The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask
By Ganondorf8
July 3, 2017
Chapter 63: Coat of Keese.
Whatever was dropping down from above, I wasn't about to get hit by it so I quickly went back through the door to the previous room, and a loud thud could be heard from the other side indicating that the problem had passed. It must have been pretty heavy to make a thud that loud and had it actually hit me, I would have been knocked into the pit that was closest to the door--getting injured would become an afterthought. Pressing my ear up against the door, I could hear additional thuds coming from the other side so it wasn't just a one time thing though there was a definite pattern.
The thuds hitting the ground would pause for about five seconds after roughly ten seconds so that gave me a small window of opportunity to not get hit. Of course, if things were to get out of hand, I could always use my shield by holding it above my head. It reminded me of the time during my previous journey where I used my shield like a shell to protect myself from rocks that fell as a result of an active volcano. Granted, the shield I used back then was much larger than I was whereas the Mirror Shield was smaller so this wasn't going to be an exact recreation of what I did.
Opening the door and going back into the other room, I raised my shield above my head, and just in time as something fell down and landed on it. My legs buckled slightly due to experiencing a sudden burst of pressure before it lifted when whatever struck the Mirror Shield broke into pieces and scattered about. It happened again only this time I could see what was dropping down--another object came down a few feet away--and I could finally see what it was. What was falling down were large rocks that broke upon impact with the ground yet they were drenched in fire which made no sense until I looked up.
Above me was a pool of lava that constantly dripped out rocks yet there were two platforms floating on the surface of the lava that struck me as odd; not because they were up there but because they defied gravity as surely their weight would have caused them to drop into one of the two pits that stood between me and the way out. There was no way I could jump across--even with the Bunny Hood--so I needed another solution and quickly. I had no doubt my shield wouldn't break from getting hit with so many rocks yet my body wouldn't last for very long especially with my legs buckling after every hit.
My eyes then noticed another red emblem on the other side of the room and I knew what would happen if it were struck with a Light Arrow. There was just one problem were I to do just that and cause everything to flip over. Would it affect everything or would only this room be affected? I had no way of knowing what would happen unless I fired at the emblem but it wasn't going to be easy as the rocks falling from above intended on disrupting my concentration. A shame that the Stone Mask couldn't help me to avoid getting hit but then these rocks weren't living creatures and I couldn't necessary hide myself from inanimate objects.
Taking out the Hero's Bow, I was about to fire a Light Arrow when another rock fell down from above prompting me to raise my shield. The impact of the rock on my shield caused me to drop my bow and I reached down by squatting so that I could pick it up only for a much larger rock to hit my shield. I didn't get knocked down or anything but my legs definitely didn't enjoy the experience but at least my bow wasn't damaged otherwise I would be stuck on a permanent scale. Picking it back up, I fired a Light Arrow at the emblem, and the room began to tilt causing me to slide to the left before suddenly dropping straight down.
Landing on the ground below--my legs buckled again--the rocks were no longer dropping down from above as the lava was right-side up. The door was now upside-down so I needed to flip the room back to the way it was so that I could continue. All that was left was to cross the lava pool though I wasn't feeling very confident about it. The intense heat that seeped forth brushed itself across my entire body and made me nervous to no end as one misstep meant plunging right into it and dying instantly. I thought about using the Bunny Hood but the speed increase was also too risky.
Putting my bow away and making sure I was in straight line, I jumped across the lava, landing firmly on the first platform only for my legs to give out--the buckling had affected me more than I thought--causing me to trip and fall flat on my face. " Oooof!" My body then slid along slightly before stopping at the edge of the platform and my face was mere inches from the lava. " Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..."
" Are you okay, Sunset?" Twilight asked.
" Does it look like it?" I asked sarcastically.
" Yeah, that was a stupid question."
I pulled my face away from the lava. " That was probably the closest I've ever been to lava and I'd rather not have a repeat performance."
" You know..." Twilight began. " You could have become a Goron and simply walked across the lava without needing to jump. Gorons love traversing about in lava as it has no effect on them unlike the other tribes who live in Termina."
I stared off blankly into space for what felt like an eternity before slapping my forehead as hard as I could. " Let us never speak of this again." How could I have been so stupid as to not use the obvious solution and instead opt for making things much harder than necessary? I once again didn't see the bigger picture but then I wanted to do things the hard way rather than take an easy path that wouldn't prove satisfying. " Well... I made it this far so I might as well go the entire distance provided my legs don't give out again."
Princess Twilight shrugged. " No need to make things challenging, Sunset."
" It builds character."
" It also builds insanity."
" Fair point."
" Anyway, once you make it to the other side, you'll need to use a Light Arrow to invert this room back to the way it was." Twilight said. She then floated over to the second platform followed by the ceiling before finally coming back down to me. " That second platform is above the ground so you won't fall down into the abyss when the room turns over. I would suggest getting your shield ready as you will get bombarded by fiery rocks the moment everything is inverted."
Getting up, I jumped over to the other platform--I almost tripped again--before taking out the bow and shooting a Light Arrow at the red emblem. The entire room began tilting and I started sliding towards the lava so I quickly scrambled to avoid falling in by attempting to run only to suddenly drop down to the ground below and landing with a thud. My legs once again buckled--to my annoyance--from the impact but there was no time to complain as the rocks were now falling from above like before. Raising my shield, one such rock dropped down and shattered upon impact with my shield though my legs didn't buckle this time.
Not wanting to experience my legs feeling more pain, I opened the door and entered the next room where I immediately noticed two Chu-Chu hopping up and down on a raised platform on the other side of the room. One was green denoting that it would drop Magic Jars upon being defeated while the other was yellow denoting that it would drop arrows upon defeat--I could see both respective items inside their gelatin-like bodies. Since Chu-Chus regenerated after a while, I began trying to figure out why these two in particular were here.
" If I wanted to restock on magic and arrows, these two Chu-Chus will definitely provide."
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes, but there has to be more to it than that, Sunset. I doubt they are here simply to give you a restock on two key items otherwise the room would have been much smaller. No, I think they are part of a puzzle as otherwise there would be much stronger monsters instead." Her Highness' eyes then noticed a block to our right that was barely visible as it was on a lower level and began bopping me on the head to grab my attention. " Maybe that block can be pushed and pulled about?"
I noticed a small groove in the floor that was square-shaped. " It looks like the block has to be pushed into that slot."
" I'm not sure how you can get it over there."
" By pushing it of course."
Princess Twilight shook her head. " That's not what I meant." She pointed to the ground in-between where I was standing and where the Chu-Chus were hopping about. That block is probably too heavy even for a Goron to lift so pushing it over to that groove isn't going to happen unless you can find another means of getting it there."
I began looking around for something that could help with this puzzle and then I grumbled upon seeing what I had to do. " There's another red emblem over on the other side of the room above the door." I said as I pointed at it whilst keeping my arm close to my chest. " While it does explain why these Chu-Chus are in here, I'm not liking the idea of having to switch gravity constantly just to get one block over to a spot in the ground where it needs to be."
" You don't have much of a choice."
" This is just unfair, Twilight!"
" I know but that's the nature of this temple."
" At least I won't run out of magic and arrows until we leave."
" That's the spirit!"
Deep down, I wanted to sit in the corner of a small room and cry for a while. I had no problem solving puzzles as it gave my brain a good workout but I didn't want to have to resort to so much unnecessary physical labour to achieve my goal. I walked to the right and looked down at the block that I had to push and pull throughout the room. It wasn't one of those huge blocks but rather a small one that required a modest amount of strength to push it. The problem was that the two Chu-Chus were bound to get in the way resulting in my taking too many hits and draining my health.
