Link and Fluttershy both descended down the stairs. The walls were lined with dirt and green ivy. As they walked down the corridor, the atmosphere of the temple gradually darkened. Soon, it seemed as if there was no light whatsoever. Fluttershy nervously tilted her head around while Link kept his left hand on the plant-hardened wall. Very soon, the wall that Link was feeling became empty space as the two of them moved into a large, square-shaped room. At the center of the room, there was a very large pedestal surrounded by six torches that burned a blazing orange. The torches caused the room to be dimly lit, but Link’s perceptive eyes picked up various landmarks inside the room: There were three different circular slots on a brown, altar-like mound in front of the large pedestal. On the platform of the pedestal, a pattern of three pink-tinted animals was etched onto it. Fluttershy smiled as she saw the imagery of the image.
“Wow, these creatures look absolutely stunning! Those fangs, those claws and that overall volume look so beautiful. It even appears that though they are full of bulk!” Fluttershy said in awe. A shiver went down Link’s spine as Fluttershy noted each individual detail in morbid fascination.
“I heard that she was an animal enthusiast, but it almost sounds like she’s praising monster-like creatures… If my adventures taught me anything, then this is clear foreshadowing of what’s to come in the dungeon." Link thought to himself. As he looked on top of the mound, he found a brown, intricately-carved stick inside of it. He walked over to the mound and pulled the stick towards the right. As he did, the entire room shook fiercely. Fluttershy looked up for a bit and momentarily in fear. While the shaking occurred, a round plate of stone against the wall moved towards its right, which revealed a square hole the size of the main passage in the wall.
“Wow Link, you found a secret corridor!” Fluttershy said in amazement. As Link looked towards Fluttershy, he saw that she was strangely very happy. “I know that what we are doing here is serious and life-threatening, but this place seems like it would be a great place to explore.” She said. As the duo dropped down the pedestal, giant arachnid-like creatures dropped from the ceiling on threads. Their carapaces resembled human skulls, and they looked as hard as what their image would represent. “Ummm, Link, what are these creatures? I don’t think I have ever seen spiders this large or scary before.” Fluttershy said in worry.
“These are giant skulltulas. Normally, they block passageways. Fortunately for us, we can go around these spiders as they aren’t really guarding anything. As long as we don’t approach them, then they’ll do nothing, which means we don’t have to kill them.” Link said. Fluttershy sighed in relief.
“Thank goodness. I really didn’t want to stomp on these… cute spiders.” Fluttershy hesitantly said as she tried to find the right words to describe the skulltulas. In truth, each of these spiders caused Fluttershy’s nerves to wrack in anxiety. She suppressed whimpers of fear as both she and Link navigated through the spider-infested hallway. “These spiders look so unnatural. I know that they are natives of this part of the forest, but my instinctive reactions towards these animals aren’t responding. They look as if they had no sort of soul or any form of will! It looks as if they want me to be hurt real bad, and they wouldn’t even look sorry if they did so. Why is my mind drift-"
“Hey Fluttershy! Are you there?” Link called out. Fluttershy lifted her head back into reality in response to the call. “Are you all right?” Link asked.
“I think I’ll be fine.” Fluttershy reassured. As the two of them walked into the corridor, Fluttershy nervously shuffled her hooves around. “Errr, Link? Exactly what are skulltulas? They don’t give off the same vibe as most other animals do…” Fluttershy nervously asked.
“I know what you are probably thinking, and I’m going to say that they are not naturally made animals by any means.” Link said. Fluttershy’s ears stood up.
“Is that even possible?” She asked.
“It’s very possible Fluttershy. These creatures were created through dark magic, so they don’t act on their own will. They act only on the will of their creator, which is usually some high-leveled dark mage.” Link said. “So don’t feel bad if they are different from other creatures you’ve seen before. Nightmare Moon probably put them here to have them get in our way.” Fluttershy lowered her shoulders in tranquility.
