion for these sad words when she detected the sheer melancholy in her tone. Her look lasted until a thought came to her head that was practically begging to be asked. "You know, the... the reason I was out there was because one of my friends and I were trying to find out what was causing the animals in here to act all upset. The kingdom we live in was having a bit of a problem, and we came to help sort things out," she said in a polite whisper. "You... wouldn't happen to be the source of all the ponies supposedly disappearing, would you? O-or the reason why all the animals in the forest have been suddenly getting angry at everyone, right?"

"Disappearances? Aggressive wildlife? I would never," she responded; her gentle hand held steadily over where she was healing the pony. "All I've done since I came to this place is try to survive in a manner that would disrupt very few. I've been making plans to leave this forest, but I'm not even sure where I should go. I have no interest in... causing all that. I am not even sure I would possess the capability to do such a thing."

"I see." Fluttershy was silent for the next minute as she sensed that Mipha was nearly complete with her goal. Sure enough, she soon was.

"There..." the Zora eventually smiled, taking her hand off of the pegasus' hide, revealing to Fluttershy that her injuries were fully healed. Not even a scar remained of the hydra's attack. "You should be fine now. In whatever manner you got those wounds, they weren't permanent."

"Thank you so much," Fluttershy said, bowing her head in gratitude after standing up to stretch her legs out. "Your healing abilities are just as good as the magic of some ponies I've met, if not better."

"Your kind practices actual magic?" Mipha's own head tilted in interest. "How intriguing..."

"Yeah, all ponies have it inside of them. It's just unicorns and alicorns that can actually manifest it," she went on. "One of my best friends, Twilight Sparkle, is a princess like you, except she's the Princess of Friendship. She has a great affinity for magic, as does her student and one of my other friends, Starlight Glimmer."

The mare looked outside the cave, to the sight of the night sky and put on a face of worry. "Oh, wow... I had no idea it was this late..."

"It's close to morning, if I'm not mistaken," corrected Mipha. "If you made a vow to be back to your friends at a specific time, I think it's been rendered void. Apologies."

"You don't have anything to apologize for. The reason I got hurt was because a hydra attacked me and that other friend I mentioned, Applejack. What I last remember is her luring the hydra from me and running off, but I know she's okay," Fluttershy said. "I have to get back to all of them before they get too worried. Um... before I go, I think I want to ask you one more thing. I mean, if it's okay with you."

Mipha gladly put on as affable of a visage as she could muster. "Ask away."

"Okay, um... so... what was it like, where you were from? What did you, a 'Zora', do just before you got here?"

As soon as she heard this, Mipha's thoughts went to the past, reminding her only of her demise and the one-hundred years she spent confined within her divine beast. "I... don't think I wish to reveal that much of myself," she shyly responded. She turned her head away and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I get it. I should be the one to say sorry," Fluttershy apologized, showing off a gentle smile to her new friend. "I would love to stay Princess Mipha, but I really need to get back to my friends in Canterlot. Want to come with me? It's greatly safer there than it is out here."

The thought of going to a civilized place was tempting, but the other thought of maintaining caution still brought forth a valid reason to deny the offer. With a small hint of reluctance in her movement, Mipha slowly shook her head. "No, I think I will remain here, until my trust in your kind has become a little stronger, at least. To give my first test of it, you won't tell your friends where I am, will you?"

"Of course not. I swear I won't tell anypony," Fluttershy promised. "I'll just tell them you healed me and that I don't think you're behind all the problems as of late. That will be it."

"Thank you," the Zora spoke. "I'll keep you to that."

A noticeable look of ambition and hopefulness then came over Fluttershy's face. "And while I'm at it, maybe I could try and have my friends find a way of getting you back to your home. The magic Twilight knows could be of great use in that regard. I would love to get you back to you people."

"You would do that?" questioned Mipha.

"Of course," Fluttershy responded. "I'll come back and visit you if I pick up anything that can help you. Stay safe till then!"

With a small wave and a final, confident look, Fluttershy turned around and flapped her feathered wings. As she took off into the dark sky, with only the light of the moon to guide her, she flew just a little faster than usual to get back to her friends as soon as possible; wishing that they weren't worried out of their minds looking for her.

And back down in the cave, for perhaps the first time since arriving to this place, Mipha began to feel a sense of happiness lift her soul.