Before doing anything else, I took out the Dungeon Map and began looking at the room I was in. To my relief, there were no treasure chest marks so all I had to do was focus on getting the block into place though that involved planning everything out carefully. I needed to push it just enough otherwise it would either be too far or too small resulting in disaster when it came to inverting the room and being forced to leave and come back to go through it all again. No, this had to be done right on my first attempt. I just had to hope Midnight Sparkle had no intention of adding her own twist to an already annoying puzzle.
Jumping down to the ground below and placing my hands on the block, I began to push it using all the strength I could muster. I couldn't use my legs as the focal point as they needed to recover after so many buckles I experienced thanks to falling so many times in the previous room so I had to use my upper body instead. The block only moved a small distance before it got stuck against the edge of a raised groove so already the room needed to be inverted so I could continue moving it along. Sighing, I move around to the other side only to get attacked by both Chu-Chus who had since bounced their way over.
They slammed into me using their bodies and while I got pushed back a tiny distance, the damage they inflicted was minimal. Using my sword, I destroyed both of them with a single swing and picked up the magic jar and arrows that dropped from their bodies. While both items were wet to touch, I had no complaints as I needed to keep restocking both magic and arrows until I got out of this room. Since the two Chu-Chus would re-spawn after some time had passed, I walked around the block and fired a Light Arrow at the red emblem causing the entire room to turn upside-down.
I dropped straight to the ground this time instead of sliding in one direction but what was more strange was how my legs didn't buckle unlike before. " I'm glad my legs didn't take any kind of injury as they don't need any further damage done to them."
" Maybe this room is a lot smaller than appearances suggest?"
" I won't complain if you won't either."
" Anyway, you probably noticed that the block also dropped down to the ground when the room flipped over after you hit the red emblem." Twilight said. " You'll have to do some very miniscule back-tracking in that the block might need to be pushed or pulled a little into place before you use a Light Arrow on the red emblem to flip the room over again."
" Is there any way of knowing when I've pushed or pulled it enough?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. " This is going to come down to making an educated guess. I mean, I could give you a rough idea though perhaps you should trust your instincts and move the block about accordingly until you feel it's in the right spot. Precision is important here, Sunset. One mistake means having to waste time flipping the room again to fix the mistake before having to flip it over again to continue."
My drop dropped slightly. " You're kidding me right?" Princess Twilight shook her head again and I bit my thumb in response. " Coupled with those Chu-Chus reappearing just to cause me annoyance is only going to add to my stress levels which are already tense enough as it is." This temple was really starting to get on my nerves but then it was the last one so extra difficulty wasn't beyond the realm of obviousness. I looked at the block followed by where the grooves in the ground nearby were and looked back and forth several times until I grabbed the block with my hands. " Well, here goes nothing."
" Incoming!"
I let go of the block and slashed both Chu-Chu's with my sword. " Nice timing, Twilight."
" They did re-spawn in the same place they were in when you destroyed them initially."
" Good to know as that means I can deal with them the instant they come back." I said as I picked up the magic jar and arrows. Grabbing the block again, I pushed it forward a little until it looked as though it could be pushed in-between two slopes before pushing it forward until it stopped against the raised groove. " I've got to say that this isn't easy without using my legs to provide extra force but I'm not going to use a potion given that I haven't taken any damage other than pitiful fall damage that wasn't even my fault."
" Just don't put too much strain on your chest."
" Because of my heart?"
" And the fact that you need your chest to give function to your other body parts."
Sometimes, I couldn't tell when Princess Twilight was trying to be serious, funny, insulting, or just about anything given her choice of words. I ended up nodding my head just to get past such an awkward statement and continue on making my way through this puzzle, but I had to question her judgment on such matters. Maybe the pressure of being in this world was beginning to affect her mind? I knew I couldn't exactly confront Her Highness about it as she would either dodge the concern or say something that made little sense. I needed to keep a close watch on her just to make sure she doesn't say or do something that she'll regret later.
Using another Light Arrow on the red emblem, the room turned right side-up and the block landed on the raised groove allowing me to move it along. I pressed my hands against it and began pushing it along only to suddenly stop when I got hit by the Yellow Chu-Chu from behind. They were re-spawning back a lot quicker than usual leading me to suspect that these were either special versions or Midnight Sparkle had used her power on them. Either way, I swung my sword and took it out before stepping back and destroying the Green Chu-Chu as it was about to jump--both left behind their usual drops.
Pushing the block actually proved beneficial for my legs as I needed them to regain their strength so that I could start using them as a focal point instead of my chest. My chest was beginning to feel sore as the amount of pressure being placed on it so that I could push the block was starting to take its toll on me. I estimated that my chest would give out if I were to continue pushing it so I needed to finish this puzzle. Eventually, the block dropped down slightly due to the raised groove having ended and I began looking to see where it was supposed to go next. The final resting place was slightly to my left but would I need to push the block only a short distance?
As I wracked my brains trying to figure it out, the corner of my eye noticed the two Chu-Chus had re-spawned again and I swiftly took care of them though this time they dropped rupees indicating that I was full up on both magic and arrows. Pushing too far could mean missing the target though not far enough would mean coming up short. Both results meant wasting some time to fix the mistake so I chose to just go with my gut and hope the block fell into place. I pushed it forward slightly followed by walking to the right and pushing it forward a medium amount before firing a Light Arrow at the red emblem to change things again.
The block landed on the same line as the groove it needed to be pushed into so I began pushing it forward until it could no longer be pushed, my legs getting stronger and stronger with every push, but then I was suddenly knocked to the ground by the Green Chu Chu who had re-spawned right on top of me. While the damage I took was hardly anything, I was still taken by surprise--I also felt embarrassed that a living blob of water had gotten the best of me--given I was focused on pushing this block. Taking out my sword, I slashed the blob and destroyed it yet again only to get blindsided by the other one only to retaliate in kind.
Since I had used magic and arrows, the two Chu-Chus dropped their respective items and not rupees. Picking them up, I fired one more Light Arrow to invert the room and pushed the block until it fell into place and unlocked the door by raising the iron bars. Princess Twilight then bopped my head to draw my attention and she pointed at something that was behind us so I looked behind and my jaw dropped in an instant. There was another red emblem above the door I had entered the room from. I could have made things a lot easier had I used them both in tandem instead of just the one.
" This just isn't my day." I said as I slapped my forehead.
" We all have bad days, Sunset."
" I can't believe I never noticed the other red emblem until you pointed it out."
" It was an oversight on my part."
I then swung my sword when the two Chu-Chus re-spawned yet again, destroying them both and dropping two green rupees. " At least I don't have to worry about magic or arrows for a while though I feel like taking my frustration out on something. I know it sounds weird giving in to my anger but after going through this obnoxious puzzle, I feel the need to vent or else it could affect me emotionally later on."
" Well... Okay, but don't make a habit out of it."
" You've every right to be concerned, Twilight, but I'm a lot stronger mentally than I was back before you taught me about friendship." I said. " I'm not going to succumb to any twisted desires and act like a sadistic monster. I just feel the need to let off some steam to regain my focus and not dwell on it, you know? Surely you yourself have felt a similar passion whenever things were going wrong for you one day and you felt an urge boil within."
Princess Twilight nodded whilst blushing. " Okay, so I can't help feeling that way sometimes."
" Don't worry." I said. " I'll be sure not to cave in to my temper. I've seen what it can do and it frightens me every time I think about it." Looking at the now unlocked door, it was on high-up ledge so the block would act as a platform. Climbing onto the block and performing a simple leap across, I landed on the ledge, opened the door and entered the next room and immediately noticed some very familiar panels scattered about. " You have got to be kidding me!"
" It looks like you need to defeat yet another Wizzrobe."
" How many of these guys are there!?"
" I'm not sure but I suggest you look up."
