The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.

by Ganondorf8

Chapter 27: Battle on the Aerie.

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.
By Ganondorf8.
March 14, 2021.
Chapter 27: Battle on the Aerie.

"Judging from your sudden expression, you're not a fan of the sentries." Cozy Glow said.

"Um... I never said anything like that." In truth, I had the means to overcome the Beamos (These were the sentries that she was talking about). It's just that having more of them to deal with would make things more complicated especially with my low health.

"You didn't have to use words." Cozy Glow said with a sneer. "Your face gave me that answer! Outsider... You do know that this is your own fault, right? You should've run! But no, that proved too much for you." She then placed both hands on her face and swayed head back and forth. "Look at me! I'm the Outsider who didn't listen to the mighty Grim Creeper! Oh why didn't I listen? I'm so stupid! Now I'm going to pay with my life!"

I knew she was insulting me and I felt like tearing her apart, but I knew better than to let her get under my skin. If anything, it showed me that she was growing more and more paranoid with my progress. I felt pity towards her. She was only following the orders of Grogar. If I were in her shoes, I'd be doing the very thing she was trying to do to me. Those under the influence of evil were known for desperate measures as power meant everything to them.

After listening to her insults long enough, I finally said something. "And you think these additional sentries will stop me from getting to the Nightmare?"

"At this point, I need results."

"Results?"

"Your death!"

That clinched it for me. "I see what's happening here now. You must have made some kind of boastful claim that you would succeed in killing me. So far, that hasn't happened and now you're freaking out over it. If you were to fail, Dethl (I had to avoid using his true name to avoid confusion) would wipe you out of existence. Do I have all of that right or did I miss something?" Believe it or not, this was actually a wild guess on my part and I was surprised at what happened next.

At first, she was silent but then responded with a spiteful hiss. "Did you read my mind or something? No... You couldn't possibly possess that power! If that isn't the case then how did you figure that out?" I had definitely hit a nerve that time as well as surprisingly figuring out what would happen if she failed. "Fine! I'll accept that fact you saw through me but it won't happen again. Still... It's just so baffling that you were so accurate." Something told me she didn't mean to say that last part out loud. "Heh... No wonder I'm growing both fond and sick of you."

I'll chalk up my guess thanks to Pinkie Pie always being so random with her personality. Guessed she was rubbing off on me more than I thought. Like I said, I felt pity towards Cozy Glow, but I couldn't allow that to become a distraction. I still had an adventure to finish which meant she needed to be defeated. It's also unfortunate as when this was all over, she would be back as a stone statue once again. Her freedom would be short-lived and she wouldn't even realize it.

Choosing to take her leave, Cozy Glow disappeared into the shadows leaving me and Princess Twilight to debate over what to do next. "Well? I think I handled that pretty well. I'm not thrilled about dealing with more Beamos, however."

"You have the Mirror Shield now so you can easily take care of them." Princess Twilight said.

"For the record, you knew that I was influenced by Pinkie Pie, right?"

Princess Twilight nodded. "Of course I knew that! You have to remember that I'm the Princess of Friendship. Knowing every last detail of my friends is pretty much mandatory for me otherwise I'd be a sham. But... I will admit to being surprised at what was behind Cozy Glow's sudden increase in escalations. I knew she was getting desperate but I didn't think that it would involve her own life."

"For power, villains will sacrifice even themselves."

"I..." Princess Twilight stopped speaking and I nodded in return. I sacrificed my own humanity (Or would that be a human-pony sacrifice?) for power which was how I got transformed into a raging she-demon. Once that power was gone, my life became nothing but misery. The same thing happened to all villains who lost their power. They became miserable and while some became better people, others remained bitter and refused to let go of their hatred.

"Anyway, we should focus on what to do next."

Princess Twilight nodded as she regained her composure. "Yes! You need to destroy those remaining columns! Come to think of it, we don't even really know what will happen when you do so. I know Cozy Glow mentioned the highest floor but then she could've been deceiving us." She then realized that I had been able to get some vital information from her so what she said might have been correct. "Never mind. Anyway, let's change subjects. That Heavy Ball should be just up ahead. If you're not sure of its location, check the Dungeon Map."

As soon as she said that, I took it out to confirm the location of the Heavy Ball. Sure enough, it was located in the room up ahead. Putting the map away, I was about to head to the right when I decided to take a closer look at that cracked section of wall. It definitely looked suspicious so I asked Her Highness if she could make a note of it for me. Unfortunately, blocks were preventing me from blowing it up with a bomb so I had to approach from the other side. Even when progress appeared to be happening, something had to come along and stop me from going any further.

Heading to the right, the Heavy Ball was waiting for me but before picking it up, I noticed a key block situated on the other side of some raised orange tiles. It looked like I had to approach and use a key on that side, or I could activate the Crystal Switch on this side and unlock it that way. There was also a staircase which would take me to the third floor though why was it completely unguarded? Hmmm... I didn't like how easy it looked so I went up to the next floor to confirm my suspicions. Surely, it had to be an oversight or something.

Upon reaching the third floor, I found that I was completely blocked by raised blue tiles. I thought as much. There always had to be a catch whenever there was something that wasn't being guarded. Aside from a flying bomb icon, a path straight in front of me, and a path that went to the right, I couldn't see anything else unless I activated the switch. Then again, doing so might block off any access to the remaining columns. Ugh! This smelled like backtracking! Complaning about it wasn't going to help. It had to be done despite my personal griping but the question was where do I even start?

"Should I activate that Crystal Switch now?"

"If you do, you can access the other side of this floor much quicker." Princess Twilight answered. She then pointed at the ground which was her way of letting me know about the first floor below. "Otherwise, it means going back downstairs, through those rooms again, and coming up on the other side."

"But what about those columns?"

She took a deep breath before responding. "Think of it this way. Right now, you can't even access the remaining columns. I mean, you can on your own but you need to bring that ball along and something tells me it can't go through that panel we saw earlier. Sure, activating that switch will impede your progress on that front, but it can also bring about other progression which will ultimately allow for a final bout of progression which will reward you with success. Eagle's Tower, from my overall impressions, is like a giant puzzle with various pieces that need to be solved before the bigger picture can be realized."

I responded with a bit of sarcasm. "Wow... You must have done your research for that explanation."

"Research is my specialty."

"And I shouldn't doubt that should I?"

"It can mean the difference between life and death."

I knew Her Highness was going to say something like that. She took her researching capabilities very seriously and would defend them with her very life. For someone like me who was more up-close-and personal, I could appreciate her dedication, but also question it. What she said did make some sense (Had it been someone other than me, the mileage would've varied) despite some slight hesitation. All I wanted was progress period. I wasn't willing to meet in the middle but perhaps now was a good time to start.

Taking out the Bow, I fired a single arrow at the Crystal Switch which changed the tiles around. Walking across the now lowered orange tiles, I raised my shield in order to avoid getting hit by a Bubble which was weaving around six pots. Putting the bow away and switching to the Boomerang, I tossed it at the Bubble, defeating it, and collecting the fairy it dropped allowing me to gain a bit more health. It still wasn't enough though so I needed to remain cautious in case Cozy Glow decided to attack me.

Picking up and tossing the pots, nothing fell out from them which was disappointing so now I really needed to exercise caution. Taking out a small key, I inserted it into the key block where it disappeared allowing me access to a raised platform, but found that it didn't go anywhere. Was this a major blunder? I felt like kicking myself yet Princess Twilight suggested I did the right thing. Really? Could she something that I couldn't? I think I just answered my own question right there and since there was no going back, I had to accept it.

Walking up to the now accessible raised platform, I still couldn't see what was important about it that it had to be blocked, but when Princess Twilight began bopping me on the head and saying I should pay closer attention, I shrugged my shoulders. She then groaned before smacking my face several times followed by pointing in both directions which was when it finally began to make sense. It was a short cut that could take me to one of the columns I had destroyed or a Crystal Switch. All right... I deserved to be smacked about like that.

Methinks I went in a slightly wrong order and was only now beginning to get back on the intended path. There was no sense in bringing the Heavy Ball along so I left it behind and began making way back to where that panel was located. The Three-of-a-Kinds had since re-spawned but I ignored them as they weren't guarding anything important now. What was relieving was knowing the Hinox hadn't come back so I took solace knowing that hadn't happened though the likelihood of it happening was ever increasing.

Once I was back in the room with the two Sparks, I ignored them and walked into the panel. It forced me to rest my back up against it before it turned around and took me with it into the next room. Right away, there was a Bubble floating around along with familiar tiles which I recognized from the Face Shrine, and since the door was locked, I knew what was about to happen so I raised my shield and got ready. The tiles began to rise up before flinging themselves at me and shattered upon connecting with my shield.

As each tile shattered and more rose up, I could see holes were appearing where the tiles were once positioned. At least the Bubble was being affected so I didn't have to worry as much about it but I still needed to be careful as taking any serious damage would draw me closer towards being forced to use my Magic Medicine. When the last tile broke upon hitting my shield, the door unlocked though I was left with a lot of holes and a Bubble. Ignoring the latter, I took out the Roc's Feather and jumped over a single hole before entering the next room which housed another column.

