//------------------------------//
// Chapter 60: Sunset, Twilight, and Midnight 
// Story: The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask 
// by Ganondorf8 
//------------------------------//

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask
By Ganondorf8
June 12, 2017
Chapter 60: Sunset, Twilight, and Midnight.

" You know, I just don't get you." Sunset Demon said as the Garo Master walked past her. " You claim that you can kill both of us--though I wouldn't mind you killing her--because we're weaker without our true power but instead all you've been doing is saying that our bickering and overall presence are amusing to you. If you're a ruthless assassin, then why not just kill us and be done with it rather than drag this out?" The Garo Master didn't answer prompting Sunset Demon to get serious. She grabbed him by his cloak, held him up just slightly off the ground, squinted her eyes, and lurched her head forward. " It's not a good idea to ignore a question."

Again, the Garo Master didn't say anything and the she-demon slammed him into a wall only for his body to suddenly disappear. She assumed that he had run away from her but she suddenly felt a strange sensation hitting her from behind. Turning her head, she saw that the Garo Master had plunged one of his flaming blades into her back. The wound wasn't terribly deep yet Sunset Demon couldn't help but feel completely powerless. Throughout her existence, she always felt the need to be the dominant force, yet now she felt hollow, unable to put up any resistance. Was this because she didn't have her magic?

The Garo Master then laughed before pulling his sword out from her back. " To me, the art of killing is a game. You manipulate their very minds, coerce them into dropping their ground before performing the killing blow, and they never know that it happened until their final breath. You possess some power, demon, but it has been sealed away by a force very few can understand. Because of this, you pose no threat to me, but even if you did, I doubt you would even consider using it. Your mind is conflicted, filled with confusion that is tearing you apart and only your willpower is what holds your sanity in check."

" Was it that obvious?"

The Garo Master nodded. " Yours is but a condition I have seen plenty of times."

" And you keep me around because of it?"

" It has been centuries since I last had decent amusement."

Sunset Demon felt a boiling rage forming inside of her but she knew that it wouldn't do her any good. Sighing, she sat down on the ground only to see the Garo Master do the exact same thing, and she assumed that he was using the mind games he mentioned only to find that he was actually listening to what she had to say. " I must admit, your method of killing would have been a great inspiration had I chosen to stick with the path fate had given me. But as you said, I am conflicted though there's more to it than that. My mind wants me to be the monster I once was while my heart--strange how I have one given what I am and all--wants me to go down a different path."

" Fate has a strange affect on us all... even me."

" Even you!?"

The Garo Master nodded. " Allow me to be myself for a moment, a spirit and not simply an assassin. Fate determined that we of the Ikana Kingdom would be destroyed by our own thirst for blood. There were many signs indicating that we would suffer this fate but we chose to ignore them and continued fighting. Our actions condemned us to an eternal damnation resulting in our kingdom becoming a wasteland where nothing could sustain itself again."

" And what does that have to do with my problem?"

" Everything..."

" Is it because of fate?"

The Garo Master nodded again. " Fate made you what you are and it will also end up killing you."

Sunset Demon sighed. " I kind of already figured out that I would end up dead once again, but I'm actually okay with it this time as opposed to before. I've accepted the fact that my existence is but a remnant of the past that shouldn't be around anymore. My time has come and gone and Sunset is free to continue living out her life in the way she desires. It's only just a matter of time before my life and my very being fades away."

" Then you understand the fate of this kingdom."

Sunset Demon nodded. " None of you should be here because you're of the past. By being revived from the dead, you're effectively going against fate when your deaths should serve as a warning to those who are going down a similar path." She slapped her forehead in a playful manner as though a huge revelation had finally been lifted from her shoulders. " Midnight Sparkle hasn't figured that out has she?"

The Garo Master shook his head. " She goes against what fate has decreed and is determined to ensure her existence remains as such. It is unfortunate that her death must come in such a painful manner. You have been spared the kind of anguish that awaits your companion as you have accepted your fate. When you die, you shall feel a warm embrace before fading away into nothingness but she will not be as fortunate. I warned her yet she chose to ignore my words."

" What about your fate?"

" My fate is to die at the hands of the chosen one."

" Sunset Shimmer?"

The Garo Master nodded. " Upon my defeat, I am to share my wisdom and reveal the true secret of the Stone Tower Temple. It is a secret known only to me and only I shall reveal it to her when she has bested me in combat." He got up onto his feet prompting Sunset Demon to do so as well before he began walking away from the she-demon. " We each have our roles we must perform and so I shall await for the chosen one in the anointed place. You must fulfill what fate has given you. Only then can your final moments be one of greatness and not eternal damnation. Perhaps you can save your companion from herself."

As he disappeared into the shadows, Sunset Demon was left with many questions along with a new respect for the Garo Master. She didn't understand what he meant by fulfilling her role nor did she understand what fate had to do with it. Within her mind, the thought of dying began to frighten her, and her heart cried softly as a result. She didn't want to die because it meant fading away forever but she knew there was no other choice. It had to be done because as she herself had said, she was a remnant of the past whose existence couldn't continue on as Sunset had moved on.

She then began laughing to herself and thought about everything that had happened since being revived from the dead by Midnight Sparkle. Had she not come to appreciate the ideals of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the denizens of Ikana, and even Sunset herself, the she-demon would still be a monster who sought nothing but revenge and would go to whatever lengths were necessary to achieve her goal. Now, she was a monster who also wanted to be human, and while she felt conflicted about it all, she knew what had to be done even if it meant a permanent death.

Midnight Sparkle then walked up to her and was in a very happy mood. " Well, it took longer than I expected but I finally managed to tap into the dark power that resides inside of this temple. Now our desires can be fulfilled though I don't know if you deserve anything given your recent attitude." She lurched her head forward and grinned from ear to ear. " I could show you some semblance of decency by allowing you the chance to become the real Sunset but that would involve you having to practically beg for it." Her expression changed and she became more serious. " What did that assassin say?"

" Not much."

" Don't try and hide it from me."

" I'm not hiding anything."

Midnight Sparkle rolled her eyes. " You're an awfully terrible liar but then that does show you still have that demonic attitude. Since I now have this new power, I can easily make you tell me what you and that ancient spectre said to each other. Despite how you mistreated me whenever I voiced my criticism of how you did things, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones and wipe the slate clean. Of course, you can continue lying in which case I'll make things very painful."

" Don't make threats when you can't keep them."

" Oh but I can." Midnight Sparkle said. " I can do so much now that the dark power flows through me."

" What do you intend on doing with it?"

" Since you obviously couldn't kill Sunset when you had the chance, I might as well attempt to do it myself." Midnight Sparkle answered. "  Had you not decided to become utterly pathetic, she and Princess Twilight would have been killed by now leaving us only with their friends standing in our way. But, I suppose it was too much for someone who once claimed to be ruthless and willing to do anything to become the real Sunset."

Sunset Demon smirked. " Do you really think you can defeat Sunset? If I recall correctly, she defeated you by relying on friendship to open your heart and free Twilight Sparkle from what she had become."

" That was a foolish mistake on my part."

" If you say so."

Midnight Sparkle became irate. " With the dark power coursing through me, I can kill her at any time I choose! Nothing you say will convince me otherwise!" She then calmed down upon realizing that she was losing her temper, something that disgusted her as Sunset Demon was prone to the same thing. " Ha, ha! Why don't you wait here while I do what you couldn't and take care of poor Sunset. I'll even get Princess Twilight as an added bonus just to make you look even more pathetic by adding salt to such a wound." Midnight Sparkle was about to leave when she clasped her hands together and strange dark vines ensnared the she-demon.

" And what is this for?"

" Like I would leave you to your own devices knowing how confused you are."

" You're paranoid now."