I did so and my entire body froze upon seeing a pool of lava above my head. " Does this mean I have to not only fight the Wizzrobe and dodge his attacks, I have to avoid getting hit by falling rocks of various sizes?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " This will be a battle of concentration as you will need to avoid the falling rocks in addition to the magic he will throw at you. At the same time, you could make this fight go a lot quicker if you were to use the Light Arrows as a means of attacking rather than the sword. It would require knowing where the Wizzrobe is going to appear otherwise you'd just be wasting arrows and magic but I suspect it will fall relatively quickly to the Light Arrows as he is a creature of darkness."
" I wonder why he hasn't appeared yet."
" It could be that we haven't triggered some kind of loading zone."
I looked at Princess Twilight with a weird look on my face. " Do you even know what you just said?"
Princess Twilight was completely silent thus proving my point but she eventually answered. " I don't know why I suddenly said that considering I have no idea what a loading zone even is since it's a term that doesn't exist in any Equestrian dictionary. I'm still right about the Wizzrobe not having appeared yet but maybe he will if you took a step forward?" I continued looking at her and she blushed before waggling her finger in my face. " What!? Don't give me that look!" She then turned her face away from me and began to giggle. " Okay, I'll admit it was funny but we should focus on the effort at hand."
Again, she dodged things by saying something completely random. Granted, I shouldn't have kept looking at her with that expression but I couldn't believe that she mentioned loading zone without knowing what it meant. Fortunately, I was familiar with the term since Rainbow Dash never could stop talking about it every time she insisted on us watching her play video games until late at night where we eventually fall asleep. The Wizzrobe didn't appear as I had not reached an invisible line somewhere in the room that would trigger his appearance yet it involved some kind of programming which is where it all gets confusing--Rainbow knew more as she was obsessed with these games.
Taking a step forward, a Red Wizzrobe--better than blue as it meant dealing with fire instead of ice--appeared from the panel in the top left corner of the room. He disappeared almost instantly only to reappear moments later on the panel that was to my left. I took out the Hero's Bow and was prepared to fire a Light Arrow when rocks from above fell down, knocking me to the ground and allowing him to fling one of his magic spells. I rolled along to get away from the blast radius yet my tunic was slightly singed as I hadn't rolled away fast enough prompting him to laugh at my misery before he disappeared.
No doubt the rocks were going to be an issue so I began looking to see if there was any cover. I couldn't find any though there was a strange light coming from a hole in the ground nearby yet there was something about it that felt familiar. I then looked up at the ceiling again and was shocked to see an upside-down empty treasure chest hanging up there. This was the room where I found the Dungeon Map and those Armos yet now it was inverted and proved to be more annoying than I thought. More rocks then fell and I weaved about to avoid them only to suddenly get blasted at point-blank range by the Red Wizzrobe.
He had appeared on a panel that was on a ledge yet I couldn't hit him as I struggled to put out the fire that was now consuming me. Fortunately, it was magic fire so it would go out on its own yet I was already taking more damage than necessary and the fight had only just gotten started. Coupled with the fact that rocks continued to drop down from above was making me feel really nervous, and here I was hoping to vent off some frustration given what happened in the previous room. A shame I didn't have any magic that could protect me from projectiles as this would have made things so much easier but I had to deal with what fate had dealt me.
The Red Wizzrobe then appeared right next to me but quickly disappeared proving how cowardly he was before appearing on the ledge again. He began to dance around in a circle giving me enough time to prepare a Light Arrow but then I was knocked down by a rock--it was really painful given it came from a pool of lava--and when I got back onto my feet, I retreated so as to avoid getting hit by his magic again. When he disappeared and reappeared again moments later, he showed up on a panel next to the hole in the ground. Aiming at him and firing a Light Arrow, I managed to score a hit and the Red Wizzrobe screamed as the light damaged him immensely.
" You were right about how the Light Arrow caused him great pain."
" Creatures of darkness always despised the light."
" I'll admit that his scream was very unnerving."
" I would suggest not getting sentimental, Sunset." Twilight said. " This Wizzrobe is still a monster and has every intention of seeing you dead. While his scream was rather unwarranted, you need to get past that and focus on defeating him before he roasts you alive with his magic."
" Now you know why I don't like destroying monsters."
" You just do so as a means of progression."
" I know..."
" You destroy them because you have no choice but you don't take delight in such actions." Twilight said. " They attack you all the time giving you the right to fight back in response, an honourable approach if I do say so myself. Of course, there is no black and white when it comes to these things, Sunset. Some will argue that destroying monsters is nothing short of barbaric while others will claim it a necessity for the safety of innocent lives. I like how you focus more towards saving others rather than killing monsters for personal gain. It's what makes you who you are in this kind of setting."
I intended on responding to Her Highness only for the Red Wizzrobe to reappear to my right and fired his magic after dancing around in circles. The blast was sudden yet it sailed over my head, the flames burning right behind me upon impact, and my expression one of sheer surprise. " I think he isn't happy with me using that Light Arrow on him." I then remembered what we were talking about. " I'll never be a bloodthirsty killer though I don't really do myself any credit since I did destroy those two Chu-Chus every time they re-spawned back in the previous room."
" Because they can regenerate infinitely, you weren't really destroying them." Twilight said. " It was more like you were getting them off of your back for a few minutes before having to repeat the process and continue repeating it over and over until you solved the puzzle."
The Red Wizzrobe reappeared in the same spot as last time, danced around, and fired his magic only this time it landed a few inches away from me. I was sent flying back by the impact and slammed into the wall before slumping to the ground. " Okay, he is definitely upset over what I did to him."
" You should focus on defeating him instead of talking with me about ethics."
Getting back up and aiming my bow, I waited for the Red Wizzrobe to reappear, and sure enough, he did so on the top left panel in the room. Before he could do anything, I fired my arrow, striking him in the chest and he disappeared again but not before screaming from being hit by the light. When he next appeared, he began running all over the room indicating that the next phase was already upon us. I knew the Light Arrow was strong against monsters who had a high affiliation with the darkness given I used them before--not to the same effect as I got them pretty late--but not that strong.
Multiple Red Wizzrobes then popped though most of them were illusions designed to confuse me. They all began running about while the real one--he actually had fire burning on his staff as opposed to the others--was preparing an attack. I quickly searched to see which panel he was standing on but couldn't see until it was too late when magic came flying at me from atop a ledge that was practically touching the lava on the ceiling. A panel was up there as how else could the Red Wizzrobe have fired his magic from that position? In the end, I was hit by his magic and consumed by the fire all over again.
I dropped to the ground and rolled towards the wall to put out the fire though it did cause some slight burns which I would deal with later. Getting back up, the Red Wizzrobes began running about so I looked for the odd-one out and he was standing to my right ready to fire. I responded by hitting him with a Light Arrow and he disappeared though I honestly thought that hit would have finished him off. Perhaps the Red Wizzrobe was much more durable than the blue one was? If so, then I had no idea how many more hits it would be until he finally went down for good.
He next appeared on the high-up ledge by the lava and I was about to fire another Light Arrow when more rocks began falling down. I was surprised that I hadn't seen any do so for a while unless I just didn't notice but I weaved in-between them and just barely managed to avoid getting hit by fire by stopping on a dime and waited until the fire dissipated. Rocks continued falling down forcing me to dodge each and every one but then the Red Wizzrobe reappeared next to me and flung some magic at me that landed just short of my position but was enough to push me towards the hole in the ground though I stopped myself by digging in my feet.
As I stared down into the abyss that was the hole, the Red Wizzrobe laughed and disappeared before reappearing right next to me as his illusions danced about. I ran forward whilst raising my shield to avoid getting hit by falling rocks and managed to outrun the next magical attack that came my way though it did blast me forward. Disappearing and reappearing moments later, the Red Wizzrobe illusions ran about as usual while the real one--who was on top of the highest ledge--span around but I hit him with a Light Arrow just as he fired his magic, both of us getting hit respectively.
