The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask

by Ganondorf8

Chapter 69: The Showdown Between Sun and Star

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask
By Ganondorf8
August 21, 2017
Chapter 69: The Showdown Between Sun and Star.

I was now one step away from acquiring the ultimate mask. According to what the various versions of Adagio had said, I needed to collect twenty-three different masks scattered throughout Termina and I had them all except for one though they never told me where I had to go in order to get my hands on the ultimate mask. Either it was an oversight on their part or they wanted me to figure out on my own as to its location. In any case, one mask remained and my instincts told me that it would come as a result of helping out Scootaloo. I wasn't sure how she would do it but it would come as a result of her actions.

Looking down at the Postman's Hat that Aria gave to me before she ran out of town, I noticed that it looked rather dirty and with a couple of stitches here and there indicating that it was a seasoned mask that had been through an awful lot. While it felt weird holding that which defined Aria's position in town, I wasn't about to complain since she did hand it over to me willingly after I helped her finally achieve the freedom that had eluded her. Her mask was a symbol of authority in that she provided a vital service for everyone in town yet I could never replace her given this wasn't my world and everything would soon go back to normal.

Before going back inside to speak with Troubleshoes, my mind compelled me to try out the Postman's Hat and see what it was capable of doing. Placing it on my head, it definitely didn't feel right seeing as I was already wearing a hat--I was essentially wearing one hat on top of the other--but I felt important from a government perspective. No wonder Aria had such a huge burden on her shoulders. She always had to deliver the mail even during times where she didn't want her and she couldn't complain otherwise she would have lost her job and ended up becoming a drifter out in Termina Field--not likely but it was a possibility. Repressing such emotions must have taken its toll on her health.

Princess Twilight then suggested for me to check out one of the postboxes that were scattered around town since I now hat the Postman's Hat. Fortunately, there was one close by but I felt hesitant towards looking inside given that I wasn't an official postwoman. Her Highness said I had the authority to look inside them and that I shouldn't be afraid to do so given that Aria practically gave me the right when she handed over her mask to me before fleeing town like so many before her. Knowing Her Highness was once again correct, I walked over to the post box where it immediately communicated with me--I still couldn't get used to them doing that.

Unlike before where it said that all mail had to be deposited into them, the post box said that I was doing a very good job of picking up letters and delivering them to where they were supposed to go. I suspected Aria heard this same message over and over every time she removed letters from the post box, and yet, it was such a message that kept her going even during the most difficult of times such as the world coming to an end. No matter what problems stood in her way, Aria would continue on no matter what until she had completed that days' run even if it meant isolating herself from having any relationships with other people.

Suddenly, the post box said that something else had been stuffed inside it that wasn't a letter before spitting it out at me along with a coughing sound. Granted, I wasn't thrilled at the fact that I just been spat on by a post box of all things--no one would ever believe it no matter how hard I would try to tell them if it ever came up--but I was thrilled at seeing a Piece of Heart. Grabbing it, I felt its warm embrace across my body and became stronger once again. Who in their right mind would place something like that in a post box!? Also, how did Aria never once notice there was a non-letter? While it sounded like it was something to think about, I chose not to focus on it as it wasn't really important.

Other than that, there wasn't anything else I could do with the Postman's Hat. A shame really as I felt there could have been more to it than just simply getting to peek inside a post box but I supposed whoever created this game just didn't have any other ideas with the mask apart from the obvious. Grabbing the Postman's Hat, I took it off, and put it away before heading back over to the Milk Bar and going inside via. I still had some unfinished business with Monsieur Aroma so hopefully he wouldn't take up too much time. At the same time, I wanted to hear what Granny Smith had to say as she hadn't fled town either.

Of course, I couldn't waste too much time talking to people since there was a problem when it came to travelling to Ikana. If I were to take the long route through the canyon path that connected Ikana with Termina Field, I would need Epona's help jumping over the barricades whilst avoiding those Real Bombchu and Nejiron that plagued the path. I would also need to use the Hookshot on that one tree. The other route required the Song of Soaring--a much shorter route in both distance and time--but the Owl Statue was a ways into Ikana proper and I would be forced to backtrack a little bit much to my displeasure.

I walked up to Granny Smith first as she had been eyeing me this whole time as I thought to myself. " The bar opens at night, madam." She said.

" Then how come I was able to come in?" I asked.

Granny Smith remained stoic as she answered. " That's because I am currently getting things ready for tonight. I am expecting a big turnout despite the fact that the town has been slowly getting empty because of what has been happening as a result of the moon. Normally, I would ask someone like you to leave as you are clearly too young to be here, but as long as you don't get in the way of my cleaning, you can stay until 10:00pm as that is when you will have to leave. I know it sounds unfair but those are my rules. Besides, this place is members-only. We refuse people who don't have proof of membership even during harsh times like this."

I took out Romani's Mask--it had been a while since I last saw it--and presented it to Granny Smith. " As you can see, I have membership here as I acquired this from the ranch some time ago with the owner's blessing." I couldn't tell her the truth as to how I really acquired the mask otherwise she would have accused me of lying, thievery, or something much worse resulting in having an unfortunate encounter with the town militia.

" You are usually required to wear that mask in here at all times but I will make an exception."

" Because you're not open yet?"

Granny Smith shook her head. " No, because most members usually don't wear them even when I tell them time and time again. It reached the point where my words meant nothing to them so I decided to just go along with it and make the most of the situation. Anyway, you seem like you have no idea what kind of place this is so allow me to tell you about what we do around here." Even though I already knew what this place was, Granny Smith didn't--time paradox strikes again--so I had to let her explain. " We're called a Milk Bar, and we serve the milk of the night to those who have membership."

I decided to play along so as to avoid suspicion. " What kind of milk?"

" You can get just regular milk for about thirty rupees."

" That sounds reasonable."

" Our most popular, of course, is Chateau Romani." Granny Smith said. " It's a vintage milk that comes from Romani Ranch, and the current price is two hundred rupees. You might think it sounds expensive, and it is, but it's worth it."

I was thinking of doing a spit-take but remembered that Applejack mentioned the price to me once. At least... I think she did. " I'm guessing that only the richest people around can afford such a beverage given it requires an arm and a leg to cover the cost."

My words made Granny Smith raise her eyebrow but she shrugged it off. " I'm impressed that you're not surprised at the price of Chateau Romani. Whenever I reveal the price to other patrons, they either faint at the thought or choose to chew me out by saying the price is too much for them. However, there is a reason why it's so expensive yet it depends on who you ask as people are conflicted about it. There are those who consider this milk as a source of Magic Power! It takes just one gulp they say!"

" What do you mean?"

" You don't know?"

I shook my head. " No."

" If you were to drink some Chateau Romani and were capable of using Magic Power, you would have an infinite amount at your disposal." Granny Smith said. " That is why the price is as high as it is. I've never seen anyone with Magic Power come in here in over twenty years of running this bar so I do not know if what people say about Chateau Romani is true or not but it would be nice to witness it for myself." She then looked towards Troubleshoes who appeared glum despite having received the "Special Delivery to Mama" from Aria before looking back at me. " It seems Monsieur Aroma still doesn't know where he is."

" You mean, Kafei?"

Granny Smith nodded. " He has been moping about in here all morning and is sure to do so until we open for business later tonight."

" But he just got a delivery."

" Getting something isn't the same as seeing that person in the flesh."

" Do you think Kafei is gone for good?" I asked, pretending to be curious when in fact I knew Tender Taps was now in Ikana and pursuing Lightning Dust.

"But he's not the type to just run off." Granny Smith answered. " He must have a reason for not showing himself and while his disappearance sounds suspicious, I believe that he will show himself when he feels ready and that the time is right. All I can say to Monsieur Aroma is to continue to believe Kafei will return. If you cannot hold onto that hope then there is nothing to be hopeful for especially when we will all soon die when that moon crashes." She reached down below the counter and pulled up several empty glasses before wiping one of them using a cloth she had been holding this entire time. " Curious?"

" About what?"

" The glasses."

" A little."

" These are not for customers." Granny Smith said. " Members of this club bring their own glasses. That is because some patrons who came here in the past were sick and while I do clean the glasses thoroughly, their germs still contaminate the glass resulting in the sickness spreading to others. We had a pandemic several years ago as a result of this very thing so we had a policy change where you must bring your own glass otherwise we will not serve you."

I then noticed Granny Smith becoming even more gloomy than she was moments ago. I knew why she felt that way and it had to do with what happened at Romani Ranch as a result of what Starlight Glimmer did. While I wanted to comfort her and say everything would be okay, I knew that wasn't the case as Apple Bloom had lost her mind and the cattle had been abducted. Applejack was beside herself with grief and blamed herself for not believing in her little sister's warnings resulting in the ranch suffering financial ruin. From a business standpoint, Granny Smith felt bad because she couldn't get in the shipment of Chateau Romani Applejack was supposed to deliver the other night.

" You seem bothered."

Granny Smith sighed. " It has to do with Romani Ranch."

" I've heard of that place."

" Everyone around here knows about it, madam."

" So why is it bothering you?"

Granny Smith sighed again. " There is a road to the south of town called Milk Road and at the end of this road is where you can find Romani Ranch. Once, it was a place that was accessible to everyone but then something happened that changed everything. No one understands how or why it happened but someone must have pulled a prank out there, because the road was blocked by a huge boulder. It has since been removed by someone from the Carnival Committee but the damage to my business has been done. I can't get any milk in now from the ranch so I'm not sure if I should recommend the Chateau Romani to you."

" You don't think I can handle it?"

Granny Smith shook her head. " I don't have much supply of Chateau Romani and those who are still around are sure to fight over what I have before the moon comes down and destroys everything. I'm sure you've already seen it outside but most people in town have taken refuge by fleeing to Romani Ranch in hopes of surviving. It may be my undoing, but I'm the sort of gal who'll stay at her business through thick and thin."

It was at that point where Troubleshoes finally spoke up. " So that's why you haven't fled yet, Mrs. Barten?"

Granny Smith nodded her head. " Call me stubborn for wanting to remain but I must satisfy my customers with a cool, refreshing beverage of milk. A shame that Gorman isn't coming here tonight. During these last two nights, he drank up a real storm where he became drunk after one too many glasses of milk. He had to be taken back to the Stock Pot Inn by one of his performers and completely collapsed early this morning."