"This has to be the last one, right?"

"I believe there are four, yes."

It then dawned on me as to where I was. "Wait a minute... I've been in this room before!"

"This is what's known as coming full circle."

"Very funny!"

"I have my moments." Princess Twilight then got serious. "I hate to tell you this, Sunset, but I have no other choice in the matter. Coming this way was the right thing to do, but you needed to have that Heavy Ball in here to make it work. You solved the puzzle a bit too quickly or rather you did it incorrectly. Unfortunately, it does mean having to go through that tile room again as you know they re-spawn but consider this as a learning experience. You won't make this mistake again."

Seriously!? I did this all wrong!? I so wanted to let loose my frustration but I just couldn't be bothered. "Just give me a moment, Twilight." I then walked up to the column and gave it a kick using all my strength. It did make me feel better? Not at all. I then decided to kick it several times until my foot went numb which was my way of telling myself I had enough. That felt much better despite the numbness.

Her Highness then made an announcement. "The solution has since appeared before me."

"Well that makes one of us."

"I know I said this tower is like a giant puzzle with lots of small pieces, but I forgot to take into account the order they needed to be solved." Princess Twilight felt pretty bad about herself but she didn't really need to. She managed to figure it out whereas I'd probably still be stuck. It was more the dungeon's fault than either of us. "My solution is solid as it's based on observation, locations, and a sense of proving I am smarter than an ancient tower." And I thought she loved anything deemed historical (I was joking here). "Sunset? I need to see that map again."

"Okay." I said as I took it out and unfurled it.

Princess Twilight pointed at the two rooms which had the columns. "Here is what you need to do. This is going to get complicated so please bare with me. First, you need to grab that ball, take it to the room where those Three-of-a-Kind were, and toss it over the barrier. That should be easy as you left it near that key block. Next, you've got to get back here which does mean going around again but backtracking is something you're used to. Upon re-entering this room, you've got to destroy the cracked section of the wall which will lead you south towards where that Owl Statue was."

"The two rooms are connected?"

"They are." Princess Twilight answered, her smile growing wider as she became more engrossed with her work. "Once you're by that statue, you can use the Hookshot to pull yourself across to the treasure chest that appeared when you defeated the Three-of-a-Kind. Then you can take down the third column which leaves one remaining. Now, this is where it gets depressing because for this next part, you must leave the dungeon and come back in again as it will reset the Heavy Ball by putting it back where it originally started."

"Are you serious, Twilight!?"

"I am."

"And there's no other way to do this?"

Sighing, Princess Twilight dropped to the ground. "Had you approached this differently, you could've knocked all four columns down in a more reasonable manner, but this is the best option I can give you." Her Highness could tell that I was beginning to get really confused and she realized this. "I'm sorry for all this, Sunset. I will say this though. That platform you accessed by removing that key block will become very useful but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, focus on one thing at a time for your sanity. Oh, and be sure to activate the Crystal Switches at least twice."

"And you figured that out all on your own."

"I had to observe everything."

That was enough to make me grin slightly. "I'm proud that you did some hands-on-research."

"Being with you has given me plenty of opportunities."

I smiled in response. "Okay, I think I got all of that covered. The only issue is dealing with the Beamos as Cozy Glow said she added in sentries in order to guard the remaining columns and preventing me from destroying them both."

"You mean those ones?" Princess Twilight asked prompting me to take a look at what she was seeing. Sure enough, there was a Beamos situated where a spiked section of floor used to be which fired its laser upon its eye noticing me. I used my Mirror Shield and reflected it back which struck and shut it down. "I'm sure it wasn't there when you were kicking it a few moments ago. Did Cozy Glow only just now brought it here or perhaps something else happened?"

I shrugged. "I don't know but at least I took care of it."

"Until you leave the room." Princess Twilight said as she lowered her head slightly. "Remember what usually happens when you leave a room and come back to it later? So what you just said doesn't hold any water."

Her Highness was right about that. Most monsters re-spawned after a while if I defeated them and then left the room. I don't know why this was thing though I never really paid much attention to it. I guess that you don't take notice of such matters until much later when it becomes more aggravating. For one, it was just one extra Beamos, but could become two, or even three, or even more if Cozy Glow had her way. I felt that what she was doing went against the vision of whoever created this world (I had to remind myself at times that this was a video game at its core).

Putting the map away, I walked up to a block which I only now just noticed it was out of place with the rest of them, and pushed it forward where it dropped into a hole allowing me to leave and begin this strategy Princess Twilight had concocted. Deep down, Her Highness felt terrible for having placed me into this position and she was doing everything in her power to fix it before it could get worse. It wasn't her fault though. It was the dungeon itself that was to blame as it never should've had such a stupid concept to begin with. Destroying columns in order to progress... Utter stupidity!

She should be happy that she figured out a solution, convoluted as it was. Had it been just me on my own, I'd have likely gone insane. Her solution was going to work and I would make sure of it even if it meant having to resort to drastic actions. At this point, I wanted to be done with this dungeon so being drastic was acceptable. Using the Roc's Feather, I jumped across the hole and entered the next room where I went south because of needing to activate the Crystal Switch to flip the tiles around.

Jumping across another hole, I kept going south until I reached the switch, activating it with a swing of my sword. From there, I walked back the other way, jumped across the hole again, and went to the right past where the first column had been. Green Zols popped up from the ground but I ignored them as my focus was on getting through this ordeal so taking any damage would be a consequence I'd deal with later. Entering the room where the Heavy Ball had originally been in, the blocks almost crushed me to death but I slipped by before that happened and continued south.

Entering the room where I found the Mirror Shield, I stopped at the next Crystal Switch, took out a bomb, and dropped it before moving on. When it exploded seconds later, the tiles changed which would allow me to continue on and reach the Heavy Ball. Before continuing, I looked at what I had unlocked with the small key and was beginning to see what Her Highness meant about it becoming useful. Picking up the ball above my head with ease, I walked left and entered the next room which is where I needed to be. Ignoring the Three-of-a-Kind, I tossed the ball across both the hole and the barrier where it safely landed on the other side.

"So far so good."

"Now comes the annoying part."

I sighed. "I'm going to make this work, Twilight."

"Again, I'm sorry this didn't work out as well as I initially thought."

"It's not your fault." I said as I attacked one of the Three-of-a-Kinds when it got a little too close to me. "This dungeon has brought out the worst in both of us not to mention this whole destroying columns is just stupid. Puzzles are fun but not when they're outright bonkers. I'm actually impressed with your solution."

"Yes, I will admit that it is pretty good."

"There you go."

"And here I thought I was the one experienced in giving pep talks."

"You have been rubbing off on me."

That made Princess Twilight smile. "Okay, let's get focused on completing this dungeon. Now you need to go through that tile room again though it shouldn't be a problem since you know how to deal with them. When you get back to where you were before, remember to use a bomb on the cracked section of the wall. In fact, once you get to that panel, you'll see what I meant about it all connecting."

Heading back into the room where the Hinox was, it still hadn't come back which was a relief but it wasn't a concern as I could just ignore it. Moving to the next room, I could see what Princess Twilight meant about connections as there was a cracked section on two different walls. Good thing I had plenty of bombs on hand otherwise this would have been a problem. Walking up to the panel, my back was forced to press up against it before it turned around and brought me into the room with the tiles.

As much as this annoyed me, I raised my shield and waited for the tiles to come at me again. That's when I noticed that neither door had locked. I could skip this room entirely just by going through the door. Now that's more like it. Some puzzles didn't need to be solved a second time. I thought about Cozy Glow which sounded weird coming from me. She hadn't made her presence known for some time which made me suspect she was planning something big or was loving how me and Princess Twilight were getting despondent over how we were progressing.

Ignoring the tiles, I entered the next room which was where I had started but now I knew what to do. The cracked section was to my right prompting me to rub my forehead on account of having not noticed it initially. Taking out a bomb, I dropped it in front of the crack and stepped away when it exploded seconds later. Going through the crack, I took out another bomb and tossed it across the room where it exploded exploded revealing another entrance which I walked through. Using the Stone Beak, I placed it on the Owl Statue and it repeated the same message I received when I used it earlier about how the riddle would be solved when the four pillars had fallen.

Putting away the beak and switching it over for the Hookshot, I fired it at the chest where it connected and I pulled myself across. Opening said chest, I took out about ten bombs which was ironic since I just used some. Speaking of bombs, I'd yet to find any bomb bag upgrades even though bombs were something I didn't use all that often. The same could be said for quiver upgrades. There was nothing wrong with this but having more would make feel better and not have to worry about running out. Picking up the ball, I went north to the next room and was immediately hit by a laser beam.

Crap! I had forgotten all about the Beamos, and since I was holding up the Heavy Ball, I couldn't even defend myself. I had no idea how damage that laser did but I couldn't allow myself to get hit like that again... And I ended up getting hit by another laser. Okay, this was just unfair! This monster shouldn't even be here! This was Cozy Glow breaking the rules all because she was so desperate in killing me. Tossing the ball and destroying the column, I raised my shield just as another laser beam came my way. It bounced back and shut it down upon impact though the damage had been done.

