The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.
By Ganondorf8.
March 5, 2021.
Chapter 25: Tower of the Eagle.
The flapping of Flash Sentry's owl companion grew louder as they continued to approach and when they did, he commanded it to land on a ledge next to three boulders which were blocking a cave entrance. I believed I had explored that cave before but I could always check it again to make sure. Behind me, the Flying Rooster began pecking the ground perhaps to look for some food (Who knew how long it had been since it last consumed anything) and showed no sign of leaving, a strong sign of loyalty.
Flash Sentry then spoke. "You have the means to fly like a bird. I knew that you would understand the meaning behind my words." He then looked at his companion and seemed quite impressed by it, or maybe he was thinking of something else. It was difficult to tell with him sometimes. "From here, your path is not easy but you are almost there. Go east and you will find the tower that is dedicated to the mighty eagle."
"What about the key I need?" I asked.
"To claim the Bird Key, you must rely on the strength of the bird itself."
Without the Flying Rooster's help, I would end up getting stuck and quite possibly lost as I hadn't explored too much of the mountains. On another note... Bird Key? Couldn't they have come up with a more appropriate name, like say Eagle Key? After all, this next dungeon was dedicated to a specific bird and not birds in general. Hopefully, it would be a simple pick up which wouldn't result in me fighting a powerful monster which had been the case with the previous two keys.
"Anything else I need to know?"
"Your shield..."
"What about it?"
Flash Sentry looked up at the sun before looking back at my shield again. "It has served you well as it has provided you with ample protection. But... There are things that even it cannot protect you from. You will need something much better if you wish to collect the remaining instruments." I was then expecting him to tell me where I could find it and to my surprise, he went and did just that. "It can be found where you are going. Do not forget about it!"
"And why would I do that?"
"Once you enter the mountain tower and see it for yourself, you will understand my meaning. Now go! The Wind Fish is getting restless!" Flash Sentry answered. With that, he commanded his owl to take off and they immediately soared off into the sky heading east. I was honestly expecting much less from him as he usually was very cryptic or unwilling to share too much information, but he seemed more willing to get to the point. Perhaps he was afraid of what he had said regarding the monsters becoming more aggressive?
I then turned to Princess Twilight. "What do you make of that?"
"A new shield might just be what you need." Princess Twilight answered.
I took off my shield and held it firmly in my hands. "But... How could I replace this? I mean, I've done it before; you should know as you were with me at the time. Getting a new shield is fine and all but you get so attached to what you have especially when it has practically saved your life more than once."
"While true, it does have limitations."
"And I think I know what those are."
Princess Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! And I thought I was going to have to explain it to you. I do find it odd that Flash Sentry would tell you not to forget about collecting it as you do go out of your way to open up every treasure chest you come across. Much of the time, what you find in a dungeon helps towards completing it. It sounds like this new shield won't be of much assistance in getting through the Eagle's Tower."
"I've never had such a thing come up before."
"Looks like you have now."
Slinging my shield onto my back, I then took a look at my surroundings. "It makes me wish that I had a map of the entire island instead of having to rely on memory for every little detail. I have you of course but then you can only remember so much, Twilight." That wasn't a shot against Her Highness as she was really good at remembering what things looked like but even she had her limits as no one was perfect. I was more hands on and wanting to be out there rather than memorize something. "Do you suppose I'm going to end up getting lost?"
Shrugging, Princess Twilight sighed. "It is a possibility as the Tal Tal Mountains do have plenty of caves that connect all over the place. I suppose you could go back to the library and take a closer look at the island map but that would involve some unnecessary backtracking."
"I'm surprised you said it like that."
"I wanted to say it before you could."
I rolled my eyes. "Guess I'm going to be doing this blind."
"It hasn't stopped you before."
No it hadn't! I've had to traverse across this island lots of times without truly knowing where I was going. Going through the mountains wasn't going to be any different. Oh sure, I had explored a part of it in the past when I had to go to the Angler's Tunnel, but I hadn't taken it upon myself to truly explore every cave let alone the vast majority of the mountains which covered the entire northern reaches of Koholint. Just knowing there was still so much mountain range left made me gulp but I had to go through with it.
Heading to the cave entrance blocked by boulders, I picked one up and tossed it aside before entering. I was immediately attacked by three Keese which flew about in an attempt to distract me and they were doing a very good job. A Hardhat Beetle (Weren't they supposed to only be seen in dungeons?) charged towards me and upon hitting me, it pushed me back outside. I didn't think that could happen but apparently it could since it just happened. Going back inside with my shield raised, the Hardhat Beetle collided with it and got pushed back.
Remembering that its shell was impervious to damage, I attacked it and pushed it back until it fell into the abyss. The three Keese meanwhile continued to cause a distraction by flittering about so I ignored them and focused on getting to the other side (The Flying Rooster was still behind me to my relief). Heading right and encountering numerous boulders arranged in a formation along with some purple crystals, I knew I had to be fast as the cracks in the ground could give way at any moment.
Pushing a boulder into the abyss, I then shattered a crystal followed by a Green Zol which popped up from the ground before pushing another boulder aside. Heading down the stairs and into another tunnel, I could see several Green Zols and Keese up ahead. Switching over to the Pegasus Boots by jumping slightly which allowed them to appear on my feet, I dashed forward through the monsters and up another set of stairs, entering a room I had been in before as there were those weird blocks that could only be destroyed by dashing.
Dashing through the weird blocks which popped upon contact, I walked outside and was back where the waterfall was where I had to drop down. Chancellor Neighsay was no longer around so it was safe to assume that he had gone back home once he regained his strength. Heading into the water and past a cave entrance I remembered lead to a chest and ultimately a dead end, I ignored it since there was nothing else in there, I walked past the waterfall and eventually jumped into some deeper water which required swimming.
Swimming along, I checked to make sure the Flying Rooster was still behind me. He was and was flying above the water which made sense as he was a bird after all. I had to give him credit for wanting to continue tagging along considering where I travelled and being attacked by monsters every few minutes. He reminded me of Starlight Glimmer as she tagged along on my journey for a while yet she was a bit more talkative. Oh well. It felt nice having someone on the journey to experience it, excluding Her Highness naturally.
I then saw a ladder and climbed up it and out of the water with the Flying Rooster somehow materializing up to where I was. Yeah... I'm not going to question that. Anyway, I noticed what looked like Red Tektites but were instead blue. "I take it that these are Blue Tektites?"
Giggling, Princess Twilight nodded. "They are and you should know that unlike the red ones, blue variants don't jump around as much. That should make them easy enough to overcome but don't take them too lightly."
Attacking one which happened to be nearby, it was defeated and dropped a rupee which I picked up. "Gee... It didn't really put up much of a fight."
"Every monster has its own behaviour."
"I know that, but still..."
"The ones that are truly aggressive are the most dangerous." Princess Twilight said, her voice sounding like she was about to go into one of her lectures. "Monsters that show no signs of aggression should still be avoided as you never know when they will suddenly snap, but generally speaking, they are no real threat and can even be considered cute. Then we have monsters that are in the middle of the pack so to speak. Depending on their mood, you might be attacked or maybe not and instead be left alone. Blue Tektites appear to be moody so you won't know until they actually do something."
