//------------------------------//
// Epilogue: Awakening! 
// Story: The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening. 
// by Ganondorf8 
//------------------------------//

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.
By Ganondorf8.
May 18, 2021.
Epilogue: Awakening!

Of all the Nightmares Grogar could've assumed the guise of, he had to go and choose Moldorm. Okay, I had no personal issues with fighting against it. No, my issues stem from the fact that my initial battle was much harder than I was expecting. Sure, the second time during Zecora's custom dungeon challenge was much better but by that point, I couldn't take fighting against it again. It reminded me of my previous adventure and having to fight against so many Wizzrobes to the point where I had fatigue from them. Now, this had come up and my mind was going through different feelings.

Defeating this Moldorm would mean I was an undisputed champion of fighting against it. No one aside from Princess Twilight would ever know about it so the grandiose behind it was pretty much a low-key thing. I'd also move one step closer towards seeing his true form as that was what I needed to defeat in order to awaken the Wind Fish. Grogar must have known about my disdain towards this Nightmare and purposely ensured it would be something I'd have to deal with. He did say he had been informed of my progress by Hot Head on a constant basis so did he know what I was thinking?

It made sense he knew I had the means to cheat death twice. Otherwise, he was a pretty good guesser. In any case, I needed to be more careful. With some of my secrets now having been exposed, he would do everything in his power to force me to use them up. Once I was out of revival items, I'd be at his mercy and that was something I couldn't let happen. I mean, this was the final battle and to lose right at the very end would be the ultimate form of humiliation. Okay... Maybe not so much that but rather losing would mean everyone loses.

From what Princess Twilight said, Grogar's Moldorm acted exactly the same as the original. As I recalled, it started off slowly but would get faster every time it got hit in the tail which was its weak point. Back then, I had little health so I could only afford to get hit three times or less depending on how damage I had taken prior. With the amount of health I had now, I could probably take a dozen hits but I'd rather not take any. Also, I had few items in comparison to now so really, I'm better off than before. Moldorm had little stamina so in theory, this form shouldn't take very long.

As it began moving around, I couldn't help but feel disturbed at what Moldorm's shadow form looked like. The original  wasn't much better but then it had actual distinguishing features whereas this one had two sets of eyes, one on each end, on a body that lacked anything other than darkness. Oh well. When its weak point became visible, I immediately struck the tail which caused it to spin around and the entire body retracting into itself. This happened before so I knew what was going to happen next.

Once it was done reeling, it moved out again and was much faster than before. Since my sword was stronger now, would it take fewer hits than before to defeat this form or perhaps the same? There was only one way to find out for certain. It began bouncing off the walls which made the tail harder to hit so I waited for the right moment, and when it came, I swung my sword only to hit the body which bounced off with a clanging sound like I had just hit metal. Before I could figure out what was going on, it collided with me, pushing me back, and taking some damage.

I had no way of knowing if Grogar was coming after me or was just moving about in an erratic fashion but I couldn't afford to take my eyes off of this form. Swinging my sword again, the tail continued to get blocked by the rest of the body to the point where I began to consider switching to the Magic Rod and seeing if I'd have more success with that. Then again, I tried using magic against the Giant Zol form and it didn't do anything. Maybe he was immune to magic? If so, I'd be robbed of a very powerful means of attack and even more so since it came so very late in this adventure.

Sighing, I kept on swinging my sword and it eventually came out of the corner, and collided into me again before moving past and then going around in circles. This was yet another reason for my disdain against Moldorm. The erratic behaviour made fighting it a chore more than anything else. I preferred opponents that had a strategy to their methods and not relying purely on instinct. Perhaps this was why I had to fight it so early unlike say more towards the end. Waiting patiently for it to begin moving again, it did so and I managed to strike the tail again which made it reel and curl back up.

After that, it darted forward with more speed than ever before. "Look at how fast it's going now!" I exclaimed.

"With that kind of speed, avoiding it is going to be incredibly difficult." Princess Twilight added.

"Any suggestions?"

"You could try to swing your sword around and hope for the best."

"Any suggestions that don't involve me getting hit repeatedly?" I asked as I stared at her with a frown.

Blushing, Her Highness quickly assessed the situation. "You might be able to use your shield and block it from hitting you, but then you won't be able to hit it in return. The way I see it, you're going to have to take a hit or two if you want to hit that tail."

I sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that, Twilight."

"Against Grogar, you knew it wasn't going to be easy."

Using my shield wasn't a bad idea. Whether it would work against an ever-increasingly fast giant shadow insect remained to be seen but there was no sense in not trying. I needed to get through this form without taking too much damage. Raising my shield and moving it close to my body, it began banging against it, pushing me back and showing no signs of relenting. I knew my shield wouldn't break so in theory, I could keep this up forever, but the same was also true in reverse so my theory was clearly flawed.

Pushing me until my back hit the wall, it continued moving around in circles, my shield continuing to protect me, but I knew that this was a stalemate. For some reason, I couldn't swing a sword and remain in a defensive stance at the same time. If it could be done, there would be no issue and I could simply stand here until it either got exhausted (Unlikely to happen) or got defeated. Whoever created this video game should've been able to implement such a feature. It was something that was accessible in my previous adventures yet not in this one. It felt like a major step backwards.

Lowering my shield, I got hit by the tail immediately and because I was up against the wall, it managed to squeeze me for a brief moment. Swinging my sword before it had a chance to do that again, I connected and it reeled whilst curling back up again. For a second, it looked like I had won but when it began moving forward in an insane burst of speed, I gulped knowing my health was about to take a nose-dive. Sure enough, it began hitting me repeatedly and there was no way of mounting any kind of counterattack. I couldn't even protect myself with my shield because of how fast it was moving.

This kept going for a while where I continued taking small amounts of damage until I finally managed to raise my shield and prevent any further hits. Sheesh! I knew Moldorm was fast but I didn't expect anything like this. Then again, it had been so long since I last fought this specific Nightmare so me forgetting about how fast it could get was certainly plausible. In the midst of its twisted body, I could barely make out the tail but I chose to swing my sword anyway in hopes it would connect with something. To my surprise, I managed to hit it quite quickly which ended up being the final hit.

Reeling from being hit, it curled up again and remained as such until the form disappeared leaving Grogar's blob-like state. "You've defeated our Moldorm shadow! You are beginning to incur our wrath, Outsider." He said as he glared at me with those eyes of his. 

"Guess you didn't expect me to get this far, huh?" I asked.

"No... We did not." Grogar answered. I could tell from the sound of his voice that he felt dejected knowing I had now defeated three of his shadows. I still didn't know how many more remained but the momentum was on my side. "Perhaps we should have used something more fitting, such as the Slime Eel, but no matter."

"I'm ready for your next shadow!"

"Are you now?"

"Shouldn't I be?" Not the best way to ask a question as now he knew I was concerned.

"Though you have defeated our third shadow, the wounds we inflicted upon you are most delicious."

Unfortunately, he was right. I took more damage than I should have. I knew what I needed to do and I blew it. Now I needed another strategy. Despite my progress, the advantage was truly his and it never once deserted him. The chances of me using one of my two revival items had increased exponentially and there was no avoiding that fact. If his next shadow was an easier one, perhaps I could take control, but if not, I was in big trouble. The odds? Heavily stacked against me. His next form would be another difficult one. My one chance would be fighting against something slow.

"Okay, so I didn't fight as well as I should have."

That made Grogar laugh. "You wanted to prolong using one of your means to cheat death. Did you truly think you could do so against us?" I had no answer for that so I nodded slowly and he knew right there that I was in a lot of trouble. "As we suspected! No wonder the Nightmares lost so easily. Had they known you were relying on luck, you would be dead right now and our plans would remain unimpeded. Unfortunate that luck cannot help here in our sanctum." If luck hadn't been a factor against him so far, how did I defeat his first three forms!? "You could have surrendered but that option is lost to you."

"Of course I was relying on luck!" I shouted in protest. "Sure, my skills aren't the best which is why I've been struggling, but because of luck, things ended up going my way and that's especially true here!" Sometimes, my mouth said things it shouldn't have. Case in point, what I just said!

"You defeated us because of sheer determination."

"Are you trying to boost my confidence?"

"Believe what you wish to, Outsider!" Okay, now I was certain that he had been messing with my mind. Was he beginning to worry that perhaps I could beat him and was now relying on manipulation? "We have toyed with you long enough! Our previous forms were strong but they are nothing compared to the horror that now awaits you. We have seen your nightmares and there is one who strikes the most fear within that heart of yours. This is where our battle ends, Outsider! We had intended on using this form much later but circumstances have forced us to use it now."

Moving to the back of the room, he glared at me again before disappearing into the ground and I braced myself for what was to come next. He then came back up and assumed a form that looked like a giant anthropomorphic pig wearing  robes. He then raised his left hand and a trident made of shadows materialized out of nowhere upon which he grabbed it and swung it around once. Standing before me, I knew I had seen this form somewhere in the past. Well... Maybe not this form exactly but a more monstrous version. I wish I could remember but I was drawing a blank.

Spinning the trident around in a circular fashion, I thought he was doing this for fun but perhaps it was his way of blocking attacks so right off the bat, a direct frontal assault wasn't going to work. Suddenly, a fireball began forming as he continued spinning before it suddenly changed into a bat and got flung towards me. I couldn't avoid it and not only did I take damage, I also got set on fire. As I began putting myself out, more bats made of fire came my way with some being formed behind him instead of on his trident. Once the last one had been flung, he reared back before tossing his weapon.

Ducking to avoid getting hit by it, the trident moved around in a sharp arc before going back to him where he caught it and started spinning it again. "If that had hit me just now, I'd have lost more than just my health."

"Grogar has decided to take things to another level." Princess Twilight said.

"What is he even supposed to be?"

"This form is known as the 'Shadow of Ganon'!"