I dropped to one knee. "That didn't go as well as it should have." I then clutched my chest knowing I was back at low health again. "Guess I've got no choice but to use that medicine despite my hesitation in doing so."

"You did pretty well without it, Sunset."

"I guess so." I said as I got back up. "That's three down and one to go."

"Now you need to exit the dungeon and then enter it again."

"I've been thinking about that."

"You have?"

I nodded. "I was thinking that perhaps I can remove exiting the dungeon from the equation." That made Her Highness look at me with a skeptical look but I was undaunted. "If I throw the ball back across the barrier and then go back the way I came in here, I can go back around again, grab the ball, throw it back to the second column's location..." Princess Twilight looked confused by my explanation which prompted me into stop talking and trying to explain it to her without getting lost myself. "Maybe I should show you rather than explaining otherwise we're not going to get anywhere."

"Explanations always were my thing."

I wasn't going to contest that. Her Highness knew just what words to say while I often struggled to come up with a good explanation. I was a person of action rather than just standing around and talking. Picking up the ball again, I went back and tossed it across the hole and barrier where it struck one of the Three-of-a-Kind, stunning it which ultimately didn't mean anything though I was surprised I even hit it from such a distance. Now came a tactic I almost never used since it rarely came up. I hopped slightly and changed over to the Pegasus Boots before taking out the Roc's Feather.

Her Highness was concerned that this was reckless considering that missing would send me back down to the first floor, but I told her that this was necessary in order to avoid leaving the dungeon as it would reset everything aside from open treasure keys and key puzzles. Standing with my back against the chest, I needed all the distance I could muster otherwise this was going to fail in spectacular fashion. Dashing forward and jumping at the very last moment (I did cut it very close), I made it back across though there was a moment where I felt I wouldn't.

And that's when I realized that I could just drop down below and come back up here again. I just went through all that and it wasn't even needed. I really hated this dungeon and couldn't wait to finally be done with it. Her Highness wasn't going to let me forget about this any time soon. In fact, I could see her right now giggling at me for doing something so cool that was ultimately for nothing. Again, I hated this dungeon. Jumping into the hole, I dropped down to the first floor only to find myself at the dungeon's entrance. While I could leave and then quickly re-enter the dungeon, it wasn't worth it.

"So you're finally going to leave?" Cozy Glow asked as she appeared by dropping down from the ceiling. "Despite the headaches you've been giving me, I'm willing to forgive you which is surprising given my nature."

"I thought you'd show up here." I said.

"Golly! Am I that predictable?"

"You can cut it with the cuteness dialogue."

Cozy Glow tilted her head in confusion and I cursed in my mind for forgetting my own advice. "I'm going to ignore that and just chalk it up as you losing your mind. I've seen how confused both you and that fairy have been getting as of late. If the traps and monsters weren't going to bring you down, it was the sheer insanity one gets from staying long enough in this tower. Emotional damage is so much better than physical!"

"I'm not going to leave!"

Sighing, Cozy Glow adjusted her cloak. "You just can't help being stubborn."

"It's one of my more well-known qualities."

"That's it!"

"What's it?"

"I should've just done this when I had the chance." Cozy Glow then took out what looked like a dagger though it was hard to tell. "I gave you plenty of warnings and you cast them aside and kept on going. I was having fun until you started making progress and humiliating me in front of the mighty Dethl." She then tossed her dagger which struck me in the chest by piercing my heart which caused me to collapse instantly. "That was a lot easier than I thought. I was expecting at least some kind of resistance. He is going to be so pleased knowing the Outsider is dead."

Princess Twilight wasn't surprised by what had just happened. I mean, she was as she didn't expect Cozy Glow to do that, but not as much as she knew that I was going to be back on my feet though without any medicine to fall back on from that point onward. "Choosing to go straight for the jugular?"

"I didn't forget about you, fairy!"

"You think you've gone and killed my friend?"

Nodding, Cozy Glow followed up with laughter. "Golly! Did I just go and kill her right in front of you? Hah! Of course I did. Why I didn't do that before is going to be one of the worst mistakes in my entire life. I'm surprised the other Nightmares never bothered to just kill her outright instead of just sitting around and waiting for her to show up or having one of their servants do it." She then hissed at Her Highness. "I would kill you, fairy, but I'd rather not incur the Great Fairy's wrath even though I can totally beat her. Instead, I'll just leave you and laugh at my success.

Jumping back up to the ceiling and disappearing, Princess Twilight kept quiet as she looked down at my lifeless body so as to not ruin the illusion we had created. After about a minute of doing this, she then coughed before saying something to break the silence. "You can get up now, Sunset."

I then got back onto my feet though not in the best of moods. "If not for that medicine, I'd have truly been dead." I checked my chest and sure enough, the wound where the dagger had hit me was gone. "I'm mad that she forced me to use it but I suppose it couldn't be helped." Not having any medicine or fairies made me feel like I was naked but I had to endure knowing that going back and getting either one wasn't an option. "By the way, how long do you think it will take before she figures out that I'm still alive?"

"Knowing how Cozy Glow thinks... Not until you truly make it known."

"So I shouldn't have to worry about her for a while?"

"Not until you destroy that final column."

"That will take some time." I said in a sheepish manner. "I can cut out some time by taking that short cut thanks to using that small key, but it's still going to be a while before I can get the Heavy Ball to where it needs to be."

"You need to go through the tile room again, don't you?"

I didn't even need to say a word in response. The expression on my face was all Her Highness needed from me. In order to get the ball to the final column, I needed to take it a short distance, throw it into the proper room, and then make my way back by going around again. I know it wasn't the most ideal solution and I was piggybacking off of what Her Highness had originally suggested but I didn't want to give Cozy Glow a chance to figure out my deception. As long as she was convinced that I was dead, she'd leave me alone.

Heading left, I ignored the pots as that would summon a Wizzrobe. Combat had to be avoided at all costs as any loud noises would attract Cozy Glow provided she wasn't still laughing her head over my supposed death at her hands. I was willing to bet that she was coming up with a speech to present to Grogar. Whatever she was doing, I needed her to remain occupied until the final column was destroyed. Heading up the stairs, I walked south and entered the Hinox's room. Again, it didn't appear much to my luck so keeping up my deception remained possible.

Moving on to the next room, I once again ignored the Three-of-a-Kind and picked up the Heavy Ball then took it with me to the next room and tossed it over the barrier. That part was easy but there was still much more to do which was going to get very annoying very quickly. Heading right and up the stairs, I could now see why a small key was needed. Jumping down to my left, I picked up the ball again and continued north, crossing the blue tiled bridge before reaching the block she had mentioned.

Dropping the ball, I then pushed the block forward, picked it up again (Thank goodness it was easy to carry around) and went left which was where the final column was, but the block I had pushed before was now back where it was originally positioned. This wasn't an issue as I knew this would happen but at least I had a solution even if it did involve backtracking to get it all done. I could've jumped over the spikes except that I couldn't with a heavy object being held above my head.

Going around the corner and back into the same room, I tossed the ball over the barrier which had set up the stage for the last part of the puzzle. Shaking my head, I was beginning to feel woozy what with having to do so much just to complete a puzzle that wasn't really difficult, just time consuming and aggravating. Once I was done, I planned on resting for a few minutes even though I preferred roughly several hours. If the final dungeon involved doing things like this, I wasn't going to enjoy any of it though my gut was telling me it was going to happen which made me feel depressed.

Taking out the map yet again, I looked it over to remind myself of where I had to go. Even after having through these sets of room twice already, I still needed to check as I was doing several things at once which was making me forget other stuff. Being a bit curious at that current moment, I looked at the fourth floor again and noticed the lack of a Nightmare's room wasn't my only problem. I couldn't see a staircase or anything that could get me up there. How could a floor be completely detached from everything else? I needed an answer and quickly otherwise I wasn't going to get much further.

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"Why do you deny the obvious truth, magic one?" Ganondorf asked.

"Because I know you're lying!" Twilight Sparkle answered.

"No... I am not lying to you."

"How can I be sure of that?"

Sighing, the Demon King uttered a single word. "Sunset." That made Twilight Sparkle freeze on the spot which was the kind of reaction he had wanted. "As I thought, your connection with her is strong, stronger than either one of you would like to admit. Granted, she possesses a much stronger bond with the alicorn but you are a worthy substitute should the other, your other, cannot come to the child's aid."

"That doesn't explain why you think Midnight Sparkle is alive."

"As I said, that creature is dead, but her essence remains within you." Ganondorf conjured up what appeared to be glasses only for them to burst into flames, the symbol that was a reflection of Midnight Sparkle. She desired knowledge and was willing to see entire worlds burn just to get her hands on it. For Twilight Sparkle, it represented a nightmare she believed had been overcome but now didn't know what to make of it. "Her desire for understanding everything continued burning which enabled her to return but she was betrayed by another and vanished into the ether for eternity."

"I... I don't understand."

"No... You don't."

