The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.
By Ganondorf8.
November 9, 2019.
Chapter 5: Kidnapped!
The three creatures were round in shape with blue feet and lacked pupils in their eyes but it was the symbols on their chests which were their most striking feature. Four symbols would rotate every second and I immediately recognized what they were: a club, a diamond, a spade, and a heart, what you'd find on playing cards. Aside from this distinction, they weren't attacking me or anything but rather just pacing about. As I continued gazing upon them, I could see an owl statue behind them. If my suspicion was correct, it would tell me how to defeat them which kind of ruins the purpose of the statue being there in the first place.
"I hope you're not a fan of gambling, Sunset." Princess Twilight said.
"The thought never crossed my mind." I said.
"In a way, these creatures give off the impression that you are gambling on getting the right symbol to show up." Princess Twilight giggled slightly and I couldn't help but chuckle a little myself over her attempt at a joke. Pinkie Pie had obviously been a strong influence on her. "These are called 'Three-of-a-Kind', a rare monster that only show up in specific places as a means of testing people. Do you see the symbols on their chests?" I nodded and she continued explaining. "Whenever you hit one, it will come to a stop as well the symbol on its body. If you can match them up, they will all be defeated at the same time."
"It's like playing poker."
"I thought you said you weren't a fan of gambling?"
I shook my head. "I'm not but I did study about the game for a school project once. Three-of-a-kind is a reference to a hand one can play in a game of poker." Her Highness then looked at me with a disappointing glare which made me very uncomfortable. She didn't believe what I said about the project so I needed to prove it. "The idea wasn't mine! Rainbow Dash thought about it and we all agreed though Applejack was concerned. We didn't actually gamble since we're underage and all but considering what we do with our magic, we do essentially play a game of poker with our lives being on the line against our own will."
"You didn't need to give me an explanation."
"It's all I could do to explain myself."
"I believe you, Sunset."
"Really?"
Princess Twilight smiled. "Of course I do. I know you and your friends wouldn't do anything that made you question your own ethics. Me and my friends have the same kind of moral code although ours is tested way more often than we would like. After all, we deal with magical problems every day, sometimes several times while your group probably deals with such things maybe every other day or once a week."
What Her Highness said wasn't wrong mind you. Me and my friends didn't face as many problems as she and her friends did, but in some ways I wasn't upset about it. Sure, I'd love to deal with more magic based problems but considering what Her Highness endures isn't probably good for the stress levels, I'm probably lucky that my problems don't come up quite nearly as often. Still, I do yearn for a challenge. Just not something like this where my life is constantly in danger from creatures and circumstances well beyond my comfort zone. Equestria was dangerous but not this dangerous!
Moving towards the Three-of-a-Kind, none of them paid any attention to me other than continuing to move back and forth. I then struck one where it came to a stop and the symbol on its chest displayed a spade. Striking the second one shortly after, I was disappointed when its symbol displayed a diamond which meant I had to try again. Since it didn't matter at that point, I struck the last one where it displayed a club causing all three to reset themselves. I tried again making sure to strike them at just the right time resulting in two with hearts and the other with a spade.
They reset again and out of frustration, I struck all three at once giving me a diamond and two clubs. Okay, this was way easier than I was making it out to be. I should've done this in one attempt, two at the most yet this was just making me more and more mad. Breathing heavily, I calmed down and assessed the situation carefully. Timing was obviously key and I needed patience for it. Focusing my strength and swinging my sword whilst allowing my arms to lead the way, I struck each Three-of-a-Kind one by one with each one's chest symbol stopping on a diamond which caused all three to disappear at once.
"You did it, Sunset!"
I breathed softly. "I just needed to remain calm and let my body do the work. Still, that should've been way easier than it was." I then stopped talking as a treasure chest materialized next to the owl statue and upon opening it, I took out what appeared to be a beak made of stone. "I guess this must be the Stone Beak for those statues." I took a closer look at it and it appeared cracked in one or two places. "I'm guessing this only works here and in no future dungeon we come across?"
Princess Twilight nodded. "That is most likely going to be the case. We should treat this Stone Beak like a Dungeon Map or Compass and expect to find a new one each time. Now that we have it, we don't really need to use it since we figured out those other hints on our own." She then looked at the statue that was in this room. "You know, out of curiosity, do you want to know what this statue is saying?"
"I've been wanting to do just that."
"Oh?"
"I want to know if my suspicion was right." I answered. Walking up to the owl statue, I pressed the Stone Beak up against it and was taken aback slightly when its eyes glowed and it began speaking. 'Turn aside the spined ones with a shield.' My heart sank as that wasn't what my suspicion was. Then again, being given a hint for the very thing you had to do would've been both stupid and impractical. "I thought it would bring up those creatures."
"Maybe not but at least we now know how to use those statues."
"I guess so."
"By the way..." Princess Twilight began. "I've been meaning to inform you of something I noticed a while back in a previous room." Her Highness then dove into my pocket which made me react with a shock before she pulled out the map and unfurled it. "Sorry about that. Ahem..." She began combing it before pointing excitedly at a room I hadn't accessed. "I noticed a cracked wall at this point earlier! If you had a bomb, you could blow up the wall and gain access to that room. It does have a treasure chest which may or may not contain something useful for the dungeon or for later."
"What about that other lock in the big room?" I asked. "There was a chest beyond that as well."
"Looks like it's a toss-up between the two."
"Not really." I said as I showed my lack of bombs. "Without any bombs, that sealed room is off-limits. If I remember to come back here with some, I'll check that room out but for the time being, we should use my one remaining key on that lock." Grumbling under my breath, I should've gone to an item shop and inquired about purchasing some bombs. Surely there was such a shop back in the village. "Well, we might as well do that backtracking I dislike oh so much."