As soon as Her Highness said that name, a memory which had previously been forgotten about suddenly came to the forefront of my mind. It came from my first adventure so much of it was pretty hazy, but I remembered Lord Tirek assuming the identity of Ganondorf, and becoming a creature known as Ganon. I couldn't recall what he looked like upon transforming but were they the same creature? There were some similarities though this one was less demonic and smaller in size. If Grogar had chosen this form based on what I faced in my past, why did it look like this and not what I had seen?

"Ganon? That can't be right!" I said in response not only to what she said but to my own thoughts as well.

"Why not?"

"He doesn't look like the one I faced." Again, I couldn't remember what that form looked like.

Princess Twilight took a deep breath. "Since Grogar is using the memories of the character you are portraying, in case, one of the Links who has been on an adventure prior to this one, he assumed the form of Ganon that this other hero battled. What you faced may have been different but both are the same character though this one is technically a later version despite having been created first in your world. Anyway, I don't need to explain his attacks as you clearly saw them with your own eyes. Ganon is quite possibly Grogar's strongest form yet so this is going to be very tough."

"How do I even beat him?"

"Regular sword attacks won't work."

"I had a feeling that would be the case."

"When he spins his trident, you can't hit him with anything." Princess Twilight said. The moment she said that, Grogar, or rather Ganon in this case, the fire bats began appearing prompting me to dodge them as best as I could. "As you can see, those fire bats can't be defeated so you either have to avoid getting hit or using your shield though I'm not sure if the latter even works so it's questionable. Once those are out of the way, he will throw that trident which is the only time he can be attacked. Either a charged up Spin Attack or using the Pegasus Boots and charging at him will do anything."

He then threw his trident which I avoided by ducking again though I doubted I could do that a third time. "Any other information?"

"Ganon is known for having a huge amount of stamina."

"Not very comforting to hear."

"Then I apologize in advance for saying that you're going to be using either your medicine or that fairy."

That was even less comforting but I supposed she had no choice but to bring it up. If any form was going to give me trouble, it had to be this one because it was Ganon and because of what Her Highness had said. My only means of damage involved either a technique I'd rarely used and one that I used by accident due to a monster getting in the way. Not exactly very good methods but what other choice was there? Again, I wished I could use the Magic Rod but magic had no effect. If this was Grogar's strongest form yet, I hated to see the ones that would follow including his true self.

Ganon began spinning his trident and I waited for the fire bats to start appearing. If only I could attack him during this phase then this would be over much faster, but I couldn't so I had to perform a waiting game. When the bats started coming at me, I raised my shield and while some got deflected, others were able to get around and hit me from behind. So much for using my shield which meant this form needed to be defeated quickly. Once the bats were gone, he threw his trident which struck me, knocking me to the ground where I began to writhe in sheer agony. That thing hit like a truck!

As I got back up, he spun the trident and more fire bats came at me which I dodged as best as I could, but I got hit by a few because my previous injury had slowed me down. He then tossed it at me where the arc it made was much smaller than previous throws. It knocked me down before he grabbed it and repeat his attack from the beginning. Ganon was way stronger than I was expecting. If this kept up, both of my revival items would get used up and I'd be left with nothing.

Avoiding the fire bats again, it was becoming clear that using a Spin Attack was risky. For one thing, the amount of time I needed to charge it up and use it was narrow. Also, I'd take too much unnecessary damage which is what he wanted. It wasn't impossible provided all factors were working in my favour yet getting all of that wasn't easy either. Throwing his trident, Ganon simply stood there, and I took advantage by somehow dodging the weapon and setting up my attack, launching it only to see it fail when I got knocked down when it came back at me.

"This isn't working, Twilight." I said as I got back up.

"I did say this was going to be very tough."

"Don't I know it."

"Unfortunately, only the Spin Attack or using the Pegasus Boots will work."

"And you can see the first option clearly working out for me!"

Princess Twilight nodded. "It's when he throws that trident is where things fall apart for you. From what I've seen so far, he changes direction in order to make sure his focus is squarely on you, but perhaps you can take advantage of this somehow? I'm sorry if my advice isn't ideal but there's not much else I can say here."

"No wonder he held this form back."

"But you can beat it."

Easy for her to say! She wasn't the one who's body was getting beaten up constantly. But, I had to praise her for believing in me. As Ganon began spinning his trident again, I thought about how the Pegasus Boots would work. I'd be fast enough to move past his defences though getting hit was still a possibility, but I had no idea how much damage he'd take nor how many hits I needed before he'd fall. Both strategies weren't perfect as the chances of taking damage were very high. However, there wasn't any other way around it. I was going to get killed and come back to life shortly afterwards.

Hopping slightly and switching over to the Pegasus Boots, I avoided the fire bats and waited for the trident to get tossed. He made sure to keep his eyes on me so that he wouldn't miss, and upon throwing it, I dashed forward whilst getting hit in the head, and straight into him where he stood his ground. Finally! I inflicted some damage! The only problem with this strategy was that it left me vulnerable from any attacks from behind. Sure enough, I got knocked down to the ground by the trident when it hit the back of my head. Landing on my stomach, I looked up to see Grogar laughing.

"Where is that arrogance of yours now, Outsider?" Grogar asked.

"It's currently away right now." I answered as I slowly got back up.

"We were wise to have assumed the form of Ganon."

"How do you figure that?"

"Ganon is a being who strikes fear into your heart! Do not deny it!" Grogar answered as he began spinning his trident around again. "Though you managed to defeat him, his presence is forever ingrained into your memory. We have used those memories to create the ultimate shadow form! While you did manage to wound us using those tools of yours, it is only a temporary respite as we shall soon overwhelm you. Do not consider this bragging when you know it is the truth."

"That sounds like bragging to me."

"Perhaps it is but we know better."

"You're just like the other Nightmares." I said as I assumed a defensive stance. "They all bragged by claiming they would kill me and prevent the Wind Fish from awakening. As you already know by now, I defeated them! They all underestimated me and now you're doing the exact same thing. Sure, you can deny it all you want but you know it's true. Just because I'm at a disadvantage doesn't mean you're going to win."

That definitely struck a nerve. "There it is... That arrogance of yours. It is something we have grown to despise in addition to the rest of you. It is our own fault that we allowed your existence to continue when we should have snuffed you out from the very beginning. Our plans were always perfect but you proved that even perfection has flaws. Destiny is what has brought you here and before us. You were always fated to get to this point even when it looked as though death would end up consuming you. Our expectations of you still remain unfulfilled so please, do not betray them."

As the fire bats began forming, I was shocked at the last thing he said. Those were the words Ganondorf often said as his way of grooming me into becoming his servant Why would Grogar say something similar? Could it be that this Dethl he portrays is some kind of alternate version of the Demon King? While I didn't have actual proof to confirm my suspicions, it wasn't outside of the realm of impossibility. It also gave me another theory. Why hadn't the king graced me with his presence during this adventure? He had never been subtle over wanting to torment me personally so why wasn't he here?

Dodging the fire bats and getting hit by most of them, I couldn't help but think about this. I was probably overlooking things again but it was something I was just curious about given my penchant for knowledge. Princess Twilight would be having the same reactions if she were the adventurer and I was her fairy partner. The only one who could give me a definitive answer was the king himself but I highly doubted he'd do so. Maybe I could get some answers from that one book I rely on that Rainbow Dash has. It had been invaluable before and perhaps it could be again.

Once the bats were gone, he threw his trident and I moved left just as it was about to strike me in the chest. Dashing forward, I hit him and was pushed back when I charged a second time and then a third before getting hit from behind with his weapon. If I kept up the pressure, I could defeat this form without too much trouble. In realty, that wasn't going to happen because it was Grogar. At least I was now making some progress and not simply getting hit every few seconds. He began spinning his trident again but my concern involved my health as my heart began beating faster than usual.

I'd say another two hits and I was down for the count. If he had the ability to prevent me from using my revival items, that would just be plain unfair and make this whole experience completely unbalanced. Avoiding the fire bats by dodging some and deflecting others with my shield, he then aimed and tossed his trident which did nick me but I mainly avoided it and began dashing into him as many times as possible before getting smacked in the head by his weapon. By all accounts, I'd say I hit him three times at the least. No doubt he was going to be outraged over my actions but I was ready for it.

Sure enough, what he said next was borderline rage. "You have hurt us! How are you managing to overcome your deepest fear?"

"What makes you think that?"

Princess Twilight then whispered to me. "Sunset! He doesn't know that your deepest fear has to do with your troubled past. He thinks that Ganon is what you fear the most because of something he did before this adventure took place."

I then whispered back. "Okay, my past isn't what I fear anymore. I've... Got other fears that occupy my life now."

"Really?" Princess Twilight asked in confusion. "I thought it was?"

"Maybe I should send you messages more often."

"Yes, yes you should."

That's when Grogar stepped in. "Enough! We think it is time to remind you, Outsider, that we are the true master of this island. The other Nightmares provided their own influence but it is we who maintained complete control and kept the dreamer asleep." He began spinning his trident again and more fire bats began to materialize all around him. "We have a question we wish to ask of you, but first we must do something which shall remind you of how your chances of success are so pitiful, a reminder of your inferiority."

I managed to avoid the fire bats but when he tossed the trident, I found that I couldn't move my feet. Was this another of his powers? If so then why didn't he use it before? Maybe this was me feeling self-doubt? Whatever it was, it struck me so hard, it felt like my entire body just got hacked to pieces. Instead, I fell onto my back and lay there for a few moments, my life having been taken due to running out of health. He knew I wasn't done and as he grabbed his trident, he waited for me to make a move. A few moments later, the Magic Medicine did its thing and I got back up ready for more.

Before doing anything else, I rubbed the back of my head due to it hitting the ground so hard. "Okay... You made me use up one of my revival items, but I still have one more to go so you're killing me just yet. Now, you said that you had a question for me?"