“So that is why I only see hatred and anguish inside of them. At least I know that they aren’t really animals, so I don’t have to exactly feel bad for their deaths.” She said in an unusually cheery voice. As the two of them continued down the corridor, a ray of light shone from the end of the passage. Underneath the brilliant ray, there was a set of stone stairs that led outside. Both Fluttershy and Link ran towards the stairs. As they reached the top of the stairs, the both of them stepped into a familiar setting of light-imbued trees and shrubbery. Link walked towards a plant and held it by its leaf.
“I think that we went the wrong way. Is this area trying to play tricks on our minds?” Link asked.
“I know for a fact that this place isn’t playing tricks on our minds. Actually, I feel that if we keep heading this way, then we should be able to get closer to the Element.” Fluttershy replied. She closed her eyes and smiled. “I hear the spirits of the forest. They are speaking to me.” She said as she walked past the grass and vines. She reached a three-path intersection. Link followed her nearby with a sword gripped in his hand.
“This portion feels very familiar.” Link said. He smiled as he slowly walked over the middle path.
“Wait! Don’t go in there!” Fluttershy shouted in worry. Link looked back with a confused expression on his face. “Oh thank goodness you didn’t take the middle path. The spirits here warned me that if you take the wrong path-“
“Then I wind up back at the set of stairs.” Link finished for Fluttershy. “This isn’t exactly the first time I encountered something like this.”
“Ummm, Link, the spirits warned me about something else worse. You see, by taking the wrong path, you are purposefully going to let vicious creatures of the forest chase after you. These creatures are very ravenous and cannot be stopped. When one of these creatures captures somepony, then all the other creatures jump out and rip apart their victim’s flesh and feed it to themselves and their young.” Fluttershy concluded on a happy note. Her words sent shivers down Link’s spine as he gulped on air.
“So if that’s the case, then which path leads deeper into the temple?” He asked. Fluttershy pointed towards the left path.
“This path is safe to go towards. It should lead closer to where we need to go.” As she said this, Link gripped his sword in preparations for what lies on the other side of the path. As the duo crossed entered the next area, a group of stems with blue heads popped up from the ground. Each plant leaned towards Link and Fluttershy with voracious intent. Link unsheathed his blade and spun his body around with his blade. The result was a dense, orange shockwave that hit all the nearby plants. The plants reared back and hissed. However, Link held the sword with both hands and jumped into the air and sliced each individual plant, sending them back into the earth where they came from. “What were those plants? They looked like they wanted to hurt us.” Fluttershy asked.
“Back from where I came from, these plants are known as Deku Babas. They’re another enemy created through dark magic. Despite this, they do have some service to my land.” As Link said this, he walked over to an empty patch of grass where a Deku Baba was. Within the grass, there were three brown seeds with golden interiors. “Depending on how a Deku Baba is defeated, they can either drop a cluster of seeds or a stick for combat use.” Link said. Fluttershy looked at the seeds with a frown.
“I don’t think we should plant these seeds. They’ll sprout into more of those bad plants.” Fluttershy requested in concern.
“Don’t worry about it Fluttershy. I’m just holding onto them because they have a secondary use that makes them popular for the sake of defense in our world.” Link said. He tossed one of the seeds onto the ground, which caused a bright flash and an ear-piercing noise. Fluttershy’s vision became distorted and all she heard was a high-pitched noise. “…ttershy? C…you hear me now?” Link asked. Fluttershy shook her head and looked at the seeds.
“My, that was a strange feeling.” She responded.
“The seeds blind and deafen nearby creatures temporarily if thrown onto the ground. They become distorted, but it doesn’t hurt them.” Link walked around the grasses and picked up the leftover seeds from the ground. He placed each seed in a brown sachet on him and then handed it over to Fluttershy. “You give off the vibe that you really try to avoid fights whenever possible, but these can be very useful to you in a defensive situation as well as being able to assist me in fighting off more creatures.” Fluttershy grabbed the sachet by the string and brought it into hammerspace.
