//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Flaming Arrow // Story: The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask // by Ganondorf8 //------------------------------// The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask By Ganondorf8 September 19, 2016 Chapter 26: Flaming Arrow So there I was, frozen in a block of ice--again--just like what happened before when I explored a place filled with snow and ice. Twilight continued to scream out in hopes that I would break free of my confinement, but part of me wanted to take a moment to reflect upon everything I'd been through. My past began to flash before my eyes, the good and the bad became evident to me. The earliest recollection involved learning some magic from Princess Celestia and the disaster that ultimately ensued. How ironic that being frozen would make me recall when I was taught how to use ice magic. I never really thought of it as important considering that fire magic proved to have so much more potential, but Princess Celestia insisted that using magic of all kinds would broaden my horizons and shape my future. When she showed me how powerful ice could be in the right context, I was determined to not only master it, but to be even better than her. My first attempt at using ice magic was memorable to say the least. I was able to cast the magic perfectly without any trouble, yet it was something I couldn't control. All I remember was being frozen solid for about an hour before eventually thawing out--Princess Celestia later said that I was fortunate as I could've been frozen for a lot longer. That one incident turned me away from ice magic, as the thought of being frozen was something I didn't want to experience again. Unfortunately, I would be reminded of this later on in life when I first experienced the holidays in the world that I now called home. Just seeing ice all around me resulted in me wanting to freak out--being frozen that had effect on my psyche--although my reactions were never displayed where others could see me--I had a reputation to maintain. The students of Canterlot High gave me strange looks and asked if I was okay, but I refused to answer them. In my heart at the time, showing fear was deemed weakness. Even after living amongst humans and forging friendships with them, I still had problems when it came to ice. I couldn't even walk on it for more than ten seconds before slipping and landing hard on my butt or any other part of my body. That's why exploring that frozen cave in Hyrule made me feel so uneasy. All of that ice was enough to make me want to lose control of my mind, but I endured knowing that two worlds were in need of help. And now, I had been frozen by powerful ice magic, just like when I was a filly. Had I gotten over my inate fear of ice? I could tolerate it a lot more than I used to, but the thought of being encased in a block of ice was too much for my mind to bear. Coming into Snowhead, I knew that there would be snow--hence the name Snowhead--yet ice was something unexpected. The one thing that I couldn't do was let Her Highness knew that I had a fear of ice. She had her own fears that were serious, but mine was due to a mishap that occurred because I wanted to prove myself superior. How ironic--again--that my old self would cause problems for my current self. My mind suddenly brought itself out of the past and into the present when Twilight began ramming her tiny frame against the ice in an effort to free me. Despite her best efforts, she lacked the power to break through ice--even her fairy magic lacked enough oomph to shatter it. " Sunset! Please! You've got to break free!" Twilight shouted. Her concerns reached through to me and I began to slowly struggle in an effort to shatter the ice from within. I then looked on at the Wizzrobe who had since stopped teleporting around and was laughing at my misery. There was nothing I could do to prevent him from mocking me at that moment, but soon things would change. " Come on, Sunset! You can do it!" Twilight shouted. There was one thing that I forgot about when it came to being frozen in ice within the narrative of the Legend of Zelda. It only lasts for about twenty seconds or so before it shatters of its own accord. Case in point, the ice shattered, freeing me mere moments later. " Whoa!" I exclaimed, dropping to my hands and knees upon the ice shattering. " That's one moment I don't want to go through again." " Sunset!!!!" Twilight exclaimed, hugging my cheek as hard as she could. " I thought you were done for!" " Sorry to have worried you, Twilight." " Maybe you should've stayed as a Goron." " To be fair, it wouldn't have mattered whether I had chosen to remain like that or change back to this. I let my guard down and the Wizzrobe took advantage of that by freezing me in a block of ice. Granted, I did some thinking--I'll tell you more about it later--before escaping, but the point is that being frozen is something I truly despise." I said, my eyes locking onto the Wizzrobe who continued to laugh. He eventually stopped upon noticing my stare, and stared right back at me. " You may have gotten in a free hit buddy, but that will be the only one you'll ever get!" He then spun around in the air a few times before disappearing, and I responded by drawing my sword and shield. What quickly became apparent was that I had no means of knowing where the Wizzrobe would appear next, and that gave him the clear advantage. He could attack me from any one of the four corners and I'd have mere seconds to avoid his magic or risk being frozen again. " Do you think your shield will protect you from the ice?" Twilight asked as I raised my shield up. " I'm not entirely sure. I know that a Mirror Shield can absorb magic and reflect it back at the user, but I don't have one of those on me." " So, you're taking a gamble then?" " Pretty much." " I suggest trying just once to see if that shield of yours can handle it. If not then you should avoid being frozen at all costs. I don't know whether or not you've noticed it already, Sunset, but your health did take a slight nosedive." Twilight said. I knew I forgot something. That was the other thing that happened when you become frozen. The cold saps away your strength even though it doesn't feel like it. I had to watch my health carefully due to not having any healing fairies--something I must remember to pick up for future encounters with the more powerful monsters. When the Wizzrobe reappeared on top of the northwestern panel, he spun around a few times and fired another blast of ice magic at me. With my shield up, I stood firm as the magic collided against it--it felt like I had been hit with a gale force wind due to how powerful the Wizzrobe's magic was. I got pushed back several feet yet I was able to deflect his magic using my shield although a small amount still landed on the ground, producing a smaller ice sheet. My shield didn't like getting hit like that and I quickly noticed that it had been dented slightly upon impact. If I had kept that up, I'd have lost full use of my shield, and the thought of being defenseless wasn't an option. Seeing that I survived his magic, the Wizzrobe began jumping up and down with anger. This also left him distracted so I ran up and slashed him across the stomach with my sword causing him to disappear again. He reappeared a few moments later in the opposite corner, spun around a few times and fired more ice magic. Instead of using my shield, I simply jumped to the left and avoided the magic as it landed behind me with incredible force. It was at that point where I begun to figure out his attack