Putting the Stone Beak in my pocket, I walked back into the previous room where the two Sparks continued to move around the room. I ignored them and went back into the large room which was where Princess Twilight said the cracked wall was located. I was tempted to check it out but decided otherwise since without bombs, it would've been pointless not to mention a waste of time. Where the Stalfos and Keese were previously (They hadn't respawned yet) by the now unlocked door was a path on the other side of the blocks which would lead to the other lock.
Walking around to the other side of the blocks, I kept going until I reached a gap which would've prevented me from progressing further, but since I had the Roc's Feather, I could jump over it. Before doing so, a Hardhat Beetle came charging towards me so I swung my sword and kept pushing it back until it fell into the abyss. From there, I jumped across the gap and came upon a most curious object. According to the map, this was the lock that required a key but it was merely a block with a lock engraved on it. I'd never seen anything like this before in my previous adventures so I expected that such a lock would come up later on in future dungeons.
I thought about sticking the small key into the top of the block but then I noticed that there were slots on each side. Since it didn't matter which slot I used, I inserted the key into the leftmost slot. The block glowed for a brief moment before disappearing allowing me to continue on to a chest. It had to contain a key since the Compass made a noise (Something I had completely forgotten about until it made that noise) to inform me as such. Whatever was in there must be important as why else protect it with a lock? Opening the chest, I took out a much larger key. It had horns and a red jewel embedded in the center.
"That is a Nightmare Key." Princess Twilight announced. "With this, we can open the door that leads to the Nightmare's lair."
"What is a Nightmare in this context?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
"I guess using your fairy magic to access information about this world doesn't provide you with all the answers huh?"
"No, it doesn't."
I then had a thought cross my mind. "Do you think anyone in the village knows what a Nightmare is? Or maybe Flash Sentry might be a better choice to ask. I mean, he seems to know an awful lot about this island, perhaps more than Discord himself." As I stared at the key, it felt like my heart was being gripped by something powerful as though it were warning me about what was waiting for me beyond that final locked door. "Guess we should go back and find out for ourselves."
"It appears to be our only option."
Placing the Nightmare Key in my pocket (Again, I just had this feeling of dread), I began the short trek back to where I was before. Since I was still in the same room, I didn't have to worry about fighting any monsters, but when I got back to the room where I needed to jump across to progress, the Stalfos had respawned and began jumping about. Rather than go out of my way and attack it, I simply ignored it and the two Sparks before jumping over the abyss and continuing on. Upon entering the next room, the door locked behind me but before I could access things, something rolled into me causing me to trip and fall onto my butt.
Getting back up, I looked down and saw that what tripped me up was a bar covered in spikes that stretched from one side of the room to the other. But, it was the pink creature on the other side that definitely caught my interest. Judging from the expression on its face, it was the one who threw the spiked bar at me. Despite having a derpish looking face, this thing looked intimidating. It lacked any feet so perhaps it couldn't move but since this world had already surprised me time and time again, I couldn't even trust my own instincts. What I did know was that this was going to be a fight.
"Are you okay, Sunset?"
"Yeah!" I answered as I rubbed my butt. "That spiked bar just came out of nowhere you know?"
"This creature is different from the others so far." Princess Twilight said. "It's not a boss monster nor is it a regular one but rather a sort of mid-boss. The way forward and backward is blocked so you've no choice but to fight Spike Roller." She quickly turned to face me. "That's the name of this monster by the way. That spiked bar will cause you damage but you have the Roc's Feather now so you can jump over it. Whenever it pushes that bar, you can jump over and attack it but it will jump around in an attempt to get to this side of the room. It will then push that bar the other way and rinse and repeat."
"Not as bad as I thought."
"I think this fight is meant to test you on using the Roc's Feather."
"Isn't it strange that we're two rooms away from this Nightmare?"
"Yes, but don't expect this to happen in every dungeon."
Spike Roller then pushed the spiked bars with its hands causing it to roll along the ground towards me. This time, I was prepared for it and jumped over it with the Roc's Feather prompting it to start jumping about in its bid to reach the other side of the room. Surprisingly, it was way more agile than its appearance suggested not to mention being able to leap quite the distance despite not having feet. I swung my sword and managed to hit Spike Roller twice (I'd have connected more often if not for it being out of range) before it reached the other side and immediately pushed the spiked bar back the other way.
I wasn't ready to dodge the bar this time and it tripped me up again. As I landed on my butt, Spike Roller jumped past and to the other side of the room and pushed the bar again. I barely got to my feet and jumped over it as Spike Roller came back the other way repeating its attack pattern. One thing I hadn't noticed before until now was that every time it landed on the ground, it would make a squishing sound which made me shudder. I've heard some weird sounds before but nothing quite like that. Swinging my sword, I hit Spike Roller three more times which is when an idea came to mind.
Just before it pushed the spiked bar, I ran up and jumped over it enabling me to continue the assault. For a 'mid-boss' this wasn't difficult at all but I knew that there were stronger ones waiting in future dungeons. It was best not to be cocky otherwise I'd be inviting death upon myself. When I hit Spike Roller this time, my blows accidentally pushed it forward and over the spiked bar which it most definitely wanted. It pushed the bar and I jumped over it when it began making its way back by jumping. Okay, this was really starting to get annoying.
While I enjoyed getting to use the Roc's Feather in a combat scenario, I wanted to end this fight on account that it had dragged on for too long. Spike Roller reached the other side of the room and pushed the bar only for me to jump over and accidentally ran into it. On the one hand, I cursed myself for being careless since I had been doing a decent job of avoiding it entirely. On the other hand, its body was incredibly slimy. Good thing Rarity wasn't here otherwise she'd have freaked out on me. Luckily, my blunder proved to be advantageous and I managed to hit it a few more times which turned out to be enough.