Twilight Sparkle then looked down at the ground. "Even though it's been a long time since I overcame Midnight Sparkle, I never stopped thinking about what could happen if I ever lost control and became her once again. I... I know I did some pretty bad things, the worst of which was almost destroying two worlds by almost forcing them to merge into one. My desire to understand everything around me became my worst nightmare. Do I regret what I did? Every day. Nothing I do can change what happened in the past but I can work hard to ensure it never happens again."

"There is still more for you to say, magic one."

"I know and I'm getting to it." Twilight Sparkle placed her hand on her chest and closed her eyes. "I won't deny that I did become a monster. I was scared and I felt like the entire world had turned against me. Hiding this dark past doesn't do me any good." She then looked up at Ganondorf before pointing at him. "Now it all makes sense to me. In order to acquire our magic, you needed us to unleash despair, despair that stems from bad experiences we've committed. While my friends didn't want to remember, I had no problems confronting and even accepting that I screwed up."

"And that is why you are much more important than they are, magic one." Ganondorf got up from his throne and walked towards Twilight Sparkle until he towered over her. "I knew that you would reveal your secrets without needing my honeyed words to provide you with an incentive. I knew from the start that you would be different from them." Smiling, he suddenly grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. "As I said, I won't kill you."

"Gasp! Then why are you doing this to us?"

Laughing, Ganondorf used his other hand and placed it on her chest. "There are things that are beyond your comprehension. You should take solace knowing that you and your friends will be allowed to live." He paused before continuing. "I would have killed you all the moment I made my presence known. Your magic is the reason you all continue to live. If not for it, your lives would be forfeit." He began mumbling some words none of my friends could understand before Twilight Sparkle began to writhe in agony. "This will hurt only for a brief moment."

"What... What are you doing to me?"

He didn't answer her and continued mumbling his words. My friends tried to call out to her but it was to no avail. After a few minutes however, he stopped and then dropped her to the ground before walking back to his throne. Turning around, he sat down and presented some kind of weird orb that looked to be made of magic. "I have extracted the essence of the one you became. The taint of evil still remains with you, magic one, but its essence now belongs to me. Your magic was intertwined with her essence thus it was easy for me to acquire both of these things from you."

Getting back up, Twilight Sparkle began breathing heavily. "What is your true goal?"

"The child shall become my servant."

"Sunset Shimmer?" Twilight Sparkle asked as she regained her composure. "I don't believe that!"

"You are much more perceptive than the others."

"So I was right."

Ganondorf shook his head. "The child has the potential to become even more powerful than she already is. She is aware of what I have done in order to bring forth this hidden strength but she has yet to know what true depths she can unleash. She has been tainted by evil, but blessed by a divine power far beyond the minds of mere mortals like you. Both of these combined with her own innate abilities must be used to their full extent and not be squandered."

"Do you honestly believe that she wants any of this?"

"It is not for her to determine." Ganondorf answered. He turned his right hand around and a golden mark appeared on the back of it. "She was fated to become a successor to the mantle passed down through the bloodline of the hero who was chosen to oppose me. I manipulated things to ensure she would receive the power because I knew that she had great potential. There is also your other self, the alicorn. My manipulations ensured that the power passed down through the royal family would become hers."

Twilight Sparkle was confused as were my friends but she decided to see if she could make sense of it. "Okay, so where does that bring us into this picture? If what you say is true, you didn't really need any of us, just our magic."

Laughing, Ganondorf rested his head on his right hand. "You are all connected to the child. Knowing that you have suffered will serve to make her stronger which will bring her one step closer towards becoming my servant. Your magic was a bonus designed to further increase my own power!" He then looked at a clock hanging on the wall. "My time here is almost at an end, but there is one more thing which needs to be done. You shall all make one final contribution which shall ensure the child never strays from her chosen path."

"And what's that?"

"You will know what it's like to feel true pain..."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon putting the map back in my pocket, I began the long trek back to where I was but coming in from the other side from the tile room. If there was a benefit to be found in all this, it was that my navigational skills had seen a definite improvement. I could use such skills to my advantage once things were back to normal. Equestrian Magic would become easier to track down or just about anything really and there would be no sleepless nights wracking my brain over where I needed to look. Of course, none of this mattered unless I did succeed in changing things back to normal.

Heading back through the room which housed the Compass and then south back through where I had just been, I suddenly ducked when a laser beam came at me. Had I been a bit late to react, my face would've gotten hit. Looking up, I could see a Beamos, a reminder that Cozy Glow had summoned it to ensure the column would remain standing. When the eye turned away, I made a run for it though my feet got poked by the spiked section of floor. Upon getting far enough away, I stopped and made sure my feet were okay before leaving the room and pushing the block forward.

Remembering that I needed to change the tiles again (Which would add to my backtracking if only a little), I went south and used the Roc's Feather to jump across the hole before striking the Crystal Switch with my sword. Heading back and jumping across the hole again, I continued north and then turned right making sure to ignore any monsters that would appear as I wanted to finish this dungeon before it could make me lose my mind. In retrospect, this would've been way less stressful had I tackled the columns in a different order. No sense in worrying about something that was now in the past.

Going through the room where I found the Heavy Ball, I went south past the Mirror Shield chest, and tossed a bomb when I approached the next Crystal Switch. Even though it was an explosion, it would be a small one which shouldn't attract the attention of Cozy Glow. She was probably still gloating over having believed she killed me but she would soon change her attitude once she found out I was still kicking. The bomb exploded which flipped the blue and orange tiles around which also allowed me to head west as I'd have been blocked otherwise. I ignored this next switch (Rather the first one as I had come back around again) as I didn't need to activate it.

I kept on going west, ignoring the Three-of-a-Kind and entered the Hinox's room. There was still no encounter and that made me feel better knowing I didn't have to try and fight my way past it. Heading north, I used the panel to flip around to the next room where I once again made my way for the exit as I didn't need to defend against the tiles again. I then began thinking about how this dungeon had proven itself a challenge in comparison with what came before in the previous dungeons. I knew about difficulty spikes but nothing quite like this.

My thoughts then focused on what remained in the dungeon. Were the remaining two floors even worse than what I had already been through? Or, were they nothing but a joke, a reward for having put up with so much crap? I would soon get my answer and I was hoping it would be the latter. I also knew Cozy Glow would fight me with sheer bloodlust as she didn't have much time before I would reach the point where she would have no choice but to fight me herself.

Once the tiles had finished throwing themselves at me, I used the Roc's Feather to jump over a hole and entered the next room where I was reunited with the Heavy Ball. Seeing the final column brought tears to my eyes knowing that this puzzle was about to be solved. " At last! I'm done with this puzzle! I never want to go through anything like this ever again!" I was being very serious about it.

"Just one more throw of the Heavy Ball and we'll see what happens next." Princess Twilight said. "Remember that there is a Beamos in this room so you should deal with it first before taking care of the column. If my calculations are correct, you need to make your way back up to the third floor. This means you need to go around in a circle one last time but not the entire distance."

"At this point, I'm used to it."

"I have to give a bit of credit to whoever came up with the design of this dungeon's interior." Princess Twilight made sure she chose her words carefully knowing what I have been through since first starting to make my way through this place. "Some aspects were completely unnecessary and required more short cuts to provide easy accessibility, but much of it shows how dedicated someone was during the construction."

I rolled my eyes. "You never could resist any ancient buildings."

"It's the research in me!"

"Yeah, I know!" I said as I raised my shield and stepped forward. The Beamos fired its laser beam which bounced off my shield and back at it, hitting it and shutting it down leaving me free to finally destroy the last column. Picking up the Heavy Ball, I tossed it and it smashed the column to pieces. Nothing happened at first but then everything began vibrating as though the entire tower was starting to fall apart from above. "What's going on?"

"By destroying the final column, the structural integrity of the uppermost floor has been compromised by what you just did." Princess Twilight answered. She had been waiting for a moment like this to use some fancy terms to explain what was happening. I wasn't about to say anything though as she loved being technical. "In other words, the top floor can no longer be held up and it's about to come crashing down on top of the third floor which is above us. Brace yourself, Sunset! This could get rough!"

Even though I couldn't see it, the outside of the dungeon was beginning to change shape. A door and a ladder which were located much higher up than they ought to be began sinking as did the tower. Moments later, everything stopped rumbling and the tower had gotten much smaller than before. On the inside where I was, things still looked the same which prompted Her Highness to command me to take out the map which I did. Looking at it, we were shocked to see there was no longer a fourth floor. It had dropped down and merged with the third floor thus creating a new floor altogether.

"That explains why Cozy Glow was so desperate in protecting the columns."

Princess Twilight nodded in agreement. "She must have known that this was going to happen hence why she wanted to kill you. She knew you were the only one who could solve the riddle of the tower and now she has nowhere left to run though I doubt she had any intention of fleeing." Her Highness pointed at the map where the Nightmare was and I looked at it myself to see what she was getting at. "As you can see, we now have access to the Nightmare though it seems there's no actual room."

"Just a door and nothing else."

"This seems suspicious."

I then put the map away. "I think Cozy Glow will know what's going on and I think she knows I'm going to get an answer one way or another. By the way... Do you think she's come to the realization that she didn't actually kill me? Also, how do I get to the staircase for the third level as quickly as possible?"

