The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask
By Ganondorf8
January 9, 2017
Chapter 40: The Dark Ocean Depths.
Rainbow Dash thrust both her swords down without hesitation and all I could do was wait for the inevitable impact. The sound of metal striking the ground echoed all around yet something wasn't right. She clearly had every intention of killing me so why did she strike the ground instead? Rainbow then attempted to kill me again only to have the same result as before, namely her swords hit the ground and not me. She then made a third attempt and it quickly dawned on me that she couldn't go through with it.
I mean, she could kill me if she wanted to as that was the nature of the character she was portraying, but I slowly suspected that her heart was telling her not to go through with it and instead miss me on purpose. A small part of Rainbow's true self prevented her from doing something she would most likely regret if we were back home, yet in this place, she was instead experiencing frustration. She then thrust her swords down for a fourth time only to stop, the tips of both blades mere inches from my face. I wasn't about to question anything regarding what was going on in her mind.
As far as I was concerned, my life had been spared though I wasn't out of danger yet. I still had to deal with the fact that Rainbow's presence was keeping both doors blocked with iron bars. That meant she needed to be defeated for me to continue on and retrieve the final Zora egg so that I could get them back to Daring Do. The only problem was that I had to beat her... my friend... someone that I saw as more of a family member than merely a friend. Even though I had struck her with my own sword as a means of protecting myself, the thought of hurting Rainbow any further just didn't settle well with me.
I'm sure that Princess Twilight would have the exact same thoughts if she was in my position right now. Her Highness had been watching the battle from a distance, her obvious disgust at two friends fighting each other telling me that she didn't want to see it continue on. And yet, she knew that there was no other choice. For me to continue on, Rainbow Dash had to be dealt with.
After failing to kill me for the fourth time, Rainbow tossed away her swords in disgust. " What is wrong with me!? I should be able to kill the likes of you without hesitation, yet something in my heart is saying not to do it. How can I be an effective leader when my heart is making me think of doing nice things." It then looked as though she was trying to throw up or pretend to be gagging. Even in a world like this, she still has that immaturity that defines her character. " If my sisters find out... I'll never be able to show my face here again. I'd have to exile myself out of shame and that so isn't awesome."
" Why don't you listen to your heart?" I asked.
" What!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. " We Gerudo Pirates don't allow our hearts to dictate our actions. We survive on the principle that stealing from others and priding ourselves as the scourges of the sea! Anything less than that and our lives mean nothing."
" Surely you can change that perspective?"
Rainbow Dash laughed. " You really don't know that much about us pirates do you?"
I was about to shake my head when I stopped myself from doing so. " I know that you make other people miserable by attacking them all in the name of wanting riches beyond your wildest dreams. Did you ever stop to think that you could have forged friendships with those whom you've dealt with in such a manner? They could have given you the necessary aid in return. You pirates wouldn't be in your current element had you taken the first step."
" You're gonna make me gag."
" Are you being serious?"
" Isn't it obvious to you, kid?"
" Why aren't you listening to me?"
" I'm listening but you're spouting nothing but hot air." Rainbow Dash answered. She finally got off of me after having pinned me down for what felt like an eternity and folded her arms like she was cold or something. " We've tried what you suggested a long time ago and we ended up losing because of it. I don't think I need to tell you what kind of loses I'm talking about, right?" I nodded my head and she responded by laughing. " It's only funny until you realize that you've lost so many of your sisters, those who stood beside you through everything, fighting just to survive."
" I'm sensing some inner conflict."
Rainbow Dash suddenly looked at me with a piercing gaze that screamed hatred. " There has never been any inner conflict, kid. We pirates learned a long time ago that the only ones we can rely on are ourselves. Sure, I've had problems when some of my sisters royally botch things up, but then I realized I should have handled it instead of them. Many of my sisters haven't seen the kind of things that these two eyes of mine have. Their failures are a reminder that they haven't truly experienced being a pirate. Until they know what it can really be like, I've got to continually talk down on them until they get it."
This was a side of Rainbow that certainly caught me by surprise. I knew it was the character she was portraying who was doing the talking yet it still felt strange hearing her speaking with so much emotion. Normally, she would poke fun at the rest of us for relying on emotions and calling it lame, but here, Rainbow was letting out her emotions without having to hold back for anything. My assumption about the Gerudo Pirates was that they were nothing but thieves who were causing trouble for the Zoras. To think that they were trying to stay alive through means of survival.
My idea of the pirates having made friends with others still stood though. Had they chosen to embrace friendship rather than be treated as a group who cared more about their own survival, many problems could have been averted--it certainly would have made my task in Great Bay that much easier--and they could have lived here peacefully. Instead, they chose to go down a path that resulted in stealing, kidnapping, and maybe even killing.
Looking at Rainbow Dash, I was beginning to see things in a different light. Maybe she and her fellow pirates weren't as evil as motivations suggested? Their actions stemmed from the belief that they could trust only themselves. Survival meant doing whatever was necessary even acts that others would condemn without a moment's hesitation.
I knew there and then that my words weren't going to change Rainbow's mind. She was dead set in continuing down her destructive path since in this world, she had been doing so for a long time until it became second-nature. Could I have made a difference and changed the outcome had I been here long before Starlight Glimmer had spoken to Rainbow? Maybe but then this situation sounded like it had been around for years rather than the last couple of weeks.
Speaking of Starlight, could she have made the situation worse by convincing Rainbow to go about taking the Zora eggs? I wouldn't be surprised if that was the answer but I couldn't prove it unless I were to speak to her directly. Then again, I doubted Starlight would be in the right state of mind since her pranks were becoming more and more severe with each area I came to. I'll deal with her when the time comes as she is the source behind all of this madness, but first I needed to save the remaining two giants from their current imprisonment--and that involved defeating two more giant bosses.
An idea suddenly struck me. " Um... Have you heard of Great Bay's Guardian?"
" What are you on about now?"
" Well, have you?"
Rainbow Dash looked at me awkwardly. " You mean that stupid fairy tale about how there are these four giant beings who protect this world? Yeah... I've heard of them even though it's nothing but a story designed to scare little kids like you into being good children." She then looked at me again, looked the other way, then back at me, then back the other way, and finally back at me again. " Don't tell me you believe in that?"
I nodded my head. " I do if it means saving this world."
" No wonder my sisters had problems beating you."
" That's because they underestimated me."
" You must be one deluded kid if you honestly think you're saving the world." Rainbow Dash said. " Still, I'll give you credit for being brave enough to come into a place most men fear to tread because of how ruthless we pirates can be. It's adorable how you believe that you can save this world by following the whims of a stupid fairy tale. Kid, this world has been crumbling away for centuries. Nothing can be done to change that. It won't be for a few more decades but Termina will become a wasteland where survival will become the standard, and anyone who thinks otherwise will become history."
" More like less than three days." I said under my breath."
" What was that?"
I shook my head. " Nothing."
Rainbow Dash suddenly unsheathed a hidden sword she had inside of her jacket and had the tip inches from my throat. " You're gonna tell me what you just said, kid, or I'll have to carve it out of you if you get my meaning." I refused to speak to her since she refused to believe that something much bigger was happening. This prompted her to push her sword even closer until I could feel some blood trickling down from my throat. " If you don't answer me now, I won't hesitate towards killing you."
" You don't have the guts."
" Don't push me."