Upon the last hit, Spike Roller came to a stop and began shivering whilst the spiked bar also stopped. It then began to explode in an array of purple explosions before blowing up completely in one final explosion along with the bar disappearing into thin air. This caused both doors to open in addition to a strange portal appearing in the center of the room. My focus was on the fairy that appeared where Spike Roller had exploded and I picked up and felt immediate relief. As for this portal, it looked safe but I wasn't entirely sure. Since I didn't really see any problems (Famous last words), I stepped into the portal and it whisked me away.
Opening my eyes, I discovered that it had brought me back to the start of the dungeon. "Well what do you know?"
Princess Twilight was elated over what I had done. "That was warping magic. Sure, it's on a more basic level compared to unicorns and alicorns being able to teleport wherever we want, but that was absolutely thrilling not to mention informative from a looking ahead perspective. This warp isn't particularly useful since this dungeon is short, but future dungeons will certainly utilize this magic better. You can use this warp to get back to a dungeon entrance if you feel the need to leave in order to get supplies. It does appear that defeating a mid-boss is required so finding one has now become a priority."
"Do you think it's one warp point between two locations per dungeon?"
"I'd like to think so."
"Makes sense otherwise it'd be too easy."
"So, do you want to leave the Tail Cave and get some supplies?"
I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. "No, I think I'm ready to take on whatever this Nightmare is." Checking my sword arm, it was shivering ever so slightly but that's because my nerves were acting up. "Grabbing that fairy after defeating Spike Roller was worth it otherwise I'd have strongly considered leaving. Hopefully, this Nightmare isn't as difficult as we're making it out to be."
"Only way to know is to face it."
Stepping off the warp (I had to do this in order to use it again which made no sense) and stepping back on, I warped back to where Spike Roller was and entered the north room where I immediately jumped over two Blade Traps that almost sliced me apart. "Wow! That was way too close!"
"Guess this place still has a couple more tricks up its sleeve." Princess Twilight then bopped me on the head and pointed at a special looking lock. "Well... At least we now know what the door to the Nightmare's lair looks like." She also noticed a stairway behind four statues. "I don't know what could be down below but perhaps it's best not to find out. Then again, we might get an answer once we go inside and confront this Nightmare."
Walking around the statues and jumping over the remaining Blade Traps, I took out the Nightmare Key, inserted it into the lock, and unlocked the door before opening it. In the next room, there was no sign of anyone or anything. It was an empty room though the floor had four holes in each corner with cracked tiles in-between. In front of me was another door sealed firmly shut and the one behind had now been sealed as well. "I was expecting something but this room is completely empty."
"There has to be something in here."
"But where?"
Princess Twilight shrugged. "I don't know where but I can definitely sense a presence in this room." Suddenly, a large shadow appeared in front of us and Her Highness immediately warned me of it. "Something is on the ceiling and it looks like it's dropping down from above.
The shadow got bigger and bigger until a massive shape landed with a thud that dust rose up from the ground upon impact. Princess Twilight and I were looking at what appeared to be a bigger version of the Mini-Moldorm. Unlike that one, this one had more sinister looking eyes and a shell protecting the end of its tail. This was the Nightmare! I had no doubt about it and yet while I was putting on a brave face, a part of me wanted to flee and not look back. I knew that I shouldn't be afraid and yet I couldn't help myself. Was this an unforeseen power exclusive to it or did the other Nightmare possess it?
"So this must be Moldorm?" I whispered.
"It makes sense given the similarity to the small version."
I then realized something I hadn't noticed before until now. "The Tail Key! The map of this dungeon! Those statues outside! They all bear a resemblance to this thing! Why did I not put two and two together until now!?"
Before Her Highness could say anything, the Moldorm decided to speak instead. "BUZZZZZ! BUZZZZ! OUTZZZIDER!"
"It can talk?"
"Apparently but only in crude terms." Princess Twilight answered.
"OUTZZZIDER! DESTROY OUTZZZIDER!" Moldorm said. So far, it wasn't moving or anything so perhaps it was waiting for me to make a move? Then again, it could be pacing itself before making a move. Or it could be something else entirely. In a battle of wits, the Moldorm was clearly winning. "YOOOU ARE OUTZZZIDER! BUZZZZ!" Without warning, it began moving around, its segmented body shimmying about which made it look both difficult and awkward. I then noticed that the shield on its tail opened up to expose a glowing ord. That had to be the weak point but I was more concerned with its movement.
"Okay, now what I do?" I asked as I raised my shield in hopes that it doesn't come my way.
"You saw how that orb on its tail appeared right?" Princess Twilight asked. I nodded and she continued. "That's the only weak point that Moldorm has. If you try to hit it anywhere else, it won't do a thing. Also, every time you strike that weak point, it will increase its speed for a while but will eventually calm down. It will eventually keep that speed as an act of desperation so be prepared for it."
"Anything else?"
"Those cracked floor tiles."
Before I could say anything, Moldorm slithered along and pushed me back because of my shield and onto a floor tile. It immediately cracked and I scrambled to reach a safe tile. I had no idea what was down below and I'd rather not know. With my shield raised again, I began breathing heavily since that was a close call. "Okay, you were saying?"
"You pretty much did all the explaining for me."
"Lucky me!" I said whilst moaning.
"Aside from one thing." Princess Twilight said. She then told me to get out of the way as Moldorm slithered by and I barely managed to avoid contact with it. "If you fall, you should end up in the basement below. Those stairs we saw in the previous room connect to said basement." Her Highness was pretty sure of herself about that but I chose to trust her judgement as I knew she wouldn't give me false information. Falling down below means you'd have to come back here and try again, but it would mean Moldorm resets. Meaning if it had been wounded prior to your drop, its health would be fully restored."