My hit caused the Red Wizzrobe to jump into the air before landing and burning away to nothing; his hit caused more burns to appear on my body in addition to taking serious damage but not enough to kill me. His defeat resulted in a treasure chest--I couldnt tell how big it was--materializing on the higher up platform but no nearby door unlocked and the one I came through was never locked to begin with. It then occurred to me that the Red Wizzrobe didn't need to be defeated. I could have ignored him entirely and left the room of my own accord yet I would have missed the chest and I couldn't see any Hookshot plate to pull me up to the ledge.
I sat down and began to sulk a little. " I think the temple just gave me a huge middle finger."
" What makes you say that?"
" The Red Wizzrobe could have been avoided entirely as the way forward wasn't blocked or anything."
" If that was the case, why did you choose to fight him anyway?"
" I had no means of reaching that high-up ledge near the pool of lava." I answered. Rocks then suddenly dropped down from above so I quickly got up and walked over to the corner and hid underneath the ledge before sitting back down again. " Those rocks surely are inconsistent. Anyway, defeating that Wizzrobe caused a chest to appear though I think it's my only means of getting up there by using the Hookshot and latching onto the chest as a target."
" It seems you needed to defeat him to progress."
I shrugged. " I guess so but did it have to be so annoying?"
Princess Twilight shrugged this time. " That appears to be the nature of the Stone Tower Temple. The challenges here are a combination of what we've already seen plus some new twists designed specially around the overall theme the temple focuses on. I'm certain there won't be anymore Wizzrobes given that we've seen each room of the temple when it was right side-up but I'm certain more powerful monsters are lurking about something along with Midnight Sparkle."
" I'm surprised she didn't do something to make the Wizzrobe more difficult than it was."
" Maybe she thought you would die by his hands?"
" I don't know but what I do know is that I need to use one of my potions."
" You did suffer quite a lot of burns."
" Don't I know it." I said as I took out a Red Potion from behind my back. " I prefer dealing with fire magic as opposed to ice magic as the latter is chilling to the bone." I uncorked the bottle, swallowed the contents, and relaxed as the magic began working its charm and my wounds slowly disappeared. " Good thing you got me into the habit of bring along potions before coming into these temples otherwise I'd still be walking around with injuries all across my body. While I wish I had more bottles, four has proven to be enough considering what we've encountered so far." Once my body was fully recovered, I got back up before running on the spot for a few seconds.
" You might still get some more bottles later on if you're lucky."
" I hope so."
" Anyway, we should continue on from here but be sure to open that treasure chest." Twilight said. " You worked awfully hard to defeat that Wizzrobe so you should indulge in the reward that appeared when you defeated him."
Switching out the bow for the Hookshot, I made sure to wait until there was a pause in-between the falling rocks before making my move. Unlike the room with the pool of lava and the red emblem, the rocks were falling in different time intervals in addition to seeing more of them. After watching so many dropping down from above and smashing to pieces, I deduced that there was at least a ten second gap between drops. It wasn't much time but I needed to make it count or else my Red Potion would have gone to waste. Again, having a means of protecting myself via a magic spell would have made this an non-issue for me.
When the gap finally happened, I quickly ran out towards the middle of the room, turned around, aimed my Hookshot up at the chest, and fired the chain where it latched onto the chest and I pulled myself up to the chest just as the rocks started falling again like before. Kicking the chest open, a Stray Fairy came out before entering my body giving me twelve but I felt a little miffed over the fact that acquiring it involved defeating an enemy that didn't really need to be defeated to begin with. I blamed whoever came up with such a twisted condition for one Stray Fairy instead of say hiding the fairy in a secret location.
In any case, I only had three more Stray Fairies left with one requiring me to flip the temple back to its original state if that one chest contained one. Since there was no door I could use to reach the next room, I walked down the stairs to the next level and entered a large open area where three Poes were flying about. None of them had noticed me yet they would prove bothersome especially since flying was needed here given there was a Deku Flower by my feet. A door was located at the end of the room so I knew where I needed to go but first the Poes had to be removed or else one of them could knock me mid-flight into the abyss below.
" I'm hoping you know what to do here, Sunset."
I nodded. " I'm not going to cross until I get rid of these Poes."
" As you know, if you lock onto them long enough, they will disappear and you'll need to disengage the lock so that they can reappear later." Twilight said. " This will make it difficult to hit them but it's the only way unless you wanted to ignore them." I blinked a few times prompting Her Highness to inquire about it. " Um, what's wrong, Sunset? Did I say something I shouldn't have or did I cause some slight confusion?"
" What do you mean by 'lock onto them'? I've never done anything of the sort."
Princess Twilight was surprised at my answer. " Really? You've never actually done that before? I thought you would have known about it especially since your previous journey had similar concepts according to your own words and not mine. Still, I'm just surprised you've never tried locking onto a monster." Her Highness' face went pale as though she couldn't fathom what I had said though honestly, I was just as surprised as she was as Spike said something to that effect--I couldn't really remember if he did or not--at the time. " Well, I suppose you should learn about locking on despite my own knowledge being limited."
" And how do you know of it?"
" Tatl's memories."
I rolled my eyes. " I might have known."
" Anyway, I can lock onto a monster for you in which my body will glow yellow." Twilight said. " As long as I am locked onto something, you will never lose track of it unless you choose to break away from it or it somehow breaks the lock. I can also lock onto objects where I will glow green and people where I will glow blue. I always thought you knew about this but simply chose to use your own instincts instead."
" Now I wish I had."
" Better late than never, right?"
I mumbled under my breath. Had I used such an ability earlier, a lot of the problems I had when I fought monsters would have been so much easier in that I could have always kept tabs on where monsters went without having to scramble about to find them. I could have also used this ability during my previous journey as this video game world was an upgraded version of what I explored before but using a more restrictive means of getting around via the seventy-two hour time limit. I could only blame myself for not seeing the obvious much sooner thus Her Highness was absolved of any wrong doing for not mentioning it to me sooner.
I looked at the Poes to see that they still hadn't noticed me. " So, I can't use you to target them?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. " I'm afraid not so you'll have to do what you've been doing this entire time to defeat them. While you could use your sword, that would involve luring them over and I doubt they are interested in anything other than flying around freely. You'll need to use arrows though I personally suggest the Light Arrows. Normally, it would take several arrows to bring down a Poe but a Light Arrow might require just the one arrow since they are undead monsters after all."
I still had some magic leftover after my fight with the Red Wizzrobe so I could shoot the Poes down with Light Arrows but I needed for them to come at me otherwise I would have trouble since their current movement pattern was tricky to work around. Stepping forward a few paces, one of the Poes took notice and began flying forward swinging its lantern about in a frenzy. I put away the Hookshot and took out my bow, aimed, and fired a Light Arrow destroying it completely though its shattered body dropped into the abyss below. The next one then noticed and flew towards me resulting in the same thing happening to it that happened to the other.
The remaining Poe had no intention of coming over and was flying about in an area of the room that was away from where I needed to go. If I were to fly over to the other side without drifting towards it, I could avoid it completely. Since this next part involved using a Deku Scrub, I switched my bow with the Deku Mask, placed it on my face, and began convulsing as my body shimmered from human to Deku in the blink of an eye. Even after all that, the Poe still wasn't paying attention but that wasn't my problem so long as it didn't decide to change its mind at the last minute and make its way over to me.
Jumping into the Deku Flower, I launched myself from it and floated over to the other side where the door was, and when I landed, I was about to go through the door when I noticed an alcove to my right. It wasn't a dead-end as it continued onward but I needed some verification. I took out the Dungeon Map, unfurled it, and took a closer look. There was a treasure chest icon located at the end of an oddly shaped room and could be either another Stray Fairy or something else. Mulling it over in my head, I decided it would be worth checking it out but before I could launch myself from the Deku Flowe, a cucco suddenly cawed out.