"That sounds reassuring, I think?"
"It took me a while to cobble together that research based on your experiences so far."
Of course Her Highness considered this to be another piece of research. I couldn't really fault her here as what she said did actually give me some solid advice when it came to dealing with monsters in general. Okay, I had been doing this from the start what with choosing what monsters to attack and which to ignore, but it felt good hearing a more detailed explanation behind it. I wasn't some kind of bloodthirsty monster who wanted to kill everything that got in her way but sometimes there was no option other than to fight because you got forced which was happening more often than it should.
A few more Blue Tektites were bouncing around and I chose to ignore them. As I kept on walking, I could see some kind of roof sticking out above on the next plateau though my eyes did spot a cave entrance as well. Thinking it over quickly, I decided to see what this roof was about. Heading up some steps, I was surprised to see that the roof belonged to a house. I was also surprised that someone would be living out here in such a monster-infested place but perhaps they felt pretty bold about it. Looking around for some kind of sign, Princess Twilight pointed to one which was on the roof.
It was in the shape of a bird, a rooster to be more precise. "I guess this must be the Hen House we were told about."
Nodding, Princess Twilight looked a little dejected. "I was actually expecting something along the lines of what you would find on a farm, like Sweet Apple Acres. This just looks like an ordinary house albeit in a weird location. No doubt you were wondering why anyone would be living out here."
I nodded that time. "Whoever lives here must be pretty bold."
"Since this is the Hen House, that cave entrance you passed by must be where you need to go to find the Bird Key."
"I'd forgotten about that."
"Good thing I didn't."
"Since we're here, we might as well pay a visit to the home owner."
Before going inside, I asked the Flying Rooster to remain outside just in case the owner might not be the friendly sort and I didn't want anything to happen to him. Walking inside, I saw three chickens that were pecking the ground along with the owner of the house who happened to be Big Macintosh who was throwing what looked to be chicken feed at one. I'd seen the other members of the Apple Family so I was surprised that he didn't make an appearance until now. At the same time, it made sense that he was here given his profession as a farm hand.
Upon noticing me, Big Macintosh began to speak. "Didn't think anyone would come all the way out here."
"Why did you choose to live in a place like this?" I asked as I approached.
"Some people like to be on their own."
"Like you?"
"Eyup!"
I rolled my eyes in response. Somehow, I knew he was going to say exactly that. Big Macintosh was known for not saying much instead preferring to let his actions speak for him, but apparently he used to be very talkative in his younger days. Considering he was portraying another character, he could potentially go back and forth on what he says. I then decided to ask him about the Bird Key and the Eagle's Tower. "Have you seen a key with a bird's head on it?"
"Nope!"
"Do you know where I could find it?"
"Nope!"
"You're not much help are you?"
"Nope!"
Okay, that third response was pretty cute even though I had pretty much insulted him. Princess Twilight knew what I was doing and began bopping me on the head to get my attention, and when she got it, she suggested I asked about the mountain tower without saying too much about my quest. "Okay, then how about this? Have you heard of some kind of tower existing somewhere in these mountains?"
I was expecting Big Macintosh to respond with another 'nope' but instead he nodded slowly. "I've never been to it but I do know about it. If you were to go outside and look to the east, you can see it reaching high up into the clouds. Better yet, why not look out this window and see it for yourself." I did as he instructed and looked outside at the Eagle's Tower where I turned pale and felt like being sick. "Eyup! I knew that was going to be your reaction."
The tower was huge! I had seen tall towers in my time yet this one was even taller than the ones in Canterlot. If that was indeed the next dungeon, I was liking it even less and I hadn't even entered it yet. I couldn't even see an entrance which made me wonder how I was supposed to get inside despite knowing it required the Bird Key. Looking away from the window, Big Macintosh told me to sit down on a nearby chair. Sitting down, I began shaking upon seeing my next destination. I didn't want to go there but I knew that I had too otherwise this journey couldn't be finished.
"How do you live knowing 'that' tower is over there?"
Big Macintosh shrugged. "I don't let it get to me."
"You don't?"
"Nope!"
"Surely you must have seen something happening over there that would make you worried?"
"Eyup!" Big Macintosh suddenly stopped tossing his chicken feed and gave me a serious look. "The rumour is the tower is home to a giant bird which has been seen flying around though no one has actually seen it. As long as it doesn't come this way, I'm not bothered by how terrifying that place looks. I've no business over there anyway though judging from your reactions, you plan on going there yet I can see why. It's obvious you're an adventurer as why else would you be dressed like that and carrying all that stuff?"
"Am I that obvious?"
Big Macintosh nodded. "Eyup!" He then resumed tossing the feed before continuing on. "I'm not going to pry into your business but let me say one thing. If you do plan on going over there to that tower, be sure you watch out for that giant bird." He paused for a moment and then changed the subject when he began calling over one of his chickens which promptly did so without question. "Sorry if I sound rather distant but I've been feeling pretty bad these days."
"How come?"
"It has to do with my chickens."
I then looked at all three and couldn't see anything wrong with them. "They look fine to me."
Shaking his head, Big Macintosh responded with his usual 'nope' before sighing. "Their appearance isn't the problem. It's their fighting spirit or lack thereof. Chickens these days don't have the flying spirit that they used to have. In the old days, they could fly, flap flap! But look at these ones, see? Cluck cluck!" He sighed again. "It makes me think that sometimes it's just not worth continuing to do this. These little fellas will never fly and instead will remain grounded."
"You want them to fly?"
"Eyup!"
"Care to explain if you want to?"
Big Macintosh nodded. "I'd love to be able to fly around in the air like the chickens of old used to do but that won't ever happen." He pointed to the three chickens in his house and sighed once again which made me feel sorry for him. A part of me wanted to go outside and bring in the Flying Rooster to help him fulfil this dream of his but I couldn't do that as I needed the rooster to help me acquire the Bird Key. "Ever hear about the Flying Rooster of Mabe Village?"
"Um..." My eyes looked towards the door knowing that the rooster was waiting outside and I quickly turned back towards him. "No... I've never heard of it." I wasn't about to deprive him of telling me something I already knew. Besides, I felt sympathetic towards him seeing as he was just a humble man who had an honest dream.
"Now that was a chicken that could fly about!"
"Do you know what happened to him?"
"Eyup!" Big Macintosh answered, his head lowering in sadness. "The rooster passed away a long time ago and was buried underneath a weathervane. For a chicken breeder like myself, I had to go to the village and pay my respects. Deep down, I was saddened knowing I could never fly around with such a magnificent chicken."
Before he could say another word, I stepped outside and he shrugged before resuming tossing his chicken feed. Back outside, I called to the Flying Rooster to come with me and he followed me back inside where I apologized for suddenly leaving without warning. "I want to show you something."
To my relief, the Flying Rooster had followed me inside and to Big Macintosh's amazement. "Wow! Amazing! That rooster is actually flying! I can't believe that I am seeing this! It's just like I said, eh? That chicken of yours has the fighting spirit! Have you tried holding him above your head? Cluck cluck!" His happiness quickly faded which made me feel upset and regretful that I went and brought the rooster in here. "As much as I would like to have him fly me around, I know that he's your rooster. You enjoy the experience and don't worry about the likes of me."
