Image from AdamFerrando.com
Image from AdamFerrando.com
'Overwhelmingly cold' is the best way to describe how Blue felt, as he was slowly coming to. Opening his eyes, he slowly raised his head and glanced at the frozen, billowing wasteland around him. Standing up with a shiver, Blue brushed the offending snow off of his hat and tunic; his hand protesting the action as the snow melted on them, sending the sensation of being suddenly frozen directly to Blue's head. With a grunt, Blue began to squint through the Blizzard in an attempt to spot any of the other boys.
"H-hello? Is anypony out there? I'm lost!" A familiar voice rang out to Blue amidst the howls of the storm.
"S-Sweetie Belle? Is that you?" Link cried out, hoping to locate her through her voice. As silence reigned for a moment, Blue wondered if it wasn't simply his imagination that made him hear the voice when suddenly the silhouette of a filly appeared a few meters in-front of him.
"Link? Link! Oh my goodness, I was so scared that I was out here alone, I-- I--!" Sweetie Belle cried as she bowled into Blue, knocking the both of them back into the snow clinging to him tightly. A few moments later, Sweetie Belle got off of Blue, allowing the both of them to stand up.
"Link, why was there four of you? I definitely remember seeing four different colors of you, and you were wearing green when I first saw you..." Sweetie Belle trailed off, her voice quickly being swallowed up by the howling of the blizzard's winds.
"Long story, Sweetie Belle. I'll explain everything, but we need to find some shelter and get out of this storm!" Blue yelled over a particularly loud howl, as he shielded his eyes from what felt like razor sharp ice shards as they slammed into his exposed skin.
"Shelter? Like that cave over there?" Sweetie Belle shouted back, as she flung a hoof out to what seemed like a random direction, pointing towards a landmark in which Blue couldn't even see.
"You sure there's a cave there? I don't see a thing!" Blue asked her, looking back towards Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah, there is definitely a cave there! You don't see it?" Sweetie Belle asked, confused as to why Blue couldn't see it, while it seemed to jut out like a sore thumb in the storm to her. When he nodded in confirmation, she simply cocked her head. "Well, okay, just follow me then! I can see it fine!"
"Uhh...okay!" was all Blue could muster in reply, as he watched Sweetie Belle trudge through the snow, only breaking the surface. When Blue went to follow, he found himself sinking into the snow much more than Sweetie Belle was. Having picked up on Blue's difficulty, Sweetie Belle wordlessly slowed her pace down as she guided him towards the large cave before them.
As the pair of them finally approached the mouth of the cave, Blue chanced a glance in the direction they were traveling and finally sighted their destination through the billowing snow. Trudging through the snow that filled the entrance, the pair quickly became aware of how dark the cave truly was.
"Ahhah, I'll be honest, I'd much rather walk into this thing to get out of this cold, but… if you know any spells for light, it'd be much appreciated!" Blue jumbled out quickly, as shivering began to rack his body in an attempt to warm up. Sweetie Belle simply scrunched up her nose in concentration, as her horn seemed to spark and fizzle with a light-pink glow.
"Ugh, come on! Twilight just helped me practice this one last week!" Sweetie Belle grumbled as she fought with her horn, and just as Blue was about to call off her attempts, Sweetie Belle's horn began to emit a white light. And it cast it's pure light upon a morbid scene, of old wagons and items and slightly shriveled Ponies of days-gone-by, all claimed by the frozen wasteland the pair of them found themselves in. With a shriek, Sweetie Belle bolted behind Blue, who simply glanced around at the scene before him.
"Well, atleast we'll have materials to keep us warm until this storm lets up." Blue mumbled to the shaking filly behind him.
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Only after a few moments of collecting stray wood from the remains of what appeared to be an ill-fated expedition, Blue had managed to start a respectable fire a ways into the cave, to which to warm Sweetie Belle and himself up from the endlessly biting cold of the storm outside their cave. As Sweetie Belle cautiously scooted closer towards the fire, she watched carefully as Blue began to blanket the numerous ponies with old cloaks and blankets he had found, giving each and every one of them a moment of silence and a prolonged bow.
"Why were you doing that?" Sweetie Belle quietly asked once Blue returned to join her by the fire.
"Respect for the dead is a pretty big deal for Hylians. Mainly because we tend to have some bad...run ins with restless spirits, and we like to try and calm them down before things go crazy. But I also did it because it's something I think I'd like to have, to pass on comfortably, when my time comes." Blue explained, as he poked the fire with a metal rod he had found earlier while rummaging for supplies. "And considering these guys look like they didn't get the chance to pass on in comfort, I figured it would nice if someone could atleast give them that comfort in death."