"Oh come on!"
"This is a boss monster and that means it's going to hurt a lot if it hits you."
Given my low health overall (It was full but low in that I didn't have many hearts), Moldorm could kill me in a few hits so I had to really play things carefully. When it slithered by me again in a bid to push me back, I struck the weak point on its tail. It definitely had an effect since it immediately curled up before stretching back out, but then it began speeding up and was gunning for me, its weak point now closed. I tried to jump over Moldorm with the Roc's Feather but was knocked back by its body before I could make the jump. Ouch! The knockback pushed me into the wall and I moved away in case another floor tile cracked open.
Moldorm kept moving fast until it slowed down and its weak point opened up again. From what I could tell, it was trying its best to attack me but because of how awkwardly shaped it was combined with the battlefield, I had the advantage albeit a small one because of it wounding me. Raising my shield, I moved in closer and swung my sword only for the weak point to elude me. It wasn't really trying to keep it from me so it came down to just being lucky. Swinging a few more times and failing on each one, I took a crazy risk by jumping back and forth across the room a couple of times.
This confused Moldorm and I struck its tail again but it was clearly not happy about it. "BUZZZZZ! DIE OUTZZZIDER!"
"Is that all you can really say?" I asked.
"BUZZZZ! YOU MUST DIE OUTZZZIDER!"
"Best not to provoke it." Princess Twilight said.
"Agreed."
Good thing I heeded Her Highness' advice as Moldorm sped up again and came right towards me. With my shield, I was pushed back a few times only for the floor tile I got pushed onto cracked causing me to drop into the abyss below. Luckily, my reflexes were either incredibly sharp or it was just pure dumb luck as I grabbed the edge and pulled myself back up. Good thing Moldorm had moved away otherwise I'd have likely died from being unable to defend myself. Moldorm slowed down again, its weak point exposed once again but I wasn't about to mess around after almost having to start over again.
Striking its tail, it turned red and began moving around at top speed with no signs of slowing down. Her Highness said that this would happen when it was in an act of desperation but what she didn't mention was how its tail was now completely exposed. I'd say one more hit was enough to defeat Moldorm but now the battle had just gotten much harder because of its change of tactics. Moldorm continued moving about but began focusing its attention squarely on me. Jumping over it, I then tried jumping back to confuse it again but it knew what I was doing and slammed into me as I landed.
"Sunset!" Princess Twilight cried as I slammed into the wall and landed on a regular tile.
"I'm okay." I groaned as I slowly got back up.
"I forgot that you endure a lot of physical punishment on these adventures."
"Heh... It builds character."
"Among other things by the looks of it."
Sarcasm aside, Princess Twilight knew that I was barely holding on so I needed to finish this fight now. Moldorm continued to move around at top speed and showed no signs of caring as to where it was going. Stealing myself and my shield raised, I opted not to use the Roc's Feather as it was proving ineffective now against Moldorm. I began following it around as best I could making sure not to go too far since one more hit would kill me or at least knock me out. Swinging my sword whilst keeping my distance, I kept failing to connect and began panicking until a random sword swing actually did connect.
The final hit first caused Moldorm's tail to shatter followed by each of its three segments to explode one at a time before its head started exploding numerous times before disappearing in a final explosion. This unlocked both doors but I was more interested in the giant heart that dropped down from above and landed in the center of the room. If I remembered correctly from previous adventures, defeating a boss monster resulted in a Heart Container which would make me stronger as well as survive much longer. Grabbing it, the warmth it gave my body was most appreciated and I felt like I could do anything.
"That... Could've gone better." I said as I dusted myself off.
"You did it, Sunset!"
"Not without your guidance, Twilight."
"What are teachers for?"
I laughed. "You still are my teacher despite how far I've come." I then took on a serious look. "If that Nightmare was that difficult, I hate to imagine what the others ones are like. I think things are only going to get harder from here. At the very least, that Heart Container increases my chance of surviving whatever comes our way next." I then looked through the final door of the dungeon. "Guess the instrument Flash Sentry mentioned must be in there."
"A given seeing that Moldorm had been guarding it."
Entering the final room of the dungeon, the door locked behind me, but my eyes were clearly focused on what lay in front of me. Sitting on top of a raised platform was a cello that twinkled despite there being no light in here aside from various torches. Walking up to it, I couldn't help but wonder as to its exact purpose on this island. Flash Sentry only said for me to come in here and collect it. He never mentioned anything about why it was necessary. Another thought then crossed my mind. Would I have to play it? I could play the guitar but any other instrument? That was a pretty tall order."
Picking up the cello, I looked at it. "Okay? Now what?"
"I don't know." Princess Twilight said. "I assume we can leave but with the door locking us in, I'm not sure how we can do that."
"You have received the Full Moon Cello!" A familiar voice said as it echoed throughout the room. Suddenly, a flashing light shone from behind me and I whipped around to see what was causing it. Someone then stepped out from the light and stood before me wearing a beautiful white gown, white high-heeled shoes, and was giving off a warm radiance. "Are you two surprised to see me?"
"Princess Celestia!" Princess Twilight and I both exclaimed. We knew this was Princess Celestia as she had wings coming out from her back despite lacking her horn. Her hair shimmered about though I wondered how she was taking the fact that she had a human body and not a pony one.
"How wonderful to see you both again." Princess Celestia said. She then glanced at us both before taking a second look. "So this is what you look like when you are in the other world you call home, Sunset. No doubt it took some time for you to get used to not having hooves. I'll admit that I was surprised at first when I saw myself with this form but I have since gotten used to it. And you, Princess Twilight... To think that a fairy form is what you were given."
