The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.

by Ganondorf8


Chapter 10: Speed of the Pegasus.

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.
By Ganondorf8.
November 23, 2019
Chapter 10: Speed of the Pegasus.

I didn't have long to try and come up with a decision on where to go from here as two Shroud Stalfos began approaching me, their spears being hurled in my direction. Good thing my eyes noticed them when I came into this area otherwise I'd be a pincushion right now. Raising my shield, their spears bounced off and I went after them before they could throw anymore at me. Two sword hits on each of them was enough and both dropped green rupees which I picked up. With that problem taken care of, the issue of which way to go next could be properly decided on.

As I saw before, there were several keyhole blocks, but upon a closer inspection, they were arranged in a square pattern leading to a staircase after the last one, My gut was telling me that the stairs would take me to the Nightmare so that would be the last place to explore. That left where I was supposed to find the Knightmare Key as without it, I couldn't unlock the door where it lurked. In addition, I needed to search for the dungeon item. Every dungeon had one of these and hopefully, this one would give me the means to run faster. The evidence of the item being faster speed was pretty strong given how I couldn't reach that one chest back at the start.

Since those two Shrouded Stalfos came from the upper left corner of this central area, I decided to check that direction first. While monsters generally weren't a strong indication of hiding something important, I guessed I was just curious in case the theory could be proven wrong. Heading northeast and entering another section, my eyes caught sight of a treasure chest but there was no way of reaching it from this side. I needed to approach from the other side though how I was supposed to do remained unknown for now. I could also hear something slithering about... something that was big judging from how loud it was.

Focusing on where I was, I saw an Owl Statue and two Yellow Stalfos so I walked forward where they immediately jumped to life--or whatever it was for them--and began leaping in an effort to drop on me. Both missed their target as I stepped back as they landed on the ground and I responded with my usual sword swings. As both disappeared in a puff of smoke, I was surprised by a Green Zol popping up from nowhere which somehow managed to hit me. Being a weak monster meant nothing if you could catch someone by surprise. Defeating it and picking up the blue rupee it dropped, I began assessing the area.

Another treasure chest, this time located on a high up platform, taunted me because again, I had no way of reaching it. Next to the Owl Statue was a door which I could walk through, but it was the tiles on the ground that truly piqued my curiosity. It was blatantly obvious that they were pointing south since they were in an arrow formation on the ground, but I was curious as to what information could be gleaned from the Owl Statue as why have it here to begin with? Taking out the Stone Beak, I placed it where it needed to be and it began revealing its secret. 'Poke suspicious parts of the wall with your sword and listen to the sounds it makes.'

Putting the Stone Beak away, I turned to Princess Twilight. "What does it mean by suspicious parts?"

"Do you remember seeing that cracked wall back in Tail Cave?" Princess Twilight asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"This is similar to that except that the wall is solid instead of cracked." Flying south according to the tiles on the floor, Princess Twilight pointed at the wall where the arrow was pointing towards before moving over slightly. "First, use your sword and strike this part of the wall." I walked up and struck my sword on the wall where it made a clanging sound. "Your sword won't shatter if you strike these walls, Sunset. That blade looks pretty sturdy as though it had been forged by an expert. Okay, now strike where I was pointing at initially." I did so and a different sound occurred. "And that's how you can tell the difference."

"The different sound indicates it's hollow."

"Yes."

In my mind, I wanted to kick myself because I had done something like this on my previous journeys. How could I have forgotten something so simple? Despite not wanting to go through these adventures, deep down, I actually did miss some aspects of it because they proved to be incredible life experiences. Since my sword clearly couldn't destroy this part of the wall, I had just the thing in mind that would work. Taking out a bomb and placing it down on the ground and stepping back, it exploded a few seconds later revealing a path forward. No doubt other such hidden paths were in future dungeons so I needed to remember this.

Entering this hidden room, I saw two more Shrouded Stalfos though they had their backs to me which meant I could sneak up on them without them noticing. I did exactly that and defeated them both before they even knew what happened. With them gone, I could see that once again the way was blocked. "Wow... No way can I make that jump!"

Princess Twilight nodded. "The Roc's Feather can only do so much on its own. It looks like you need to do a running start and leap across the abyss with speed on your side. I'll mark down this room with my fairy magic once we find the Dungeon Map. Or we could simply remember this location for later."

"At least I know how to reach that one chest in the previous room."

"The one on the high ledge?"

"Yeah."

"There's no doubt that you need fast feet."

"Too bad I couldn't just whip up a spell that would give me the speed I need to jump across."

"If you could, it wouldn't be much of a challenge not to mention breaking this world's rules."

I sighed. " I know, Twilight. I just wanted to make a point about it." I then looked at how far the gap was and quickly did some calculations in my head. "I'd need to start running from that wall over there in order to have enough speed and momentum to jump across and not plunge down into the depths below. I'd also need to get rid of any monsters as they would disrupt my momentum which would be disastrous." That's when I noticed a crack in the wall I just mentioned. "Huh... There was another way in here." Taking out another bomb, I walked up to the wall and placed the bomb down where it exploded leaving a hole behind. "That should provide additional speed."

"Guess we should continue searching."

Heading back the way I came and going through the door that was next to the Owl Statue, it suddenly locked behind me as well as the door in front. My eyes then noticed three of those Bombites waddling around but they were a different colour. "These are Bombites, right?"

"They are but these are the other kind I mentioned before."

"What's different with these ones?"

"When you strike this kind of Bombite, they don't bounce around and explode." Princess Twilight answered. "Instead, they will begin to follow you and explode when the timer on their faces reach zero. You can use your sword to keep pushing them back so that you don't get caught in the explosion and suffer heavy damage. Only three of this kind of Bombite exist so you only have to deal with them right here and no where else."

"That's been a trend I've noticed."

"Take what you can get from it, Sunset."

"That sounds an awful lot like something Rarity would say."

"She can be very persuasive."

Chuckling quickly in response to that, I took a step forward which caught the attention of all three Bombites. Hitting them all with my sword, they got pushed back as Her Highness said they would, but she didn't tell me about the grins they would provide after getting hit. Their expression quickly changed to a number three and I knew what that meant. I continued hitting them back and away from me as the timer changed from three to two then one and then... BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! They all exploded in succession resulting in both doors unlocking. Unlike the regular Bombites, these weren't really that bad.