"Wow..." was all Sweetie Belle could say in reply, unsure of what she could say to promote a constructive conversation. Blue simply snorted in laughter.
"Yeah, I know, listen to me! This sort of philosophical stuff is Vio's game." Blue joked, smiling as he fed the fire before him with another plank.
"Speaking of the others, you promised to tell me why there was four of you." Sweetie Belle reminded her partner, who looked towards her in surprise.
"Yeah, I did, didn't I? Welp, I'm not really up for super-long explanations, so I'll give you a really quick run-down of what's happened. Sound fair?" Blue asked, before continuing. When Sweetie Belle nodded, he continued.
"So yeah, that demon guy that kidnapped you? That's Vaati. Green, Red, Vio, n' me are here to stop him from destroying everything, but as you can tell… that didn't exactly go according to plan. Anyways..."
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"... and that's when Green, Red, Vio, n' Me showed up, and you know the rest." Blue finished explaining, as his audience listened with rapt attention.
"Holy cow, I didn't know so much could happen in such a short time!" Sweetie Belle finally exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise as Blue sighed.
"Yeah, I guess a lot has happened, huh? I mean, I didn't even tell you about my fight in the Everfree when we first decided to head to Hyrule Castle, about my house being blown to smithereens, or even the fight all four of us had with a swarm of bandits in-front of the Lost Woods." Blue added, numbering off the events on his fingers as he did so.
"So how are we gonna get back home? I don't mind a bit of snow, but the Frozen North is always snowing." Sweetie Belle asked, catching Blue off-guard.
"Uhh...I dunno, Sweetie Belle. I was kind of hoping that this storm would end, but you just said it doesn't?" Blue finished in a questioning tone, as Sweetie Belle slowly nodded with a panicked face.
"Y-you have to get us home! I don't wanna die like these ponies!" Sweetie Belle shouted frantically, as Blue frowned.
"We're not gonna die, dummy. Someone will come looking for us. I mean, heck, how much did you want to bet that your Sister is organizing a search party right now?
"What about food! You don't know how long they're gonna take!" Sweetie Belle squeaked out in anger, glowering at her would-be rescuer. As he stared at her, transfixed. A moment later, his mouth dropped in realization.
"Oh man, I didn't even think about that..."
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As Sweetie Belle slumbered soundlessly in the makeshift bed that the two of them had slapped together, Blue ventured towards the mouth of the cave to cover their agreed upon Guard shifts. As he glanced out into the still-roaring blizzard for any sign of rescue or trouble, he scoffed when wondered how Sweetie Belle planned to fight off monsters if any appeared, and silently decided to maintain the night watch by himself until morning.
As he stood, unmoving, for what seemed like it must be the early hours of the morning, he began to become aware of the fact that he wasn't any more tired than he had been a few hours ago. Infact, none of the others or himself actually slept the previous night, either. Just as he stood silently in confusion, he jumped about a foot into the air when he heard a voice sound off inside his head.
'Boys… it's me, Celestia… please listen carefully. Vaati has declared war on Equestria, and has seized Canterlot castle by placing the entire Royal guard within Canterlot under his spell, including Captain Shining Armor's wife, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Shining Armor has ventured off towards the castle alone, and I fear the pair may have been captured, as I cannot sense either of their magic any longer.
'Equestria has already begun to succumb to this overwhelming Evil, and Hyrule shall surely follow. If both our lands are to drive off this darkness, the four of you need to reunite, and rescue the two fillies from Vaati's grasp, and return them to the bearers of Harmony.
'I entreat ye, bring light to our darkness...'
"Damn you, Vaati..." Blue mumbled to himself as he stared angrily out into the blizzard. As he contemplated Sweetie Belle and his own next move from their location, his ears picked up on something moving deeper within the cave. Turning to look, Blue was startled when he heard Sweetie Belle shriek.
"Monster! Blue, help, a monster is taking me!" Sweetie Belle's voice echoed out in terror, as Blue tore right back into the cave, his shield out and blade flourished with zeal. Upon entering the deeper portion of the cave, Blue caught sight of a giant, white, hairy beast cradling Sweetie Belle in one arm as it handled a secret door made of the icy cave wall.
"Hey, let her go you freak!" Blue shouted at the beast, surprising it as it moved deeper into the hidden passage. With a shout, Blue rushed at the monster with haste, sword at the ready to land a strike. As he lept into the air with the blade over his head, Blue watched as the monster simply pushed the wall back into place, and completely out of his reach. His strike slammed against the wall of solid ice and stone, making him cringe as the force reverberated through the Four Sword and into his body.