pattern--I should've realized it sooner. The Wizzrobe warps around to attack when my guard was down, but runs away if I catch him too soon. If I could attack him before he used his magic, that would give me the advantage. Without the use of his magic, he wasn't really that much of a threat. " I need to strike before he does." " If you spot him appearing from one of those panels before he has a chance to attack, he'll just disappear and relocate to another panel. I've noticed that when he finishes spinning around, he raises his staff and holds it in place for about two seconds before using his magic on you. If you can attack the Wizzrobe at that precise moment, you'll surely get the upper hand." Twilight answered. She then did a quick calculation with her hands--she reminded me of her human self--before addressing me again. " The only issue is that when you hit him, he will disappear and move to another panel." " So it's a matter of being patient?" " Yes. Also, I suggest you don't stand around in one spot and wait for him to appear. Why not move around while making sure not to get too close to the panels? By doing that, it will be easy for you to reach him before he can attack without him fleeing at the first opportunity." Twilight answered. I followed Her Highness' advice and began running around making sure to keep my distance from the panels. A few moments later, the Wizzrobe appeared on the panel that was in the southwest corner--from where I entered the room from--and I ran over and slashed him again before he could use his magic. He immediately disappeared and then reappeared moments later on top of the panel in the northeast, and I repeated the process resulting in another vanishing act. By that point, I was beginning to feel confidant knowing that I had figured out the attack pattern, but that quickly faded when the Wizzrobe reappeared. He appeared on the northwest panel, but instead of spinning around, he held up his staff with both hands and began running from panel to panel in a blurry manner. I had trouble keeping up with him at first, but he eventually stopped on the southeast panel and disappeared leaving me wondering what just happened. " That was awkward." I said scratching my head. " He did that for a reason." Twilight began. Before she could finish her thought, four different Wizzrobes appeared on each panel. They then began moving across the room quickly making it difficult to keep track of where they were going. " Sunset! Watch out!" Her Highness' warning was just in time when an icy blast came my way. I jumped backwards to avoid being frozen and focused on the Wizzrobes who continued moving about. " Where did that come from?" " I'm not sure as they were all moving around really fast." " One of them had to have been not moving as he needs those precious seconds to prepare his attack." " If you can determine which of the four Wizzrobes isn't moving, it should allow you to get over to him and strike before he can disappear." Twilight said. When they reappeared again moments later, I took a closer look to see who amongst them was standing still. It then dawned on me that three of the four Wizzrobes looked like they were fading out of existence--they also lacked the blue fire that was on the tip of his staff. Of course! The others were mere illusions designed to confuse me into not focusing my attention on the real one. The illusions started running around in a mad panic but my eyes were clearly focused on the one who was spinning around. Unlike before, he wasn't concerned about trying to avoid me--perhaps he realized that doing so was pointless--so I ran over to him and slashed him prompting him to disappear along with his illusions. Why was he going to such lengths? I didn't know the answer, but my best guess was that it was an act of desperation. He reappeared again and I immediately knew which one of them to attack, but that involved running over to the opposite side of the room. I ran towards the Wizzrobe only for him to fire his magic and getting frozen on the spot--the ice hit me just as I was about to swing my sword. He laughed at my misery before disappearing with his illusions, yet I quickly shattered my icy prison by shaking my arms repeatedly. When he reappeared behind me, he jumped up and down again giving me the chance to score a free hit. He reappeared in the southeast corner--again he appeared on the opposite end of the room--and I ran over although he was able to fire his magic. Unlike before, I wasn't as close so I had a chance to avoid getting frozen. I avoided the icy blast by jumping to my left, and before he had a chance to disappear, I slashed the Wizzrobe once again. This time, he leapt into the air before landing on one leg and striking a really weird pose. I assumed that this was another phase of the battle, yet my heart was relieved when he disappeared into flames along with his staff. The moment he vanished, the iron bars blocking the door rose up and a larger treasure chest materialized in the center of the room. I also saw the panels fade away into the floor and disappear indicating that their presence was connected to him. No doubt that the Wizzrobe was a truly powerful monster, and I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be my only encounter with him. " Whew!" I exclaimed, dropping to my knees. " That was too close for comfort." " You were magnificent, Sunset, despite getting frozen two times." " My shield didn't fare very well either." I said, looking down at it. I rubbed my hand across the surface, bobbing up and down when it reached the dent courtesy of the ice magic that I blocked. While there was no doubt that it would still protect me from attacks, it needed to be repaired otherwise it could break upon colliding with a powerful blow. " Do you suppose I could get it repaired by visiting the Mountain Smithy when we're done in here?" " I don't know if they can repair shields." " Didn't Fancy Pants mention anything about it?" " He was very adamant at seeing your sword so I assume that swords are the only things they work on." " Only way we'll know is to ask when we next go there." " That Razor Sword has certainly proven itself to be a most excellent improvement to your regular sword. I could tell that the Wizzrobe really didn't like being slashed by it, but you do realize you've probably got about eighty-five uses left before it loses its edge, right?" Twilight asked. " And that still bugs me." I answered, putting my shield behind my back. " They could've at least attempted to make my sword even stronger despite the fact that I didn't have some gold dust." I looked down at the Razor Sword and immediately noticed some slight wear on it. " If they really needed it, why not get it from the Gorons? I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving them a few bottles worth." " I don't think it's quite that simple, Sunset." " How do you figure that?" " Gold is a rare material no matter what world you're in, and both of us can attest to that what with having traveled to multiple worlds. The Gorons might see gold dust as something only they are allowed to have, and anyone else who wants some have to look elsewhere. At least, that's the way I see it." Twilight answered. If that was indeed the case, then if I wanted to make my sword even stronger, I had to win that race Fancy Pants and Tirek mentioned when the snow melts. " For now, we should focus on getting through this temple. You defeated the Wizzrobe so that means the treasure inside of the chest is rightfully yours." Twilight said. " I could do with a new weapon." " What makes you think that's what it