The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask
By Ganondorf8
December 26, 2016
Chapter 39: An Emotional Fight.
While I had no intention of killing this Gerudo Pirate--she wanted to do that to me if capture wasn't an option--I wasn't about to let her walk over me without a fight. This definitely reminded me of my previous journey. Back then, I had to fight a similar opponent who had every intention of killing me, but the room was just a prison area as opposed to a luscious room that had obviously looked gaudy what with all the nick-nacks. One thing Rainbow Dash loved showing off was her vast collection of trophies, yet she got offensive if anyone were to bump into them.
She treated them like they were her own children, and while hearing her talk on and on about how awesome she was for getting so many, we never denied her the pleasure since we knew it meant so much to her. The nick-knacks in this room had no connection to personal achievement but rather they were a variety of items that Rainbow had "acquired" in the name of the Gerudo Pirates. I doubted she had any real attachment to them so I had no qualms over smashing them by accident, yet the pirate attacking me might become even more violent and erratic were I to damage the property of her leader.
The pirate began swinging her dual swords, one after another, in hopes of finishing the fight, but I raised my shield and deflected every blow though she showed no signs of backing off and continued with the assault. My shield could easily handle numerous blows yet there would be a point where I needed to go on the offence. I noticed the pirate kept one sword close to her chest as she swung about the other while interchanged between the two in her fast manner. No doubt her chest was an obvious weak point to exploit, yet I had to give her credit for not relying on armour, a trend most sword wielders utilized.
As each blow from her swords crashed against my shield, I could tell that she was starting to get annoyed by my insistence on maintaining a defensive stance. At times I thought she was going to perform a cheap shot by attempting to swing her swords at my legs or something, but she was fixated on trying to break through my shield. Despite being pirates who robbed from others for their own benefit, it appeared that they understood what it meant to be honourable during a fight.
She finally spoke out after losing it. " Why do you cower behind a shield?"
" You're not giving me much of a choice." I answered.
The pirate scoffed. " Such a pathetic excuse coming from a child. Perhaps you're not as skilled as I thought you were, but then that doesn't explain how you were able to sneak your way through here without being spotted without that mask."
" I've got my ways."
" Of course! You were aided by Mikau of the Zoras!" The pirate was probably informed by Rainbow that I had "died" while in my Zora body, yet she along with everyone else wasn't aware that Mikau--me--had survived death--though not without injury--and that the Zora and I were one and the same. " That one has always been a problem for us but now he has finally been put to rest at the bottom of the ocean. We may be retiring from plundering but we can go out in a blaze of glory knowing we killed that accursed Mikau."
" And if he lives?"
The pirate laughed. " You have no proof that he survived!" She then stopped her assault to think about something. " Still, your being here won't be tolerated. If word spread that a child was able to infiltrate our fortress, we'll never been taken seriously by anyone. I still don't think you're a threat as you merely hide behind a shield. We Gerudo risk our own bodies in order to succeed at surviving."
" That was a mistake on your part."
" Saying you aren't a threat? Did I touch a nerve?" The pirate suddenly stopped taunting me when I slashed her in the stomach, causing what looked to be blue coloured blood to spill out. There was no wound as such and that made me wonder if I even did anything. She reeled back slightly before raising her swords again. " You actually struck me!? I let my guard down by falling for your cheap tricks. Aveil would dock my pay and throw me in the dungeon if a kid like you beat me!" She swung at me resulting in my raising my shield once again to protect myself. " Enough with that shield and fight me like a warrior!"
Putting my shield down, I lunged forward with my sword as a means of responding to her challenge only to wind up not reaching her. In that precise moment, I realized that my sword wasn't long enough. Had it been longer, I could have struck her easily, yet there I was looking utterly embarrassed. Why didn't I get my sword re-forged? Going back to Snowhead and getting the Mountain Smithies to work on it was the obvious thing to do, but with everything else I had been focusing on, it just never occurred to me registered that it would become an issue at some point.
Now I had to be in her face if I were to prevail in what was quickly becoming a lopsided battle. Not only was my sword not long enough, it lacked the damage it could inflict compared to a more powerful blade, and that meant taking a lot longer to defeat someone or something.
The pirate laughed at my feeble attempt to strike her again, and responded by slashing me across the torso with both swords before following up by kicking me in the same place, sending me backwards. I sprawled up against the door, bruising my back in the process, but I had no time to worry about it as the pirate suddenly came bearing down. I raised my shield just in time as her swords collided making a loud metallic sound. Rather than get off me and attempt a different tactic, she began pushing down on me. Her aim was to either make me drop my guard or get crushed under the weight of my own shield.
Princess Twilight asked me if I was okay since both my torso and back suddenly got injured, but I told her that I was fine as both wounds were pretty minor. Of course, if I didn't watch my opponent, I could end up with even worse injuries or be killed. To this pirate, it was as though she were fighting for her own life, as though failure would result in her being given a harsh punishment by Rainbow Dash. I knew Rainbow had a short temper due to getting riled up over the smallest things, but to make someone suffer all because they failed to live up to her own expectations of them? This bore further investigation and quickly.
" Why are you so bent on killing me?"
" You expect me to tell you that?" The pirate asked. " Such an idiotic kid you are! Aveil would have my head if I were to reveal something like that."
" Are you afraid of her?"
My question riled up the pirate forcing her to relent from her onslaught. " How dare you say that about our glorious leader! Aveil is feared through the seas as a pirate who never accepts defeat and can get any job done regardless of any personal loses in the process. Sure, she can be scary, especially if you fail, but she will lead us to glory once we have successfully infiltrated the temple and steal the treasure inside."
I shook my head. " Why do you care so much about wealth?"
" We're pirates! It's in our nature!"
Since she had gotten distracted, I moved my arm aside and slashed her in the chest again, blue blood sprinkling all over despite there being no actual wound. The pirate reared back and began cursing at me for once again using tricks as a means of distraction.
Judging from what she said in response to my question, Rainbow Dash was revered amongst the Gerudo Pirates as being the ultimate authority. They respected her leadership skills and didn't care about her merciless behaviour so long as it got her the results she desired. While her loyalty from the world I called home was in plain sight--what happened with Derpy proved that point--Rainbow's biggest weakness was also on full display. When it came down to ego, Rainbow was completely incapable of doing anything. This was something I wasn't about to share with the pirate otherwise she would become even more ferocious.
The pirate then suddenly crouched down slightly before jumping and swinging her swords in a circular motion. I responded by rolling to the side just as her two swords came crashing down where I had been on the ground mere seconds earlier. Upon getting back onto my feet, I noticed that she took a few seconds getting back into the battle stance she had been using this entire time, and it made me realize what Princess Twilight was mentioning about when the pirate dropped her guard. Performing that attack left her vulnerable long enough to score a direct hit, yet it was a difficult hit to make since getting hit by that attack meant instant defeat.
When she turned around to face me, she moved forward, swinging her sword in a lightning quick fashion, catching me off guard. The blade hit my sword arm, resulting in a slight gash, and me wincing in pain, but then she followed up with her jumping attack again. No doubt I had gotten on her bad side by tricking her into dropping her guard, and was determined to finish the job no matter what would happen.