" You had plenty of chances and you squandered each one because of something in your heart." I said. " Face it, Rainbow Dash! You could kill every other person who comes here without feeling any guilt, yet I happen to be the one exception."
That pushed Rainbow over the edge. " My name is Aveil!" She then attempted to carry out her threat only for me to respond by tilting my head to the left, and using my own sword to knock her one out of her hand where it landed with a loud clank on the opposite side of the room. Seeing what happened left Rainbow completely speechless. " You... Who would've guessed that you were capable of such an impressive skill? Guess you were right about me after all, kid. I just can't kill you no matter how hard I try. I'm not much of a leader if I can't perform a simple task like that."
I shook my head. " Don't sell yourself short."
Rainbow Dash raised her hand to quickly silence me. " I can't kill you and that's that! No sense in me complaining about it now." She then snapped her fingers and the iron bars that had been blocking both doors suddenly raised upwards indicating my freedom. I looked at Rainbow so as to understand what her thought process was in unlocking both doors, but I didn't even know where to begin. Instead, she gave me a smirk before picking up all three of her swords. " Surprised kid? I can tell because you have that dumb look on your face. You're free to leave this room and do whatever you want."
" Are you sure?"
" If I wasn't, you'd be dead right now."
" Why the chance of heart?"
" You lasted the duration of our fight and besides, I actually enjoyed the experience." Rainbow Dash answered. " It's not everyday that I get to fight someone who has such an interesting personality, but then I've seen my share of battles over the years. Besides, I'm not the one who is going to be giving you trouble. If what you said about the guardian is true, I'm not the worst thing you have to deal with--not that I actually believe that stupid fairy tale."
Even though she didn't understand the seriousness of the situation, Rainbow Dash was correct with her assumption. The temple was most likely crawling with monsters as a result of the Giant no longer being around. That meant I once again had my work cut out for me.
Those small monsters were nothing compared to whatever Starlight had created in order to seal away the Giant so as to prevent it from fulfilling its duty, and if the previous two bosses were any indication, this next one would push my abilities to the limit, both human and Zora.
I had since begun to make sense of how certain things worked in Termina. I figured that Starlight created the likes of Odolwa and Goht as a means of keeping the Giants sealed away so as to prevent them from stopping her from pulling her pranks, yet that had become a moot point compared to what was really going on. She wasn't just pulling pranks as a means of getting revenge but rather she was determined to bring about the complete destruction of this world. Why would the likes of a simple prankster want to destroy an entire world so that she could hurt those who hurt her?
It was something that had been flickering in the back of my mind for some time, yet I never thought about it before until now. Had Rainbow Dash done or said something that made me think about it? Maybe, but now it was all I could think about. Was it possible that Majora's Mask was poisoning her mind, corrupting her sense of what was right and wrong, and turned it into a desire for wanting to wipe out everything? No... How could a mask do something like that? Then again, I had masks that could change my shape. The thought of a mask corrupting the wearer wasn't as farfetched as it appeared to be.
At that moment, Princess Twilight bopped me on the head. " You were daydreaming again, Sunset."
" Huh? What?" I asked in a confused state. " Where did Rainbow Dash go?" It quickly dawned on me that she was no longer in the room.
" She left a short time ago."
" Why didn't you say something?"
" You were in such a deep thought that I assumed you would come to your senses on your own." Twilight answered. " You really should warn me when you do that, Sunset, so I don't have to keep on bopping you on the head. Before she left, Rainbow Dash dropped a piece of paper on the ground. I'm not sure what she was planning but she was hoping that her actions would get noticed by me. I don't know what's going on in her head right now but I think you may have reached through to her somehow."
" No matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't kill me."
" And you should be thankful for that."
" Really?"
Princess Twilight nodded her head. " Yes. If not for her Element of Loyalty coming through when it did, you wouldn't be standing here right now, and I would probably be trapped in a cage to be gawked at by pirates." I then looked at Her Highness with a confused look on my face and she responded by blushing while waving her hands. " What!? I've read books on what happens when fairies are captured! That's exactly what they would have done to me had you been killed!"
" A shame that she didn't believe in the Giants."
" Most people view them as a fairy tale passed through the ages."
" And what about the moon?"
" People have only been reacting to it when they realize on the final day that it has gotten closer." Twilight answered. " Until those reactions, they refuse to believe that anything is amiss and are content with continuing on with their lives. In addition, only those living within the vicinity of Clock Town seem to be aware that the moon is falling. The other tribes are either ignorant of the truth or simply don't know that the world they live in will be destroyed. Judging from Rainbow's reaction, she was the former."
" You mean ignorant?"
Princess Twilight nodded again. " You can't blame her for it though. She is portraying someone who is obviously more interested in earning money than anything else, a rather sad role for her actually, but one that we couldn't have predicted. In any case, you've overcome Rainbow so now we can collect the final Zora egg and get out of here."
" Do you think she will be okay?"
" Right now, I don't know, but when you reset time, none of this would have happened."
" I guess that's one benefit regarding going back to the beginning."
" Yes, I suppose you could say that."
I then looked down at the piece of paper Princess Twilight mentioned that Rainbow Dash had dropped. Walking over to it and picking it up, I saw that it was a scrap of paper that had been scrawled with red ink as though she were in a hurry. At first, it was difficult to understand what she wrote as her handwriting looked like a child had done, but I quickly concluded that she merely had used a fancy writing style. Heh... Even in a world on the brink, Rainbow had to maintain her level of awesomeness.
Kid... I know you're reading this right now as why wouldn't you be? I knew that fairy of yours will notice me drop this piece of scrap on the ground while you were off in la-la land, so be thankful that it did so on your behalf. Like I said, you're free to take the remaining Zora egg--I know you have the other three in your possession--but I didn't say anything about letting you walk out of here with our precious stolen goods. If word got out that we Gerudo Pirates allowed a kid to steal from under our noses, we'd never be able to show our faces in the ocean ever again and we'd be humiliated.
So, I decided to take drastic measures. As you read this, I've ordered my sisters to flood that area of the fortress with water. You may be skilled with a sword but when it comes to water, you're nothing like the Zoras. I'd say the water should fill up that entire area within a couple of minutes so I guess I'm having the last laugh. I may not have been able to kill you personally, but this counts as a pretty good consolation prize.
If by some miracle you manage to get out of this little trap I've sprung, you'll still have to find your way out of the fortress. My sisters will ensure that you don't make it out alive. Oh, and if you're thinking I'm an idiot for damaging our fortress, the treasure in the temple will more than make up for it. I figured you were going to try and steal it from us as well which is why I took advantage of your naive little mind. Don't hate me for relying on cheap tricks, kid, but I am a pirate after all and this is what I do for a living. Oh, and don't expect any Zoras coming to your rescue. Apart from Mikau, the rest of them aren't the heroic type.
One more thing... Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-hah! ~Aveil~
The moment I finished reading the paper, I immediately dropped it where it flittered to the ground, and I looked ahead at the door that lead to the room that housed the egg. Water was slowly trickling in from underneath it and that meant only one thing... Rainbow was serious about her trap. To be honest, I didn't think she would actually go through with it since it meant damaging a section of the fortress. Yet, she probably didn't care as long as their reputation remained unbreakable. It actually made me think about Principal Cinch and what she wanted to do to maintain Crystal Prep's reputation as the best school in Canterlot.
