Malon

Malon
Artwork of younger Malon from Ocarina of Time
First appearance	Ocarina of Time (1998)
Appears in	Ocarina of Time Oracle of Seasons Four Swords Adventures The Minish Cap
Gender	Female
Homeland	(Ocarina of Time) Hyrule (Oracle of Seasons) Holodrum (Four Swords Adventures) Hyrule (The Minish Cap) Hyrule
Hometown	(Ocarina of Time) Lon Lon Ranch (Oracle of Seasons) Eyeglass Lake (Four Swords Adventures) Hyrule (The Minish Cap) Hyrule Town
Kindred	Talon (father) Deceased Mother
Race	(Ocarina of Time) Hylian (Oracle of Seasons) Human
Alternate form(s)	(Majora's Mask) Romani (younger) Cremia (older)

"Oh, it's the fairy boy again! I heard that you found my dad! How did you like the castle? Did you see the Princess? Hee hee! Dad came home in a hurry after you found him. Hee hee! Oh yeah, I have to introduce you to my friend, fairy boy! She's this horse. Her name is Epona. Isn't she cute?"

— Malon

Malon (マロン, Maron^?) is a recurring character in the Legend of Zelda series. In a majority of her appearances, she and her father Talon are the owners of Lon Lon Ranch, where they raise cows, Cuccos, and horses. Malon also frequently appears in conjunction with the mare Epona as well as "Epona's Song".

Appearances

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Malon, Talon, and Ingo work at Lon Lon Ranch in Hyrule Field. Link first meets her in Hyrule Castle Town, where she tells him that her father has gone missing while delivering Lon Lon Milk to Hyrule Castle. He is given the Weird Egg, which hatches into a Cucco. Link eventually finds Malon's father sleeping near Hyrule Castle. He wakes him up with the newborn Cucco. Fearing Malon's rage, Talon flees back to the ranch to apologize. Malon can later teach Link "Epona's Song" on the Ocarina. When he plays this, the usually shy horse Epona rushes to Link.

Later, when Link returns after having been sealed inside the Temple of Time for seven years, he discovers that the ranch has been taken over by Ingo, and Malon is being forced to work at the ranch, lest Ingo punish the horses. Link eventually beats Ingo in a horse race, and he returns to "normal". Talon moves back to the ranch. After this, Link can participate in a horse race hurdle mini-game. The high score is held by Malon. If he breaks the record, he will be given a cow as a reward. Malon, as an adult, is later seen singing at Lon Lon Ranch during the celebration that occurs during the end credits.

Interestingly, Malon is usually seen wearing a pendant identical to her father's. The pendant resembles Bowser, the main antagonist of Nintendo's Mario series.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

Malon and Talon breed Cuccos north of Horon Village, near Eyeglass Lake. When Link first meets her, Talon has embarked on a hiking trip on Mt. Cucco, leaving Malon behind to tend to the Cuccos alone. She acknowledges that she has very little experience with the subject. Link can give her a Cuccodex, an encyclopedia of Cuccos, in exchange for an Egg, which she refers to as a popular "beauty aid" among young girls in Holodrum. This is part of the trading quest for the Noble Sword.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Malon can be found in The Field, the first stage of Near the Fields, the game's fourth level. When she is returning to her father's ranch, the nearby Hyrulean Soldiers start firing old cannons, blocking Malon's way with fireballs. Link agrees to help her home and leads her back to the ranch. Talon, her father, then allows Link to use their horses as a reward for protecting his daughter.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Malon and Talon appear again in The Minish Cap. Here, Lon Lon Ranch is located east of Hyrule Town. At one point, Talon manages to lose the key to their house. Link eventually retrieves it for them, allowing Malon to sell Lon Lon Milk in Hyrule Town.

Whenever Link approaches her in this game, she sings "Epona's Song".

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

Non-canonical appearances

Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Legend of Zelda series and should not be considered part of the overall storyline.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time manga

In the Ocarina of Time manga, Link goes to Lon Lon Ranch in an attempt to find the Spiritual Stone of Water. He meets Malon there, who shows him around and is very happy to have a visitor. She makes some jokes about Ingo's complaints, and teaches Link "Epona's Song". She also confides in Link that she hopes a prince will one day come for her.