" What!?" Troubleshoes exclaimed. " Why would he go overboard on milk?"

" He didn't say anything other than complain about how big of a failure he was."

" That doesn't sound like Gorman."

" The performer said that he was upset about having his troupe's performance cancelled."

Troubleshoes gulped, the obvious guilt overwhelming him. " I... I suppose I am to blame for cancelling his troupe."

" You had your reasons, Monsieur Aroma."

" I know but I do regret having to cancel his troupe's performance but then I had to cancel others as well."

" Gorman's over-drinking was his own doing."

Troubleshoes waved his hand. " I still feel responsible for him becoming drunk over milk. I am hoping that he makes a full recovery but I doubt it will mean anything given that the world is going to be destroyed sometime before tomorrow morning." He then sighed before grabbing his glass and drinking what remained of his milk. " Gorman can be annoying when he persists on having his way but cancelling the carnival was the only option I had. If he knew what was happening, he would have accepted my decision and not come here to drink away his sorrows resulting in drinking too much."

" Some view it as a means of relieving tension."

" Perhaps I should have explained things."

" But you were concerned about your son."

" Maybe, but I owed it to him to provide a decent explanation."

That was when I decided to speak up as their conversation was starting to drag on a little too long and I had to be in Ikana before it was too late. " Um, excuse me, Monsieur Aroma, but I am the one you hired to go and find out what became of your son, Kafei."

Troubleshoes looked me over a few times only to shrug her shoulders. " You are? Well... I honestly don't recognize you from anywhere. Are you sure you were the one I hired to find my dear Kafei? If you have proof that I did indeed hire you, please show me at once because there is something I wish to give to that person according to what Aria mentioned before she finally fled town after being given a direct order."

I slapped my forehead. How could he not recognize me? I mean, he couldn't recognize me in the first place as I visited him and acquired Kafei's Mask during a different cycle yet I hoped time would have been nice just this once and have someone remember me despite actually not. But, I couldn't have that luxury so I had to show him proof. Fortunately, I did have proof in the form of the very mask he gave me back when I first met him. If this wouldn't convince Troubleshoes then nothing would though it would mean having to leave without getting whatever he was promising because Tender Taps needed my immediate attention.

Taking out Kafei's Mask and placing it on my face, I got Troubleshoes attention by pointing at my face. " Do you recognize me now?"

Troubleshoes' eyes lit up upon seeing the mask he gave me. " Yes, I remember you now. You were the one I hired to find Kafei. I heard from Aria that you were the one who gave her the special delivery that she delivered to me a short while ago that was from Kafei. But, I am surprised that you are still here given the circumstances."

" I have my reasons."

" Are you all right with not fleeing?"

I nodded. " I have to take care of something important that requires me to remain here."

" I must insist that you seek shelter at once by fleeing." Troubleshoes said. " It looks like this is it for this town, you know. You saw the moon, didn't you--of course you did as I doubt no one can say otherwise. It's gotten so huge within the last several hours that those who fled earlier said that it would destroy everything sometime tomorrow morning. That gives us all just under half a day before we all die. Again, I implore you to flee like the townsfolk have done before you. I don't know if you will be able to escape what is sure to happen but it's better than giving you false hope."

" What about the mask I am wearing?"

" Oh yes!" Troubleshoes said. " I was so caught up in talking about you that I forgot all about Kafei."

No wonder Misty Fly felt so strongly against both Mayor Mare and Troubleshoes. They were both more concerned with their own interests rather than Tender Taps' safety but I could easily forgive Mayor Mare as she was stuck having to deal with two groups who refused to budge resulting in her being trapped. Troubleshoes didn't have such an excuse and was therefore a terrible father for not having more worry about his son. While I felt like chewing him, I knew he had been through enough already. Hopefully, he could have some closure knowing his son was still out there.

" As you know, I received that package from him."

" And did you see him in person?"

I nodded slowly. " I did but I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone where he is."

Troubleshoes was surprised but not angry with my answer. " Really? He doesn't want to be seen right now? Well... I suppose I shouldn't be upset since you told me that you have seen him and you did give Aria this special delivery that is definitely from him, but why does Kafei not want to reveal himself especially to his own father? I feel as though I have done something that has offended him in some way."

" He's trying to get back something important."

" Oh?" Troubleshoes asked, his curiosity piquing. " Can you at least tell me what he's trying to get back?"

" A special mask that was stolen from him."

Troubleshoes buried his head into his hands before breathing heavily. " His sun mask... of course! He was supposed to marry Anju tomorrow morning. While I have no problem with their marriage--my wife doesn't have a problem either--Anju's mother has always had issues with Kafei in addition to myself and Mayor Dotour. I had hoped the marriage would have brought our families together but Kafei's disappearance lead to unwarranted suspicion from Anju's mother that he had abandoned her. I never could defend my son as I had to focus on dealing with the carnival whilst my wife is still stuck in that insufferable meeting between the militia and carnival committee."

" What do you intend on doing?"

" I'm going to remain here and hope that Kafei will come back and see me before the end comes."

" Sorry that I couldn't tell you where he is."

" You made a promise to my son and that is good enough for me."

" I should get going now." I said as I turned around to leave.

Before I could leave, Troubleshoes placed his hand on my shoulder and turned me back around to face him. " You cannot leave until I give you a reward for all you have done as my official expert who went and found my son. Now, I know you're probably going to say that you don't need a reward but I insist so do not refuse my gesture. At this point in time, I can give you only something like this." He picked up a bottle that was filled with a strange looking liquid and handed it over to me where I took it from him. " This is a bottle of Chateau Romani, the finest milk in all of Termina."

" Do I get to keep the bottle?"

Troubleshoes nodded. " I have no need of it considering it won't do me any good when we're all dead in a matter of hours. What Mrs. Barten heard about the magical properties within this milk are true. If you possess Magic Power, consuming this will make sure you never run out of it. I have no idea how long the effects will last but it is essential for those who use magic on a regular basis."

" So why are you giving it to me now when the moon is almost upon us?"

" Actually I wanted to give this to you sooner... Really!"

I rolled my eyes. " You don't say."

" In any case, you have gotten your reward from me." Troubleshoes said. " Now, I encourage you to flee town while you can. I know you're one of those brave types who thinks she is invincible but know that not even that Chateau Romani will save you from the imminent destruction that awaits. If anything, just go outside, chug that milk down, and let the effects last as long as possible until the end."

" I've no intention of dying."

Troubleshoes couldn't help but laugh. " A good laugh at this point in time never hurt anyone and you definitely made me feel better. Now, you should be able to reach the ranch before nightfall if you go now and don't dawdle along the way."

Turning around, Troubleshoes began drinking from another bottle he had next to him leaving me to continue on with helping out Tender Taps. While I did appreciate her giving me another bottle--it was my fifth one overall--I had honestly expected more from her than just a bottle of milk that enhanced magic. Were I to confront Starlight on top of the Clock Tower later tonight, I would have had the advantage as infinite magic would give me a chance to oppose the magic from Majora's Mask. But, I couldn't face her just yet as I still had to help solve this love problem for Scootaloo in addition to acquiring the final mask I needed.

I then left the Milk Bar--Granny Smith had since focused on getting the place ready so she didn't notice me leaving--and was soon back outside. Looking up at the sky, I could see that the sun was now moving towards the west indicating that it would soon be nightfall. I needed to make my way over to Ikana and meet up with Tender Taps before it was too late and he got himself into trouble. Lightning Dust didn't seem very threatening but one should never underestimate the skills of a thief. Taking out the Ocarina of Time from the pouch on my belt, I played the Song of Soaring and began to focus on the Owl Statue located in Ikana Village.

Wings protruded from my back, wrapped themselves around me, spun around several times, and I was soon whisked away. While I wanted to ride Epona--she hadn't seen much in the way of action ever since I first entered Ikana, I knew that using her would have taken me much longer to reach Tender Taps given how treacherous the path was. Going the shorter route meant avoiding monsters but it also involved a very deep plunge from what I remembered of the topography of the area. When I arrived moments later in Ikana Village, I felt a chill all around me, the chill of the undead as they roamed freely once more.

Once again, I felt the ravages of what happened when I reset time back to the beginning of the three day cycle. While I had indeed freed the spirits of the dead from their torment by destroying Twinmold and closing up the Stone Tower, everything in Ikana was as it was before. Fortunately, Lightning Dust's hideout wasn't anywhere near what I would consider to be the heart of Ikana. Jumping to the ground below, I walked over to the edge of the clearing until I was looking down at the river that flowed through the canyon, Princess Twilight informing me that she could sense evil all around but told me to ignore it as I didn't need to deal with the Garo anymore.

Gulping, I couldn't help but feel nervous over having to jump from such a high distance. I mean, I had done something similar during my previous journey--I almost died in the process at the time because of a boulder--yet I knew there was no other choice as I had to hurry and find Tender Taps. Closing my eyes, I walked forward and stepped off into thin air before dropping incredibly fast until I smashed into the water below--my life flashing before my eyes during the fall. When I surfaced a few moments later, I quickly raised my shield so as to avoid getting pelted by rocks from the two Octoroks that I used to create ice platforms when I first came here.

Sadly, I couldn't use my bow whilst in the water so I had to rely on a defensive measure until I could get out of the water. I kept my eyes squarely on the two Octoroks in addition to keeping my shield raised as I began swimming around them towards a small dock on the other side of the river. Their rocks bounced off of the Mirror Shield and back at them, destroying each one in turn--surprised that this was a mechanic I forgot about--leaving me with enough breathing room to reach the dock. I climbed out before sitting down to breathe after making such a huge leap of faith only to hear someone singing to themselves further ahead.

Princess Twilight looked up to see who it was. " Lightning Dust is prancing about over there."

I looked up from our hiding spot--the dock was lower down than the main ground giving off the illusion that we were hiding--to see for myself. " I'm actually surprised that she can get past all those Real Bombchu and Nejiron that plague the path connecting Ikana and Termina Field with no problems."

" I suspect she has made that little trek enough times where it has become second nature to her."

" Do you see Tender Taps anywhere?"