" Call it what you want but I see it as a means of making sure you don't do anything to stop me." Midnight Sparkle said. " You need to go back to who you are meant to be, a ruthless demon who wishes to be the real Sunset Shimmer. You said that's the only thing that keeps you going as you have nothing else so embrace your true nature and emerge as the monster you are. Until you embrace your true nature, those dark vines will hold you in place. Now I must be off to take care of our guests before that Garo Master does. This is going to be our finest hour and nothing must go wrong."





In an act of sheer brilliance--or as a result of instincts kicking in--I raised my shield and dropped down onto my butt just as the moving statues were on top of me. Both of them collided with my shield, sparks flying everywhere as they continued their assault, and I held on as best as I could hoping that they would eventually stop. After what felt like forever, the two statues moved back to where they were before and shimmered until they became statues once again. Getting up, I leaned forward to get a closer look but quickly jerked back upon hearing a noise that startled me.

Neither statue moved leaving me to wonder what could have triggered them in the first place. Despite not recalling what they were called, I knew that touching them in some way would result in them coming to life and bouncing towards their targets until they would ultimately give up before going back to their original position. What made these monsters even more deadly was that they blended in with actual statues--it was almost uncanny--so there was no way of knowing what was real and what wasn't until it was too late. Fortunately, they weren't very durable so it was easy to destroy them.

From what I remembered from previous experiences, these statues didn't enjoy being hit with any explosives or powerful weapons. I sighed as I looked down at my sword upon thinking that and wished that it had been forged a second time by using the gold dust. It was my own fault for not doing it sooner and instead relying on the same small blade throughout my entire journey so it was something I needed to deal with once this temple had been taken care of. Had I a powerful sword, I wouldn't need to use any bombs but because I didn't, the latter would become my preferred choice.

The only problem I had was tossing the bombs at the right angle so that they landed next to the statues without plunging into the pool of lava. I could have walked up to them and dropped a couple of bombs instead but I didn't want to risk them coming to life and attacking me all over again. It was at that moment I came up with an ideal solution. Taking out a bomb whilst assuming a bowling stance, I rolled it along the ground where it exploded against one of the statues. It began bouncing around erratically prompting me to assume my defensive position when it exploded next to the other one causing it to start bouncing around until it eventually exploded.

All they left behind were some additional bombs that I picked up since I had a feeling I would be needing them, and with that done, I turned my attention towards the sun block submerged in the lava. With the sunlight coming down from above thanks to blowing up the hole in the ground earlier, I now had a means of removing the block yet a part of me felt like there was something lurking about on the other side of it. Stepping into the light and raising my shield, I aimed at the sun block and watched as it disappeared upon being hit by the light of the sun revealing a large treasure chest along with several more statues.

There was no way of knowing which were monsters and which were actual statues so I needed to come up with another idea. Since I needed to become a Goron in order to get across the pool of lava--Gorons were practically at home in lava--I supposed I could just punch each statue and hope to weed out the monsters but the idea of being blown up several times made me immediately shake off that idea despite it being the most practical solution. An idea eventually came to me in the form of taking out my bow, imbuing my arrows with the power of fire, and shooting the statues hoping the magic would cause them to explode.

Despite using up quite a bit of magic, it turned out to be worthwhile as each of the four statues--two in the lava and the other two by the chest--all came to life upon being struck by my Fire Arrows, bounced around in an erratic fashion, and exploded leaving nothing but smoke. This result in a small treasure chest materializing within the lava though I was surprised that it wasn't burning away. I was about to put on the Goron Mask in order to open the chests when I suddenly remembered the Hookshot plate I noticed earlier. It was as good a time as any to see what could be hidden up there otherwise I was likely to forget about it.

Taking out the Hookshot, aiming up at the plate, and firing the chain, I pulled myself up to the ledge and was surprised to see another small treasure chest there. My suspicion was that it contained a Stray Fairy or a small key from earlier given how well hidden it was. Kicking it open, a Stray Fairy jumped out and entered my body. " Guess it was the former that ended up being in there." I said.

" What was the latter?" Twilight asked.

" A small key."

" I suspect that other small chest you got from defeating the Armos will contain the key."

" Armos? Is that what they were called?"

Princess Twilight nodded. " Since you already figured out how to defeat them, I don't really need to give an explanation."

I shook my head. " You can tell me anyway."

" Why would I?"

" Because you love showing off your intellect."

Princess Twilight grinned. " Okay, you have me there." She then blushed when I gave her a smug look in return. " I can't help but showing off how much knowledge I have and besides, my advice has proven beneficial so far. Anyway, those statues you destroyed are called Armos. They disguise themselves as innocent statues and wait for someone to come along and touch them causing them to come to life and attack anything within their radius. All they do is bounce around in hopes of hitting something but if they don't then they will go back to where they were originally and resume being ordinary statues. This essentially gives them away so the chances of being fooled by them again is slim."

" Feel better now?"

" Yes." Twilight answered. " But, I still have more to tell you."

I rolled my eyes. " Of course you do."

" Armos can't handle explosions but you can also use a strong physical attack." Twilight said. " For example, as a Goron, you can either punch them or use a ground pound though the latter is actually more effective in that multiple targets can be hit. You can also use a sword but your current one sadly won't work as it just isn't powerful enough. If you had a stronger sword, you wouldn't need to waste any bombs and being a Goron would leave you vulnerable given how large they are."

I moaned. " Okay! I get that I need to upgrade my sword."

" Nothing wrong with a reminder."

" It's the obvious visual cues that give it away."

" For now, we should focus on getting through this temple."

" What about the demons?"

" I don't think we will have to worry about Sunset Demon." Twilight answered. " Upon hearing what she had to say when we encountered her earlier, I believe that she won't be a threat to us as she is struggling with her own problems though I can't say the same regarding Midnight Sparkle. We must take extra precautions and be prepared when we eventually find her or perhaps her finding us. Anyway, you need to rely on some Goron ingenuity right now if you want to get your hands on those treasure chests, but you might want to jump down first before going through with the transformation."

Taking Princess Twilight's advice to heart, I jumped down to the ground below though my knees buckled slightly--I didn't get injured--and placed the Goron Mask on my face. I began stumbling about as expected and watched as my body shimmered from human to Goron yet I almost plunged into the lava before the change had finished--I really needed to hold onto something whenever I put on the Goron Mask. Once I became Darmani, I looked down at the pool of lava and gulped wondering if I would sink into it. Just because Gorons loved lava didn't mean that they couldn't drown in it.

Closing my eyes, I took a small step forward onto the lava and braced myself for an unrelenting amount of pain, but to my surprise, the lava felt surprisingly cool. In fact, I didn't feel any kind of pain though my feet felt relaxed most likely due to a soothing sensation brought on by my body embracing the lava. Opening my eyes, I walked up to the small chest, kicked it open and took out a small key needed to unlock the door from earlier. I then walked over to the large treasure chest, opened it up, and took out the Dungeon Map which I immediately unfurled so that Princess Twilight and I could look at it.

" It looks simple enough, the layout of the temple."

" Yes, but we shouldn't underestimate this place."

" Are you going to mark the places where we found the Stray Fairies and those unusual things we found?"

Princess Twilight nodded. " Just give me a few moments, Sunset." As Her Highness began using her fairy magic to mark the map, she accidentally looked at the other side of the map out of curiosity and began waving her arms to get my attention. " Turn the map over! Quickly!"

I did what she asked and turned it over to see that there were additional rooms on display with no means of accessing them. " What the!? What kind of map is this where you have rooms with no way of getting to them?" I scratched my head and took another look at the map. " Okay, this is without a doubt the weirdest map I've ever had the pleasure of looking at. I mean, why feature this on the other side?"

" Perhaps it has something to do with the upside-down treasure chests we seen?"