Thanking him for the friendly chat as well as the warning about the giant bird, I left the Hen House though I felt guilty. I believed that showing him the rooster would improve his morale but instead it ended up having an opposite effect. Perhaps upon finishing his business with me, he would come back here and give Big Macintosh his dream of flying. Until then, I just had to live with guilt in my heart until further notice. Princess Twilight then comforted me knowing my intentions were good but ultimately misguided which made me feel even worse.
Choosing to focus on the task at hand, I took a look at my surroundings to give myself a better lay of the land. I knew the Eagle's Tower was to my left so I ignored that and looked to my right where I saw some wooden bridges held up with some rope which looked like it could give way at any moment. Straight ahead, I could see the entire expanse of Koholint Island before me and it made me feel small in comparison. Once I was ready to continue on, I had to choose whether to check out the cave or head towards the tower for a closer look.
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CRRAACCKLE! FWWOOSSHH!
"So this is where you've been hiding, Grim Creeper!"
"Oh look! It's the Nightmare who won't get his chance against the Outsider!"
"And what do you mean by that?"
The Grim Creeper began laughing. "It's just that she will meet a horrible end once she enters the Eagle's Tower. Oh, I don't plan on killing her right away as that would be boring. I want to see what she's capable of first and then kill her. You can come and watch if you want to, Hot Head, but you might not be comfortable without your precious lava."
"Do you really think you can defeat the Outsider?" Hot Head asked.
"I believe I can take care of her."
"You believe you can?"
"Did I stutter for you or something?"
Hot Head began to chuckle slowly. "There is no 'believe' when it comes to fulfilling the desires of my master. You either must succeed or be destroyed. As you already know, the others ended up failing and were destroyed. They didn't realize she possessed tools that proved effective against them. Her own personal experiences continued to improve which were also a factor. While I have no doubt of your abilities, Grim Creeper, you would be wise to not make the same mistake the others made."
"Is that the sound of jealousy I hear?"
"What makes you think that?"
The Grim Creeper wagged her finger. "You can't hide it from me, Hot Head. You want to end her life because it would mean becoming the mighty Dethl's most faithful servant and it would mean him not having to personally get his hands dirty. But, I've been given the opportunity and I'm not about to give you any glory."
"You are such a vindictive creature."
"And you know why."
Hot Head nodded. "You've always been jealous of the fact that you weren't chosen to be a Nightmare. While I won't deny that you are strong, you clearly lack true power as all you have are those little creatures that fight your battles for you in addition to the Evil Eagle. My master prefers ideal servants who can give results and not just brag about what they might be capable of."
That angered the Grim Creeper though she quickly calmed down. "While I would love nothing more than to see you getting snuffed out for good, I know better than to let you get under my skin so I'll refrain from unleashing my fury. What I lack in power is made up with cunning and knowing how the Outsider works. She has a particular weakness which will make things oh so easy but you won't hear it from me."
"You sound like you've got things under control."
"Like I said, you're jealous."
"If that's what you think it is, I won't object."
The Grim Creeper then changed the subject. "So... Do you want to come and watch her suffer before she dies?"
Hot Head shook his head. "No... I need to take care of something else. Besides, you don't need the likes of me to upstage you! If you truly believe that you can stop her for good, then by all mean go ahead. My master is expecting great things from you, Grim Creeper, so know that failure won't be accepted. Prove that his faith wasn't misguided! Oh, and make sure not to allow the Evil Eagle to have its wings clipped."
"I doubt it will even need to fight."
"Now that is what I call confidence."
"Are you mocking me?"
Again, Hot Head shook his head. "I'm just stating a fact, nothing more than that. If you truly think the Evil Eagle won't be needed then hope the Outsider doesn't reach it otherwise you will look bad for having made a bold claim."
"If anyone is going to look bad, it will be you because you never got a chance!"
As the Grim Creeper disappeared, Hot Head laughed under his breath before speaking in a quiet voice. "You are in way over your head, Grim Creeper! The Outsider is too much for you to handle and it will cost you your life. I am worried that the Outsider could become too strong even for me. Hmmm... Perhaps the Grim Creeper can do what she says and prevail but she would no doubt brag about it and demand to become even more powerful. Choosing one over the other..."
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Choosing to go to the right towards the Eagle's Tower, I approached a bridge which had a piece missing. I thought about jumping over the gap using the Roc's Feather but I chose to use the Flying Rooster instead as I had no idea how long he would tag along. Picking him up, I hovered across the gap and continued to move along in this fashion until reaching a few boulders which were blocking the way forward. Tossing the rooster aside, I picked up and tossed each boulder with the second one containing a Spiny Beetle which attacked me.
Reeling from the hit, I dropped the boulder which landed on the monster, defeating it. I had forgotten that they lived underneath some objects which made picking things up tricky as you could never tell what was hiding underneath them. At that moment, the Seashell Sensor began vibrating indicating that a Secret Seashell was nearby. While I didn't like the fact that I needed to be practically right on top of it in order for it to go off, I was happy knowing that it actually worked. Picking up and tossing the remaining boulder, the seashell was hiding underneath which I picked up giving me fifteen.
I thought about going back but I felt compelled to get an even closer look at the Eagle's Tower. Heading to the right and across a complete bridge, I noticed a single bush on the other side which most likely had another Spiny Beetle hiding underneath it. Approaching it, it got up and began scuttling towards me either to attack or to run away. It bumped into me before moving back and then moving towards me again so I responded with my sword removing the bush (I forgot they did that). Hitting it again defeated it leaving me to gaze up at the tower.
Even up close, the dungeon was a fearsome sight to behold. By the base was a small statue of a bird where I could barely make out a keyhole so at least I knew where the Bird Key needed to be inserted. Again, I couldn't see an actual entrance. I could see another bird on the tower proper along with tons of vines that gave off an ancient vibe as though no one had taken care of the place for years if not decades. There was nothing else in this direction other than sight-seeing so I turned around and went back the other way making sure to use the Flying Rooster to get across that one gap.
Back by the Hen House, I considered going to the left and seeing what the west side of the Tal Tal Mountains were like but Princess Twilight insisted otherwise saying I needed to focus on reaching my next destination. She also said I was highly likely to go that way anyway as I had explored every other area of the island. Shrugging and accepting Her Highness' opinion, I decided to go and check out the cave entrance from earlier. Before going inside, Her Highness warned me that it would soon be dark so I needed to work fast as sleeping inside of a cave wasn't my idea of having a good night.
Entering the cave, I saw no monsters though the path did go to the left. "Hmmm... I don't like the feeling of this." I said.
Princess Twilight nodded. "Since you had to defeat a rather powerful monster in order to acquire the previous two special keys, you might have to fight a third one or perhaps you need to solve some kind of difficult puzzle?"
"I'd rather just run into it." I said sighing. "Oh, and I already thought about a powerful monster guarding the Bird Key."
"I had a feeling you would."
Heading to the left and entering the next section of the cave, my jaw dropped upon seeing so many boulders. "Oh come on!" I was hoping for a simple item pickup this time around and instead I ended up with this. "Guess you were right about needing to solve a difficult puzzle."