Princess Twilight shook her head. " No but he might be hiding somewhere so as to not let Lightning Dust know of his presence."

" Should I go up to her and demand she hand over the mask?"

" That might not be a good idea."

" It is the direct approach you know."

" I know, Sunset, but I think Lightning Dust is nervous with regards to her hideout being discovered." Twilight said. " If she were to notice anyone seeing her interact with the one area of this region where her hideout is, she will most likely flee and our chances of helping Tender Taps sinks completely with no hope for a recovery. Knowing Lightning Dust, and I do thanks to my brief encounter when Spitfire kicked her out of the Wonderbolts Training Academy back in Equestria, she was very arrogant and thought no one would call her out on it but Rainbow Dash did."

" What does that have to do with this?"

" Guess I was just thinking about the past."

I frowned. " Can we focus please?"

Princess Twilight blushed as she slightly bowed. " So sorry, Sunset. Anyway, Lightning Dust is probably the only one who can open up the entrance to her hideout so we need her to do just that. I have a feeling that is what Tender Taps is waiting for so he is most likely over by her hideout right now. If she spots you walking about, she may either run away or try and rob you like she nearly did when we came here initially."

" How do you propose I sneak past her?"

" Given how much equipment you have on you, I doubt sneaking is going to work."

I blushed. " Yeah, all of my stuff would make an annoying sound that is sure to catch her attention."

" So why not hide in plain sight."

" What does that even mean?"

" Think about it for a moment and it will come to you."

I began thinking about what Princess Twilight was getting at before quickly slapping my forehead upon the realization that she was referring to the Stone Mask. I could use it to walk past Lightning Dust without her even knowing. Taking it out from behind my back and placing it on my face, I walked up some steps onto the ground and began approaching her when she suddenly stopped prancing and looked in my direction. I froze on the spot thinking that she had seen me and was surely going to run away but when she resumed her prancing, I breathed a huge of relief knowing that the Stone Mask made me invisible to her eyes.

Not wanting to take a chance with what I had been given, I walked past Lightning Dust and began heading up the path that ran alongside the river. Unlike the rest of Ikana which was gloomy as a result of both the undead and the remnants of the ancient kingdom, this river path was surprisingly pleasant and felt like it had never fallen into decay compared with the rest of the region. That thought quickly changed when Her Highness sensed an evil presence nearby, that of a Garo--it couldn't have been anything else. What it was doing down this path was beyond me but I wasn't about to deal with it as I had saved Ikana once already so summoning it was pointless.

Continuing on up the path, the presence of the Garo disappeared but then I noticed a strange rock formation slightly to my left--I also took off the Stone Mask as I didn't need to wear it now and I doubted Tender Taps would recognize me were I to approach him with it on. There was also a Deku Flower that had no occupant and when I looked left to see what was on the other side of the river, my heart grew excited upon seeing a Piece of Heart on a small platform, but then my heart sank when a Deku Scrub floated in from somewhere and landed in the flower along with his belongings. He was surely the occupant and I doubted he would let me use the flower.

Luckily, he ducked down into the flower as all Deku normally did and that meant Lightning Dust wouldn't run away if she saw him--I doubted she would anyway as she would probably see this Deku Scrub as insane for wanting to live in such a morbid region. Standing behind the boulder was Tender Taps--he looked different without the Keaton Mask on his face--and was looking at something in front of him. I looked in his direction to see a boulder that was clearly out of place with every other boulder. Could this boulder be covering up the entrance to Lightning Dust's hideout? If so then it was a lot more obvious than I thought.

Walking past the Deku Flower, I approached Tender Taps who was relieved to see me. " I found her, green hat girl..."

" You mean the thief who stole your mask?"

Tender Taps nodded. " At first, I lost her in the canyon that connects Termina Field to Ikana and was forced to avoid getting killed by the monsters, but I managed to find her when she stopped to prance about back there. Whether she was trying to deceive me or not, I managed to slip by her and came this way until I was stopped by that unusual looking boulder you can see before you. I have no doubt that this is where her hideout is."

" How can you be sure?"

" How else do you explain such a boulder?"

I shrugged. " Good point."

" She's using this place as her safe house for keeping her stolen goods." Tender Taps said. " Apparently, her name is Sakon according to what I found out. After you left to give that pendant to Anju, Sakon came to the shop last night to sell something, and I followed her all the way out here this morning but not before letting my old friend in on my plans. No doubt you were given both my Keaton Mask and a package meant for my father. You did deliver that package to him, didn't you?"

I nodded. " I had the postwoman deliver it to her.

Tender Taps smiled. " That's good. I know I should have revealed myself to my father but getting back my mask was more important. When this is all said and done, I hope to speak with my father and explain everything though it will be a shock to him when he sees what I look like. Anyway, Sakon's storage for the things she's stolen is on the other side of this rock door, but only she can open it using whatever method she has. I've tried to open the door myself which is how I came to that conclusion. The only way in is to wait for Sakon to arrive after sundown and that won't be for another few hours."

" Can you wait that long?"

" Even if I have to wait until the end of time, I will do so." Tender Taps answered. " I've made a promise to Anju. She will show up."

Princess Twilight then tapped me on the shoulder and whispered into my ear. " At least we managed to get here on time otherwise we might have missed our chance to get into that hideout and help him get his mask back."

" Yeah, but we have to wait here until nightfall."

" You could just skip ahead by using the ocarina."

" Do you think he would notice?"

Princess Twilight shook her head. " I doubt that, Sunset. The only ones who are affected whenever we manipulate time are you and me. If you play the Song of Double Time to move us forward just far enough, Tender Taps will act as though time had progressed naturally. Just because time has proven itself to be annoying doesn't meant we can't use it once in a while to our advantage. Besides, we only get one attempt here so you need to be sure you are prepared once Lightning Dust comes and opens up her hideout. I advise playing the ocarina here behind this boulder as doing so out in the open could be problematic."

I nodded. " We can't let her see us now as that would ruin everything."

" Exactly."

" Still, I must admit that Tender Taps took a huge risk by coming all the way out here."

" If not for following Lightning Dust and relying on his instincts, he would have been killed back in the canyon by one of those monsters." I said. " I know I can be reckless at times, Twilight, but I think he went overboard by chasing after a dangerous criminal with only the clothes on his back. Maybe he should have taken a sword or some other kind of weapon as a means of protecting himself from the dangers that exist out here."

" He didn't seem like the adventuring type."

" That makes things more complicated."

Princess Twilight nodded. " You need to watch his back constantly once we're inside."

While I wasn't against the idea of protecting someone else, I just wished that Tender Taps had the means to protect himself. If Lightning Dust had some defences waiting for us inside of her hideout, not only would I have to keep myself from harm but him as well thus giving me double-duty. Hopefully, he would stay behind me and allow me to take care of any problems that could arise in there. Taking out the ocarina again and playing the Song of Double Time, I focused on wanting to go forward to roughly 6:00pm. Clocks then appeared all around me as I sped through time until everything stopped at the desired time.

Night of the Final Day - 12 Hours Remain.

Tender Taps was still watching the entrance to the hideout and like Princess Twilight said, he had been affected by my manipulation of time where he didn't notice anything change whereas I did through my song. Suddenly, everything started to vibrate causing me to fall down onto my butt. It only took me a moment to remember that on the final day, tremors were pretty common because of how close the moon was. Looking up at the moon, I was reminded that I now had the means to finally stop it from crashing but I needed that one remaining mask otherwise getting the ultimate mask would bear no fruit for me.

Looking over the boulder without revealing myself, things looked pretty peaceful aside from the occasional tremors, but that was when Lightning Dust pranced her way up to the entrance of her hideout, her smiling expression belying her true nature. She walked up to the rock and did something before it swung open and she walked inside. Tender Taps wasted no time in going in and I followed along after him so that he didn't do anything stupid. Once I was inside, the door closed with a lot clicking sound leaving me stumbling about in the dark until I saw a light a short distance away.

I walked along and the light opened up to reveal a door that Tender Taps must have already gone thrown. I opened it and entered another room that featured two doors either side of a glass cabinet that housed a peculiar looking mask. Was this what Tender Taps had stolen from him back in Clock Town? It certainly was something but I wouldn't exactly call it wearable though I suspect it wasn't supposed to be worn like a traditional mask. While I began to assess the situation, the same couldn't be said about Tender Taps who began walking towards the mask not realizing the obvious panel that was on the ground, and stepping on it causing an alarm to go off and immediately closed the door behind us with iron bars.

" So, someone decided to follow me." Lightning Dust said, her voice echoing all around us.

" I've finally found your hideout!" Tender Taps shouted.

" You're that kid whose mask I stole back in town some time ago."

" Glad you still remember me."

" How could I forget such a cute little face like yours?" Lightning Dust asked, her sarcasm clearly on display. " If not for that masked imp who changed you, I would have left you alone seeing as you were stronger than I was. But, that freak did me a favour and now I have something so precious that it puts the rest of my storage to shame. While the thought of seeing you weep would make me very happy, it wouldn't be fair to not give you some kind of sporting chance."

" Give back my mask!"

" Not going to happen."

" Curse you!"

Lightning Dust laughed. " Like I said, I'll give you and that sword wielding girl standing behind you a chance. If you can get through my hideout before your mask reaches the end of the conveyor belt, you win and you can take it back. Should you fail then the mask is mine! Either way, I'll have made my escape by the time you reach the end so don't expect to catch me again. Oh, and one last thing. That switch you pressed a moment ago should cause the conveyor belt to start moving your mask along... right about now. I'd say you have about five minutes before it's out of your reach for good."

As her laughter echoed around the room once again, the sun mask began to move backwards and Tender Taps realized his blunder. " Now I've done it! I've got to figure out what to do before the mask slips through our fingers and she gets away with it and everything else." He then noticed another switch near by and immediately turned himself towards me before pointing at it. " Step on that switch! Quickly!"

" Why should we do that?" Twilight asked.

" It's some setup where the door stays open only while the switch is pressed!"

" What does that even mean?" I asked.

" It means you need to step on the switch right now." Twilight answered.

I did so and all it did was cause a door in front of Tender Taps to open. " I don't think that did anything, Kafei. The mask is still moving on the conveyor belt though it does seem to be moving a little bit slower than it was before."

" That could prove useful." Tender Taps said.