Grogar nodded. "Many of the other Nightmares warned you as to what would happen were you to awaken the Wind Fish. We wish to ask you that question also but with much greater depth. Those who live on this island... They do not know that their existence is but a dream, and yet, they act as living creatures, with hopes, dreams, and more. Can you ever live with yourself if they were wiped out of existence?"

"Don't let him get to you, Sunset." Princess Twilight said.

I nodded. "I've already decided to awaken the Wind Fish."

"Then you are committed to performing an act of genocide." Grogar said with a saddened voice which made me wonder if he was showing sympathy towards the people. "Such a choice shall forever be placed upon your soul. You could have chosen to walk away and leave things as they are. Instead, you have chosen your destiny. We must do what we can to ensure nothing changes and everyone can continue to live on in this perfect harmony."

"One where you are in control?"

"Precisely."

"And that's why I must defeat you."

"If you defeat us, this island ceases to exist."

"What do you mean?"

Grogar laughed. "Did you think that the other Nightmares were keeping the dreamer asleep? They were merely guardians of the Instruments of the Sirens. We ensure that everyone else exists and do not disappear forever. Our plan must continue on without interference! But, we know that you refuse to understand. We know nothing we say will change your mind. You have already made your intentions known and for that, you must die. You could have saved them by letting us do as we wished but that shall never be."

He was very good at pouring on the guilt-tripping but I couldn't allow his words to get to me. I knew that waking the Wind Fish would cause Koholint Island to vanish along with everything on it, but they weren't real like I was. They couldn't continue on living a lie that they didn't even know about. It wasn't fair to them having to suffer in such a manner nor was it fair to the Wind Fish himself. He was suffering most of all due to Grogar having trapped him. My only concern was would those trapped here who I knew from both Equestria and my own world would return safely to their places of origin.

Knowing now that his words had no effect, he began spinning his trident and the fire bats began to appear. With my health now back at maximum, I wasn't exhausted but it didn't mean to start acting reckless. He still had other forms waiting for me and any one of them could force my hand. The little creature was essentially my life support as when it was gone, I would have to rely on whatever health I had left for the remainder of this battle. This wasn't new to me as I'd been in situations like this many times before, yet this one felt more serious than the others did.

Dodging the fire bats as best as I could, a couple of them did manage to hit me though I shrugged off the damage and waited for him to throw his trident. When he did, I decided to take it head on resulting in me getting hit on the head, but again, I shrugged it off and began dashing into him. After two hits, I backed away knowing if I didn't, I'd get hit again when the weapon came back to him. Princess Twilight was right about this Ganon having so much stamina. Was Grogar even being damaged at all? At times, it felt like my efforts weren't doing anything but I knew I couldn't give up.

"How are you holding up, Sunset?" Princess Twilight asked.

"The Magic Medicine definitely picked me up." I answered.

"Good thing you had it otherwise you'd be dead by now."

"How much longer must I continue damaging him?"

"This is where I need to give you some bad news." Princess Twilight answered. I could already tell that whatever she was going to say, I was going to be absolutely livid. If you continue relying on the Pegasus Boots, it should take several more hits. If you had been using Spin Attacks, you'd actually be done right now." Yep! I was absolutely livid. "Spin Attacks are risky because you need to spend time setting it up not to mention unleashing the attack which leaves you vulnerable during the entire thing."

"So I've been going at this the hard way?"

"More like the safer way."

"Want me to change my strategy?"

"With your health back to near full, you can afford to use a Spin Attack."

Taking the safer method when it came to fighting monsters had often been my preference. Sure, I had fighting them for a very long time across multiple adventures, yet a part of me still lacked confidence which is why I didn't like relying on more difficult yet apparently more rewarding methods. However, the harder tactics did result in faster success so using them did have benefits. Grogar began spinning his trident again and I decided on trying a Spin Attack. Holding out my sword, I began charging up energy only for it to get fizzled out when the fire bats began hitting me repeatedly.

Using my shield to deflect the remaining attacks, I tried a Spin Attack again only to get hit by the trident upon it being thrown and losing the charge again. Was it even worth doing knowing it was causing me pain? If it allowed me to defeat this shadow form, then absolutely yes. He then repeated his attack pattern and when he threw his trident this time, I dodged it and quickly ran up to him before charging up and releasing a Spin Attack. I did get hit by his weapon but more importantly, I inflicted more damage on him than ever.

"You dare use such a move against us!?" Grogar shouted.

"It's a fair move you know." I said making sure not to brag.

"Then perhaps we should increase the pressure."

"No need for that."

"We insist!"

Spinning the trident again, nothing really changed which made me think him applying pressure was simply an act of desperation. To be fair, I didn't think I was going to get to this point especially since I had been struggling throughout this adventure. Aside from the Nightmares and some mid-bosses, things had actually been okay aside from the backtracking and learning the unfortunate truth behind this island. The Demon King did accomplish what he wanted though. If not for Princess Twilight being so supportive, I honestly believed I'd have been killed by the likes of the Moldorm.

Anyway, the fire bats came at me and I avoided them like before, and when the trident was about to get thrown, I moved closer towards Grogar before suddenly moving back. The arc was much smaller and it didn't travel as far. That explained why I didn't have enough time to make any kind of counterattack as well as constantly getting hit. Once again, I had been making things harder for myself. Dashing forward, he caught it and started spinning it again where I ended up running into it which caused a lot of damage.

No wonder this form was all about timing. Everything had to be just right in order to get in and score some hits before having to pull back. The fire bats began forming and another idea came to me. Could I hit them back at him? Could I hit them at all? Swinging my sword at the first one, my blade did nothing so there went that idea. Unfortunately, it meant getting hit a few times and also briefly getting set on fire. Moving back, the trident came flying and curved in a very sharp arc which gave me enough time to get close and unleash another Spin Attack.

Avoiding the trident as Grogar caught it before spinning it again, I watched for the fire bats because I wanted to get through this next bit without taking any damage. They came at me and I weaved in-between them though I almost got hit by the last one when it decided to switch up a little. Next came the trident toss so stepping back in order to give it plenty of room, he threw it with so much force, it bounced off the back wall and was coming back faster. Reacting quickly, I chose to dash into him with and got another two hits before moving back again.

Judging from his next reaction, I think I just defeated Grogar's Ganon. "NO! How!? How did you manage to defeat the ultimate shadow form?"

"You did say that I defeated Ganon in the past."

"This form was supposed to be even stronger than he was."

"Guess you were wrong there."

"Outsider!" Grogar had completely lost control of his emotions and looked ready to lose his mind. "You have pushed us to the extreme now. We had hoped you would've fallen at the hands of your greatest fear, but you ended up overcoming it once again. If not for you cheating death, we would have prevailed. You cheated! Our world is now threatened!" Right there, his mind had snapped and now he was acting like a raging monster. "This form was perfect! We are perfect!"

"No one is truly perfect... Not even you."

"We shall make you pay!"

I had an opportunity to make him even madder than he was but chose not too as I'd be no better than him. Instead, I tried a different tactic. "Look! I won't deny that your Ganon shadow was the toughest form you've given me. I took way more damage than I wanted and you even killed me despite my best efforts in trying to keep all my options available. It sounds weird giving you praise but this angry rant isn't what you need. Why not just calm down? Believe me, I know what it's like to go nuts." 

"You must pay!" My words were having no effect as he continued to rely on his rage.

I sighed. "I guess even someone like Grogar doesn't know how to keep from losing control.

Princess Twilight then comforted me. "He had been saying this entire time that you were no match for him and that he was going to end you. I guess defeating his other shadows was pushing him towards the edge and then defeating this one pushed him over."

"What happens now?"

"In his current mental state, I don't know what he's going to do."

I then turned to face Grogar who changed back into his blob-like form before disappearing under the ground. He then moved to the back of the room and reappeared only to not transform and instead began moving about at a speed that was even faster than Moldorm was at top speed with a trail of smaller blobs following right behind him. I swung my sword in hopes of making a connection given the speed only for the blade to pass right through him. Swinging a second time, it went through him again so I knew I wasn't seeing things. He then started getting more aggressive and began hitting me.

Using my shield, I managed to block any further attacks but now I was stuck. "What's going on, Twilight?"

"He has become the 'Shadow of Lanmola'."

"I don't think I've heard of that one."

"Do you remember the creature that was guarding the Angler Key?" Princess Twilight asked. I nodded and she then explained further. "That was a Lanmola though I believe he is mimicking the original version. In a time long past, Lanmolas were known for moving about with incredible speed. Hitting their heads did nothing so one had to strike their bodies. Each time a segment was destroyed, it would get faster and when only the head remained, it was at its fastest though it could now be attacked. As you've already seen, your sword has no effect so don't bother trying that again."

"Okay, so what can I do?"

"You can use a Spin Attack though I don't recommend it as he's moving way too fast."

"What about the Magic Rod?"

"Huh... You really want to get some use out of it don't you?"

I nodded. "Why have something when I can't use it?"

"Surprisingly, he is vulnerable to magic now." Princess Twilight then began pointing at some of my other items. "You can also use bombs, arrows, the Hookshot, and the Boomerang but not Magic Powder. At this point, the only thing he cares about now is hitting you as many times as possible. Keep away from him and attack from a distance. You need to hit him in the head a few times to defeat Lanmola."

"I didn't think he would lose control and wind up like this."

"Whenever you lost control of your emotions, you were pretty difficult to be around." Princess Twilight said. That made me feel bad but she wasn't wrong. I knew I still had problems with my temper but it was a work in progress. "But, after a while, you'd calm down and overcome the problem becoming better off. For someone like Grogar, he can't calm down no matter what he does. He is consumed with rage and the only 'cure' is to defeat this form. It does mean giving back his sense of reasoning so consider this a minor victory that's going to lead to something much worse afterwards."