"You might still have to fight a monster."
I... I didn't want to say anything in response to that. Had I done so, I'd have only upset myself even more so. Instead, I chose to comment on the puzzle at hand. "I think I can see the solution here." In truth, I couldn't see it. "Ugh! Never mind!"
Then Princess Twilight looked over the formation. "Hmmm... You'll need to do some fancy jumping with the Roc's Feather in order to reach certain sides of the boulders." She then stopped and chuckled upon realizing that she was getting a little too technical. "Let me try that again. Say you pushed a boulder north and it went in that direction. Now say you pushed it east by jumping to the left side of it beforehand. That's what I meant by fancy jumping. Better yet, the Flying Rooster can be of tremendous help as you can hover about in directions that aren't normally accessible by jumping."
"I think I got that."
"That was the best way I could describe it."
Again, I preferred a hands-on approach by figuring things out. Taking the time to assess the situation and planning things out was more Princess Twilight's calling. Looking at the Flying Rooster and then at the puzzle again, I might have figured out a possible solution. In fact, what Her Highness said might not necessarily be required unless I was overthinking things. Ugh! This was getting me nowhere and my blood was beginning to boil.
"I wish you hadn't given me that explanation, Twilight."
"Did I confuse you?"
I nodded. "Yeah but it's not your fault. I'm just missing something so blatantly obvious that it's making me mad."
"Better not get too mad otherwise the Flying Rooster could get upset."
Upon Princess Twilight mentioning him, it finally clicked and I could see the solution appear before me. I had to fly like a bird! I needed to push certain boulders to create a path towards the back of the cave and then use the rooster to hover over one particular hole. "I've figured it out."
"Oh? My explanation did help?"
I shrugged. "It kind of did but what you said about the rooster is what made it click! Here! Let me show you what I mean." I began by pushing the middle boulder in the second row where it fell into the abyss followed by pushing the one to its left into another hole. After that, I pushed the boulder that was north of the second where it too fell before coming to a stop and assessing what I had done. "As you can see, I've begun creating a path but I need to do one last thing to truly make it complete."
Princess Twilight was surprised. "Not exactly how I explained it but so long as you figured it out, I can live with it."
Picking up the Flying Rooster, I hovered over the next hole before throwing him in order to get down. Walking into the next area, I immediately stopped on account of there being a massive abyss which I couldn't cross by any means. Not even using the Hookshot would've worked as it was so huge in scope. This is where the Flying Rooster was needed... For this one location that otherwise would've forced me to go back had I come here much sooner. Then again, I could only see what was directly in front of me. There could be much worse waiting up ahead like an even more complicated puzzle.
I picked him up and he began to hover across the abyss though I made sure not to look down (I wasn't afraid of heights but I was fearful of plunging into a bottomless void) in case I accidentally tried throwing him. Once he had reached the other side, something shiny caught my eyes and there on top of a raised platform was a key with a bird shaped head. I couldn't see any monsters around nor a difficult puzzle to solve which made me wonder if this there was some kind of hidden trap. I mean come on! This felt too easy compared with previous situations.
Once the rooster hovered me over a small one, I tossed him aside and walked up the stairs where I then picked up the Bird Key. "So this is the Bird Key huh? Why would it be hidden in such a place like this?"
"I have no idea." Princess Twilight answered who then noticed my disappointed expression. "Are you upset that you acquired this key without any problems? If anything, you should be happy that all this took was using a rooster that could fly. Unless... You actually wanted to fight another powerful monster."
Shaking my head, I placed the key in my pocket. "I'd rather not fight a strong monster if I can avoid it."
"I thought so."
"Okay, so how do I get out of here?"
"The only direction I can see is you going back the other way.
"There's no shorter way to go?"
"No and it means you need to solve that puzzle again."
"Tell me you're not serious about that, Twilight."
Princess Twilight nodded her head. "When you leave an area after doing something, most of the time, what you did ends up being restored back to the way it was. Major puzzles when solved remain that way permanently while smaller ones have to be solved again. All it really does is waste precious time though it does allow for some great memorization especially if you struggled with it initially. Does that make sense to you, Sunset?"
"Believe me, it does."
Her Highness knew that I had been through plenty of scenarios that fit both of her descriptions but I appreciated the explanation. It served as an interesting conversation piece which we could easily bring up again later should it be deemed necessary. Anyway, now that I had the Bird Key in my possession, I needed to use it to open up the next dungeon though I didn't know how to reach it. I suspected it would involve going through the right cave of which many existed throughout the Tal Tal Mountains. No sense in complaining about the obvious.
I picked up the Flying Rooster and he hovered back over to the hole before he continued over the abyss. Again, I made sure not to look down and soon enough, he had reached the other side where I tossed him to land on solid ground (No, I wasn't about to kiss the ground as even I had my dignity). Heading back into the room with the boulders, I then noticed another path that ignored them. Princess Twilight said going that way would've likely taken me to the Bird Key's location but I'd have been blocked by something that was completely impassible.
Fortunately, getting through these boulders the other way was remarkably simple. Pushing a boulder forward where it fell, I then pushed another one and I was able to reach the entrance to the cave. I thought about the other path and seeing where it went just for the fun of it but opted not to as there wasn't any real point. Heading outside, the sun had gotten even lower indicating that night was evident, but luckily, I was only a very short distance away from Big Macintosh's place and surely he'd allowed me to sleep there until morning. I did show him something spectacular even if it did make him upset.
Heading back to the Hen House and avoiding the Blue Tektites, I went inside and he was surprised that I had come back. "Back already? I guess you've gotten so enamoured with my chickens that you just couldn't keep yourself away from seeing them again."
"You could say that." I said sheepishly.
"And you even brought that rooster back with you too."
"I'm sorry that seeing him makes you upset."
Big Macintosh shook his head. "I'm not upset that you've got yourself such a magnificent chicken. We all have our lot in life and mine is breeding ordinary chickens who just cluck and can't fly." He then noticed the Bird Key sticking out of my pocket. "Guess you found that strange key you were looking for. Not sure what use you have for it but don't pay me any mind. It's none of my business to criticize your own."
"Thanks." I then changed the subject. "Could I spend the night here?"
"Eyup!"
"That's it?"
"Eyup!"
"Wow... You're pretty easy to negotiate with."
"While true, it's also dangerous to go around these mountains at night." Big Macintosh said whilst staring out the window and looking at the Eagle's Tower. "Some say the monsters are even more aggressive at night because they are imbued by the very darkness itself. I personally don't believe it but why take a chance. You can stay here until morning so feel free to make yourself at home."
"Thank you."
As night fell, Big Macintosh began telling me stories about chickens which helped pass the time. At first, I didn't know what to make of them but as he continued, I began getting a better appreciation of them and how they could be innocent until they get provoked too much. Being curious about wanting new knowledge and because Princess Twilight was urging me to inquire further, I asked him what he meant. He then said that some people loved attacking chickens because it made them feel good but they could only take so much abuse before calling for others to come and peck repeatedly until their attackers either left them alone or were defeated... Permanently.