is?" " If this journey is the same as my previous one, then monsters like the Wizzrobe guard a powerful weapon." I answered. I walked over to the chest, opened it up, and took out an arrow whose tip was surrounded in a red prism. A powerful magic was brimming forth from it and felt warm to the touch. It reminded me of something I found back in Hyrule, but I couldn't recall what that might have been. " Told you so!" " That's the Fire Arrow!" Twilight exclaimed, bobbing up and down. " If you combine it with your regular arrows, you can shoot flaming arrows using the Hero's Bow! It costs about two magic points in order to fire an arrow, so be weary of your magic meter running out. Fire Arrows can melt ice, light torches--Deku Sticks are now obsolete--and are really effective against monsters who are vulnerable to fire. This is most definitely a valuable treasure you've found." At long last, I finally had the means to deal with ice and not worrying about being frozen upon touching it. It also meant I now had a better chance against those Freezards, as they wouldn't be able to stand up to a few Fire Arrows. It was at that moment when I remembered finding Fire Arrows back in Hyrule, and cursing myself for not using them and instead relying on my regular magic. Granted, Fire Arrows weren't particularly useful back then aside from a couple of instances that involved lighting far-off distant torches, but now I had a chance to use them as intended without cheapening the experience. The only problem was that I had to use them sparingly due to their reliance on my magic meter--why couldn't it be viewable--so I couldn't go crazy and fire them--no pun intended--on everything that got in my way. " Okay, so where do we go from here?" " If I recall correctly, there was a block of ice that covered up a stairway, so you can melt that with the Fire Arrow. There was also a door that you could enter but you instead decided to roll across to this room--it wasn't the wrong decision considering what we found in here." Twilight answered. " Maybe we should check out the regular door first and then melt the ice?" " Then let's get moving. I hope you've recovered from your ordeal with the Wizzrobe as you've got to become a Goron if you want to get back across." Twilight answered. That was still an issue I was having problems coming to grips with. Like the Deku Mask before it, I assumed that I would be staying as a Deku Scrub throughout the duration of my exploration of Woodfall Temple rather than switch back and forth between forms. It seems that going through Snowhead Temple required both human and Goron ingenuity--I suspected it before entering the temple--and it wouldn't surprise me if I had to rely on some Deku skills for a couple of things--it would surprise me. Once I put the Fire Arrow away, I took out the Goron Mask and put it on my face. I began to stumble forward slightly before coming to a stop and just standing there as the magic began to take hold. One scream later--that no one could hear--I became Darmani and went through the door and back to the central chamber. The thought of falling down still haunted me as I didn't want to have to climb all the way back up--getting hurt was an unfortunate bonus--so I focused my attention squarely on my goal, curled up into a ball, used the snow as momentum, and jumped over the gap before crashing into the door. Entering the door, I found myself in a very familiar room--from a certain perspective--so I looked down and noticed the empty large treasure chest on the floor below. I could also see those Real Bombchu from before although they hadn't noticed my presence, yet. My eyes then noticed the frozen eye switch from before and I knew what had to be done. Pulling on the Goron Mask, I took it off and became human again before taking out the Hero's Bow. " How am I supposed to get the Fire Arrow onto this?" " If you take out what you got in the treasure chest, you could either rub it across the bow or somehow attach it to the bow. I'm honestly not sure how it's supposed to work as this is a form of magic that eludes even me." Twilight answered. " Well, I might as well try anything and see what happens." I said, taking out the Fire Arrow from my pocket. I tried attaching it to the bow but that didn't work--the arrow merely dropped to my feet--so then I rubbed it across the bow. Doing so immediately produced a flame on the tip of the arrow, and that meant I was now in business. " What do you know? It looks like the first option ended up being correct, so let's see what these Fire Arrows can really do." I said. I aimed towards the frozen eye switch and fired a single arrow that melted the ice upon impact, activating the eye switch in the process. All that happened was the platform next to the empty chest rising up to the upper level below dropping back down again and repeating the process in an endless loop. " I was hoping for something else like say a small chest that contained a Stray Fairy, but I guess having a short-cut will make things easier." " Good thing you mentioned treasure chests, Sunset." " How come?" " I remember seeing a frozen treasure chest back in that one room with the three Freezards. You couldn't do anything about the ice before, but now you have the means to melt it and collect whatever was in it. Also, there was the frozen block and frozen switch back in that room where we found the Compass." Twilight answered. " Oh no! Not more backtracking!" I moaned, slapping my forehead. " At least you can play the Song of Soaring to warp back to the entrance. That should cut down on a lot of the backtracking." " I should've expected this." " Hold on!" Twilight announced. She cupped her hand to her ear in order to hear something. " I can hear the faint cry of a stray fairy coming from this room." She began flying around in an effort to pinpoint its location and then came back upon finding it. " There's a small treasure chest located further up, but I see no way of reaching it unless you can climb up the wall or something." " Maybe there's more to it than appearances suggest?" " The Lens of Truth! I keep forgetting that you have it on you." Twilight answered. To be fair, I was actually forgetting about it, too. Unlike the previous adventure, I haven't been using it as much as though it had been included in this game as an after-thought. Taking out the lens and raising to my eye, I noticed a series of steps going up the wall, but there was one tiny problem--no pun intended as these steps were literally that. " Those are some really small steps." " You'll have to jump on them carefully to avoid falling down to the floor below." " I don't want to deal with those Real Bombchus again." " Then you should jump carefully." Since I had to keep the Lens of Truth active until I reached the nook that housed the treasure chest, I had to work fast as I didn't want to lose too much magic power--I needed magic for my Fire Arrows--I walked over to where the first small step was and learned that they weren't even embedded into the wall. They were floating in mid-air close to the wall but not quite touching it. That made things a bit more awkward but if I wanted the Stray Fairy, I had to proceed with the utmost caution. I jumped to the first step and almost fell due to how small it was. I then looked at the path the steps made and saw that they continued up and around the corner. I assumed it was a simple straight path but now it was more treacherous. Jumping to the next steps in the sequence wasn't any easier while holding the lens in my hand, but I somehow managed to get across--I did almost fall off of the third step--and