"Grrr… get back here! Nobody makes a fool out of Blue!" Blue shouted with fury as he moved back and quickly charged towards the false wall, shield in-front of him as he intended to try and ram it open...only for it to suddenly open and let him run right into the passage, and over a spiral staircase. With a gasp of surprise, Blue attempted to stop himself, only to succeed in sliding right across the icy floor and over the side of the staircase, with a fine view of a bubbling lava pit at the bottom of the long, winding staircase.
"Waaaah-!" Blue exclaimed in terror, before finding his feet tightly gripped by a large hand.
"Be careful, child! The Crystal Mountains do not take kind to tomfoolery!" the white beast from before rasped out as it carefully lifted Blue back over the edge, and deposited him on the floor.
"So… you're not a monster? You're not going to eat me?" Sweetie Belle asked cautiously, looking the beast in the face as she remained stock still, cradled within it's arms.
"Goodness, no! I apologize, little filly, but I simply mistook you for one of my children." The beast explained sadly, as it gently placed Sweetie Belle on the floor beside Blue.
"What, you lose your kids or something?" Blue blurted out without care as he checked himself over for any missing equipment. The beast gave a sad sigh in reply as it blubbered.
"N-no, not lost! My babies were kidnapped! By frightening creatures from the ruins down below!" the beast cried, it's white furry hands rubbing at it's eyes as it bawled. Sweetie Belle quickly moved in closer to comfort the creature, giving it a hug.
"H-hey now, it's not the end of the world! Blue here is a knight from his world, maybe he can help you fight the monsters and get your children back!" Sweetie Belle offered in Blue's place, shooting him a dark gaze just as he opened his mouth to argue over it, allowing Blue the chance to make the sagely choice of staying silent instead.
"R-really? You'll h-help?" The monster asked, having stopped sobbing long enough to do so. Blue sighed and nodded, jumping slightly from his position on the floor when the creature shouted for joy.
"Before I go, though, could you tell me what happened, uhh...?" Blue trailed off, looking at the creature questioningly as he hefted himself off the icy floor.
"Yeta, I'm a Yeti, and… I suppose I should, if it helps..." Yeta mumbled, sitting down beside Sweetie Belle and taking a moment to collect herself before continuing.
"You see, my Babies and I live inside these caverns, and have for a very long time. About halfway down this staircase, you'll find a grand chamber, completely coated in ice. We used it as our home, and never had any problems until today..." Yeta began to explain, pausing for a moment, only for Sweetie Belle to urge her to continue.
"We were returning to cook our dinner, an ice boar that had wandered into one of our traps outside, when I quickly noticed these three strange, disturbing ice sculptures embedded inside the wall, sculptures I'd never noticed before. I went to move my babies away from them, but before I could even utter a single word, the three sculptures burst out of the wall and grabbed them, before turning around and sealing themselves back into the wall! I smashed all three of the sculptures, but my babies...they were gone!" Yeta wailed, before turning back into a sobbing mess, Sweetie Belle attempting to console her.
"That almost sounds like a group of Freezor… but that's not possible unless..." Blue struggled to determine the beasts at work, when his mind flashed back to what he heard only moments ago.
'Equestria has already begun to succumb to this overwhelming evil...'
"This… this was Vaati's doing!" Blue declared, before turning to look towards Sweetie Belle. "Vaati must have known about these ruins, thanks to the knowledge imparted to him by Princess Luna's powers! He must have cursed them, filling them with monsters, hence why demons from Hyrule, the Freezor, are here!"
"Is that why… he sent the two of us here?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking towards Blue with an expression of fear. Blue was silent for a moment, before shrugging.
"Honestly? Don't know for sure. Maybe he simply cursed it in his efforts to take over Equestria using fear. Could be the case for all I know. But if he did send the two of us here after cursing the ruins… those Freezor might have actually been after us instead, and mistook Yeta's children for us." Blue explained, prompting Yeta to renew her bawling as Sweetie Belle hugged her, casting a confused look at Blue.
"Yeah, I know, dunno how they could confuse us with… well, someone not us, but they ARE just solid ice and dark magic, so… not exactly the most intelligent of creatures." Blue explained, shrugging his shoulders. Turning to face the staircase, Blue began to walk away from the trio and descend, only to stop for a moment and look back towards them.
"Yeta? Would you make sure Sweetie Belle is kept safe? I've been asked to make sure she gets home in one piece." Blue asked of the kindly Yeti, who nodded with a warm smile, while Sweetie Belle cocked her head in confusion.
"Who asked you to get me home? Other than me, of course." Sweetie Belle asked, looking at the Hylian with curiosity.