Dawn of the Second Day - 48 Hours Remain.
Dawn had come!? When!? How!? I didn't recall seeing any changes to my surroundings but then everything had been inverted including the sky and the ground so I most likely couldn't see anything as it was all beneath my feet. Had my fight with the Red Wizzrobe lasted the duration of the first night? It certainly didn't feel that way from my perspective but there was no point dwelling over something that I couldn't control. I had two whole days left to get through this temple and I needed them especially with powerful enemies still waiting for me to reach their respective locations.
I jumped into the Deku Flower and launched myself over to the alcove but when I landed, clapping sounds were coming from a familiar looking face. " I was expecting that wizard to have killed you yet here you are having made it to this very point. I knew I should have done something to give that wizard more of an edge but I assumed you would be no match for him and all those falling rocks. That's what I get for overestimating some of the creatures of this world."
" Come to get under my skin again, Midnight Sparkle?" I asked.
" You say that like it's a bad thing and that really hurts my feelings you know." Midnight Sparkle answered. " No, I'm not here to annoy you nor am I here to fight you. I've been spending these last couple of hours honing my new power and the results have been most lucrative. I reckon I will reach my full potential within the next little while so when that happens, then I will finally do battle with you or something to that effect. To be fair, I'd rather not get my hands dirty with physical combat as I'm more of a hands-off kind of person unlike your now deceased other self, who was insistent on getting up close and personal with everything she did."
" Then would that make you a coward still?"
Midnight Sparkle glared at me. " Call it whatever you want but know that it just makes you a liar."
" Okay, then fight me already!"
" Why would I want to fight against a wooden twig creature?"
I looked down and remembered that I was still in my Deku Scrub body. " I just need to take this mask off and then I will show you." My heart then sent a signal to my brain that I was allowing my anger to take control of my emotions so I slowly began to change the subject. " I'll face you when you feel ready to do so but no sooner. I would prefer beating you when you're at your best and when you think you have achieved total victory."
" Quite the shift in attitude."
" I have my reasons."
" Maybe you're not like Sunset Demon after all." Midnight Sparkle said. " Consider that a compliment, Sunset Shimmer, but don't expect me to do it often. I will leave you two alone to go about whatever business you were doing but don't think I won't continue making things more difficult for you. I do so enjoy using my power in such creative ways. In fact, I have something in mind just up ahead so have fun with it."
She then disappeared by walking into the wall but I couldn't help but feel worried about what she had said. Her power had grown according to her own words and that spelt trouble for me as when I end up fighting her, she would have a tremendous advantage. Unfortunately, Midnight Sparkle made sure not to say anything about what she had been doing so I was now forced to guess as to her intentions. I needed to stop her from killing my friends and acquiring all of the magic from Equestria yet she needed me and Princess Twilight dead as only we--Princess Twilight and myself--stood in her way within the confines of this world.
" Was I ever that demented?" Twilight asked.
" Well... There was that one time when you told me that you used a spell to make everyone in Ponyville obsess over a doll to the point where they all fought over it."
Princess Twilight blushed. " Not one of my best moments I know, but I was so desperate to give Princess Celestia a Friendship Report. I kept on looking for a problem to solve and when I couldn't find one, I decided to make one and pretty much lost my sanity. Midnight Sparkle is much worse than I ever was and that makes her dangerous. If she is the evil version of the human version of myself, she could be capable of anything."
" Your other self, Twilight Sparkle, had an inferiority complex."
" That would do it."
" Midnight Sparkle is essentially an amalgamation of Twilight Sparkle, Equestrian Magic from six individuals, a hidden darkness that came from Twilight Sparkle's heart, and the portal you use to go between the world I call home and Equestria." I said. " You'd think all of those different attributes would have driven her insane but she remained pretty calm even when she began using her power to destroy the human world in her bid to get her hands on the magic from Equestria. No, I think whatever she got from this temple has driven her to the brink of insanity and she has become oblivious to it."
" Didn't Sunset Demon warn us about that?"
I nodded. " And she paid the ultimate price for it despite wanting it in the end."
" Maybe I should have stayed long enough to give Twilight Sparkle some pointers on not succumbing to the darkness."
" You had your duties as a princess to deal with."
" I know but I should have helped her."
" We each have our respective roles to play, Twilight." I said. " You are an alicorn and despite how difficult it can get for you sometimes, you were chosen to ascend, a decision that Princess Celestia wasn't wrong about in terms of her judgment though she was wrong about me. I've accepted the fact that I'm not worthy to become an alicorn and I doubt that it will ever happen, but I'm using my time to help out others to make sure they don't make the same mistake that made me into a monster. If anyone can help Twilight Sparkle, it would be me as she went through the same experience I did. I'll continue showing her the right path even if it takes years for her to find peace with what happened."
" You've changed so much since our initial encounter." Twilight said. " But, do you really want to become an alicorn?"
I nodded. " Yeah... I mean, it's been my life's dream in Equestria to become one as Princess Celestia personally trained me for the role, but I was too greedy with the thought of having so much power in my hooves and I never understood humility until much later. Even if I were to return to Equestria after all this time and reconcile with her, Princess Celestia would never give me another chance even if she wanted to. I was a failed prodigy, Twilight, and nothing will ever change that distinction."
" Sunset..."
" If I become an alicorn, great." I said. " If not then that's fine as it wasn't meant to be. Anyway, we've daudled around here long enough. We should keep on going if we're going to complete this temple." Deep down, being an alicorn was still a passionate desire of mine yet I knew that I had to accept reality. My chance came and went and Princess Twilight achieved what I couldn't as she understood the meaning of friendship, compassion, and above all, humility. Her Highness was worthy of being a princess even if she didn't always like the responsibilities that were associated with it.
Walking forward and turning to the right, the path split off into several directions yet straight ahead of me was a strange looking statue that looked similar to an Armos, yet it was taller and closely resembled a knight. As soon as I got close enough, it suddenly floated upwards into the air before crashing back down, the impact of its landing created a tremor that knocked me back and down onto my butt whilst damaging me at the same time. As I got back up, it ascended again and started floating about as I wasn't close enough for it to attack me, but then I noticed the glowing symbol that appeared on its chest.
" This is a new monster, Sunset."
" Well, I wanted one and now I've got it."
" This creature is called a Death Armos." Twilight said. " When you get close to one, it will begin floating about in the air before crashing to the ground to inflict damage through means of a powerful tremor which we've just witnessed."
" How do I go about defeating it?"
" Did you notice the glowing mark on its chest?" Twilight asked. " I nodded and she continued. " That symbol is the same as the red emblems we've seen throughout the inverted side of the temple so if you were to use a Light Arrow when that mark is glowing, the Death Armos will be defeated but don't underestimate it. It will perform one final ground pound before exploding, creating a massive radius in the process."
" So only a Light Arrow can defeat it?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes so be sure to fire when the mark is glowing otherwise your arrow will do nothing."
I couldn't use Light Arrows as a Deku Scrub so I grabbed my face, pulled off the Deku Mask, and flipped back my hair only to get caught on the fringe of a second ground pound attack from the Death Armos. I got back up onto my feet, took out the Hero's Bow, and aimed up at the flying statue as it began floating about again. When the mark on its chest began glowing, I fired just when it was about to attack again, and it immediately turned upside-down before slamming its head into the ground. I thought it was a pretty odd thing to do but then it pulled itself out from the ground and exploded, knocking me back again until nothing remained of it.
The sounds of another Death Armos could be heard coming from my left so I turned in that direction and saw another one floating about yet my eyes were more interested in the blue switch that could be seen behind it. I sighed knowing that I most likely had to play the Elergy of Emptiness but considering how many twists this temple had presented thus far, I wasn't really surprised at having to once again rely on a familiar trend. Aiming my bow and moving towards the second Death Armos, it floated upwards and began moving before crashing down into the ground--I wasn't near it when it used its ground pound so I didn't get knocked down or took any damage.