turned to the left so that I could continue jumping forward. The Real Bombchu had since somehow discovered my presence and began moving on the walls in their effort to reach me. I had no chance of using my shield to bounce them back so I continued jumping up making sure to ignore the monsters. Upon reaching the top, I jumped too far and dropped down slightly only for my hand to grab the edge of the step. Her Highness looked on in terror as I struggled to climb up--I had to hold the lens with my teeth so that I could use my extra hand--but I managed and climbed up to the tiny nook before opening up the chest and freeing the Stray Fairy. This was my seventh one so I was about halfway through, but now I needed to get back down without getting the attention of those Real Bombchu--they were getting closer. I looked down to discover that the door I entered this room from was right below me, so I turned off the lens, put it away, and jumped to the ground below before going back to the central chamber again. " Should I continue up to the next floor or go back to those previous rooms?" " That's a difficult question for me to answer, but the decision is ultimately yours to make." " Why do I have to make the choice, Twilight?" " You're the heroine of this adventure." " I do value your opinion, you know." " While that may be true, all I can do is offer advice on what path to take. As the heroine, you have to make the final decision that will determine what happens next. I know it's a lot of unwarranted pressure on your shoulders, Sunset, but you have been in a similar situation in the past, right?" Twilight asked. Despite wanting to complain about having to make yet another important decision, Her Highness was unfortunately right. I had been involved in similar situations in the past, and despite complaining about them to Spike--this was when he was my partner--I ended up making decisions that allowed me to progress through my journey across Hyrule. Unlike that one, this journey was much more stressful because of the three day time limit courtesy of the moon. If the moon falling from the sky wasn't such a dominating factor, I could easily make decisions--more like easy decisions--by thinking things through instead of having to make them there and then. Knowing that it was on my hands, I quickly thought about my options. If I were to continue, I could progress further through the temple, but what if I got stuck due to not getting something important from one of those chests? I'd have to go back and pick up what I missed resulting in unnecessary backtracking. If I were to go back and get the items within those chests, I wouldn't be stuck later, but then it would mean backtracking just to get back to this area. Either way, I had to resort to backtracking, the one thing I detested more than anything else. " Fine... We'll go back to those previous rooms." I said. " What made you choose that?" " It was the lesser of two evils for me, Twilight." " At least you don't have to go all the way back through those previous rooms to reach the entrance. You can simply play the Song of Soaring to get you there in a matter of moments, and I think we might learn something about that raised groove we saw that had an imprint of Majora's Mask on it." Twilight said. " You believe I'll get warped right to it?" " Want to guess any other place?" " Point taken." I answered. That groove was something I simply ignored believing it to be nothing but an eyesore courtesy of Starlight Glimmer. If there was a reason why it was down there, warping to it might provide it with a valuable purpose. I took out the Ocarina of Time from my pouch, raised it to my lips and played the Song of Soaring----I had to take a few moments to remember how it went as I only ever played it once as a Deku Scrub to get back to where Woodfall Temple was situated. Two massive wings suddenly protruded from either side of my body, wrapped themselves around my body like a warm blanket, and I began spinning around before everything went dark--I was no longer in the room. Moments later, I appeared back at the entrance to Snowhead Temple, the wings disappearing into feathers that scattered away. Twilight was amazed at how fast we travelled back to the start, but I wasn't in the mood to appreciate what had happened. Her Highness turned and noticed that I was throwing up on the ground in the corner all because my stomach couldn't handle moving all that spinning. " Are you alright?" Twilight asked, looking concerned. " I just threw up over here!" " It wasn't that bad." " I'm not used to flying around with wings be it as a human or as a pony. Of course, you'd be fine with it as you've been flying with wings as an alicorn for at least a year. I just hope that my stomach can quickly adjust to spinning around so much." I said, throwing up some more. I didn't want to look at what came out of my mouth so I covered it up with some snow nearby, and walked over to the raised groove. " On a more pleasant note, you were right about the song warping us right to this groove." " It was just a hunch that's all." " I wonder if it has any other purpose aside from being a warp point location." " If so then perhaps it's something we should look into. In any case, you need to start going back to those previous rooms as with the Fire Arrow, you can reach places that were inaccessible before. Oh, and do be careful of those White Boes as they have re-spawned since we were here last." Twilight said. As if on cue, numerous White Boes dropped down from the ceiling and began advancing towards me. My first instinct was to become a Goron and punch them all away, but I thought that was too cruel considering they were relatively harmless. Instead, I put the ocarina away, took out the Razor Sword and began cutting them down with horizontal slashes. Each one I struck simply disappeared in a puff of smoke, yet part of me felt bad for them as all they were doing was protecting their territory. When the last one was defeated, I walked forward, smashing the icicles in my path--a waste of Razor Sword usage--and down the passageway until I reached the three doors that initially stumped me. Before I had a chance to evaluate the situation, a White Wolfos rose up from the ground--the same one from before--and began running around in an attempt to rush in and attack. I didn't want to waste any time so when it lunged forward, I jumped back, it turned its back to me, and I struck it in the back causing it to burn in flames. With all the distractions gone, Twilight and I took a closer look. The only door that was left to try was the one that had been covered in ice. Before, I had no means of melting the ice, but that was no longer the case thanks to having the proper item on hand. Taking out the Hero's Bow with Fire Arrows applied, I fired a single arrow that hit the ice--I couldn't miss with such a huge target--and exposed the door. " Should I go through this new door?" " You've got to check out the other two rooms because of needing to melt the ice in each of them, but I suppose going through this new door wouldn't hurt. Besides, it was covered by ice for a reason, so there must be something of importance behind it." Twilight answered. " I'd better keep my sword out just in case." I said, putting my bow away and drawing my sword. I opened the door and was surprised to be back in the central chamber. I even recognized the stairway I used that went down to the lower level. " How about that? It's another short-cut that allows us to skip certain rooms. It might make some backtracking a little easier but I still don't like doing any of it." " That door