Unfortunately, I didn't respond fast enough to her attack yet she could only hit me using the tips of her swords as opposed to the main part of the blade. Had I been just a little bit closer, she would have knocked me to the ground, and I'd be at her mercy. Instead, I was merely knocked into the treasure chest, tumbling over it and landing hard on my back. She then performed the same attack again and I responded by pushing the chest slightly in her direction--it wasn't easy since it was made from a heavy wood reinforced with steel--making her tumble over it herself. With her sprawled on the ground, I struck her in the back which turned out to be the last hit I needed.
" Gah!" The pirate cried as my sword connected. " How could a kid be this good? It's like you've done this before!"
" You might say that I have."
The pirate got back onto her feet. " I had to admit it, but you've proven yourself by beating me even if you did use cheap tricks. Don't let it get to your head though, as I'm not the only one around here who will give you a real workout. One of my sisters will be waiting to ambush you, and of course Aveil will want to make sure she gets a piece of you."
" I might get out of here before she can find me."
" Ha! Don't be so clueless!"
" What do you mean?"
" Aveil knows every inch of this fortress including the secret passageways." The pirate answered. " I've no doubt that she will find you when she feels you're worthy, and that's when you'll beg for your life before she either ends it or throws you into the dungeon where you'll rot."
The pirate then took out what appeared to be a Deku Nut and tossed it to the ground, causing it to flash in a bright light that blinded me. When my vision returned several moments later, I discovered that she had disappeared without a trace. I didn't know whether my victory meant anything since she was able to get away, and her words struck my heart with fear as there were other pirares who were waiting to make their move to prevent me from reclaiming the Zora eggs. I had to act fast and get them all out of here before the others decide to pay me an unpleasant visit.
I thought about resting for a few minutes but I knew there was no time for that. I had no idea when Rainbow Dash or any other pirate would appear, and it was for the best that I wasn't around to greet them. Turning my attention towards the treasure chest, I opened it up and took out what looked like the Hookshot I used in my previous journey, yet it had a different shape in addition to being golden in colour.
My first thought was confusion. " Huh? Is this the Hookshot?"
" It is, Sunset." Twilight answered.
" But, it looks different from what I used before."
" Maybe but it still possesses the same function." Twilight said. " This Hookshot can be fired at great distances in order to pull yourself towards something or pull something towards you though you should be careful. You don't want to end up going to something that could cause personal injury nor have something nasty get pulled to you. It can also be used against weaker monsters though aiming it is difficult, so at best consider it a slight alternative to flying enemies or ones that move slowly."
" Do you know where Snails could have found this?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. " He said that he found it during a fishing trip but I wouldn't take his word for it. An item like that doesn't just end up in the hands of a local fisherman unless fate determined Snails was meant to fish the thing out of the water." Her Highness then looked at the wounds I received before shaking her head again. I wasn't really fond of her doing that because I knew she would give me her usual lecture. " Those wounds aren't as serious as appearances suggest. You really lucked out against that pirate, Sunset, but I wouldn't get cocky since there are others around here."
" That pirate really tested my skills."
" Yes, she did."
" Where do you suppose the others could be?"
" Since that pirate appeared in a room that housed a Zora egg, I have a feeling the others will be guarding them very closely." Twilight answered. " Since we don't have a map of this place, there's no way of knowing where everything is. It will essentially boil down to searching every last section of the fortress until we recover all of the eggs. Speaking of which, you might want to jump into that aquarium before we leave otherwise we'll have blundered."
Nodding, I turned my attention towards the wooden planks located above the aquarium. Aiming my new Hookshot, I fired the chain, it sailed upwards quickly, and I immediately got pulled up to the top of the aquarium before gently landing next to the water's edge. Despite how sickly looking the Zora egg looked lying on the bottom of the aquarium, the pirates knew what it meant having a pristine tank built to withstand a lot of pressure from both inside and outside. Yet, justseeing this display filled my heart with rage. I couldn't let them get away with such a horrible act.
Since I couldn't swim let alone breathe underwater, I put the Hookshot away, took out the Zora Mask, and put it on my face. The magic began to take effect and I squatted down as a result, but not before tumbling into the water though it was just as well since Zoras were practically at home in the water. Upon completing my transformation into Thunderlane, I dropped down to the bottom and took out an empty bottle. Carefully using my free hand, I gently pushed the egg inside, capped the bottle so that it wouldn't fall out, and put it behind my back before climbing back out again.
One egg had now been rescued yet there were still three more left not to mention the three eggs that Derpy lost in Pinnacle Rock. No doubt this wasn't going to be easy especially since I was in a race against not only time but a pirate whose common sense was both adorable and questionable.
" Where do we go from here, Twilight?"
" We could go back the way we came, but that would involve crossing back across the bridge to the guard tower."
" How about the direction Rainbow Dash and her entourage went?"
" Yes, that is a direction we haven't tried."
" Where do you suppose she ran off too?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. " I don't know, Sunset, but we shouldn't be concerned with that right now. We need to find those others eggs and get out of here before the other pirates realize that something is going on and attempt to lock this place down. While we can easily warp out of here using the Song of Soaring, I'm not sure if the eggs will be able to survive the trip given how fragile they are."
I clenched my hand into a fist. " Rainbow... I know you don't mean to do this, but your actions make me boiling mad."
" Of all the pirates here, she is the one we have to avoid at all costs."
" I know."
" At least we have one advantage." Twilight said. " The pirate that you defeated was supposed to be guarding another egg elsewhere. If we end up finding the room she was guarding, you can avoid a battle by simply waltzing through and taking what rightfully belongs to Rarity."
That was a piece of good news in a situation that seemed to be snowballing out of control. Walking over to where Rainbow Dash and the other pirates had run off to, I noticed a pair of barrels blocking the way. I never noticed them before although if I were to be honest, I was paying more attention to the conversation between Rainbow and Derpy. Rolling into each one to destroy them, I ran down the passageway until I found myself back outside in the central area of the fortress although in a different location. There was no sign of anyone having come by so I assumed they had gone elsewhere, yet Her Highness was right about ignoring them.
Since I was worried that the number of pirates on patrol would increase, I grabbed my face, pulled the Zora Mask off, flipped my hair back upon becoming human, put the mask away and took out the Stone Mask. Putting it on my face, I still felt like it wasn't doing anything since I could still see myself, but I wasn't about to question the magic contained within it especially since it had already allowed me to sneak past that one pirate and take her photo in the process.
Outside, the pillars with the Hookshot plates on top of them made it obvious as to what needed to be done next. An entrance into another section of the fortress was directly in front of me yet there was no way of reaching it from my current location. I looked around in hopes of finding another way back inside, and sure enough I could barely make out another entrance situated on a high up ledge.
Running down some stairs before jumping down below, I quickly froze on the spot when a pair of Gerudo Pirates walked by. They stopped right in front of me and began looking around, and my mind was racing with the thoughts that the Stone Mask wasn't going to work against them. They then looked in my direction, taking a step forward in the process, and raised their spears right in my face. I was about to respond to their challenge, but they surprised by turning around and continuing on with their patrol--I could barely hear them saying that's what they would do if they spotted any intruders wandering around.