"Princess Celestia did… I'll explain later, but for now, I've got to go find those kids."
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After bidding Sweetie Belle and Yeta a temporary farewell, Blue quickly ventured down the spiraling staircase and came upon the bubbling pool of lava. Taking a good look, he noticed that a hallway filled with more of the deadly lava actually opened up underneath the staircase and ended with a rocky platform complete with a giant, blue, ornate set of doors at the far end.
Making note of the hallway, Blue turned his attention behind him and came face-to-face with another hallway that mimicked the one behind him, yet featured icy surfaces and a pair of giant, red doors. Seeing no Alternative, Blue carefully stepped onto the icy surface before him, and made his way down the slick floor that led to the door. After a few steps down the hallway, he became aware of a series of markings on the wall to his left. After quickly examining them, Blue became frustrated when he realised they were Equish characters, and he was unable to decipher them, prompting him to stomp further down the hallway. After a few slips and falls, Blue finally made it to the doorway while he rubbed his sore behind, and gave the doorknob a turn, only to find the door resisting his efforts to open it.
"Aw, come on you crummy old… aha!" Blue exclaimed, victorious in opening one of the doors after giving it a great heave, the sound of crunching ice echoing throughout the hallway with only the distant bubbling of the lava to compete with it.
Stepping into the adjacent room, Blue found himself within what appeared to be some sort of ancient stone ballroom: complete with a pair of iron chandeliers, each still holding a large candle in their centers; as if waiting for someone to light them to continue their fight against the creeping ice.
Examining the room further, Blue came across the obvious remains of a trio of Freezors, scattered across the far wall, their homes within it empty. Moving on, Blue picked up upon the presence of two separate doors, with one of them covered by iron bars that protruded from the floor, removing any chance of getting through. The other, an open doorway, stood at the back of a small stone stage; which sported a single large stone-table, and what Blue suspected to be the aforementioned 'Ice Boar', forgotten in Yeta's panic.
Hoisting himself up onto the stage, Blue made his way towards the open doorway to find a narrow staircase leading further into the depths of the ruins. Taking the stairs as they spiraled downward, Blue quickly began to feel the temperature drop further, as the very air around him felt as though it had begun to freeze. Grumbling, Blue came to the bottom of the staircase and looked into the following room: only to come face-to-face with what might as well been a giant chasm, complete with narrow platforms of ice that jutted out from the darkness below in an almost comical manner, what with their stems being ridiculously small.
"Well, isn't this a pleasant sight. All this for a pair of pony princesses." Blue grumbled to himself, as he eyeballed two wooden doors, one of the left side of the room, and the other on the right side. From his position on the south side of the room, Blue pondered which side he should try for.
"To the left it is!" Blue exclaimed, glaring at the platform in-front of him for a moment, before he ran towards the edge of the floor and took a great leap towards it. As he sailed through the air, Blue watched as he flew towards the right side of the platform, landing on his feet with a thud and a very audible cracking sound.
"Uhm..." Blue uttered in confusion, moving slightly to turn to the left, only for more of the loud cracking to sound off as the platform wobbled slightly. Closing his eyes, Blue sighed. "Really, this is how I die? By being stupid? Seriously, what in the name of D-hah!" Blue gasped, feeling the platform falling to the right as it finally separated from it's narrow support. As he was flung towards the right, Blue flailed unto he felt his hands purchase onto something icy, and quickly hoisted himself up, laying upon his stomach and panting.
Taking a quick glance, he became aware that he had struck upon some serious luck, and landed upon the platform that was next in the chain towards the right side of the room. Before he could let loose a sigh of relief, however, Blue began to feel the subtle movements from the platform that indicated that it, too, was beginning to break apart: just like its counterpart.
"I don't think so..." Blue mumbled to himself, quickly picking himself up as he felt it beginning to shift, leaning towards the next platform. Just as the platform he was on gave one last great cracking sound, Blue gave the gap between the two platforms a running leap, his landing proceeding to break that platform as well. Not skipping a beat, Blue continued the dangerous leaps each time the platform he was on broke, continually bringing him closer to the door and ledge on the right side of the room.
After one last olympian leap from the final platform, Blue caught the side of the narrow ledge with his stomach, his hands scrambling to find purchase upon something until he found himself clinging to the edge by his fingers, dangling over the seemingly bottomless chasm. Adrenaline having fully kicked in at this point, Blue gave himself a mighty heave, bringing his left arm up to the ledge and using it to help swing his right foot up and over, and finally the rest of him, onto solid ground. Taking a moment to calm down and catch his breath, Blue began to fume from his seat in-front of the door.