over there leads back to the room with the Freezards and the snow-covered path that you had to roll across. I think you can get rid of them without the need to become a Goron and gain access to the treasure chest by simply walking down a narrow walkway." Twilight said. " I'd prefer not to switch to my Goron body just to do one simple thing." I said. Her Highness nodded in agreement. Whenever I became one of my alternate forms, I wanted to remain in that body for at least a minimum of five minutes and not five seconds when it comes to doing something. I wanted to appreciate what each form could do. Walking over to the door and opening it, I entered the room that had the lava pool beneath the wooden walkway. The three Freezards were also in the room yet none of them turned to face me. I suspected they weren't capable of moving otherwise they would've moved by now in a bid to freeze me with their icy breath. The thought of melting them into puddles using Fire Arrows was very tempting, but I only needed to get rid of the one blocking my path to the treasure chest. Putting my sword away and switching to my bow, I fired an arrow that instantly melted the Freezard upon impact. One Fire Arrow was enough to melt them and not multiple arrows as I originally assumed--at least I won't be wasting arrows and magic. The other two Freezards hadn't noticed my presence and continued to fire their icy breaths in unison, so I ignored them and walked over to the treasure chest. Upon opening it, I took out a small key. Coming back here proved to be beneficial as now I had the means to unlock a future door wherever it may be. " A small key!" " Surprised?" " I was expecting another Stray Fairy, but at least with a key you can unlock a door somewhere." " Keys are more useful than you realize, Twilight. Without them, opening up locked doors is impossible." " I know that, Sunset, but my point still stands." " Just teasing with you. Anyway, we should probably go back to that other room you mentioned that had the frozen switch and block. I don't know what I could possibly gain from using them but it might get us one step closer to completing this temple." I said. Pocketing the key, I walked back towards the door, opened it, and entered the central chamber. The ice that covered the door on the other side was tempting but I had to check that older room first. " Grog! Any sign of Romani?" Applejack asked. " You've been asking me that question constantly for the last couple of hours, and I keep telling you the same answer. I haven't seen any trace of your little sister. I know how agonizing this must be for you, Cremia, but you have to stop asking. Romani will show up whenever what happened to her has decided to bring her back." " What if she doesn't come back?" " That is something I hadn't counted on." " Shoot! Reckon you oughta think of all possibilities! My sister is missin' and I'm rippin' my hair out trying to figure out what happened. The cows can easily be replaced though that'll take plenty of rupees, but Romani is irreplaceable!" Applejack said. Her sister's disappearance had grown worse during the past couple of hours when she discovered that the barn had been ransacked and the cows taken away. She had taken her anger out on Grog who didn't deserve it--she knew that but still continued yelling at him--but he took it in stride knowing how distraught she really was. Applejack walked outside of the barn and screamed at the top of her lungs before dropping to her knees and bursting into tears. " When our father died, I promised that I would look after the ranch as well as protect Romani. The thought that she is somewhere out there all alone is somethin' I just can't accept." Grog then walked outside to join her and she got back up before turning to face him. " If the worst has happened... I... I... I don't know what ta do." " Romani is a lot stronger than you give her credit for." " She's also a little girl who don't know her way 'round this here crazy world." " You need to realize that she won't remain a child forever, Cremia. One day, she will become an adult and you'll need to treat her as such. I know you promised your father and I won't disrespect his decision, but even he knew that the time would eventually come where Romani would grow up." Grog looked back at the barn before walking over and picking up a piece of the door. It most likely fell during the night when whatever struck the barn, yet he stared at it for a while before tossing it aside. " I'm not going to try to tell you what to do with regards to your sister, Cremia. I'm just saying that you should consider my opinion." " Am I bein' overprotective?" " You're acting just like your mother did, rest her soul." " I can't change who I am, Grog." " With how much time we have left, I don't doubt that for a second." Grog punched what remained of the door and it dropped to the ground with a loud thud. " We should start repairing the barn for those who plan on evacuating here tomorrow." " Do y'all think we'll survive that thing?" Applejack asked, looking up at the moon that hung above the ranch. It's mere presence struck her heart with a sense of foreboding and a thought that their efforts would amount to nothing but a pointless endeavour. " Folks 'round town think it will fall sometime tomorrow night. They plan on fleein' to the farthest reaches in hopes of avoidin' what's gonna happen, yet I reckon it's for nothin'." " It doesn't matter what we think about it. If they believe coming here will save them, who are we to deny them that?" " I hope we've got enough food to feed 'em." " Who is coming here tomorrow?" " Anju along with her mother and grandmother." Applejack answered. She removed the Stetson hat from her head, pressed it against her chest before staring up at the moon and sighing heavily. " You know... I feel just plain awful 'bout Anju lately. She was supposed ta be gettin' married the day after tomorrow, but I doubt the wedding will even take place what with the moon falling down." She looked at Grog, then the barn, and finally up at the moon again. " Then again, Kafei has been missin' fer a month and no one knows where he is. I heard that her mother believes that he's two-timin' her, but I know Kafei better than that." " Kafei... Wasn't he the guy you loved?" " I had a thing fer him but he ended up choosing Anju over me. Part of me still loves him but I've accepted that he ultimately went with her. Despite how apologetic she can get over the smallest things, Anju will make for an excellent wife." Applejack answered. " Do you know where Kafei is?" " Nope!" " Well, I'm sure he has his reasons for having just vanished." " Maybe, but I reckon somethin' sinister is afoot." Applejack said. Her attention then veered forward upon seeing a woman in a beautiful dress running up towards the barn. She appeared to be in an awful hurry judging from how she was breathing heavily, and upon reaching Applejack and Grog, she dropped to her knees in exhaustion. " Mamamu Yan? What's gotten you so worked up?" " I found her!" " Huh? Found who?" " I found Romani!" " What!? My sister's alright? Where is she? I've got to see her right away!" " She's over by the entrance to the ranch. I don't know how she got over there, but I came running over here to let you know, Cremia. But, I suggest you best be prepared for what you're about to see." " Why should I be prepared to greet my little sister?" " It's best for you to see for yourself." Mamamu Yan got back onto her feet, started running back in the direction she came from, and urged both Applejack and Grog to follow after her without any questions. The two