" What could?"

" I'm going to see what is in the next room." Tender Taps answered. " You'll have to wait there on that switch until I can come up with something." He then ran through the room and began maneuvering around some switches of different colours in an attempt to reach the other end of the room. He then accidentally stepped on a yellow switch but it proved to be a blessing as the conveyor belt moved even slower but I still couldn't see much of what he was doing. " I've almost figured this out, green hat girl."

" Any idea what he could be doing, Twilight?"

Princess Twilight shrugged her shoulders. " I don't know, Sunset, but what I do know is that he's even more reckless than you are. I know he wants to get that mask back but it's no excuse for acting like a complete idiot. I'm starting to see why Misty Fly didn't think too kindly of him but not to her extent. Until he comes back, you're pretty much stuck on this one spot but you should get your sword and shield ready."

" Maybe coming here was a bad idea."

" I wouldn't say so."

" No?"

Princess Twilight nodded. " Tender Taps may be cocky but he needed help so we're doing the right thing by coming here to this hideout. I'm not sure how far I can tolerate his behaviour but at least you're here to take care of any 'true' problems should they arise." She then bopped me on my head several times to inform that he had done something given that he was shouting at the top of his lungs in pure excitement. " Well... He did something just now so hopefully he didn't make it even worse."

" Can you hear me, green hat girl?" Tender Taps asked via shouting.

" What did you do?" I asked.

" I thought there would be some device in here that also opened the door in front of you." Tender Taps answered. He then sounded sick when he blurted out. " Ohhh! The mask! I must get it back before it's too late! Anju needs me now!" He snapped out of it--I was afraid he had gone off the deep end--and continued his explanation. " Sakon is trying to pull it out of our reach and make her escape so we must hurry and get to where the conveyor belt ends." Stumbling about, he pressed two three switches: one that increased the speed of the conveyor belt, one that slowed it down, and one that opened the door in front of me."

" You did something just now."

" What?"

" The door in front of me just opened."

" Then that wasn't the right switch." Tender Taps said. " Go check that room. There should be some sort of mechanism. Please! There's no time!"

" Mechanism?"

" It looks like Lightning Dust set this place up where two people need to work in tandem in order to reach the end of the room." Twilight answered. " I'm not sure why she would do such a thing given that it practically allows would-be enemies to take advantage but I suppose she wasn't expecting two people to come here. I know Tender Taps has been reckless as of late in addition to being somewhat of a jerk, but we don't much of a choice do we?"

" We have to do this not just for him but for Scootaloo as well."

Stepping off the switch and running through the door, I could finally see what Tender Taps had been doing. He had to weave his way through a series of switches of different colours--yellow and red--to reach one single blue coloured switch located near another locked door, and it was obvious that the yellow switches slowed down the conveyor belt while the red ones sped it up. No wonder he was panicking because everything was a race against time to prevent Lightning Dust from succeeding. No doubt she had already made her escape with her stolen goods but we had to prevent her from succeeding with this one.

Running forward, I was surprised to see a lone Deku Baba pop up from the ground and attempt to bite me. With a swing of my sword, I chopped off its head, destroying it and pressing another switch that opened a door on the side that Tender Taps was on. Now I understood what Her Highness was saying about two people having to work together. We had to take turns solving puzzles so that the other could progress through their section until the first was ready to continue. It appeared as though Tender Taps had the actual puzzles while my contribution involved defeating weak monsters--of that I was grateful as strong ones would have made this impossible.

Tender Taps then ran into the next section of his side of the room and I could barely make out four columns that appeared to be surrounding something. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to figure out what to do which gave us more time. By pushing one of the columns, it pressed down on a switch and opened the door that was in front of me allowing me to continue and fight the next monster. Running into the next section, I was presented with two Deku Babas as opposed to one. While it was a little bit better, I honestly was expecting something more given that this was Lightning Dust. Was she so confident that she relied on weak monsters to serve as her security measures?

Swinging my sword again, I destroyed the first Deku Baba without any effort whilst using my shield to deflect a Deku Nut that got spat out by the other. Once I had a clear shot, I chopped off its head causing the door by Tender Taps to open allowing him to proceed to the next section. I had no idea how long this would go but hopefully not too long as we still had to get back to Scootaloo in time. I then noticed his mask move by on the conveyor belt and began thinking about where its current position was in relation to the end of the belt. I would say we had roughly three minutes before so we needed to hustle more than ever.

Running into the next section, I heard Tender Taps pushing about some more columns until he began cursing up a storm. Turning my attention towards the conveyor belt, the sun mask began moving even faster indicating that he messed up big time. I began shouting to tell him to fix what had happened and he shouted in response saying he was trying his best and to get off his case by shouting. Princess Twilight was right about him being a jerk because of his attitude but I wasn't going to lose my temper because if I did, I would feel nothing but while he would be reduced to tears in an instant.

He then pushed a few more columns and managed to slow down the conveyor belt but because of his actions, we now had about a minute left before the sun mask would be beyond our reach and in Lightning Dust's hands. A moment later and he shouted out success as the door on my side opened and I could proceed to the next part for me. I was honestly expecting three Deku Babas this time around but instead I was given a Wolfos to contend with as I ran through the door. It was a step above what I already fought but because my sword was now even stronger, it would only take one hit to prevail.

Unfortunately, I forgot that the Wolfos moved quickly and liked to pick when to move in for the kill. It moved about left and right in an effort to confuse me, and when it lunged for my throat, I raised my shield and its claws bounced harmlessly off it. It then dashed around in circles causing me to feel dizzy but when it lunged forward again, I stepped back allowing it to do its thing where it turned around, exposing its back. I remembered that a Wolfos hated being attacked from behind as it was their weak point so I attacked it from behind causing it to burn away to nothing.

This unlocked the next door and Tender Taps ran through before stopping on a switch. " I've reached the end, green hat girl."

" And just in time as your mask is almost at the end too."

" You just need to press that one final switch."

Nodding, I ran forward when my door opened and pressed a second switch. " What will this do?"

" Hopefully, allow me to get my mask back otherwise our effort would have been in vain." Tender Taps answered. The sun mask came through the wall via a small hole and that's when I noticed a hole in the ground at the end of the conveyor belt large enough for a small-sized object to fall into. This was how Lightning Dust intended on getting the mask out of our reach but we were fortunate as upon pressing my switch, a small panel slid across the hole effectively covering it up and allowing the mask to come to a complete stop. " Did we do it? Did she get away with my mask?" He had closed his eyes and had no idea what just happened.

I frowned. " Your mask is safe."

" I can't believe this!" Lightning Dust shouted from somewhere. " You managed to get back that mask!"

" Your security system was pretty lousy."

" What would you know!?"

" Had you used some stronger monsters or maybe even some decent traps, you would have slowed us down long enough to get away with it." I answered. " On the other side, had your puzzles been more devious in their design, Kafei would have been stuck without any hope resulting in you succeeding. If anything, you overestimated your security and underestimated our resolve. I suppose we will be taking our leave now with the mask in our possession."

" I won't allow you to escape!"

" You're not really in a position right now to utter threats."

" And what makes you think that?"

I swung my sword in a circle. " I have a sword... I think that should be more than enough to prove my point. Besides, you made your escape as you said you would so by the time you make your way back here, we'll have left by now with the sun mask in Kafei's hands. While I would love nothing more than to see justice done, I doubt I could find out where you are seeing as cowardice is something you are pretty good at."

" You'll regret those words."

I shook my head. " Take solace in knowing that you were defeated by two individuals who knew nothing about your hideout but managed to figure it out anything on the principle of wanting to do the right thing. I would run away right now, Lightning Dust--I mean Sakon--as no doubt people in Clock Town will find out about this place and come here soon enough to get their belongings back."

Lightning Dust then went quiet and I assumed she had chosen to leave us alone after coming to the realization that there wasn't anything she could do to stop us. Picking up the sun mask and holding it in his hands, Tender Taps smiled and I couldn't help but smile alongside him. Sure, it looked like we were going to fail for a moment but we managed to succeed in getting back what was stolen so now we had to leave. Turning around, we made our way back through the hideout by taking the path that I used--I doubted Tender Taps was willing to go on the path he used because of the switches--and discovered that the iron bars blocking the entrance had lifted.

Once we were back outside, Tender Taps couldn't help but be overly excited. " We got the Sun's Mask back!"

" It's actually called the 'Sun's Mask'"?

Tender Taps nodded. " It is a special mask that was created to celebrate the occasion where Anju and I were to be wed on the night of the carnival which is tonight. She has in her possession, the counterpart to what I hold in my hands, the Moon's Mask. When we decided to get married on this very night, we promised to exchange our masks with one another which would make our marriage official."

" No wonder you wanted it back so much."

" It is a symbol of our love and devotion."

" What will you do now?"

" I have the Sun's Mask back so I must return to Anju in Clock Town."

" All that way!?" I exclaimed. " Do you think you can make it in time before the moon crashes?"

Tender Taps nodded. " I will make it back even if I do so on the last ounce of strength left in my body. If you could, would you and your fairy companion come to see Anju and me at the Stock Pot Inn? There is something you two must witness and I promise that it will be worth it. I know it's cutting things pretty close what with the moon and all but I would really appreciate your presence, Anju would as well. Well... I hope to see you both there." He then turned and began running as fast as he could until he was completely out of sight. When it came to his devotion for Scootaloo, there was nothing that could stop him.

" It's past midnight now, Sunset." Twilight said.

I was shocked when she said that. " What!? How is that possible!?"

Princess Twilight shrugged. " I don't know but it seemed time passed by relatively quickly when we were in there. In any case, we succeeded in helping out Tender Taps but it seems we still have one last thing to do before we can safely say this side quest has been completed."

" He wants us to go and see them back at the inn."

" Yes and he was rather insistent about it."

" What could he be up to?"

" I don't know but we should go there anyway and find out." Twilight answered. " You can use the Song of Soaring to get you back to town long before he does and then it's just a matter of getting to Scootaloo and wait for Tender Taps to arrive. This is going to be cutting things close, Sunset, as time is definitely not on our side right now but hopefully we can still reset time and not witness this world being destroyed like what we saw when Ganondorf brought us to the dream world."

Sometime in the past...

