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adrift-in-thyme · 9 months

Note

Not sure if you keep taking prompts, but if you do:

Boys visiting Malanya? You can make it really angsty if you know what I mean but it's optional.

Thanks for the prompt!! <33 I put all my Malanya headcanons in here lol. I hope you enjoy it!

Fic beneath the cut (also on Ao3)

Cw for animal injury

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Twilight bites out a curse. “Ilia’s gonna kill me.”

His fingers ghost Epona’s leg, following the trail of her wound. The gash is deep and jagged, an angry line of crimson.

“How bad is it?” Wild asks from just behind him. Twilight can feel his eyes upon him — his and those of the other heroes. All watching, all waiting to hear the damage.

Twilight chews his lip. “It’s bad.”

Lizalfos are not beasts to be trifled with, especially those with The Shadow’s blood in their veins. And the one that had sliced Epona’s leg had seen fit to make that fact even more clear.

He had cut it down seconds later, but the deed was already done, the injury carved in a river of red upon his loyal steed.

Epona whinnies mournfully and he looks up at her.

I’m sorry, girl.

“We’re out of fairies.” It’s Warriors now, all business despite the blood trickling down his side, and the way he leans against Time’s arm, just a bit too heavily to raise suspicions.

“Potions too,” Legend chimes in, voice hoarse and lacking its usual sharpness.

They have all come away from this latest battle worse for wear. Alive, yes, but wounded and exhausted. It was a surprise attack and a large one at that. Fighting it back had taken more energy and resources than they had had available.

Twilight closes his eyes for a moment and inhales through his nose. They’re in desperate need of healing. But with Hyrule injured as well, he can’t possibly ask him to tend to any of their little party…not even Epona. The traveler is hardly standing as it is.

“We need a Great Fairy,” Time pipes up. He turns to Wild. “Are there any near here?”

The champion thinks for a moment.

“No Great Fairies. But…there is someone similar.” He points to where a path winds between the mountains. “They’re not far from here. Just down that trail.”

A spark of hope alights within Twilight and he grasps it for dear life. “They’ll heal Epona?”

“And us?” Wind asks.

“I can’t promise they’ll heal us, but Epona?” A small grin tugs at Wild’s lips. “Definitely. They’re the Horse God, after all.”

Legend raises his eyebrows. “The Horse God?”

“Yup. The patron God of Horses. They protect them, heal them, and” —Wild swallows and averts his eyes slightly— “Sometimes they revive them. Anyway, their name’s Malanya.”

“Malanya.” Time says the name slowly, letting it roll over his tongue. “That’s an interesting name.”

There’s something strange in his voice, but Twilight doesn’t have time to unpack all that at the moment.

“Take us to them, cub,” he says, rising. He runs a hand over Epona’s muzzle and grasps her reins. “Epona can make it, right girl?”

She bumps her nose against his head in reply, warm breath blowing through his hair. A small smile sneaks onto his face.

You’re gonna be alright, Epona, he promises both her and himself. We’ll get you fixed up. Just hang on a little longer.

True to Wild’s words, the journey is a short one. But between Epona’s injuries and their own, Twilight feels like it’s drawn out into eternity. Every step is agony, every movement another chance for his steed to crumple or someone to collapse.

The monsters they meet along the way do little to help matters. Wild is quick to draw his bow, however, and he takes them out in no time. Still, it seems a miracle when at last the fountain comes into sight.

The heroes come to a halt right before the large flower bud.

“It looks like a fairy fountain,” Hyrule says, frowning. “But the magic feels different.”

Wild grins. “Oh, it’s much different than a fairy fountain, believe me. Now, you guys wait here. I just need a minute to wake them up.”

Epona lets out a small whinny and Twilight rubs her shoulder.

You did it, girl. You made it.

He watches as Wild walks onto one of the large flower petals and stands, hands on hips, waiting. For a moment everything remains the same. Fairy dust floats, and butterflies flit, and silence reigns in the clearing. Then, there’s a sound of rumbling thunder and suddenly the water in the fountain flies into the air, raining down in shimmery droplets upon the group. And from within its sparkling torrents, something large and colorful erupts.

Twilight cranes his neck, following the being as it rises higher and higher. It towers over the heroes, a strange form with the head of a horse and disembodied hands that wave to and fro. Part of him wants to be afraid, but…

He steps closer, tilting his head. There’s something interesting about this deity, something that almost draws him to them. Yet, he can’t decide what.

“Oh, it’s you again,” Malanya says, lilting tone echoing throughout the space. Their voice brings to mind the feel of riding across the plains of Hyrule, the wind in his hair, and the smell of fresh rain and spring grass in his nostrils. “Why have you come to visit? Please, do not tell me something dire has befallen another of your loyal steeds.”

Wild clears his throat. “Well, no one died this time, if that helps you feel better. But Epona” —he steps aside so the horse is in full view— “she’s hurt.”