shrugged their shoulders and ran behind her towards the ranch entrance, unaware that they were being watched by two shadowy figures who had been observing their conversation from a distance. The two figures then took to the sky, their fell wings indicating that they weren't entirely human, and followed behind Applejack and the others. My backtracking through to the previous rooms of the temple yielded some mixed results. When I went back to the room that housed the chest where I acquired the Compass, I had forgotten about the White Wolfos hiding behind the ice chunk that wasn't covering up anything--it got in a free hit because of my poor memory--but I destroyed it despite slipping on the ice a few times--I really despise ice. With it gone, I used Fire Arrows to melt the ice, freeing the switch and block. Pressing the switch caused a treasure chest to materialize on top of a raised platform, yet the block couldn't be pushed with my current strength. How was that even possible!? I should've been able to push it along the ice with ease. It turned out that I needed to become Darmani, so I took out the Goron Mask, put it on, went through the stumbling bit, and eventually started to push the block along upon finishing my transformation. It couldn't be pushed just anywhere otherwise I wouldn't be able to reach the platform--it was just slightly above my average jumping height--so I had to think carefully as to where to push the block so that it would reach its destination. The floor had a tiny raised groove that could be used to stop the block in case it slid too far, and combined with the layout of the icy floor, it was a matter of using the right angles. Pushing the block was easy thanks to Goron strength and it didn't take long for me to push it into the right location--there wasn't an actual location for the block to go so I had to hope that it would go where I wanted it and luckily it did. I had to take off the Goron Mask--apparently they aren't very good at climbing up things or jumping--so I grabbed my face, pulled the mask off, changed back to normal whilst flipping my head back, and climbed up onto the block and eventually the platform. Opening the chest revealed the eighth Stray Fairy who immediately entered my body, but that's when I realized there was a second platform I could reach using the block. " There's a door on that platform." Twilight announced. " Where do you suppose it leads to?" I asked. " Why don't we take a look at the Dungeon Map and find out? We should be using it more often to figure out where we are and not just use it to mark off any Stray Fairies we run into along the way with my magic." Twilight answered. I reached into my pocket, pulled the map out, and unfurled it before Her Highness took a closer look at it. " That door goes back to a previous room. If I'm not mistaken, it goes back to the room where we found the first small key." " You'll have to remind me what was in that room." " The two blocks stacked on top of each other?" " Really? Why would we want to go back to that room? I believe we acquired everything in there." " I believe we missed something, but I don't quite recall what it was. In any case, I suggest checking just to be on the safe side." Twilight said. Despite my initial protests, I had to ultimately agree with what Her Highness was saying. Besides, a treasure chest icon was in the room--the Compass' ability at work--and I didn't want to ignore it in case there was something inside of it that could be useful. I put the Goron Mask back on, stumbled into the block by tripping over it, I changed back into Darmani upon falling flat on my face. I remained quiet as I started to push the block around in hopes of pushing it into the proper place. Twilight asked me if I was okay and my only response was a low-sounding moan--landing face-first on the ice would result in that kind of reaction--so she quickly dropped her concerns as I continued pushing. " That... Really hurt." I said, my teeth gritting. " You need to figure out a way to stop that stumbling." " Before I get hurt even worse next time." I added, pushing the block until it stopped at the edge of the ice. I pushed it to the right, then forward, then left, then forward again, and finally right until it reached its destination. " I didn't mean to give you a cold reception, Twilight." " I understand, Sunset. If I were in your shoes, I'd have done the same thing." Hearing her say that made me feel a bit better, but the fact that I stumbled shouldn't have even happened in the first place. Was this due to something that occurred when Maud's spirit was sealed into the Goron Mask? Or, perhaps it was just an unfortunate side-effect? Whatever the reason, I couldn't allow it to become a distraction. With the block in its new location, I grabbed my face, pulled off the mask, flipped my head back upon changing back to normal, and climbed onto the block before jumping over to the platform and going through the door. It lead me back to the room Twilight said that featured the two stacked blocks--they were still in the same place--and to my surprise, the top block now served as a small platform I could use to reach a treasure chest on a platform I couldn't have gotten to previously. I also noticed two pots over there yet something about their location concerned me. Normally, pots would be located in more pristine locations so as to give the room some class, but these two pots were just sitting there on the platform. Had someone left them there for me to pick up some useful supplies or was the other option a possibility? I walked until I reached the edge of the ledge I entered the room from, then both pots suddenly rose up on their own and came flying at me. I raised my shield just in time as both pots shattered on impact--nothing was inside either one. " That was a little too obvious." " Sunset? What just happened?" " Some pots contain magic that enable them to attack anyone who gets too close to them. They don't do much damage but they can definitely catch you by surprise as you don't think of them as being all that threatening." I answered. " I'm absolutely fascinated by this! Just give me a moment to take a closer look." Twilight said. She floated down to the ground by my feet--that was where the pieces of the pots landed after colliding with my shield--and looked closely at the pieces. I thought she was being silly for wanting to do something I saw that was pointless, but then Her Highness floated back up, her eyes were brimming with excitement. " I sensed a little magic among the pieces. Whoever enchanted those pots certainly knew what they were doing." " You think it was an advanced magic spell?" " No, but it's a kind of magic that we don't have in Equestria just yet." " Only you would consider studying a magic-infused pot for research purposes." I said sarcastically. " I can't help myself." " Of course you can't." I said sarcastically. Twilight and I then started chuckling before getting back to the task at hand. I jumped onto the block tower, then to the platform, walked over to the treasure chest, and opened it up to reveal another Stray Fairy. " This makes our ninth one if I have my calculations correct." It then entered my body without a moment's hesitation, and I jumped back across to the other platform. " Where do we have to go now?" " I think we've covered all of the backtracking." Twilight answered. She then began to think to herself but then suddenly remembered something. " There was that chunk of ice near the bottom of the central chamber that we couldn't anything about. Perhaps we should check that out before continuing upward. What