Entering the next room, several Green Zols popped up from the ground and a Shroud Stalfos began throwing its spears at me. Ignoring the Zols, I went straight for the skeleton as it was the bigger threat and while I did defeat it after two sword strikes, I got hit several times by the Zols. Luckily, two of them dropped Recovery Hearts so it wasn't all bad. There was also a treasure chest which I opened and took out a Compass. Though a map would've been preferred, I wasn't going to disrespect a compass since it informed me of hidden keys whenever I entered rooms with it in my possession.

I was then about to go back when I thought of something. Since both the Owl Statue and Princess Twilight told me about suspicious walls, I walked over to the left wall and started swinging my sword against it. The first two sections I hit sounded identical but when I stuck the third section, it made a different sound indicating it could be destroyed. Taking out another bomb (I needed to be cautious now about using them as getting more would require leaving Key Cavern and coming back after replenishing my supply), I placed it in front of the wall where it exploded and revealed a new way forward.

Heading into this room, the Compass made its usual sound informing me that a key was in here. There were also three regular Bombites so I needed to deal with them quickly before anything could go wrong. Striking one of them with my sword as it drew closer, it bounced off the wall and a fence that divided the room in half somewhat, and exploded upon hitting the second Bombite causing a chain reaction resulting in the other two exploding at once. Just thinking about being caught in such explosions made me shiver. Sure, I could survive but I'd rather not have to experience it if at all possible.

When the smoke cleared, a small key dropped down from above so I walked around and picked it up. That gave me two keys: this one and the one I picked up earlier when I went though all those locked rooms on the lower level of the dungeon. Before leaving the room, I tossed the pots and collected a single green rupee (It was better than getting nothing) before going back. I ignored the 'other' Bombites which had since respawned and continued backtracking until I was in the central area again. The two Shroud Stalfos had also respawned but I chose to walk past them since I needed to focus on my next objective.

Not even their spears were enough to get my attention and they eventually gave up and resumed doing whatever it was they did. Going left since it was the path I didn't take originally, four small Red Gels and a regular sized one were now blocking my path. It took one sword swing to defeat all five at once and doing this unlocked two doors which had previously locked themselves when I approached. Entering the next room, two Pairodds were here but the sound made by the Compass indicated a key was hidden in here. That meant needing to defeat these two monsters to get it.

"Twilight? Do you think these Pairodds can teleport out of this room?"

"I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"I just have this feeling that they might do that."

"You don't have to worry about it." Princess Twilight patted me on the head which was more like an extremely gentle tap. "I've been studying their teleportation capabilities and have concluded that it's pretty limited compared to what we magic users in Equestria can do. They can only teleport short distances otherwise had they stronger power, they'd be warping all over the place and you couldn't defeat them."

"And their ranged attack?"

"Another kind of magic."

"Not everything is magic you know, Twilight."

"Can't blame me for trying."

Adjusting my belt, I then had to ask this next question. "You're not jealous of this magic are you?"

"Pfft! Of course not!" Her Highness was being sincere if only a bit childish with her response. "Magic like those Pairodds use is the kind you learn in your first year of magic school or even before that if you happen to be a prodigy." She then pointed at my Magic Powder bag without accidentally spilling its contents. "That powder can be considered basic as far as magic goes but it was crafted with care so it's sort of an exception. Guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not jealous but rather, a little flustered at being forced to use fairy magic instead of what I can really do."

"You said it yourself about breaking this world's rules."

Princess Twilight sighed. "You're right. I just needed to vent a little."

I could understand Her Highness wanting to vent out frustration that's been bottled up inside her. Heck, I've done this more times than I'd like to remember. Magic is not just her specialty, her entire life revolved around it. At least she never experienced a lengthy time without it. I did back when I first came to the world that was now my home. I never thought I'd get to use magic again let alone do so via my horn back in Equestria. I could understand how Her Highness missed using her true magic despite not much time had actually passed. That was more of her freaking out too soon.

The two Pairodds hadn't done anything this entire time which was surprisingly, but then Her Highness did need a moment to let out that frustration so I could appreciate these monsters showing some kind of kindness. Since I didn't want to waste anymore bombs (I had about thirteen left which while still plenty, could easily be depleted at any moment), I decided to go with a more direct approach. Swinging my sword, both Pairodds teleported and appeared behind me before firing their magical shuriken. I walked back as fast as possible before swinging only for them to teleport back to where they were before.

I kept repeating this and eventually I managed to move faster than they were teleporting. I had done this tactic before in a previous room but without any conveyor belts, the process took longer as I needed to keep up with them with my own speed. Their shuriken did connect a couple of times because they were difficult to avoid as I was concentrating on hitting them, but both eventually were defeated leaving behind another small key which dropped down from above before landing on a different coloured tile. Picking it up, the only way I could go forward was by using the panel in the wall.

Pressing my back against the panel, it flipped over to the other side taking me with it, and I was in a small room with another panel on the opposite wall. There were also monsters in the form of two Red Gels and a Yellow Stalfos to take care of first. The Yellow Stalfos leapt into the wall before coming down but I dodged it by walking to the right. I then attacked its vulnerable self, defeating it in two hits before attacking both Gels causing them to split up. (I forgot that Red Gels divided in half if struck provided they were regular sized) Defeating the now four Gels in a single sword strike, I could hear something materialize but I didn't know what it was.

"I hope that was a treasure chest that just appeared on the other side of this wall."

"Let me check." Princess Twilight floated up to see what it was. "Yep! It's a treasure chest! Guess being able to still fly can come in handy."

"Feeling better now?"

"Yes, much better." Princess Twilight then tapped me on the shoulder which was unexpected given how she had a penchant for wanting to bop me on the head. "Before we move on to the next room, I want to thank you for listening to my little venting episode earlier. Guess I still have some stress over ruling all of Equestria despite generally being good about it. I knew you were a good listener, Sunset. After all, you are quite empathetic."

"I have experience, Twilight." I pressed my sword into the ground and leaned on it. "I've been in those kinds of situations before both where I live and in Equestria. With your guidance, my own intuition, and our friends, it's easy for me to share my stories to those who need to hear them. I listen to their woes and respond in the right manner which helps them change their perspective for the better. Princess Celestia always was right about me needing humility. Before, it never registered with me as I didn't believe it was important. Once I understood how important it was, I just went with it."