Rainbow was acting a lot like Cinch only much more violent what with her desire to kill, and yet there was one thing she overlooked though not by her own fault. She never knew that the reason I managed to enter the fortress was due to my ability to become a Zora. If she had known, she could have taken my mask away or set up a trap designed to prevent a Zora from escaping--better than that prison cell from before. Now, that very reason would ensure that her trap failed as I could simply change into Mikau and waltz out of here--but not before picking up the Zora egg in the next room.
" She actually went and did it."
Princess Twilight nodded. " Under normal circumstances, we'd be in trouble since you obviously can't breathe underwater, but since you do have the Zora Mask, you won't have to worry about that. You might want to change into a Zora right now, Sunset, before the door gives out from being pushed by so much water. I also suggest remaining in that form as you'll need to speak with Snails about getting that sea horse, and Daring Do will only speak to a Zora regarding that tank of water she has in her laboratory.
" Do you think Rainbow Dash has left the fortress?"
" No, I don't think so."
" If she were to see me--Mikau--running around here, she would lose her mind as she believes he's still dead."
" You don't have a choice, Sunset." Twilight said. " We need to get out of here and only a Zora is going to do that."
I nodded my head and took out the Zora Mask from behind my back before putting it on my face. At that precise moment, the door suddenly cracked to pieces and the water from the other side began to fill up the room rather quickly. As the magic within the mask started to do its thing by changing my body, I was pushed back by a large water flow submerging me below, yet several moments later, I popped my head out, my body having finished its transformation.
Since the door had been destroyed, I began to swim towards it making sure to use my legs to propel me forward for that extra burst of speed. I soon had a bit of trouble getting through to the other side as I was being pushed back by the current. While I could have waited until the water settled down, I was still on a time limit and wasting it wasn't an option--Derpy was still on her way to Pinnacle Rock where she had supposedly dropped the remaining Zora eggs and I had to get there before she did--so using my legs, I pushed myself forward and through the door, stopping on the other side due to another problem.
The egg was still in the aquarium yet there were numerous Skullfish swimming about both inside and outside of it. Either the pirates placed them in here after being ordered to flood this area with water or they were getting in here from another location. In any case, I needed to get past them if I wanted to use my remaining bottle to scoop up the egg.
" You need to be careful here, Sunset."
" Judging from their lack of power, I'm sure that I'll be fine, Twilight."
" Not necessarily true."
" What do you mean?"
" Think of this as part of the group mentality." Twilight answered. " On their own, Skullfish are nothing more than a nuisance designed to slow you down and nibble away at your arms and legs as one would expect. But, a large number of them could potentially prove devastating, and what's worse is that several of them are much larger than the rest. You might need to apply additional measures to bring them down."
I looked at the flock of Skullfish and Her Highness was correct. " I didn't even notice those big ones swimming amongst the regular ones." I looked at my fins for several seconds before turning my attention back towards the skeletal monsters blocking my path to the aquarium. " Will I have enough magic to take them all down?"
" You haven't used any magic since we got here other than using the Lens of Truth to pinpoint Sugar Belle's location."
" So I should have enough?"
" Yes, but you'll need to get close enough for them to attack you."
Of course, there had to be a snag though this one wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be. Before moving towards the Skullfish, I performed a couple of karate chops so that my fins would come out--to think that I never had any lessons yet I felt like a professional martial artist--as I needed them out to act as my shield when using my magic. Luckily, they didn't take any notice of me and were content on swimming about.
I slowly began walking towards them making sure to keep my eyes fixated on as many of them as possible, and when they noticed me getting closer, they immediately swam towards me in a blinding fury that belied their appearance. Getting into a defensive stance and concentrating as hard as I could, the magical barrier surrounded my body--I never noticed it until now that the barrier was essentially a field of electrical energy that swirled around me. It didn't make sense mind you since anything electrical especially in water would result in a massive shock capable of frying anyone's innards.
Fortunately for me, the barrier was made of magic so I wouldn't suffer from any side-effects.
The Skullfish began colliding against the barrier in their effort to attack me with their undead teeth yet each one crumbled to pieces upon connecting though the larger ones required to connect with it twice before being defeated. On the one hand, it was disgusting seeing so many broken bones scattered about surrounded by electricity courtesy of my magical barrier, yet on the other hand they were already undead to begin and probably didn't feel a thing. The only disadvantage here was that I used up more magic than I wanted so I needed to keep what little I had left as an emergency until I could restore it with some magic jars.
Once the last remnants of bones disappeared, I swam up and into the aquarium, took out my remaining empty bottle, and used my hand to scoop up the Zora egg. This one looked particularly bad since I had taken this long to get to it so I knew that I needed to hurry back to Daring Do before it could get worse.
Since my only option was to swim towards the open passageway that I didn't use, I placed the bottle containing the egg behind my back, and swam forward only to get pulled into another current that resulted in me being ejected and landing hard on my butt back out in the main area. Getting up and looking around, I could see numerous pirates were on patrol in hopes of stopping me from escaping. No doubt there were even more waiting for me outside where those boats were, yet it was proof that Rainbow Dash didn't want me to escape and thus ruin the reputation of the Gerudo Pirates by being the first person to ever go through their fortress and live to tell the tale.
" We've got a lot of pirates out here."
" There's no time for you to pick a fight, Sunset."
" The thought never crossed my mind."
" Besides, you can easily warp out of here using the Song of Soaring."
I slapped my forehead. In all the excitement of trying to figure out a way to escape from the Pirate's Fortress by using the way I came in initially, I had completely forgotten that I could use that song to warp to an Owl Statue. My face began glowing bright red out of sheer embarrassment knowing that I made such an obvious blunder--no doubt Her Highness wasn't going to let this one go any time soon--to the point where I wanted to scream out loud.
Without saying another word so as to not make myself out to be even more of an idiot, I took out the Ocarina of Time from the pouch on my belt where it immediately transformed into the fish-bone guitar. Playing the Song of Soaring, I began concentrating on where the song should take me, and two locations came to mind. I could go back to the laboratory and hand over the Zora eggs to Daring Do where she would nurture them until the remaining ones had been collected. Another option involved visiting Clock Town for a few minutes in order to get some supplies for the upcoming temple, yet a third option would be to see Coloratura.
For some reason, my heart was telling me to go back and see Coloratura since she was the one who told me what I needed to do. No, I wasn't infatuated with her or anything but rather there was a connection I felt that existed between her and Thunderlane as a result of who they were in this world. Coloratura was the one person that Thunderlane trusted more than anyone else and vice-versa. Both had burdens in their chests because of what happened to Rarity, attempting to keep the other band members from finding out, and keeping their people from getting into an uproar over the possibility that the concert was cancelled.
Mulling it over for a few moments, I ultimately decided to go to the Lakeside Laboratory instead--it was also because I never struck the Owl Statue where Rarity was--because I still had one other problem to deal with.
As the wings protruded from either side of my body, wrapped themselves around me, and whisked me out of the fortress, my actions had not gone unnoticed. In fact, a certain someone had been watching the entire time and was relatively calm despite what she had just witnessed.
" Was that Mikau I saw just now?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at one of her fellow pirates.
The pirate shivered nervously as she attempted to respond to her leader's question. " Um... Yes...?"
" And did he just suddenly disappear into a whirlwind of wings?"
" I... I think that's... what happened... Aveil--I mean... ma'am."