"Hang on..." I began. "You have your actual memories?"
"Princess Twilight informed me of your 'adventures' Sunset and how many of us were dragged into these worlds without us remembering anything afterward when you changed things back to the way they were." Princess Celestia answered. "For some reason, I have my memories although I am also restricted in that I must carry out a specific function. To think that you, my former student, must endure such hardship as this. I wish I could accompany you but I am unable to do so."
"Sunset? Do you think this is Ganondorf's work?" Princess Twilight asked.
I nodded. "No doubt about it, but since we don't know the full extent of his power, we can only guess as to his intentions."
Princess Celestia then spoke up. "As I said, I am unable to come with you. I can only provide you information on the instrument that you have acquired in addition to guiding you to where you need to go next. And I'm not the only princess who has been trapped like this. Both Princess Luna and Princess Cadance await in future dungeons for you two. They will offer guidance like I am but with restrictions.
"Will we see you again?"
"You will." Princess Celestia answered smiling gently. "I will appear again in Level 4 so know that we will meet again. Now, allow me to fulfill my purpose for being here. You have collected the first of eight instruments that are necessary to awaken the one who sleeps within the egg. While this instrument on its own won't do much, it will serve its true function once all of them have been collected. I believe a certain Flash Sentry can provide more information."
"So where do we go from here?"
"Swamp..." Princess Celestia began answering. "A path opens... in the blooms. Your next goal is there but you will need something special in order to reach it. Though you might not understand it right now, you must go back to the village. Once there, all will be revealed." She then began fading away. "It looks like my time here is over but you now know what must be done next. Do not be concerned for my well being. We shall meet again later when you reach the fourth level. Now... Listen to the tone of the Full Moon Cello and reflect upon the journey that now opens up before you."
"Thank you, Princess Celestia." Princess Twilight said.
As the princess disappeared, the Full Moon Cello began to play on its own. The music coming from it made both of us feel incredibly warm as though we were floating away on clouds and we continued to be mesmerized by it as everything went white. When I woke up moments later, I found myself back outside of the Tail Cave. Despite not entering that one room due to having no bombs and enduring a powerful Nightmare, I'd say the dungeon experience was a pretty good one. Now that I knew where we were going next, I decided to going back to the village would come second as I needed to make a quick stop over at Bulk Bicep's place.
Heading back to the main route, I suddenly stopped upon hearing the sound of a familiar bird. Flash Sentry then appeared on his owl and landed on a lone tree. "It appears you succeeded in acquiring what you sought from the Tail Cave. What you hold in your possession is an Instrument of the Sirens."
"Instrument of the Sirens?" I repeated.
Flash Sentry nodded. "Yes, a sacred instrument imbued with a great power. I must admit, at first I did not believe you were real. I thought that you were nothing more than an illusion meant to confuse me and all those who dwell on this island. But, I know that you are indeed real for you have achieved a task no one has ever done before. That instrument, along with the seven others in the set, has the power to awaken the Wind Fish."
"That explains it then."
"Without all eight, the Wind Fish will remain asleep."
Princess Twilight then spoke up. "We were told that our next destination is a swamp."
"Ah yes." Flash Sentry said. "I know what the spirit princess speaks of. Listen carefully! You must collect all eight instruments. I was instructed to give you directions so allow me to explain what the spirit princess mentioned to you. Your next goal is north, beyond the Mysterious Forest, in an area called Goponga Swamp. There awaits the Bottle Grotto! But, you properly reach it, you will need a power that is beyond human."
"What can you tell us about the Nightmare?" I asked.
Flash Sentry didn't say anything which made me wonder if he either knew and refused to say or he knew nothing and was as in the dark as I was. Before I could question him further on the subject, he commanded his owl to take to the sky and soon disappeared over the horizon leaving me and Princess Twilight with many questions but no answers to them. At least we knew where to go next but I wished he had explained what the Nightmare was. Goponga Swamp... I'm no stranger to swamps since I explored one in the last adventure and Equestria had its share of swamps scattered around the land so this was going to be nothing new for me.
"What do you think, Twilight?"
Princess Twilight shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of not being given answers to all of our questions. I'm glad that both Princess Celestia and Flash Sentry have told us where to go next but it's just so annoying that the latter said nothing about the Nightmare."
"Like you said, we can't learn everything at once."
"The Nightmare is different!"
"True since we've defeated one but I guess we'll either have to ask someone else or hope that Flash Sentry addresses it next time."
"So... we're going back to Bulk Biceps?" Princess Twilight asked. "Let's make it a quick trip since Princess Celestia said we need to go back to Mabe Village and even though she is the princess--and the ruler still--we should follow her advice if we want to progress this adventure."
I rolled my eyes. Princess Twilight needed to relax a little when it comes to assuming the throne once Canterlot has been repaired. Sure, becoming the next ruler after the current ones had done so for over 1,000 years is nothing short of extreme stress but I know Her Highness can do it. Besides, she'll have her friends for support in addition to Spike so it's not like she's going to be on her own during her reign. I am curious if she will wind up taking over for Celestia with the School for Gifted Unicorns. If Celestia is retiring as she said she would, Twilight would inherit the school as well as the throne. That should definitely make her happy.
Heading back to the main route, I defeated the Octoroks who had respawned due to me being in the Tail Cave for so long. One or two of them dropped rupees which I picked up but aside from that, I had no trouble getting back and going south towards Toronbo Shores by jumping down from off the ledges to make it quicker. Reaching the beach and ignoring the monsters, it didn't take much longer to reach Bulk Bicep's place. Walking into his home, he was still standing by his boxes of bananas but now he was busy drinking out from a coconut that was on a nearby shelf.