"You need to drop back down to the first floor for starters." Princess Twilight answered. I wasn't liking the sound of that already but after everything I've been through, I didn't care how long it would take. "Then you must make your way back to the third floor via the Hinox's room and then head right which is where the staircase was."

At least this time it wasn't quite as bad as what I'd been doing before. The only thing I had to watch out for was Cozy Glow as no doubt she was outraged over what had happened to the dungeon along with knowing that her attempt at killing me failed. Heading through the cracked wall which would serve as a shortcut, I went south and into the next room before jumping into the hole (At that point, it was becoming second nature though it still scared me) and I was at the entrance of the dungeon. Leaving to get more medicine tempted me again but I needed to finish this.

Heading west and then north up the stairs to the second floor, I entered the Hinox's room and it didn't appear. I guessed Princess Twilight's warning was a dud though why did she bring it up knowing nothing would happen? It was yet another thing for me to worry about but not right now as I had other things to take care of first. Leaving the room, and entering the next one, I thought about taking a quick detour and attack the Three-of-a-Kind but opted against it knowing there was much worse that needed to be defeated.

Remembering the orange tiles blocking my way upstairs, I took out the bow and fired an arrow at the Crystal Switch, activating it. With that done, I finally went upstairs to the next floor and was surprised at seeing monsters were here this time. There was a Peahat and two Helmasaurs yet none of them had noticed me yet which was a blessing. If I could avoid any combat then I'd be better prepared to fight Cozy Glow whenever she decided to show up again. The flying heart icon was tempting but I had almost full health and the monsters would cause me trouble if I got too close.

Walking past them without being spotted, I entered the next room and saw the Nightmare Door. "Wow... I didn't think the Nightmare would be that close." I then remembered that there wasn't an actual room for the Nightmare to be in which made me wonder where I was supposed to fight it. "Which way should I go next?"

"Both directions could house the location of the Nightmare Key." Princess Twilight then pointed at the pocket which had the map. "Or you can just take out the map and look to see where there any treasure chest icons on it. I believe you only have one chest left to open since you did go out of your way to collect that Secret Seashell earlier. If there is more than one, you need to decide which one to go for. By the way, you can jump on any Goombas by using the Roc's Feather and defeat them since they are current scurrying about. Doing this will make them drop recovery hearts."

"I think you mentioned that before a long time ago."

"Thought you could do with a reminder."

"I feel like I'm playing a Mario game what with those Goombas here." I then saw Her Highness giving me a confused look and I sighed. "Remind me to tell you about 'Mario' as I know you won't stop pestering me about it until I do. I know how you work, Twilight." She responded by sticking out her tongue which looked rather adorable. I jumped on a Goomba easily by using the Roc's Feather, and as Her Highness said, it dropped a recovery heart which I collected. I then jumped on another one and defeated it, collecting the heart before heading south to see what was in the room I initially skipped.

Princess Twilight then brought something to my attention. "Well how about that? I think this is the first time you've seen a Rope."

"You mean that purple snake?"

"Yes." Princess Twilight nodded as she clasped her hands. "Despite the name, they have nothing to do with actual ropes. It will suddenly dart towards you if you happen to be in its line of sight, but it's not very strong and will go down in a single sword swing. In terms of it and the other monsters in this room, I don't see a need to defeat them. The Compass didn't make a noise nor did the Seashell Sensor. It's up to you on whether you want to fight or look somewhere else."

"I'll check another room."

"No sense in fighting monsters unless you need rupees, health, or have a weird obsession towards destroying them."

That last thing Her Highness said was pretty weird but she wasn't entirely wrong about that. There were some people who desired nothing more than to inflict pain by attacking whatever took their fancy. I know I've defeated a lot of monsters on this adventure but it was a necessity mainly due to needing experience. This in turn would grant me a higher chance of surviving which became more and more necessary especially against some truly absurd creatures. I preferred a stance of only needing to fight to obtain items to further my progress or if I had no other choice.

Going back the way I came, I decided to check the room on the right. I walked over there and entered a room where both doors locked. I then gulped upon seeing Cozy Glow standing on top of a raised platform and holding some kind of flute. Judging from her heavy breathing, I knew this would get ugly. "YOU! What in the world have you done!? Why did you go and bring down this tower!? Now the mighty Dethl will know how much of a failure I am for not killing you." She began hissing and stomping her foot when she stopped upon realizing that I was standing there. "How are you still alive!? I killed you! You should be dead!"

"Magic Medicine saved my life." I said in a calm voice.

"So you had a means of cheating death." Cozy Glow then calmed down. "Okay, I can accept that as an answer. I guess you fooled me pretty good with that stunt. But... I can kill you again and this time it'll be for good."

"Does this mean you will fight me?"

"I don't have a choice now."

"You could just surrender."

That was a mistake as now she had gotten angry. "What!? Me? Surrender? You must be out of your mind!" Her temper got even worse when the thought of me destroying part of the dungeon appeared in her head. "The Nightmare is outraged that you went and desecrated its home. I planned on showing you some mercy but now I won't. I've got some other friends who want to grace us with their presence so allow me to call upon them. All right, boys! Come forth and kill her!" She then began playing her flute which gave off a really beautiful melody.

Suddenly, a group of six bats then appeared. "What in the world are these?"

Cozy Glow laughed. "These are my friends and they are going to end your life. Sure, they might not look like much but never underestimate appearances. That's a lesson I've actually learned from you, Outsider, so allow me to thank you for that. Of course, thanks is all the mercy you're getting from me. Boys? Kill her! Now!" She played her flute again and the bats flew around me several times before they dove down and struck me so fast that I couldn't even see it happening.

"They're faster than they look."

"You're going to need to do a lot better than that, Outsider!" Cozy Glow played her flute and her bats reappeared again around her. "If even one of my friends remains alive after they have finished attacking, I can keep on playing my flute and call more of them to come and help. In other words, I have an infinite number of friends who can fight!" Playing her flute again, the bats slammed into me before flying off and out of the room. "I can do this all day!"

"This isn't going very well." I said as I clutched my side.

"Despite not attacking directly, Cozy Glow is certainly beating you down with those bats." Princess Twilight said.

"Who knew they were that strong."

"Strength is increased whenever you have more than one person attacking at once." Princess Twilight made sure to stay close to me in case any of the bats decided to attack her thinking she was some kind of snack. "Cozy Glow actually blurted out the solution and probably doesn't even realize it. Her anger towards you is so strong that she's blocked out everything else which leaves her completely unhinged. You need to defeat every single bat that comes at you. If a single one gets past, she can bring more by playing her flute."

"How many times will I need to do this?"

"Given her current mental state, I'd say you only need to go through this once."

"I can handle that."

"Remember that their formations do change every time she calls more in." Princess Twilight noted that the first formation formed a circle around me with the second appearing in a semi-circle and the third could be either one I had already seen or a completely different one. "Just be patient and focus on each bat as it flies at you. This may or may not take some time to get through depending on how accurate you are."

As the next bats appeared, they were now in an X formation or as close to it as possible. They then attacked me and I responded by swinging my sword. Only one of them was defeated which prompted Cozy Glow to laugh. She then played her flute and another six bats appeared which formed up in a square shape before attacking. Because of how fast they moved, I needed to keep my eyes on all six which was easier said than done. Swinging my sword again, I only defeated one and the others escaped. What was I doing wrong here? Cozy Glow played her flute and more bats appeared.

Every time I missed, I would get damaged in return. If I had my medicine, I'd be more confident but I didn't so I need to be more cautious. The next formation went back to the semi-circle and then dove down at me. If only they were lower to the ground when they flew in as that would let me defeat them without having to wait for an attack. I swung my sword and once again only defeated one while the others flew away. Cozy Glow continued laughing at my expense and so far she was calling the shots... Quite literally with her flute. She then played it and six more bats showed up and formed another square.

"This is too easy!" Cozy Glow shouted.

"Why not fight me yourself?" I asked.

"And get my hands dirty?"

"You're just a coward!"

Cozy Glow laughed. "Call me what you want but right now you're taking a pounding at the hands of my friends. A shame that your eyesight is so terrible as then you might actually be doing a lot better than you currently are. Without that medicine, my friends just need to whittle you down until you finally drop and can't get back up. Be cooperative and just die so we can all get back to their lives, or the after-life in your case."

Once again, she blurted out what I needed to do and wasn't even aware of it. Her Highness was right about her being unhinged. As much as it pained me to defeat her friends, I needed to get things moving again though it would mean incurring her wrath even more. The bats then attacked and I wasn't ready for them as I was focused on figuring out an ideal strategy. When she played her flute again and more bats appeared, I watched to see which one would strike first. Swinging my sword whilst watching their movements, I defeated four of them this time though the other two escaped.

She played the flute again and I responded in kind though only defeated three. Each one I missed damaged me as a result and it was slowly racking up. I needed to end this now before her friends killed me!. When the next six bats appeared after Cozy Glow played her flute, they were in the circle formation so I waited for the first one to move. When it did, I struck it with my sword before changing targets and waiting for the next one to attack. One by one, I defeated each bat as they attacked and when there were no more left, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"There! I did it!"