" When are you going to tell me about this ultimate prank of yours, Skull Kid?" Spike asked.

" Like I said before, Tael, I won't tell you until we arrive at our destination." Starlight answered.

" And when will that be?"

Starlight came to a stop and pointed her finger down at the ground. " Right here!"

" Isn't this the top of the Clock Tower?"

Starlight nodded. " Normally, it's impossible for anyone to get up here until the tower opens when the carnival begins, but with my power, I can come up here without having to wait. Anyway, this is what I've been thinking about. You know how all those small pranks have mainly just caused mischief? It's been fun and all but I want to really leave behind my mark by doing something that will forever be removed by these people."

" What did you have in mind?"

" I want to cause destruction."

Spike shook his head before demanding Starlight to repeat herself. " I'm sorry but what did you say, Skull Kid?"

" I said that I want to cause destruction."

" Why would you want to do that?"

" Like I said, I want to cause destruction." Starlight answered. " I don't know why but I've been feeling a strong desire towards destroying this entire world for all the wrongs it has done to me, but also because I think it would be funny to see their screaming faces as their world comes to an end."

Spike didn't respond at first, horrified over what his friend had just said, but before he had a chance to speak his opinion, he watched as Starlight raised her hand and began channeling her magic towards the sky. For several minutes, Starlight continued pouring magic upwards at the sky and from Spike's perspective, she was acting rather foolish, but then that opinion of his quickly changed when something began to appear in the sky. It was very small at first but soon quickly grew in size until it came into full view and Spike reacted by cowering in fear before hiding behind a green pot located on the tower.

In the meantime, Starlight chuckled as she finally stopped using her magic and stared up at what she had brought down from the sky. Above Clock Town was a large moon that seemed ordinary yet it possessed a menacing face along with sharp eyes that could pierce one's soul. As Spike came out of hiding, he looked up at the moon and couldn't even begin to imagine what his friend had in mind with its presence. Judging from its position, it would be a while before it could get any closer though what Starlight's true intention were remained unknown to him but he would quickly learn what she was doing.

" Um... What have you done, Skull Kid?"

" I have brought forth the ultimate prank!"

Spike blinked. " I don't understand."

" Then pay attention, Tael, and I'll tell you." Starlight said. " As of late, I've felt compelled to move beyond inflicting harmless pranks on people and go straight for destroying everything in an apocalyptic fashion out of revenge and wanting to see their faces, but mainly because I feel like it. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring the moon any closer without giving myself a major headache but it will still destroy this pathetic excuse of a world. In fact, they have exactly three days before the moon crashes into Clock Town. Once I begin this prank, nothing can stop it other than them yet they are all currently trapped with no hope of gaining back their freedom."

" Is that why you wanted to get rid of the four?"

Starlight nodded. " They are the only ones who can ruin my fun and I'm not going to let them succeed. Besides, it's not like anyone is going to free them from their prisons by defeating the masked ones I created to keep them contained."

" But what about that girl we saw in the woods?"

" She is of no concern."

" I don't know for sure, Skull Kid."

" What are you getting at, Tael?"

" Something about that girl felt really weird."

" She looked the part too."

" No, what I mean is that she seems to posses a unique aura that makes her different." Spike said. " I know we fairies are able to sense such things but what surrounds this girl is unlike anything seen before in Termina. I would wager that this girl could in fact be destined to change the fate of this world. I know you don't want to hear such things, Skull Kid, but this is what I'm sensing with this girl. Maybe stealing her instrument and horse wasn't the best idea you've had."

Starlight took offence. " Nonsense! I wanted to have some fun with her and I did."

" But what if she thwarts your ultimate prank?"

" Then I shall start the prank now before she gets the chance to ruin my fun." Starlight answered. She raised her hand and once again unleashed her magic which began affecting the moon though it wasn't obvious at first because of how far it was in comparison to the entirety of Termina. " This is going to be the best prank I've ever pulled, Tael, and I will make sure it gets carried out." Then her voice suddenly changed though Spike didn't notice it. " Soon... nothing will remain and all shall perish in an eternal flame."

After taking out the ocarina again and playing the Song of Soaring, I focused on heading back to Clock Town. The tremors from the moon had since gotten worse due to how closer it was compared with earlier but I couldn't get distracted like that especially when I was so close in helping out Scootaloo with her love problem. Wings protruded from my back, wrapped themselves around me, and spun around several times before I disappeared. Moments later, I arrived back in front of the Clock Tower and immediately ran towards the east part of town knowing that I had to hurry before the moon would crash.

While I wasn't liking the idea of doing things when under such intense pressure--the moon was what was giving me said pressure--I actually felt confident knowing things were going to work out with both Scootaloo and Tender Taps, and stopping the moon from crashing once and for all. Reaching the Stock Pot Inn and going inside using my key, I ran up the stairs as I had yet to explore the second floor and stood in front of a door that had a sign on it that said "Staff Only". No doubt that Scootaloo was waiting on the other side but I was curious to know what was in my room, the "Knife Chamber" as she called it.

I had some time to spare so I walked to the left and down the hall until coming upon another door with the sign "Knife Chamber" on it. Since I wasn't going to have another chance to see what my room was like before resetting time, I used my key to unlock the door, and went inside only to find myself feeling very disappointed. The room itself looked rundown as though no one had bothered to keep it up to date and there was even a hole to my right in the wall that looked like you could listen in on someone's conversation from next door. The only thing of merit was a small treasure chest--most likely a gift--so I kicked it open and took out a silver rupee--it was worth one hundred rupees.

While I had no use for it now, I was going to deposit it once I was done here as I needed plenty of rupees with which to purchase items in preparation for dealing with Starlight during the next cycle of time--I had every intention of ending things before they could get even worse. Leaving the Knife Chamber and walking back to the Staff Only room, I went inside and saw Scootaloo sitting on the bed, yet to my right was a beautiful wedding dress that surely belonged to her. Perhaps what stood out the most was a mask in the shape of the moon resting above the dress. This had to have been the Moon's Mask that Tender Taps mentioned.

Scootaloo looked up at me. " Oh... Um... Hello."

" I didn't think you would seriously stay here given what's happening outside." I said.

" I said that I would wait for Kafei and I intend on doing just that."

" What did your mother have to say?"

Scootaloo sighed. " She was not very happy with me to say the least. When I revealed to her my intention of waiting here for him, she gave me an earful and reiterated her claim that he was no good for me and he planned on going to Romani Ranch and elope with Cremia because of financial reasons. I couldn't accept such lies even if she is my own mother so I gathered up some courage that I never knew I had and told her that he would never do anything like that."

" Did she believe you?"

" She did not and so I had no choice but to show her the pendant you gave me."

I gulped. I accidentally allowed Misty Fly to see it earlier so hopefully it didn't end up going badly. " What was her reaction to seeing that?"

" My mother knew there and then that Kafei still thought of me despite his disappearance and the pendant was proof of his devotion." Scootaloo answered. " Even though she still believed him to be a scoundrel for seemingly abandoning me, she acknowledged that he had every intention of coming back. Despite her hesitation towards it, she agreed to allow me to remain here and wait for him. My mother and grandmother have since fled to Romani Ranch though I fear doing so would amount to nothing. Many in town said that when the moon falls, it would cause a tremor that would destroy everything. There is no place in Termina safe from what is going to happen."

I decided to change the subject. " He's coming..."

" Who is?"

" Kafei."

That made Scootaloo smile. " I knew he would come back."

" So we're just going to wait for him?"

Scootaloo nodded. " There is nothing either of us can do though I am surprised that you decided to come here." She then stared longingly at me until I turned my head away from her gaze over being uncomfortable with her doing it. " Kafei told you and your fairy companion to be here didn't he? I'm sorry if I made you feel uneasy but you didn't need to be pressured into saying something otherwise. I know why he asked and it will become clear once he arrives."

At that moment, the door opened and standing in the doorway was Tender Taps. He looked incredibly exhausted which made sense given he ran all the way through the canyon path between Ikana and Termina Field whilst avoiding monsters and dealing with tremors courtesy of the moon. And yet, he looked like he could keep on going for a lot longer but I knew that he was completely tapped. Both Princess Twilight and I chose to remain quiet as both he and Scootaloo had their precious moment together. From their perspective, it felt like time had stopped entirely but from mine, I knew what was going to happen.

" Didn't think I would make it in time." Tender Taps said as he breathed in and out to slow down his heart rate.

" I... I have met you before." Scootaloo said as she gazed upon the man she was in love with. " What a familiar scent that exudes from your body. Long, long ago... I remember a meeting between us both that would change both of our lives forever. Yes. We were still young back then but in our hearts we both knew what we wanted. We made a promise didn't we? The masks of the sun and the moon... Special masks that we decided would prove our love for each other. We were to exchange them on the day of the Carnival of Time and that day has finally come after so much waiting we had to endure."

" Anju... I'm sorry I was late."

" Welcome home, Kafei."

Both of them then went into a loving embrace and I couldn't help but make an appropriate reaction. " How adorable..."

Princess Twilight began giggling. " I definitely concur with you, Sunset. They're lovers, but they look just like a mother and child."

" At least she isn't freaking out over what he looks like."

" She is looking past that and sees him for who he really is."

Tender Taps then turned towards me. " I'm glad you came here, green hat girl."

" Are you going to tell me why you needed me and my friend?" I asked.

" To bear witness what is about to happen."

Scootaloo nodded. " We could not do this without someone other than ourselves witness it." She turned to Tender Taps. " We have endured much hardship, you and I, but now we can finally fulfill our promise towards each other that we made so long ago."

" Let us exchange the promised masks."

Both of them then broke off their embrace with Tender Taps taking out the Sun's Mask from behind his back--I was surprised that it managed to survive the trip through the canyon path. Scootaloo, in the meantime, got up, walked over to where she had placed the Moon's Mask, grabbed it, and walked back over before dropping to her knees. Holding out both masks, they pressed them against one another and a bright light shone, blinding everything around us. When the light disappeared moments later, both Scootaloo and Tender Taps resumed their loving embrace from before yet I was more interested in what had appeared in place of their masks.