Upon seeing me, he waved with his free hand. "YEAH! Good to see you again!"
"It's been a while hasn't it?" I asked.
"No one has been by since you came so I wonder if I'm doing something wrong?" Bulk Biceps shook his head hard and laughed. "Nah! I'm guessing the villagers just can't deal with all those monsters running all over the place. "YEAH! Surely business will end up booming before I know it." As he talked, I took out the can of dog food I acquired from CiaoCiao and he immediately took notice of it. "Hey! What have you got there?"
I showed him the canned food. "Is this what you wanted?"
"YEAH! Oh yeah! That's it!"
"Um... this is dog food you know."
"To me, any food in a can is food for my belly!"
I shuddered at the thought of giving him dog food but he was very insistent about it. I knew that I shouldn't since it was nothing short of humiliating for the poor guy, but those bananas were going to be useful according to what he said before, and I couldn't refuse him since he was being so generous. I decided to ask him honestly. "Do you really and truly want to eat dog food? I'll only ask this of you once."
"For heaven's sake, man, give that to me! YEAH!" Bulk Biceps kept on nodding as though the dog food was absolutely vital to his survival. "Please? I'm going to lose it if I can't get that can off of you! YEAH!" I couldn't say no after that little display. Handing over the can, he smiled as he held it in his hands. "Thank you! YEAH! I'll take that!" He then tossed the can into the air before eating it whole without taking the dog food out of it. I was going to say something about eating the can but I decided otherwise since he looked really happy. "YEAH! That was great! Best food I ever ate!"
"Glad you're happy about it."
"Since you went to all that trouble, here are those bananas I promised you." Bulk Biceps then walked over to his banana hoard, grabbed a bunch, and walked back over before handing them to me. "These bananas will definitely get the attention of those monkeys over by the castle. Oh, and be sure you say hello to my brother for me. It's been ages since I last visited but you know how business can get. YEAH!"
Taking my leave after thanking him for the bananas, I began to go back to Mabe Village. As I made my way back, I couldn't help but wonder why he wanted dog food. It was canned food like he said he wanted but dog food!? I don't think I'll ever live that moment down because of it. He also ate the can which was a whole other thing. Defeating more Octoroks whilst going the long way, one of them dropped a Guardian Acorn which I grabbed though in hindsight, why couldn't I have gotten one before Moldorm!? Fighting it would've been way easier if I had one with me at the time.
Sighing, I continued on my trek to Mabe Village but when I approached the outskirts, something was clearly wrong. I could hear the sounds of panicked voices everywhere and they were calling out for help. Had something happened during my absence? I slapped my forehead upon thinking that. Of course something happened! Why wouldn't it? Entering the village proper, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were both jumping up and down in a mad panic. When they saw me approach, they immediately raced towards me and began speaking over each other in hopes of getting my attention.
"You're back!" Applebloom shouted.
"Thank goodness you're back!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"It's terrible!"
"It's awful!"
I then interrupted them. "Calm down! Both of you! Now, tell me what has happened."
"It's serious, like really serious!" Applebloom said.
"The Moblins... They came to the village." Sweetie Belle said.
Princess Twilight then whispered to me about the Moblins as she had more to say about them. While they were known for frequenting forests, they also existed in other areas as well though not places suited them. Despite their lack of intelligence, they were courageous beings who always fought until the very end even if it meant being killed. She also said that in many cases, Moblins were lead by a chieftain or boss who was bigger and had a commanding presence. Then I began thinking about it. What if my actions in the Mysterious Forest attracted them here? Had I been the cause of this unfortunate incident?
Applebloom then continued. "At first, them Moblins were all lookin' 'round tryin' to see which places they could attack. There must'av been at least ten of 'em! We were all hidin' 'cause none of us can stand up ta them. Then they all decided ta go to the house. I can't believe this is happenin'! It's gotta be a dream or somethin'."
I could tell Applebloom was distraught since she was confusing her sentences. "Why did they go to the house?" I asked Sweetie Belle.
"They did something horrible there." Sweetie Belle answered. "They wrecked the place and were laughing about it while we all cowered in our homes. Then they did something over at BowWow's house! I know Madam MeowMeow is fine as she's been in a panic since those Moblins left. But, those Moblins... BowWow!" She began to calm down. "You know, I think you should go over there and speak with her about it."
"Please! Ya gotta help her out!" Applebloom shouted.
"I think you're Madam MeowMeow's best bet."
At least I now had an idea as to what had happened. Moblins had attacked the village but didn't destroy anything. Monsters were usually known for causing destruction although that wasn't always the case. Some of them were misunderstood as people didn't understand them which resulted in the stereotypes associated with them. In this case, the Moblins had clearly caused some destruction yet why visit two locations and then leave? It made no sense. In any case, they had paid a visit to Wallflower Blush so I raced over to her house to see what she had to say.
She was screaming but upon noticing me, Wallflower calmed herself. "It's terrible! My precious BowWow! He was dognapped by... Moblins! I don't know why they decided to target my home but all they took was him. Why!? He had caused them no harm! I know this is awfully sudden but I need someone, anyone, to find BowWow. To think that he is the Moblin's prisoner in their lair."
"Do you know where I can find this lair?" I asked.
"Are you going to find him?"
I nodded. "It's what I do."
"Oh thank you!" Wallflower shouted. "I know that the Moblins come from beyond the Mysterious Forest, but I'm afraid I don't know exactly where. With the forest teaming with monsters these days, going through the forest is a fools errand only foolhardy people would attempt to cross." She then thought of an idea. "But, I believe Grandpa Ulrira would know where those Moblins are hiding. He knows much about Koholint Island but he doesn't like speaking in person. Perhaps you should use the telephone in the village and ask him for help. Please! I'm practically begging you to bring BowWow home!"