I wanted to give them a piece of my mind but Princess Twilight reminded me that I needed to continue on, so I ignored them and continued onward until I stopped at another pillar that featured a Hookshoot plate on top. Another pillar was located on a nearby ledge with an entrance nearby, a convenience when you consider that these pillars were pretty much everywhere throughout the fortress. I had no idea why they needed so many considering they were advantageous towards me and not the pirates, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth--no pun intended given my true nature.
Taking out the Hookshot, I first attempted to grab the edge of the plate--it was just slightly out of my reach--so I fired the chain and pulled myself up before firing the chain and pulling myself across. Upon landing on the ground, I noticed that there was another entrance to my left, hidden completely out of sight.
" Which way should we go?"
Princess Twilight looked at both entrances, shrugged her shoulders, and appeared to be dejected. " I honestly have no idea on how to answer that question, Sunset. Both ways could lead us to Zora egg locations or they could lead to pirates lying in wait to ambush us. If we had an actual map of this place, we would have a better idea as to where we were going, but instead we're going about this in a blind manner."
" I have a solution." I said, taking out a green rupee from my wallet. " I did this once or twice on my previous journey when it came to something like this. I'd flip a rupee into the air, and wherever it landed would be the path that I took." Her Highness then looked at me with a displeasing gesture and I immediately took offence. " What? Neither of us can figure out which way to go so why not allow chance make our decision for us?"
Princess Twilight's jaw dropped. " You're serious about this, aren't you?"
I nodded my head. " Yep! Sometimes, the craziest of methods end up being the most useful." I tossed the green rupee into the air, spun around a few times, and dropped back down landing near the entrance that was to my left. " We should take the left entrance first."
" You actually just did that?"
" Surprised?"
" That's not the word I would use here."
" In any case, we know where to go so let's see where that entrance leads to." I said. I picked up the rupee--I wasn't about to neglect a mere rupee as I needed plenty of these to be able to purchase anything I needed--put it back in my wallet, and walked into the darkness before entering a room filled with steel barrels. There was also a fence although I saw that as more of a pleasing asthetic--if you were into that sort of thing--yet nothing else really stood out. " What do you suppose could be inside those?"
" I'm not sure but I'm appalled at their lack of organization."
" Of course you are."
" No need to be funny, Sunset." Twilight said. " Unless there's a path of some kind, we're pretty much stuck here and will have to go back the other way."
I began looking around to see if the path continued, and it did through an open gap near the far end of the barrels. It seemed that the path weaved in-between the barrels in the form of a small maze, and what appeared to be a large door poking above the barrels indicated my way forward. While this room didn't appear to make much sense in terms of being a defense point for the Gerudo, I had of intention of turning back.
Running into the maze, I immediately stopped upon seeing the tell-tale sign of a spear protruding from behind a series of barrels lined up. A few moments later, a pirate walked out from behind them before stopping and looking around to see if there were any intruders. I guessed even a room like this was bound to have someone on patrol. The Gerudo were serious about ensuring no one could sneak into their fortress and live to tell about it. Since the Stone Mask prevented me from being spotted, I could essentially walk past her without her even knowing that I was there, yet my mind still believed the mask may not work due to Sugar Belle stating that it doesn't work on everyone.
My decision was to wait for the pirate to turn around and walk back the other way, and it turned out to be a good idea as apparently, this pirate had a strong desire to talk to herself about what one of the more prominent guards had done. She couldn't believe this guard left her post in order to pursue what she said was a little mouse scurrying about the fortress like it could do anything it wanted. She wanted to report her to Aveil--Rainbow Dash--over abandoning an important position but ultimately sighed knowing her words held no value since she was forced to guard such a dilapidated room.
The pirate turned and walked the other way, grumbling to herself, allow me to slip by her with ease. I felt bad for her being stuck guarding such a room but then I had no intention of offering any sympathy to a group who would abduct innocent children before they were even born.
Entering the next chamber, I came to a startling conclusion. The pirate I had defeated earlier was supposed to be guarding this room since it possessed a green tint on the walls and she was wearing green clothes. Had she not ambushed me earlier then she would have done so here instead. In a way, I dodged a bullet or rather merely delayed what was coming by roughly several minutes.
Opening the door and entering the next room, I immediately noticed the aquarium directly in front of me, and at the bottom was the Zora egg. Much like the previous one I had picked up a few minutes ago, this one was just as sickly looking, and needed to be transferred to the tank Daring Do had provided. I also noticed a large clam nearby though parts of the shell were lined with spikes.
" That clam seems suspicious."
" It's a monster, Sunset." Twilight said. " It's called a Shell Blade and its tough shell will repel any attack you throw at it. When it opens up its mouth, its internal organs are exposed, and if you hit them with a well-timed strike, you'll defeat it. The shell only remains open for a couple of seconds so be sure you don't miss otherwise you will get it. You'll need to use your fins since it's underwater and only a Zora can fight in such conditions."
" Lucky me." I said sarcastically. Since I still had the Hookshot in my hand, I fired and pulled myself up to the top of the aquarium before staring down inside. " If I could keep my distance from that Shell Blade, I might be able to avoid having to deal with it." Looking at its position in the aquarium, my chances were pretty slim. After putting away my other items, I took out the Zora Mask, place it on my face, and squatted down as the magic contained within began to change me again.
From there, I jumped into the water and dropped down to the bottom before slowly creeping forward in hopes of not alerting the Shell Blade. It turned slightly as though it sensed my presence, yet it remained in place though I had to act fast unless I wanted to get clamped down by its heavy mouth. Taking out my second bottle an using my hand, I scooped the egg into it, corked the bottle, and put it behind my back--just in time too as the Shell Blade began moving forward. Panicking, I quickly climbed out of the aquarium just as it was about to bite my leg, and dropped down to the ground landing hard on my butt.
" Are you okay?"
" That was too close for comfort." I answered, getting back onto my feet and rubbing my butt. " I didn't want to risk any damage to the egg so I scooped it up and got out before it take a bite out of me."
" You might have damaged it by falling."
I quickly took out the bottle and gazed at it hoping that wasn't the case--it wasn't much to my relief. " The egg is still safe although it doesn't look very good. If only we could leave here, deliver them to Daring Do at the Oceanside Laboratory to prevent them from getting worse, and come back again to pick up the other two?"
" Unfortunately, the current situation won't allow us to do that." Twilight said. " I'm sure Rainbow Dash and her entourage of pirates have gotten over their bee problem, and the former most likely has ordered everyone to kill you on sight. We can't afford to leave otherwise it will be impossible to get back in through the usual means."
Her Highness was once again correct. The underwater entrance I used to enter the Pirate's Fortress had most likely been blocked off by now so as to prevent me from using it to escape and to prevent the Zoras from entering in an attempt to rescue me--they didn't know I was here so that option was an impossibility. Using the Song of Soaring wasn't an option for me either as there was no way of knowing if the eggs could survive such a trip even if they were in bottles. I needed a different exit, one that not even Rainbow Dash herself would expect from an intruder.
Rather than go back the other way, I decided to take the other passage in hopes that it would take me back outside to a reasonable location. Sure enough, upon getting back outside to the central area, I could see a treasure chest on my right, yet in front of me, several pirates were walking around, looking behind the crates in hopes of finding me. I retreated back inside slightly, grabbed my face, pulled off the Zora Mask, flipped back my hair, and switched to the Stone Mask just as one pirate looked in my direction. While I could use arrows to knock them out, I wanted to conserve my ammunition for when I really needed it.
