Daily Debate: Does Epona Die in Majora’s Mask?

I figured today could use a simple, pleasant debate to fill our hearts with nice, warm feelings and our minds with happy, cheerful thoughts. Then I realized

Majora’s Mask 3D comes out next week and determined that my initial figurings had been completely misguided.

Many of us are probably familiar with

Epona‘s brief little storyline in Majora’s Mask: in the opening segment of the game, the Skull Kid steals Epona, Link gives chase, and when he catches up with the little imp he is informed that the Skull Kid “did you a favor and got rid of [Epona].” The implication, which Link appears to arrive at alongside the player, seems to be that the Skull Kid actually killed your horse.

But then you reach

Romani Ranch later in the game and find Epona there, alive and well, having been taken in by Romani and Cremia when they found the horse wandering around in the open. Case closed, problem solved, happy endings for everyone! …right?

Well…about that…

There’s still an argument to be made for the sad, shocking tale instead. It all boils down to the nature of

Termina being a parallel world to Hyrule, with parallel citizens inhabiting it: the Epona we meet at Romani Ranch could very well not be Link’s Epona, but rather his companion’s Terminian counterpart. She might react to Epona’s Song in the same way as the horse of Ocarina of Time, but this could still be an entirely different steed who has lived an entirely different life in Termina. She doesn’t have a Hyrulian saddle or accessories in this game, after all; the only thing we have to go on is her appearance, and that evidence is useless in a land of doppelgangers.

So which do you think she is? Is the horse at Romani Ranch our Hyrulian Epona, and the Skull Kid was only lying to us like the [terrible, horrible, no good, very bad] prankster that he is? Or is she instead the Terminian Epona, whom Link mistakes for his old friend and ends up taking with him on his future adventures? I’ve always preferred the former, as I’m sure many do, since the alternative

is a rather depressing thought. But at the same time…I can definitely see the latter working out as well, due to both the corruptive influence of Majora’s Mask on the Skull Kid and the nature of Termina as a parallel world. Join the Daily Debate and let us know your stance in the comments!

Oh, and, um… I apologize to anyone whose day I ruined by pointing out this possibility.