"I've got a question for you now."

"What's that?"

"When I assume the throne, you should come back and serve as a speaker."

"Speaker?" I then leaned off of my sword. "Speaker of what?"

Princess Twilight giggled. "I was at first thinking you could speak to young creatures, but Trixie has that covered at the School of Friendship. Then I thought maybe an advisor but that was offered to Spike since he's been there for me from the beginning. Sonmambula does do public speaking but more towards the philosophical. You could be a speaker for creatures who lost their way or who are having trouble figuring things out."

"I'd have to leave my home though."

"It's an idea. We can work out the kinks later."

"First, you need to assume the throne." I stuck out my tongue since I knew I was right.

We both then laughed for about a minute since again, Her Highness couldn't be crowned Her Majesty until the castle had been repaired. She was still a regular princess who could relax and enjoy life before needing to be serious and govern Equestria accordingly. Sure, she was going to struggle at first. This was often the case whenever someone new came to a throne as they needed to implement their own ideas whilst following some from their predecessor. It would take roughly a year before she had settled down and get adjusted but knowing her, she could do all that in about several months.

Getting back to the journey at hand, I pressed my back against the second panel in the wall. It flipped over along with me and I immediately got my sword and shield ready as there were two regular Bombites along with a Sword Stalfos. The Stalfos hadn't noticed me because of several pots blocking its vision but the Bombites could clearly see me. I then hit the one nearest to me where it bounced back and forth off of two walls quite rapidly. For a moment, it looked like it would explode in my face with how fast it was bouncing, but instead, it exploded causing another chain reaction involving the other Bombite.

Its explosion didn't catch the attention of the Sword Stalfos. On a slightly different topic, I was genuinely surprised that the pots didn't shatter from the explosions. They had to have made from really stern material to not shatter like that. Speaking of the pots, I had an idea pop into my head. I picked one up, walked around the rest, and tossed it at the Sword Stalfos to see what would happen. It smashed into it and defeated it instantly which caused my jaw to drop. Really!? How could pots be more powerful than a sword!? No... Luck had no involvement at all with this. It me feel dejected as my sword was proving inefficient against a decorative piece.

I then noticed a bomb with wings floating above and I grabbed it by jumping with the Roc's Feather. It had the number ten on it which I assumed meant I had received ten bombs, a blessing for me as now I twenty-three of them. Of course, there were probably going to get used up before long given how this dungeon was operating. Bombs were a commodity so keeping my supply intact was essential. I then took out the Stone Beak and placed it on the nearby Owl Statue to hear its message. "If you can't destroy a skeleton with your sword, try using a bomb." Use a bomb? I... Didn't know you could do that.

Choosing to ignore the remaining pots, I moved on and found the chest Her Highness noticed earlier. Opening it up, I was happy to see that it contained a purple rupee. That was going to give me quite a rupee boost since the majority of what I had got used to buy that shovel. Heading back and to the right, the room I needed a bomb to open up the entrance to could be seen from up where I was. Of course! This was to show me that there was an additional room beyond the Compass' location. Quite clever for the dungeon. Since continuing on would probably lead nowhere, going back was all I could do.

Heading back and past the chest, I came to a block which I pushed allowing me access to the central area again. The Red Gels were back so I took them out once they saw that I had pushed the block. The only way to go now was north was through the one unlocked door I never explored. Walking north and entering this next room, it locked behind me, but I was more focused on what was in front of me. Standing--or whatever constituted as such--were two creatures that looked like snakes. Neither one moved which made me wonder if were asleep or something, but then they began slithering about... And completely ignoring me.

"I was wondering as to when we would come upon a mid-dungeon boss monster." Princess Twilight said in an excited voice. The two snake-like creatures occasionally opened their mouths whilst making a weird noise before closing them again before slithering forward and repeating the process. "Sunset... You need to handle these monsters differently in that you only have a limited inventory to defeat them with."

"What does that even mean?"

"These are Dodongo Snakes." Princess Twilight answered. She then pointed first at my sword before shaking her hands rapidly. "Don't even bother using your sword here as it won't hurt them at all. In fact, no weapons can hurt them! You can't even lift them up even with the Power Bracelet." She then pointed at the pocket that contained my bombs. "Because they are relatives of sorts with the Dodongo, only bombs can inflict any kind of damage. You do remember Dodongos, don't you? You know? Those dinosaur like monsters from before which could breathe fire?"

I gasped. "I remember having trouble with them... Except when I was a Goron."

"Those Dodongos were vulnerable to the sword but not these ones."

"So I should throw bombs at them?"

Princess Twilight shook her head. "Their thick hides make them immune to bomb explosions, but their insides aren't protected as such if you get my meaning. This is why I said you only have a limited inventory. Those twenty-three bombs are all you've got. If you run out, that's it! You'll be trapped here... Forever."

"Seriously!?"

"I'm not kidding here."

"Judging from how they're moving, I don't think they intend on attacking me."

"That's probably both your positive and negative." Princess Twilight said. "On the positive, you don't have to worry about being counter-attacked so you can take your time dealing with the Dodongo Snakes. On the other hand, you need to place bombs down exactly when they open their mouths otherwise they might ignore them, and a bomb will have been wasted. Patience and timing is key."

"I won't lie Twilight..."

"About what?"

"These snakes are really weirding me out."

"It's best to ignore that and focus on defeating them."

Kind of hard to do that what with them being so big in size and having that creepy factor all around them. Since I couldn't tell the Dodongo Snakes apart, I decided to focus on defeating one at a time instead of both. They continued slithering about whilst making their weird noise which just made me shudder. No, I wasn't afraid of them but rather it was their overall presence which made me shudder, and especially that noise. But like Her Highness said, I have to ignore the creepy factor and focus on defeating both snakes. Taking out a bomb and waiting for the left Dodongo Snake to approach, I placed it on the ground and it gobbled it up.

Moments later, the bomb exploded causing the body to inflate before it quickly shrank down. As if these things couldn't get anymore creepy, they managed to raise the bar without doing anything to warrant it. Knowing I had damaged one Dodongo Snake, I made sure to focus on it and temporarily ignore the other. After being stunned from the explosion, it regained its senses and began slithering forward before suddenly turning to the right. Following it, I placed another bomb in front of its mouth only for it to turn left and ignore my bomb which then exploded doing nothing at all.