Who knew that chickens could be so vicious? It then made me think about my previous adventures where Cuccos were everywhere minding their own business though they could unintentionally get in the way what with being such curious creatures. The thought of them acting in such a manner made me glad I never tried attacking them. If Fluttershy had been with me and she saw me attack them, she'd have never forgiven me despite them becoming dangerous.
Unlike the previous night, I was able to sleep peacefully and this was a good thing given that I was going to enter a dungeon which was already leaving me feeling uneasy. Morning soon came and Big Macintosh wished me luck before suggesting I come back to pay him another visit, something I planned on doing as I still believed the Flying Rooster would choose to stay with him once he no longer needed to tag along behind me. Leaving the Hen House and looking up at the Eagle's Tower, my mind knew there was no going back, so slapping both sides of my face, I regained my resolve.
Heading down the stairs, I was knocked to the ground by a Blue Tektite which jumped from a higher platform down to where I was. Getting back up, it jumped at me again where I responded by attacking it with my sword, dropping a green rupee upon defeat that I collected. Walking past the cave that once contained the Bird Key, I made my way across the area then climbed down the ladder and back into the water, the Flying Rooster still behind me. Swimming rapidly so as to not get pulled down a small waterfall (That would've set me back about five minutes or so), I was soon able to walk on solid ground.
There was only one way onward and that was a cave as I had otherwise reached a dead end. Entering the cave, there was more water on the ground which wasn't really annoying but my feet weren't liking it. A Keese situated in the middle of the water remained motionless which gave me an opportunity to try out the Boomerang I had acquired from the Goriya. I couldn't ignore it as it was blocking the path so defeating it was my only option. Taking it out and aiming it carefully, I tossed it only to miss my target at first but then it got hit from behind before returning to my hand.
"You might need some practice with that." Princess Twilight said.
I lowered my head in shame. "You'd think I'd have gotten over making simple mistakes like that."
"It's all part of the learning process."
"I will admit that's rather easy to throw."
"That's good to know for the future."
"Is the boomerang really as powerful as that Goriya said it was?" I asked as I looked at the item. "I know he said as much when I got it from him but so far, I'm not really seeing it unless I'm judging it too soon."
Comforting me, Princess Twilight landed on the boomerang and tapped it a few times. "A weak monster like a Keese will easily fall to a boomerang and most of your other items so it wasn't a good example of testing out its power. What you need is a stronger monster that has more stamina. Considering you'll be entering the Eagle's Tower soon, there will be plenty of chances to use the boomerang."
"Maybe it will make the dungeon an easier experience."
"That is a possibility."
From what I remembered, a boomerang was not only an offensive weapon, but also one that could be used to activate switches from a distance. This was a lot like using the bow except that it wouldn't cost an arrow every time. It could even be used to reach far away objects and bring them towards me rather than having to go up and collect them in person. If the boomerang had one drawback, it was that once thrown at something, it took quite a bit of time to come back unless it was disrupted during flight. While it wasn't a major issue, it could still prove problematic depending on the situation.
Moving along through the water, I then noticed a Piranha swimming about in a deeper section. I thought about using the boomerang against it, but realized that it only revealed itself when attacking so that wouldn't work. Instead, I picked up the Flying Rooster and hovered over it before noticing a cracked section of the wall. Once on the other side, I took out the Roc's Feather and jumped back onto a small platform that was in front of the crack. With some quick maneuvering, I took out a bomb, dropped it, and jumped back again when it exploded.
This revealed a hidden room which I entered though it contained two more Piranha swimming about along with some stairs leading up to another floor. Using the rooster again to hover over the monsters and up to the stairs to the next level, what greeted me was a long corridor. I walked down this new path before being stopped by a number of boulders along with some chests which made me feel suspicious. Since when would there be so many chests in one location? Unless this was someone's hidden treasure trove, I suspected there were traps hidden in these.
"What do you think, Twilight?"
"Most definitely booby-trapped."
"That's what I thought."
Looking over at the formation of the chests, Princess Twilight then bopped me on the head to get my attention. "If you do this correctly, you should be able to open up every single chest without having to leave and then re-enter this cave. Make sure you have your sword ready as you're likely to get attacked by Green Zols or maybe something else. Either way, follow my directions closely."
Nodding, Her Highness told me to push the boulder that was immediately to my right since the chest that it was blocking was the closest to me. Pushing it aside and opening the chest, smoke billowed forth followed by a Green Zol which tried jumping out but I attacked with my sword defeating it. Princess Twilight then needed a few moments to determine which one to open next and decided on the one by the left wall. Walking up to and pushing the correct boulder, I opened this chest where smoke came out again along with another Green Zol.
Defeating it, that left just three chests I needed to open, and after thinking it over, Princess Twilight told me to go for the one that wasn't surrounded by boulders. Looking over and nodding, I walked up to the one surrounded by three boulders and pushed the one I could access forward allowing me to reach my target. Opening it up, I waited for the smoke to clear before defeating the next Green Zol leaving two chests remaining... Which is when Her Highness realized she had made a huge blunder. By pushing that one boulder, I had locked myself out from opening the final chest.
Since there was nothing else I could do, I exited the cave and was back outside on a higher elevation yet there was nothing out here aside from another chest, a Blue Tektite, and a dead end. Oh well. At least I got to open up one good chest unless it had been booby-trapped as well. The Blue Tektite bounced towards me but I got of the way only to get hit when it bounced a second time. Defeating it with a sword strike and then opening the chest, I took out a Secret Seashell which was my sixteenth. It looked liked going and exploring off the beaten path had paid off.
Heading back into the cave, I was surprised to see that the opened chests had been closed up again. "Okay? What happened?"
Clasping her hands together, Princess Twilight looked like she was about to cry. "I've been given a second chance to help you solve this puzzle." I wasn't about to steal away her thunder so I stood back and allowed her to do her thing. "Okay, if you follow these directions, you can open up all five chests in one attempt. It also proves a theory which had only just recently come to mind."
"And that is?"
"If you mess up a sequence, you can leave and then come back where it will have reset itself."
"That does make some puzzles become a joke."
Princess Twilight nodded. "For those who struggle with solving puzzles, it can be seen as a blessing especially if the reward is a good one. I'm going to take a guess and say that you're going to end up getting a valuable rupee upon opening the final chest."
I knew Her Highness had unintentionally made a reference to video game players, but I wouldn't go into any details for her since it would be confusing and I'd never hear the end of it. Opening the first chest, I defeated the Green Zol after the smoke cleared before pushing a boulder that was blocking the chest to my right. Opening it up and waiting for the smoke to clear, the next Green Zol managed to jump out and bounce around once or twice until it was defeated. Was it worth going through all this just to get more money? Yes as you never knew when you needed to make a sudden purchase.
Moving to the chest surrounded by three boulders, I pushed the one that was directly in front of it and then opened it where smoke came forth and the next Green Zol popped out. It began bouncing around and even managed to hit me twice until I used a sword strike to defeat it. I opened up the next chest which had been the first one I opened during my previous attempt. Smoke came out from it but then I swung my sword defeating the next Green Zol (This was starting to get rather redundant now) before it had a chance to start bouncing around.