When it got back up into the air, I fired a Light Arrow at the glowing mark on its chest causing it to turn upside-down and crash into the ground before lifting itself up a little followed by exploding though it did drop a Magic Jar that I happily picked up as I had been using an awful lot lately. Walking up to the blue switch, I began looking around to see what else there was and I noticed a treasure chest surrounded by flames to my left and a Death Armos to my right though it wasn't moving. Upon a closer inspection, another Death Armos was lurking next to the chest.
Stepping on the switch caused the flames surrounding the chest to disappear so then I took out the Ocarina of Time from the pouch on my belt, played the Elergy of Emptiness, and walked forward before looking behind me and seeing my shell appear on the switch to keep it pressed. Walking over to the Death Armos, it floated upwards when I got close and I fired a Light Arrow when the mark on its chest glowed, flipping it upside-down where it crashed into the ground before lifting itself upwards and exploded leaving the chest unguarded. Kicking the chest open, I took out a small key though I was expecting a Stray Fairy instead.
Coming this way proved effective as had I gone the other way, I would have reached a dead-end in the form of a locked door, and be forced to backtrack the way back here to obtain the key needed to open it. I took out the Dungeon Map, unfurled it, and looked to see if I could find a keyhole symbol, but there wasn't any and that meant I had to find the locked door either by dumb luck or through trial and error. Since I couldn't go any further in my current direction, I began to make my way back to where the other door was and seeing where it would take me--I ignored the remaining Death Armos as there was no need to destroy it.
" Anju! Where are you going?"
" Mother!" Scootaloo answered in surprise. " Um... Well, you see..."
" Is that a letter you've got hidden behind your back?" Misty Fly asked.
" I'm sorry."
Misty Fly sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. " And here I thought you would've gotten over him after what I said to you the other night." She folded her arms and slightly lurched her head forward. " You intend on mailing that letter in hopes that Kafei will respond to you?
Scootaloo nodded. " I'm sorry, mother, but I thought about it as I slept last night and have concluded that I simply cannot get over Kafei. I know his actions as of late have made you skeptical of his faithfulness yet that's no excuse to decry him when you don't even know what caused his disappearance." Scootaloo then cowered a little and looked down at the ground to avoid looking directly into the eyes of her mother. " I'm sorry. Kafei means so much to me and even now I pray that he will come home."
Misty Fly sighed. " You remind me a lot of myself when I was that age."
" I do?"
Misty Fly nodded. " I was young, attractive, and believed I had found the right person to settle down and start a family with them. Your father, Tortus, was a shy man who enjoyed his work and never once complained about doing chores for his step-mother, your grandmother. There was something special about him that made him stand out amongst the other suitors who were trying to court me and some of the other women in town said that he was nothing but a scoundrel who would take advantage of my feelings. I never listened to their words as they knew nothing about your father. He was a good provider and loyal to no end."
" Reminds you of someone?"
" You mean Kafei, right?"
" Yes, mother."
Misty Fly was taken aback before lowering her head. " I guess the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. You definitely take after me, Anju, and I can see that you are determined to see this through and wait for Kafei to return. While I will apologize for how I treated him the other night, I will not defend his current actions nor defend his parents lack of enthusiasm when it comes to finding him."
" The mayor and her husband aren't able to find him as they do not know where he is."
" I see that as a lousy excuse."
" Mother!!!!"
" I am sorry, Anju, but that's how I feel about his parents."
Scootaloo stepped forward towards Misty Fly, anger clearly expressed across her face. " I'm sorry, mother, but your attitude towards Kafei's parents is both unwarranted and uncalled for on all levels. You know full well that Mayor Dotour is struggling to deal with the town militia and the Carnival Committee with regards to the Carnival of Time that is supposed to be held tomorrow at midnight. As for her husband, he has been searching for someone who can find Kafei but has also had to cancel some performances according to what I heard that one gruff man say before he went inside the Milk Bar."
" And yet, Kafei is still missing."
" I know he will return."
" Do you honestly believe that?"
Scootaloo nodded. " With every last fibre of my heart."
Misty Fly sighed. " I see that it's pointless to continue arguing with you, Anju."
" I'm sorry."
" If you want to go and mail off that letter, I won't stand in your way." Misty Fly said. " However, I will only give you until tomorrow morning to show me absolute proof that he still remains faithful and not abandoned you for someone else. We still plan on fleeing Clock Town should that accursed moon above our heads gets any closer and will take refuge down at the ranch so hopefully we can remain there until things calm down before coming back here again. We won't leave until tomorrow so that gives you the entire day to bring me the necessary proof."
Scootaloo smiled. " Thank you, mother."
" By the way, I want you to run some errands for me." Misty Fly said as she took out a small piece of paper from her pocket. " We're running low on some supplies and I need you to pick some up after mailing off that letter. I would do it myself but someone has to mind the Stock Pot Inn since you don't work until later this evening." She handed Scootaloo the piece of paper and ushered her to get on with the task. " Take care of those errands quickly, Anju, and you can use the remaining time to show me the proof that I've requested. Take as much time as you need as you could do with something to distract you from all that unnecessary stress."
Scootaloo slowly nodded, turned, and walked away leaving Misty Fly to wonder if her daughter was going to be okay after that intense exchange. She knew that her words towards Kafei were harsh and that she was only pushing her daughter away by choosing to show disdain towards the man she had hoped to marry, yet she believed it was best for her to find someone else who was faithful to her and who wouldn't cause her worry. Deep down, she actually hoped Kafei would be the one and had hoped for them to start a family yet his parents' lack of incentive towards finding him and blaming Scootaloo only fueled her overall disdain.
At that moment, Misty Fly noticed the local postman running up towards her. The postman, Aria Blaze of the Dazzlings, had an anxious look on her face as she approached the inn before screeching to a stop. " Excuse me, madam, but have you seen Anju?"
" My daughter?"
Aria nodded. " Yes. I have a letter here for her from someone and it was given the designation of 'special delivery' so I came here as fast as I could."
" Do you know who sent it?"
" Someone sent it."
" Do you know the name?"
" There was no name on the letter other than Anju's." Aria answered. " And before you ask, I do not where the letter originated from other than from a post box somewhere. Before coming here to make this delivery, I brought this up with the Post Master to get his opinion of it and he said to deliver it as usual since that's my job and all. Unfortunately, Anju isn't here right now so I'll have to come back later when she is here."
" Why don't I take it off your hands?"
Aria shook her head. " That goes against the postal worker's civic code of delivering letters to the correct people."
Misty Fly began getting annoyed. " Is it no wonder that your ethics are flawed."
" Say what you want but I have to follow the civic code no matter what." Aria said. She then looked at her watch and gasped when she saw what time it was. " Ack! I've wasted too much time talking and fell behind schedule. I'm going to be in so much trouble with the Post Master if I suddenly started becoming tardy." Looking back and forth between Misty Fly and the letter she held in her hand, Aria looked to be suffering from some slight pain before sighing and handing over the letter. " I normally don't do this but I must get back on schedule right away so I trust you will give that to Anju when she comes back?"
Misty Fly nodded. " I will make sure she gets it."
She turned and was about to go back inside when Aria dashed around in front of her and wagged her finger. " And do not read that letter even if you get a tremendous urge to do so. That letter is meant for Anju only! Reading someone else's letter is an offence in Clock Town so I implore you to get rid of such thoughts. Now, I must get back to work or else my schedule will be even further disoriented. Please say hello to Anju for me." Aria turned and began running towards a nearby post box but not the one Scootaloo had gone to leaving Misty Fly to ponder over what to do next.