When the cost was clear, I ran over to the treasure chest and opened it up, taking out a red rupee. I was sure this chest had been placed here as a means of baiting me for a trap, but nothing happened much to my pleasure. What convinced them to leave a chest out in the open for anyone to take its contents baffled me, but I could do with the extra money since I needed to get myself a potion before entering the next temple--I wasn't about to go through what happened in Snowhead Temple again.
" Okay... Where do we go from here?"
" We haven't tried the other side of this area."
" What about going left?"
" That would lead us back to where we came from." Twilight answered. " This fortress may be confusing, but every section has two corresponding entrances, effectively making us go around in a big circle. If we can remember each of the entrances we've used, we won't end up getting ourselves lost." Her Highness then used what constituted as fairy magic to leave behind a tiny mark next to the entrance I had just come out from. " There! This will let us know that we came out of here and not have to worry about it again."
" So going left will take us around to where we went inside?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Not the most articulate of answers but yes, you are correct about that, Sunset." I stared at her with a glum expression in response to that. " You can easily make it across since wearing that Stone Mask makes you invisible to everyone. Just don't do anything that would give you away otherwise not even the power of being invisible will save you from whatever it is they have in store."
I rolled my eyes. While she didn't have to say like that, she was right about me doing something that would expose me.
Jumping down below, I began to scan the area in hopes of finding a location that I hadn't reached yet. To my left was a massive pair of double-doors that indicated the main entrance to this area--though why would anyone have such huge doors in the first place was beyond me--and directly in front of me was the guard tower where Sugar Belle was. But then to my right, I could barely make out another pillar with a Hookshot plate on top of it, but I didn't know if that's what it was. Since I hadn't been over in that direction, I decided to check it out and see if there was another entrance.
Instead of using the crates as cover and dodging the pirates, I merely walked along casually and watched as they passed me by without incident. The Stone Mask, outside of the three transformation masks, was slowly becoming one of my most useful masks. Granted, I hadn't used some of the other masks quite as extensively so my opinion was rather biased in its approach, but the fact that I could avoid most enemies without having to fight them was something that was too good to pass up on. And yet I knew not all of them were affected so I couldn't pretend that I'd never have to fight again.
If that one pirate could see me, then others just like her could achieve the same thing, and Rainbow Dash would especially be able to see me. If I were to run into Rainbow before I escape from the fortress, would I be able to fight her? Despite how she was behaving, she was still one of my closest friends, and that could prove problematic. Hopefully, she wouldn't be able to track me down, or decided that becoming wealthy was more important.
When I reached the other side of the clearing, a splashing sound broke the immediate silence, and I looked down to see that I had just stepped into a large puddle of water. You'd think the pirates would clean this up considering it was the only puddle, but then I quickly realize that there was a significance here. Even though I was invisible, I could still make sounds by stepping on or into something, and I just stepped into water. I looked all around wondering if any pirates had suddenly heard the splashing of feet, yet they were on the other side of the clearing, well out of range. My heart slowed down after beating fairly quickly after what I just did.
Using my Hookshot to pull myself up to a higher ledge--there were two pillars instead of one--I walked through another entrance and into a room that suddenly got a lot brighter as well as a lot warmer.
" Why is it so hot in this room?" I asked, sweat dripping down my brow.
" Because there is a pool of lava right below you."
" What!?" I exclaimed. I looked over the edge and several metres below was a pool of lava, just as Princess Twilight said. Underneath my Stone Mask, I gulped heavily, my face turned a ghostly white, and my body went numb for a few seconds. " Who in their right mind would have something like that in here!?" I didn't think the pirates could get any worse but this room had proven otherwise. " I'm glad that no one is in here otherwise they would have succumbed to the intense heat."
" Or the smell of sulfur."
" That too." At that moment, a pirate walked by only to turn around and come back the other way ten seconds later. Had Rainbow Dash seriously ordered one of her fellow pirates to patrol a room no sane person would ever consider? The anger inside of my heart began to boil, and that scared me as it meant I could attack my friend over something she had no real control. " How could anyone be made to endure something like this? Apart from Thunderlane, who else would have the gall to actually try and sneak in here? The chances of being caught are extremely high."
" Don't lose yourself to anger, Sunset."
" Easy for you to say. You don't get as angry as I do."
" While that is true, I'm not incapable of feeling rage over something." Twilight said. " In this world, Rainbow Dash is a pirate who cares more about lining her own pockets with money as opposed to wanting to live a peaceful life. How she treats her underlings varies from person to person as she showed loyalty towards Derpy, yet not the same approach was given to this particular pirate."
" Last time she was brainwashed."
Princess Twilight then slapped me in the face or whatever constituted as a slap given her size. " Sunset! Don't allow Rainbow's action distract you from what's important. I know it's difficult knowing that she has every intention of seeing you dead, but you can't let it get to you otherwise Ganondorf will win. This is exactly what he wants to see happen to you, and you're allowing him to get away with it."
The words of Her Highness snapped me out of it and I knew that she was right. Ganondorf wanted me to suffer immensely so that I turn would succumb to the darkness that he said continued to lurk inside of my heart, and eventually become his obedient servant who would embrace power. While much of what had just transpired was a result of my own actions over what I had seen, I had to remind myself that Rainbow Dash was simply portraying a villainous character who obviously lacked any morals. The real Rainbow would never stoop to such depraved methods as that would go against everything she stood for.
I had to remain strong even if it meant that now, my emotions were getting harder to keep under control. I couldn't allow Ganondorf's words and my own anger to get the best of me especially since I was close to changing everything back to the way it was before all of this happened.
Once my head was back on straight--not literally--I walked up to where the path split into two, the one on the right was an obvious dead end so the one on the left was where I needed to go, but no sooner had I taken a single step when the pirate came back. She couldn't see me, much to my pleasure, but then I noticed that she wasn't sweating. In a room that contained a pool of lava below, no one would be able to survive in such conditions, yet this pirate didn't seem fazed by her surroundings. Was it possible that the Gerudo Pirates could survive in different conditions all thanks to their intense training?
If so then perhaps I was wrong about Rainbow Dash to an extent.
Walking onwards and ignoring the pirate, I turned right and reached a door, opened it, and entered another room where the door suddenly locked behind me with iron bars. It was blatantly obvious as to what was about to happen, but there was enough time to take a closer look at my surroundings. The lava from before was still below me although now the floor consisted of a chained fence that could break at any moment. I could also feel the heat coming from below and while I loved fire magic, I didn't like the intense heat. In front of me was another door also locked with iron bars, and that was essentially all there was.
Knowing I was about to get ambushed, I took off the Stone Mask, put it away, and walked forward only for someone to call out.
" Halt!" A woman then came down from the ceiling and looked identical to the one I encountered earlier, yet this one was wearing a red outfit as opposed to green. " Why did you take off that ridiculous mask? Were you trying to prove that you could go about our fortress without it?"
" How are you doing it?" I asked.
" Doing what?"
" Not sweating in this intense heat?"