" So he actually did survive the plunge down below in the end." Rainbow Dash said. She then began to softly chuckle making sure the other pirates surrounding her didn't notice in case they would question her. " I guess he truly is the best that those Zoras have. The rest of them would have surely died in a similar situation, yet Mikau pulled off a miracle and kept death from claiming him. It's no wonder that my respect for him remains strong."
" Ma'am?"
" Don't get me wrong."
" M-Ma'am?"
" Mikau is someone I'll continue to hate for ruining our plans." Rainbow Dash answered. " Yet, I can't help but respect a man who can survive death so often and continues to come here and goes toe-to-toe against us. If he were one of us then I'd be honoured to fight by his side as a fellow warrior. Sadly, that will never happen since he's one of those fish-freaks, but a woman can dream, right?"
" A-About... about that girl."
" What about her?"
" She escaped from the trap."
Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to explode into a fit of rage but instead she merely laughed it off before shaking her head. " I knew that kid was something else, but to survive against all that water? No doubt she's special compared to other kids her age. I don't care if she was assisted by Mikau or not to get out of our trap and I don't care that she has reclaimed the Zora eggs we stole the other night. As long as our end goal succeeds then we're still going to spend our lives in luxury."
" What shall we do about the water damage?" A different pirate asked.
" Obviously it needs to be cleaned up!" Rainbow Dash answered. " I'm not going to have part of our fortress submerged underwater as that would destroy our supplies and make part of our impenetrable stronghold utterly useless."
" But Mikau and that girl..."
Rainbow Dash quickly turned towards the pirate, drew out her sword, and the tip of the blade was inches from her throat. " Finish that sentence and you'll be taking a nice long swim in the ocean without a boat. In fact, you just volunteered to clean up all that water using nothing but a mop. Oh, and you'll be doing it on your own." She snapped her fingers and another pirate took the outspoken one away in complete silence. " Since it's pretty obvious that Mikau is going to find the eggs that Derpy dropped over at Pinnacle Rock, we must make preparations for our assault on the temple."
" There is that strange vortex that protects it, ma'am." Another pirate said.
" Yes, I suppose that does pose a problem."
" Maybe Mikau can do us a favour by getting rid of it?"
" Brilliant idea!"
" Thank you, ma'am."
" Yes... Let him do all of the work." Rainbow Dash said. " Then we can reap the rewards by stealing the treasure for ourselves. No matter what, in the end, we'll be the ones with all the money while Mikau will become food for the monsters that have probably taken up residence in there."
" What about Derpy, ma'am?"
" How long will take to finish our preparations?"
" The sun will be coming up in a couple of hours, so I'd say before noon tomorrow."
" Despite her obvious limitations, Derpy will no doubt keep Mikau distracted while we prepare." Rainbow Dash said. " I know that we need him to open up the way for us, but if he does it before we can make our move... I'm sure you don't need me to explain the rest of that sentence."
" No ma'am."
" Within the next few hours, we'll become rich beyond our wildest dreams."
Upon the whirlwind of wings landing me on the ledge that was below the Oceanside Laboratory, I took a few moments to regain my composure. While I had gotten used to moving about from place to place using the power of flight, I still had problems dealing with the aftermath of losing my lunch because of all that whirling around. Hopefully, my body will have gotten accustomed by the time this journey had reached its final conclusion.
Staring up at the sky, I could see that the colours were changing to indicate the sun was about to rise over the eastern reaches. Had I spent an entire twenty-four hours going through what was perhaps my most difficult challenge thus far? It felt like I had been there a lot longer than that. In any case, I didn't have to go back there ever again and perhaps that was for the best since I couldn't bring myself to fighting Rainbow Dash again. A part of me still felt bad over hurting her even though she wasn't the same person I had come to know, yet I just couldn't fight her.
If anyone else I knew were to appear before me as an enemy, could I muster up the courage to fight them as well? Princess Twilight would insist on me fighting them by reminding me that they weren't the people I had come to know from the world that was now my home, yet how could she know what I was feeling considering she most likely had to fight against her friends for one reason or another. My assumption of what Her Highness had experiences was just that, an assumption that held no meaning since I never really asked her what she had experienced in Equestria.
Maybe I was being immature over something so trivial?
" Sunset..." Twilight began. " I'm glad that you decided to come here first to see Daring Do since she can take care of the Zora eggs, but I was thinking that maybe you should have informed Coloratura that we you managed to rescue them from the Pirate's Fortress."
" You said that we needed to speak to Snails again." I said.
" While that is true, you also need to inform Coloratura about your success."
" I've been thinking about something."
" What's that?"
I wasn't going to tell her my thoughts on fighting other people that I knew in this world. Besides, I had a feeling she was going to give me a lecture about that soon enough the next time we had a free moment. Instead, I gave her an entirely different thought based on knowing what we needed to get from Snails. " Even though we need the sea horse he has in order to reach this Pinnacle Rock, do you have any idea where it even is?"
" Hmmm... I hadn't thought about that."
" That's the other reason why I came here."
" I'm not sure I follow."
I then pointed up at Pinkie Pie. " If anyone can tell us where to find that place then it's definitely Pinkie."
Princess Twilight then blushed slightly before coming to her own realization. " You'll need to be specific when it comes to asking Pinkie a question especially since by this point we know just about everything regarding Great Bay."
Everything apart from the location of Pinnacle Rock. Since the sea horse came from there, it most likely knew how to get through there as opposed to reaching it. No wonder it was captured so easily by Snails as it had no idea how to return home, and there's no telling how much time has passed since then. I had to get there before Derpy in any case otherwise I'd have to go back to the Pirate's Fortress, and I doubted they would give me a warm reception given what I did there.
Climbing up the ladder onto the upper platform, I opened the door and entered the Oceanside Laboratory. The interior seemed different than before and I could immediately tell that it was due to having come here much sooner. On my last visit, things were a mess but this time everything was where it was supposed to be, making the lab a proper facility. Standing next to the giant tank of water was Daring Do yet she didn't seem quite as stressed out as before. I could understand that as she had been waiting for three days without any word coming from Zora Hall, but now things were about to change since I had several of the eggs.
Daring Do began talking to herself. " They're late! What are those Zoras doing? It shouldn't have taken them this long to make such a simple delivery, but I suppose that's what happens when you're fixated on that pointless music instead of more important things such as research. If they don't hurry, the eggs will die, and that would be an absolute tragedy since they've never had such an unusual birth like this in generations. I can only wait so long before I lose my patience."
I looked at Princess Twilight who responded by shrugging her shoulders, and I countered by rolling my eyes. Her Highness valued research above most other things and my assumption was that she was seeing herself in the form of Daring Do. While I considered knowledge to be important, even I knew that there was more to life than having your nose stuffed into a book.
There was no point in dawdling any longer so I coughed to signal my presence. " Ahem..."
Daring Do looked up at me. " Huh? Oh, you finally came? Hmmm? Mikau? There's something different about you? Have you lost some weight? You seem to be much more flexible than the last time I saw you back when you held that concert out on the beach celebrating Evan's birthday."
I had to come up with something to explain why I looked different. " I've been exercising."
" At least it's a better form of production as opposed to exercising fighting pirates."
" Everyone has been saying how I've lost weight." I said. At least no one had figured out that I was a female Zora as opposed to Thunderlane having been male--the scales covering my breasts was an obvious give away.