" That's really weird."

" There's no other explanation that I can think of right now."

" Should we take the Dungeon Map anyway?"

" Without it, we won't be getting much if that's what you mean."

Despite her sarcasm in that response, Her Highness was right about us needing the map even with those extra rooms on the other side of it. Putting it away and walking back across the lava--my mind wanted me to soak in it for a while to relieve myself of some stress but I needed to keep on going as who knew when we would be attacked by Midnight Sparkle or other monsters for that matter. Walking back up the stairs, I immediately curled into a ball and rolled across the ground to avoid the two Dragonflies that had since re-spawned and the hole in the ground before I crashed into the locked door, stunning myself in the process.

When I came to moments later, I used the key to unlock the door and enter the next room where my jaw dropped upon seeing what I had to deal with. Most of the room was filled with water indicating that I would need to rely on swimming techniques only a Zora could perform. There was a pathway that went across the body of water yet I had no chance of climbing up onto it as it was lined either side by a tall metallic fence. I also saw some exploding mines bobbing about beneath the surface and I remembered I needed to destroy them from a distance or else get caught in a nasty explosion.

I didn't feel like becoming a human again just for a brief moment so I took out the Zora Mask, placed it on my face, watched as my body shimmered from Goron to Zora, and jumped into the water before sinking to the bottom. The mines were attached to chains so avoiding them would prove easy yet there weren't any underwater monsters. I wasn't complaining mind you as some of them were annoying but it didn't explain why there was water in the first place. I walked under the pathway, floated up to the other side, and climbed out of the water to find that I had reached a dead end.

" Now where do we go?"

" Let me take a look at the map." Twilight answered. I took it out and Her Highness began peering over it for a few moments before coming to a conclusion. " According to the map, there should be a pathway leading from this room via a small corridor that connects to another room. Perhaps the way forward lies underwater?"

" I don't see any other way to go."

" Before you jump down into the water again, maybe we should check out this room to make sure we don't miss anything."

I looked to my left and noticed some boxes along with a switch and to my right was a Crystal Switch with a Beamos situated next to it. To the left of it was another sun block so I already knew there was nothing I could do. " Guess we need to mark this room as a place that's unusual." My eyes then noticed yet another sun blocked located on the other side of the body of water and I felt flustered over seeing so much that was beyond my reach. " I'm already starting to dislike this temple because of having to do some back-tracking and we've only just started making our way through."

" That does seem to be a main theme around here."

" Be honest, Twilight..." I began. " Do you think I can activate the crystal switch or do I need to remove the sun block first?"

Princess Twilight looked at the puzzle and pondered over it for a few moments before nodding her head. " Yes, I think it can be done if you were to use the Blast Mask but I don't think that is the intended method here. I know the thought of doing something unexpected is a powerful urge, Sunset, but you shouldn't think about such things. Surely Princess Celestia made certain you were taught not to rely on doing things the easy way."

" Um, hello!?" I exclaimed. " I went behind her back and taught myself dark magic."

" Right... I forgot that you did that."

I rolled my eyes. " Not one of my better moments but yes, I did do that and I've been regretting it ever since. But, you're right in that I shouldn't take the easy way out so we should come back here with the means to remove these sun blocks properly."

" You can still activate the regular switch as nothing is stopping you from doing that."

" Oh yeah."

" Just be careful of the Beamos." Twilight said. " Because it's behind that metallic fence, you can't toss any bombs over it as it's too high and the Blast Mask's radius won't be able to reach it either. Its laser beam though, can go through the fence so be sure not to get picked off by it."

The Beamos was looking in the other direction so I quickly went over to the switch I could activate and pressed it causing another chest to materialize on the other side of the pool of water. I jumped into the water, dropped down to the ground, walked along making sure to avoid the exploding mines, and climbed out but not before noticing a corridor hidden away where you needed a keen eye to see it. It was the path Princess Twilight saw on the map but when I looked down at it, I was somehow reminded of the day when I chose to do something behind the back of Princess Celestia--my bringing it up also contributed.

Back when I wasn't what you would call a model student, I believed I was deserving of being an alicorn, and my efforts at making Princess Celestia recognize my brilliance fell on deaf ears as she rejected my advances of learning more about the mirror pushing me further and further down a path from which I almost couldn't return from. Had I chosen to heed her words instead of taking matters into my own hooves, I would still be her student, but instead I chose to give in to my indulges and began reading different books hoping that I would find an answer to the purpose of the mirror.

I've never told anyone this, not even my friends or Princess Twilight, but I still remembered some of the dark magic incantations I looked at when I entered the forbidden section of the Royal Library of Canterlot. The spells required specific objects in order for them to be cast yet they continued to remain etched into my mind, and there had been times when I was tempted to use them because of feeling powerless and wanting to vent out some much needed stress in my life. I feared what could happen were someone to peer into my mind, learn the spells, gather the necessary items, and use them to spread terror. The thought alone frightened me to no end.

I also thought about Sunset Demon and how my actions resulted in her existence. It was a combination of power and my own weaknesses though I'd be lying by saying that there was nothing else. No, my own desires for wanting to be accepted as a princess also played a factor. Sunset Demon was a complex person whose pain was the result of my self-fish nature and refusing to accept the fact that I wasn't ready. Had I been patient, she wouldn't have come to exist or if she had, her existence wouldn't have involved being stuck in an eternal torment brought on by factors beyond her control.

Kicking open the chest, I was surprised that it contained a small key as opposed to a Stray Fairy. Granted, the puzzle here wasn't that difficult to figure out yet I was expecting to get the third Stray Fairy instead but picking up a key was also good as it meant not getting stuck by a locked door somewhere further along.  Jumping back into the water and dropping down, I began walking towards the corridor only for something to grab me by the head, slamming me into the wall of said corridor a couple of times before throwing me back the other way, landing on my butt.

" What just hit me?" I asked as I got back onto my feet.

" That was a Dexihand."

" Why would it be here of all places?"

" I'm starting to see a trend here."

" What?"

" So far, we've seen monsters that existed in the swamp, the Dragonflies." Twilight answered. " Then we saw the Real Bombchu that exists here in Ikana and Snowhead, and now we're seeing the Dexihand from the ocean. It seems this temple is bringing together elements from the other regions alongside its own elements culminating together in what can only be viewed as one incredible challenge pitted against us."

" No wonder I've needed to use my different forms to get to this point."

" Perhaps Ikana is a region that reflects balance?"

That was a bit difficult for me to swallow considering that the kingdom had been destroyed by war, but then I didn't have any explanations of my own so I decided to agree with what Her Highness had said on the matter. " Well, if I have to go through what we've already seen before, there's no sense in complaining about it. Besides, it means we won't have many problems unless some of what we've experienced gets a face-lift or we actually see something new."

" Only way we'll know is by seeing it with our own eyes."

The Dexihand was lurking above the entrance to the corridor which was how it managed to grab me by surprise as I was expecting it to be located down the corridor, but then I could easily avoid its grasp by using a tactic I used when I infiltrated the Pirates Fortress. Dropping down onto my stomach making sure I was low enough, I began crawling on the ground, my breasts rubbing against the tiles causing me to wince a little, but I had to do it in order to slip past the Dexihand and not get thrown about again. My eyes looked up and saw a switch on the ceiling but again I couldn't do anything about it other than make a mental note for later.

Once I was far enough away from the Dexihand, I got up onto my feet, and rubbed my breasts though the fin-like pieces covering them did absorb some of the pain though I should have perhaps just made a run for it since my movement underwater wasn't slowed down as a Zora. I continued down the corridor when it turned right before opening up into another large room that featured another walkway that went across the surface of the water. There were additional platforms underwater as well that had pots on them so I swam downwards towards the bottom corner where I saw three pots lined up next to one another.