" Does the heat cause you to lose concentration?" The pirate asked. " To someone like you, this place is guaranteed to roast you alive, but we Gerudo aren't affected by such conditions as they are nothing. We've trained in such conditions for generations so that we can survive no matter what gets thrown our way."
This was already turning into a deadly situation. The intense heat coming from below was already making me delirious, and coupled with this pirate's immunity to the heat, I was quickly losing what little advantages I had. I needed to finish this fight as fast as possible otherwise I'd die from the heat instead of her swords. Drawing my sword and shield, I took a step forward only to drop down onto both knees before getting back up again. The heat was already getting to me. I could feel its warm embrace affecting every last portion of my body, and it was making me feel weaker not to mention tired.
" Let's get this over with!"
The pirate laughed. " Why are you in such a rush? This room is simply divine especially the lava pit down below, but then you don't appreciate such beauty since you're struggling to keep yourself from dying. Ha! I could watch you succumb to the heat but then that would deny the pleasure of sticking these two swords through your heart." The pirate then drew both of her swords before she laughed once again. " I know you defeated my sister by using cheap tactics, but those aren't going to help you this time."
" You could just let me pass."
" I'll pretend that I didn't hear that. Aveil wishes for you to be captured instead of killed, so while I can't end your life, I can still stick my swords into you. I just have to avoid striking any of your vital organs though I can't really promise anything."
" How kind of you."
" I'll give you a sporting chance." The pirate said. " Give up right now and I will grant you mercy." I shook my head and she responded by being crass about it. " Tsk... I gave you a chance but rejected it? Oh well. I suppose there's just no reasoning with a stupid kid. This is going to be a lot of fun... for me that is."
The pirate then rushed forward and I tried to respond by raising my shield, but the heat was really getting to me by that point, so I didn't raise it fast enough causing me to get slashed across my stomach followed by being kicked into the wall. As I struggled to get back onto my feet, she dashed over and repeated the same maneuvers although she hit with both of her swords and not just one. The heat was preventing me from experiencing the pain yet I knew I needed to do something or end up getting captured.
I swung my sword forward in hopes of making some kind of connection, yet the pirate used her swords to block my attack and follow up by striking me in the stomach yet again, causing me to crash into the door this time. Already things weren't going very well and this fight had only just started. The pirate then began getting into the position of performing a jump attack but before she could do it, I raised my shield and hoped that it wasn't going to be painful. Unfortunately, I was quickly proven wrong when both of her blades sunk deep into my shoulders resulting in some slight blood gushing forth.
And yet, despite how painful it looked and Princess Twilight being in complete shock, the heat was actually preventing me from feeling any pain. I was struggling to keep myself from collapsing from exhaustion that I wasn't even paying attention to my body being hacked to pieces. Granted, the pain would be felt when I got out of this area but for the time being, I had inadvertantly acquired different kind of defence.
The pirate was surprised that I survived her jump attack but she wasn't ready to back down from her assault. She rushed forward, her swords swinging in unison, only for me to block them with my shield. She stopped attacking and paused in hopes of making me drop my guard, and the moment I chose to go on the offensive, she responded by hitting my sword arm yet I got to respond as well by hitting her sword arm--one of them anyway. While her wound was minimal at best since it was just her arm, my wound added to the total I had received since we started, and it was obvious that I was losing.
Before I could attack, the pirate kicked me to the ground, and stabbed me in the shoulders again, but like before, I couldn't feel any pain as the heat was making me focus on that combined with the delierium affecting my mental state.
" I have struck you several times." The pirate began. " Yet you feel no pain. You are either a demon or are more resilient than appearances suggest."
" It's the heat."
" What about it?"
" The heat is so intense that I'm ignoring everything else."
" A bonus for me then. If my swords don't finish you then the heat most certainly will." The pirate performed another jump attack only for me to dodge by jumping to the side and responding with my own jump attack, a maneuver she definitely wasn't expecting. " How did you do that!?"
" Just lucky I guess."
The pirate scoffed. " Luck has nothing to do with it. My sister told me that you have more experience than a kid your age should possess. You may look pathetic but deep down you possess a warrior's willpower not to mention lasting longer than most in such heat."
I swung my sword forward as she did hers resulting in a clash of steel. " I've seen things you and your kind will never understand."
" Is that so?"
I nodded my head. " Believe me... If you saw that I've seen, you'd never want to raise your sword ever again."
" Whether you're telling me the truth or not doesn't really matter." The pirate said. " I've every intention of capturing you in the name of our leader, Aveil, and she will bask me with so much praise, she'll cast aside that pathetic excuse of a second-in-command and name me as her number two." My eyes opened wide when she said that. " I don't know why Derpy has to act like an incompetent oaf so much. While Aveil appreciates it for the most part, some of the others don't feel the same way. Me? I have no grudge against her though she is pathetic. I mean, who would drop their weapon allowing the Zoras to know what we did?
Suddenly, I began to get the upper hand, and I swung my sword downward, knocking it out of the pirate's hand. She was surprised at what I just did--I was also surprised as I wasn't expecting that--but when she attempted to pick it up off the ground, I performed another jump attack that she couldn't avoid, resulting in her screaming in agony before dropping down onto one knee. The anger I saw in her face reminded me that I was losing control of my emotions so I quickly performed some breathing exercises to calm myself down.
I too then dropped onto one knee, the pirate laughing at me in the process. " You've got guts, kid! I didn't expect you would rely on pure rage to overpower me, but you did and that means you've beaten me as well. I can't believe that one mere child has now defeated two of the finest Gerudo Pirates in all of Great Bay. Guess there's more to you than appearances suggest, but I wouldn't get too cocky otherwise someone is going to slit your throat when you least expect it.
" Take back what you said about Derpy."
" Your rage had to do with her?"
" Well?"
" Like I said, I've got nothing against her but some of the others wish she were exiled." The pirate answered. " She may be pathetic but Derpy can be just as dangerous as Aveil if you push her into a corner and she has no way out. Since Derpy isn't around to personally deal with you, I'm sure Aveil would revel in the chance of getting to kill you personally. She's been cheerful as of late what with killing our mortal enemy, Mikau of the Zora, yet she needs to unwind because our theft didn't quite work out. I'd be pleasantly surprised if you managed to get out of here without running into Aveil."
The pirate then took out a Deku Nut, tossed it to the ground where it produced a blinding flash, and like before, I was blinded for several seconds. When my vision returned, she had disappeared and both doors unlocked. Without another thought, I entered the next room where I collapsed to the floor and began breathing heavily due to being exposed to such conditions for a lenthy period. I was certain that I would die back there from being exposed to so much heat instead of dying at the hands of my opponent, yet somehow I survived the odds although now I began to feel the negatives of no longer being in heat.
My wounds began to flare up resulting in me wincing with pain. While I hadn't lost that much blood, the fact that my arms and back felt like they were about to rip off from my body indicated that I needed immediate attention. There was no telling when some other pirate would show up so I needed to get out of here before then. Unfortunately, the wounds were taking their toll much to my displeasure.
" Do you wish you had a potion now?" Twilight asked.
" That's why I've reminded myself to get one before the next temple." I answered.
" You overcame that pirate despite being exposed to all that heat."
" I'm not surprised that you weren't affected."