“I’ll be fine Link, but I do appreciate your concern for me.” She said. The both of them walked along the forest ground. The path was littered in grass and roots along with tall trees. As the two of them walked down the forest, two black wolves with ghastly glowing eyes appeared from the ground and made a shrill howl. They wasted no time as they charged towards Link and circled around him. Link pulled out his sword and shield and entered into a defensive stance. Fluttershy strayed from the area and was barely noticed. As the wolves came towards Link, they both swiped their front claws in unison towards Link. Link pulled up his shield and blocked the first wolf’s attack, but was flanked by the second wolf and struck his back. Link was launched forward as he screamed. Fluttershy gasped as the wolves proceeded to run towards Link as they kept swiping their claws against his back, not giving him time to move. Fluttershy whimpered slightly and pulled the sachet of seeds out. She reached inside of the seeds with her hoof and threw them at the two wolves. The wolves stopped what they were doing, stunned in their tracks. Link looked back and smiled at the fate of the wolves. He brought out his sword and slashed each wolf apart. The wolves howled in sharp pain as they vanished in blue flames. Fluttershy rushed by Link’s side with an expression of concern on her face. “Are you alright Link?” She asked.
“I’m alright thanks to you. It’s strange, but the wolfos in this forest are much smarter than other wolfos I’ve encountered in the past.” Link said. As he said this, he kept walking along the maze-like woods with Fluttershy, stopping only when he sees large patches of grass. When he does, he slashes them apart. Some of the grass he cut gave him shiny bits and red hearts, which covered him in a red haze. Afterwards, the duo encountered another intersection with three paths. Fluttershy closed her eyes and perked her ears. She pointed towards the right with her hoof. Link nodded as the both of them took the path. As they reached the other side of the pathway, the duo saw a stone staircase that led underground. Fluttershy smiled.
“This area looks wonderful. The staircase must lead to something important.” Fluttershy said. Link nodded as the both of them descended down the stairs and into another lengthy corridor. Surprisingly enough, the corridor maintained a bright atmosphere. As the two of them walked down, a skulltula jumped down from the ceiling. Fluttershy shrieked in surprise as she backed away from it. The skulltula menacingly twitched its legs. Link ran up to the skulltula. Before he came within striking distance, the skulltula spun on its thread and knocked Link back. Link got up from the ground and stared into the skulltula’s face. He looked towards Fluttershy with a frown on his face.
“Fluttershy, I want you to cover your ears with your hooves as best as you could and look away. I really don’t want you to see what I do next.” Link warned. Fluttershy nodded as she closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hooves. Link pulled out a mask that resembled the face of a wooden creature with hollow eyes and a round mouth. He moved it towards his face before the curse of the mask attached itself onto him. Link grunted as the mask became one with him and finally screamed in pain as the mask transfigured his entire body. After the transformation, Link shrunk down half his size. While he retained his signature green hat, Link’s body was more round and nothing but wood. His visage changed to that of the mask’s appearance. He became a Deku Scrub. He tapped Fluttershy with his finger, which caused her to open her eyes and release her hooves from her ears. She looked around with a puzzled look on her face.
“Where did Link go?” She asked herself. The Deku Scrub spoke.
“I am Link. I used a certain power to turn myself into a Deku Scrub.” He said. Fluttershy looked upon the plant in front of her with a confused expression.
“Wow, you look like a tree.” Fluttershy commented. Link looked towards the skulltula that blocked the path. Link held his head out and blew a green bubble from his trunk. He fired it towards the skulltula, which caused it to fall down in pain before it succumbed to the blue fires. Link then put his hands over to where the mask would be attached to his face. His physical form retreated back into the mask in the form of a black fog. He was once again human.