Pushing the last necessary boulder and opening up the final chest, I took out a silver rupee which was worth one hundred though what I went through to get it didn't feel worth it especially with how repetitive it got. Deep down, I hoped I wouldn't have to go through this kind of puzzle again. Now, there was nothing left for me in this area so I went back down the corridor and subsequently the stairs where I hovered over the two Piranha using the Flying Rooster (Surprised that he was still tagging along given what I'd been doing of late).
Once I was back on the main path again, I took a moment to assess things. So far, my trek through the mountains hadn't been too difficult though the real test was coming up. Good thing the medicine I found in the Face Shrine hadn't been used but I knew that it soon would be which made me worried that getting back here would require going through all this again especially if there wasn't a warp panel somewhere nearby.
Using the Roc's Feather to jump over a small gap of water, I kept going until I was back outside in a different section of the mountains. Ahead of me was an Owl Statue but not the kind that required me to find a Stone Beak. Instead, it was one that gave out some random information. Walking up to it, its eyes glowed and it began to give me its message. 'YOU ARE NEAR THE EAGLE'S TOWER. BEWARE OF THE BIRD!' Huh... This statue, despite repeating something I had already heard, provided useful information.
Another Blue Tektite bounced at me which I defeated with a sword strike and that's when I noticed a hole in the ground located around the next corner. "Where do you suppose this would take me if I were to drop down it?"
"Over here!" Princess Twilight answered. I followed her over to the edge where she pointed down towards a hole in the wall which would take me back to the river which in turn would lead to the castle. "This is a shortcut if for some reason you want to go back to the area below. I wouldn't recommend this as you would have to make your way up here again."
"So ignore it?"
"I would if I were in your position."
Heeding her advice, I ignored the hole and instead climbed up a ladder before entering another cave. "Wow... There are so many Keese up ahead. I'm not afraid of them or anything but I haven't seen so many all at once." Raising my shield, I then took out the boomerang and moved forward where they all attacked me at once. Tossing it, it sailed through all four of them at once defeating them and leaving behind two Recovery Hearts before it returned to me. "At least that still works."
"Pretty cool what you did there."
I smiled in return. "Thanks."
"It shows that the boomerang is a powerful weapon considering you got it pretty late in this journey."
"I just need to get used to using it again."
The next section was a long corridor so I decided to rush through with speed. Hopping slightly, I switched over to the Pegasus Boots and dashed forward which caused me to defeat several Green Zols in a row. I continued dashing until crashing into a wall which gave me some knockback but I quickly moved forward because of the ground suddenly breaking away under my feet. Changing back to my regular boots, I raised my shield as more Keese attacked but I ignored them as there were additional cracked spaces and I didn't want to fall down into any of them.
Reaching the exit, I went back outside and was in yet another section of the mountains though it was beginning to look the same. The shadow of the Eagle's Tower hung over this area and it made me feel nervous but shook away such notions knowing what was at stake. There was a small set of stairs which lead down to a platform that had nothing on it which made me question whether or not it was hiding something, but I chose to ignore and entered the next cave entrance. Even though I couldn't see it on my side, I was back in the same cave as before except now I was in a different section.
Making sure that the Flying Rooster was still behind me (He was to my relief), I went down the stairs and came to a stop as I almost stepped off into a small hole. In fact, I was surrounded by a hole shaped like a plus sign with the platform being the same shape. "Okay, that was way too close for comfort!"
"Good thing you stopped, Sunset."
I wiped my forehead before addressing my current grievance. "How much longer will it take to get to the dungeon! I know I'm not looking forward to it but you'd think I'd have reached it by now! These caves are starting to blend together just like the mountains outside!"
"This is where a map would've come in handy."
"Don't remind me..." I said as I grumbled under my breath.
"If there's any consolation for you, you are closer than you were when you started this mountain trek."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
Princess Twilight then looked ahead at what was coming up. "You do have a couple of Hardhat Beetles which can be knocked into that large hole over there." She then flew over to it before coming back. "You need the Flying Rooster in order to reach the exit as I don't see any other way." Her Highness then had another thought. "You know, if the rooster does end up leaving for whatever reason it had, certain areas of these mountains will no longer be accessible. If there are any hidden items around here..."
"I get what you mean."
"Unless you don't feel they are necessary then by all means ignore them and press on."
"Actually, I'm more concerned about missing any Secret Seashells." I quickly took out the Seashell Sensor to check to make sure it was still working. "I only need four more in order to get this ultimate weapon Adagio is promising. I've probably missed out on lots of shells at this point so I'm desperate in finding whatever's left." Putting away the sensor (It didn't make a sound so I knew there were no shells nearby), my thoughts turned to this weapon and what it could possibly be though I had a pretty good idea based on past experiences. "I'm going to be getting a better sword."
"You think so?"
I nodded. "Call it an obvious hunch."
Picking up the Flying Rooster, he hovered over the hole by the stairs and to my surprise, the Hardhat Beetles ignored me as though I were invisible. Was their vision limited to the ground or did they only react to movement? An interesting theory though one that wouldn't amount to much as my means of avoiding them only worked with the rooster. Speaking of which, I slipped past them along with a single Green Zol which popped up from below ground whilst he continued hovering across the abyss. Again, I didn't want to look down.
Once on the other side, I tossed him aside where he gently dropped to the ground and I exited the cave. Upon seeing the outside world again, I was surprised to find that I had reached a tentative dead end. "Did we miss a hidden passageway or something?"
"Not to my knowledge." Princess Twilight flew forward before turning around and calling back at me. "There's another cave entrance around the corner! Also, I can barely make out a cracked section of wall that's to your right. It might be worth checking out."
"I'm hoping this is the last cave I need to go through."
"On this side, yes." Princess Twilight said as she flew back over to me. "You've still got the other side of the mountains to explore and I've no doubt there will be more caves over there so no, you're not done exploring them. Sorry to have to give your hopes up on that one."
Just what I didn't need to hear! "It never gets easy does it?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. "If it did, it would be deemed too easy and besides, working hard for something is the right way to go about it. Now, do you want to see what's behind that cracked wall or go through the next tunnel and hopefully reach the dungeon?"
Walking past the Blue Tektite which eyed me cautiously (No pun intended here despite having just one eye) but didn't attack, I took out a bomb, dropped it, and walked away before it exploded revealing another cave entrance. Walking inside, I was surprised to have come across a fairy fountain. While I wasn't about to question a fairy fountain being located in such a weird place, I wasn't about to complain. Floating slightly above some water in the fountain was Adagio Dazzle herself and like the fountain, I wasn't going to question her being here.
"I am impressed that you were able to find this fountain." Adagio said.
"Just to let you know, I've found four Secret Seashells since I last saw you." I said.
Adagio smiled. "Yes, I can sense that you have been using the Seashell Sensor that I gave you along with your own skills to uncover them. You still need to find some more but know that I cannot accept them here. Only in the Seashell Mansion can they be presented." She then leaned forward before quickly snapping back and giving me a shocked look. "You've been injured so allow me to soothe your wounds with my magic."
Closing my eyes, I felt her powers restoring my strength despite not actually taking that much damage. Once I had finished recovering, I wanted to see if she could give me any advice on the upcoming dungeon. "Do you know anything about the Eagle's Tower?"