do you think, Sunset?" " We've come this far with the backtracking so we might as well go the rest of the way." I answered. Fortunately, I didn't have to go that far back thanks to melting the ice back in the entrance room of the temple--if I hadn't then I'd have to go through that Freezard room first before the central chamber. I went back into the previous room as it connected to the entrance room--I chose to avoid the White Wolfos this time instead of fighting it--jumped down to the ground, ran over to the door, and entered it appearing back at the start of the temple--close enough as the raised groove was down the passageway. The White Wolfos--I remembered this one at the very least--rose up from the ground, ran around, and lunged forward--its claws wanting to slash my throat. I also noticed the White Boes dropping down from the ceiling, so I made a mad dash for the door I thawed out from the ice earlier. In the central chamber, I began breathing heavily by patting my chest where my heart was--that was too close a call for my liking--and began looking around. The door that was covered by ice was directly in front of me so I walked over making sure not to run--I didn't want to drop down to the floor below--and stopped mere inches from the ice knowing I would be frozen solid if I touched it by accident. Taking out the Hero's Bow with the Fire Arrow empowering my arrows, I fired a single shot that melted the ice, and allowed me to enter the next room. As soon as I entered, the cold blast that came from a Freezard could be heard throughout the room. What actually had my concern was how this room was set up. It consisted of many small platforms with a few featuring unlit torches on them. It didn't take me long to figure out that I needed to light the torches with some Fire Arrows, yet I believed that my magic power had gotten low due to saving that one Stray Fairy earlier by using the Lens of Truth. " You can easily pick off those Freezards from a distance with your Fire Arrows." " I know, but do I have enough magic power? Bah! If only I knew how much I had left." " Well, I should be able to tell you." " How can do you do that?" " Fairies are magical creatures, Sunset, so it would make sense that I could sense the magic coming from other beings." Twilight answered. She floated in front of my face and began staring at me with her eyes opened wide. I don't think Her Highness knew how she hoped to read my magic power, but she suddenly surprised me with her answer. " You've got a small amount left that should be enough to take care of the Freezards, providing you don't miss." " I'm sorry I doubted you." " Magic is my specialty after all." " No arguments there." I said. The Freezards, much like the ones back in that other room, didn't move from their positions, so if anything they were merely a distraction that served to punish anyone who tried to go through this room too quickly. Why anyone would want to do that made no sense but I supposed someone--Rainbow Dash--would try it to prove they were good enough. With Hero's Bow in hand, I fired flaming arrows at each Freezard, causing them to melt upon being struck. When the last one melted into a puddle, a small treasure chest materialized on a platform at the back of the room next to a torch and a pair of pots. It was at that moment where the flames from my arrows disappeared indicating that my magic power had been depleted. Since I needed magic, I made my way across to the chest hoping some magic could be found inside of the pots. I had to be careful going along as one misstep would result in falling down below and having to backtrack up here again. After jumping across--I almost fell a couple of times--I reached the platform and smashed the pots collecting two magic jars. My magic power was restored so now I could light up the torches, but first I opened up the treasure chest and collected another Stray Fairy--this one was number ten. " Okay! You need to concentrate very carefully if you want to light up the torches. Your targets are very small so if you accidentally miss, you'll have to waste precious magic shooting at them again." Twilight said. " I could just take things slowly." " Not a chance in this room. Can you feel the cool breeze?" Twilight asked. I nodded my head. " That breeze is sure to blow out the torches after a while, so going from torch to torch would only cause one of them to snuff out before you can light them all. That's why you need to hit them from a distance." " To prevent them from snuffing out?" " Yes." Her Highness was asking a pretty tall order from me but I knew that I had to rise to the challenge. The first of the three torches was right next to me, but since I didn't want to be that close to it, I jumped over to the next platform, and aimed my bow at it. Before firing an arrow, I shuffled my body around to make sure that I could hit each from my current position--I could although one torch was really far away--before lighting up the first torch. As the flame began to burn brightly, I turned slightly left and fired a second arrow that streaked through the air, striking my target and setting it ablaze. The final torch was to my right and far away as I had established, but I fired an arrow anyway that just narrowly missed the torch. Cursing under my breath for missing, I quickly loaded another arrow and fired it where it ignited the torch causing iron bars on a door that was behind me to rise up. I couldn't believe that I missed the torch by a couple of inches wasting an arrow and magic at the same time--actually, I could believe it--so I walked over towards the door without saying another word. Opening the door, I entered the central chamber again via a closed-off circular room that featured a round switch in the center. " It's one of those switches I need to pound as Darmani." " Perhaps activating it will cause a drastic change to the temple?" " Might as well see what happens." I said. Putting away the Hero's Bow and taking out the Goron Mask, I put it on my face and stumbled about although I couldn't go very far what with this section of the chamber being closed off. Once I screamed and changed into Darmani, I jumped onto the switch, curled up into a ball, and leapt into the air before crashing down on the switch. Suddenly, a massive column rose up from the ground and continued to rise until it stopped very close to the ceiling. The column was made of solid rock although some parts looked like they were made of solid ice. " Why did I activate that switch? Now we can't go any further!" " Take a look at those odd-coloured sections on the column, Sunset." " They're just chunks of ice from what I can see." " If that's true then perhaps you can smash them to pieces with your fists." " What will that do?" " I'm not sure just yet but I'm certain I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I think you'll need to warp back to the entrance of the temple and work your way up to where the ice on the lower part of the column is located." Twilight answered. She folded her arms, closed her eyes, and began thinking about how best for me to get there. I cursed myself under my breath for making things more complicated, but Her Highness insisted that I did the right thing by activating the switch. " If you can get to the room where we found the map, you can take that short-cut and end up in front of the ice on that column." " How certain are you?" " I'm pretty certain but checking the map wouldn't hurt." Twilight answered, looking at me with her eyes opened wide. Sighing, I took out the Dungeon Map and looked at the different rooms until I found the one