Just seeing Grogar like this reminds me of when Sunset Demon and Midnight Sparkle wanted to get their revenge on me and Twilight Sparkle respectively. Both of them had become so engrossed with getting vengeance that they lost sight of what they truly desired. My demonic self succeeded in defeating the rage that blinded her and has since moved on though it took Midnight Sparkle a bit longer to finally get the message. No wonder villains always lost control whenever things went wrong. In a way, I felt sorry for them, but it was their own fault on account of choosing the path of evil.

Even though it meant having to face something even worse later on, I had to save Grogar from himself. Besides, in his current mental state, he could do something that might cause damage to the Wind Fish. Watching his movements carefully, he seemed to have no sense of strategy nor wanting to keep his distance. Like Her Highness said, he only cared about hurting me. Putting my sword away and taking out my Magic Rod, I felt happy knowing magic was effective and it was the ideal item for ranged attacks.

As he continued moving around, I flung a fireball only to miss entirely. Hitting his head wasn't going to be easy so I needed to shoot my magic at the right time. I then flung a few more fireballs and these also missed. Noticing my efforts, he changed direction and came charging towards me. Raising my shield again, he bounced off only to come at me several more times before moving forward. Yeah... He definitely had a one-track mind. If this kept up, I wouldn't make any progress and he would eventually run me down until I couldn't fight anymore.

He came at me again and my shield continued to protect me but I knew I couldn't rely on defence forever. No, I needed to attack back even if it mean getting hit. I started moving around the room, firing fireballs every few seconds with each one missing his head. There had to be a way to slow him down long enough for me to damage him. Then it occurred to me that when I swung my sword earlier, the reason it went through his body was because that's what I was aiming at. If I were to aim for the head, I might get a different result. Or, that could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Switching back to my sword, I waited for him to approach and when he got close, I swung and struck his head. It bounced off as expected, but he was stunned which gave me a chance to use some magic. Changing items again, I was just about to fling a fireball before getting knocked down to the ground and run over several times before I managed to roll to the side and getting back up. Okay, that almost worked but the time it took me switching from the sword to the Magic Rod gave him enough time to recover. To do this correctly, it meant having to have both sword and rod out at once.

Holding my sword in my right hand and my Magic Rod in my left, I stood my ground as Grogar approached. Swinging my sword, I connected with his head, stunning him again, and then flinging a fireball at him which was one hit. Reeling from the blow and curling his body back up, he disappeared only to reappear in the northwest corner of the room. "Why? Why did you hit us with your accursed magic!?" He asked in a rage. "We shall make you pay for doing that to us!"

"As much as it pains me to do this, I need you to calm down." I said.

"We are calm!"

"Don't kid yourself!"

"You defeated our perfect form!"

"I already know that!"

No matter what I said, Grogar refused to listen to reason. "We are perfect! We are the master of this island! You are nothing but a parasite that must be purged!" Wow... That last bit was kind of ironic given how that's what he was. "We don't care what happens to our body! You must be purged from our world!"

All I could do was shake my head. "When I first came to your sanctum, you honestly had me feeling very scared. After all, you showed me a small portion of your power when you invaded my dreams. Knowing that the real you was even stronger, I never imagined I'd get this far. Now... Seeing what you've been reduced to... I have nothing but pity. I know my words won't change a thing as you've succumbed to rage, but think of this as the only time you'll get any sympathy from me. I do intend on defeating you and awakening the Wind Fish. If anyone is going to be purged from this world, it's you."

"Pity? You have pity for us?"

"Strange isn't it?"

"We don't want your pity!" Grogar shouted as he began moving about even faster than before.

I sighed. "Why did I even bother trying to talk to him?"

"Because you were doing the very thing I've done many times before." Princess Twilight answered. "I've talked to villains whether they were in a stupor or not and most of them chose to ignore my words. Was it their fault? Yes, but then they believed their actions were justified. Those who understood where I was coming from, like you for example, changed their lives and went on to do great deeds whilst making their own legacy."

"Okay, I wouldn't have said it like that."

"My point still stands though."

I then changed the subject to focus on defeating the Lanmola. "Okay! I've figured out an ideal strategy though I've no idea how many hits it's going to take. Hopefully, it won't be too many as holding a sword and a rod like this is rather awkward especially with his erratic behaviour."

"My information on Lamola's is quite limited." Princess Twilight said as she lowered her head. "I know I pride myself on being informative but it's difficult when the creature you're talking about is considered rare. All I can say about this is they aren't exactly durable. You might actually defeat him in one or two more hits provided you can hit it. Grogar is moving in a way where he strikes you, moves back, strikes again, moves back again, and so on."

He knew his current form didn't have much stamina but because he assumed his guise under the pretext of losing control, a small part of him was trying to get him to focus on killing me but was clearly struggling. So... There was a method to his madness after all. It didn't mean my job had suddenly gotten easier though. He would do everything he could in order to avoid getting hit whilst desiring to do the same to me. He then suddenly dashed towards me, and when I stunned him, he immediately recovered and moved towards me, knocking me down. I didn't expect him to react like that.

Getting back up, he came at me again and I stunned him only for him to recover. What was he was doing was pure instinct. He knew I was trying to attack him and would retaliate accordingly. I had little time to react which was why I was taking damage. At the same time, I could stun him repeatedly thus maintaining a stalemate, but it wouldn't last forever. He charged, knocking me down yet again and continued moving before turning around and coming back. Getting up again, I swung my sword only to miss and get pushed back slightly and then again until I hit the wall.

Shaking my head, he charged again and I managed to stun him then quickly followed up by flinging a fireball. Grogar felt that and reeled along with curling up his body before disappearing only to show up right behind me. There was no way I could avoid his next attack and got knocked to the ground where I landed face-first. At this rate, I was going to be forced to use my fairy and I still had no idea how many forms he had left. Even when they were all defeated, his true self was still an unknown factor. Picking myself up, he knocked me down again which was when my patience completely ran out.

I then flung another fireball where it missed on account of him recovering where he chose to fall back much to my surprise. Watching his movements closely, he kept his distance before charging forward thinking I had dropped my guard. I swung my sword and missed before swinging again where I connected though he quickly recovered. I swung a third time only to miss before doing so again and stunning him. Flinging a fireball, it struck him where he reeled back but didn't disappear this time.

"Grrrr..."

"Had enough?" I asked.

To my surprise, Grogar was completely calm. "We were lost in our rage which resulted in us assuming a form where nothing mattered. You defeated that form and allowed us to regain our mental state. While we despise you for having gotten this far, you are indeed skilled for such a flawed creature. Outsider! We have no more guises! From what we have gleamed from your memories, there was nothing left that we deemed worthy for us to become."

"So does this mean I get to see your true form?"

"It does."

"Lucky me..." I said sarcastically.

"You were given chances to surrender and walk away." Grogar said as he assumed his blob-like form. "Each of them were refuted by you and now you have reached the point where there is no turning back. We have been pushed by you into revealing our true form. You should feel honoured knowing you got to see something that not even the Nightmares had seen. Our shadows are nothing compared with what we truly are."

"Maybe, but I'll still defeat you."

That prompted him to laugh. "Despite having lost our mind to the savage nature, we know that we were able to cause you great pain. Once you have fallen and used your only remaining means of cheating death, you will have nothing left that can save you. Our effort in weakening your resolve was successful though it came at a price for us. It is no matter as you cannot hope to win against the true form of the final Nightmare. But... We know that overconfidence is a death wish. We shall hold back on such ideals. Now... Outsider... Bear witness to this, our true self, the true Dethl!"

Moving to the back of the room, he remained underground for a few seconds before he popped up revealing a large shape that looked like a cross between a fireball, a crown, and someone's hair. From the top of this mass, another head emerged which assumed his form from Equestria. Glaring at me with his smile, two arms, one on each side, started forming before ending in spiky hands that glowed bright red. Each arm comprised of small blobs as opposed to being actual arms, but these were nothing compared with the giant eyeball that appeared on his stomach.

This eye began scanning the surrounding area before staring at me which made me sick. After staring for several seconds, it closed up and I felt a sigh of relief. "I've seen some strange things before but that definitely stands out as being one of the strangest."

"Do you cower at our true form?"

In truth, it was his eyeball that made me feel that way, but I had to say something. "I wasn't expecting you to look like some kind of hideous abomination. Now I see why you didn't want me to see what you really looked like."

He laughed at that. "Our eye knows all and sees all. It knows that deep down, you are afraid of what you are seeing despite what you mind says. It is so rare for us to be forced to rely on our true form so consider this a final gift before you depart from this world."

"Thanks." I said sarcastically.

"Feel free to use whatever means necessary to fight against us." Grogar said as he glared at me. "We wish for you to entertain us as long as possible until we grow bored and choose to end things on our own terms. Even if you have the means to inflict harm upon us, you only have a short period of time while we have forever. Once you are dead, our control of this island shall continue as before. This world shall remain forever and no one will have to disappear. They shall be protected under our guidance provided they never choose to oppose us. Let the true final battle begin."

He began moving whilst also swinging his arms which caught me by surprise resulting in me getting hit twice, once for each arm. They both swung around in a slow circular motion so avoiding them was going to be easy though I did need to use the Roc's Feather whenever they came my way. Both arms then swung back and hit me again because I hadn't figured out their pattern. Then his eye opened up and I knew this was his weak point. It was obvious! A giant eye like that was practically begging to be stabbed by my sword or whatever else took my fancy.

Swinging my sword, I struck the eye only for nothing to happen. I swung again and the same result occurred. I then began charging up to perform a Spin Attack only for the eye to close so it got wasted. Meanwhile, both his arms continued swinging without showing any signs of stopping and stuck me from behind. Shaking it off, I then got hit again when they came back the other way so already this was going to be difficult. When the eye opened, I performed the Spin Attack only for it to do nothing apart from earning his laughter. If a sword wasn't going to work, I needed to rely on my other items.