Smashing each one with my fins gave me some magic and arrows yet when I turned around, I noticed a switch that had been hiding underneath one of the other platforms, and was surrounded by three spiked mines that were so close to one another, they could explode with a gentle push. Above was a sun switch though it was obvious I had to ignore it as I couldn't use arrows or a bow underwater--or anything for that matter except for my fins--but I knew Princess Twilight would mark it down on my map for the future. Speaking of my fins, they were about to solve a very simple puzzle.

Aiming at the mines, I was about to fire my fins when something began biting my legs. " What the heck!?" I looked down and noticed some Skullfish were responsible and I began shaking my legs in hopes of getting rid of them. It didn't work so I tried swimming away only for that to not work either as they slowed down my movement so I activated my electric barrier destroying them. " Well, I think that proves your theory is true."

" How are your legs feeling?"

" Luckily, they didn't manage to bite too much to the point where I would start bleeding."

" You can use those red potions at any time."

" I want to save them for when I absolutely need them."

" So long as you don't leave it too late."

I rolled my eyes. " I know when I'll need to use them, Twilight." Aiming my fins at the exploding mines again, I fired them, destroying all three mines causing a massive explosion that shook the entire room for a few moments, and giving me access to the switch. Pressing it caused a treasure chest to appear on the platform above though my jaw dropped when it ended up appearing upside-down. " Ugh! You have got to be kidding me! Why did it materialize up there!?"

Princess Twilight nodded in a more civil manner. " I must admit that this is starting to become very concerning. With all of these chests, switches, and other points of interest being upside-down and unable to be accessed, you have to wonder what else can happen as we continue through this temple."

" I'm starting to hate this place already."

" You need to remain calm."

" I know."

" Let's get out of the water so that I can mark the treasure chest down on the map."

I then began floating up to the surface and along the way, I noticed another upside-down switch along with a Deku Flower right next to it. I wanted to let loose my anger over continuously seeing so much that I couldn't use because of being on the wrong plane but instead all I did was sigh knowing I had to accept this as a fact. The Stone Tower was already proving itself to be a nightmare of proportions I had never would have considered had I not seen it. Reaching the surface of the water and climbing out onto yet another walkway that went across the water, this one had no fencing to keep me from getting onto it.

The first thing I noticed other than a locked door behind me was a sun block along with a Deku Flower hanging upside-down on the ceiling. I could also barely see what looked to be a frozen eye switch above the flower though its position was awkward because the archway was weirdly shaped. There was a mirror in front of me that looked suspicious and while sunlight shone down from above, I couldn't shine the light onto the block with my Mirror Shield as the block was too far away to reach. Before doing anything else, I took out the map and looked it over to see where exactly we were.

I was surprised. " Isn't this the same room we entered from the entry room?"

Princess Twilight nodded. " It would seem so."

" So we've come full circle?"

" At least in this part of the temple."

" Shall I unlock the door and enter the next room?"

Princess Twilight shook her head. " No, I think we should get rid of that sun block first so we can give ourselves a short-cut for later. Since you can't shine light on the block from here with the Mirror Shield, I believe a creative method is in order. If you can shine light on the mirror for a while--I'm not entirely sure for how long so it comes down to a guess--then immediately shine light on the block, it should get rid of it opening up the way back. After that, a well-aimed Fire Arrow should melt and activate that frozen eye switch."

" Guess it means being a human again."

" Of all four of your forms, it is the most important in that it must guide the other three."

" That sounded sappy."

" I made it up on the fly."

I found it cute how Princess Twilight, despite her station as a princess of Equestria, acted like an ordinary person who could make mistakes just like everyone else. It made her feel very approachable to those around her without feeling inadequate in return. Granted, she had some unredeemable qualities such as her freaking out over the smallest of details not to mention not giving people enough space to solve their own problems without needing her to give them unwanted pressure. She meant well in this regard but needed to hold back and allow others to grow into their own personalities.

Grabbing my face, I pulled off the Zora Mask, and flipped back my hair before taking a few steps backwards. Taking out the Hero's Bow, I fired a Fire Arrow--I never switched back to regular arrows--melting the ice that surrounded the eye switch, activating it in the process and causing a treasure chest to appear behind me though once again it appeared on the ceiling causing me to vent my frustration under my breath. I was definitely going to hate doing so much backtracking but it was a necessary evil this time around as most of these chests probably contained a Stray Fairy.

Next, I walked back under the sunlight, raised my shield, aimed at the mirror, and watched as the light reflected off of the mirror. Because the mirror was at an angle, the light itself was hitting the opposite wall in a harmless manner. It wasn't much of an issue though it was slightly inconvenient but I would get around it. Like Princess Twilight said, I needed to shine light for an unknown amount of time so I hoped I wouldn't be standing around for very long. I even thought about falling asleep because of how boring this process was but it was necessary so that I could create a shortcut back to the beginning.

When I finally felt that I had waited long enough--I think I stood under the sunlight for about two or three minutes--I quickly ran over to the light that deflected off the mirror, raised my Mirror Shield, and shined the light on the sun block causing it to disappear and revealing a large treasure chest that had been cleverly hidden behind the block. Before walking over to it, I noticed a Real Bombchu running about behind the chest though from my perspective it looked like it was stuck in place. Rather than allow it to move about and give me nothing but a headache or explode in my face, I fired a Fire Arrow at it and it exploded instantly.

I then opened the treasure chest and took out the Compass followed by taking out the Dungeon Map again when I noticed something odd. " There should be skull icon on the map indicating the boss monster's location but I don't see it anywhere."

Princess Twilight looked at the map and noticed the lack of the icon as well. " Hmmm... You're right but I'm sure there's a logical explanation here. I mean, we've seen that there are switches, chests, and more hanging upside-down so perhaps we can't see where the boss is because of something similar?" Her Highness then scratched her head before shaking it and heaving a heavy sigh. " I'm starting to feel the same way you do about how so much of this temple is beyond our reach."

" Welcome to my world."

" Let's just unlock that door and enter the next room."

Nodding, I walked back over to the door, unlocked it, and entered the next room only to suddenly be surprised by three strange looking blocks right in front of me. They were preventing me from progressing further and because of how heavy they looked, I knew that I would need to become Darmani and destroy them using punches. Taking out the Goron Mask again and placing it on my face, I stumbled about as my body shimmered from human to Goron but luckily I was restricted by the blocks so I didn't stumble out too far forward in case there were any monsters lurking ahead.

Once I became Darmani again, I punched the blocks, each one getting pushed to the right, shrinking down in size as they went until disappearing, and when the last one was removed, the entirety of the room became visible to me. There was a sun block along with several mirrors and I knew straight away that I needed to use the Mirror Shield to reflect the light around until it disappeared upon being hit but why have more mirrors than necessary unless there was more to the room than just one block. My suspicion quickly proved itself correct as there were sun switches hanging either side of me on the walls.

I could also see the Black Boe monsters from the Woodfall Temple scurrying about in front of me though so far they hadn't taken notice of me. If there were only a few of them then this wasn't going to be all that difficult though if they were capable of re-spawning even while I was still in the room, it would make reflecting the light much more difficult. I could also vaguely smell gunpowder and I didn't need to wager a guess as to what was behind that. I then slapped my forehead upon remembering that I had a mask that could allow me to blend in with my surroundings preventing most monsters from seeing me.

Grabbing my face, I was about to pull of the Goron Mask when I lowered my hands upon noticing someone standing in front of me, that someone being Midnight Sparkle. Her expression was one of sheer glee though I knew not to underestimate her as she possessed an incredible amount of power. I also knew she was the real thing and not some kind of illusion as I could sense an evil aura surrounding her body--nothing could imitate that--yet I didn't even sense her when she entered the room. Whatever Midnight Sparkle had done to herself, I wasn't going to enjoy being on the receiving end of it.