" Fair enough." Daring Do said. " Now, I've been waiting for you patiently but you should know better than to keep me anxious. What about the eggs? Did you manage to bring them here? There are a total of seven eggs according to what Evan mentioned to me through her message, so hurry up and put them into that aquarium." I looked away from her for a brief moment yet it was enough for her to figure out that something was wrong. " You did bring them, didn't you? I hope this isn't some kind of prank you're pulling, Mikau. I've already reached my limit so you had better not..."
" There was a problem."
" What kind of problem?"
" A couple of nights ago, the Gerudo Pirates snuck into Zora Hall via an underground passage and stole all of the eggs."
Daring Do's jaw dropped. " What!? This is a catastrophy Why didn't Evan warn me about this!? If I had known that something like this had happened, I would have asked for assistance from the militia over in Clock Town since they're not doing anything right now."
" She didn't want to let anyone outside of the band to know something was wrong."
" What!? Such foolishness!" Daring Do shouted. She looked like she was about to smash something out of sheer anger, but she quickly started to pound her chest as a means of calming herself down. " I can't believe that Evan would be so stubborn by choosing such an idiotic action. Well, I suppose you ought to get to the Pirate's Fortress and rescue those eggs before they die from being in inadequate water. Those pirates probably just chucked them into some aquariums without even thinking about what might happen."
I then took out the four bottles. " Actually, I was there recently and managed to rescue these."
Daring Do's face lit up. " You brought four of the eggs!? No wonder Evan says that you're the only one among the Zora who can hold his own against those pirates, yet why do you only have four? There are supposed to be seven altogether as I said earlier. Where are the other three?"
" The pirates only brought four eggs into their fortress." I answered. " They lost the other three at a place called Pinnacle Rock."
" What!?"
" I'm heading there right away."
" Pinnacle Rock is a dangerous place due to the unagi." Daring Do said. " They are large underwater serpents who are very territorial and won't hesitate in attacking anything that enters their domain. If you're going there, Mikau, you should bring along some magic as your usual moves won't work. I also recommend you enlist the services of the sea horses who live in that part of the ocean. Only they know the direct route through some treacherous waters that lie before Pinnacle Rock, but you'll be hard pressed to find one given they are rarely seen."
" The fisherman has one."
" Him!?" Daring Do exclaimed. " Well, I must say that I am surprised that he would have a sea horse, but then he's lived here longer than most including the Zoras. If he does have a sea horse, then you need to get it from him otherwise those remaining eggs will get eaten by the unagi. Before you go, Mikau, put the eggs you did bring with you into that tank so that they can adapt to the temperature. You don't have to worry about them as I'll take great care of them."
Daring Do then pointed to a ladder situated to my right that connected to the top of the tank. Picking up the bottles and putting them behind my back, I walked over to the ladder, climbed up, and walked forward until I saw what needed to be done to place the eggs safely inside. The top had been fitted with iron bars so as to allow something that was small enough to fall in-between whilst preventing a much larger object from passing through. I took out a bottle, uncorked it, and began shaking it until the egg fell out, splashed into the water, and dropped to the bottom of the tank.
I then repeated this process with the other three eggs until they were all secure. I thought it was adorable seeing them all huddled together especially after what they had been through since being taken away, but I knew there was no time to reminisce since I still needed the remaining three eggs.
Jumping down to the floor below--I didn't buckle my knees this time--I walked outside and was about to jump into the water when I remembered that I needed to speak with Pinkie about the location of Pinnacle Rock. While it was obvious that I needed to change back into a human, I figured I would try to bring her down by using my fins to pop her balloon. Looking up at where Pinkie was floating about, I aimed my fins and fired them only for them to miss her by a large margin--she was much higher than I thought. They returned, attaching to my arms leaving me feeling dejected.
" That didn't work." I said sighing.
" Guess you'll have to become a human after all, and I here I suggested you to remain as a Zora." Twilight said.
" It's fine, Twilight."
" Still, I thought your fins would've made it."
I nodded. " Pinkie was just a bit too high for them to reach." Grabbing my face, I pulled off the Zora Mask, turning back into a human, and flipped my hair back once again--I don't know why this had become a trend--before taking out the Hero's Bow and aiming up at Pinkie again. " It feels weird that I'm treating her like she was a target even when I'm only aiming for that balloon of hers."
" She uses it to survey the area as that's how she draws her maps."
" Yeah, I guess that's true." I said. Notching the bow with an arrow and letting it fly, it sailed upwards and popped Pinkie's balloon. At first she hadn't noticed that she was now standing in the air--though in her case it was probably natural since she defied reality on a whim--but when she did, she yelled and dropped down to the ground, her legs buckling upon impact leaving her feeling rather annoyed.
" Who popped Tingle's balloon?" Pinkie Pie asked. " I fell down quite a ways this time and almost broke my legs."
" Um... I did."
" Why do people keep doing that to Tingle? Is it because they see Tingle as being weird for using a balloon? Ha! They must be jealous because they can't experience the same thing for themselves, and wish to deny me the privilege of being able to soar with the birds while I work on making maps to help my father." Pinkie Pie said. She then turned to face me upon realizing that I was the one who popped her balloon. " You popped Tingle's balloon?" She then gasped loudly before staring at me. " What's this? Green clothes? White fairy? Madam! Are you perchance... a forest fairy."
Once again, she asked me the same question, yet I couldn't fault her for it as she didn't remember me. I had to respond in my usual manner. " Yes, I'm from the forest although you're probably wondering what I'm doing out here near the ocean?"
" Tingle likes guessing games."
" I wasn't inciting that."
" In that case you're probably here because you want to find out about something that's important to your quest, but you have no idea where to go so you need to rely on the likes of me to help you find an answer." Pinkie Pie said. She never ceased to amaze me over how she kept on figuring things out without even having any prior knowledge. Either she possessed a powerful sixth sense or she was incredibly lucky. Pinkie then continued. " Information is what Tingle has to offer you Mrs. Fairy yet this usually comes with the purchase of one of my maps." I had a feeling there would be a catch.
" Um... I already have the map of Great Bay."
Pinkie Pie was surprised. " Really? You already have Tingle's map? But, Tingle has never met you before in her entire life so how it that possible?" She folded her arms and appeared to go into what could only be described as a thinking pose, punching herself in the forehead every few seconds, much to my displeasure. I didn't want Pinkie to give herself a serious injury on my account so just I started reached out towards her only for her to suddenly perk up. " Tingle knows why you already have her map and it couldn't be more obvious. You must have used your fairy magic to acquire one from me long ago."
I almost did a face-plant on the ground. " Yes, that's exactly what I did." That could have gone a lot better than I wanted.
" You truly are special, Mrs. Fairy, so Tingle shall give you information in return."
" Thank you."
" Let's see..." Pinkie Pie said, pulling out a scroll from behind her back. At least I wasn't the only one who could do that. " Do you need information regarding the Zoras? I've got plenty of information about them or maybe you need to know about the Pirate's Fortress, home of the Gerudo? Ooh, that's pretty scary and no place for a forest fairy so how about I tell you something about a place called Pinnacle Rock?"
" That one!" I shouted.
Pinkie Pie smiled. " Pinnacle Rock it is! Most people have only heard about it yet very few have ever managed to get there. Tingle learned from the Zoras that the waters that surround the rocks are murky and anyone who tries to navigate through them will only end up back at the start. It seems the only ones who can easily find their way there are sea horses, yet they are rarely seen because people kept on selling them for money."