"I'll get him back."
"I'm at my wits end!"
Leaving Wallflower (I didn't want because of the circumstances but I had to because of the circumstances) I was slowly piecing together what happened as I made my way over to the telephone in order to talk to Discord. Moblins had kidnapped BowWow for reasons not yet known and that they live somewhere beyond the Mysterious Forest. Since there has been no ransom note, either the Moblins haven't sent one or are too stupid to have done it. I'm going to believe in option one since they had to have intelligence to pull off a kidnapping during the late afternoon hours. Arriving at the telephone booth, I went inside and picked up the phone.
BBRIINNG! BBRIINNG!
"D'oh ho ho!" Discord answered from the other end of the phone. "Hello, this is Ulrira!"
"Do you recognize my voice?" I asked.
"Ah, you're the one who called me earlier."
I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Yes, and I need your help about something regarding Moblins."
The sound of a rocking chair echoed through the phone as Discord began thinking about what I asked of him. "Moblins you say? Hmmm... Yes... I can tell you plenty of things with regards to Moblins. But, I don't think you want to hear me drone on since it sounds like you're in a hurry. D'oh ho ho!"
"Is that so?"
"Oh yes, but you can't access the mountains unless you can jump."
I paused for a moment before speaking. "Seriously?"
"Holes dear girl!" Discord answered. "Holes prevent you from getting there but you can if you can jump, d'oh ho ho! You sound like an adventuring type so surely you know exactly where to go from here. I hope that is what you wanted to know! Don't go falling into any holes now!
CLICK!
Putting the phone down and leaving the telephone booth, I frowned at Discord's choice of words as well as his attempt at making a joke. Despite that, at least he provided me with directions on where I could fine the Moblins. Good thing I had the Roc's Feather in my possession otherwise BowWow would forever be lost and Wallflower would be devastated. Having to backtrack through the forest wasn't my idea of fun as backtracking was something I despised so much, but I didn't really have much of a choice unless I could somehow warp around the island thus cutting down on time.
Princess Twilight suggested I go through the forest as soon as possible but I decided to go back to the Trendy Game Shop. Her Highness thought I was being self-fish for wanting to choose playing a game over rescuing someone's precious pet, yet I told her that the Piece of Heart that was there as a prize could help me eventually become capable of surviving even longer on the island. She said that was a good idea though it could take some time to win since we both knew Ember had been accused of running a crooked game by everyone else. I had the rupees to spend so hopefully it wouldn't take long.
Entering the Trendy Game Shop, Ember was surprised to see me. "Didn't think you'd be back so soon!" She immediately pointed to something on the floor where the Yoshi Doll once stood and I looked for myself. "As you can see, I've added a new prize to be won. Never thought I'd actually get to put out anything new again." It was an exact likeness of CiaoCiao yet now in figurine form judging from the shine it gave off. "By the way, what was with all that noise earlier? Did those kids cause another disaster or what?"
"Moblins attacked the village and kidnapped BowWow." I answered.
"What!?"
"Nothing else was taken."
"Then what the heck are you doing in here!?" Ember exclaimed, her voice clearly addressing her anger. "You should be going after those Moblins and bringing BowWow back, not wasting time here playing games! I mean come on! You're a hero aren't you!? Then do your job!"
"I came here to win that Piece of Heart."
"What, you mean that thing?"
I nodded. "I'm not leaving until I get it."
"Then here, take the thing!" Ember left her desk, ran up to the Piece of Heart, and tossed it my way where I grabbed it. "Normally, I don't give away stuff for free but you need to go and rescue that dog right now! I mean come on! What the heck are your priorities here!?" I was surprised that Ember clearly was putting the priority of an innocent soul ahead of earning money from her game. "Why are you still here!? Get going already!"
"Um... thank you?"
"I'll let this freebie slide because of the current situation." Ember said as she calmed down and returned to her desk. "But don't expect me to do this again. I have to earn a living like everyone else you know. Be glad that I'm nice unlike the shopkeeper next door about stuff like that." She flicked her hand constantly which meant she wanted me gone but what she said had me curious so I inquired about it. Moaning, Ember continued. "Fine! I'll tell you! That girl has a really weird temperament. You buy from her, everything's fine. You steal from her, you'll wind up paying the ultimate price."
"As in death?"
"That's what they say anyway." Ember answered shrugging her shoulders. "You don't look dumb enough to actually attempt to steal anything. Hey, don't think of that as an insult but rather a friendly warning." Her hand flicking got really intense and I knew she was out of patience. "Now get out of here and save BowWow! Oh, and be sure to come back here later. I'll have something new for you to win."
Why was I not surprised that Ember would do a shameless plug for her business. Oh well. It was her way to ensure that I would come back later and I had every intention of doing so as there could be one or two more items I wanted to win. I wouldn't know what until she had restocked. Leaving the Trendy Game Shop with an unexpected freebie in hand, (At least I didn't spend any rupees) I wasn't going to delay things any longer. BowWow needed to be rescued and I had a pretty good idea as to where the Moblins were hiding. I began heading towards the entrance to the Mysterious Forest.
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CRRACCCKKKLE! FWOOOOSH!
"You wished to speak with me, master?"
"We are very upset right now, Hot Head."
"What do you mean?"
"Our first Nightmare, the Moldorm, has been destroyed by the Outsider. We felt its evil essence fade away into nothingness when she delivered the final blow. We thought that it would defeat her but it did not live up to our expectations."
"Moldorm was weak anyway."