It didn't take long for me to make it back to where the three Poes had been flying about--only the one was there as the others hadn't re-spawned due to me not having actually left the room proper--but before going through the door, I had to jump across a small gap. It wasn't that big of a gap so I didn't need to use the Bunny Hood but I decided to go with a running jump instead so that I would have enough momentum and not miss. Taking several steps backwards, I ran and jumped across, landing next to the door, and went through it and was in a room that looked identical to what I had just came from.
This room consisted of two ledges on either end of the room with a cluster of spiked mines to my left, a Deku Flower right in front of me, and a path that went to the right that lead up to another door. I thought about becoming a Deku Scrub and checking out the door at the other end of the room yet Princess Twilight suggested to go right instead. I mulled it over for a few moments before agreeing to follow her advice but when I asked why she wanted me to go that way, Her Highness said she felt a strong dark power emanating from behind the other door. That was enough incentive for me to turn right and open the door to the next room.
As soon as the door closed behind me, the sound of a ground pound to my right almost scared me out of my wits. I looked and noticed another Death Armos floating about on a very small ledge guarding a regular looking switch. Between me and the ledge was a small gap that dropped down into the endless abyss of the sky so I knew not to jump over to it or else get knocked to my death by the Death Armos--its name was now warranted. Taking out the Hero's Bow, I fired a Light Arrow when its mark began glowing, and it turned upside-down before slamming into the ground, raising itself up slightly, and exploded leaving a Magic Jar behind.
Jumping over and collecting the Magic Jar, I then pressed the switch and a small treasure chest appeared on the ceiling much to my annoyance. Again, I would need to flip the temple back to its original state in order to open up the chest. As I continued looking up, I felt that this room was familiar to me until I realized that I was back in the entrance room but in a section that didn't connect with anything else forcing me to backtrack to the previous room and fly across using the Deku Flower. Jumping over to the previous ledge and entering the previous room, I took out the Deku Mask but Princess Twilight stopped me from putting it on my face.
" Why did you stop me?" I asked.
" Judging from how big this room is, you won't be able to fly over to the door on the opposite side." Twilight answered.
" So what should I do?"
" There's an alcove where those exploding mines are." Twilight answered. " If you were to try and make your way over to the alcove, you might accidentally collide with a mine resulting in you falling down to your death. Maybe you could cause them to blow up by using a regular arrow, not a magic one as you need to conserve magic for any Death Armos we might encounter or something else for that matter."
" Those mines are rather small targets."
" Perhaps but you've had to hit much smaller things them those."
" True."
" If you're not feeling confident then try to get as close as possible without stepping off the edge."
Walking up to the Deku Flower, I took out the Hero's Bow and replaced the Light Arrow with a regular one before aiming up at the exploding mines. My first shot completely missed the target--only by a few inches--but my second connected though it didn't cause an explosion. I then tried shooting a different mine in hopes that would give me the desired result but that failed as well so I fired at the third mine resulting in it colliding with the one to its left blowing them both up. Unfortunately, this meant the remaining mine was still there and could still pose a problem but there was no other choice; I had to reach that alcove.
Placing the Deku Mask on my face, I began convulsing though I made sure to move back towards the door in case I accidentally walked off into the endless sky below--a horrid thought indeed despite how beautiful the sky looked at this time of the day. My body shimmered from human to Deku until my transformation was complete and from there, I dove down into the Deku Flower before launching myself from it, and turned slightly left so that I could fly over to the alcove whilst avoiding the mine. My flower accidentally touched the mine, unfortunately, causing it to explode, yet I was pushed into the alcove, a huge amount of luck if I ever saw it.
As soon as I landed on my face, two pots suddenly floated upwards before slamming themselves into me. While they did release a couple of recovery hearts upon shattering, I still took some damage not to mention having pieces of ceramic stuck on various parts of my wooden body. It took a few moments to pull them out--each one was painful--and I collected the hearts before they disappeared. When that was done, I dove into the Deku Flower and launched myself, heading to the left and flying over to the door. As I flew, the thought of the kinds of traps Midnight Sparkle had in store began to plague my mind.
Many of her traps had revolved around fire, a simple trap if there ever was one, yet it had proven effective since it meant having to navigate through some difficult sections without burning myself alive in the process. Did she view me as not being worth her time? Or was she testing my resolve with regards to doing things under certain conditions? I had no answer to either question nor any other question my mind could come up with. Midnight Sparkle had gotten unpredictable and that made her even more dangerous than she was during the Friendship Games. I had to keep up with her mood changes or else die.
Landing in front of the door, I opened it and entered the next room which consisted of a long corridor that was swarming with Blue Bubbles. I had to be careful they didn't hit me or else my sword would become disabled due to their curse. Either side of me was metal fencing to keep me from falling out and I realized the corridor was another walkway. In fact, this was the same walkway I saw in the room that featured the air currents I used to reach the ceiling. It was nice how everything was now starting to come together in the temple and it made traversing it that much easier.
Grabbing my face, I pulled off the Deku Mask, and flipped back my hair before stepping forward when a series of spikes suddenly shot up from the ground. I was so surprised by this sudden revelation that it caused me to fall down onto my butt. The spikes themselves were roughly half the length between the floor and ceiling so I couldn't get past them through conventional means yet there was something about them that felt wrong, like they weren't meant to be there. I slapped my forehead upon realizing that Midnight Sparkle was behind this yet this was different from what she had done prior. I feared she was growing more powerful by the moment.
" A spike trap..." Twilight began. " I definitely wasn't expecting this."
" This is Midnight Sparkle's doing."
Princess Twilight nodded. " Oh I agree completely, Sunset. She has an admiration for flare and grandeur by wanting to go all out as a means of proving her point."
" Like you haven't done anything like that yourself, Princess." Midnight Sparkle said, her voice echoing all around.
" What!? Me!?" Twilight exclaimed. " I don't know what you're talking about."
" Oh don't try to hide the truth from me."
" Okay, so I loved showing off my magic when I was younger as a means of impressing Princess Celestia."
Midnight Sparkle laughed. " Guess a part of your personality exists within me, proof that Twilight Sparkle is more like you than you even realize. Yes, I wanted to make this trap a lot more glamourous than the previous ones so I opted to go with spikes instead of fire and lasers."
" At least I showed off for the right reasons."
" Like you're so high and mighty, Princess."
" I don't aim to be."
" And yet you are a princess while Sunset is nothing but a commoner."
Princess Twilight lashed out. " That may be so but Sunset has proven time and again that she is more than worthy of becoming a princess. Whether it happens or not is up to fate but I won't let you tarnish her good name. She is everything you are but better because of her life choices. You can't be compared to Sunset under any circumstances. You can't even be compared to Twilight Sparkle! She may have her faults but at least she is willing to change for the better unlike a demonic monster who's nothing more than a blight that soils the good name of someone who has her whole life to look forward to."
Midnight Sparkle was silent for a few moments before speaking. " I hope those spikes kill you tenfold but if not then I want to personally see you, Princess. Sunset, I'm afraid you'll have to take a back seat while Her Highness and I have a private moment with one another."
As her voice trailed off, I couldn't help but be surprised at how Twilight was so assertive in the face of Midnight Sparkle. I was also surprised at how she stood up for me the way she did and how she still believed that was possible for me to become an alicorn someday even when I doubted it. Her Highness truly had my best interests in her heart and was willing to defend them no matter what anyone said about her in return. Now I had to live up to her expectations and there was no way I was going to allow Midnight Sparkle to win. Then again, she wanted Her Highness instead of me, a sign that a personal grudge between them had formed.