" Really?"
" Tingle never lies." Pinkie Pie answered. " If you want to go to Pinnacle Rock, you need a sea horse as they know that place like it was their own backyard. I heard that the local fisherman who lives on the beach recently captured a sea horse and plans on selling it to someone he knows in Clock Town, but he may be willing to trade it to someone who can help satisfy a strange obsession that he has."
" The pirates?"
Pinkie Pie gasped. " You knew exactly what I was about to say! You're a psychic, Mrs. Fairy."
" I need to see him about that sea horse."
" Unless you have what he wants, he won't budge."
" I think I can make him come around."
" Well, Tingle knows that you will succeed, Mrs. Fairy." Pinkie Pie said. " I do have one last piece of information about Pinnacle Rock, and it involves some strange snake-like creatures that thrive there. They love to eat anything that comes directly in front of their sight, but they don't like being hit on their sides as they can't properly defend themselves from a side-attack. What does it mean for you, Mrs. Fairy? Tingle doesn't know but maybe you should tell the Zoras about it."
Little did Pinkie know that her information was going to be incredibly useful to me. After all, I could transform into a Zora, thanks to my mask, and it sounded like being one was going to be essential in order to navigate my way to Pinnacle Rock and defeat the unagi that were no guarding the remaining eggs. Before I head on over to Pinnacle Rock, replenishing my magic wouldn't be a bad idea as it sounded like I needed plenty to overcome what was awaiting me.
That's when I realized that Pinkie told me everything I needed to know about Pinnacle Rock... except where it actually was. I slapped my forehead knowing that I was about to leave and head on over to Snails' place without this vital piece of information.
" Where do I find Pinnacle Rock?"
" Huh? Did Tingle not tell you?"
I shook my head. " No, you did not."
Pinkie Pie then started to laugh. " I am so sorry, Mrs. Fairy. Tingle usually doesn't forget this kind of thing but I guess I was in the moment too much to have realized that I hadn't given you the answer you wanted. If you want to find it, just head west of the Pirates Fortress until you see a pair of rock spires sticking upwards out of the ocean." My reaction to what she said was one of utter shock that it was so close. " That's the same look I'm surprised those pirates don't express since they should know that Pinnacle Rock is practically next door."
" Unbelievable."
" Tingle has no more information for you, Mrs. Fairy but perhaps you will buy a map next time?" Pinkie Pie asked. " I've got to get back to making my maps otherwise my father will never keep his business afloat. I hope you'll call again. Tingle-Tingle, Kooloo-Limpah! These are the magic words that Tingle created herself. Don't steal them."
Without saying another word, Pinkie put away the scroll she had been using, and inflated herself a new balloon that lifted her up into the sky. Despite gaining some useful information about what was coming up, I looked at Princess Twilight with a frowned expression on my face, and she responded in kind since that was perhaps our most unusual encounter so far with Pinkie though it couldn't compare to some of her more unusual statements that she often spouted off back home.
Oh well...
Since I knew that I needed to be a Zora from this point onward, I took out the Zora Mask, placed it on my face, and rather than squat down, I chose to jump into the water since I needed to swim across the water anyway in order to reach the shore and Snail's residence.
Upon splashing into the water while watching my various body parts change shape, I popped my head up from below the surface several moments later having finished with my transformation, and began swimming towards the shore. Luckily there were no monsters nearby so it was a remarkably peaceful swim though the sound of cuccos suddenly echoed all around me indicating that dawn had finally come.
Dawn of the Second Day - 48 Hours remain.
I was actually making good progress as all I needed to do was rescue the remaining three Zora eggs, return them to Daring Do, and enter the temple. It sounded simple enough but then there almost always was something else at play that I needed to figure out. The previous two temples required me to learn a special song that was needed to gain access to each one so it wouldn't surprise me that I'd learn another for this one.
The next question would be where would I need to go in order to play it. No one had given me any clues on how I was supposed to reach the temple so that meant I was once again going around blind. It was becoming the story of my life where I would need to figure out even the most basic of things. Personally, I was much more comfortable having someone who could give me the directions I needed, yet Princess Twilight was just as confused as I was. She was only able to provide me with any help thanks to utilizing the memories of the character she was portraying, Tatl the Fairy.
If not for that then I'd have been stuck at the very beginning and this world would have been destroyed by now. It seemed that while my previous journey revolved around fighting my way through hordes of monsters, this one revolved around figuring out how things worked and when they needed to be implemented for my success. Good thing that I was one of the smartest students Canterlot High had ever known--Twilight Sparkle was now my equal if not more--otherwise much of this would have left me confused.
A few minutes later, I finally reached the shore and climbed out only to suddenly be attacked by a Leever--I had forgotten all about them since I had been dealing with pirates for the last little while. Fortunately, it moved--or whatever constituted as movement for it--past me before going back down under the sand. Rather than run over to Snails's residence, I opted to walk over there instead--my body was beginning to feel exhausted since it had been a while since I last had some sleep.
" You look like you're ready to collapse." Twilight said.
" I've done a lot already during this cycle."
" I know this will be difficult for you, Sunset, but you need some sleep and soon."
" You'll hear no argument from me about that."
Princess Twilight was surprised. " What? You'll actually get some rest?"
I nodded my head. " I need to be fully rested before going into the temple, but I can't do it until I rescue the remaining Zora eggs. I don't know how long my body can last until my brains says enough is enough, but I'll keep going as long as possible."
" Sunset..."
" Those eggs won't survive where they are, Twilight." I said. Since I'm likely to sleep for roughly eight hours, they may not last that long unless Derpy was able to get them safely out of their current environment."
" Then let's hope your body doesn't give out."
That was my hope as well. Reaching Snails' house and walking inside, I could see that nothing had changed apart from Snails looking at what appeared to be a book that had an image of a rupee on the cover. I had no idea what he was planning on doing though it wasn't really my place. Besides, I came here to get the sea horse that was still trapped inside of the fish bowl he had placed it in, and getting it involved giving him what he wanted. Inching my way over to the sea horse, it suddenly called out to me again like before.
" Help me... Please, take me back to the waters near Pinnacle Rock..."
" You came back." Snails said upon hearing the noise of the sea horse. " I honestly wasn't expecting you to have survived in the Pirate's Fortress, but here you are having gone and proven otherwise by standing next to that sea horse."
" It took a lot longer than I thought." I said.
Snails shrugged off my comment. " In any case, welcome back to my humble abode." He then noticed something dangling on the side of my pants and his eyes opened wide as a result followed by him struggling to speak coherently. " Oh! That's my Hookshot that the pirates stole! I recognize it from anywhere!" I looked down to see that it was hanging onto my pants, and I felt embarrassed in addition to surprised as I couldn't use it in my current body. " To be honest with you, I was having doubts that you had entered their fortress, but what you have there is all the proof I need."
" Um... You're welcome?"
" If you managed to sneak into their fortress, does it mean you managed to take a photo of one of the pirates?"
I nodded my head. " I wasn't about to forget it."
" I'm hoping that you got a clear image of her face."
" You never mentioned that before."
" Guess I forgot to mention it to you at the time." Snails said. " While I don't mind what kind of photo you took, the most important thing is the face. With pictographs, the sepia tone conveys a lot more emotion than colour. Before when people used to use basic photography, the results were poor black and white stills that lacked any kind of detail. It goes to show you how far we've come along since those early days."