"It is a den where evil dwells but what I know is limited."
"Can you share with me what you know?" I was disappointed that she couldn't give me much in the way of answers but anything was better than nothing.
Nodding, Adagio conjured up an image of the tower using her powers. "You must be careful, young one. The bird that makes its roost here is one of the Nightmares that guards that which you are seeking. There is another who dwells inside who has a personal grudge against you but I cannot see who they are. I can only tell you one final thing. Obtain the shield of light for it is needed to overcome the darkness and the magical fire."
I had no idea what this magical fire was but I knew what she meant about the shield. "I guess when next we meet, it will be at the Seashell Mansion."
"The effort shall be worth it."
Disappearing, I left the fairy fountain and began to think about what she said. The other creature she mentioned had to be dangerous as why else would she bring it up? In any case, I had my work cut out for me once again but it was pretty normal for me. What she said about this mystery shield intrigued me even though I didn't like the idea of giving up what I'd been using for so long in favour of something that could protect protection my current one couldn't handle.
Ignoring the Blue Tektite yet again, I was about to walk up to the remaining cave entrance when Princess Twilight told me to stop. "Look at this!" She then pointed at a glowing panel which caught my attention. "This looks like a warp panel! I can barely make it out but I'm positive that's what it is. You were complaining earlier about having to make your way back here but this completely negates that problem."
"How am I supposed to dig it up?"
"You just answered your own question."
It took me a second to realize what she meant. Blushing from embarrassment, I walked up to the glowing spot, took out the shovel, and dug into the ground which revealed the warp panel so now I could come straight here and ignore all those caves. "Strange how it was hidden like this but I suppose I should be thankful that it's here. What makes this even better is that I can enter the fairy fountain if I need a quick health recovery and have no medicine on hand."
"And you can get a hint or two from Adagio."
" Don't worry, Twilight." I said whilst winking. "You're still my main source of guidance."
"As I should be."
"What do you make of Adagio's words regarding 'shield of light' and 'magical fire'?"
Her Highness needed a moment to think both of these over so I took the opportunity to sit down next to the warp panel. The Blue Tektite was still around though it chose to ignore me completely and merely settled down in the corner before closing its eye. She then spoke up. "I'm not sure what Adagio meant by magical fire but the shield is required in order to get past it. It sounds to me that this shield can reflect projectiles your current one can't." It then dawned on her as to what it really was. "Now I get what she meant. Sunset... I think she was referring to a Mirror Shield."
"How can you be sure?"
"I can't hence why I think that's what the shield is."
"Guess the only way to find out is to find it in the dungeon."
"Hopefully, you can find it quickly."
With the warp panel activated to give me a new location for Manbo's Mambo, I entered the next cave which I hoped would be the last one. What appeared before me was a narrow corridor that would make fighting anything difficult so I opted to move slowly and with my shield raised in case I were attacked. The moment I took my first step forward, two Green Zols popped up as expected. Luckily, where the corridor turned ever so slightly to the left then the right gave me enough room to swing my sword and defeat both monsters without too much effort.
Continuing on down the corridor, no further monsters attacked and the path ended at some stairs leading up to the next floor. Heading upstairs, I entered a room that had a skull motif on the ground. How did I know this? Well, two large holes were shaped like eyes and a smaller one was shaped like a nose. Whoever did this was pretty on the nose with the design or maybe insane but I wasn't about to make any kind of judgment. The bottom of the 'skull' was the way out but I wanted to explore further in case I could uncover something.
Two Keese were positioned over the holes making it look like the 'skull' had eyeballs and on the 'forehead' was a stone skull. Before I could take a chance to soak in everything, I was attacked by a Hardhat Beetle whereby it bumped into me. Using my sword, I hit it which pushed it back so I hit it again and it fell into the large hole on the left. This prompted both Keese to start flying around so I switched over to the boomerang and tossed it at them. My first throw missed but my second connected, defeating both.
Choosing to ignore another Hardhat Beetle and the stone skull (I suspected there was a Spiny Beetle hiding underneath it) I walked to the cave entrance and was back outside once again though I came out of a small building. I wanted to understand why but two Blue Tektites jumped into me causing me to fall down on my butt. Getting back up, I swung my sword and defeated both monsters with one dropping a heart which I picked up. With that dealt with, I wanted to know why I came out of a building and not a standard cave entrance, but that thought quickly disappeared when I looked to my right.
"Twilight... There it is!"
Her Highness looked in the same direction and there before us, was the Eagle's Tower in all its brooding glory. "Even though it took quite a bit of time to get here, you were able to make it here successfully."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "About time too!"
"But, the worst is yet to come."
"As much as it pains me."
"First, you need to use that Bird Key to unlock the dungeon."
My eyes then widened. "That's right! There was no entrance to the dungeon when we looked at it from the other side of that one bridge. Are you sure that the key is going to do something and not end up becoming some kind of dud?"
Princess Twilight nodded. "If the key wasn't important, you wouldn't have been tasked to find it."
Walking past the tower, I approached the Bird Keyhole (This was its actual name which was in a similar fashion to the other keyholes) where I picked up both boulders and tossed them aside though neither one dropped anything. Taking out the Bird Key from my pocket, I inserted it into the lock, turned it right, turned it back, and pulled it out which caused the lock to disappear. At first, nothing happened but suddenly, it felt like an earthquake but in truth, the entire tower began to rumble and then the eyes of the eagle motif began to glow.
As I struggled to understand what was happening, the tower then began to rotate, the grinding sound of stone made me cover my ears. In what felt like forever, it continued to rotate until the eagle motif came back around and everything came to a sudden stop. As the eagle's eyes stopped glowing, I could see that an entrance had appeared in the form of stairs, but then why go through such a huge spectacle in the first place? "What was that all about?"
"The tower has rotated 180 degrees."
"I saw that but I want to know why."
Princess Twilight gave me a blank expression. "This is something that's beyond anything I've ever seen. But, I am curious as to how such a mechanism worked. It must have taken an awful lot of time to construct the means to make an entire tower rotate and not cause any damage. Colour me very impressed. Now you can enter the dungeon but it does mean saying goodbye." She then looked at the Flying Rooster which prompted me to do the same. "I don't think he's going to follow you inside since he appears to be rather scared of this place but know that he was of invaluable help."
"I hope that he goes back to Big Macintosh."
"He might but then who knows what he's thinking."
"It was fun getting to fly around."
"I'm sure he enjoyed the experience too."
Knowing that he wasn't going to follow me into the dungeon, I said my goodbyes to the Flying Rooster who in turn gave me a salute before standing perfectly still and just staring right at me. I truly hoped in my heart that he would go go and live with Big Macintosh as I doubted he'd be accepted by the villagers of Mabe Village. After all, they believed he was dead and seeing him flying about would cause a panic. Turning around, I walked up the stairs and into the dungeon. My first reaction upon seeing the entrance room was the obvious bird motif which was likely to be a theme in here.
As I gazed at the bird head statues, the voice from before told me that this was 'Level 7. - Eagle's Tower' which I already knew. Right off the bat, I could sense that someone or something was watching me. Shaking my head, I needed to remain calm and not allow anything to get to me. There were two directions I could take, left or right, and after some quick thinking, I decided to head left and entered a rather large room. Four pots were located in front of me and I could see an upper platform which looked like it could be accessed. Again, I felt like I was being watched so I needed to get through this as soon as possible.