Putting my sword away and taking out the Magic Rod, I also took out the Roc's Feather and attached it to my belt. That way, I could constantly jump around without having to hold it and use both hands instead of one. I also switched back to the Pegasus Boots as something told me I wouldn't get any use from them in this battle. When his eye opened up, I flung a fireball which fizzled out upon hitting it prompting a second attempt. This also failed and as the eye closed up again, my options were beginning to dwindle. Swords and magic didn't work so maybe a more traditional projectile was in order.

"Before you do anything else, maybe you should listen to my advice." Princess Twilight said.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" I asked aggressively.

"I wanted to see if you figure it out on your own without needing me."

"First time you've done that."

"And it was worth it." Princess Twilight gave me a big grin and all I could do was just stare at her in bewilderment. "As you've already figured out, Grogar's eyeball is his weak point yet most of your items aren't going to have any effect. You can only attack it when it's open so it's a matter of playing a waiting game. His arms are always going to be swinging so keeping the Roc's Feather out was a smart idea. He might change things up later on but I'm not sure. While you may think this form is weaker than some of the shadows you faced, you'll find that he never stops attacking nor does he stop moving."

"I was thinking of using the Hookshot or maybe bombs?"

Princess Twilight shook her head. "Neither of those are going to work. The only items that are effective are the bow and arrows, and the boomerang. Everything else you have won't do anything so don't even bother trying to use them. Precision and timing are crucial here as the eye is only open for a short period so each shot you make must count. It also doesn't help that his arms are moving so you're taking damage no matter what. You might want to consider alternating between items as you only have so many arrows."

"If I had come here with few arrows and no boomerang... I'd have lost."

"You actually would have."

"That's a pretty scary thought."

"Perhaps you should've taken the time to track down the Mad Batter."

Why did she have to bring 'that' up!? Besides, it was too late to do anything about it. While I thought it was stupid that only two items among my entire inventory were effective against Grogar's true form, they were items that I'd gotten used to using. A shame the Magic Rod only got a small amount of use overall as I'd have loved to have really given it a workout. Come to think of it, I would have through Zecora's custom dungeons. With only thirty arrows, that should be more than enough to defeat him unless his stamina was even higher than that of Ganon.

Putting away my sword and switching over to the bow, I jumped over his two arms and then did so again as I waited for his eye to open up. When it did, I let loose an arrow which struck dead-center only for him to not be fazed. I quickly notched and fired a second one where his reaction was the same upon getting it. Before I had the chance to fire a third one, the eye closed again and I ended up getting struck by both his arms. They then swung back the other way where I jumped over them and upon landing, they knocked me down where I landed face-first all while he continued glaring down at me.

After all this time using the bow, there was one thing about it that I didn't like. I could only fire arrows at a slow pace compared with the rapid-fire motion from previous adventures. I had to admit that I missed shooting them that quickly though it came at the cost of having less accuracy. This could take quite some time if Grogar had a lot of stamina. Getting back up and focusing on where his eye was, I resumed jumping over his arms and fired when it opened. Connecting again, I fired another which connected too and then it closed again. Was this all there was to him? No... It couldn't be that easy.

I supposed it was a bridge I'd have to cross when I came upon it. Jumping over the arms again, the eye opened and I fired another arrow, and when it struck this time, the eye suddenly closed much to my surprise. In fact, I fired another arrow which bounced harmlessly off his body where he laughed. It looked like he was taking things seriously judging from his laugh and that meant big trouble was coming my way. Sure enough, one of his arms suddenly increased its speed while the other maintained its current movement pace. This change caused me to get hit twice and I got knocked down again.

Rubbing my head, I got back up and attempted to jump over both arms only to get hit again. I needed to watch both arms like a hawk which would reduce the amount of time to hit the eye whenever it opened. Speaking of which, it did open and when I tried to notch an arrow, I got knocked down a third time by the faster arm before the eye closed again. Grogar then laughed again and I was beginning to get very annoyed. I knew it wouldn't be easy because of course it wouldn't. What made it worse was my health had gotten low and that meant my fairy would soon be used.

"Look at how you struggle." Grogar said as he leaned forward.

"You knew I would become sloppy by changing your attack pattern!" I shouted.

"After fighting against you this long, we knew that it was a matter of time before you start making critical errors."

"It doesn't change the fact that I've still got a fairy."

Grogar then leaned back, his expression becoming one of disgust. "Yes... You still have one more means of cheating death." He then sneered at me as his eyes began glowing. "Someone like you chose to come before us with the necessary means of surviving the power that we possess. We knew it wouldn't be easy to defeat you which is why we chose to bide our time until there were no more resources you could use. Had you come here with nothing but bravado, it would have ended far too soon for our taste."

"What do you mean?"

"Until you appeared on this island, no one ever attempted to challenge us!"

"How could they?" I asked, waving both hands. "They are creations of the Wind Fish! Like they would have had any inkling to want to find the eight instruments and then come all this way to challenge you. To them, you and the rest of your kind appeared one day and became a part of the dream."

"Good... You have finally figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"The reason why we made all of this possible!" Grogar then raised his head and the entire room began glowing in a bright light followed by a few lightning strikes. "We knew this island was but an illusion, and because the creatures that inhabit it knew no better, it was easy to take control. Over time, the creatures came to accept the idea that the Nightmare had always been there and never did they choose to question our existence. Even now, this remains true which is how we have maintained peace and a perfect harmony."

"It's more like a dictatorship!"

The room stopped glowing and Grogar looked back down at me. "Call it whatever you wish. The fact remains that none of these creatures ever dared to question their own existence nor did they wish to change anything. However... There are always exceptions. A young girl... We see no need to remind you of what she attempted. Yet, your presence made her question her existence and her destiny. We did nothing to coerce her. You along are what inspired her. If this continues, others will begin doing the same thing and the harmony we have cultivated shall be no more."

Starlight... I knew he was referring to her. She was at Mt. Tamaranch attempting to awaken the Wind Fish using the very song she taught me. I didn't know why she was there at the time because she refused to tell me but now the answer became clear. She, or rather the character she portrayed, wanted to see what existed beyond Koholint Island and defy her destiny. My presence by portraying the hero is what compelled her. No wonder Grogar was singling her out. So long as nothing changed, he would remain in control. Starlight decided to challenge this albeit without understanding it and now he sees it as a threat to his dominion.

My being here was meant to happen. There was still the issue of whether or not those trapped here would go back to their respective worlds but perhaps the Wind Fish himself would give me an answer. Of course, for anything of this to happen, Grogar had to be defeated. His very presence was keeping us all a prisoner all because he believed in harmony through absolute control. Without someone to dominate over, he had absolutely nothing. No matter what the cost may be for me, I had to defeat him.

Things didn't get off to a good start because I got knocked down by his fast-moving arm. Getting back up, I dodged it the second time with the Roc's Feather and when his eye opened up, I fired an arrow, striking it and then it immediately closed up. Every few hits I inflicted upon his eye, he would change his tactics as a means of increasing the pressure. He was powerful, yes, but not in the same league as the Demon King. Jumping over both arms again, the eye opened and I was about to fire an arrow when I got tripped up by his slower arm... Or what should have been his slower arm.

It was now moving as fast as the other one was. This was going to make things even more complicated though to be honest, this wasn't anything new for me. When his eye opened again, I fired my next arrow only for it to close up again and I got knocked down by both his arms. Don't tell me I had even less time to hit the eye! Maybe that was just some kind of knee-jerk reaction? Whatever it was, there was no time for me to think about it. When you're constantly being attacked by something which never rested even for a second, you couldn't afford to think about anything other than the heat of battle.

Firing another arrow when the eye opened up, I scored another hit which gave me six hits in total. Unfortunately, both of his arms hit me and it was the latter one that caused me to drop to my knees. I then collapsed but I knew Grogar was expecting me to get back up. After all, he knew that I had a fairy. As if on queue, the fairy came forth from my bottle and began flying around my body before it disappeared, its task now complete. Laying there for a few more seconds, I finally got back up only to stumble and then drop onto one knee.

Crap! The fairy had only restored a portion of my health. I thought it would've given me a complete refill! Jumping over his arms several times, I fired at his eye when it opened only to miss, and when I got hit again, I dropped to one knee and clutched my chest. If my health had been fully restored, my chest wouldn't be in so much pain. Standing back up, I got hit by one arm, jumped over the other, then jumped over the first one again before firing an arrow when his eye opened.

"Sunset? Are you okay?" Princess Twilight asked.

"That fairy didn't restore my health to full." I answered whilst breathing heavily.

"I'm not surprised that it didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"When fairies restore health, they can only restore a fixed amount." Princess Twilight answered. Why didn't I ask her about it before coming here? She's one herself and so she would have such knowledge. "When at a Fairy Fountain, fairies can heal all wounds because the magic in the water has properties which strengthens them. I'm surprised you didn't remember this from your previous adventure when you perished several times and required a fairy to save you."

"So both Grogar and I are on our last legs?"

Princess Twilight nodded. "Yes, but I doubt he'll admit it."

I was then about to jump over one of his arms when it suddenly slowed out, causing me to get knocked to the ground. I then looked up and saw that it sped up again and that his other arm slowed down slightly. "Okay, what just happened!?"

"This must be his act of desperation."

"How do you figure that?"

"You've hurt him quite a bit and so he's changed his tactics." Princess Twilight answered. As soon as I got back up, the other arm suddenly got faster and knocked me down again. Her Highness then hovered above me and checked to make sure I was okay. "Now his arms are going to change their speed at random as a means of confusing you as opposed to wanting to prove his overall strength. I have no idea how many hits remain but you're definitely past the halfway point. Be glad his eye isn't capable of attacking otherwise things would be utterly hopeless."

Not the best way to boost my confidence there. Still, she was right about him becoming desperate. At least I could take solace knowing that this battle was slowly making its way towards its final conclusion. It actually felt like I'd been fighting Grogar for practically forever though a more realistic number would be close to an hour. He then moved to the back of the room and I got to see how his arms moved now that they were going at random speeds. He would change them without warning so predicating them was impossible. Knowing that this was my last chance, steeling myself, I took a step forward.