“Sorry I had to surprise you like that, but you do not want to know how it is like wearing one of these masks.” Link said. The two of them walked down the corridor until they reached a very tall, spire-shaped room. There were wide platforms along the walls of the room, each of which ascended up to a door at the very top of the room. In addition, there were patches of thick, graspable vines between them. Most of the floor was eaten away by a strange purple liquid that steamed. Seeing no other way, Link ran towards the nearest platform and jumped towards it. His footing slipped, but he managed to stay on the platform. Fluttershy jumped with Link. As the two of them jumped towards each platform, there was a platform that was out of jumping reach, and a patch of vines was towards the wall. Link jumped towards the vines and gripped them with the best of his ability. Fluttershy flapped her wings and hovered around Link with a look of concern on her face. As he traversed the vines, a hidden compartment in the wall opened up adjacent from Link, which revealed three mad scrubs. They aimed their cursors towards Link and began to shoot at him. Link looked behind him and opened his eyes in vulnerability. As the seeds rained down, Fluttershy came between Link and the seeds and took the brunt of the force. With this distraction, Link was able to go onto the next platform. The hidden compartment closed. He turned towards Fluttershy, who had a few pelt marks on her body. “Thanks for protecting me Fluttershy. If a seed hit me, then I would’ve tumbled into that liquid down there.” Link happily said.
“It’s not a problem at all. I don’t want you to fall into there. It looks absolutely dangerous.” She said. When Link turned back, he noticed that the previous platforms he was on collapsed and fell into the liquid. The debris burned and disintegrated in the acid. Fluttershy gulped. “I think we need to hurry, that is if you don’t mind.”
“Duly noted.” Link said as he began to jump across each platform. The platforms crumbled as he jumped off of them. He climbed onto the vines and moved as fast as he possibly could. Another hidden compartment full of mad scrubs opened and began to shoot pelting seeds at Link, which were blocked by Fluttershy’s body as she willingly flew into the line of fire. As Link crossed over onto the next set of platforms, the hidden compartment shut down. This process repeated five more times before the both of them made it towards the door on the top. Fluttershy weakly fluttered over to the top with notable bruises all over her back. Link ran towards her with a look of concern plastered on his face. “Are you alright Fluttershy?” He asked.
“I’m fine Link. I was more worried about you getting hurt or else you’d fall.” Fluttershy said. Link noticed two patches of grass near the door and sliced them apart with his sword. Hearts rained down on Fluttershy, allowing her to stand up.
“Are you ready for what lies beyond the door?” Link asked. Fluttershy nodded with more strength. Link smiled as he faced the door. The door lifted up, which revealed a large, cream-colored greenhouse. In the center of the room, a pink, ferocious feline-like creature looked upon Link and Fluttershy with vicious eyes. Link’s eyes opened widely as he saw the features of the beast. “Those claws, those fangs, those pink tinges… Oh no!” He thought to himself. Link quickly took out his sword and shield and approached the beast in a combative stance. As the beast rushed towards Link, Link held his shield up and parried the blow. This caused the beast’s forelimbs to flail back unguarded. Link performed a jump slash against the beast, which caused it staggering pain. Fluttershy gasped in horror as she saw the beast’s eyes react. The beast shook off the blow and swiped at Link. Though Link was knocked into the air, he flipped back onto his feet and ran towards the beast. He thrust his sword towards the beast, but the bulky forelimb took the blow. The sword made a clash noise against it, as if the beast’s forelimbs were made of some very dense metal. The beast lifted its left forelimb and launched it towards Link’s direction. Link shielded against the blow, which caused the beast to retract its arm. This time, Link unleashed a flurry of vertical and horizontal slashes against its chest. The beast’s eyes reacted with tears from sensitive nerves being hit. Fluttershy covered her eyes with her hooves, but the roars of the beast kept breaking her. Finally, her eyes formed into a stare of anger underneath her hooves. The battle raged, and Link stood victoriously against the beast. He spun his sword in his hand and gripped it hard. Before he ran at the beast, he heard a loud scream from behind him.
“STOOOOP!” Link and the beast looked behind him only to see a very angry Fluttershy behind them. Fluttershy stomped down towards Link and the Beast. As she approached Link, Link stopped in his tracks. “This creature may be big, but you are hurting him way beyond how he should be hurt. It’s as if you are trying to kill him!” She screamed. Link looked around nervously.
