//------------------------------// // Chapter twenty-five: Dawn of the Final Night (IV) // Story: The Legend of Equestria: Majora's Mask // by xombiekilla //------------------------------// Night of the final day: 12 hours remaining Twilight, Hero, and their friends had been exploring the temple for what seemed like hours. They had encountered many strange and mysterious rooms, but the central atrium was the most peculiar of them all. As they approached the right side of the room, they noticed something unusual about the chiseled designs on the walls. The patterns were a mixture of chimeric and serpentine, giving the impression of an otherworldly force at work. Despite her fears, Twilight had a theory about the designs. She hesitated momentarily, not wanting to believe her own thoughts, but Twilight shook her head after a few moments of silence. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just imagining things." She tried to push the thought away, feeling like she was going crazy. "Alright, everypony. Let's keep going." As they entered the room on the right, they were greeted with an unexpected sight. The room was empty with an open ceiling, and a chill ran down their spines as they heard a sinister chuckle echoing through the space. The group exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what to expect next. "You seek the truth in this temple but have only found your end. I shall show you the way out." A Garo wearing regal purple robes and a golden mask appeared suddenly, dropping from the open ceiling. He was armed with golden blades that were on fire. He quickly dived and flipped over Hero before readying his blades and charging at him. Hero found an opening, waited for the Garo to charge again, and blocked it with his shield. This briefly staggered the Garo, but it didn't disarm him like the other Garo. The Garo dived up and struck from the air, but Hero backflipped and dodged the sneak attack, leaving the Garo open. Hero slashed him a few good times, causing the Garo Master to wince, but he was still in the fight. The Garo Master attempted the same strategy but kept a safe distance this time. He was clearly more skilled than the others. He fired a beam of flames at Hero, who blocked it with his shield and rebounded it to hurt the Garo Master. The Garo Master rushed in close to slash at Hero, but Hero dodged his advances. Hero blocked his strike, which only stunned the Garo Master, who then vanished. Hero backflipped back to avoid his aerial strike. He then slashed at the Garo Master a few times, causing him to groan and collapse, too weak to fight anymore. The Garo Master told them, "T-To think I would have been defeated. However, you were a spectacular foe indeed. I shall part with my knowledge and reveal your way forward." "There is a gemstone fixed into the forehead of the masked entrance. Use a weapon that harkens light to see the world differently. Then the truth shall be laid bare to you. Believe what you will believe. That is up to you. But die I shall... leaving no corpse." The Garo Master then dropped a bomb next to himself before blowing up into ashes and vanishing. His voice echoed the room with a chuckle: "That is the law of the Garo." A chest appeared at the center of the room where they fought the Garo Master. Hero opened it up to obtain the light arrows. "Yeah! Those will be very useful, Hero. Nice work," Twilight praised. Hero nodded gleefully at her praise as they entered the central atrium again with the light arrows in their possession. Hero used the enlightened arrows to strike the crimson gemstone on the forehead of the masked entrance as the room began to flip upside down. The door began to morph into something too surreal, and gravity shifted, causing their minds to go hazy as the room morphed its dimensions. Vertigo kicked in, and they all lost consciousness for a short while. When they regained consciousness, they were terrified by what they saw. Instead of the Majora's Mask, the entrance had been replaced by the familiar face of a draconequus, but not just any. Everyone was utterly shocked at this revelation— Twilight was possibly the most astonished of all. "I can't believe it," Twilight said in disbelief. "Majora is the Termina version of Discord? This is unbelievable—No, it can't be. There must be some mistake." Fluttershy hugged Rainbow for comfort, and Rainbow said, "Even Discord, from where we come from, knows boundaries. This guy doesn't care about that." "Well, I hate to say it, but we should have seen this coming," Starlight said to Twilight. "What do you mean, Starlight?" Twilight asked. "Think about it, Twilight. Discord is the spirit of chaos. Termina is parallel to our home in Equestria. And everything Majora caused was nothing short of chaotic." "I guess you're right, Starlight," Twilight said. "So this is what would have happened if Discord had known no restraints in his power and could not have been contained by stone." "Majora is pure mayhem manifested physically," Starlight explained. "Sol used the peak of his power to seal Majora away into a mask to keep him from using his powers, but being a mask means that he needs a host, right? Someone has to put him on... oh dear." "Poor Luna," Twilight thought to herself. "We have to help her. Majora is too powerful for her to control or resist. His influence is felt throughout Termina." "We must stop him," Twilight said, "not just because Hero bargained with that Flam guy, but because this world as we know it would cease to exist if he had his way." "Oh, I swear, guys, when I face Majora, I'm gonna tell that big meanie a joke so deadly that he'll die from laughter!" Pinkie had a serious look on her face, even though it was difficult for everyone to resist giggling. Twilight giggled with everyone else, "Never change, Pinkie," Twilight said as the group entered the last room in the sculpted mouth of Discord's face and fell into what appeared to be a void into a pocket dimension. The team found themselves in what seemed to be a barren desert dimension, which closely resembled the Badlands from Equestria. "Woah?! Where are we now?" exclaimed Rainbow as she noticed two huge mountains of sand rising from the earth. Everyone was taken aback as they saw two colossal millipedes with Majora's eye on their bellies. Each segment of their bodies had an eye, some were open, some were closed, and some alternated between open and closed. One of the millipedes was red, and the other was blue. They both had masks on their faces with one green eye at the center of both masks. Their mouths opened to reveal rows upon rows of razor-sharp mandibles for teeth. While one of them dug into the earth, the other flew high above the ground. Masked Tatzelwurm Duo 