He then moved back down towards me where both of his arms began to speed up. I jumped over both and continued to do so several times all while watching his eye open and being unable to hit it due to not having enough time. Once one slowed down, I waited for the eye to open up again. When it did, I fired another arrow which connected, causing Grogar to cry out in anguish. Wow... That was the first instance of him reacting to the pain of getting hit in his weak point. The other arm then knocked me down before the first one did the same thing followed by the second hitting me.

"How are you still alive?" Grogar asked.

"I'm quite tenacious." I answered.

"Even in our true form, you continue to oppose us!"

"Sounds like you underestimated my abilities."

"Our true form was supposed to be your death knell." Grogar said, his voice sounding very concerned. "The perfect harmony we have created cannot be allowed to be destroyed by the likes of you. We have taken too many sacrifices for you to undo everything we have done."

"I've faced similar to the likes of you and have overcome them."

Grogar then looked up at the ceiling and sighed which surprised me. "From the very beginning, we have made mistakes time and time again regarding you. We believed you were nothing more than an upstart. We chose to leave you alone to your devices believing you would be defeated at the hands of the Nightmares. Instead, each were destroyed, weakening our power, and strengthening your resolve."

"To awaken the Wind Fish, I had to get to this point."

He then looked back down at me. "Had we killed you from the very beginning, our world would not be in danger of fading away. This mistake is the one that shall forever haunt us but we shall persevere. Outsider... You do not have much time left. Once there is no more life within your body, our harmony will continue on as it always has. Our control will never be challenged again and the dreamer shall remain in his eternal slumber for eternity."

"I won't let that happen."

"So be it then." Grogar then swung both his arms at me and I jumped over them effortlessly. "Neither of us desire to abandon our respective ideals. Our only recourse now is to finish this and see whose desire is stronger. Our respective forms are on their last legs so it will come down to sheer will. Whatever force brought you here to this island, that agenda shall never be fulfilled." He swung his arms and again I jumped over them. "Defiant right to the very end! It reiterates our point that we made a mistake and can now rectify it even when it continues to torture us long after you have gone."

Checking my inventory to see how many arrows I had left, there were roughly a dozen of them. Despite having done so well in using the bow, I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks at this stage of the fight especially since my health was pretty low and he could kill me if I became careless. Switching to the boomerang, it was a risk in and of itself as I hadn't used it all that often in battle aside from taking care of the occasional Keese that flew about. Then again, he'd be surprised by my change in tactics which could prove to be the final push needed to defeat him once and for all.

Jumping to avoid both arms, his eye opened and I tossed the boomerang where it sailed past to the left. Seeing it miss my target felt disheartening but I had to continue maintaining my resolve. Unfortunately, I had to wait for it to come back to me which resulted in me getting knocked down when one of the arms increased its speed. Catching the boomerang, I got up only to get knocked about by both arms though I kept my balance. The eye opened again and I tossed my weapon where it connected with the side of his body with a loud metallic sound before coming back to me.

One arm slowed down and the other sped up prompting me to watch the fast one until they both changed their speeds to the opposite of what they were. Jumping over one and getting hit by the other, I shook it off and when his eye opened, I tossed the boomerang and connected by hitting the center of the eyeball which made him cry out in anguish again. Was the boomerang stronger than using arrows? It looked like it based on his reaction but there was no true way of knowing for certain. If my sword were an option, this would've been a much smoother fight.

On a whim, I looked down at my body and saw how many scratches, cuts, bruises, and more I had. Even with my healing items, I looked like I'd been mangled. I just hoped they were gone by the time things went back to normal otherwise my friends were going to have a lot of questions that I might have difficulty answering. My friends... It felt like forever since seeing them last. Seeing their faces would elevate my mood to amazing heights so I hoped nothing bad had happened to them though a nagging feeling was telling me otherwise.

Grogar was becoming even more desperate as his arms began moving about in an erratic manner. Jumping over one arm and then getting hit by the other, I got back up and jumped over both before getting hit by the first. Dropping to both knees, I felt exhausted but I knew I had to finish this before he could finish me. I began standing up and got knocked down again where I landed on my butt. Getting up again, I tossed the boomerang when his eye opened and it missed by sailing to the right and hitting the back wall. It came back where I caught it just when one of the arms came swinging at me.

I jumped over it and got hit by the other arm though I kept my balance again. That last hit really took a lot out of me which indicated that I wasn't going to last much longer. This next hit had to be the last one otherwise I'd have no strength left to continue. In an attempt to jump over another arm, my legs failed and I got hit once again where it felt like I wanted to throw up so badly. Shaking it off, the arms hit me so hard, I began stumbling about but managed to remain standing. His eye finally opened up and when I tossed my boomerang, it hit the center when I dropped to both knees.

"Gasp! I can't carry on!" I said as I clutched my chest again.

"You need to get up!" Princess Twilight shouted.

"I'm sorry, Twilight!"

She then began bopping me on the head. "Just look at what's happening to Grogar!"

I did as she asked and to my surprise, the eyeball of his eye had disappeared and his body was beginning to shake repeatedly. "Huh? He's not moving." I looked up at the goat head and it was in sheer agony. "Does this mean I've actually defeated him?"

Grogar then responded. "No... We... We have been defeated!? Was our desire not strong enough!?"

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. "In the end, I was the more determined between us."

"Our true form... Defeated by the likes of you!"

"That means the island is free of your malice!"

He then began laughing though it was painful for him. "Even at the very end, you still fail to grasp at the truth. Our existence was the only thing keeping this island from fading away. This island is going to disappear! Our world is going to disappear along with them. By choosing to awaken the Wind Fish, you have condemned them all. You have sacrificed countless lives to save just one. Can you truly believe victory has been obtained?"

"I won't know until he has awakened."

"Then... You are... Misguided."

"Maybe, but if I am then that's the way it has to be."

"Your conscious... Shall forever be plagued... With the thoughts of those whose existence... Have been snuffed out." Grogar was barely holding on so I knew he had only mere moments left before he was finished. "If you... live your life having such guilt... If it torments you... Our effort wasn't wasted and our death... A blessing. If you do not... Feel guilt... We can foresee a time... In the future... Where such a thing happens. This is merely the beginning of... What is to come.  Our darkness fades away... But the true purity remains and... Will be your death knell..."

He then began exploding at first but unlike the other Nightmares, his arms faded away one segment at a time before the rest of his body disappeared in an explosion that was more like a supernova. I was surprised that the blast didn't end up killing me what with how big it was but I supposed it was appropriate for one who was the final boss. I managed to find the strength to get back onto my feet which was when a large staircase appeared at the north end of the room. Did this mean I still had more to do? I hoped not as without any means of restoring my health, I couldn't survive another battle.

Then I heard a familiar voice call out from all around. "Sunset Shimmer!" It was Flash Sentry, but how did he make his way down here? "Can you hear me?"

I nodded even though I doubted he could see that. "If I can hear you, the entire island can what with that amount of echo in your voice."

"You have beaten all of the Nightmares!"

"There isn't anything evil waiting for me up there such as another boss?" I asked. Princess Twilight then looked at me and I shrugged. "What? I want to make sure that he's being sincere as I don't want to fight anything in my condition."

"Climb the stairs before you!"

"Why should I?"

"Because the time has come for you to finish what you began."

Not the most comforting words but since I didn't have much of a choice, I walked up the stairs and hoped that nothing bad was waiting for me wherever they lead. The staircase went up for quite some distance and surrounding me on all side were clouds which soon disappeared revealing the night sky. If I remembered correctly, there was still some time left in the day so how did it change so quickly? As I continued walking, my nerves grew more and more concerned and upon finally reaching the top, the stairs became a small circular platform. I was at a literal dead-end.

"Okay, this is awkward."

"I don't see Flash Sentry anywhere." Princess Twilight said.

"Maybe we should turn back?"

"The pathway has been disappearing behind us." Princess Twilight answered. She then pointed at the vast nothingness of the night and I was utterly shocked. "He wanted you to come here for a reason so we might as well respect his wishes and see what he has to say this time."

"If this is a trap, I'm going to be pissed off like you wouldn't believe."

At that moment, the flapping of wings could be heard and Flash Sentry's owl companion dropped down before coming to a stop and hovering above me. Flash Sentry himself then leaned forward and smiled. "Young lass... No... I mean, Sunset Shimmer, the heroine. You have defeated the Nightmares! You have proven your wisdom, courage, and power." The moment he said that, I was reminded of the Triforce of Courage that had become a part of me through no fault of my own.

"What is this place?"

"This is the place where you are destined to meet the Wind Fish." Flash Sentry answered. He then gazed into my eyes before closing them and heaving a huge sigh. "I feel so much guilt for keeping certain things a secret but now there is no longer a need to keep you in the dark about my true origins. I am no mere human though this you already knew when you saw the mural in the Southern Face Shrine depicting myself standing alongside the dreamer. I am a part of his spirit."

Now that's what I called a major revelation. "You're the Wind Fish!?"

He shook his head. "No, I am merely the guardian of his dream world. My purpose was to protect the dream from any that would try to harm it. For a time, things remained peaceful even when no one knew how they came to be, but one day, the Nightmares suddenly appeared. Lead by Dethl, they sensed that the Wind Fish was at his most vulnerable and entered the dream where they began wreaking havoc. I was powerless to stop them and soon they took over where they knew no one would dare oppose them. Then you, Sunset Shimmer, came to rescue this island."

"Not that I had a choice in the matter."

"Destiny is what brought you here."

"I've been getting that a lot lately."

"I have always trusted in your courage." Flash Sentry said. His body started to fade away and when I tried calling out to him, he shook his head again. "No... This was always meant to be my fate. You need not worry about me as my purpose has now reached its end. I knew that you could turn back the Nightmares. When I first saw when you found your sword, I didn't know what I'd expect given the aura that surrounded you, but I chose to believe you were the chosen one and so I began to guide you along."