"Seriously, who in the world would have a basement like this? I mean, come on!" Blue finally shouted aloud to the uncaring deathtrap before him, just as he stood up from his seat and looked towards the door.
"Well, you might not be the door I WANTED to go to, but let's see what you've got hidden on the other side." Blue mumbled, gripping the wooden handle and giving it a turn towards the floor, ice creaking and cracking as the aged door was swung open to reveal a small, brick room: whose only feature was a rather large, rather old wooden chest. Glancing around the room from the doorway for a moment, Blue shrugged when nothing leapt out at him, attempting to disembowel him.
Approaching the chest, Blue felt the curiosity inside of him build, reaching a bursting point when he gripped both sides of the top and get it a good shove. Leaning over to take a look: Blue caught a glimpse of a thick, old parchment of some sort. Hoisting himself onto the edge of the chest, he grabbed the slightly rolled paper, and then slid himself the short distance back onto the brick floor. Looking the paper over, Blue quickly became aware of how similar some of the shapes on it were to the rooms of the ruins he had visited, and then smiled.
"It's a map of the ruins! I still don't understand any of the writing, but this is definitely a map." Blue whispered to himself, as he sat down again and began to study the parchment. As he looked over the various shapes, he quickly pinpointed his own location as the eastern-most room on the bottom floor, as well as where he had left Sweetie Belle and Yeta, atop of the main spiraling-staircase.
Looking back upon the floor Blue found himself on, he noticed a few details that immediately jumped out to him. Firstly, while there were a sizeable number of rooms within this particular floor, the floor itself seemed to be separated into two halves. Looking back to the previous floor and recalling what he had seen from the bottom of the main staircase, Blue figured that the ruins featured a particular theme of fire and ice, and were separated accordingly.
Secondly, both sides of the bottom floor seemed to feature fairly important rooms, if the emphasis on them being highlighted with small doodles and more confusing Equestrian text was any indication. Blue began secretly wishing he had brought Sweetie Belle with him to decipher the writing, but shook his head when he remembered the events that happened only minutes ago in the previous room.
"We seriously need to get this Equestrian writing problem fixed. This is nuts. Like, what are these? Altars?" Blue spoke to no one in particular, as he looked at some more of the odd writing on the map around the rooms. With a quick runthrough of the map and a nod of his head, Blue determined that the best thing for him to do was make his way towards the 'Altar' on his side of the basement, all the while keeping an eye out for the Yeti children.
Sitting up and reaching for the door, Blue opened it back up again to the sight of his near-death experience. Closing the door behind him, he glanced towards the other door, opposite of him, and then to the empty chasm between them, completely void of any of those Din-forsaken platforms. His way back was also still missing, seeing as he had destroyed the platforms on his way across.
"What." Blue uttered in a monotone, unable to comprehend that he had marooned himself. Dropping to his knees, Blue cringed at the prospect of starving to death, and the multitude of other possible endings for him that began to flood his mind. He would have began shouting, if he hadn't been broken out of his misery by a friendly voice.
"Look! Try hitting the crystal in the wall beside you!" a voice called from within Blue's head. Or more correctly, from under his hat.
"Is it-! Navi!" Blue exclaimed, pulling his hat off to reveal the small fairy fluttering in his hair happily.
"Yup, it's me! Sorry I took so long to come back, Blue, but I got caught up in the uproar in the fairy realm. The Queen really doesn't like it when a Great Fairy's fountain gets destroyed." Navi explained, having left Blue's hair and fluttered into his vision.
"But just because I'm back, doesn't mean you can go and get yourself impaled by a giant icicle. Or fall into lava. From now on, I'm just a regular Fairy." Navi explained, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"'Regular' Fairy? Not so Great anymore?" Blue asked, cocking an eyebrow at the fairy, who became quiet before turning away from him and fluttering away slightly.
"No… not anymore… the Queen wasn't happy about the lost fountain, as I said. She didn't strip me of my title because of that, though. Nor did She do it because I neglected to set up a new fountain right away, and followed you and the ponies instead." Navi paused for a moment, seeming to give a small sigh.
"It's because I wanted to return to you and help you all defeat Vaati, instead of creating another fountain as I was supposed to."
"What the heck? That's not very fair. Doesn't that silly Queen of yours get that if Me, Green, Red, n' Vio don't go and kick the teeth out of Vaati, she isn't going to have ANY fountains?" Blue asked, staring at the fairy in-front of him with an annoyance.