Floating above their heads was a beautiful looking white coloured mask that featured a strange line pattern on the front. There was something magical about the mask as I continued to stare at it until it floated down towards me before stopping. I could sense they wanted me to take the mask into my hands so I did and I felt their love emanating from it. At long last, I had finally collected all of the masks that existed in Termina. Now only the ultimate mask remained though I couldn't even begin to imagine where it could be. It had to be somewhere in this world but after visiting every last corner of it, the chances of finding it were slim.

" We have exchanged our oaths and have become a couple." Scootaloo said. " You are our witnesses to our happy union and so we have given you a reward that best reflects the nature of this union. Please accept this mask."

" What is it called?"

" It is known as the Couple's Mask." Tender Taps answered. " It is a mask that represents our love and can soften the hearts of those who see it. It's a shame that my mother was unable to bear witness to this moment but she never could escape from that accursed meeting. The same with my father though he had to deal with cancelling all those performances for the carnival which has already begun."

" We hope that you cherish that mask." Scootaloo said.

" Please take refuge, green hat girl."

" But... The moon!" I exclaimed.

" We are fine here."

" We shall greet the morning... together." Scootaloo said. " But know that we will never forget you for what you have done for us."

Despite my protests, they refused to move and insisted that they would greet the morning as a couple. While a part of me was very happy for having united them together and acquiring the final mask, a part of me also knew that their happiness was about to end when I reset time back to the beginning. Unlike previous times where I was bothered by events being erased and my contributions becoming lost, I was mortified because the thought of them losing this tender moment was too much for me to bear. But, things had to go back to the beginning as there wasn't enough time to get up to the Clock Tower and confront Starlight--I had only a couple of hours left.

As I left them in their loving embrace and ultimately the Stock Pot Inn, I began thinking about what Tender Taps said about his mother, Mayor Mare. He said that she never could escape from her meeting and to me, it sounded like the Couple's Mask was necessary to help her out. It felt weird knowing that such a simple solution would come so late in the journey but then this was nothing new. I felt compelled towards helping out Mayor Mare as no one should be forced to deal with a problem beyond their means to solve. With that decision settled, I quickly went to deposit all my rupees at the bank before playing the Song of Time to reset everything--I would be strong despite losing so much.

Dawn of the First Day - 72 Hours Remain.

There was one thing that was certain. I was going to finish things at the end of this cycle! While there were plenty of other side quests that I could have undertaken in order to make myself stronger, I felt the need to finally confront Starlight and end this before it could be dragged out any longer. That meant having to skip through the entire three days until I reached the final night but before doing that, I first needed to help out Mayor Mare. Her problem wasn't all that necessary to my journey yet I wanted to do this last thing because it was right in town and could be done right away.

Walking into East Clock Town, I walked up to the Mayor's Residence only to remember that I had to wait until 8:00am in order for it to be open to business--it was currently 6:15am so I came here a little too early. I remembered what happened when I came here way back at the start of my journey and I thought they would never stop their arguing. It mainly boiled down between Sweetie Belle and Shining Armour arguing over whether to have the carnival as planned or flee town with Mayor Mare stuck in the middle. I had no intention of listening to their arguing a second time. Instead, I was going to get to the point and use my new mask.

My daydreaming proved effective in passing the time as the Mayor's Residence unlocked and I went inside. One thing I never figured out was how both groups managed to get in here so early when the public couldn't. I never noticed them go past me as I waited outside or perhaps my daydreaming was so strong that I was oblivious to everything. In any case, they were already speaking--arguing--with each other so I walked left--the receptionist surprisingly wasn't there--and opened the door where the sounds of arguing rang in my ears as both Sweetie Belle and Shining Armour shouted their respective positions. Fortunately, I had missed their initial discussion.

" On with the carnival!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

" All must take refuge!" Shining Armour shouted.

" This is getting ridiculous!"

" Looks like we finally agreed on something for once."

" We've been arguing for days trying to come up with a peaceful solution and our efforts have failed." Sweetie Belle said. " And it looks like the mayor just isn't showing any signs of wanting to make a decision that will determine what happens."

" How can you speak so coldly about Mayor Dotour?"

" It's called stating the obvious, Viscen!"

" You're one to talk, Mutoh!"

" The carnival must be allowed to continue even if Monsieur Aroma has been cancelling performances."

" Without those performances, there isn't going to be much of a carnival at this rate." Shining Armour said. " Look, I know that you look forward to the carnival every year, but things have changed because of what is happening above us, and no one is willing to stick around out of fear that they could be killed." He turned towards Mayor Mare who looked confused as to what to do. " The town militia simply can't keep up with so many problems and we don't need what you're throwing at us added to it." Raising his spear, Shining Armour slammed it down and got everyone's attention. Mayor Dotour, please tell us what we should do."

Mayor Mare shrugged. " I just don't know what option is best for us."

Sweetie Belle got annoyed. " Well that went nowhere fast!"

Mayor Mare then noticed me standing by the door. " Are you a child who is lost?" I didn't know how to answer her but when Sweetie Belle and Shining Armour looked in my direction with menacing glares, I couldn't say anything in my defence leaving Mayor Mare to try and figure something out. " I would suggest paying a visit to my husband. He is very good at handling children your age."

" I think I can help you out." I said, finally getting past those cold glares.

This caused both Sweetie Belle and Shining Armour to start laughing whilst Mayor Mare rubbed her head. " At this point, I am desperate to finally put an end to this abysmal meeting so if you do have a ways of helping out, please do it right now without delay."

Taking out the Couple's Mask from behind my back, I placed it on my face and immediately the arguing ceased though something else happened instead. The jaws of all three principal participants dropped upon seeing what I was wearing and the magic within the mask began affecting Mayor Mare. If what Tender Taps said was true, this mask would be able to calm tensions between people by soothing their hearts. It sounded an awful lot like what Princess Cadance--the pony version--could do according to what Princess Twilight once described about her to me.

" What is she wearing?" Sweetie Belle asked.

" It's having some kind of strange effect on me." Shining Armour answered.

" The Couple's Mask." Mayor Mare said. " What a nice reminder... So, a young couple has been married? Even in times such as this, the power of love once again proves itself to be far stronger than anything else out there. It is most unfortunate that we will never know who caused that mask to appear but it is a sign nonetheless. Surely the rest of you can agree that seeing this mask is a blessing."

" I wonder... Did my husband flee?" Scootaloo asked. Behind the Couple's Mask, my jaw dropped upon hearing Sweetie Belle say that. She didn't look like she was old enough to be married given her height and general appearance but apparently she had a husband. Once again, this world made no sense though I had long gotten used to that. " I know he kept on saying we should flee but I insisted we should stay."

" What!?" Shining Armour exclaimed. " What did you just say?"

" You heard what I said."

" I know what I heard." Shining Armour said. " But, I was just surprised that you of all people would say something like that given your gruff personality."

" What about you?"

" I worry for my wife and child."

That's when Mayor Mare made an announcement. " Yes, yes, everyone. We are all worried for our families. Why don't we end this meeting? I'm sure that would put all of us at ease especially after you two have spent all this time arguing over something that honestly never needed to be argued about in the first place."

" But, Mrs. Mayor..." Sweetie Belle began.

" Enough!"

" Oh..."

" This will do." Mayor Mare said. " Whether you're stubborn and will stay and guard your family, or if you'd prefer to run far away and seek shelter... That is for people to decide on their own without having to feel ashamed for making such a choice. I know you'll each make the right choice that is correct in your minds so take solace knowing no one will judge you for it or else they would be ignorant of it all. Now then, this meeting is adjourned!"

I was surprised that Mayor Mare suddenly went all serious by putting both Sweetie Belle and Shining Armour in their place. Princess Twilight had told me about her status as mayor in Ponyville and how she was kind to everyone but this was a side of her I never would have expected. She had needed courage to stop the arguing and I managed to deliver it to her by using the Couple's Mask. If not for Scootaloo and Tender Taps, they would all still be at each other's throats until one of them ended up getting hurt or worse. As everyone left in complete silence, they all looked at me with emotionless expressions. I didn't know what to think of it other than not wanting to have to deal with them.

Once the last one had left, I took off the Couple's Mask. " I'm surprised this mask did the trick."

" Thank you for allowing me to put an end to all that pointless bickering."

" It was my pleasure."

" To think that those two were so stubborn that they couldn't see the truth in front of their faces."

" How can you put up with them?"

Mayor Mare shrugged. " Both Viscen and Mutoh are invaluable to my administration though I will admit that I sometimes think I would be better served by those who can understand the feelings of each side and not their own. Adults are all so stubborn... It is shameful. Here is a token of my gratitude. Personally, it does absolutely nothing for me but perhaps you might make some use out of it." She reached down and opened up a drawer below her desk, pulled something out of it, closed the drawer, and brought it up where I was surprised to see a Piece of Heart in her possession. " Here you go."

I took it from her hands and felt the warmth from it as my strength grew a little bit more. " To be honest, I'm surprised you couldn't handle what just happened on your own seeing as you are the mayor and all."

" In truth, I wouldn't say I was reliable at my job."

" Really?"

Mayor Mare nodded. " I may be an unreliable mayor, but at least my family can depend on me. I want to protect my husband and my son, wherever he is. Even now, I still wonder what has become of Kafei after all this time. Deep down in my heart, I hope that he is okay wherever he is right now."

I could have told her that I met with Tender Taps and helped him but that was in the previous cycle. As such, what I did for him never happened and he was back to trying to figure out how to get his mask back from Lightning Dust and remaining hidden from those who cared about him. Knowing I couldn't do anymore, I thanked Mayor Mare for the Piece of Heart and left her residence. Looking up at the moon, Princess Twilight and I both knew that I needed to make the necessary preparations before confronting Starlight. It was only going to take a short to grind up the necessary rupees and pay for what I needed but it would be worth it.

My montage began by leaving Clock Town--after having to convince the guard one more time that I was an adult and not a child--and began traversing Termina Field in order to grind for rupees. This process took roughly the entirety of the first day in that I kept going in and out of town to cut down the same patches of grass to earn rupees. I also took the liberty of using Light Arrows to destroy any monsters I ran into--they would drop purple rupees that were worth fifty and thus speed things up immensely. While it seemed monotonous in practice to just grind all day, I needed as many supplies as possible in case something went wrong.