I was also surprised to see that the explosions didn't faze the Dodongo Snakes in any way. Wow... Princess Twilight was right. No weapons could hurt them. The left snake eventually turned around and was slithering towards me though not intentionally as I doubted it was even thinking. I placed another bomb only it clipped the mouth and wasn't swallowed resulting in another dub bomb which exploded. I remembered I needed to be careful not to get caught in the explosion otherwise I'd be in a lot of pain. Walking around to where the left snake was moving, it then turned around much to my annoyance.

Despite not attacking, they were unintentionally being crafty. When the snake turned left, I placed a bomb in front of its mouth only for the other snake to push it aside with its body as it slithered by. Crap! Three wasted bombs in a row! I needed to do better or else I'd run out and then be utterly lost. The left snake then slithered forward until reaching where I entered the room before heading right. Checking to see where the other one was--it was hanging by the right-hand wall and I hoped it would stay over there--I waited for the first snake to turn left and then placed a bomb which this time was consumed.

The bomb exploded causing the body to inflate again before going back to normal. I was about to place another bomb on the ground when the second Dodongo Snake decided to make itself known, and bump into me causing me some damage and getting pushed. It then slithered along with the other one and both were heading left towards the left-hand wall before one snake turned left. This was the one I hadn't been focusing on so I left it alone and continued following what I had been attacking. This Dodongo Snake kept moving south so I got in front and placed a bomb which it ignored but when it suddenly turned to the right, I got in front and placed another bomb.

It swallowed the bomb and it exploded causing the entire Dodongo Snake to pop like a balloon. "Wow... I wasn't expecting that to happen."

"Well... You defeated it so I guess that's what matters."

"Yeah, but I've wasted four bombs and been successful three times."

"You should still have sixteen bombs which ought to be enough to defeat the other one."

I quickly checked to make sure that Princess Twilight's number was correct. Sure enough, she was right. "Hopefully, the Nightmare doesn't need me to use bombs in order to defeat it otherwise I'll really struggle against it." I then noticed that when the first Dodongo Snake popped, it left behind a fairy which I touched resulting in a restoration of health. A shame I lacked a bottle to catch it with but I couldn't do much about it.

The remaining Dodongo Snake didn't even care that its comrade was defeated. In fact, I don't even think it noticed since it didn't have any eyes. Walking around and going in front of it, it opened its mouth and I placed another bomb which got swallowed and exploded causing its body to inflate momentarily. After that, the snake began slithering forward before heading left then left again then right all while keeping its mouth closed. Why was it suddenly doing this? I didn't see the other one doing it. Was it perhaps it knew its comrade was gone and was now applying some kind of defence mechanism?

If that was the case, these Dodongo Snakes reiterated my stance on them being tricky. The snake then turned right and slithered along the back of the room where I placed another bomb only for it to turn right and ignore it. Crap! Another bomb wasted. I quickly got in front and was about to place another bomb when it turned left forcing me to walk around and get in front again where I placed my bomb hoping the snake would eat it. It did, much to my surprise, resulting in my bomb exploding and the body inflating before shrinking again. It then continued slithering around, its mouth remaining closed until it eventually opening it up again.

During this whole experience, I was actually ignoring the weird the Dodongo Snakes had been making as well as their appearance. I guessed they were just like every other monster on the island only being both unique and creepy in their own way. It then turned around and began slithering towards me. I knew it wasn't trying to attack me but rather it just wanted to go in its current direction because it could. Placing another bomb in front of it, it opened its mouth only to close it and turn right and my bomb exploded which made me feel really annoyed so I went around and placed another which got swallowed.

The bomb exploded and the remaining Dodongo Snake popped which ended the battle. It too left a fairy behind upon its defeat though I didn't really need it since my health was already at maximum. What was actually more important was the portal appearing that I could use as a short-cut back to the beginning of the dungeon, and since there was that one treasure chest I couldn't open back at the start, I appreciated having a warp. But, without a means of running fast, that chest was still impossible for me to reach along with jumping across the abyss in that other room I uncovered via a bomb.

"That... Was more annoying than anything else." I said as I wiped my brow of sweat.

"But you did it all the same!"

"Yeah, but I did use a lot of bombs, more than I was hoping."

"If you were thinking of beating both Dodongo Snakes without missing a single bomb explosion, luck really wasn't on your side." I knew Princess Twilight was trying to tell me the honest truth so I couldn't criticize her thought process. "You did really well though, Sunset. You were tested on how to use unorthodox battling styles so now you can apply this for future battles by using things besides a sword."

That's when I noticed something. "Twilight? Does that path south there go back to the previous area?"

Flying over to check it out, Princess Twilight came back and nodded. "You actually had a means of escaping were you to run out of bombs. I... I honestly didn't know that path was there so what I said about you being trapped forever was a lie. Then again, using that path would've punished you as the Dodongo Snakes would've regained their full health and respawned if one of them had been defeated."

"So it was a double-edged sword kind of scenario?"

"Yes."

"Oh well." I said as I headed towards the way out. "Let's just keep on going. If I'm right, we should be able to access another treasure chest I couldn't reach before." Entering the central area again, the chest in question was in plain sight as now I could reach it. Walking up to it, I pushed a couple of blocks aside to form a path, and upon opening the chest, I took out a pair of boots that had little wings, two on each side, on each of them. "Um... Why do I need a new pair of boots?"

Princess Twilight gasped. "Those are the Pegasus Boots!"

"The what now?"

"With those boots, you can now run really fast by dashing."

"Is that so?"

"Also, if you combine the boots with the Roc's Feather, you can jump much further than before." Her Highness' explanation right there made that large gap I saw earlier make more sense now as I had the means to make it over to that other treasure chest now. "Plus, you should be able to shatter those green crystals. You've definitely found a fabulous item, Sunset, and one which has so much utility. I suggest putting on your new boots and never take them off though it does mean you can't use those old ones. Ever wonder what's it's like to move really fast like Rainbow Dash? These boots will answer that question."

Without doing a thing, the Pegasus Boots disappeared from my hands and magically appeared on my feet, replacing my old boots as if by magic. I then paced about a couple of times before jumping up and down as a means of getting used to wearing them. They were definitely comfortable and the wings were really cute. Now to put them to the test. Hopefully, nothing was going to go wrong. Walking to the green crystals, I tried to see if the boots could allow me to shatter them. I did a small hop before dashing forward with my sword thrust forward, shattering both crystals before I slammed into a block.