that she mentioned--it was the room that housed the Stray Fairy that involved jumping on tiny platforms that were invisible. While other rooms also connected to the central chamber, that particular room would take me to where I needed to go. Even though the column was what needed to appear in order to progress further, the one problem was that certain paths were now no longer accessible. I thought going back the way I came by going through that one door that connected with the room with the initial Freezards would be essential, but that assumption proved false. There was no other alternative but to use the Song of Soaring and go back to the beginning. I then wondered if this was going to become an issue in the remaining temples. If so then I wasn't looking forward to what I had to do in those places. Since I preferred playing the ocarina as opposed to the drums--I lacked finesse unlike Pinkie who was a natural--I grabbed my face, pulled the Goron Mask off, and flipped my head back allowing my hair to flow about briefly--wearing that mask was stuffy--put it away behind my back, and took out the Ocarina of Time from my pouch. I then played the Song of Soaring, the giant wings appeared from either side of my body, wrapping themselves around me before I disappeared into thin air. " Why are we stoppin'?" Applejack asked. " There's something you need to see, Cremia." " My sister needs me and y'all want me ta stop and look at somethin'?" " I really insist that you look. It'll help you understand what all of us chose to ignore regardin' your sister." " Fine!" Applejack said, looking down at the ground. " What in the hay is that!?" Where Mamamu Yan had stopped them from reaching Apple Bloom, Applejack noticed what appeared to be some kind of glowing slime. It gave off a strange pulsation every now and again as though it were alive. She then looked around and noticed other locations across the ranch had slime. What she couldn't see was that there was slime all over the place including behind the house. " I ain't never seen anything like it before." " It looks like somethin' that was execrated by an unnatural force." " What are y'all gettin' at? Also, what does this have ta do with my sister?" " Remember how she kept on telling everyone the other day about the ghosts who come around here at this time each year? What we're looking at is probably what those things left behind as they wandered across the ranch. I know it sounds crazy, Cremia, but what if Romani was tellin' the truth? What if there were ghosts who took away the cows in the middle of the night as we slept? If Romani had every intention of protecting them, was she taken as well?" " You're right, Mamamu Yan! That's just plumb crazy!" Applejack answered. She continued to remain stubborn over the fact that ghosts had abducted the cows, but this stance soon started to crack under immense pressure. The damage done to the barn roof could've only been done by something that wasn't human. The strange residue wasn't normal either and further provided evidence that ghosts came by while everyone slept. " I don't ever recall Romani wantin' ta protect the cows. She preferred ta play around with her bow and shootin' at the target she put together a couple of weeks ago." It then dawned on her that she found the bow in the barn. " What's wrong?" " I found Romani's bow in the barn earlier. You don't think she went in there last night?" " She must have done if you found her bow lying there on the ground. That means whatever took the cows had taken her, and that also means that what she was trying to tell us actually happened as Mamamu Yan says." Grog's words were harsh in nature yet Applejack refused to deny them. How could she what with the evidence stacked against her? " While we may never know what transpired last night, what we can agree on is Romani was in the barn." " Mamamu Yan... Please take me to see my sister." " Alright, but again let me stress that you won't like what you see." Mamamu Yan resumed running towards the entrance of Romani Ranch with Applejack and Grog following close behind making sure to avoid the slime scattered about. A few moments later and they arrived where they discovered a shocking sight. Sitting on a large rock was Apple Bloom, yet she appeared to be absent-minded. Her expression was one of shock and she occasionally shook her head violently. " As you can see, Cremia, this is how I found her when I came over here to see if that boulder had finally been removed." " Romani... What in the hay has happened ta my little sister?" " She has trouble remembering what she did the other night among other things." " You mean she's got amnesia!?" " I think it's a lot worse than that." " Romani? Can ya hear me?" Applejack asked, addressing Apple Bloom in hopes that she would listen. The younger sister turned to face her, a confused expression spread across her face, and she simply turned her attention back to staring blankly out at nothing. " It's me, your big sister, Cremia. I've been worried sick about where y'all have been, but I see that everythin's okay now." Again, Apple Bloom looked at her with her expression before resuming her blank stare. " What has happened to you?" " It's like her memory has been messed up somehow." " How can that even happen, Grog?" " Your guess is as good as mine." " Romani? Please! Say somethin', anythin'!" " Uhhh..." Apple Bloom began, clutching her head with her hands as though she were struggling to speak. " Ro-Romani? Is that my name? I think it is but... I can't be sure 'bout that... It don't make a lick o' sense." She stared forward after letting go of her head before turning her attention towards Applejack and the others. " Why... am I sitting here? How did I... get here... my memory... Romani doesn't remember how she got here." " No... This can't be!" Applejack shouted, dropping to her knees. " I can't believe this has happened." " Listen... I'm gonna take her back to the house and put her to bed. I don't know what's happened to Romani, but at the very least I can help her get some rest. I'm sorry fer being so sudden with my decision but I've got plenty here ta think about." Applejack said. " Bed... Romani doesn't need to sleep. Sleep... Do I need ta sleep?" Apple Bloom asked. " Everythin's gonna be alright now, sugarcube." Applejack answered. She grabbed her sister's hand and began to walk back towards Mama's House, the name of the house that the two sisters lived in. She walked only a few feet before turning around to face both Grog and Mamamu Yan. " I won't be long. When I get back, we're gonna figure out what happened with Romani, even if I have ta turn this here ranch upside-down." The look of seriousness in Applejack's face told the others that she was dead serious. They hadn't seen her with that look since the day her and Apple Bloom's father passed away. She resumed walking slowly back to the house, holding Apple Bloom's hand, the younger sister obviously struggling to walk straight due to being so disoriented. As Applejack looked down at her sister, tears began trickling down her face. In her heart, she failed to protect Apple Bloom, a promise she had made on their father's deathbed. " Are you... my sister?" " Yes." " Romani doesn't... remember much about you... but I do remember a name... Cremia." " It's a start." Applejack said. As the two continued walking back to the house, the two figures who had followed her from before continued to observe them from a distance. One of them appeared to be agitated over her presence while the other calmed their companion down. Why were they at Romani Ranch? What had brought them there?