" Really? I guess I hadn't noticed."
I rolled my eyes. " You're a fairy, remember? Unlike me, you're immune to a lot of environmental conditions. You could stay in those previous rooms for days on end without ever succumbing to the heat, but I almost did and I'm supposed to embrace fire since I used it during my previous journey."
" Fire may be closely related to you, Sunset, but you're not immune to it."
" I know."
" Before you get the next egg, why not take a few moments to smash the pots around here?" Twilight asked. " You could do with some recovery hearts in order to heal those
wounds otherwise they could become infected or worse."
I nodded. " I might have to kick them with my feet if my shoulders are too painful for me to use." Walking around the room, I struggled to lift up the pots that were scattered about the room, yet each one was smashed into a wall, and while most contained rupees, the remaining two contained small hearts which were exactly what I needed. The instant I picked them up, my wounds began to heal and soon I was back to my regular strength though I did have a few scars. I turned to Princess Twilight who smiled knowing that I was no longer hurt. " I noticed a treasure chest inside of the aquarium over there."
Princess Twilight then looked at it for herself. " You're right, Sunset."
" Who do you suppose put that there?"
" Maybe Rainbow Dash didn't want anyone getting some kind of secret stash?"
" In that sense, she can't get it either."
" Either way, you might as well see what's inside." Twilight said. " I know it sounds weird of me saying to steal someone else's treasure, but since these pirates have been doing that to the Zoras for a long time, taking something from them would kind of balance things out."
Her Highness really shouldn't look into it like that unless she was willing to contradict herself and the teachings of Princess Celestia. Me? I figured the chest contained a small amount of rupees, nothing that Rainbow Dash would miss.
Pulling out the Hookshot, I pulled myself up to the top of the aquarium after firing the chain at the wood situated above it. Upon landing, I took out the Zora Mask, put it on my face, and began going through the transformation again--I didn't like how I had to switch between forms so frequently as I thought my body wouldn't able to handle so many transitions within a short time frame--until I became Thunderlane--Mikau--and jumped into the water.
Like the first tank, this one had no monsters lurking about inside, so I didn't have to worry about the egg getting damaged. However, the egg was just like the other two, pale and sickly looking, signs that the pirates didn't care about it so long as they had it in their greedy hands. It saddened my heart knowing they cared more about lining their pockets with gold instead of taking good care of such innocent creatures. If Fluttershy were here right now, she would have gone on a tirade of aggression, condemning the pirates by using her ability to stare people down until they pleaded for her to stop--that power still freaked me out.
Taking out my next empty bottle, I scooped the egg up into it, corked it, and placed it behind my back before walking over to the chest and kicking it open, taking out yet another red rupee though I wasn't surprised. Collecting so many of them didn't seem like much but the numbers would add up into an incredible profit. Perhaps I should deposit some of these rupees at the bank otherwise they would be lost when I eventually reset time.
Climbing out of the water and walking into the dark passageway, I soon found myself back outside though I wasn't quite sure where I was. The ground was further below than last time and while I could easily jump down without any injury, it was the principle of the thing that annoyed me.
" Okay, where do we go from here?" I asked, scratching my head.
" First, let me leave a little magic behind so we don't end up coming back here again." Twilight said. She closed her eyes and concentrated before conjuring up a tiny ball of magic that she threw onto the nearby wall creating an almost inconspicuous mark. " The guard tower is to our left again although this time we're on the other side of the central area. We could always go back and see if we missed anything on the previous side or we could try the outer edge. Whichever decision you decide upon, Sunset, you'll need to switch back to a human and use the Stone Mask to avoid being detected."
I sighed. " I'm not liking how I keep changing back and forth every few minutes."
" Is it really taxing on your body?"
I nodded. " I feel like my insides could turn to mush because of how they get re-arranged every time I change forms." I looked down at my hands and was shocked to see that they were shivering not from the cold--it was surprisingly warm despite it being nightfall--but from switching back and forth between bodies. " I hope I can slow down after this. I'd rather not have my body tear itself apart."
That was one of the biggest drawbacks regarding changing forms. My anatomy had to experience changing into something completely different as well as get accustomed to the change which often took some time. Changing constantly meant my body couldn't adjust itself and could potentially cause permanent damage if I wasn't careful. That's why I preferred to remain in one form for a lengthy period instead of short bursts. It would prevent something from going wrong. I supposed that I could do a few short bursts between forms though it was something I'd rather soon avoid than face the consequences later on.
Grabbing my face and pulling off the Zora Mask, I flipped my hair back and switched over to the Stone Mask before jumping down to the ground below. I noticed that more pirates had since appeared telling me that Rainbow Dash was getting desperate with wanting me found and taken care of. Since they couldn't see me--I figured most of the regular pirates couldn't see me while the more unique individuals could making the Stone Mask useless against them.
I ran past them making sure to avoid any puddles and continued running until I was getting within range of the entrance I used to come into this area. Princess Twilight bopped me on the head and pointed out that there was another pillar with a Hookshot plate located on top of a high ledge--it was cleverly hidden from sight as I wouldn't have thought about turning around upon entering--followed by a couple more that lead up to what looked like a bridge that went across to another section of the fortress. How the Gerudo were able to get up to such places without the use of ladders was truly baffling to the brain.
Using the Hookshot, I pulled myself up to each pillar making sure not to fall off or anything, and when I eventually reached the bridge, there was a single pirate walking back and forth along it and essentially blocking the path forward. While I hadn't relied as much on the tactic as I had done during my previous journey, I knew that she needed to be knocked out for me to progress. I obviously wasn't confident enough to hit such a far-away target so I walked forward before stopping halfway across the bridge and taking out the Hero's Bow. Loading an arrow into place and aiming accordingly, I let it loose, striking the pirate in the back, causing her to collapse.
While I hated the thought that perhaps she was dead, I knew that she had merely been knocked unconscious and would be back at it about a minute later.
Stepping over her body and continuing on, I walked up to a door which was surprisingly as I had only seen two others near where Rainbow Dash was. Opening it and entering the next room, the first thing that greeted me was a large treasure chest surrounded by three pirates who were obviously there guarding it. A ramp on either side showed how one could go in and out though my eyes were paying attention to a small ledge sticking out of the wall serving as an alternate means of crossing.
" Whatever is in that treasure chest must be important if there is this many guards."
I nodded. " Rainbow Dash must not want anyone to come along and take what's inside."
" What are you going to do?"
" I'm not going to risk it."
" You suspect more rupees?"
I nodded again. " That's one reason as well as the most obvious. I suspect there's a bigger rupee reward in there but at this point I don't really need anymore money. I mean, I could always do with more rupees but there's a fine line one shouldn't cross because doing so makes you consumed with greed." I looked closely at the chest and something in my head was telling me to open the chest and take the prize inside. I quickly shook my head several times to get such horrible thoughts out of there. " My other reason is that the pirates would figure out someone was there invisible if all of a sudden, the chest opened up on its own."
" They could be superstitious."
" Maybe but then they already witnessed Starlight Glimmer use her powers."
" Good point." Twilight said. " If they believed in her powers then the chances of them believing in something less superficial would be slim to none. I'm proud of you for taking the high road instead of going to great lengths just to pick a few extra rupees."