“But… he’s a monster.” He reasoned.
“A monster doesn’t show emotion the same way this beast does! You should feel ashamed for your actions!” Fluttershy retorted as she stared into his eyes. The beast couldn’t help but hold a snicker before he was confronted by Fluttershy. “And you!” He jumped up in shock and looked at the pony below him. “You were a very mean animal, attacking the first thing you see. Do you have anything to say about your actions?!” The beast looked around before it ducked his head in shame. It grumbled something before it walked back. Fluttershy retained her smile. “Well, I’m glad that the both of you learned your lessons of charging on others before they charge on you.” As she said this, the beast cautiously walked over to Fluttershy on all fours and sniffed her. Fluttershy nervously looked at the beast before her. The beast smiled.
“Your scent is strangely familiar. I have not smelled something like this in over tens of thousands of years. You smell like my master.” He said. “My apologies miss, but I have been ordered to guard this chamber under all costs until my master came back in a new reincarnation. It has been a long time since I had a name, but I am a part of the Treeger Clan and stay here as a guardian. Since you smell like my previous master, I wish for you to give me a name for the time being.” The Treeger said. Fluttershy grinned.
“Hmmm, you seem very cuddly for a Treeger. How about I call you ‘Flaumig?’” She asked.
“Flaumig seems like a wonderful name for a Treeger like me. I accept!” Flaumig said. He licked at Fluttershy’s face in happiness, which caused her to laugh. Link looked absolutely dumbstruck by the actions unfolding in front of his eyes.
“Ummm, ok what is happening here?” He asked. Flaumig looked towards Link with an apologetic look.
“My mistakes good sir, but I grew restless and impatient over the long years of waiting. I was just ready to attack any creature that passes through that door. Imagine my luck, both good and bad, when the next creatures I wanted to attack was the bearer of courage and a reincarnation of master, the Sage of Kindness. Fate brings us together it seems.” He said.
“But… I thought this temple was desecrated by the dark forces of Nightmare Moon. I never thought that there would actually be a natural being here.” Link rationalized.
“I felt the wave of darkness hit the temple as well. I don’t blame you if you mistook me as an enemy, especially since I mistook you as an enemy.” Flaumig reasoned. “Just know that even though there are evil forces in this temple, there are just as many natural creatures as well. Those ravenous beasts that hunt down the fools that take the wrong path are merely an example of these creatures.”
“Ummm, Flaumig, I was wondering if you would help us look for the Element housed in this temple. The spirits here told me that this was part of the way I needed to go in order to find the next Element.” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, you can say that this is leads to the Element, but at the same time does not lead to it. What you are looking for is deeper in the temple, but I do have one of the three keys needed to access the area required to reaching it.” As Flaumig said this, he thrust his forelimb into the vines behind him. He moved his claws behind the vines until he felt a distinct object. He pulled out a luminous pink sphere and handed it over to Link. “This is one of the three Orbs of Kindness needed to unlock the way to the Element. It also allows another path to another orb and another Treeger.” Link grabbed the orb and held it up in the air with both hands. Strangely, it floated above his hands, and he had an excited smile on his face.
You got the Orb of Kindness! Flaumig says that these orbs are the keys to unlocking the depths of the temple where the Element resides.
“Ah, I almost forgot something else.” As Flaumig said this, he kicked the floor with one of his back legs. A hidden compartment
opened up in the ground, which revealed a brown, wooden treasure chest that was noticeably large. “Just a little something to help you navigate through this dungeon. Also, the other guardians of the orbs are very crafty and dangerous and I couldn’t tell them about the both of you now. So, this treasure of the temple is for you to keep.” Link opened the treasure chest, which caused a lime light to shine out of it. Link jumped into there and scoured the space within the chest until he found the treasure. In his hands, a thick, wooden crossbow was held in his hands. The item became suspended over his hands held high.
You got the Crossbow! This weapon comes with 30 bolts, and it even has a rope attachment as well! Not only can you fire against enemies, but you can also reach places that would normally be too far away to reach and pull down obstacles that stand in your way.