Midnight Sparkle lurched forward and raised her arm across her chest. " So nice to see you again, Sunset Shimmer."

" So Sunset Demon was right that you were here." I said.

" That one just can't seem to keep her mouth shut for even a moment."

" I suspected that you were somewhere in Termina but I didn't have any proof until she mentioned it."

" Even when our demonic aura is much weaker than usual, you still manage to defy the odds and sensed our presence." Midnight Sparkle said. " If you were just an ordinary human, that would have been the most impressive thing I would have ever seen, but you aren't a human but rather a magical pony who has taken on the form of a human. When I first found out after absorbing all that Equestrian Magic, I felt disgusted a little knowing someone such as yourself would be so manipulative, Sunset, but I've since accepted your actions as both truth and vindication."

" Why would you feel vindicated?"

Midnight Sparkle rubbed the bridge of her nose. " You seriously don't know why?" She started laughing though quickly stopped when she felt a slight pain in her stomach most likely from laughing too hard. " It means that I don't have to hide any secrets from you nor do I have to feel bad about killing a magical pony given how much I love animals."

" That last part doesn't make sense."

" It doesn't matter since you won't have to worry about it for much longer."

" I defeated you once and I'll do it again."

Midnight Sparkle laughed maniacally. " You don't have the ability to become that beautiful form you assumed during the Friendship Games so you're in no position to be making any baseless threats against me. In fact, I doubt that this current look of yours will be very effective either." She lurched forward, looked me over, and waved her hand before laughing and leaning back again. " With such a slow and clunky body, you wouldn't be able to defeat me but I won't underestimate you, Sunset. You have a tendency to be extremely resourceful even when the odds are heavily stacked against you."

I winked. " What can I say? Luck is on my side when it needs to be."

" Luck has definitely served you well."

" Why are you here?"

" I'm sure Sunset Demon told you about how I pulled myself back from the brink of death and how I did the same thing for her, right?" Midnight Sparkle asked. I nodded and she began pounding her head against the wall. " Ugh! Like I said before! That one just can't seem to keep her mouth shut. Ever since we came to this wasteland of a kingdom, she has changed from being a sadistic monster into a creature that has become confused, and it makes me sick just thinking seeing such a pathetic display. Now that I think about it, maybe paying visits to your friends might not have been the best idea."

" She's come to the realization that she isn't meant to exist anymore!"

Midnight Sparkle nodded. " Oh I know which is why I have to make sure she gets with the program and does what she's meant to do. I mean, we were supposed to kill you, your friends, and of course Princess Twilight herself, and fulfill our desires which we have worked so hard to see become reality."

" Princess Twilight and I figured you two were collecting samples of the Elements of Harmony."

" The process didn't go as well as I had hoped."

I scratched my head. " What do you mean?"

" The samples I collected were adequate and proved that Equestrian Magic was seeping into this world via a weak strain." Midnight Sparkle answered. " Unfortunately, it meant nothing without a means of channeling the samples, but I discovered a way around that. This temple has a dark power that can empower those who are one with the darkness, making them stronger and able to do things they couldn't normally. By tapping into that power and harnessing it, I can now fulfill my desire of acquiring all of the magic in Equestria once the samples merge together with what I already have."

" That plan doesn't make much sense."

Midnight Sparkle lowered her head. " I'll admit that it isn't the best idea I could come up and I didn't have much to work with but I can make it work regardless. With all of this power, you, the princess, and your friends will no longer stand in my way as you'll all be dead. As for Sunset Demon... I suppose she could beg me to allow her to become the real you but after what she has done as of late what with jeopardizing everything, I should probably cut my losses and kill her before something happens like for example, she turns against me and chooses to fight by your side. Then again, I could always use my new power to force her into fighting you."

Everything was starting to make some sense though at the same time it was also farcical in nature. Midnight Sparkle's plan involved using the Elements of Harmony and the dark power of the Stone Tower to kill the only ones who could oppose her, yet something obviously didn't sound right with her explanation. This dark power... How confident was she with regards to controlling it? Magic Power in Termina required having both a strong mind and body, and also having Magic Power didn't hurt as it was the source behind the magic, yet what she had was something else entirely.

Looking at Midnight Sparkle and what she had said, it was clear to me that she had become obsessed with power and was willing to go to great lengths to get it. She was acting in a similar manner to Sunset Demon though with a more refined approach involving being civil rather than being psychotic. If she lost control of this power, would it result in her own destruction? Would this world be destroyed by her and not the moon? Or would something else happen? Twilight Sparkle truly had become everything that Sunset Demon had before her and was going down the same path where she would ultimately become obsessed with power.

Despite what she had done so far, I couldn't allow her to continue down such a terrible path. But, before I could say anything, Princess Twilight suddenly surprised me by speaking out instead. " Okay, I've heard enough of this pointless talk coming from your mouth."

Midnight Sparkle laughed. " And here I thought you were invisible considering you've let Sunset do all the talking so far. Good to see that you are capable of talking. I do believe this is the first time we've met each other so allow me to introduce myself to you. I am Midnight Sparkle, demonic monster, and who will acquire all of the magic in Equestria through any means necessary because I must."

Princess Twilight glared. " The feeling isn't mutual."

" Oh you are such a card!"

" Sunset has told me much about you."

" If that's the case then I don't need to do any explaining." Midnight Sparkle said. " So you became an alicorn princess while dear Sunset was denied all because she chose to do her own thing rather than listening to someone who always kept on holding her back. At least that's what Sunset Demon kept on saying though it got annoying after a while. I'm surprised at you, Sunset. You're deserving of being an alicorn too so why hasn't it happened?"

" Don't bother trying to coerce her with words."

" You can't blame me for trying."

" Why do you want Equestrian Magic?"

Midnight Sparkle took a moment to think about it before answering the question. " Twilight Sparkle, my kinder counterpart and not you, Your Highness, was always curious about uncovering the biggest secrets out there and becoming famous as a result. When she learned about the magic that had enveloped Canterlot High, or 'strange energy readings' as she called them, she just had to go and collect the necessary data even if she had no idea what it really meant. Her desire for knowledge combined with words by Principal Cinch and longing to lash out against all who had wronged her resulted in my birth."

" You didn't quite answer my question."

" I was about to get to that." Midnight Sparkle said. " All of that magic that entered Twilight Sparkle's body was like a nourishment to me and I longed to have more of it by any means even if it meant destroying one world in the process."

Princess Twilight shouted. " Having magic isn't everything you know!"

Midnight Sparkle laughed. " I yearn for it! That's just the kind of demonic monster I am. Of course, Sunset Shimmer was able to break through to my weaker self and convinced her to go back to the way she was resulting in me being cast aside. For a time, I lingered about in limbo unsure of what I could do but deep down my desire for all that magic is what fueled my ambition, what kept me going, what prevented my sanity from being destroyed. Then something happened resulting in this strange world and the darkness seeping forth in this wasteland brought me back from death much to my surprise."

" No doubt this is Ganondorf's work, Sunset."

I nodded. " All in his bid of making me suffer."

Midnight Sparkle shrugged. " I have no idea who this Ganondorf is though Sunset Demon never could stop talking about him and I also don't really care. Once you two are dead along with your friends, I'll be free to acquire all of the magic and become the smartest being in existence." She started getting hyped up over what she intended on doing only to suddenly tone it down and sighing heavily. " Had your friends not displayed characteristics of their Elements, my plan wouldn't have gotten anywhere. In a way, I have them to thank for making all of this possible so I'll give them a painless death. Hey... It's the least I can do. But, first..."

" Leave my friends alone."

" I have to take care of you two first, Sunset."

" No wonder Sunset Demon couldn't tolerate you anymore."