“As are we,” Warriors pipes up from behind. “So, if you would be so kind…”

Malanya isn’t listening to him, however. They rise impossibly higher, water droplets raining from their adornments. In the next second, they’re leaning forward, trembling fingers reaching for the champion. The heroes step forward, hands flying to their weapons, bodies tensed and ready.

“You test my patience, boy!” Malanya says, and their voice booms now. “Anyone who mistreats their horses so shall feel my wrath!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Twilight sees Time go abruptly still. He shifts slightly, battle stance relaxing just a bit. And when the deity suddenly bursts out into hearty laughter, a strange expression comes onto his face.

“Come now, sheath your weapons.” A hand waves dismissively, their tone what Twilight thinks is meant to be reassuring. “I only jest.”

“We both know you’re not joking.”

It’s Time’s voice now, clear and strong, yet oddly tentative. But when the deity turns to him in a whirl of color and water, he doesn’t budge.

“What did you say?”

A smirk plays on his lips despite the strained situation.

“I said we both know you’re not joking.”

There’s a beat of silence in which the other heroes look between their unofficial leader and the deity, breath held in anticipation. And then something seems to shift in the air, a tension lifted, and Malanya laughs once more.

“You have heart, my dear hero. But, really, who asked you?”

For a split second, something like a smile enters the deity’s pupil-less eyes. It’s gone as soon as it comes, however. With another dismissive wave of a hand, they turn back to Wild.

“I sense no foul play nor evil intentions in any of you…though” —A quick glance at Time– “some among you are filled with mischief. I will heal your loyal steed, and—just this once—your own wounds.”

Malanya lifts their hands, as though preparing to conduct a concert, then sweeps their delicate fingers down and over the heroes. Twilight finds his eyes slipping closed as a breeze washes over him, born upon the wings of fairy-blessed water. Pain he hadn’t even truly registered enduring disappears like a weight leaving his shoulders. And when he opens his eyes once more he can see similar relief displayed on his brothers’ faces.

Ducking down, Twilight runs a gentle hand over the sides of Epona’s leg. But rather than the edges of a gash, his fingers brush unmarred flesh coated in a healthy layer of auburn hair.

She nickers as he rises, already nosing at his forehead, and he allows himself a smile.

“Your friendship with your horse is a strong one.” Malanya’s voice reaches him and he turns to meet their eyes. “It is a precious thing, to share such a connection with the noblest of animals. Remember that it is a two-way road. Your steed trusts you to keep her safe.”

Twilight nods, somberly. Guilt still tugs at him like a leaden weight. Too many times, he has allowed Epona to suffer. Too many times, he has failed to protect her.

I’m so sorry.

Epona nudges him, gently, and the deity chuckles.

“Your horse wishes you to know that she understands…and that all is forgiven.”

A wavering grin tugs at his lips. Twilight presses his forehead to Epona’s for a moment, then drags his gaze back to the deity.

“Thank you.”

They nod. “Now, go, continue your adventure.” Abruptly, they turn to Wild. “I hope to not see you again for a long while.”

“Rude,” Wild grumbles as he hops down from the petal and comes to stand by Twilight’s side.

Twilight pats him on the shoulder, both a comfort and a thanks. Then, he prepares to follow the other heroes as they file back onto the road.

Time lingers, however, the same odd look on his face. And when Twilight pauses to reach out to him, he realizes it is one of pain.

“You coming, old man?” he asks, gently, placing a hand on his mentor’s arm.

Time doesn’t meet his eyes. Instead, he looks upward to where Malanya still looms over them, gazing down at him almost expectedly.

Strange that they stayed, given how Wild claims the gods and fairies always retreat into their buds as soon as their jobs are complete.

“Before we go, I must know,” he says, and there is something in his voice Twilight seldom hears. A vulnerability reserved for moments of anguish or great joy, of bonding with his brothers or embracing Malon. "Are you…her?”

The smile enters the deity’s eyes once more, though this time there is sorrow in it.

“I was once, though only in spirit. So long as you were not at rest, neither could she be. Hence, she asked the gods for this fate, and they bestowed it upon her.”

Twilight watches Time’s face, trepidation rising fast within him. But the old man’s expression has turned steely and he can decipher nothing past the steadfast walls he has erected.

“She is gone now, however,” Malanya continues, gently. “Her spirit has faded, or perhaps merely been set free. And though parts of her remain with me to this day, I am no longer the Malon you know and love. I am merely myself – Malanya, protector, and patron God of Horses. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less.”

For a long moment, silence hangs heavy. Then, right when Twilight is certain they will all be smothered beneath it, Time steps back and nods.

“Thank you,” he says, tone clipped, professional.

He is no longer Link, now. No, that barrier is back, the one even Twilight struggles to bypass, and he is the Hero of Time once more.

“We greatly appreciate all that you have done. Farewell.”

If he mourns his wife as he turns away, if he ponders the mysteries behind Malanya’s words as he begins to walk, he gives no indication. But Twilight can hear it on the breeze as they start along the path, a whisper, a cry.

“Farewell, my love. Farewell.”

And when a tear trickles down Time’s cheek, he sees it.

Even so, Twilight would never dream of saying a word.

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