//------------------------------//
// Chapter seventeen: Dawn of the Second Night (III) 
// Story: The Legend of Equestria: Majora's Mask 
// by xombiekilla 
//------------------------------//

Night of the second day:
36 hours remaining

It was a dark night, and Hero's team had been fighting off pirates for several hours, defending themselves against their attacks and using all their skills to outmaneuver them. Despite their best efforts, they managed to rescue seven precious hippogriff eggs that the pirates had stolen, and the grateful creatures hailed Hero and his friends as heroes.

But that was just the beginning of their trek through the seas. As they sailed towards the Great Bay Temple on top of the tortoise, they were suddenly enveloped by a swirling tornado that seemed to come out of nowhere. The fierce and chaotic winds threatened to tear any ship apart and throw hapless fools into the sea.

Thankfully, they had an experienced guide to help them navigate the storm. An ancient tortoise who had lived in these waters for centuries came to their aid, guiding them through the treacherous winds and currents with ease. As they approached the temple, they could see the tornado swirling around it, like a guardian protecting its secrets.

But they were not deterred; their mission was very important, and they were determined to reach their destination no matter what. However, the Amor Pirates were not giving up that easily, "You've got to be kidding me, them again?!" Rainbow said as she saw those Amor Pirates.

They tried to storm the temple in search of riches. Unfortunately for them, the tornado caught them and threw them far away from their boat and the temple. As they screamed in terror while being hurled away, Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle and make a joke at their expense. "Haha, nice try, guys! Have a nice flight!"




"We're here now! I wish you guys luck in purging whatever is in here. Please be safe, as I can sense great danger here," the tortoise spirit warned as they docked. They entered the aquatic temple and discovered a massive mechanical cistern with huge moving parts that filtered and measured water.

"This place must be a water purification plant. That's why the water here is tainted. We're definitely in the right spot, then," Twilight reasoned. They saw three different tunnels submerged and decided to explore them while the spell Twilight created protected them until the next day.

They all dove into the water and transformed into sea ponies as they explored the temple's submerged mechanical labyrinth together. They reached the first tunnel and found a room with flowing water and a high ledge they couldn't reach. Applejack searched the room and found a key hidden in a chamber. They unlocked the door and discovered a new area to explore.

In the second submerged tunnel, they found a pump room that possibly had the essential parts that kept the plant alive. Hero opened a chest and found ice arrows for his bow set. They continued exploring until they reached the first room again. Hero used the ice arrows on the stream of water to activate the platforms and elevate them to function as a set of stairs.




As they entered the room with a high ceiling, they saw an open space lined with large wall pipes. Another Gecco creature was standing at the center of the room. When he saw the group, he danced in place and summoned giant blobs of slime-like bubbles from the ceiling. The blobs plopped onto the ground around the Gecco, and he chuckled as if to taunt them.

"Eww eww eww, large blobs of smooze?! Seriously?" Rarity exclaimed in shock and disgust as the group prepared for a fight.

"Be careful, everyone. This creature is up to no good. Pay attention to his behavior, Hero. Then try to get close to him," said Twilight.

Hero nodded in agreement and watched the Gecco run off to the corner to lift his smooze blobs to use as projectiles. Hero swiftly dodged the clumps as they bounced across the room towards the other ponies, who dove out of the way. 

After a few slashes, the Gecco yelped in pain before jumping onto the ceiling. At the same time, all the other smooze blobs gathered together into a king-sized smooze with the wily Gecco inside. The other ponies looked up in shock and were ready to dodge when necessary.

The blob descended from the ceiling and landed on the ground, capturing Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity in the process. They screamed in protest as they were consumed by the blob and held captive, unable to move within the sticky slime. Rarity was particularly distraught as she struggled and cried due to the state of her mane.

"Hero, let's surround the blob but keep our distance. Its reach is quite extensive," Twilight advised the party.

Applejack, visibly agitated, confronted the giggling gecko. "You better let our friends go, you slimy varmint!"

The blob splashed onto the floor, pulling in more victims as it sprang to the ceiling, trapping Rainbow, Applejack, and Twilight. Hero was able to dodge its attack and came up with an idea. He removed his hippogriff mask, allowing Mikau's sorrows to flow through him and transform him into a unicorn.

He used his magic to aim his bow and shot the blob with ice arrows, but not before receiving a disapproving look from Rarity that spoke volumes of "Don't you even dare." However, his plan worked, and the blob froze onto the ceiling, along with his trapped friends.

His friends were released and huddled together as the blob fell and shattered into smaller pieces. Hero rushed towards the gecko, finishing it with a few slashes before it fell to the ground, defeated and lifeless.

"Hero, this stays between us. Do you understand? Nobody should ever speak of this to me or anyone else," Rarity said as she tried to clean the slime from her hair. She was struggling to do so, making her groan in disgust. However, Hero found it amusing and chuckled to himself. Rarity noticed this and lightened up, "I can't be angry with you, Hero. You were the one who saved me with the help of my friends."