I shrugged my shoulders. " Yes, I suppose so." I took out the Pictograph Box, and began to fiddle about with it in hopes of pulling out the photo he wanted me to take. Part of me had hoped that the photo would have been of Rainbow Dash--she loved having her picture taken as she said it made her even more awesome--but sadly all I could do was get Snails a photo of a regular pirate. Hopefully, that was enough to make him satisfied. Eventually, I managed to get the photo out of the box before presenting it to him. " Will this suffice as a worthy enough replacement for what you currently have?"
" Oh! That's it! That's it! I had a picture like that." Snails answered. His expression changed to one of sheer pleasure though for a moment I thought he was going to act all perverted since he was serious about me giving him a photo of one of the pirates. " Well, aren't you a crafty one? Considering how up close the face is, it's like you were practically standing in front of her when you took this. The quality is absolutely stunning beyond compare. I won't question how you managed to pull it off as I'm sure that's a secret, but you'll give that to me, won't you?"
I nodded my head. " A promise is a promise."
" Thank you." Snails said. I handed over the photo and he immediately placed into the book he was reading. " I'll be sure to hang it up on my wall later and store the old one away for sentimental reasons. You may take that sea horse now though please leave that fish bowl behind."
I was going to question his sense of ethics, but ultimately decided against it since he seemed to be more interested in reading his book--I thought of asking him about it as well but again rejected that idea--but at least he was happy, the same thing with the sea horse. No doubt it wanted me to take it back home to Pinnacle Rock as soon as possible--an obvious sign was it banging its head against the fish bowl--so taking out one of my now empty bottles, I carefully scooped the sea horse up before corking the bottle again.
It really was beautiful in appearance and reminded me of similar creatures that existed beneath the ocean waves of Equestria. The instant I lifted my bottle out of the fish bowl, it suddenly began talking to me again.
" Thank you. I apologize that you had to go through such an ordeal."
" It was worth it if it meant freeing you."
" Hurry! Take me back to the waters near Pinnacle Rock..."
" I was heading there anyway to pick up something important."
That made the sea horse smile in a way that made me suspicious of what its true motives were, but I wasn't in any position to think about it since the three remaining Zora eggs were my main priority. Thanking Snails, I began to leave though before I walked out of his home, he said something about preparing a little activity on a nearby island when the waters had changed back to normal. I had no idea what he had in mind yet it piqued my curiosity.
Back outside, I turned to the left and could see the Pirate's Fortress just barely appearing out from behind the cliffs. According to Pinkie, Pinnacle Rock was situated to the west via two spires that jutted up from down below. I immediately jumped into the water and began swimming as fast as my legs could muster since Derpy had most likely gotten there by now since she had a head-start on me. I knew that swimming fast would exhaust my body even quicker than I wanted, yet I had no other choice as those eggs could get eaten at any moment, and all of them were needed according to Daring Do.
Once again, no monsters attacked me along the way--I'd have avoided them if they had attacked--and soon I found myself staring at the two spires in question. You'd think I would've noticed these before when I was here earlier but I supposed my focus was on the Pirate's Fortress. Bubbles forming nearby indicated that a Zora was most likely there doing something random yet I was fixated on the wooden floating near one of the spires. Sitting in it was Derpy herself--she was very easy to recognize because of her crossed eyes--and appeared to be having some problems.
Even though she was an enemy, I decided to swim up to her just to see if I could learn anything from her. Rainbow Dash did say that Derpy was her second-in-command so she was privy to some certain bits of information other pirates didn't know.
I swam up to her boat and knocked on the side. " Hello there."
Derpy was so surprised that she almost fell off the boat. " Huh? A Zora? What are you doing here?"
" I wanted to return this sea horse to Pinnacle Rock."
" That's funny. I was told by Aveil to go there and pick up something."
" What was it?"
" Something that I accidentally dropped when I brought a small team here by accident." Derpy answered. " I just don't know what went wrong. The tunnel we dug was supposed to have taken us straight to the fortress, and I somehow lead us here by taking a different tunnel that happened to have been there already. Giant snakes surprised us and I dropped our precious cargo before fleeing."
" How do you do it?"
Derpy looked at me with a confused look. " Do what?"
" How do you end up causing unfortunate mishaps?"
" Aveil has been asking me that same question many times over the years." Derpy answered. " I can't explain why things always end up bad for me but I just shrug them off and continue on despite knowing my comrades get sick and tired of it." That's when she finally put two and two together by realizing who she was talking to. " Oh! You're the Zora who snuck into our fortress and rescued someone was also managed to sneak inside. I think I may have told you something I shouldn't have. Oops, my bad!" She then tried reaching out for what I assumed was her sword only for her to look dejected. " My sword... It isn't in my scabbard. I... I think I dropped it back at Zora Hall."
I rolled my eyes. " Unbelievable."
" Um... This got awkward. I tried rowing into Pinnacle Rock but I keep on ending up back here."
" How come?"
Derpy scratched her head. " Aveil said that without a sea horse, trying to navigate your way through the murky maze is impossible. I don't have a sea horse so I need to get one and get those eggs before you managed to get them. But... I forgot which way the fortress is so I think I'm stuck here. I would ask you for help but you're one of the Zoras. Um... I'll think of something soon enough."
It was pretty obvious at this point that Derpy wasn't going to be much of an issue. Still, I felt bad that she was struggling given how often she experienced mishaps that usually weren't her own doing. I wanted to help her by showing her the way back but I knew she wouldn't accept my offer. No, my only option was to swim into Pinnacle Rock and hope she eventually gets back to where she belonged.
Swimming past Derpy and in-between the two spires, I entered another part of the ocean that seemed relatively calm. Ahead of me was a series of six spires jutting out from beneath the ocean that was no doubt Pinnacle Rock, yet it was the relative calm that bothered me. I knew those sea snakes lived near by so why did I feel like I wasn't ready to go through with this despite what I've already been through so far? Did this place have a powerful presence that struck fear into my heart? I hoped not otherwise those eggs were as good as eaten by those snakes.
I swam forward only for something to pull me down below to the bottom where I saw several signs scattered about. Who could have put those there? It wasn't just a question but rather a curiosity since I assumed no one came here without a sea horse. Speaking of which, at that precise moment, the sea horse began crying inside my bottle as though it wanted me to set it free right away. It was back home now so there was no reason to keep it bottled up any longer.
Taking out the bottle, I uncorked it, turned it upside down, and shook it for several moments until it came out where it turned out to be a lot bigger than I thought. Was it capable of changing its size on a whim?
" You have strange powers, Sunset Shimmer." The sea horse said.
I gasped. " How do you know my name?"
The sea horse answered. " There is much we sea horses know about the ocean, but that isn't important right now. I have a request for you. Please follow me. Make sure you don't fall behind otherwise you will become lost within these waters."
" What would happen?"
" You must stay close behind without making any missteps. The water that surrounds Pinnacle Rock is murky and is filled with a strange darkness that causes any who swim into it to end up returning to where they started." The sea horse answered.
" Is that what happened with Derpy?"
" Yes." The sea horse answered. " That pirate attempted to reach Pinnacle Rock without one of my kind to show her the way, and so she wound up back where she started, lost and confused which is most unfortunate, but you now know the truth. Without one of us, there is no chance of making it there. If you try to go beyond Pinnacle Rock, you'll get lost in the murky water, and while you are likely to return to where you started, you could end up experiencing a terrible fate."