Starlight's true power was a mystery to me and yet it wasn't her that I was worried about. No, I was worried about Ganondorf and what he was capable of doing assuming that he would want to challenge me to one of his contests again. I wouldn't put it past him if he were to do that because in his mind, I had to endure even more torment until I accepted him as my master and become his obedient servant. Once I had ascertained that my rupee count was sufficient--my wallet reached its maximum amount--I went back into town and headed over to the local shop to make some purchases.

Fortunately, my rupee grinding gave me enough bombs and arrows so I didn't need any of those so instead I made sure to purchase three Red Potions and one Green Potion leaving me with the one empty bottle. I planned on filling it up with a fairy or Chateau Romani provided I could scrounge up enough rupees. Princess Twilight then suggested for me to visit the Bomb Shop though I didn't see the point as I had completely filled up my Bomb Bag yet Her Highness insisted on it so after going back outside into the field to grind for some more rupees, I went back into town and made my way over to the Bomb Shop.

It was there when I realized there was a type of bomb I never purchased and it was one I recalled using during my previous journey though just barely. On the counter was a small bomb in the shape of a mouse and I purchased twenty of them knowing they could prove themselves useful in certain situations. What I picked up was a Bombchu, a bomb based on the actual monster, and could crawl up walls until it exploded upon contact with anything. It would explode of its own volition if it didn't hit anything so it was useful when a regular bomb just couldn't do the job. With that done, I assumed I was ready for Starlight until Princess Twilight told me that I needed to fill the contents of that one remaining bottle.

I also remembered what happened when I had to get up to the Clock Tower for the first time. It involved getting some kind of gem for the Deku Scrub whose Deku Flower was located in front of the tower though he wouldn't give up the Deku Flower unless without giving him the gem in exchange. While I believed I would have to go through that process all over again--including going through that underground route--Her Highness said that there was a narrow walkway on the side of the tower that went to the entrance. I was happy to hear that as it meant I had easy access now.

Believing that I was now ready to confront Starlight and end things, I took out the ocarina and began playing the Song of Double Time. I had to play it a total of five times to reach the final night as the Clock Tower would only open at midnight of the final night. As I moved through time, I began thinking about what my life would be like once everything changed back to normal. I would still have to deal with the magic problem that had been plaguing Canterlot High but my friends would be there to help me through the worst of it. If anything, my life would be different than before.

Night of the Final Day - 12 Hours Remain.

I could have gotten some Chateau Romani to give myself infinite amount of magic but I felt that would only be cheating. I mean, I would be able to use magic without having to worry about running out but where would the challenge be in doing that? Absolutely nowhere that's what! Taking the easy way out is what caused me to fall from Princess Celestia's good graces so long ago resulting in the world I called home becoming imbued with Equestrian Magic. I intended on doing things properly without any shortcuts so Chateau Romani was out of the question but a random fairy definitely wouldn't hurt.

" Are you ready for this, Sunset?" Twilight asked.

I nodded. " I've gotten as many items as I believe I need for this."

" While I still think you should have gotten a bottle of Chateau Romani for your upcoming battle, I can understand why you didn't want to do that."

" It brings back bad memories of the past."

" Hence why I'm not going to hold it against you." Twilight said. " At any rate, I think you're more than prepared to deal with Starlight. Me? I'm still having some issues with the fact that she is our enemy especially after helping her to change her ways, but I know that this version of Starlight isn't the one who is trying to destroy this world. Come to think of it, why go to such great lengths in the first place?"

I shrugged. " I guess we'll know when we ask her." I looked up at the clock face on the front of the Clock Tower. " We still have another few hours to go before the tower opens so we need to kill some time until then." I then noticed Sweetie Belle standing nearby though she wasn't angry like she was before--I somehow remembered her expression back then despite how long it had been--and decided to go and talk to her. Time in this world flowed relatively quickly where you hardly notice it go by until its too late. I approached Sweetie Belle who nodded in response. " I'm surprised you're even here considering what the mayor said."

Sweetie Belle nodded. " Mayor Dotour opened up my eyes to the truth, kid. I should have realized that all that arguing amounted to nothing and instead was just causing a rift between my boys and the town militia."

" Arguing never solves anything."

" You won't hear me complain about that."

" So, you decided to stay?"

Again, Sweetie Belle nodded. " After she ended the meeting, Mayor Dotour spoke to both Viscen and myself individually about how we acted. I thought for a moment that she was going to chew us out and have us both fired from our jobs but she instead said that the carnival was to go ahead as planned. While I was thrilled about that, the truth is most of the performances were cancelled by Monsieur Aroma so we have to make do with what we have left. Sadly, the bridge my boys and I were supposed to make never got finished but I can't complain about that either given the circumstances."

" And Viscen?"

" He wasn't happy at first about the carnival going on but he soon realized that it had to because of tradition."

" Tradition?"

" Every year, we pay our respects to the Four Giants who protect this land." Sweetie Belle answered. " The Carnival of Time is a celebration of how each of the four regions come together as one and through the wearing of masks, we go up to the Clock Tower when it opens and pray for a good year to come. Yeah, I know about the stories that are often told to little kids like you so don't be surprised. Anyway, without the bridge, you'd have to go up there by using that side path that got built about two years ago when some complained the bridge was unsafe one time."

" So, about Viscen?"

" He is somewhere keeping watch over things."

It wasn't the answer I was expecting from her but it was better than nothing. " Are you happy that the carnival is on?"

At first, Sweetie Belle didn't know how to answer my question, but when she did, she sighed and lowered her head slightly. " I'm happy that tradition has been retained but at the same time, it's clear that there were problems all because of that moon above us. Had I realized the truth instead of blaming it on the monsters outside of town, things could have turned out differently and we'd have a better celebration for it. When we're all dead, I'll have died knowing that I was wrong and I accept that. I just hope it doesn't affect me in the beyond or else I'll get stuck with eternal torment. Say... What about you, kid? Why are you still around?"

I knew she was going to eventually ask me that. " I have to get to the top of the Clock Tower."

" Do you have a mask?"

I nodded. " Twenty-three of them to be exact."

Sweetie Belle was surprised. " Wow... Talk about being truly dedicated to something. Well, I won't stop you from going up there since you're the only one here. I would go up there before you but I don't have a mask on me right now. Besides, it's common courtesy to have tourists go up before residents. Enjoy the experience, kid! It's sure to be something you're sure to never forget."

She then waved at me--or whatever constituted as such--before she resumed looking up at the Clock Tower though I could hear her grumbling under her breath over how things weren't up to her personal standards. Fortunately, my conversation with Sweetie Belle took up quite a bit of time--it had only now just occurred to me that time in Termina went by quickly compared with how it should be--as the clock was mere moments away from midnight. After having endured so much, the final conflict was at hand. The clock then began ringing to indicate midnight and things started happening.

First, fireworks began shooting across the sky followed by the tower rising up before it suddenly tilted forward. I thought it was going to fall off and smash into the town until I realized that it stopped and that another platform had taken its place. I had to admit that whoever built the tower was really clever at making such a marvel--Equestria didn't have anything like it nor the world I called home--yet it worked. I could understand why it occurred once a year as such a feat being used too much would cause unnecessary strain on the mechanized parts resulting in it eventually collapsing and falling apart. That's when I realized the platform was in fact the clock face but having shifted position.

As I continued looking up at the tower, steps then appeared in front of the platform I needed to reach. The steps dropped down like they were slots allowing access to the top so now the time had come to confront Starlight and stop the moon from crashing. Running up the stairs and turning right, I began to shimmy across the narrow walkway though I made sure to take it slowly as falling off would have been embarrassing. Once I reached the platform and climbed up onto it, I noticed a small Recovery Heart had been left there. I remembered getting a Piece of Heart up here so that meant a Recovery Heart took the place of a Piece of Heart if the latter had been picked up.

Grabbing the Recovery Heart out of principle--and because I had gotten used to picking them up--I ran up the stairs and reached the top of the Clock Tower. I was honestly expecting Starlight to be standing before me but she was no where to be seen. Looking around at my surroundings, there were several green pots located in each compass direction of the circular platform and I suspected they contained Magic Jars. Aside from that, there wasn't really much else to look at aside from a birds-eye view of the town. Princess Twilight then told me to look up as the one we were looking for was above us.

I looked up and my entire body froze upon seeing Starlight Glimmer, or rather, her backside as she wasn't looking in my direction. Spike, on the other hand, noticed me straight away and began getting excited prompting her to turn around and see what had gotten his attention. Upon seeing me, Starlight folded her arms and simply floated there without uttering a single word, making me feel very uneasy. I could sense the dark magic that surrounded her and knew this wasn't going to be easy. I had the means to summon the Four Giants but first, I wanted to see if I could get her to stop of her own volition.

Majora's Theme

Spike then floated out in front of Starlight. " Sis!"

Princess Twilight looked at me with confusion. " Why did Spike just call me his sister?"

" Tatl and Tael are siblings." I answered. " I'm actually surprised I remembered that little tidbit from the very beginning."

" What should I say in response?"

" Sis?" Spike asked. " Are you okay?"

" You should answer back how he expects you to."

Princess Twilight nodded and turned towards Spike before moving forward slightly. " Spike!" I slapped my forehead in response to that. She was supposed to have said Tael and not Spike as the latter would only confuse him, unless of course, his actual name was a nickname of sorts in which case it would have been pure coincidence. Her Highness quickly realized what she said was wrong and attempted to fix her little blunder. " Er... I mean... Tael!"

" Why did you call me Spike just now?" Spike asked.

Before Princess Twilight could answer him, Starlight thrust out her hand and everyone went quiet. She then looked down at me. " So... You finally managed to make your way up here didn't you, forest girl."

" I've been waiting for the chance to get my hands on you." I said.

Starlight glared. " How did you manage to change yourself back from being a Deku Scrub? I know my magic is way too much for you to handle yet here you are having regained your true self and leaving me thinking that what I did wasn't enough. Tell me... How did you pull it off?"

I took out the ocarina and began tossing it in the air repeatedly much like how she had done when I came up here during the first cycle of time. " I managed to get this back and learned a song from someone you know very well."

" Your instrument!?" Starlight exclaimed. " How did you get that back?"

" You dropped it."