"Wow... What a rush!" I said in a daze.

"You can stop running whenever you want and not simply crash into something."

"Good to know."

"Also, you can cut down grass and shrubs more easily with the Pegasus Boots."

Now that's what I called utility. These boots could now make grinding a lot easier in addition to dealing with backtracking a lot quicker. While some aspects of this journey are now more bearable, it didn't make things easy overall as the difficulty was only to ramp up from here. Pushing the block, I needed to go back to the start of Key, so ignoring the two Shroud Stalfos who had respawned once again, I made my way back over to the portal and used it to reach the entrance. Heading right, the Compass made its noise indicating that a key was within the treasure chest guarded by the Vacuum Mouth.

Dashing forward, the Vacuum Mouth attempted to pull me into the abyss but I was moving too fast for it to do so and my sword eventually went right through it, destroying it and leaving the chest unguarded. Opening it up and taking the key, I thought about warping back to the Dodongo Snake room, but there were a couple more things for me to do that involved using my new boots. Heading back to the entrance and then walking north, I struck a Bombite which bounced off the walls a few times before it exploded. Ignoring the other monsters, I began dashing and shattered both green crystals which blocked me previously.

I kept on running and destroyed a Red Gel which was just there for some reason. This was what made that bouncing noise way back when I first came this way so now I could deal with the rest of the puzzle. Backtracking and ignoring the other monsters until I was back on the other side of where the Red Gel was, I quickly took care of the two Stalfos which caused another treasure chest to materialize. Opening it up, I took out a gold rupee which sparkled in a very bright light. I asked Princess Twilight what its value was and she responded by saying 300 rupees which almost made me faint. Where was this when I needed it long ago?

In any case, I could afford that Piece of Heart in the Item Shop, or I could save up for something much bigger. Pocketing my sudden wealth increase, I went back south only to see that there was a door to my left which I never checked. Entering this room, a chest was on top of a raised platform, and the line of blue blocks leading up to it revealed why I never came in here to begin with. Better late than never, right? Defeating a couple of Keese that were nearby, I began walking around until I reached the chest only for a Sword Stalfos to block my way. I parried its sword strike with my shield and with two sword swings, defeated it.

Opening the chest, I took out the Dungeon Map. "Um..."

"We could've checked this room much sooner..." Princess Twilight said in a pained voice.

I smacked my head against the empty chest. "That's what I get for not double-checking!"

"At least we can now see what this dungeon looks like from a layout perspective." Princess Twilight said. Unfurling the map, we both saw that Key Cavern comprised two levels, a floor and a basement, with the former in the shape of a large key, and the latter in the shape of a small key. The Nightmare was located on the lower level and the one unopened chest was on the other side of the giant gap. "When you look at this dungeon's layout, it's not really that bad. At least we know where to find that Nightmare Key. We should head back to where you battled those Dodongo Snakes via that warp."

"We're almost done with this place."

"Only a couple of rooms remain."

Pushing a block which allowed me to leave the room instead of going back the other way, I south back towards the entrance, again, ignoring the monsters, and used the warp to teleport myself back to the Dodongo Snake area. From there, I went south and turned left since this was the direction where that gap was. Thanks to me having blown up that other entrance earlier, I did a small jump before dashing forward, and upon seeing the gap, I immediately jumped over and landed safely. Never had I made such a leap like that before. I could still feel the adrenaline surging through me. I really needed to do that again, but not here of course.

As soon as I said that, I walked up the stairs only to find another gap to jump over. Granted, this one was smaller, but still, I had to jump it. Dashing forward and jumping over this gap, I opened the treasure chest on the other side and took out the Nightmare Key. Putting it in my pocket, I jumped down and ignored all monsters that were trying to get my attention since there was no need for me to fight any of them. It didn't take long for me to reach the first of the four keylock blocks and when I got there, I took out my remaining keys and inserted the first key into the lock where it disappeared.

Following the path, I unlocked the remaining three blocks before heading down the stairs to an underground passage only to discover something unexpected. "What in the world is that supposed to be!?" Blocking my way forward was a giant red stone that had an angry face on it. "It looks like another Mario enemy but not."

"This is another trap, Sunset, but one that only exists right here in this underground path."

"Who do you suppose put it here?"

Princess Twilight shrugged. "Beats me, but this is known as a Mega Thwomp. No matter what you do, it won't budge from its place of rest nor will it simply drop down on its own, but you do have the means to force it to drop."

Looking at my feet, seeing the Pegasus Boots clued me in on what she meant. "Ohhhh... I have to dash into--yeah I got it."

Dashing into the Mega Thwomp, it suddenly cracked and its expression changed from angry to shocked at it dropped down onto the spiked floor below. Dropping down on top of it and continuing forward, I had to dash again in order to jump over another spiked floor--which I did--and climbed up a ladder. A Piranha Plant in a pipe then blocked my path so one swing of my sword defeated it though letting it go back down would've worked too. Climbing down another ladder, I entered the basement where green crystals were scattered everywhere. There were also three Pairodds but now I could attack them before they had a chance to teleport.

Using my new-found speed, I dashed into each Pairodd, defeating them in one hit (I guessed even dash attacks were more powerful than regular sword swings) with the door opening upon defeating the last one. There was no reason to shatter all the crystals and a flying Recovery Heart wasn't needed either since it had been a while since I last took damage so I moved on to the next room. In this room, the Compass beeped which immediately made no sense. The only locked door required the Nightmare Key so what did the beep mean? Looking around at what I had to deal with, several Keese were perched on platforms and the entire floor comprised of conveyor belts.

Raising my shield and stepping onto a tile, I allowed the conveyor belts to take me around the room. Each of the Keese attacked me only to be deflected by my shield and I swung my sword defeating each one in turn. Two of them dropped green rupees which I collected and when all of them were gone, a small key dropped down from above and landed on the ground where it began moving about on the conveyor belts. Despite not needing to pick it up, that was exactly what I did anyway because I couldn't ignore a key. Still, a question loomed in my mind and hopefully Her Highness had an answer.

Princess Twilight, however, went ahead and addressed it. "An extra small key... Hmmm... Why would this be here right before the Nightmare's door?"

"That was going to be my question."