" Now who is trying to use words to coerce me?" Midnight Sparkle asked. " Frankly, I could do without the she-demon as she's only ever been a burden though I will admit that she definitely had a domineering presence that made it so much fun seeing how she would react to anything. I don't want to lose her but this is the path she has chosen so killing her would relieve me of an unnecessary burden."

" You would kill your own friend?" Twilight asked.

Midnight Sparkle laughed before she began glowing. " We're not friends by any means, Your Highness. No, we're more like acquaintances who had to tolerate one another to achieve our goals but now that I have my power, I can easily cast her aside or simply have you kill her. Either way works with me because it means getting rid of her. Now, I think it's time we got down to business as you've stalled long enough. My intent was to kill you both but I think I want to have some fun instead. I mean, I can do whatever I want now because of my power so why not make this room more interesting."

She snapped her fingers and more Black Boes suddenly appeared though I was expecting her to do something serious like break the mirrors. Snapping her fingers again caused fire bars to suddenly appear near each mirror so now I had to avoid additional obstacles that weren't there before. She snapped her fingers for a third time and this made some parts of the wall shimmer for a few moments before they began shooting lightning everywhere. She didn't want me to make it out of this room alive by filling it up with more hazards and I had every right to worry as she was clearly going overboard.

With a fourth snap of her fingers, Midnight Sparkle laughed as she disappeared leaving me to wonder what else she had done to make this room more difficult. A thought then crossed my mind. Why would she leave just like that when she clearly could have killed me and Princess Twilight at any moment with this new power she had? I wasn't complaining mind you as Her Highness and I most likely would have been killed as we lacked the means to oppose her yet it was still strange that she upped and left. Perhaps her power wasn't as strong as she claimed or perhaps she hadn't gotten fully adjusted to it.

Grabbing my face, I pulled off the Goron Mask, flipped back my hair, and switched over to the Stone Mask. In all honesty, I should have used this one more often as I could have avoided a lot of monsters though it also meant not getting the proper experience when using my sword . I supposed it was a double-edged sword in that sense. Putting on the Stone Mask, I didn't feel different yet I knew the mask was working as none of the Black Boes were moving towards me. The lightning and fire bars would still be an issue as they could hurt me regardless of what mask was on my face.

I was about to make my move when I noticed Princess Twilight was staring into thin air. " Um, Twilight? Are you okay?"

" Now I understand what you must have felt when you had to deal with Sunset Demon."

I nodded slowly. " I had to endure an awful lot and many times I lost my temper."

" How do you manage to not completely lose all sense of self?"

" It's difficult because there's this urge to just simply throttle someone and it grows stronger until you either cave in or ignore it." I answered. " The best way to ignore such urges is to think of something pleasant and rallying your mind behind it. For me, the thought of being surrounded by my friends is enough to keep me from doing something I would most likely regret and especially you, Twilight."

Princess Twilight smiled. " Guess I must learn from you once again."

I smirked. " It doesn't bother you, does it?"

" Not in the least." Twilight answered. " Anyway, we need to focus on getting out of this room without being killed by the additions Midnight Sparkle made. With the Stone Mask, you don't have to worry about those Black Boes as they can no longer see you but the fire bars and lightning will be an issue so you'll need to do this quickly. First, we should try shining light onto the sun switches hanging on the walls. Something good might happen or not depending on which ones you hit."

Standing in the sunlight and raising the Mirror Shield, I shone light onto the three switches on my left. Each one burned away to nothing though I could hear the sounds coming from above so I moved back to the door when a pair of Wallmasters dropped down from above. I was certainly caught off guard though I should have expected it but I wasn't about to give them a chance to grab me and send me back to the beginning. Drawing my sword, I was about to strike one when I remembered that the Stone Mask prevented them from seeing me. Both monsters moved about on their fingers for a few moments before jumping back up to the ceiling.

I then shone light on the other switches with two burning while the remaining one glowed before smiling. This caused a treasure chest to appear in the center of the room where the column with the mirrors was and that meant having to weave in-between both fire and lightning in order to reach it successfully. I cursed Midnight Sparkle under my breath for having added more obstacles but I sighed knowing I couldn't really do anything other than keep going. I then ran towards the chest avoiding the lightning coming from the walls and almost got roasted by the fire bar surrounding the mirror before stumbling into it.

Kicking the chest open revealed the third Stray Fairy--I had gotten way more than this by this point in the other temples--where it entered my body but then I quickly ran back to avoid getting roasted a second time. Raising my shield whilst standing in the sunlight, I aimed at the mirror that was to my right and held that position knowing the mirror needed enough light for it to reflect off of it before I could use it to remove the sun block. I began thinking about what kind of item I would get this time around in the meantime as I waited. Judging from how often I needed to manipulate the light, perhaps I would acquire what was seen as the most powerful arrow.

From what I remembered, the Light Arrow required more magic than the other two yet this negative was offset by the fact that the arrow was strong against anything that drew its power from evil, and that included Starlight Glimmer because of her mask. I would have considered Ganondorf as an ideal response yet he was immune to the light that resulted from him slowly developing an immunity over the centuries. If the Light Arrows were indeed somewhere inside of the Stone Tower Temple, I needed to get my hands on them as soon as possible. I just needed to figure out where they were located in here.

When I felt I had given the mirror enough light, I quickly planned out how I would do this and rushed forward towards the light that now reflected off of it. My tunic was singed in the process due to a slight miscalculation--I got a little too close to the fire--but at least the electricity didn't hit me. The sun block disappeared upon getting hit by the light revealing another small treasure chest that I opened to reveal the next Stray Fairy giving me four in total. As it disappeared by entering my body, I turned and noticed another sun block that had been hidden behind the center pillar, and was the way onward as there was no other exit.

Heading back to the start, I repeated the same process though now I had to shine light on the mirror to my left. If I had the Light Arrows, I would have ignored the mirrors and simply removed the block using one of them but since I didn't have them, this was the only means of progression. I waited for about a minute before heading over and once again my tunic got singed but I also got electrocuted causing me to drop to my knees for a moment. While my innards felt like they had just melted, I persevered and reached the mirror and removed the block just as the light disappeared. 

This revealed the way forward much to my pleasure as now I could finally get out of this nightmare of a room. " My body feels numb."

" The electricity Midnight Sparkle added to this room certainly did a number on you."

" At least the worst is over now."

" You shouldn't say things like that."

" Why not?"

" Because something much worse ends up happening."

Now I had gotten paranoid by Her Highness saying that so I walked forward towards the door only for a giant-sized Nejiron to rise up from below the ground. " WAAAAH!"I fell down onto my butt and scooted back while the monster turned and looked in my direction. " Guess we know what Midnight Sparkle's final finger snap had created though I don't think it can move around very well." The Nejiron tried rolling but couldn't due to its size keeping it stuck but it did mean the way forward was blocked. " How are we supposed to continue on with this thing blocking our way?"

" You'll have to blow it up."

I blinked a few times. " You want me to do what?"

" There is no way you can move it out of the way, not even as a Goron, so you'll have to blow it up."

" Won't that cause a massive explosion?"

Princess Twilight shrugged. " I don't know. I think Midnight Sparkle increased this Nejiron's size for this exact purpose, to force you into making it explode and the result would cover a radius about the size of the entire room. Rather than fight us or go with a more conventional method, she chose to go with something like this instead. Either she isn't confident that she can win or she needed to go back and check on Sunset Demon."

I looked up at the Nejiron and gulped. " Guess I've got to blow it up then."

" This would be a good time to use one of those red potions when it's all said and done."

I shook my head. " Assuming we even survive this."

" You have to believe that we can."