I then began shedding some tears. "You... Believed in me?"

"I did."

"I... I don't know what to say."

"Then allow me to do so." Flash Sentry was fading even faster so I knew these would be his last words to me. "Thank you, Sunset Shimmer. My work is now done! I shall return to where I came from. The Wind Fish will awake soon and through him, you will gain your freedom. Goodbye!"

Smiling one last time, he disappeared in a bright light which left me feeling conflicted. Many times throughout this journey, I got pretty angry with him for not telling me what I wanted to know, yet now I knew the reason why. He needed to make sure I was truly the one destined to awaken the Wind Fish. He also couldn't tell me everything as there were things that required me to figure out on my own without anyone's help. Despite it all, he turned out to be an invaluable ally even if he wasn't always easy to deal with. I was surprised at how he was a part of the Wind Fish's spirit though.

"I noticed he said nothing to you, Twilight."

"He didn't need to." Princess Twilight said.

"No?"

She nodded. "He knew that I had been there helping you through everything. As such, he didn't need to say a word though I do think those smiles of his were aimed more towards me than they were to you."

I rolled my eyes before changing the subject. "So now what?"

"We wait for the Wind Fish to show up."

Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long as standing here wasn't my way of having fun. Staring off into space, I began thinking about what I'd seen on this adventure and how intense it got at certain points. Would I remember all of it? Probably not but I would do everything in my power to recall as much of it as possible. Suddenly, a bright light occurred which made me shield my eyes. When it disappeared moments later, nothing had changed at first, but then stars began appearing before my eyes. More continued to appear as they began to form the outline of what looked to be the Wind Fish himself.

Sure enough, the stars disappeared and he appeared in all his glory. The mural from the Southern Face Shrine clearly didn't do him justice as the real him was unlike anything I had ever seen. Not even Equestria had mythical creatures of this calibur. He looked more like a whale as opposed to a fish but I wasn't about to start questioning that. The colours across his body didn't make sense nor did those tiny wings atop his body, yet something about his pattern made him feel majestic. It made sense of course given his status as a divine being whose power was way beyond my understanding.

I then decided to start the conversation. "Are you the Wind Fish?"

"I AM!" He answered with a powerful booming voice. "LONG HAS BEEN MY SLUMBER!"

"Do you know what you have been doing this entire time?"

I couldn't tell if he was nodding but he did acknowledge my question. "IN MY DREAMS... AN EGG APPEARED! IT WAS SURROUNDED BY AN ISLAND WITH PEOPLE... ANIMALS... AND SO MUCH MORE! IT WAS AN ENTIRE WORLD! IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE UNTIL THE DARK CREATURES CONSUMED IT. YOU... YOU WERE THE ONE WHO DEFEATED THEM! YES... YOU SAVED THE ISLAND FROM SUFFERING AT THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO SOUGHT TO CAUSE HARM."

"What happens to the island now?"

"YOUR VOICE IS FILLED WITH SO MUCH SORROW." The Wind Fish answered. He didn't answer my initial question in the manner I was hoping for, he had already clued in on the fact that I had been told that Koholint Island was an illusion that would vanish forever. "WHILE I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHAT GOES ON WITHIN YOUR HEART, YOUR CONCERNS HAVE TOUCHED MINE. VERILY, IT BE THE NATURE OF DREAMS TO END EVEN WHEN WE WISH FOR THEM TO CONTINUE."

"So then it's true?"

"YES!" The Wind Fish answered. It then began making a noise that was common among whales which indicated that it was about to do something. "WHEN I DOST AWAKEN FROM MY SLUMBER, KOHOLINT WILL BE GONE BUT NOT TRULY FOREVER. ONLY THE MEMORY OF THIS DREAM LAND WILL CONTINUE EXISTING IN THE WAKING WORLD AND PERHAPS ONE DAY, YOU MAY RECALL THIS ISLAND."

"Are you certain about that?"

Again, I couldn't tell if he was nodding. "THE FACT THAT THE MEMORY WILL CONTINUE TO EXIST MAKES THE DREAM WORLD REAL. AS FOR THE FAMILIAR FACES YOU RECOGNIZED DURING YOUR ADVENTURE... I SENSE YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR FATE. THOUGH THEY WILL DISAPPEAR, THEY SHALL RETURN TO THEIR PLACE OF ORIGIN. CONSIDER IT YOUR FINAL REWARD FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE. COME, SUNSET SHIMMER... LET US AWAKEN FROM THIS DREAM... TOGETHER!"

"How?"

"PLAY THE EIGHT INSTRUMENTS OF THE SIRENS!"

"The Ballad of the Wind Fish?"

"YES... THE SONG OF AWAKENING!"

With a bright flash, the Wind Fish disappeared by becoming a bunch of stars that then scattered about. Even though I knew what I needed to do, a small part of me was still hesitant despite his reassurance that those I knew would go back to their respective worlds. I had no reason to doubt his words given his power and all, but what if he turned out to be wrong and they disappeared anyway? I'd never be able to explain what happened and my punishment would be the stuff of legends. No! I had to have faith in the Wind Fish. If anyone could return them home, it was him.

Suddenly, I felt compelled to raise my arms which brought forth the eight instruments. I was expecting them to play 'The Ballad of the Wind Fish' but instead a bright light turned everything white leaving me wondering what was about to happen. Music then began to play signaling that the song was beginning to take effect. I then saw an image of Mabe Village though no one was there aside from BowWow, two tiny Chain Chomps, and a chicken  before the same bright light wiped them away. It was finally beginning... The island was starting to fade away now that it no longer needed to exist.

The next image that I saw was that of the Mabe Village library along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tossing their ball back and forth with each other. I wished I could've spoken with them more often but then they didn't offer much help once I made enough story progression. They then faded away when the bright light took them alongside the library and then the next image appear which was where I first found my sword. Instead of a blade, there were two Octoroks pacing back and forth. I guessed that this was how monsters once behaved before I showed up.

Then came the bright light which caused this scene to fade away and taking me to the next one in the sequence. As the music of the song continued to grow in intensity, the next image was that of Sunburst looking for mushrooms in the Mysterious Woods. Even when this world was about to be wiped out, he was still doing what he loved best. I watched as he then faded away just as he found what he had been searching for leaving me to wonder what I'd be seeing next. My answer came in the form of the weathervane located in Mabe Village where I saw Starlight singing her song and a dog watching her.

I wanted to say something but found that I couldn't and I watched with sadness as the bright light caused her to fade away. I didn't want to see anymore of the island being wiped out but unfortunately, my thoughts didn't matter as the next image was that of the island itself. It then disappeared entirely leaving nothing but the ocean itself. When I opened my eyes, I found myself back where I had met the Wind Fish with the music having ceased. I breathed a sigh of relief yet it was short lived as now I was stuck with no means of getting out of here.

As I contemplated what I was going to do, I failed to notice the entire area was beginning to shake. When I finally noticed what was going on, I braced myself for impact since I had no where else to go. Suddenly, a burst of water shot up from somewhere down below and I caught in it (I didn't have much choice) where it proved too powerful for me to escape from. After everything that had happened on this adventure, I was going to end up dying because of water? This couldn't truly be the end? After a few minutes of struggling, I blacked out and had no idea what my fate was going to be.

The sounds of seagulls and the roaring waves are what eventually woke me from what felt like an incredibly long slumber. Looking around at my surroundings, I was back on the raft I entered this world from though it had since been destroyed. Did this mean I was finally free? As much as I appreciated that, I wished I had been taken to dry land instead of being stuck here. Looking around, I was relieved to see that Princess Twilight was still with me though a part of me thought she would've been sent back to Equestria along with all the others who were from there.

"So this is how it started for you, Sunset?" Princess Twilight asked.

I nodded. "And the raft was intact before a violent storm destroyed it."

"Guess I didn't miss much."

"Aside from me getting washed up."

"It shows you know how to survive such ordeals."

I then changed the subject. "Twilight? Do you regret coming with me on this journey?"

She shook her head. "Not in the least. If I hadn't been brought here, I never would've gotten to understand so many new things and see places filled with knowledge. Oh, and the library was chock full of books that have given me plenty of ideas on future research papers. That will keep me busy for at least three weeks. Oh yeah! I enjoyed hanging out with you again even though it was often filled with danger." It was then her turn to change the subject. "Um... How are we supposed to return home?"

"I honestly don't know."

"We need to figure out something or else we're stuck here in the middle of nowhere."

I then heard the sound of Starlight singing and I began looking around to see where it was coming from though I knew it was in vain. I was stuck in the ocean on a destroyed raft with no means of going home. Hearing her voice could mean my mental state could be brought into question but it kept on getting louder which didn't make sense. I didn't think it could get any worse when it did as a giant shadow suddenly consumed the light. Without any items which had somehow disappeared during that unexpected water ride, whatever this shadow was, I had no means to defend myself.

Looking up, I was surprised to see the underbelly of the Wind Fish. It had leapt out of the water and made a loud noise to indicate that it was here. I knew it was huge before but it was even bigger which made me feel small in comparison. As I continued watching, Starlight's singing grew stronger until it reached the point where my mind couldn't think about anything else other than wondering if she made it back to Equestria safely. Splashing into the water with tremendous force, the Wind Fish disappeared leaving me and Princess Twilight alone once again with no means of getting out of here.

Then a seagull flew past high above though it was on its own which struck me as odd. Normally, they flew together in flocks so why was this one alone? As I stared up at it, I could see the image of Starlight appear before me. She smiled before disappearing and the seagull taking her place when it too disappeared by flying away. She, or rather the character she had portrayed, desired to leave the island by becoming a seagull. Just knowing that Marin was somewhere out there exploring the world made me happy knowing her dream had come true.