"Sunset? Let me look at the Dungeon Map again." I took it out and Her Highness combed it over. "There are no more locked doors aside from the one that the Nightmare Key has to unlock and there are no hidden rooms." I could tell she really wanted an answer and to be honest, I was curious about this as well. "I do have a theory but I need to keep looking at the map to reach an answer." Continuing to comb over the map, Princess Twilight soon reached a conclusion. "You know those locked rooms that had keys?"

"What about them?"

"It's possible that you didn't need to unlock one of those rooms."

"And what does that have to do with the extra key?"

"Everything, Sunset." Princess Twilight answered. "If you had ignored one of those rooms, you would have still collected enough keys to reach this room. The extra key could then be used to unlock that ignored room... Though it would still result in getting an extra key that does nothing."

"You lost the answer?"

Crestfallen, Princess Twilight slowly nodded. "My only remaining answer is that whoever made this dungeon created an extra key that served no purpose. Oh well. It's not like this key can be taken to another dungeon."

"It sounds like an oversight."

"You could be right."

During the conversation, the conveyor belts took me all over the room and I ended up in the lower left corner. Making my way back to the door, I used the Nightmare Key to unlock it and entered where it closed behind me. To my surprise, the room was completely empty much like how it was with Moldorm. "Okay? The Nightmare is supposed to be here, right?"

"Something's wrong."

"Hello?" I called out. "Is anyone there?" I got no response but instead, a few Green Zols dropped down from the ceiling which I immediately took care of. "I wasn't expecting any regular monsters to be in here." I then tried calling out again. "Where are you?"

This time, I got a response. "NEENER NEENER! You can't find me!"

"Wanna bet!"

"NYAH NYAH!"

"Okay, this Nightmare is starting to annoy me."

Princess Twilight then bopped me on the head. "Look at that shadow on the ground in the middle of the room, Sunset. Do you suppose that the Nightmare is on the ceiling?" She looked up and bopped me even harder. "Up there! It's up there on the ceiling!" I then looked up for myself and sure enough, the Nightmare was right there. "How about that? It turned out to be a giant Gel after all."

I moaned. "Why did it have to be that!? I was only kidding earlier!"

"You found me quicker than I thought."

"And what do they call you?" I called up to the giant Gel."

"I am known as Slime Eye." The name made sense since it was a giant blob with a singular eyeball. Still, I wished it could've been something else since what I predicted was meant to be a joke and nothing more. "NYAH NYAH! I'm up here and you're down there! What can do you now? Not much so you might as well leave."

"Don't listen to him, Sunset." Princess Twilight said.

"How do I get him down?"

"You can't throw bombs up there as they won't reach high enough and you've got no other projectile weapons." When she looked at my Pegasus Boots, Her Highness slapped her forehead in sheer disbelief. "The answer is right there on your feet, as in, the footwear, the Pegasus Boots. Running into walls causes a slight tremor from what I saw when you ran into those stone blocks. Perhaps you can bring Slime Eye down here after all."

My first thought was to toss my sword up and see if I could knock this creature down but decided against it as it would've been too embarrassing. (Pinkie Pie would've found it hilarious though) so I went with Princess Twilight's idea. Performing a little hop and dashing forward with my sword out, I crashed into the back wall which left me stunned for a second but proved effective as Slime Eye dropped down from the ceiling, landing on the ground with a loud squishy sound. Upon getting a better--also closer--look at him, aside from the giant eyeball, there wasn't really anything else other than a clear slimy body.

Despite my annoyance that a giant slime was the Nightmare, I was also curious as to why have something like this? Moldorm proved challenging because of its behaviour and sudden speed bursts and the Genie was a taxing fight because of having to wait for the perfect opportunity to attack. A giant slime though? I just couldn't picture a difficult battle. Just looking at this thing made me feel uneasy inside. It's body jiggled because of how squishy it was and the eyeball was actually looking directly at me. Slime Eye could probably end my life just with looks alone.

"So you brought me down did you?" Slime Eye asked.

"I said I would." I answered.

"You must really want to fight huh?"

I pretended to agree with him despite my reservations. "Well, you are the Nightmare and I have already defeated the previous two."

Slime Eye looked like he was annoyed but I couldn't really tell. I mean, how can you tell what his emotions are? "I was thinking of taunting you again, but you brought me down from the ceiling so the taunting will just have to be skipped. Let's see if you can figure out what to do now."

I raised my shield expecting Slime Eye to lunge at me or even jump in an attempt to squash me, but neither of these things happened. Instead, he just remained in place, looking at me with his eyeball, a strong gaze piercing my very soul. That's when I realized that his eye was his weak point so I struck it with my sword which caused him to start splitting into two pieces each half with their own eyeball. I decided to wait and what he was going to do next and my answer came as the two halves came back together forming one whole. Again, he chose to do nothing but remain still.

Hitting the eye again to start splitting Slime Eye in half, I continued attacking the eye on the left which caused the two halves to split even further until only a thin strand of slime was holding them together. Thinking that I could continue hitting the eye to break them up, I attacked it and nothing happened. Worse still, the two halves slowly began merging back into one before Slime Eye was completely whole again. That idea clearly didn't work so another tactic was needed. Wracking my brain for any ideas, it eventually occurred to me that boss monsters were vulnerable to items found in dungeons though the idea was kind of lost on Moldorm.

Attacking Slime Eye to begin the splitting up process, I continued hitting his left eye until I was back where I was before. I needed to use the Pegasus Boots in some way since that was the item I found in here but I still couldn't see it. Princess Twilight eventually spoke up. "Think, Sunset... What can those boots do?" No wonder Her Highness has proven how essential she has been to my survival. She saw how I was struggling and provided me with important insight after letting me try and figure it out on my own. "Sorry for not saying anything sooner but I thought you already knew the answer."

"Now I do."

"It should take one push to break Slime Eye into two smaller pieces."

Just as he was starting to merge back together to form one whole, I dashed into the thin strand of slime and began pushing it back. Slime Eye was clearly uncomfortable with having his body being stretched like that but I kept on pushing until the strand snapped splitting Slime Eye and me crashing into the wall. Shaking my head after getting stunned, I turned around and saw the two Nightmares look at each other as though neither one understood what had just happened. They eventually figured out that I had done something to them and began moving about while I raised my shield in preparation for what they were going to do.