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕞𝕠𝕝𝕕 "Holy hay... those tatzelwurms are gigantic... we got this. We'll show Majora that friendship always wins," Twilight declared as they confronted the flying creature. The blue one, Hero, aimed his light arrows at the monster's underbelly to blind one of its eyes. This caused the beast to wail in pain as it crashed into the ground and tried to slither around Hero and his friends. Hero aimed another arrow at the tip of its tail, which glowed a bright orange hue. The monster then rolled over as it flailed from the pain of being shot in a sensitive place. The eyes on its underbelly were exposed as Hero shot more arrows of radiant energy at them, making each one pop until only one remained on its long and segmented body. "Yeah! Get him, Hero! Show him who's boss!" Rainbow cheered him on as he shot one last light arrow into its belly, causing it to wail in agony before flying high. Everyone saw its blue body calcifying and falling apart until only the masked head remained, which fell and got stuck in the sandy earth. A chest appeared in the center of the dimensional desert, and Hero and his friends rushed towards it. He opened the chest to obtain a chiseled stone mask called the Giant's Mask. This mask has incredible power through the power of friendship, but it seems it'll only work in this room. Hero then feels as powerful as a giant holding the mask in his hooves. He put the mask on to feel it clamp onto his head with a sickening crunch. He bent down to his haunches, his forehooves clutching his head, and he could feel immense power flooding his body. He screamed as he felt himself growing into a mighty giant of tremendous strength. Hero took matters into his own hands and transformed himself into a massive version of his former self. His friends climbed onto his shoulders, amazed at the sight before them. "Wow, Hero, this is so cool!" Twilight exclaimed. "Yeah! Now we're cooking with gas! These are much better odds," she added, her excitement building as the red Tatzelwurm rose from the ground and flew around the battlefield. But Twinmold was not interested in making the same mistake as his blue brother. He kept his eyes on his belly closed and the one on his face open and alert, ready to strike any moment. Hero, undeterred, picked up a stone brick sphere used to decorate the room and used it as a projectile to hit Twinmold directly in his head. The red worm wailed in pain and fell to the ground. Hero then picked him up by his tail and swung him around like a tornado—round and round Twinmold spun in Hero's hooves before slamming his body down like a gigantic whip. The yellow eye in its mouth bulged out like an infected cyst, and the beast shrieked in agony. Hero then exhaled a warcry while flexing his forehooves in a macho posture. "Yeehaw, Hero. That showed this varmint good. Now let's finish this job," Applejack cheered. With Twinmold weakened Hero punched his hooves at the bulging eyeball. Each powerful swing made the worm convulse in agony as it flailed in Hero's chokehold. Hero was relentless, punching at its eye, then to its head, back, and back to its eye. He gave Twinmold a right-good beatdown. Finally, Hero held all of his strength for one final punch, and this one would finish it off. With a warcry, his right forehoof was glowing a bright orange-like hue as he punched with so much might that it popped Twinmold's eye in its mouth. Black viscous ooze-like blood spilled out, the darkness seeping from its body. The beast shrieked in pain, the fear of death as it flew up in a panic, mindlessly flailing in the sky before it let one last wail of pain as its body calcified and then crumbled apart. The evils of the desert and, by extension, Ikana, were lifted as the evil purple aura rose from Twinmold's corpse, and a wavy purple mirage of Majora's masked face rose from its head like a spirit leaving its body behind. "You are such a badass Hero! For a little kid, you're awesome!" Rainbow said, impressed by Hero's bravery and strength. Hero returned the compliment with a tired smile after the intense battle. Suddenly, a bright flash encompassed their eyes as they felt themselves slipping into a cosmic void. The team found themselves stranded on a single, stony island-like pillar within a white and misty void. As a gigantic figure approached them, chanting its gratefulness, Starlight gazed up at him in awe and wonderment. "That's one of the four giants? Amazing." The giant then chanted to the group, conveying its message of gratitude: "Thank you... travelers. We have all been freed. When you need us... Call us." Twilight had a question before the giant left. "Wait?! Before you leave. I must ask you something. Majora... besides being the opposite of someone we know very personally. What is he? And how old are you guys." The giant obliged, looking down at Twilight to make contact and convey its peaceful nature: "Swamp, Mountain, Ocean, Canyon—we were created from life itself—we live in time, and time has neither a beginning nor an end—we cannot age—we cannot die—the one who usurped your friend is ancient, such as us—but he cannot be saved—a cruel fate that he must be destroyed." "Yeah... unfortunately. Majora made his choice. We have to make ours. Alright, everypony. It's time for us to finish this. For Luna, Celestia, and all of the lives he has tormented." The white void then took them up as everything faded, and they woke up in front of the pathway they took to reach Stone Tower Temple. The land was freed from its curse of death and darkness as the skies weren't cloudy anymore, and the souls of the condemned rose to the afterlife as they could finally rest in peace. Twilight and her friends felt the rumbling of the earth as the moon fast approached the ground. The skies were a crimson red. Time was of the essence, and they made haste for the exit of Ikana Canyon and back to Clock Town. They trekked through Termina Field to the Eastern Gate of Clock Town. Once in, everyone was panicking. Twilight reached South Clock Town to see Termina Pinkie there. "Pinkie! A promise made, a promise kept. Hey there." "Oh hey, it's my new friends. How are you guys doing?" "We're doing good. But we have to make it up there. Two ponies who are important and mean a lot to us are up there. But I told you we'd come back to see you." "Do what you have to do, guys. I'll be happy to accept the end, worst-case scenario. I can leave this world satisfied that I've made some genuine friends." Everyone in the group, plus Hero, hugged Terminian Pinkie as she wept for their farewell. Twilight, Hero, and their friends have made it to the top of the Clock Tower entrance. They were ready to finish this, once and for all.