I slapped my forehead. This scenario reminded me of what happened during my previous journey. There was an area between the Gerudo's Fortress and the deepest recesses of the desert where I had to navigate my way through by using an unusual guide. This was because the area in question had a permanent sandstorm brewing about that would cause any who dared to attempt the crossing become lost unless they knew the solution--they would end up back where they started unless they were really unlucky. I should have realized Termina would reuse some assets from Hyrule since this world was supposedly similar in some ways.
Sighing, I began to follow the sea horse who immediately began changing directions every now and again despite there being signs pointing the way. Perhaps they were designed to confuse any who tried coming here thinking they could get through without a sea horse. In any case, I opted to follow by walking instead of swimming in case I accidentally got out in front of the sea horse. It remained relatively quiet yet it seemed determined to make it through to Pinnacle Rock no matter what. I was also concerned by what it said about a request before it started to move.
As I continued following along and ignoring the signs, I could see the murkiness within the water begin to surround me. The sea horse felt no problems though I was struggling not to freak out because the murk would get awfully close as times like it was trying to grab me. No wonder it was so quiet. It suddenly turned around and started going back the other way, my response involved moaning to myself, yet I followed along anyway.
Then it started going back to the start only to stop halfway and then turn towards the right path. What in the world was this sea horse doing? I could understand wanting to take a specific path to Pinnacle Rock but why did it involve such pointless complication?
Eventually, the sea horse turned left and stopped in front of a slope that went upwards. " I am sorry that took a lot longer than you wanted, Sunset Shimmer, but it was necessary to follow that precise route otherwise you would have been forced back to the beginning. Other than us sea horses, the sea snakes who live here in Pinnacle Rock are also capable of navigating their way through the murky water. Right now they are resting in a deep chasm that lies beyond this point, but you should be able to avoid them by keeping your distance."
" Those snakes have acquired three Zora eggs."
" I know."
" Then you must know that I need to get them before it's too late." I said. " Those eggs are the key to saving all of Great Bay and that means I must destroy those sea snakes even if it means losing my life in the process."
" I am fortunate then that you wish to defeat them."
" Does this have to do with that request you mentioned earlier?"
The sea horse made a noise indicating yes. " As you no doubt know, Sunset Shimmer, the depths of Pinnacle Rock are home to dangerous sea snakes, and my friend is trapped down there amongst them. Sunset Shimmer, can you please find a way to rid the area of all the sea snakes and help my friend?"
I nodded my head. " I would have done it anyway regardless of the eggs.
While I thought it was a little underhanded that the sea horse didn't tell me what it wanted until we reached Pinnacle Rock, I could understand why it did this. It was worried about its friend and couldn't think of anything else so waiting for me to answer its request would have meant wasting precious time. Still, the little creature needed me to rescue one of its own by defeating all of the sea snakes.
Granted, I wasn't really sure what to expect since I didn't hear much in the way of a description. I knew that they were giant and were capable of eating just about anything that entered their territory. They also didn't like being attacked on their sides according to Pinkie, and magic was the key since my regular Zora skills would prove useless. My magic power had been drained mainly from defending myself against the Skullfish when the Gerudo Pirates decided to flood that area of their fortress, so I needed to find some jars to replenish what I lost otherwise I could run out at the worst moment.
Fortunately, I didn't have to look very far. Several jars had been lined up on either side of the slope so I walked up and began smashing each one by using my fins--picking them up and throwing them into the wall could have meant possibly losing them. All but the last two contained magic jars--small ones--so I had to make do before walking off the edge and down into the chasm below.
" I hope that's enough magic power, Sunset." Twilight said.
" If it isn't then I'll have to go back for more."
" That would take too long and your body could collapse at any moment." Twilight said. " No, you'll just have to find another means of defeating these sea snakes. On a completely different note, I'm actually fascinated in seeing what these creatures look like from a research perspective. There are giant seasnakes residing in the waters of Equestria, yet I've
never had a chance to properly study them what with my princess duties getting in the way."
I rolled my eyes. " Only you would want to study them."
" What can I say? It's a habit."
" I'm not sure if these ones will appreciate you wanting to study them."
Princess Twilight sighed. " You're right, Sunset. We should focus on defeating them and rescuing both the eggs and the sea horse's friend. I wonder when we'll know we're approaching the territory of one of those snakes?" A loud roar suddenly vibrated throughout the chasm sending chills down our spines. " Guess that answers my question."
" We're approaching a large hole."
" Be careful."
I swam forward slightly in hopes of luring out the sea snake yet I wasn't prepared for what happened next. A large something darted out from the hole and my only thought was trying to avoid two rows of incredibly sharp teeth. Luckily, I was fast enough to swim out of the way though my entire body froze afterwards upon seeing just how big it was. While the sharp teeth, googly eyes, and intimidating presence were something, I also noticed that its sides appeared soft what with veins protruding on either side. Before I could make a move, it began to clamp down using its teeth a few times before going back into its hole.
" Did you..."
Princess Twilight nodded. " I most certainly did, Sunset. They weren't kidding when they said that these sea snakes were huge and you have to find some way of beating them while avoid being eaten."
" I have to lure it out."
" That's what I'm afraid of."
I was afraid of doing it too but there was no other choice. Swimming forward slightly, the sea snake darted its head out again and I immediately used my magical barrier just as its mouth clamped down on me--I wasn't fast enough to avoid it this time--though I did cause it to back away when my barrier gave it some discomfort. It then lurched forward in hopes of getting a second chance to bite my head yet I swam to the right much faster than usual, and attacked it in the side causing considerable pain. As the sea snake retreated, I turned off my barrier and took the time to try and figure out how my speed increased.
My speed seemed to increase when I used my magic so could it be used in that fashion? Maybe, but then it would drain my magic power relatively quickly and I needed as much
of it as possible since my true magic was currently unavailable to me.
There was no time to put my theory to the test as the sea snake emerged once again from its hole in the wall to attack me. I swam to the right only to find my leg suddenly getting caught between its teeth. Why did I go and stop using my magic barrier. The pain I felt on my leg was almost unbearable as the snake's teeth began crushing it under its weight. Closing my eyes and concentrating, my barrier reappeared though the snake wasn't letting go of me.
It began swinging its head from side to side in hopes I would tire myself out or it would tear my leg off, yet I continued maintaining my barrier until it finally let go though it began licking up the red coloured water that resulted when blood trickled from my leg thanks to my wound. The sea snake reared back slightly before coming at me once again so I swam to the right, crashed into the side of its body which was enough to defeat it, and it shriveled up before disappearing, a shocked expression appearing on its face. I began breathing heavily knowing how difficult that was, yet I knew I still had more sea snakes waiting further below.
" Are you alright, Sunset?"
" That could have gone better."
" Your leg is bleeding."
" I know and I don't have any potions to deal with it right now."
" Let's hope that the smell of blood doesn't attract the other sea snakes." Twilight said. " Because if they smell it and decide to investigate, there is no way you'll be able to take them all on at the same time."
Her Highness was unfortunately right. My wound could attract the other sea snakes to my location and that would no doubt bring about my death. Unless I can find some hearts to restore my health and fix me up, I could be attacked at any moment. That's when I noticed something where the sea snake once resided. I couldn't see what it was from so far away yet I needed to see what it was as my life currently depended on it.