"Actually… that's what I said. You get three guesses as to how she responded, and the first two don't count." Navi replied, turning back towards Blue before continuing. "But that's okay! As long as I'm helping you boys out and getting those fillies home, I'd say it's a fair trade!" Navi exclaimed defiantly, prompting a smirk to grow upon Blue's face. As he stood up, Blue looked towards the wall next to him, recalling Navi's first words.
"So you said some sort of crystal was in this wall?" Blue asked, eyeballing the wall and coming upon a strange, pendulum shape within it.
"Yeah! Give it a good whack with the Four Sword, it should make something happen." Navi explained, flying behind him to hover over his right shoulder. Blue turned to look at Navi with a raised eyebrow.
"'Something'? You have no idea what's going to happen?" Blue asked, unsheathing his blade as he waited for the reply.
"Well, not exactly, but I can tell you that it's a switch that's activated by something striking it, so something in here is going to move." Navi said as she watched Blue wind up his left arm. Hesitating for only a moment, Blue let loose a swing of the Four Sword and struck it upon the crystal with a resounding clang, and watched in awe as it suddenly began to emit a bright yellow glow. Mere moments later, the room began to rumble and vibrate, as the back wall began to slide away from the pair, giving Blue a walkway towards the other door and a way forward.
"Wow, I think you just saved my life, Navi..." Blue mumbled once the rumbling stopped. The fairy simply giggled and flittered on ahead.
"And I doubt it will be the last time, either. You've got to remember, Blue, you're not in a world made for Hylians. This chamber was probably meant more for Unicorns or Pegasi, both of whom wouldn't need to use those platforms. The hidden pathways in the walls were probably originally meant for the Earth Ponies to get around." Navi lectured the young swordsman, who simply nodded in reply. As they came up to the door that had been causing Blue so much grief, Blue suddenly had a thought run through his mind.
"Say, Navi, can you read Equestrian text?" he asked, hoping for a good answer. Which came in a nodding gesture.
"Yup, I managed to get my hands on some Equestrian books from Twilight Sparkle and pour over them... when I had hands, that is. Why? Got something for me to read?" Navi asked, moving towards Blue's face. Blue nodded and quickly pulled the map out from inside his tunic for Navi to decypher for him.
"Oh! Hmm... this... is a bit different than what I had managed to read. Wouldn't be surprised if it was an older version of their written word, considering how ancient this place looks. Hold it steady, I'll see if I can't figure it out..." Navi trailed off, going into deeper thought as she scanned over the words.
"Okay, so... the important looking room on this side of the basement? I think it's an Altar to the Pony Princesses. Something about some of their powers or elements being stored there, in a 'Holy Artifact', and only those who are pure of heart being eligible to use them." Navi explained, before turning her attention to the opposite room.
"The other room, I couldn't understand much of the text there, but it's probably the room where you'll find the key to the Ceremony chamber, which is the room behind the doors in the Celestial wing. I think this map was made for newcomers for whatever these ruins were used for." Navi informed Blue, who simply became confused.
"Wait up, what's the Celestial wing? Are you talking about that Lava hallway upstairs?"
"Exactly! The room behind those doors is the Ceremony room. I betcha anything that those Yeti children are being held in there by some sort of giant, hideous monster!" Navi exclaimed with gusto, earning her a frown from Blue.
"Have you done this sort of thing before?"
"Yup." was all that Navi offered in reply, before moving towards the door in-front of them. With a shrug, Blue ventured forward and gripped the handle on the door, giving it a twist and a push to present the pair of them with a view of the next room.
The entire floor was covered within a sheet of ice, marred by the occasional icy outcrop, while the walls and ceiling were made of a dark brown brick, with icicles hanging from the latter of the two. Directly opposite of Blue was the next door forward, which according to the map, led to a lengthy hallway, and then the Royal Pony Sisters' Altar.
"Be careful, Blue...this feels like a trap." Navi warned, as the pair of them stepped forward into the empty room, jumping when they heard the door slam and lock behind them as if by unseen hands. Snarling, Blue drew out his Four Sword and donned his shield, inching forward as he glanced around the room and waited for any sign of movement. Making a single step forward, Navi seemed to spasm in the air beside him as she looked up.
"Watch Out!" Navi cried as Blue looked up, only to see an icicle from the ceiling drop towards him. Barely raising his shield in time, the icicle was deflected off to Blue's right side, and quickly transformed into an unnatural creature, which quickly began to stab a spear of ice at him. "It's a Chilfos! Watch for its spear of ice, it'll throw it at you if you fall back!"
"But it keeps swinging the thing at me when I get close! How can I get around that spear?" Blue asked Navi, who had zipped over to hover the Chilfos as Blue focused on it.