Taking out the Hero's Bow, I was about to fire an arrow when Princess Twilight told me that a regular arrow would do as opposed to a Fire Arrow. Nodding, I switched to an ordinary arrow, nocked it onto the string, aimed up at the Nejiron, and fired where the arrow struck it between the eyes. This resulted in it exploding causing a massive burst of flame to begin consuming everything and it continued to expand though I knew I couldn't leave otherwise it would simply re-spawn upon entering the room again forcing me to destroy it and effectively repeat the process. I had to believe that I could survive Midnight Sparkle's plan.





" Well that was definitely something." Sunset Demon said.

" At least I actually put them in a difficult situation unlike you who chose to talk to them." Midnight Sparkle said.

Sunset Demon laughed though she struggled to be consistent due to still being ensnared by the dark vines. " When you said that you were going to take care of them, I thought you meant actually killing them and not relying on such a stupid thing like throwing in more obstacles just to test Sunset's resolve and Princess Twilight's intellect. Perhaps you're not as dangerous as you claim to be."

" What do you mean by that?"

" You could have killed them right there and then."

" So?"

Sunset Demon shook her head. " I think you were afraid of killing them. Either that or you just didn't have the guts to go through with it. Sunset has survived much worse than a giant exploding monster. Heck, she went toe-to-toe against me twice and came out on top because she had the heart to keep on fighting even when the odds were against her. I admire her for that as it shows both character and an improvement in maturity. While her temper is a remnant of what remains of my influence over her, she has learned to control it though sometimes it does flare up through no fault of her own."

Midnight Sparkle's body glowed. " You think I'm afraid of Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight?"

" Or you lacked the guts."

" Don't push me!"

" I've been doing that the entire time though until you acquired your power, you were so easy to look down upon as the inferior demon." Sunset Demon said. " Granted, I won't deny that you are smarter and can maintain your composure a lot better than I could, but the fact remains that you blew your chance when it was right there waiting for you to take and run away with it and instead you came back here out of fear that I would escape while you were gone. I can't break free of these dark vines no matter how hard I struggle but I guess I should've mentioned that before."

That pushed Midnight Sparkle over the edge and she picked up Sunset Demon by her neck before throwing her into a column causing it to break into pieces. As the she-demon slumped to the ground whilst her body was pelted by debris, Midnight Sparkle glowed brighter, used her power to hoist up Sunset Demon until she hit the ceiling before being dropped down again where she crashed into the ground. While Sunset Demon laughed at how pathetic Midnight Sparkle was, the latter began making the dark vines squeeze tighter until the former had almost lost consciousness before being slammed against the ceiling several more times.

Once she felt satisfied that her companion had been punished enough, Midnight Sparkle released her hold on Sunset Demon who crashed into the ground again and was unable to move due to how much pain she was in. The former was about to administer further punishment when the sounds of the wailing spirits echoed throughout her ears causing her to clutch her head in an attempt at drowning them out but instead she felt tremendous pain until it subsided. Midnight Sparkle then noticed the Garo Master standing a short distance away and laughed before he disappeared unto the wall.

She shook her head to regain her composure. " Okay, now that was weird even for me."

" You heard the wails of the spirits again?"

" You too?"

Sunset Demon nodded. " It's impossible not to hear them." She tried getting back up onto her feet only to collapse due to the punishment she had received. " Ha... But more importantly, it looks like you're beginning to lose control. You're becoming exactly the way I was when I was desperate. I didn't care what I had to do to achieve my goals so long as I did and that meant doing things that slowly destroyed my sanity leaving me as an emotionless monster. Had my mind not been poisoned so badly by power, I could have changed sooner and made peace with Sunset but I was both blind and ignorant."

" And this affects me how?"

" If you can't see the truth for what it is, I might as well just stop talking."

" Now that we can both agree on."

Sunset Demon sighed. " Then I guess I've got nothing more to say to you, Midnight Sparkle, other than this. When I was like you are right now, I did things that I now regret doing in the name of wanting to become the real Sunset. My actions were horrific beyond measure and I was rightly condemned for it resulting in my death. Upon venturing about this world, I saw pain with my own eyes and how it affected people. It made me realize that I had caused pain but in a different manner and my heart began resonating, a heart that I had ignored for so long until now. I finally understood what humility really meant and ironically, it was the very thing Sunset herself once lacked."

" Are you finished?"

Sunset Demon shook her head. " Just this one last bit, okay? Anyway, I can't change the fact that I am a demon as that was how I was created, but I can change how I live out the rest of my existence before it comes to an end, and it will happen much sooner than expected. I'm not going to be making it out of this temple alive. If anything, this place will become my grave and I've accepted that as my fate. I'm a remnant of Sunset's past that continues to linger out of desperation but she has moved on and accepted her past for the most part. Should I die now, that would be the end of me permanently. I've no intention of coming back after this. My time is done."

Midnight Sparkle clapped sarcastically prompting Sunset Demon to glare at her though she brushed it off. " You changed because you paid attention to your surroundings and felt sympathy towards people? While that was without a doubt the most pathetic thing I've ever heard, you've also earned my respect for choosing to remain steadfast about it. I feel bad for having to do this to you, Sunset Demon, I really do, but we've come too far to stop now just because of a revelation brought on by this world. Perhaps you need to be reminded of who you really are and with my new power, that can easily be arranged. I just need a few moments."

" What are you planning on doing?"

" Something oh so obvious and predictable but also necessary."





I don't know how I managed to survive the explosion but I did. I guessed that since I had seen plenty of similar situations throughout my journey, I would know how to deal with just about anything that came my way. I had been pushed to the edge of the room thanks to the explosion's radius covering its entirety and there was a point where I had considered going back into the previous room in hopes of avoiding taking heavy damage, but ultimately, I stuck it out and managed to survive as the explosion radius died down mere inches away from where I had been standing.

The room had definitely seen better days when the smoke from the explosion began to lift. All of the mirrors had been shattered and while I wasn't the superstitious type, I had no doubt that Midnight Sparkle would have a lot of bad luck coming her way. Her other traps had also been neutralized allowing me to traverse the room freely without having to worry about being attacked by something else. Before moving on to the next room, I took a moment to come to an understanding as to what Midnight Sparkle had said. Her plan was well-crafted in its premise but lacked any cohesion in that she was making it up as she went along.

She also hadn't expected Sunset Demon to suddenly have a change of heart and see things differently. That was perhaps my one advantage when it came to the two demons but I would remiss if I didn't say that I was worried something had happened to the she-demon. It felt strange being worried about her since she had tried to kill me many times and wanting to assume my life but it felt necessary because she was willing to change just like how I did when Princess Twilight and my friends defeated me when I was her. Hopefully, she was okay though I was prepared to fight her if I absolutely had to.

Midnight Sparkle wants all of the magic in Equestria, a tall order, and one she could never succeed at not because of me. No, the princesses were more than a match for her as they had seen beings who were far worse, but she was unique because she didn't want to conquer Equestria. Unless Midnight Sparkle had a means of getting around them, the princesses would deny her everything. My home had faced all kinds of threats and won each time so I had no doubt they would be well prepared to handle one power-hungry human. Had Ganondorf not changed things by turning the world I called home into this doomed one, Midnight Sparkle wouldn't have come back.

It was obvious that neither demon were affiliated with the Dark Lord but it was also obvious that he had a hand in all of this. He wanted me to suffer immense torment so that I would eventually cave in to his will and become his loyal servant all because of what I once did as Sunset Demon. He was definitely succeeding on one front but I wasn't about to let him defeat me, as my willpower was stronger than it looked. In fact, I now had an inkling to ask him if he had been influencing the actions of the demons. I knew he wasn't controlling them but perhaps he was guiding them along in some way.