" I could knock them out with arrows but it's not worth it."
" Then I suggest using that ledge sticking out of the wall."
" Why?"
" If you were to go down where the pirates are, you might be tempted to open up the treasure chest." Twilight answered. " Don't think that I don't trust you, Sunset, because that's not the case at all. I know you'll do the right thing and not be consumed by greed."
Her words didn't sound all that reassuring but Her Highness was right about me not allowing greed to tempt me. Jumping onto the ledge gently so as to not make a noise one would make upon landing on something, I was about to jump over to the other side when I suddenly heard the same voice in my head as before. It kept on saying for me to go down and take the rupees in the chest, to take back what the Gerudo Pirates had stolen, to humiliate them just because I was viewed as a child. The voice continued growing in strength but I once again shook my head and drove the thoughts out.
To steal from them in such a manner would make me a thief. Even though I had taken some of their treasure, they were either insignificant or something that wasn't really theirs to begin with, like the Hookshot as Snails found it by fishing it out from the bottom of the ocean.
I jumped over to the other side but before I continued on, I decided to see if these pirates had anything interesting to say. Surely they were privy to knowing what was going on throughout the fortress as they were pirates like the others. Getting down onto my hands and knees, I scouched forward so that I could listen as closely as possible without giving away my current position--that would be pretty bad.
" What is going on out there?"
" Someone said that there's an intruder in the fortress."
" You're kidding!?"
" Aveil said that a kid is wandering around here and should be captured at all costs, but if they are killed then it's still okay so long as they are dealt with. I also heard some of the others mention the Zora eggs we stole have gone missing."
" Do you think that kid is behind it?"
" Impossible! No one can get those eggs out without dealing with the nasty creatures we placed in two of the aquariums. Unless that kid suddenly grew gills, the only one who could have stolen back the eggs is Mikau."
" Shhhh! If Aveil heard you say something like that, you'll be thrown into the dungeon for certain."
" But what if he did survive?"
" Aveil made sure he died."
" I'm just saying that if Mikau survived his death, he could be assisting this kid and use them as a distraction while he goes after the eggs. Besides, he's been in plenty of situations where his life hung in the balance, and he managed to pull through every time sometimes by almost impossible means. With all that confusion going on, can we afford to take any chances if it were Mikau?"
" If he's still breathing, Aveil will be really mad."
" Mad isn't the term I'd use."
" What would use?"
" Vivid beyond all reasoning."
" Enough chatter you two! We must continue watching over this treasure chest as Aveil ordered, and we're not to leave this post until she says otherwise. Now that you mention her, why do you suppose she decided to come here earlier?"
" No idea."
" Well that was pointless."
It may have been for them but what they talked about proved very important to me. It seemed that my escapades in the Pirates Fortress have already caused plenty of confusion resulting in Rainbow Dash ordering more of her fellow pirates to go out on patrol. On the one hand, they were going to waste valuable time and resources trying to find out where I am though I wasn't making it easy for them since I was using the Stone Mask to go about incognito. On the other hand, I would slowly find myself being blocked off from all sides as they figure out what exactly was going on.
Also, some of the pirates were questioning as to whether or not Thunderlane was still alive. He--I--survived the fall from that prison cell though I made sure not to allow them to see my Zora form so as to continue on with the deception that their hated enemy had died. I supposed some of them had decided to check out the aquariums to ensure the eggs hadn't been taken, and alerted Rainbow Dash most likely upon learning someone had gotten to them.
What they also said about Rainbow coming by here earlier was a disturbing thought. I didn't know where she had run off to after being chased by those bees, but I hoped that these pirates were wrong and that she had gone somewhere else.
Getting back up, I walked towards another door, and entered another room that resulted in me being locked in. Unlike the previous one that proved unbearable, this one actually looked beautiful and personified a sense of mystery. Of course, I didn't want to stay in here forever as time was still against me. Since I was expecting another powerful Gerudo to come down from the ceiling, I decided to take several moments to reflect upon all I had done so far in Termina.
Sure, there had been plenty of ups and downs, but then all adventures are like that whether we intend to do so or not. My relationship with Princess Twilight had also grown during this entire ordeal, and I would forever cherish these moments. We never got a chance to do something together since time wasn't on her side, she wasn't used to having hands, and preferred not to cause a scene what with being different, but I felt as though this world had allowed us to finally get to know each other. We both may have been the students of our former mentor, Princess Celestia, yet our paths diverged due to having our own individual ideals.
Her Highness became an alicorn, a princess, while I... I became a failure who had to claw her way out of the deep pit she had created out of hatred. I'm in a much better place now than before, yet a part of me still wishes that I had stuck around, finished my studies, and became a princess who deserved it.
On a different note, my experiences dealing with the problems of Termina had been useful in my own development as a person. I now understood people's feelings a lot better than I used to, and I proved a very good listener. Some things were annoying but I've slowly come to accept those issues. Fighting monsters was still not my thing though I had gotten stronger as a result compared to my klutziness from before, and I absolutely loved changing into different forms--but not on a consistent basis. Hopefully, I can succeed though Ganondorf was waiting for me to reach a certain point.
He said we'd have another contest, and I must somehow be ready for him.
Deciding that I had stalled long enough, and because Princess Twilight was bopping me on the head, I walked towards the center of the room only to hear the sounds of someone clapping their hands. Something was definitely wrong here. Shouldn't the pirate have dropped down from above by now?
" I have to say that I'm impressed that you made it this far." My entire body froze as I recognized that voice from anywhere. I turned around and walking out the shadows, still clapping her hands was Rainbow Dash. " Most people who enter this fortress often meet a miserable end after a few minutes, yet you have defied the odds by surviving and defeating several of my sisters in combat. For that, you have earned my respect but it doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't be here let alone still be alive.
" Rainbow Dash!" I exclaimed.
" How do you know about my nickname?"
" Um... Lucky guess?" I asked. Crap! She doesn't know that I was here earlier as Mikau which was when I found out about that. I hoped that she wouldn't put two and two together otherwise I could be in even more trouble.
" Then I guess it's true."
" What is?"
Rainbow Dash flipped back a strand of hair that was covering her eye. " Mikau survived his death and has been reclaiming the Zora eggs we stole. I should have known that he wouldn't die so easily to a trap door." I was about to say otherwise but kept quiet knowing that telling the truth would really make things worse. " While he is nothing but a coward for not facing off against us, I will admit that he is more powerful than appearances suggest. Course, he'll get his butt kicked when my sisters and I eventually find him. Mikau won't be able to hide much longer especially if more guards are out on patrol. And then that brings me to you, kid."
I gulped. " Um..."
" I don't know what you're doing here but you've been humiliating my sisters constantly."
" Sorry."
" That's real cute." Rainbow Dash said. " That isn't going to work here, kid. You see, I was in a pretty good mood until I learned that someone was stealing our Zora eggs and someone else was snooping around our fortress like she owned it. Everything has gotten so lame since then that I really want to vent my anger out against anyone who might be within range of it, so thank you for being a volunteer."
" What happened to the other guard?"
" She was ordered to guard the main entrance."
" Did you think she wasn't competent enough to capture me?"