"Then you'll have to break it! Use the sword technique that I taught you, it should be enough!" Navi instructed Blue, who nodded and complied, while making sure to hold his shield out to block the continuing onslaught from the monster.
"Hah, eat this, you freak!" Blue growled from behind his shield, letting loose a spin attack that sliced through the air with a trail of Rainbow Magic, and smashed right through the center point of the Chilfos' spear. As it shattered into a million little fragments, Blue let loose a war-cry and charged the retreating Chilfos, battering the creature with numerous strikes from his Four Sword. With one final strike, the Chilfos split into two and dramatically exploded into tiny shards as it fell, the ice shards turning into little wisps of purple smoke that dissipated into nothing.
"Game, set, and Match! I'm invincible." Blue bragged, hefting the Four Sword onto his shield as a giant smirk filled his face.
"Blue, stop standing around with a stupid smirk on your face, this is dangerous!" Navi said angrily, watching the last of the smoke disappear as the Hylian laughed at his defeated foe and ignored her. With a sigh, Navi turned to look at Blue, having watched the monster disappear into nothing, only to gasp as another Chilfos appeared.
"Blue! Look out!" Navi exclaimed as she turned a bright red and zipped over to the newest threat. As Blue went wide-eyed and turned in an attempt to block the strike coming his way, he opened up his left side to the incoming spear, which struck home and impaled itself in his left shoulder before exploding into tiny fragments.
"No, Blue!" Navi shrieked as she watched the Hylian boy stagger a bit and gasp in pain, before a familiar determined glint flashed in his eyes.
"No one messes with Blue! No one!" Blue yelled in a blood-curdling rage, and launched himself at the Chilfos, executing a spin attack and slicing the monster into two pieces like it's counterpart only moments before.
"Blue! Another one behind you again!" Navi shouted, hovering over the third Chilfos as it uncurled from the floor after it's trip from the ceiling. After a few parrys, Blue managed to pierce the Chilfos directly in the head with a well-timed stab, the monster slumping to the floor as it and it's weapon exploded like the others before them. Once an uneasy silence filled the room, Navi and Blue continued to spin around their spots in the room, looking for any further signs of ambush. When none presented themselves and both the doors emitted audible clicks that indicated their locks were disengaged, Blue cringed and collapsed to his knees, dropping the Four Sword as he grabbed at his left shoulder, the searing pain finally coming to the fore-front.
"Guess I let my guard down, huh Navi...?" Blue mumbled as he looked down at the wound in his shoulder, the blood around it staining his blue tunic as it flowed.
"If you weren't such a braggart and listened to me when I told you to pay attention...!" Navi trailed off as she hovered towards Blue to take a better look at his wound. "I told you I can't heal you anymore..." Navi mumbled as she assessed the damage.
"Yeah… you're kind of right, I guess… good thing Red found… some of these." Blue said in an even tone, as he dropped his shield and fished out a bottle of Red Potion from his adventure pouch that was looped around his belt. Carefully popping the cork off with the help of his left hand, Blue quickly drank the foul tasting potion, finishing with a cringe and a deep exhale, watching as a small, red cloud billowed from his mouth.
"Well… it looks like it's fully healed. Just be more careful next time!" Navi exclaimed as she hovered directly in-front of Blue's face, earning her a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, Navi..." Blue replied as he picked up his shield and the Four Sword, replacing both to their respective homes upon his back. Standing up, Blue turned towards the door that led them further towards the altar and stepped through it. Navi quickly followed in behind him as he closed the door, still staring at the obstacle before him.
A large lava pool in-front of him bubbled and frothed with the occasional hiss and little screech. On a rack beside him, Blue noticed a number of large, blue, sealed jugs that featured a crescent moon over a dark blue splotch painted onto them. Looking out towards the other side of the hallway, Blue noticed a small outcropping of rock in the shape of a sun, featuring a sort of pressure switch directly in the middle of it.
"Blue...don't these markings on the jugs look like Princess Luna's cutie mark?" Navi asked, having hovered to get a closer look at oddity. Looking back towards the lava pool, Blue looked upon the sun shaped outcropping and nodded.
"And that over there... kinda looks like Princess Celestia's cutie mark. I guess that would make sense, considering this entire place looks like some sort of ancient temple in honor of them." Blue surmised, to which Navi hovered in silent agreement.
"What's in these jugs, anyways? Might be an idea to try breaking one and see." Navi suggested, their attention back upon the jugs. Nodding in agreement, Blue quickly hefted one of the jugs over his head, offering Navi a look of surprise when it gave off the sound of liquid splashing around inside.