No matter what though, I still had a job to do, and that was saving this world and changing it back to the way it was before. Taking a deep breath, I began to walk across the room making sure not to trip on any of the loose tiles. There were no additional Nejiron yet the Black Boes continued scurrying about but as long as the Stone Mask remained on my face, they would ignore me completely--I didn't feel like destroying them as there was no point other than satisfying any sadistic tendencies and acting like a bully. Upon reaching the door, I was about to open it when howling echoed throughout the room.

Night of the First Day - 60 Hours Remain.

" It's night time already!?" I exclaimed.

" We've been in here a lot longer than you thought." Twilight said.

" How can that be?"

" Did you play the Inverted Song of Time before we entered the temple?"

I slapped my forehead and moaned. " That explains why it's already night time."

Princess Twilight shook her head. " I guess it's my fault for not reminding you to play that song. Had you done it sooner, we would have more time to complete this temple given recent developments involving both Sunset Demon and Midnight Sparkle."

I shook my head. " The fault is mine, Twilight. I was so fixated on grinding for rupees that I forgot all about playing the song and now here we are a ways into the temple without having slowed time down to give us, well, more time."

" Why not play it now despite the delay."

I nodded sadly and took out the Ocarina of Time from the pouch on my belt. " My confidence feels a bit deflated because of this oversight but we do need more time as the demons are sure to take up most of it." I then played the Inverted Song of Time and everything around suddenly slowed down. " A shame that monsters are unaffected by this song otherwise things would become a lot easier."

Princess Twilight nodded. " While that's true, it would also take away the significance of an adventure, that being going through a difficult journey filled with all kinds of challenges until you either reach your final goal or perish in the attempt. From what I've seen, you've proven to be a great adventurer who has persevered through so much even when it looks like things will spiral out of control."

" But I'm still reluctant about it."

" All adventurers are like that."

" When this is all over, I have no plans on going on another adventure of this nature ever again!"

Opening the door to the next room, I suddenly felt a warm blast of air hit me in the face and I shook my head to regain my vision. I also felt hot in that the temperature had just suddenly increased by a large amount in mere seconds. I walked over to the edge and looked down to see a massive pool of lava though it was interspersed with several columns and giant fans that were blowing air upwards. I initially thought they were merely part of this room's aesthetics but upon seeing a switch submerged slightly in the lava, I would need to traverse the lava pool as Darmani but I didn't know for what reason yet.

A Deku Flower in front of me indicated that I needed to use my Deku Scrub body--for the first time in quite a while--to make my way around the room without falling into the lava below and burning to death instantly. Looking up, the night sky was in full bloom--the moon couldn't be seen for some reason--and it cast an eerie light throughout the room. As I continued looking, I noticed something perched on the ceiling staring down at me and immediately alerted Princess Twilight. She looked up to see what it was and managed to get a tiny glimpse before it disappeared leaving us wondering what it was.

" Was that Midnight Sparkle?"

I shook my head. " She doesn't have flaming swords for hands."

" Then it must have been the Garo Master we've heard so much about."

" I wonder why he didn't come down and attack us?"

Princess Twilight shrugged. " We should be lucky that he chose to leave instead. Had he chosen to attack, you would have been at a complete disadvantage what with the terrain being small unless you became a Goron and trudged about in the lava below. The Garo Master probably knows this temple inside and out so he would know the right places to strike you and all you could do in response is take on a defensive stance until you either managed to get out of this room or get killed."

" I'll have to fight him eventually."

" Yes, but it needs to be in a more open area."

" So what should we do now?"

" You'll need to fly across the room using those air currents while as a Deku Scrub." Twilight answered. " There is also the switch down below that could prove useful but it might be a tricky puzzle depending on what happens next."

" I'll go with the switch."

" Then I suggest you become a Goron now and climb down that ladder nearby." Twilight said whilst pointing towards said ladder. " You might hurt yourself a little if you were to drop down below from this height."

Taking out the Goron Mask, I went back into the previous room and then put it on--I didn't want to stumble into the lava before the transformation was complete--and began stumbling forward as my body shimmered from human to Goron until I walked into the central column again before falling onto my butt. When I became Darmani again, I got back onto my feet, rubbed my aching butt, went back through the door, and began climbing down until I reached the lava pool below. Again, I felt comfortable or rather my feet did as the lava felt so soothing but I knew I had to focus.

Jumping onto the switch, I curled up into a ball and performed a ground pound, activating it. I couldn't tell what happened so I began rolling forward in hopes of figuring out what the switch had done. My body enjoyed rolling through the lava--my aches and pains disappeared as if it were magic--though bumping into the columns and fans wasn't any fun as it slowed down my momentum not to mention give me a headache. After bumping into another column, uncurling myself, I decided to walk on foot and kept on walking until I came upon a dead-end, but there was another switch ahead that was surrounded by fire.

I tried walking through the fire since it was just an off-shoot of the lava and I was suddenly knocked back where I landed on my butt. Getting back up again, I tried touching the fire with my hand only to quickly pull it away as the fire proved to be a little too hot for me to handle. Princess Twilight suggested that the first switch we saw removed the fire that surrounded the second one and I needed to make my way over here before it would return. Considering how difficult it was to roll with so many obstacles, I practically had to make an almost perfect run with a single mistake at the minimum.

Making my way back to the first switch, I began plotting a course that would hopefully get me to the second switch on time--it also meant having to roll with perfection that would please any and all Gorons. Once I got back and jumped onto the switch, I curled up into a ball again, performed a ground pound activating the switch, and immediately began rolling forward making sure I knew exactly where to roll without bumping into anything. Princess Twilight flew ahead to guide me and other than making one mistake near the end, I managed to reach the second switch, pressing it before the fire returned though nothing happened either.

Princess Twilight quickly flew upwards to see what might have happened before coming back down. " There was a small treasure chest located near the way out that was surrounded by flames but it looks like activating the switch has removed it. I'm not sure how long it will last so I suggest making your way back to the beginning of this section and fly over the chest using that Deku Flower."

" Anything else of interest up there?"

" I did see another chest in a small alcove."

" Do you know how I can reach it?"

" It's right at the start of the room so you can easily fly to it though you will need to make a leap of faith to catch the breeze."

" I'm not liking the sound of that."

" You could always skip the treasure chest if you want to."

I shook my head. " Considering how often Stray Fairies are hidden in them, I can't afford to ignore any chests. I know it makes me sound greedy but we could really do with some much needed help from Adagio and we need them all in order to get it." I began walking back towards where the ladder was yet something suddenly made my skin crawl. I shrugged it off thinking it was nothing but then it happened again and I began feeling nervous.

" What's wrong?"

" I feel like we're being watched."

" Really? I don't feel anything."

" Maybe I'm starting to lose it because of what we've been through so far."

Princess Twilight flopped down on my hat. " No need for you to feel that way, Sunset. If you remain positive and focus on what needs to be done, you can get through this and awaken the final Giant."

I smiled in response. I could always depend on Her Highness to give me an appropriate pep talk. True, she didn't have the same amount of gusto that Rainbow Dash had when she gave the entirety of Canterlot High a pep talk to psych us up for the Friendship Games, but I still more confident now than I was a moment ago. Upon reaching the later, I began to climb up--it took a while as Gorons weren't very good at climbing--and when I made it, I took out the Deku Mask, placed it on my face, squatted down a little, and watched as my body shimmered from Goron to Deku in addition to shrinking down in size.

As a Deku Scrub, I looked down at the pool of lava below and gulped knowing that one slip-up meant instant death thanks to Dekus having an extreme fire weakness. At least I knew I could rely on the air currents to guide me along so I looked forward at them only to discover they suddenly turned themselves off. I didn't see any switches nearby that could allow them to do that so what could have happened? They then turned back on making me sigh with relief knowing that it was most likely a glitch but then they turned off again and began flickering back and forth. No... This wasn't supposed to be this way. Now things had just gotten more difficult.