Hero nodded in agreement as a chest suddenly appeared in the center of the room. He approached it and opened it. As they were leaving the room, Hero found a key to the deepest parts of the water plant. He returned to the central cistern to unlock and enter the last door. 




Hero put on his hippogriff mask, a magical artifact that allowed him to breathe underwater, and transformed his body into that of a hippogriff and then a sea pony. Despite the pain caused by the transformation, he pushed through and continued swimming alongside his companions.

As they swam, they noticed a network of colored pipes that supplied different parts of the plant, indicating that they were on the right track. Following the pipes, they arrived at a large locked door sealed with several mechanical locks. Twilight, being the perceptive one, sensed something suspicious about the door and suggested they unlock it all at once. Each of them went to one of the four locks and unlocked the door together.

Upon entering the room, Twilight warned her friends about the possibility of a monster lurking in the depths. In response, she asked them to secure the entrance while she and Hero investigated the area. Together, they dove deeper into the abyss, landing on a platform using their wings to break the fall.

They found themselves in a vast chamber where the water was bubbling abnormally. It was then that they saw a gigantic piranha-like monster with Majora's yellow eye in its mouth glaring at them. The monster was poised to attack, and they prepared themselves for the battle to come.


Masked Gargantuan Piranha


 𝔾𝕪𝕠𝕣𝕘


"Holy moly! That is a big fish, Hero. No playing around with this monster. We have to try to hit it when its mouth is opened. That eye looks very vulnerable to damage," Twilight said, mentally timing its advances until she saw it leaping up from the water. "Now, Hero! Its mouth is opened."

Hero took off his mask to revert to normal and switched his arrows to ice arrows for that extra punch to his attack. He landed a perfect shot right into Gyorg's mouth, hitting the eye as the beast wailed in pain. "Nice shot, Hero." Gyorg splashed into the water and desperately tried to thaw its eye out as the ice made it feel even more pain.

Enraged at the fact that its weakness was exploited, Gyorg began to ram at the platform to make it sink. Hero put his hippogriff mask back on to transform into his aquatic form, and both ponies turned into their sea pony forms so they could swim and keep up with Gyorg.

Submerged mines with spikes rose from the ground but were chained to keep them in place as Gyorg roared and released a colony of small undead piranhas to harass them. Twilight hugged Hero's back to stay with him as he used his fins and magic to easily cut through the bony piranhas. He then waited for the monster to inhale to try to eat them. "Hero, try giving this glutton a taste of his own medicine."

Hero nodded as he cut the chains off of one of the mines. It got pulled into Gyorg's mouth and exploded, causing the yellow eye to inflate like a balloon as Gyorg writhed in pain. Hero then used his razor-sharp fins to slice and cut at the yellow eye, making the monster wail and desperate to move away from the two ponies assaulting its weak point. "He's still got some fight left in him, Hero. Let's finish this!"

The beast then escaped, changing positions to try to evade the duo working together. Twilight was onto its strategy. Hero used his fins to cut through more swarms of undead piranhas as the beast foolishly believed its last attempt would be more successful. This time, Hero severed the chain next to the nearest mine, which got pulled into Gyorg's mouth and exploded, causing the yellow eye to inflate again. Hero moved in for the final slashes to end its existence.

Hero's razor fins sliced through that yellow eye with great power and precision as it popped, and black ooze-like blood gushed out. Gyorg wailed in pain, feeling its body shrinking and shriveling in size as it flopped onto the water, which was being lowered back to the ground. Gyorg was rendered to that of a tiny piranha that shook with fright as Hero stepped on it to finish it off as a mirage of Majora rose. His evil magic was fading from its body. "Nice work, Hero!"

Hearing their victory, the other friends headed over to meet with them. They all hugged into a big group, proud of their teamwork. Then, a white flashing light obscured their vision, and everyone there was transported into a cosmic void.




They found themselves standing on a solitary island-like pillar that seemed to be surrounded by an endless void of brilliant white. The atmosphere felt serene and peaceful. Suddenly, a giant alicorn-like creature appeared before them with great delight and gratitude in its beady eyes. Everyone was amazed as the creature started chanting to them. Twilight was in shock, "Woah... this is an incredible sight. Just breathtaking." 

Rarity noticed the creature's grateful and peaceful demeanor, "My goodness. He looks so grateful and at peace." 

Applejack spoke up, "I reckon we're getting closer to our victory now, yeehaw!" The giant continued to chant to them as if communicating with them.

"Thank you... travelers—forgive... your... friend—she understands not what she is doing—her will usurped by overwhelming destruction." The giant continued, "Do not forget what we have taught you—free the last one... then call us."




The giant was chanting as a way to express gratitude. The vision ended, and the group of ponies found themselves transported to the entrance where the giant tortoise was. As time passed, it became the dawn of the final day, and the spell that turned them into sea ponies would soon wear off. "I can sense that the evil has been purged. You are special ponies, indeed. Incredible! Hop onto my back, and I shall return you to where you found me."