Approaching the pots, I was surprised by the appearance of a single Wizzrobe. "Oh no! Not them again!"
"You do have other means of defeating them."
"Like what?" I asked as it disappeared after firing its magic which I managed to avoid.
"Pots are quite effective against them though you never had the chance to try it out before." Princess Twilight answered. She then pointed at my boomerang which made me look down at her to see what she was doing. "You can use this as well though you need pretty good timing to hit it successfully."
Choosing to go with the pot because it sounded more funny in my head, I picked one and waited for the Wizzrobe to appear again. When it did, I tossed the pot and it smashed into its head which defeated it. Who knew that they did as much damage as a sword if not more so. Picking up and tossing the remaining pots, one of them gave me bombs which made me wonder what use they had in this dungeon. Unfortunately, I couldn't go any further due to the blue tiles associated with a Crystal Switch. I did see a chest so I needed to get access to it somehow.
Sighing upon knowing that this mechanic with the blue and orange tiles was being used again, I went back to the entrance room before heading to the right and seeing if I could make any progress over there. Entering the next room, Princess Twilight ordered me to stop. I did as she asked and it was a good thing too as my legs were almost sliced off by a Blade Trap which had moved forward. I could see another one located beyond some spikes surrounding a pair of tiles, my first time seeing spikes in a dungeon proper as opposed to their usual appearance in underground tunnels.
When the Blade Trap began moving back to its starting point, I moved past it, took out the Roc's Feather and jumped over the spikes to land on the tiles surrounding them. I was fortunate that Rainbow Dash had taught me some yoga as that could've gone a lot worse. Jumping again towards the other one, I quickly jumped a third time to avoid getting sliced and landed safely before heading to the right. In this section, I saw a locked door which would remain as such until I could find a small key somewhere. I could also see two Like-Likes... Just the thought of seeing it made me shudder knowing what it was capable of.
There was also a Bubble which wasn't an issue for me since I could get rid of it with Magic Powder, something I rarely used because I had other items that could either do a similar job or were much better overall. Before I could do anything, a voice then echoed throughout the room. "So... The Outsider has finally entered the Eagle's Tower. I'll give you props for wanting to come here but stupid for wanting to remain."
"Who said that?" I asked in a slight panic.
"Did I surprise you?" The voice asked. "Golly, but do you sure scare easily."
"That voice sounds familiar." Princess Twilight said.
"Where are you?" I asked.
The voice then giggled with a rather youthful voice. "I wouldn't be much of a host if I didn't reveal myself. Besides, I want you to see my face before you die!" Suddenly, appearing out of nowhere and landing on another upper platform, I could see a young girl wearing purple and black robes whilst holding some kind of instrument. She was also wearing a skull on her face to instill some kind of intimidation but who was she trying to kid? "I am the Grim Creeper! Sure, my appearance may be cute but don't underestimate me! Your life is in my hands and I'm loving every moment of it."
"Cozy Glow!?" Princess Twilight exclaimed.
"You mean that young filly who tried to take over Equestria?" I asked.
Princess Twilight nodded. "The very same."
Getting a better look at this Grim Creeper, it was indeed Cozy Glow. Even though I've never met her, Princess Twilight had told me about her. She was a young Pegasus who attended the School of Friendship who wanted to make friends, but in truth this was a ruse and she desired to get rid of all magic and become the self-entitled Empress of Friendship. To succeed in her goal, she was assisted by Lord Tirek from within Tartarus though everything that happened was her own doing. Six special students, known as the 'Young Six', exposed her plans and subsequently defeated her.
She was sent to Tartarus for her crimes only to be released along with Lord Tirek by Discord in a bid to give Princess Twilight a final challenge that would help her prepare for her upcoming role as ruler of Equestria. The two villains with Queen Chrysalis used the magic of Grogar and became even more powerful than ever before. They then used this power in a bid to rule over all they surveyed but were defeated by a combined effort headed by Her Highness. Cozy Glow and the other villains were turned to stone for apparently eternity though it was possible for them to be given a second chance provided they wanted to be reformed.
Cozy Glow then laughed before hissing. "What kind of name is Cozy Glow!?"
Princess Twilight then realized that this wasn't the same filly she knew from before and quickly tried to change the subject. "Why are you here? I didn't think this tower would be inhabited by a creature other than the Nightmare."
"Oh there is a Nightmare here!" Cozy Glow then glared at me. "I didn't realize you were being aided by a fairy." She then turned away from me. "So this is why the others were unable to kill her and were destroyed. Now it all makes sense. This is going to be more difficult than I thought."
"What did you say?" I asked.
"Nothing you need to know." Cozy Glow answered as she turned back to face me. "Anyway, I only revealed myself to give you a glimpse at the enemy who is going to kill you and earn so much praise from..." She then stopped talking before hissing again. "You need not know his name!"
"If you're trying to threaten me, you're not doing a very good job."
"That's not my intention."
"Then what is?"
"This is just my introduction." Cozy Glow then adjusted her skull before brushing off some dust on her robes. "I'm leaving now but you will see me again. I know I said that I will kill you but you deserve a small reprieve for getting to this tower. After you see me next time, all bets are off!"
With that, she disappeared leaving me and Princess Twilight to ponder her words. It sounded like she was going to become quite an occurrence which was no doubt going to annoy me to no end. At least I knew that she wasn't the Nightmare but then what was her purpose here? I couldn't allow that question to become a distraction as I needed to find the stronger shield hidden somewhere, but something told me I would eventually get an answer. In any case, Cozy Glow's presence changed my strategy as there was no way of knowing what rooms she would appear in.
One Like-Like then moved towards me and I kept on attacking it until it was defeated as I didn't want to lose any of my belongings. Then the other one moved forward and I responded in kind by attacking it. After three hits, it was defeated which made a small key drop down from above though why reward me with something that important just by defeating two monsters? I needed that key to progress further so I supposed there was no sense in complaining. I then assumed that only the Bubble was left but I was proved wrong when the torch on the wall began shooting fireballs at me.
Grabbing the key, I avoided the Bubble and entered the next section where I encountered a new monster. "This one looks familiar."
"It should as you've faced them before in your previous journey." Princess Twilight answered. "This is a Gibdo, a mummy man who possesses mysterious powers and is quite sturdy despite all appearances. They are surprisingly vulnerable to fire but this makes sense as those bandages are decrepit. Right now, you don't have the means to use fire so you'll have to use the usual means to defeat it, but if you were to use this weakness, they change into Stalfos which should make them easier to overcome."
I remembered Gibdos now. They were very demanding in my last adventure where they wanted me to acquire all kinds of things which didn't always make sense. They even had the ability to freeze me in place by using a powerful gaze which comprised of them screaming. I doubted this ability could be used here as they looked simplistic compared with what I had seen before, but I've learned never to underestimate monsters as many had proven to possess additional powers. I wasn't afraid of fighting this monster but I had to be cautious just in case it used an ability Her Highness hadn't mentioned.
To Be Continued.