Looking at the spikes, they would rise up from the ground, remain that way for a few seconds, then go back down and the process would repeat itself a few seconds later. There were gaps in-between some of them, safe areas I could stand on without being poked by the spikes. I suspected that being poked once would kill me so I had to be more cautious than ever before whilst also taking into account the Blue Bubbles who were apparently unaffected--I was actually jealous of them for that. I needed to pick them off with arrows so that I could focus on avoiding the sudden inclusion of spikes courtesy of Midnight Sparkle.
Taking out my bow, I moved forward and the spikes immediately shot upward though there was a safe spot a few spaces to my right. Side-stepping over to it and walking forward, the next set of spikes appeared with the previous ones disappearing. I was caught by surprise by the sudden appearance of these spikes resulting in my tunic getting ripped near my butt and my leg being grazed by one spike. It wasn't a terrible wound--no blood meant I could easily walk it off-so I kept moving when a Blue Bubble took notice of my approach and began moving towards me, its maw wide open and cackling every so softly.
Firing four arrows, the first three missed while the last one struck and destroyed the Blue Bubble--I really needed to either work on my aim or not freak out when a monster was coming closer to where I was standing--allowing me to continue. The previous spikes then disappeared before the next ones popped up with the safe spot being slightly to my left but it involved jumping over a couple of spikes to reach it. Gulping, I leapt over them and landed, my foot getting grazed this time--badly I might add--resulting in searing pain running through my body but I had to keep going no matter what pain I had to endure.
The next Blue Bubble came up to me and I dispatched it with a single arrow--I didn't freak out that time--before walking forward and jumping to the next safe spot, yet when I landed, more spikes suddenly appeared from the ceiling, skewering my back. It wasn't a fatal wound--it was painful though--so I could keep going yet I was now forced to move slower and adjust my movements carefully. I moved forward and more spikes shot out from the ground and ceiling with only the one safe spot right in the middle that required a dive. I knew how to dive but as a Zora as opposed to a human but I couldn't be picky about it.
Stepping backwards, I then ran and dove in-between the spikes, my tunic getting shredded in places while my arms and legs were grazed--it was better than being pierced in a fatal manner--leaving the one Blue Bubble to contend with. I wasn't ready to attack with my bow so it flew over and collided with me, my body glowing in a blue hue to signal that I had been cursed and wouldn't be able to use my sword for a couple of minutes. The Blue Bubble then charged so I ducked down while it floated past allowing me to sneak by without having to deal with it, but then it turned around so I hauled buns, dodging spikes, and jumping until I finally made it to the door.
" That was ridiculous!" I said whilst catching my breath.
" Midnight Sparkle must be losing her sanity."
" I'm surprised she hasn't already."
" She is the demonic version of Twilight Sparkle who in turn is the human version of me." Twilight said. " It would take an awful lot for me to lose my grip on reality so the same must apply with Midnight Sparkle. She may be in control right now but she could snap at any moment just like I would whenever stress would take its toll."
" And with her new power, an insane Midnight Sparkle is the worst possible scenario."
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes. If she were to defeat us here, she will go after our friends and they wouldn't stand a chance against her. She can't be allowed to leave the temple so we have to defeat her here though I'm not sure how we're supposed to keep her defeated." Her Highness looked at me glumly and I knew what it meant. My expression went glum as well over the notion that so long as the doors of the Stone Tower remained open, she could come back as many times as she wanted. " Unless we close those doors, she will keep coming back in an endless fashion."
" So for now, she's practically invincible."
" Essentially."
I wasn't liking that outcome one bit and yet it was unfortunately true. She practically had infinite lives while Princess Twilight and I only had the one each. This was the one problem when going up against the undead... they could come back easily and there was nothing that could be done unless the source of their resurrection was brought to an end. Opening the door and entering the next room, the door locked behind me via iron bars and everything suddenly went dark as though someone has turned out the lights. I could sense a tremendous evil presence all around me though it definitely wasn't Midnight Sparkle.
" I don't like this place, Twilight."
" Neither do I."
" We can't go back as the door is locked."
" Then we need to see if we can find some light."
Suddenly, I could hear the sound of bats flying above me so I looked up and my entire body froze. Flying close to the ceiling were a countless number of bats that somehow appeared out of nowhere and began circling about several times before descending downwards. As they continued circling about, a strange creature appeared in the middle of the flock wrapped in a cape--more like a cloak--that comprised of additional bats and within the cloak was some kind of glowing yellow orb that looked to be a weak point. It then produced a wicked looking scythe, clutched it in its hand, and swung it about before floating over towards me.
" Um, Twilight?" I asked as I backed away from this creature. " What in the world is this thing?"
" I was afraid we might run into a powerful monster."
" Twilight?"
" Oh! Right!" Twilight answered. " This creature is known as Gomess. Not only is it scary to look at but its scythe is enough to scare you out of your wits because of how powerful it is in addition to having a huge attack radius. Nothing you have will work unless you could find a way to remove its 'Coat of Keese', the bats that cover that orb, and then you can use anything you have."
I blinked. " I'm sorry but what!?"
" Huh?"
" What did you call that cloak?"
" The Coat of Keese?"
" What the heck does that even mean?" I asked. " I mean, seriously what is that?"
Princess Twilight shrugged. " That's what it's called, Sunset. I didn't come up with the name but I agree that I don't understand what it means. In any case, you need to remove that coat and hit that orb. I'm sure you've figured out that the orb is the weak point."
I nodded. " A shame that I can't see much though."
" Perhaps this creature is responsible for it?"
" I guess."
" Maybe you can find a way to make things brighter?"
That sounded like a hint to use a Light Arrow to make the room brighter so I took out the Hero's Bow, switched my arrows, and fired it up at the ceiling. The arrow brightened that part of the ceiling though it had an adverse effect from Gomess who suddenly looked at me with hatred in its eyes. The bats then began flying towards me before flapping about and disorienting me yet this allowed Gomess to come right up next to me and slashing my stomach using that powerful scythe. It felt like my entire body had been hit by a truck resulting in me being sent back and crashing into the wall.
It was apparent to me that trying to light up the room served to anger Gomess and its scythe was incredibly strong. I had no idea if Midnight Sparkle had done something to make this creature stronger than usual but I wasn't in any position to try and figure that out. The bats flew at me again and began their disorienting tactic but then I switched to my sword and started cutting down as many as possible yet this was pointless ad they continued spawning from its cloak. After destroying what felt like dozens of bats--it was actually fifteen--I needed another plan so I switched back to the bow and fired a Light Arrow at Gomess.
The arrow seemed to have no effect on the creature yet it did cause the bats surrounding the yellow orb to fly away thus exposing it. With its weak point exposed, Gomess began swinging its scythe around in circles before moving forward towards me. I fired another Light Arrow and it bounced off due to hitting the scythe and before I could fire off another one, it ran me over and I found myself flat on my face. It continued on moving in this manner until it calmed down but then the bats returned and covered up the orb again. This meant I had to be quick or else they would re-group and protect Gomess' weak point.
I had more than enough arrows to last through this thanks to having the biggest sized quiver, yet my Magic Power wasn't as fortunate as I could only use it for so long until it runs out leaving me with little means other than using that Green Potion--I wanted to save that for an emergency bigger than this. Firing another Light Arrow scared the bats away but before Gomess could react, I switched to my sword and struck its weak point, causing it pain followed by a very nasty relation where it swung its scythe in a cruel arc knocking me off my legs and then doing the same thing again knocking me on the head.
My head wasn't meant to take a wound like that so I quickly checked to make sure it wasn't bleeding--it wasn't so I was most fortunate--yet I knew that additional blows would result in both blood loss and much worse. Turning to face Gomess after getting back up, the bats returned and covered up the weak point so I had to get rid of them again so I prepared to fire another Light Arrow when Gomess twirled its scythe around in circles and slammed into me again. This blow struck my head and it began bleeding profusely leaving me dazed and unable to see what was happening leaving me vulnerable and at Gomess' mercy.