"You... You... You killed some of my best friends!" Cozy Glow looked like she was about to completely lose it. "How dare you do this!" Yep, she had lost it and was practically foaming at the mouth. "I should've ended you back when you first entered this tower! Instead, I let you run around and do whatever and now look what's happened. I HATE YOU! I hate you with all the hatred deep within me."

"This was your own fault." I said as I lowered my head. "You forced your friends into fighting me and now look what happened. Don't blame me for something you could've avoided by either fighting me personally or choosing to surrender and not fight at all."

"Enough!"

"Now what?"

"I'm never going to forgive you!" I could tell that she wanted to come down and kill me personally but something was holding her back. I wasn't about to risk further angering her so I held back and waited to see her next move. "I'll retreat for now but when we meet again, the Nightmare will rip you to pieces. Come to the top of the tower and it shall send you to your grave." With that, she disappeared by jumping up to the ceiling. Both doors then unlocked but more importantly, a warp panel appeared so now I could go back and forth between here and the dungeon's entrance.

Choosing to say nothing more about what happened, Princess Twilight understood how I felt and chose to say nothing either. Entering the next room, the Compass made a noise indicating that the Nightmare Key was in this room. Aside from three Sparks and a Crystal Switch, there were two blocks that definitely looked suspicious. After what I had been through in terms of puzzles around here, I felt happy encountering a more simplistic one even if it didn't look quite obvious at first. I went and pushed both blocks towards one another whilst getting hit a few times by the Sparks.

A chest then materialized signaling my success and upon opening it, I took out the Nightmare Key. I could go and confront the Nightmare straight away, but there were still a few rooms left for me to explore and I felt like seeing what they had to offer. They could provide me with some rewards though at this point I just needed to collect Secret Seashells and I doubted I'd find anymore in this dungeon. But, you never knew what you'd find until you actually found it. When it came to a Nightmare, being absolutely prepared was essential as it meant the difference between life and death.

Heading back to the previous room and ignoring the warp panel (Again, the temptation was strong), I continued on back to the next previous room and jumped on the Goombas which had re-spawned and collected hearts which restored some of my strength. I had forgotten about the Crystal Switch but it turned out I had made the right decision otherwise I'd be currently blocked from progressing any further. This next room had a Bubble and a Beamos along with some spiked sections of floor. After what Cozy Glow had put me through, I was nervous about approaching the latter despite being able to defeat them.

When it turned to face me and fired its laser, I raised my Mirror Shield and knocked it back which struck and shut the Beamos down. "I see you're getting better at using that new shield, Sunset." Princess Twilight commented. "No doubt it will prove invaluable in the future though I don't know if you need it to overcome the Nightmare. After all, you haven't used it to solve puzzles and instead have needed it to defeat those Beamos."

"It just feels weird finding an item and not getting much out of it."

"Not much can be done about that."

I nodded. "No, I suppose not." Taking a single step forward, two Wizzrobes appeared out of nowhere and blasted me with their magic before disappearing. "I hate it when monsters surprise me and get a free shot!" Looking at my shield, I suddenly had an idea. "Actually, I'm glad they appeared up as now I can really test out this shield." When they next appeared and fired their magic, I bounced both shots back at them which defeated them without any problems. "That was even easier than using the bow."

"Like I said, you're getting better with it."

Entering the next room, I encountered another key block along with a conundrum. "Hold on... If I need to use a key here to remove this block, why did I need the Nightmare Key? I could've skipped fighting Cozy Glow."

"I have an answer for this and it's a bit complicated."

"I'm all ears."

"Before you brought the fourth floor down to the third, it was possible for you to explore that particular floor in its original state." Princess Twilight used her hands to simulate the moment where the dungeon changed after I destroyed all four columns. "This key block would've been useful back then as you could've reached the rooms behind the Nightmare Door much sooner, but not access the Nightmare itself. The intention here was to explore the third floor and defeat Cozy Glow sooner but instead you waited until later in order to do so. In other words, this key block serves no purpose."

I couldn't believe what Her Highness had just said, and yet, it actually made sense. "Guess I got too far ahead of the game on this one."

"Yes, I suppose you did."

"I might as well use the small key anyway as I can't take it with me."

"This is true."

Taking out the small key, I inserted it into the key block and turned it before the block disappeared. Rather than continuing onward and dealing with a Beamos, a Peahat, a Spark, and a Goomba, I just went back to the previous room (There was probably nothing of value). Taking out the map, I looked to see where I needed to go in order to reach the Nightmare. While its door was in the next room, its actual location was up a staircase located next to the room where I fought Cozy Glow a short while ago. Hmmm... It made sense. A bird's nest was located at the very top... She told me to go up there and face it... Outside... It would be an outside battle as there was no room inside.

Putting the map away, I went back to the main area, approached the Nightmare Door and inserted the Nightmare Key into it. It unlocked and I entered a room with a few Goombas, a path forward which had to lead to an additional room or two, and a means of being able to reach the staircase. There were a couple of blocks which were obvious as to what they were to be used for. Using the Roc's Feather, I jumped on each Goomba and collected the hearts they dropped until my health had been restored. I then chose to continue north in case I could find something that could prove useful.

Walking north into the next room, I could see another Beamos along with two Peahats. The way forward wasn't locked so I could ignore everything, but something felt suspicious as though there was another trap. Taking a step forward, two Blade Traps launched themselves at me only to collide with one another instead. The Beamos then fired a laser which I bounced back using the Mirror Shield, shutting it down and making things more manageable. Moving forward quickly just as the Blade Traps were about to move, I ignored the Peahats and entered the next room.

"The horse heads again!?" Sure enough, the puzzle from the Face Shrine and from this dungeon had come back to haunt me yet again. There was also a conveyor belt with a Beamos moving around on it just to provide an extra bit of challenge. "Guess I should see what happens when I place those horse heads where they need to go." Before doing anything, I waited for a laser to be fired at me from the Beamos. When it happened, it got bounced back by my Mirror Shield and shut the Beamos down.

"Strange how there are these extra rooms behind the Nightmare Door."

"I don't get it either."

Princess Twilight shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Sunset. I just find it strange that these rooms are behind a door designated for a Nightmare. Remember that this floor used to be different before destroying those columns brought it down to where we are."

"Oh yeah."

"Anyway, this is an easy puzzle to figure out, not to mention much safer."

"I hope doing this is going to be worth it."

Taking a step forward, a Red Zol popped out of the ground and bumped into me. I responded by cutting it in half and then defeating those two halves, both of which dropped hearts which mitigated any damage. I liked how the panels weren't moving around on the conveyor as opposed to the horse head themselves. There was only so much I could take before I would just lose interest and give up. Walking over and picking up the white head, I got into the correct position before tossing it onto a panel.

Once it was in place and its eyes glowed, I spent a few moments trying to pick up the black head. Conveyor belts were tricky business as you never knew how fast they could be until you actually stepped on one. I was curious as to why this room was set up like it was. Was it to prepare me for the Nightmare ahead? If so then I was impressed, but if not then it meant this world didn't have much confidence in me after all. Sighing, I picked up the black head, got into position and tossed it where it landed in the right spot.

It's eyes glowed and a treasure chest materialized indicating success. Opening it up, I took out the same object that I found in the Face Shrine. Princess Twilight was ecstatic and she began bopping me on the head repeatedly. "Sunset! You've found some more Magic Medicine, or rather Secret Medicine. Now you have that buffer which kicks in whenever you lose all your health. Talk about a coincidence seeing as the Nightmare is coming up."

Now it was my turn to be ecstatic albeit on a lesser scale. "Good! I feel much better knowing I have a back up in case something goes wrong."

"Cozy Glow is going to be in for quite the surprise."

"Yeah, but I'd rather not have to die again if you get my meaning."

"Fair point."

I guessed coming to this room was worth it as it meant getting some more medicine. Once I applied it across my body, I began to make my way back to where I saw those two blocks as I knew what to do with them. In the previous room, the Beamos, its eyesight having been restored, fired its laser at me and I responded by using the Mirror Shield to bounce it back where it shut down again. Ignoring everything else whilst making sure to avoid getting sliced by the Blade Traps, I went back to next room and went up some stairs. There was a hole which made me think if I needed something down below, I could drop down but I didn't need to.

Taking out the Hookshot, I fired it at the block before pulling myself along. I ignored the Goombas as I was at full health and climbed up the stairs which brought me outside. The view was certainly something though seeing beds of spikes either side of me was very disturbing. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were for and I hoped not to end up getting poked in the end. Spying a ladder next to me, I began climbing it and discovered that the tower was much bigger than initially thought. It was strange that the top was smaller than the bottom but who was I to question how it was built.

Just as I reached the top, I saw Cozy Glow standing there with two of her bat friends. "I've been waiting for you to get up here, Outsider." She then grew angry as evidenced in her voice and began shaking her fist at me. "Never did I think you would make it this far. Because of you, the mighty Dethl will be furious with me over how you're still breathing. I promised him I'd kill you yet here you are climbing up to the top of the tower."