In the Adult Saga, Malon is kidnapped and confined by Ingo. She is upset at first, but calms down when she starts to imagine a prince coming to save her. When Link comes for her, Malon doesn't remember him and refuses his help, as she is convinced she must wait for her prince. Link plays "Epona's Song" to remind her of their meeting seven years ago and proceeds to rescue her, prompting Malon to fall in love with him. She and Link then destroy the device used to control Ingo's brain and fight off the Gerudo. When the situation becomes difficult, they take Ingo and jump over the ranch's gate atop Epona. Talon is very grateful, and promises that he will stop sleeping on the job.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

"Talon's daughter, Malon, works on their ranch and loves to sing to the animals. When Link proves worthy of Epona, she teaches him "Epona's Song". She is more serious than her father, but a certain source of gossip reveals that she dreams of a knight sweeping her off her feet."

— Trophy Description

Adult Malon from Ocarina of Time 3D appears as a Trophy.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.

Theory

Theory warning: This section contains theoretical information based on the research of one or several other users. It has not been officially verified by Nintendo and its factual accuracy is disputed.

Possible love interest

There has been speculation and heated debate about the possibility of Malon being Link's love interest. Evidence to support this theory include one of the Gossip Stones outside the Temple of Time stating that Malon dreams of a knight in shining armor, Talon joking that Link should marry his daughter, and Malon always acting cheerful around Link, especially after he rescues Epona.

Additionally, Malon is the only female besides Navi in either the supporting or main cast who does not become a Sage, which some interpret as being prohibited to having romantic relationships; when Princess Ruto awakens as the Sage of Water, she says that she cannot offer Link her love now, as she must guard the Water Temple and he must continue his quest, and when Saria awakens as the Sage of Forest, she tells Link that it is their destiny to live in different worlds, though the latter may be a result of Link's aging and true identity as a Hylian. It is also unknown whether any of these characters awaken as Sages in the Child timeline that arises when Princess Zelda sends Link back in time to live out his childhood.

It is possible though, that once a Sage has fulfilled their duties, they are free to pursue romantic relationships with others. Indeed, Tetra is shown to be a member of the Royal Family of Hyrule, despite the only known surviving member in the Adult Timeline being Princess Zelda, hinting that she is Tetra`s direct ancestor.

In the Hyrule Historia, it is confirmed that the Hero's Shade is the Link from Ocarina of Time and the ancestor of Link in Twilight Princess. Many fans take the fact that Link is a rancher in Twilight Princess to support this theory. Link also happens to know Epona's song, which Malon stated that her Mother sang to her as a baby. It may be that the song was passed down to Twilight Princess's Link as with Malon before him. However, it is possible that Link from Ocarina of Time merely passed down all the songs he knew to his offspring which was passed down all the way to Twilight Princess Link, rather than just Epona's Song. Indeed, Link in wolf form can howl other songs from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask in order to meet the Hero's Shade, hinting he actually knew them (although this could be because he learned them from the Howling Stones). It should be noted though, that Link in no way needs an ancestry of ranchers in order to be one himself, as he may have simply became a rancher by choice.

Possible Gerudo ancestry

It is possible that Malon's mother is a Gerudo or has Gerudo ancestry as Malon has vibrant red hair and her father, Talon, gives an interesting reaction when Link approaches him while wearing the Gerudo Mask, he will say that it looks like his wife, but then decides against it. If that is the case, that would raise the question on why she wasn't raised as a Gerudo (although this may be because of her physical differences compared to typical Gerudos).

Theory warning: Theories end here.

Gallery

Artwork of Malon from Oracle of Seasons

Malon as an adult from Ocarina of Time

Young Malon as seen in Ocarina of Time 3D

Adult Malon as seen in Ocarina of Time 3D

Adult Malon singing after the defeat of Ingo as seen in Ocarina of Time 3D

See also

• Cremia
• Ilia
• Marin
• Romani