Even though they were now smaller, the Slime Eyes, well, eyes, were still their weak point and I figured hitting them anywhere else would do nothing. Before I had a chance to attack either one, both of them suddenly leapt upwards and for a moment, I thought they were going back up to the ceiling. Both of them landed on the ground seconds later, the impact of their landing shook the ground causing me to trip resulting in my landing hard on my butt. One Slime Eye bumped into me inflicting some damage but I got back up before it could do the same thing again. Now I knew what they were trying to do.

It was a clever tactic: Jump up, come crashing down, I trip up, they bump into me, rinse and repeat. Both Slime Eyes began moving about by making short hops all while keeping a close watch of my actions before both of them jumped upwards again. This time, I was ready as I jumped myself with the Roc's Feather as both crashed into the ground. I then began attacking a Slime Eye by hitting its eye several times before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Did it seriously go down that quickly!? I was expecting to have to go through several volleys of sword hits and not just the one.

The remaining Slime Eye then jumped into the air and I jumped only doing so a little too soon so when I landed, it landed afterwards causing its tremor and I tripped again. I fell on my butt again but fortunately, it was too far away to bump into me so getting back up, I struck the eye of Slime Eye a couple of times when it leapt up again. My eyes then noticed the circular shadow on the ground so I made sure I kept my distance as it was aiming at me. Just before it landed, I jumped to avoid the tremor and upon Slime Eye hitting the ground, I attacked its eye a couple more times which was enough.

It began exploding several times before disappearing completely in a final explosion causing both doors to unlock and a Heart Container to appear in the middle of the room. My opinion on the fight was mixed at best. "That... That actually wasn't bad at all." I said as I swung my sword back and forth.

Princess Twilight nodded. "For a Nightmare, Slime Eye was much easier than Moldorm and the Genie were."

"I only got hit once during that entire fight."

"A sign of improvement."

I shook my head. "Had Slime Eye been stronger and actually did more, I'd have taken a lot more damage and would probably on my last legs right now. Still, why have such an easy boss to serve as one of these Nightmares? Grogar must have made a serious miscalculation to have chosen that to guard an instrument."

"I also see it from a different perspective." Princess Twilight said. "Key Cavern was filled with hidden monsters, rooms with traps in them, and those jumps you had to make. Had you fallen foul to most of those and had barely gotten to Slime Eye, he would've killed you in one or two hits. He thought you were exhausted but that clearly wasn't the case. Anyway, that's three Nightmares defeated."

"Only five more left including Grogar."

"Let's collect the instrument and we can leave this place."

Before doing so, I picked up the Heart Container which appeared after Slime Eye was defeated. I felt its warmth make me stronger than ever and that meant my chances of survival had further increased. With that done, I walked into the final room where the door closed behind me and before was the third instrument and it was... a bell? Really? A bell!? Were they actually viewed as instruments? Apparently, that was true here. I normally associated bells as what you'd hear upon entering a shop or used to make a loud noise to annoy someone. I guessed I shouldn't question it as I'd come across as condescending.

Walking up to the bell, it sparkled in the same manner as the Full Moon Cello and the Conch Horn before it so I knew it was legitimate. Picking it up off the ground, I decided to shake it and see what happened. Sure enough, it let loose a small chime which made me smile. Okay, so maybe a bell can be an instrument. Now... in terms of princesses, the only one left excluding Princess Twilight was Princess Cadance. Among the other three alicorns, I hadn't interacted with her as much if hardly at all because I couldn't really find any common ground, that and she ruled over the Crystal Empire, where the original portal was.

"Okay, we now have the bell."

"Where do you suppose Cadance is?"

I shrugged. "She should be here by now."

"Maybe she got lost?"

"That would make her look bad, wouldn't you think?"

"I guess."

"You have received the Sea Lily's Bell!" A voice called out from nowhere.

"That must be her now, Twilight."

Sure enough, the radiant beauty of Princess Cadance (I was being serious about the beauty because she was well known for it amongst her subjects in addition to her great wisdom and general ease of approaching her) finally made her presence known. Like Celestia and Luna before her, Cadance wore a beautiful gown that featured a crystal heart pattern including an actual crystal heart sewn into the center of it with the colours of the gown being in varying shades of pink, blue, and purple. Her wings shone in the same colours and as for her hair... You get the picture by now.

"I am so sorry for being a bit late." Princess Cadance said. "I'm still having a bit of trouble getting used to having a body like this. I don't know how you can manage to move about so easily with only two legs, Sunset Shimmer, but I can't help but be a little jealous." She then turned to face me directly. "I believe the last time you and I saw each other was when you came to the Crystal Empire in order to apologize to me for what you did when you stole Twilight's crown."

Princess Twilight was shocked to hear that. Sunset! When did you do that!?"

"It was something Princess Celestia arranged for me." I answered. "I wanted to apologize to Princess Cadance for my past actions when I abandoned my studies and Equestria. I'll be honest in saying I don't have much in common with Cadance and we don't interact that much so finding a common connection with her hasn't been easy."

"Sunset Shimmer came to see me about several months after reconciling with Princess Celestia." Princess Cadance said. "We didn't want you to know, Twilight, in case you wanted to take over the entire explanation leaving Sunset with little to say herself." Her Highness then blushed in the presence of her sister-in-law before sharing a giggle with her. "See? Sunset and I both knew you would react like that. Anyway, you now have three of the Instruments of the Sirens. Only five remain until you can awaken the dreamer. By the way, do you two know when everything will change back to normal?"

"That depends on me and Sunset defeating Grogar." Princess Twilight answered.

Princess Cadance gasped. "Grogar!? You mean the ancient evil of Equestria? That Grogar? But, I thought he was Discord in disguise according to what you told me."

"Apparently, this is the real one."

"And defeating him will fix this?"

"Not necessarily." I answered. "We still have the elephant in the room... namely, Ganondorf, the Demon King. It's going to be up to him as to when everything goes back to normal and we all get to go back to our respective worlds. There's no doubt he'll want to fight me again as a means of testing me because of his desire of making me his servant. Just because my magical prowess continues improving by leaps and bounds doesn't mean I'll become corrupted by it."

"You must not allow him to corrupt you, Sunset Shimmer."

"I won't."