I then finished my climb and stood before her. "Guess I proved too difficult to kill, huh?" I asked.

"No point in being smug with me."

"So I guess you've dropped the whole cuteness act?"

Cozy Glow nodded. "You've pushed me to the edge and I didn't want it to get this far. Outsider!" She then pointed her finger at me. "I'm not going to hold back this time. You've been dying to meet the Nightmare so why don't I summon it so we can get things started. You might not have figured it out or perhaps you did but either way I don't care. I command the loyalty of this creature! Together, our combined power shall finally put an end to you." She then began laughing before playing her flute in which a loud shriek echoed all around. "I'm going to make you wish that you were never born!"

Suddenly, a large bird swooped past over the tower though I could barely make out what it looked like. It then flew back the other way where I got a better look at it but still couldn't quite make out what it was. It then came by again only to stop this time which caused a gust of wind to knock Cozy Glow's two bats away while she remained unfazed. Now that I got a better look at this bird, I could see why I had been warned about its presence. It was at least ten times the size of a standard bird and I sensed a dark power coming from it. Cozy Glow then jumped onto its back and it shrieked in return.

"So this is the Nightmare?" I asked as I tried to keep my footing.

"Fall before the might of the Evil Eagle!" Cozy Glow shouted.

She then commanded the bird or rather the Evil Eagle (What kind of name was that for a bird anyway?) to fly up which meant the battle had begun. It then swooped across the sky though I was unable to reach it. Even if I could jump incredibly high with the Roc's Feather, I would still be out of range to attack it so it meant having to wait around before it would come any closer to attack. It swooped across a second time before coming back and stopping. It then suddenly dropped down and raked me using sharp claws. I couldn't defend myself as I had no idea it would do that.

It then flew away leaving me to wonder what else it was going to do. It then flew back the other way but was much closer to the ground. I raised my shield and managed to block its attack before it flew away again. So far, the Evil Eagle was all about choosing when to attack as though it were afraid of something. Cozy Glow proved herself to be quite cowardly as she never wanted to fight me directly and her mount had a similar way of thinking. It then came at me again at the same angle and I responded by blocking with my shield a second time. It then flew away and I was beginning to feel annoyed.

"This isn't working."

"As you can see, the Evil Eagle only attacks when it feels it can do so." Princess Twilight said.

"Do I have anything that can hit it from above?"

"You can use the Hookshot though the Boomerang is more effective."

"Then I'll go with those."

That's when Princess Twilight went into more details. "Remember that both those weapons have a bit of lag when it comes to using them. You need to predict where it's going to fly in next and fire them just as it appears otherwise you're going to miss which could leave you vulnerable. It can also bring about a strong gust of wind which can blow you away but you can protect yourself by using the Mirror Shield. As I mentioned before, its larger size can be used to keep yourself from being affected by certain conditions."

"And I take it I don't want to fall off?"

Princess Twilight nodded. "Landing on those spikes is going to be very painful. There's also another penalty if you get blown off from up here. If the Evil Eagle has taken any damage and you fall off, it will be as though you never damaged it. In other words, it gets all its health back and the battle starts all over again. Suffice to say, you need to remain up here at all times otherwise this fight could potentially last forever."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"I'm not." Princess Twilight answered as she shook her head.

That made this battle all the more difficult. If this Nightmare would regain all its health every time I got knocked off the tower, I'd never be able to prevail. To Cozy Glow, knocking me off would instantly kill me so she was going to do everything in her power to make sure she succeeded. The Evil Eagle then appeared on the left side and began flapping its wings and also launching several of its feathers like daggers. Using my Mirror Shield, I wasn't as affected by the wind and several feathers bounced off. After a while, it gave up and flew away again before swooping across the sky.

I needed to get some damage in otherwise I wasn't going to get anywhere. It then swooped across again followed by flying in low to the ground but doing so from behind. I couldn't defend myself resulting in me getting knocked down by its beak and sliding across the tower before stopping short of the edge. Getting back up, it attacked me in the same manner by flying in low so in response I swung my sword and connected. Reacting to the damage, it shrieked and flew straight up which struck me as odd. No doubt getting hit wasn't what Cozy Glow wanted and by commanding it to get away, it was another reminder of her being cowardly.

After swooping across again, it approached from behind and dropped down in order to rack me with its claws again. I was slow which allowed it to hit me a couple of times before I blocked the remaining claw swipes. That's when I noticed a brief moment of vulnerability. The Evil Eagle paused for just a split second before resuming the onslaught. This was an opportunity that couldn't be ignored as I had few chances of attacking it anyway. It then swooped across before dropping down to rack me once again. I blocked each claw swipe with my shield and attacked the moment it paused.

I got in a few good hits which Cozy Glow was clearly upset about. "You should be dead by now! How is it you're still hanging on?"

"It's called being resilient!" I shouted back.

"You're a lot more sturdy than I gave you credit for."

"You have no idea."

Smacking her forehead, Cozy Glow was beginning to lose her composure again. "There you go again! Having a joke just because you feel like it! This is why I hate you! You think yourself better than me? I am the Grim Creeper! No one is better than me!"

"Except for the one who dominates you."

It took a moment for Cozy Glow to understand what I meant. "Now you've really gone and done it! To insult the mighty Dethl is the last straw!" I didn't actually insult Grogar but rather her which she completely ignored. "Evil Eagle. Rip this girl to shreds and make sure there's absolutely nothing left. When you're done, you can do the same thing to that fairy. I don't want to see either one again!"

"We'll see about that."

As the Evil Eagle took to the skies again, I thought about using one of the two items Her Highness mentioned. The boomerang had proven to be very powerful though it was slow which would make hitting it difficult. It would also require me to throw it when it was closer to the ground. The Hookshot was much easier to aim and was faster but I needed to be at a safe distance as it wasn't good up close. Also, the damage it could inflict wasn't as good. There was nothing wrong with using a sword but Her Highness made the suggestion so why not use one and see what happens?

I chose to go with the boomerang as it was the newer of the two items. As the Evil Eagle swooped across the tower, I waited for it to come down and attack. When it did, it swooped close to the ground and I threw it. This caught Cozy Glow by surprise as she didn't expect me to have it in my inventory. Getting hit in the beak, it flew upwards prompting me to throw it upwards in hopes of getting another hit. Unfortunately, I missed as it swooped by just as my weapon reached its maximum distance. My second attempt was even worse as flew by just after my boomerang was coming back down to me.

On my third attempt, it looked like I hit it only for it to miss, and then on my fourth attempt, I managed to connect which caused it to shriek. Cozy Glow reacted in a manner I wasn't expecting and what was even more unexpected is how she was talking to it. "What do you mean you're getting tired!?" The Evil Eagle responded by making another shriek and she didn't take too kindly to it. "You don't think you can win? No! I don't care how you're feeling! The Outsider must die!"

"Looks to me that the Nightmare is almost finished." I said as I called up to her.

"And what would you know?"

"This is my eighth time fighting one of them!"

That made Cozy Glow realize that I was right and she turned away from me. "She's a lot tougher than I thought she was. Huh... So this is what the others must have felt when they were in my position. To think that before the mighty Dethl, I called them pathetic for having lost to her. No wonder they got destroyed. Her determination is so strong, nothing could stop her. Perhaps... Perhaps not even I can overcome such odds." In that moment, she had apparently reached an epiphany. "Is this my fate then? To lose? No... I can't believe such things. I must do everything I can to kill her."

"I think she's lost it, Twilight."

Princess Twilight nodded in agreement. "Using the boomerang was a smart idea, Sunset. It has more power than your sword so you have effectively sped up the fight where it has now reached the final stage. Remember not to fall off otherwise you've got to start this battle all over again."

"Then why mention it again?"

"Not to scare you but to inspire you to keep going."

"And Cozy Glow?"

Sighing, Princess Twilight looked up. "Even in this world, she wanted to assert her dominance. She believes she understands what's going on but in reality she's clueless. I know defeating this Nightmare will also defeat her, but a part of me wishes things could've turned out differently and not resulting in this."

"Twilight..."

"But... This was her own doing." Princess Twilight said in a stern manner. "She must pay for her own actions."

At that moment, Cozy Glow regained her composure and began spouting how she and the Evil Eagle were going to finish me off despite the latter running out of steam. I sighed under my breath as I thought she would've surrendered upon realizing she couldn't win. As the Evil Eagle took to the sky once again, I put away the boomerang and decided to stick with the sword. I believed that beating her fairly was in order and also because I felt more comfortable with a blade in my hand.

It then lowered down before flapping its wings and flinging more feathers at me. I wasn't fast enough to avoid blocking the initial feathers but I did block the rest once I raised my shield though I was more concerned with being blown off the tower. It continued flapping which made the wind stronger as I struggled to keep my footing. After a while, it finally stopped before flying off in order to prepare for the next attack. I breathed heavily as that took quite a bit out of me. I too was getting weaker yet while I did have medicine, I wanted to preserve it for as long as possible.