Starlight was clearly unhappy with my answer. " I don't recall you having done that but I suppose it's not much of a big deal. I was going to actually sell that thing to make some quick money but it doesn't really matter when everything will soon be destroyed. Money is no good if there's no world around for one to spend it." She then realized who I was referring to when I said she knew the "someone" who helped me. " Even now... that woman continues to prove annoying. If she thinks I'll relinquish my power and give back this mask, she is even more delusional than I thought, hee hee!"

" I'm a lot stronger now than I was before, Starlight!"

" That name... I don't know why but I like the sound of it."

Crap! I made a similar blunder like Princess Twilight had done but at least Starlight was okay with it. " In any case, I've come here to put a stop to your insanity. Don't you realize what will happen if you allow the moon to crash into Clock Town? This world will be completely decimated and countless lives will be lost."

Starlight giggled. " Like I care about that? This is the ultimate prank right here!"

" Are you kidding me!?"

" Hee hee!" Starlight answered. " I've come this far with my prank and I aim to see it through to the end."

" Then you're hopeless."

That made Starlight annoyed. " Your insults hold no meaning to me, forest girl. In fact, I would go as far to say that you are an insignificant speck compared to me. Even if you have become stronger, you can't do anything to hurt me. I'm sure you will figure it out soon enough once we get things truly started. I've been watching you as you scurried about though you appeared desperate to try and stop what cannot be stopped."

" Why are you doing this?"

" Because I want to destroy everything!"

" How could you even consider that?"

" Why wouldn't I?"

Clearly, this was going nowhere. No matter how hard I tried to convince Starlight to stop what she was doing, she had every intention of making sure Termina was destroyed. My options were getting fewer and fewer and that meant having no other choice but to fight her in hopes that would convince her to stop. Deep down in my heart, however, I feared I was no match for her power. There was still so much about Majora's Mask that remained relatively unknown so Starlight could merely be using a small portion of her power leaving her with a near limitless reserve she had yet to tap into.

Suddenly, Spike floated out in front of Starlight. " Swamp... Mountain... Ocean... Canyon... Hurry! The Four who are there... Bring them here!"

" What are you doing, Tael?"

" This has to stop, Skull Kid."

" It can't be stopped now."

" If that girl can call them forth, then perhaps they can help you."

Starlight responded by smacking Spike as hard as she could. " Don't speak out of line, stupid fairy!"

That made Princess Twilight furious. " What in the hay do you think you're doing!?"

" What, that?" Starlight asked. " Tael has been punished before in that manner several times already all because he had an opinion. He has to learn his place and remain obedient. Even when everything comes to an end within a matter of hours, Tael must remember."

" You monster!" Princess Twilight shouted. " He's been there for you all this time even when you were clearly going off the deep end, and what do you do in return? Abuse his friendship by treating him like scum! I've managed to remain tolerant thus far, Starlight, but you've crossed the line big time! I was hoping this could have been resolved without any trouble but its clear you're too far gone to save."

I never would have guessed that Princess Twilight had a short temper much like I did but then, she wasn't as quick to anger as I was. She could take all kinds of insults against her character and still refrain from lashing out in return, yet even someone like her had a boiling point and Starlight had just reached it. No doubt Her Highness wouldn't allow her rage to get the best of her, unlike myself who often becomes consumed by it, yet even she was allowed to get mad over something that was really important to her. Being a princess didn't mean closing off one's emotions and being someone who smiled and waved at everything.

Starlight shrugged as she unfolded her arms. " Well... whatever!"

" This isn't over!"

" I'm afraid that it is, Tatl."

" What do you mean?"

" Even if they were to be summoned and come here, they wouldn't be able to handle me." Starlight answered as she giggled up a storm. She maintained this composure for a few moments before looking up at the moon. " Just look above you. If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it! But, I'm not going to give you as much time as you might think. Clearly, the destruction must happen sooner rather than later otherwise this pointless conversation is going to keep on going longer than necessary. Instead of giving you five hours, how about five minutes?"

Spreading her arms and legs apart, Starlight began to concentrate all of her magic on something though I knew straight away what she was about to do. The last time she did this during the initial cycle of time, I lacked the means to stop her and could only reset time to have more of it to work with. Now, I could stop her by calling the Four Giants yet I still believed I could make her listen to reason. Summoning them would be my last resort if everything else failed and Starlight was beyond hope. She then screamed as she unleashed all her magic where it began affecting the moon and just like before, the moon began falling faster.

" What do you want to do, Sunset?"

" I know trying to talk to her is pointless as she refuses to listen." I answered.

" Guess it's time to play that song Principal Celestia taught you."

" Before doing that... I... I want to see if I can subdue her first."

Princess Twilight was surprised. " Why would you want to do that?"

" I know that the Four Giants are needed but summoning them might put Starlight in danger." I answered. " There's no way of knowing what's going to happen when they show up and despite all she has done, I can't let her suffer a horrible fate now can I?"

Princess Twilight smiled. " Guess my friendship advice to you all this time has really been paying off. Alright, Sunset. I'll let you try and subdue her through whatever means you have but if it doesn't work then you'll need to summon the Four Giants otherwise this world is done for."

" I'll know when I have to when I reach my limit." I said as I took out the Hero's Bow."

" What are you doing?" Starlight asked.

" Fight you!"

Starlight laughed. " I told you, you can't hurt me, but I suppose you'll just have to find out the hard way. I was hoping to test my powers against someone who could last long enough and while you're not exactly adequate, there isn't much time left before everything gets destroyed so you'll do until you're either dead or I get bored. Either way, I get to have some last minute fun at the expense of your life."

Sunset vs. Starlight

Before she had a chance to do anything, I fired a regular arrow straight at her only for her to shake her head causing the arrow to inflict no damage at all. I knew it wouldn't be easy to subdue but I wasn't expecting that. Starlight responded by raising her hand and flinging a fireball in my direction that I barely avoided by jumping to the side and rolling across the floor just as it exploded where I had been standing. I immediately got reminded of how I fought against Ganondorf--Lord Tirek back then--where he used a similar tactic whilst I would counter by hitting his magic back at him.

I had a feeling that trick wasn't going to work with Starlight on the principle that she wouldn't fall for such a ploy. She then snapped her finger causing two lightning bolts to shoot down from above and I dodged them both by rolling forward though she caught me with a third one that shot down upon me getting out from my roll. The shock to my entire body was enough to make me drop my bow but I quickly picked it back up before running towards one of the green pots. Firing another two arrows, Starlight shook her head again and both projectiles did nothing. I was beginning to see why she had so much confidence in saying I wouldn't be able to hurt her.

Switching out my regular arrow for a Light Arrow, I aimed up at her only to suddenly jump backwards when she shot another fireball at me. " You know, this is actually a lot of fun." She said as she giggled. " You continue to amuse me by shooting those pathetic little arrows at me only to feel saddened upon realizing that they have no effect on me at all. Oh by all means do continue shooting them my way as it will show just how stupid you are." She snapped her finger again which caused two more lightning bolts shot down from above and I jumped about all over the place to avoid both.

I then took aim and fired my Light Arrow though while she did shake her head like before, she wasn't able to deflect the arrow and it struck her. For a moment, Starlight dropped to the ground, clutching her chest in pain but then she quickly got back up and resumed flying only to shoot another fireball. This one actually hit me because of how fast it moved and I fell down onto one knee as a result. " Looks like that shot did something to you. Maybe you're not as invincible as you claim to be if you felt pain?" The glare she gave me was enough to prove that she was dead serious about wanting me dead before the moon crashed into Clock Town.

" Where did you get that Light Arrow from?"

" From the Stone Tower."

" There's no way you could have gotten over there so quickly."

" What can I say?" I said jokingly. " I'm just full of surprises."

Starlight then laughed. " Your Light Arrow did inflict some damage to me, that I won't deny, but it's not going to do you any good. You could keep doing that over and over until your time runs out and I'll still continue taking the punishment. Face it, forest girl. You don't have any options left!" Snapping her finger again, more lightning shot down from above, both blasts struck me one after the other and I dropped down onto both knees. " Hee hee! I'm going to enjoy killing you even though I could just let the moon do it for me."

" Sunset!" Twilight shouted.

" I can't defeat her this way." I said.

" Then you have to call them here."

" What are you up to?" Starlight asked.

" I have one last maneuver I can do that will stop you."

Again, Starlight laughed. " Hee hee! And what would that be?"

I think you already know the answer to that."

It took her a few seconds for Starlight to realize what I was about to do. As I put away my bow and took out the ocarina, I accidentally dropped it when she flung another fireball that struck me in the chest. I scrambled to pick it up as she continued throwing fireballs with the occasional lightning bolt on rare occasions. Her assault was relentless but I managed to pick it up only to realize that the song was one I had never practiced let alone remembered how it went. That gave Starlight the chance to take advantage and she did so by shaking her head and holding me in place before flinging me to one side.

Lucky for me that I didn't fall off of the Clock Tower after that attack as I would have surely died had I crashed into the ground below. Instead, I stopped at the edge of the platform and picked myself up before thinking about how that melody Principal Celestia taught me went. I then pictured her in my mind singing each note with a rather boisterous voice only to suddenly lose my concentration because of Starlight flinging another fireball my way. Jumping to the side to avoid it and rolling forward slightly, I continued envisioning how it went when it became clear like crystal--I wished I had remembered it before coming up here.

My first two attempts at playing it were dreadful but the third one worked and I played the Oath to Order, a melody that supposedly only had one purpose. Unable to prevent me from playing it, Starlight was about to shake her head when suddenly everything started rumbling. Was this what the song did? I couldn't be sure as this was the first time I had used it so anything could happen. As the rumbling continued to grow stronger, something caught Starlight's attention and she began looking around to see what it could be. Eventually, the rumbling stopped only for someone to begin shouting out from a vast distance.

I immediately recognized the shouting as belonging to Principal Celestia--I knew she was a Giant and all but her shouting felt morbid to some extent--and soon the other Giants began chiming in indicating that they were about to make their presence known. Without any warning, Starlight suddenly clutched her head and began shaking erratically as though she were suffering some kind of mental breakdown. It seemed she was being strongly affected by the call being made by the Four Giants to be reacting like that. I walked forward in hopes of trying to help her when she screamed at the top of her lungs in sheer agony.