"Explain this to us."
Hot Head gulped. "Well, you see, master. Moldorm lacked any real intelligence and was all about making noises and generally being a nuisance. The fact that it was one of us is shocking if you want my opinion. No wonder the Outsider took care of it so easily. Compared to the rest of us, Moldorm was pathetic."
"We created the Moldorm to protect the Full Moon Cello."
"And it failed at that."
"So you are saying that we are at fault for creating a flawed Nightmare? That we placed our faith in a worthless creature? That we made a mistake!? Perhaps you should have been used instead of the Moldorm to guard the cello. We would've given the Moldorm a far greater distinction. Perhaps we should destroy you now and create something new to guard the drum. Yes, we like that idea very much."
"Wait! Wait!" Hot Head exclaimed. "I didn't mean it like that! I'm your best Nightmare by far."
"We have trouble believing that."
"I shall protect the drum with my very existence."
"We know because that is the reason for your very being. With the Moldorm gone, only seven Nightmares remain to keep the dreamer asleep. That is still plenty for our desires to remain fulfilled but the Outsider must be dealt with. We cannot allow her to continue acquiring the remaining instruments. Hot Head, you shall communicate with the Genie at once and command them to end her life."
"And what of you, master?"
"We shall wait until the night creeps across the land. Then, we shall visit the Outsider in her dreams. We wish to see what kind of person she is. In our mind, she is not a concern for us and is beneath our notice. We shall weaken her resolve, shatter the confidence, and whatever remains shall be easy for the Genie. The monsters... They must become more enraged at the thought that the Outsider invades their world. If the Nightmares will not do then the lesser ones must carry out our task. Either way, she must be stopped at any cost. Come... Come forth nightfall and allow darkness to blight out all light in its wake."
"As you wish."
"We shall remain the masters."
"Yes."
"Let none awaken the dreamer."
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Unlike my previous excursion through the Mysterious Forest, this latest attempt wasn't nearly as long. For one thing, I had a much clearer idea of where I was going. Second, I knew how to take care of the Moblins. Still, backtracking wasn't my favourite thing to do and I knew it would happen again in the very near future. As I went through the forest, I picked up a glowing upside-down triangle called a 'Piece of Power' according to Her Highness. She said as long as the effects continued, damage I inflicted to monsters doubled and would even be pushed back upon being hit.
The thought was one I didn't appreciate though. As much as I liked the idea of having more power to defeat monsters, it made me fearful of what Ganondorf wanted, making me his devout servant and embrace power. The 'Piece of Power' reminded me of his Triforce piece and I doubted that it was a coincidence. Hopefully, I wouldn't acquire this kind of temporary ability all that often. I much preferred having a defence increase seeing as I took a lot of damage. Her Highness did say I couldn't have both a Piece of Power and a Guardian Acorn at the same time since one would override the other.
When I reached the tree blocked by three boulders, I thought about heading left since I didn't go that way before, but my heart was telling to go right towards Koholint Prairie since it was a familiar area to me. As I left the forest and the shadow lifted from me to reveal a beautiful sunset, I knew that I had to rescue BowWow before the sun went down otherwise I'd exhaust myself from a lack of sleep and eventually be forced to rest. Who knew what horrible things the Moblins were doing though come to think of it, I wondered if BowWow was in fact taking card of them since he was quite vicious.
"Okay, we're back in Koholint Prairie." I said.
"When we were here before, we could only go in the direction of Trixie's hut." Princess Twilight said. "But now that you have the Roc's Feather, we can go north with you jumping over those holes that previously blocked the way."
"And I can get that Piece of Heart as well."
"I still can't believe Ember gave you that other one for free."
"It wasn't my fault you know, Twilight."
"No, I guess not." Princess Twilight said as she shook her head, her eyes closed. "I'd say it was Ember's compassion towards BowWow that made her realize that she needed to help you along by forcing you out of her shop and giving you what you needed. You never know what someone might do when under the right conditions. Now, Discord said the Moblins live in the Tal Tal Mountains. According to the map of Koholint Island we saw back in the library, those mountains are north from here. I'd say we're on the right track, Sunset. It also means caution is needed here as the Moblins might be preparing for your arrival."
"How many of them do you think there are?"
"We won't know until we get there."
"Might as well just take it for what it is then." I said. I then jumped over the gap heading north, grabbed the Piece of Heart which immediately gave me the familiar warmth that I loved so much, and leapt over the other gap before walking forward and stopping. "What is that over there on our left?" Behind a boulder was what appeared to be a swamp like area filled with stranger water, even stranger vegetation, and looked to be sharks swimming about in said water.
"That must be the Goponga Swamp that Princess Celestia and Flash Sentry told us about."
"Guess we have to get access to it from the other side."
Princess Twilight nodded. "Most likely. Once you have the proper strength, you can easily access the swamp from this side." She then bopped me on the head once again to get my attention (I didn't mind her doing this as it often proved very useful). "Look over there, Sunset!" I looked and saw a cave entrance that featured an animal-like skull above it. "That must be where the Moblins have their base of operations."
"I hope you're ready for a siege."
"I've had more than my fair share of those."
Walking slowly towards the Moblin's hideout in case there was an ambush, I noticed a different kind of owl statue a few meters away from the entrance. Unlike the ones that we saw in the Tail Cave, this had a beak and wasn't embedded into the wall. I was curious as to what it had to say so I walked up to it. 'THE WIND FISH IN NAME ONLY, FOR IT IS NEITHER'. I had no idea what that meant nor did Princess Twilight but we didn't have time to ponder over the meaning if there was one. We were about to enter the Moblins' hideout, BowWow's fate now rested on our shoulders.
To Be Continued.