Flying across near the ground, I struck the Evil Eagle with my sword again. I thought this was the final blow but it flew upwards indicating that it wasn't. It then swooped across the sky before coming down and raking me with its claws. Had it suddenly gotten faster or was that just me? After all, I didn't raise my shield on time and got hit by each claw swipe. Flying away again, it swooped across before doing it again followed by coming down and creating another gust of wind. This one was stronger than the previous ones had been and I found myself getting pushed all the way to the edge of the tower.

Raising my shield, I deflected the feathers but I continued to get pushed back. The Evil Eagle continued to flap it wings though I could see it was getting exhausted (The same could be said about me) but Cozy Glow didn't care. She wanted me dead period! Suddenly, I lost my footing and was flung off the tower. In that brief moment, so much flashed before my eyes including seeing my friends that I just reacted out of sheer instinct and grabbed the tower's edge. Hanging there whilst my feet were dangling about, I managed to get back up rather slowly due to my exhaustion.

Swooping along the ground, I attacked the Evil Eagle several times before it flew up again. Come on! That should've been it! Grumbling, I waited for its next attack which involved it coming down and using its claws. Defending myself from its swipes, I waited for the weak point to occur before striking it again several times. It then shrieked loudly before its head lowered and began floating there. Lowering my sword, I waited for some kind of reaction but nothing. It continued floating in place which made me suspect the battle was over. Looking at Cozy Glow, she seemed completely out of it as well.

"I think I won." I said as I scratched my head.

"It looks like it unless this is another of Cozy Glow's tricks." Princess Twilight said.

I then called up to her. "What's going on?"

She responded. "My energy... Gone! I... I don't have anything left. I... I lost."

"Guess you did win." Princess Twilight said.

"Then why is she still floating up there?"

"I don't know."

Cozy Glow then spoke up. "Outsider... You defeated me and the Evil Eagle! Neither of us... We don't have anymore strength left. Now... I understand why the other Nightmares were defeated by you. I... I thought they were pathetic but in truth, they were simply no match for the power you possess. I may be gone but the mighty Dethl remains along with his most powerful servant."

"And I will defeat them both and awaken the Wind Fish." I declared.

That made Cozy Glow laugh. "Even when I'm dying... You have to make a joke about everything. That... Is one of your more annoying qualities but a good one. If... If you believe you can awaken the Wind Fish then I can't stop you." She then coughed indicating her time was running out so she pointed her finger at me before continuing. "Remember this! I may have lost but you will be lost too if the dreamer awakens. Though... Though you don't know it yet, the truth will... Become a reality. Same as me... You... Are... In... His... Dream! Outsider... Never forget my words..."

The Evil Eagle then began exploding several times over alongside Cozy Glow before both disappeared in a final explosion. On the one hand, I was saddened that she had been defeated in such a manner. Had she chosen not to fight, she would still be here though I'd have been forced to contain her somehow. On the other hand, what she said was most concerning. It was another reminder that waking the Wind Fish was risky because I could end up wiping out everyone. It was such a conundrum which continued eating away at me despite doing my best in trying to keep it in check.

A Heart Container then materialized on the left side of the tower's top. Walking over and picking it up, I could feel its warm embrace as my strength and health were restored. I then climbed back down the ladder knowing there was no where else to go and down the stairs to re-enter the dungeon. A door which had previously been locked had now unlocked most likely because the Nightmare had been defeated. Jumping down then walking through this door, it closed behind me but I was more interested in a piano laying on a raised platform.

Walking up to it, I picked it up and held it above my head which is when a familiar voice echoed around the room. "You have obtained the Organ of Evening Calm!" Appearing out of nowhere was Princess Celestia, a welcome sight to behold, but she wasn't the only one who made their presence felt. Both Princess Luna and Princess Cadance followed behind her which made me extra happy knowing all three princesses were here at once. "As you know, Sunset Shimmer, we all said that we would be able to see you here. I have to say that you endured an awful lot making your way through this place."

I groaned. "I hated it especially when it came to dealing with that Heavy Ball."

Princess Celestia nodded. "Though it was a tough ordeal, you persevered and managed to defeat the Evil Eagle." She then paused and began thinking about something and I knew what it was given who else had been defeated. "I cannot believe that Cozy Glow commanded that creature, but how is this even possible? The last time I saw her, she had been turned to stone alongside Chrysalis and Tirek. How was she able to free herself from her eternal prison?"

"The one who brought us all here has power that far exceeds your own."

"Is this true?"

I nodded slowly. "His power is actually stronger than all three of you combined. He is able to traverse through time and space on a whim all because he possesses a power that has existed since the beginning of existence. He can even foresee the future long before it's even happened."

"And he is the one who is your enemy?"

"He is."

Princess Twilight then spoke up. "Sunset has had to deal with him twice before and has managed to prevail both times given she's still here with us. But, he seems to continue making things even worse for her though I've no doubt that she won't allow him to have his way."

Stepping back, Princess Celestia allowed Princess Luna to speak and she did so. "This evil one you speak of is one who possesses great power. Though it may be tempting to think you can match it with your own power, remember that power corrupts even the most noble of souls."

"We both know this."

"I have no doubt about that, Twilight."

"So where do I go from here?" I asked.

"Your adventure is almost nearing its end." Princess Luna answered. I was expecting her to use her 'Royal Canterlot Voice' but she didn't. "You now have only one more instrument remaining before you have completed the set but it will be the most difficult one for you to acquire. Sunset Shimmer... You and Twilight must be at your very best if you intend on prevailing in the upcoming trial. Those that you have bested shall return and must be overcome once more."

If Princess Luna meant what I thought she meant, I wasn't going to like this final dungeon one bit. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. The Eagle's Tower had certainly been challenging so it made sense for the last one to raise the stakes to the highest level. "If I can collect enough Secret Seashells and take them to the Seashell Manion, I can acquire the ultimate weapon which should also help me in defeating Grogar."

"Perhaps but you must rely more on your abilities."

"Nothing wrong with wanting a better sword is there?"

Princess Luna smiled. "I will not deny that having a stronger weapon can be of valued assistance. Many of these Secret Seashells you speak of still remain hidden and you have the necessary items to find most of them. One or two may no longer be available but this is a minor issue. Speak to the one who watches over the mansion in order to learn about where they can be found."

She then stepped back and Princess Cadance stepped forward. "Sunset, you need to listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Unlike the previous hints you have been given which have guided you to each of the instrument's locations, this last one is very cryptic in its explanation. Ocarina... The music of the ocarina leads. You have all three songs so surely one of them is the key."

"You can't tell me which one?"

"I am unable to do so."

"What about the location of the final dungeon?" Princess Twilight asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't say much about this either." Princess Cadance answered. I really didn't like how they could only say certain things but I supposed it was meant to give me a challenge. "However, I am allowed to say this. The Mirror Shield that Sunset acquired is going to be necessary in order to get past an obstacle that is otherwise impassable. Once you reach it, you will understand what must be done."

"Anything else?"

Princess Cadance then uttered a single word. "Discord..."

"Why am I not surprised." I said as I rubbed the bridge of my forehead.

"He can provide you with more information." Princess Cadance then started to fade away along with the other two princesses which meant that their time here was beginning to run out. "Discord knows where this final dungeon is located and also knows something else about it. Once you hear from him, everything will begin to make sense. Oh, and if you have a fear of fire, Sunset, or are uncomfortable around it, you're not going to like what's coming."

"Then I need to find a telephone booth."

Princess Celestia then got to speak again. "The three of us must go now as our time here is up. When you have acquired the final instrument, only one of us will be able to show up and give you the final information you need. I can tell that you're thinking which one of us it's going to be so allow me to clear things up. You and Twilight each have a different view of the three of us and it will be a common ground which shall determine who amongst us will greet you at the end of the final dungeon."

"I hope we don't argue over this, Twilight."

"I'm sure we won't." Princess Twilight said in response.

The princesses were now fading fast and so Princess Celestia had one final thing for me to hear. "When you reach the final dungeon, you will encounter ice which cannot be broken by traditional means but if you use the burning flames, you can break it with ease. Now, listen well as the Organ of Evening Calm soothes the soul especially after what you've been through as a result of this tower. Sunset Shimmer, Princess Twilight... Do not get discouraged especially when you are so close to achieving your final goal."

As they disappeared, the organ (It wasn't an actual organ in the traditional sense) began to play and I could feel the music enveloping me as I began to think about my next course of action, and what was going to be coming my way. I needed to find a telephone booth as soon as possible. Hopefully, Discord would provide an answer otherwise I'd have to go and find the dungeon on my own. I didn't understand what Princess Celestia meant about ice or what Princess Cadance meant about using the ocarina. Also, there was Starlight Glimmer. She was going to the Tal Tal Mountains the last time I saw her so her safety would also become an issue.

Everything then went bright and moments later, I was back outside of the Eagle's Tower. The Flying Rooster was no longer around as I had suspected before going inside and hoped it had gone back to Big Macintosh. I could always go to his place and make sure as I was a little curious about where it had gone. Looking upwards at the sky, the day was about halfway done and I knew I still had much more to do. Time was now beginning to wind down on this adventure though Grogar and whatever Nightmare remained knew this as well. To them, I was now a priority they intended on killing.

To Be Continued.