"Believe in yourself and your friends and nothing can stop you." Princess Cadance turned to Princess Twilight. "Twilight... I know you will look after Sunset as you've been doing so from the very beginning. Continue guiding her along as always and she will do the same for you." She then faced me again. "Listen closely now to my words as I shall reveal where the next instrument lies. Waterfall... It is hidden in the waterfall."

"A waterfall?" Princess Twilight asked.

"You will find it at the base of the mountain range of this island."

"That should be easy enough."

Princess Cadance shook her head. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple, Twilight. You first need to travel to the eastern part of the island in order to acquire something that will help you unlock the way forward. But, you will need the songstress you know in order to get past an obstacle blocking your path. Also, have you seen the Dream Shrine located in the village? Go there in order to get a special item as without it, your journey cannot be finished. I wish I could say more but I'm refrained from helping any further. However, a certain man both of you know can provide you with those missing answers."

"Flash Sentry..." I said.

"Yes, that would be him." Princess Cadance began to fade away. One last thing... If you're having money troubles, why not speak to Zecora some time. You don't need me to explain why you should do that. "This isn't the last time you'll be seeing me. You will get to see me again when you reach Level 6. Until then, listen to the chimes of the Sea Lily's Bell, and good luck."

As she disappeared, the Sea Lily's Bell began to chime very softly. Compared to the previous two instruments, it wasn't loud nor did it follow in the same tune, but instead it just felt soothing as though my troubles were melting away. As everything went white, I began thinking about what Princess Cadance said. What she said about Zecora was blatantly obvious given there was no sugarcoating it but she was right about me needing more rupees. Zecora did say helping her would be worth it for me. As for this Dream Shrine... surely someone in the village can explain what it is... Maybe even Discord himself.

The moment I walked out of Key Cavern and back outside, the flapping of a bird indicated that Flash Sentry was about to make his presence felt. Sure enough, his owl companion could be seen flying over this way at quite the pace. It eventually stopped before slowly lowering down until it landed above the dungeon entrance. Petting the owl before scratching the underside of its beak, Flash Sentry climbed down and sat down next to his friend. "How many instruments have you gotten so far?"

"I have three." I answered back.

"And you have also defeated three of the Nightmares."

"What else can you tell me about them that I am allowed to know?"

"Some of the Nightmares may not appear strong to the likes of you, but they strike fear into the hearts of those on this island." Flash Sentry answered. "However, the ones that remain shall test you in ways you have yet to understand. Strength alone is not going to help you. You will need wisdom and courage to overcome them."

"If that's all you can say right now then I'll accept it."

"In time, more will become clear to you."

"What about the instruments?"

"When you play the eight instruments in front of the egg, the Wind Fish will waken and you will be able to leave this island."

"As you've said before."

Flash Sentry then climbed back onto his owl companion. "The spirit princess has told you where the next instrument lies, but she was not able to guide you to the item you need in order to reach it. Right now, you cannot enter where you must go so long as water continues to run. Young lass, you must now hasten to the Yarna Desert. It is located beyond a place called Animal Village which is to the east. The one who first found you... Her voice must be heard by those who enjoy it most. The dark, monstrous inhabitants of the sand will show you the way to your goal."

With that, he took to the sky on his companion leaving me plenty to think about. On the one hand, I needed to go to this Yarna Desert which is where I needed to find something that could help me reach whatever kind of dungeon lurked behind a waterfall. I was concerned that I was being taken away from where I was supposed to go. It wasn't backtracking but rather deviating from the main path. I also had the Dream Shrine back in Mabe Village and what Zecora wanted from me. So many options yet two were required and the other being an option that had benefits attached to them.

First, I needed to speak to Discord since he could shed some light on where I had to go next. Jumping across the islands in the lake until I got to the other side, I then began dashing and to my amazement, the speed was just as incredible out here like it was indoors. Granted, I did have to stop and change direction to avoid crashing into walls or obstacles of a similar nature but at least now I could backtrack with some speed on my side. Heading south and going past Tempest's villa, I approached Key Cavern again from the south before heading left as the nearest telephone booth was in that general area.

Seeing the telephone booth, I dashed forward only to accidentally run into the tree to the right of it, and to my surprise, a Secret Seashell fell out from it. Picking it up before a monster could step on it, or even me for that matter, I now had four of them though I needed a lot more than that if I wanted that ultimate sword. Now that I had the Pegasus Boots on my feet, were there other places I could now go which were previously inaccessible? Surely there were such places. With more items, the more my exploration would open up. Entering the telephone booth, I picked up the phone and waited.

BBRRIINNG! BBRRIINNG!

"D'oh ho ho! This is Ulrira speaking." Discord said. "I know it's you, Sunset Shimmer, as who else would call me?"

"I need your help." I said.

"Of course you do as why else would you phone me!" Discord went silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Have you ever heard of the Dream Shrine? It's a place located in the northeast part of the village. Anyone who goes in there gets to dream about this strange place where a great treasure is hidden. What treasure is it? You should ask Papahl's wife about that as she knows a lot about that shrine."

Princess Cadance did say that the item in the Dream Shrine was necessary for me to finish this journey. I had to go there as soon as possible because if I don't collect it now, I'll no doubt forget about it and be in a panic later. I then thought about the desert Flash Sentry mentioned. Since Discord knew so much about Koholint Island, he should be able to tell me exactly what I'm looking for. "Um..." I began but had difficulty coming up with a good way to ask. "I need to find something among some sand." Seriously!? That was my method!? That was a terrible execution."

"Sand, you say? You mean the Yarna Desert?"

"Yes."

"D'oh ho ho!" Discord laughed though this time he was allowed to get away with it since I screwed up with my request. "In the Yarna Desert, which is located in the southeast of the island, you will find something called the Angler Key. A key like that in a desert is pretty unusual isn't it? It would work better somewhere with plenty of water. Hmmm... How much more obvious do I have to be? If you're still having problems, well... I'm not sure what I can do for you. Bye!"

CLICK!

'Angler Key'? So that was what I needed to find in the Yarna Desert? Discord didn't say where in the desert it was so that was something I needed to figure out on my own. I also needed to bring Starlight with me since she was the songstress Princess Cadance mentioned. I had no idea how I would convince her to come with me. Leaving the telephone booth and heading back north, I noticed Sunburst standing by a tree trying to poke something. Maybe he can help me with Starlight. He is her father after all in this world. Okay, now I was starting to get somewhere with all of this.

To Be Continued.