Rainbow Dash's face turned bright red and she drew her two swords. " How dare you say such vile words about my sisters? It appears you have a forked tongue, kid, and I'd love to carve that out of you along with your heart. I may get angry with them for failing me but they know that I will always have their back no matter what. My sisters mean everything to me even if it meant giving up my own life." She then began to walk forward and got into a battle position. No... She wasn't planning on fighting me!? " I was thinking of showing mercy but your insult towards my sisters pushed me ovet the edge."
She was dead serious about fighting me. Numerous thoughts began swirling through my mind. The thought of fighting one of my friends was something I'd never thought would happen in a million years, and yet Rainbow Dash was standing here before me, with two swords in hand, ready to fight to the death. Another thought involved me trying to convince to not do something crazy with another thought involved me giving up. There was no way I could give up yet I just couldn't bring myself to fight my friend. She may have been a different person in this world yet she was still the same Rainbow who would always be loyal to her friends.
I had to get her to change her mind. " Let's not be too hasty about this."
" Are you trying to plead surrender to me?"
" No, but I don't want to fight you."
" You truly are something else, kid, but I'm afraid it's too late." Rainbow Dash said. " This won't take very long anyway as compared with my sisters, I am on a completely different level when it comes to fighting. In fact, it's been a long time since I last got to actually spar against anyone. If you can at least last about five minutes, I'll be satisfied and I might choose to spare your life, but if you die before that, then... well... you die."
Princess Twilight then spoke out. " You have to do this, Sunset."
Rainbow Dash was surprised. " Huh? A fairy? Say... That little thing looks an awful lot like the one that was hanging around Mikau early this morning. Come to think of it, you're wearing similar clothes to what he wore although you're wearing a shirt instead of being bare-chested." My entire body froze. I feared that Rainbow had figured out that Mikau and I were the same person. I prayed that she hadn't. " Oh well. It's not really important anyway." I breathed a sigh of relief. " Fairy or no fairy, let me see what kind of skill you have, kid."
She then suddenly dashed at me with a speed much faster than the previous pirates, and knocked me to the ground with a swift kick to my stomach. As I got back onto my feet, I got kicked down again before I even had a chance to properly defend myself. Getting up again, Rainbow began bragging out how awesome she was and that this was going to be an easy victory for her. At least she still possessed her ego in this world, and I could take advantage of if if I can manage to score a few hits against her.
Drawing out my sword and shield, I slowly walked towards Rainbow who did the same thing, a smug look expressed on her face. We stared at each for several seconds before she slashed me across the torso with blinding speed. Clutching my stomach, I rolled away from a second sword slash and continued rolling as she struck her swords into the ground with every intent on skewering my body. Rainbow wasn't kidding when she said that she was in her own league as these were attacks that I never thought were possible by using a pair of swords--that made this even harder.
Getting back onto my feet, I raised my shield just as she started to strike her swords against it, yet she quickly changed tactics by tossing one sword in the air and using her other one to continue her assault. My mind was so preoccupied with deflecting Rainbow that I didn't see her first sword come down on top of my head--I was fortunate in that I got hit by the hilt instead of the actual blade itself. Clutching my head now wracked with pain, I couldn't prevent Rainbow from slashing me twice before kicking me again, sending me into the wall with a loud thud.
She walked over and was about to perform the now familiar jump attack when I barely lifted my sword and struck her in the stomach, causing blue blood to gush forth, an for her to back away slightly.
Rainbow Dash began laughing. " You finally managed to hit me, kid. And here I thought you weren't taking this seriously. No wonder my sisters fell to you so easily despite all their training. They didn't know how to fight against someone who can be unpredictable with their moves. Still, I've done more to you than you have to me so consider this to be a disappointing fight. In fact, I'd go as far as calling it absolutely lame, a real snoozefest, totally boring. I want you to come at me with everything! Don't hold back!"
" I don't want to fight you."
" It's not like you have a choice."
" What do you mean?"
Rainbow Dash pointed at the locked doors on either side of the room. " If you want to get out of here, kid, you're gonna have to beat me in battle. There's no other way to raise those iron bars even if you were to possess immense strength. It's how we apply stress to any who think they can go about our fortress with eace."
" So I'm stuck here?"
" For about three more minutes."
" What happens then?"
Rainbow Dash laughed while twirling her swords. " You may walk out of here alive or I kill you on the spot. Either way, this fight won't be lasting for much longer." She looked at my shield and whistled. " Your shield is actually keeping me from ending this a lot sooner, but while my sisters saw it as cowardly, I see it as you relying on your strengths which revolve around offensive and defensive skills. I aim on getting rid of that thing but I'll have to work for it."
I was shocked. " You think this is a game?"
" It should be but then this is just the kind of person I am." Rainbow Dash answered. " I may be a ruthless pirate but even I'm allowed to have some fun. Anyway, no more talking as we still have a fight to finish." Before she could make a move, she suddenly felt a stabbing sensation coming from her stomach. She looked down and noticed my blade had slashed her stomach pretty badly. No blood seeped forth this time though in my heart, I had wounded one of my closest friends. " Didn't think you would rely on a cheap shot. Maybe you do have what it takes to gives me some entertainment."
" I didn't mean to."
Rainbow Dash scoffed and waved her hand. " It's cool! While most people fight for honour, they can and will rely on cheap shots if they feel the need to. Sure, it would damage their reputation amongst their peers, but at least they took an initiative instead of get cut down by their opponent. Me? I'll switch between honourable and cheap shots to ensure my victory even if I get criticized later for it. I personally don't care what others say about me. I do what I must in order to help my people survive."
I could tell that she was conflicted between the personality she had in Termina with her true self that I had come to know. Whether or not she was aware of this remained to be seen, but it was different from the rest of my friends. Fluttershy and Applejack seemlessly switched between their respective personas without it affecting them, while Pinkie Pie was still out there given that she didn't seem all that different from her true self. Rarity? I had no answer for her as she hadn't spoken to me because of losing her eggs, and Twilight Sparkle was unaccounted for.
The theory that Princess Twilight came up with regarding the Elements of Harmony still held true but it seemed Rainbow was struggling with it. While I hoped for her to display more of her loyal nature, I knew that the dominant persona--that of this Aveil person--would bring her back to what was important to her.
As I contemplated all of this, Rainbow Dash took advantage and knocked me to the ground using a shoulder tackle. " What were you doing, kid? Daydreaming? If you do something like that, you'll always end up on the receiving end of just about anything." Before I could raise my sword, I was suddenly staring at the tips of two blades that were mere inches from my face, and the sadistic look Rainbow had on her face was concerning. " I've got to admit that this was the best fight of my entire life."
" What are you doing?"
" Unfortunately, I've come to the realization that you are a threat."
" In what way?"
" Someone with your kind of skill could easily overthrow me and take over." Rainbow Dash answered. " My sisters would probably kill you in response if that were to happen or choose to follow you as their new leader. I can't allow that to happen! Sorry, kid, but I've got to kill you right now in order to preserve my authority."
" NO!"
" At least die with some dignity." Rainbow Dash said, raising her swords in preparation of making a finishing blow. There was no way she would want to kill me. I had to believe that she would refrain from doing so even at the last possible minute. " Goodbye, kid." Then again, maybe she had every intention.