Suddenly, the weather began changing at a rapid pace. Gone was the beautiful sunshine and clouds and instead were replaced with dark clouds which continued to gain in size until everything had grown dark. This was followed by a sudden downpour of rain followed by thunder crackling all around. Only one force, or rather one person, had the ability to create something like this. Looking directly in front of me, a thunderbolt struck, blinding me for a moment, and upon clearing up, I could see him sitting on his throne that was hovering above the water's surface.

"We meet again, child..."

"You!" Sitting there was Ganondorf himself.

"Once again, you have lived up to my expectations by overcoming incredible odds."

"Have you come here to brag?"

"Such a thing is beneath my notice." Ganondorf answered. Right off the bat, I couldn't sense any power welling up inside him but then he's infamous for his obvious arrogance. "You managed to overcome the mysteries of Koholint and gave yourself your freedom at the cost of ending an illusion which had become its own identity. I knew you would make the ideal choice where your survival was deemed more important. Such a ruthless act but then you do not see in the same manner as I do. No, to you, you see it as a necessity in order to overcome a great evil."

"In the end, awakening the Wind Fish was my mission."

"And so it was."

Princess Twilight then interrupted. "Have you come here to challenge Sunset to a fight again!? As you can clearly see, we're all stuck in the middle of the ocean. Not only that, she's in no condition to fight what with no weapons and barely holding herself together. Her demeanor doesn't mean a thing to one who had such a wicked heart. After all, you're the one who's been making her suffer all because of some pointless endeavor. Look! She will never become your servant no matter what you say or do!"

Wow... I never knew Her Highness could get so emotional. Unfortunately, this was lost on the Demon King who merely laughed. "Such a bold proclamation, alicorn! One that deserves my respect. Granted, if not for my current mood, you would have died the moment you had finished speaking. No... I have no intention of testing the child. This time, she is spared that punishment, but the next time will be a different matter entirely. Both of you are free to leave this place and return to your respective domains, but before I send you on your way, you must know that I paid a visit to those friends of yours."

That got my attention. "What have you done to them?"

He began laughing before clenching his fist. "It occurred to me that they possessed their own power which was being wasted. After subjecting them to their own fears, I drained them of much of their power, yet they still have some that remains. After all, your friends still have a purpose that shall be fulfilled when the time comes." He then looked down at the water's surface and began speaking in a more refined manner. "I did not kill them. They are waiting for you to return to them. However, they now understand what is going on and will require you to explains things."

"What do my friends have to do with this?"

"Everything." Ganondorf then looked up at Princess Twilight. "I have not forgotten about you, alicorn! You possess the Triforce of Wisdom and during the child's adventure, you once again displayed the characteristics that come with representing that part of the golden power." He then looked directly at me. "And you, child. The Triforce of Courage still resonates within you and your journey is a strong reflection of this." He then looked at his hand and something began glowing. "As I thought, the misguided one was indeed chosen. When the time comes, she will acquire the final piece."

"Misguided one?" Princess Twilight asked.

"Someone both you and the child know very well."

"Who is she?" I asked.

"That will be revealed someday."

I figured he wasn't going to answer most of my questions because that was in his nature. At the very least, I didn't have to fight him this time, but what he did to my friends was another matter entirely. If they had been hurt by him in any way, I would make sure he lived to regret it no matter how long it would take. On a similar note, I didn't quite understand why he went after them aside from wanting their magic. Considering how strong his own magic was, weakened Equestrian Magic was small in comparison. There was much more going on but I doubted he'd give me any details.

"I take it you're done with us?"

Ganondorf nodded. "For now, but there will come a time when you will experience another adventure. I tell you both this just so that it is hewn within your memories. Your friends are but one key to a much larger puzzle whose machinations have been underway for ages. I am not finished with them as they have their role to play. Now, I take my leave of you and return you both home. Farwell."

Snapping his fingers, he disappeared along with his throne and this was followed by the rain coming to a stop and the clouds disappearing. As Princess Twilight and I looked at each other, we both became trapped inside orbs that looked like they were about to fling us away. "I guess this is where we part ways for now."

"It's been fun!" Princess Twilight said.

"I'll be sure to send you a message when I get back home."

"I look forward to reading it!"

We were then flung in different directions until we could no longer see each other. I then sat down and began thinking about everything Ganondorf had said. Much of it was his usual nonsense including having attacked my friends, but it was what he said about this 'misguided one' that me concerned most of all. All he said was that they had been chosen to wield the Triforce of Power. Whoever they were, I prayed for their sanity as they would soon become embroiled in this never-ending nightmare. The orb began getting hotter which eventually caused me to black out.

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

"Sunset? Sunset Shimmer? Wake up!"

"Huh?" I said in utter confusion. "Where am I?"

"You're finally waking up."

"Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize my voice? Come on! You've heard it so many times that you should have it committed to memory or something."

Opening my eyes, I then rose up and rubbed my head before turning to see who had been speaking to me. To my surprise and joy, I had been speaking to Twilight Sparkle who was standing next to me. She looked rather ragged given her past ordeals due to the Demon King's presence but she was safe which was all that mattered. Looking around, the rest of my friends were also here and they too had clearly seen better days. I was also expecting a disaster given what what happened but the room looked the same as it always had minus some apparent leftover magical residue.

"How long was I out for?"

"A bright light flashed from the television where you were sent into." Rainbow Dash answered. "Then you suddenly appeared unconscious and we've all been taking turns watching over you until you woke up. That was about a half hour ago though who's really counting."

"We didn't think you would come back to us." Fluttershy said.

"How long had I been gone?"

My friends all looked at each other not sure how best to answer that question, but then Twilight Sparkle decided to take a crack at it. "You've only been gone for several hours though judging from the way you said that, you sound like you'd been gone for weeks if not months."

"Only that long!?" I exclaimed as my jaw dropped. I had only been on Koholint for roughly five days and she was saying it had only been mere hours?

"When we saw ya come out of that screen, we reckon y'all had been through a harsh ordeal." Applejack said. I knew she was trying to hide what happened as she was biting the bottom of her lip and was clearly fazed by it. "We were hopin' this would've been another get together with friends but instead it turned into a right ol' gong show. We're still havin' trouble comin' ta grips with what happened."

"I already know."

"Ya do?"

"How is that even possible?" Rarity asked.

"I ran into the one who stole your magic and made you experience those awful memories." I answered.

Applejack then coughed to get our attention. "That fella... I thought at first he was speakin' nothin' but bunkus, but as things progressed, he showed us things that we ain't proud of because they go against our Elements."

"He did it to make an example of us all because we're your friends." Fluttershy said. "I thought he actually went very easy on me compared to everyone else, but when he showed me that memory of what happened with those animals, it felt like my heart was going to break."

"Once he was done tormenting each of us, he then stole our magic." Twilight Sparkle said. Judging from her expression, I think she had more than just her magic taken from her, and what she said next proved I was correct. "I was different compared with the others, Sunset. He reached deep into my soul and took the portion of Midnight Sparkle that had remained dormant saying I no longer had need of it." Hearing him doing that filled my heart with a burning rage but I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it.

I lowered my head. "I wish I had been here to help you."

Rarity shook her head. "There wasn't much you could've done, dahling."

"That guy was really cranky." Pinkie Pie added.

"His magic completely overwhelmed us and that's saying something." Rainbow Dash said. "We were at his mercy the entire time and he enjoyed every moment of it. I'm surprised he didn't kill us or something as he could have so easily, but he said we were needed for something but refused to say what."

"It was one of the worst experiences of my life!"

"You can say that again!"

"Want me to?"

"It's a figure of speech, Pinkie."

"Ohhhh!"

"Anyway... Everything's back to the way it was before." Twilight Sparkle announced prompting the rest of us to look at her in surprise. "Whatever that was all about is over and done with. We can move on with our lives until the next magic-related problem comes up." As she stood there, l could tell she was trying to forget about what she had been through due to a combination of sweat and a nervous twitch. "Let's go and get something to eat. l'm starting to feel hungry."

"Me too!" Rainbow Dash added.

"Me three! Me three!" Pinkie Pie added in her usual chirping manner. "ln fact, let me whip up a little something that'll get our minds off of what we went through. l'll need flour, eggs, butter, maple syrup, ice cream, sprinkles, firecrackers, and anything else l can't think of at the moment."

"What can y'all make with all o' that?" Applejack asked.

"Leave that to me."

I shook my head before letting out a soft chuckle which the others didn't hear. l was happy to see them and yet the issue remained. They were still trying to come to grips with what they had been through. I had no intention of asking any further questions until they were comfortable wanting to talk about it. l had hoped that my friends wouldn't get involved in this and now they had. There was no turning back for any of us now. We had no choice but to see this through to the end even if it meant experiencing horrors beyond our comprehension.

l did have two courses of action l needed to take. First, l needed to get in contact with Princess Twilight; not just her but the other princesses as well. l had to be sure they had gotten back home safely and Her Highness in particular as she no doubt wanted to know how her Canterlot High friends were doing. Boy was she going to be upset upon learning what had happened. They would recover despite the loss in magic so their lives were still their own. The fact that they suffered period would leave me feeling guilty for quite some time.

The second involved taking another look at that 'Hyrule Historia' and seeing if l could uncover some more legends about the Demon King and the Triforce itself. Surely there had to be such information contained within its pages (The book was as thick as your typical encyclopedia) that could help me out. l needed to figure out who could be the one marked by the Triforce of Power as l had been with Courage and Her Highness with Wisdom. Surely it wasn't going to be someone as power hungry as he was. Then again... l could be wrong.

Then l began to think about the 'misguided one' again. There were several individuals, myself included, who had abused Equestrian Magic thus becoming misguided but the others had petty reasons (No disrespect to them) compared to me as l once sought world domination. Hmmm... Someone who was powerful but lost their way... A thought then crossed my mind but l had trouble believing it. Could 'she' be the one? No... lmpossible. l knew she had done bad things before changing her life around but what if it were true?

The End... Or is it?