As Link picked this up, a growth of thick vines spread across the door. Link and Fluttershy looked back in surprise and then back at Flaumig.
“Oops, I guess I forgot that this treasure was trapped. Luckily, there is an alternate doorway above here that can be reached with that crossbow. Try it.” He said. Link looked up towards the ceiling, where there was a corridor on the top part of the same wall. On the top of that corridor, there was a growth of vines that looked graspable. Link held the crossbow with both hands and set a bronze, metal bolt at the center of it. He opened a wooden compartment on the crossbow, which revealed a thin, but very sturdy rope. As he moved the rope over to the bolt, the rope magically attached itself to the bolt. Link gasped in surprise, but maintained a straight face. He aimed towards the vines on the corridor and pulled the trigger. The bow fired the bolt into the vine, which caused the crossbow to shake in reaction. Link quizzically looked at the crossbow until he released the trigger. He felt a tugging action and grasped the handle and best as he could. He was launched into the air and went towards the vine at high speeds. As he made it to the corridor, the bolt dropped from the vine along with Link. Link landed on both of his feet. He looked back at the greenhouse and down on Fluttershy and Flaumig. He then looked at his crossbow and smiled.
“You know, I appreciate this gift. It feels a lot like a hookshot and a bow I used to have.” Link said. Fluttershy flied up towards the corridor with a smile.
“Thank you for your kindness Flaumig. I hope that I can see you again after this is over.”
“For you, I would be glad to come visit your home one of these days. I’m glad that my purpose has finally been fulfilled.” Flaumig said. Link and Fluttershy ran down the corridor until there was a stump on the ground. Beams of light shot underneath the stump, and the stump itself looked a bit loose. Link looked back onto his crossbow and aimed it once more at the stump. He prepared another bolt onto it and set up the rope attachment. He fired the bolt, which struck the stump and clung deeply onto it. He released the trigger on the crossbow, which caused it the rope to pull back. He stood his ground as the powerful pull began to loosen the stump further. Soon, the stump was torn out of its area, and the light became a single, large ray. As Fluttershy and Link looked below, they saw that they were inside of the ceiling of the acidic room. Fluttershy looked towards Link with an uneasy frown on her face.
“Ummm, do I really have to jump down there?” Fluttershy asked. However, Link grabbed her forehoof firmly and jumped down the hole. Fluttershy screamed in fear as she fell along with Link. The both of them managed to hit the platform before the passage on the bottom that was near the acid. “Umm, Link, if it is no trouble at all, may you perhaps warn me when you’ll do that again? I mean, if you don’t mind that is.” She asked. The both of them entered the passage. They traveled down the passage until they came towards the stairs again. As they both embarked upon the stairs again, their sight was greeted by the wooded forest. Link and Fluttershy ran into the path that they came from before. Before either of them knew it, they returned back towards the Deku Baba field with the other set of stairs that led to the large platform. As they both walked towards the stairs, the Deku Babas began to attack again. In a repeated attempt, Link performed a spin attack. The orange shockwave struck the Babas once before they were hit with another round of the shockwave. They retreated into the ground and spit out Deku Seeds, which were promptly picked up by Fluttershy. The both of them descended into the stairs. Link curiously looked towards Fluttershy.
“So Fluttershy, I’ve been thinking about how you tamed that Treeger, and I was just wondering how you are so good with animals?” He asked.
“Well, my special talent involves understanding animals and working with them to achieve a better tomorrow for everypony. It’s what my cutie mark tells me.” Fluttershy pointed towards her flank, which revealed a trio of pink butterflies.
“Just like the back of my hand.” Link said in an epiphany. The both of them made it back into the platform and the mound. There was also a noticeable lack of skulltulas in the area. As Link and Fluttershy made it back onto the platform, Link placed the Orb of Kindness into one of the slots. Before their eyes, a circular stone slab moved out of the way, which revealed a central passage. Link and Fluttershy hopped off of the Platform and walked towards the passage.