Okay, I see a bunch of people in the notes on this going on about how it’s canonically the Minish leaving the rupees, but to be completely honest? There’s literally no reason both that and this headcanon can’t both be true. If anything, they can actually work together BEAUTIFULLY.
Think about it: In universe, the Minish are thought to just be a folktale. Their story is quite literally that they are tiny little mouse-like creatures no bigger than your thumb, that they originally came from another world, and that only children can see them.
Now, MinishCapEra!Link did meet the Minish, and knows for a fact they aren’t just a folktale, as is so often the case in Zelda games. In fact, finding out that the folktales and myths of Hyrule are very Actually Very Real is something of a staple of the series. So much so that by the time of Breath of the Wild, the people actually INVESTIGATE THEIR OLD STORIES just to see if maybe there is anything that will help in fighting back against Calamity Ganon. They’ve been passing down all these old fairy tales and legends for good reason.
But how does this pertain to the Minish and this headcanon, you ask?
Well, one part of the Minish’s story is that they enjoy helping people. One Minish NPC tells you as much at one point, and the backstory in Minish Cap is literally that they made a special sword for the Hero to use against evil, just because they wanted to help him. And they do so again for Link when Vaati attacks Hyrule and places a curse on Zelda. They leave supplies for him to find pretty much everywhere, including the aforementioned rupees. They apparently also just do this in general for Hylians, because they like them that much. They’re basically The Borrowers, if we’re completely honest.
Now, we don’t see much mention of the Minish outside of The Minish Cap. Given how many times Hyrule has been ravaged at this point, I would not be surprised if they had gone extinct, or at the very least endangered as a race. But there are several things in Hyrule that keep popping up now and again, especially around the time a great evil shows it’s face.
The big ones that keep showing up are a Princess, a Hero, and a Sword (Zelda, Link, and usually the Master Sword, but there have been other magic swords that take its place, like the Picori Blade).
There are other legacies that have been significant. For example, King Dorephan of the Zora notes in one of his history tablets that the Divine Beast his daughter Princess Mipha pilots was named after Princess Ruto of the Zora, and considers it fate. Heck, all of the Divine Beasts were named after significant figures in past games: Rudania after Darunia, Medoh after Medli, Naboris after Nabooru.
Some other names have shown up several times: Beedle, Linebeck, Epona, Impa, the Deku Tree, just to name a few.
If all these things have carried on across the history of Hyrule, all these stories, faces, the many different weapons against evil…
Why wouldn’t a story about a race of people who do things purely for the sake of helping others?
Why wouldn’t their tale still be told to children for centuries, even millennia, after the fact, as a fable to encourage selfless giving?
Why wouldn’t the legacy of the Minish still be told as a story of hope, that no matter how bad things are for you, there is always someone who will make sure you are okay?
And whether they’re still around or not, why wouldn’t their story be told as one to emulate? To leave a rupee or two somewhere for someone who might direly need it? To look in small, unsuspecting places, because the biggest help can come from somewhere small and completely surprising? To put out a small tool or a bit of money when you’re well again to help a stranger?
To ask for help when you need it, and pay it forward when you can?
If anything, this headcanon fits perfectly with the tale of the Minish. Because if there is one thing Hyrule is amazing at, it’s making sure that a heroic or noble legacy is passed on for as long as possible. And the stories of the Minish are definitely one that deserves to be carried on, by as many people as possible.
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