"Is that really the key here? Water onto lava?" Navi asked, fluttering towards the edge of the lava pool. She shrieked and ducked when one of the blue jugs sailed over her and into the lava, transforming into a sort of rocky platform.
"Yup, looks like it." Blue answered, snickering as he looked over the fuming fairy at the rock platform, as it suddenly broke apart and was consumed by the lava moments later.
After bringing a pair of jugs to the edge of the lava pool, Blue hurled another jug into the lava and created a platform just like before. Grabbing the second jug, he gave a running leap towards the platform he had created, landing perfectly in the center as it slid a little across the lava. Ignoring the intense heat, Blue lined up the second jug with the outcropping and tossed it, creating himself another platform. Just as he was admiring his work, he suddenly felt the platform he was on begin to wobble and shake, and quickly lept for his second platform, just as the first broke into pieces. Riding the second platform, Blue lept off of it as it bumped into the outcropping and began to sink under the lava. Turning his gaze back towards the area he had started from, Blue offered a cocky grin to Navi.
"See? I can figure this stuff out!"
"Just like you figured out that giant chasm?" Navi deadpanned, flitting over towards the now scowling Blue.
"I'd have figured it out... eventually." Blue grumbled, making his way towards the switch as he began scanning the area in-front of him. Save for more lava and the raised platform before him that the door rested upon, nothing gave any indication that the switch did anything. Shrugging, Blue raised a foot up and slammed it down upon the square switch, hearing nothing but the sound of a few loud thuds of internal mechanisms moving.
"Well, that did a lo-" Blue began to deadpan, being cut off when a pair of narrow, rocky platforms shot out from the lava in-front of the pair, leading towards the doorway in-front of them. As Navi and Blue looked towards one another, Blue wiped sweat from his forehead with a sigh.
"Is it... getting hotter in here?" Navi asked, moving towards the lava pool before gasping, as the lava began rising steadily. "B-BLUE! You've got to get to that door! The lava is rising!" Navi shouted frantically, moving to buzz around his head with a yellow glow. Without hesitating, Blue ran and leapt for the first platform, gripping the edge of it and hoisting himself up. Stopping for a moment to peer over the edge, Blue noticed the lava quickly following him up, having nearly swallowed the entire sun outcropping.
"W-what are you doing! Keep moving!" Navi shouted at him, breaking him out of his trance as he watched the sun disappear underneath the lava. Turning, Blue moved to the back edge of the platform as best he could, and gave a short dash before jumping towards the second platform, mimicking his previous success.
Without stopping to watch a second time, Blue simply leapt towards the platform with the door, and managed to land on his feet. Running towards the door, Blue quickly opened it and ran into the next room, and slammed it shut.
"That should hold... for a second or two." Blue cringed, finishing the sentence when he noticed that the door was made of wood. Turning around to face the room he found himself in, Blue took notice that the room seemed to share a similar challenge as the last, what with Luna jugs and a narrow river of lava separating the two ends of the room, with one side winding down a narrow stone hallway. Not wasting any time, Blue grabbed one of the jugs and lobbed it into the lava, making sure to run across before the lava had a chance to destroy his way across. Quickly running up a short staircase to a platform above them, Blue stopped at the sight before them.
"Blue, look!" Navi shouted, zipping over towards a rather ornate chest, and hovered over it. Intrigued, Blue jogged over and stopped in-front of the chest. Carefully opening it, Blue leaned over the edge, only to find a meticulously designed stick with a pair of large, red and blue gemstones beautifully inlaid on either end. Grabbing it, Blue held it above him to get a better look at it in the light of a torch hanging on the wall.
"Looks like some sort of wand! I wonder what it does..." Blue thought out loud, turning it around in his hand, before Navi groaned loudly, having turned back towards the door.
"I don't know if we'll have time to find out! Look, the lava is catching up!" Navi exclaimed frantically, as she began zipping all over the room, attempting to find a way out of their current predicament as lava began to ooze out all around the now ferociously burning door.
"Wait, wands are magical, right?" Blue asked loudly, staring at the blue end of the wand as Navi continued to zip around in a panic. Blue rolled his eyes in annoyance and raised the wand over his head. "Fine, ignore me then..." Blue grumbled, swinging the wand down in an arc until it rested before him. Without warning, a large burst of blue energy shot forth at an incredible speed, and collided with the now exposed doorway, freezing it and the lava pouring out of it instantly.
"Blue! Blue! This hallway leads back... into..." Navi trailed off, having gone down the lava hallway and came back just as the ice magic struck the doorway.
"Cool! Finally got my own awesome tool!" Blue exclaimed as Navi came near.
"That won't hold forever, Blue. We need to get down that hallway quickly, it feeds the room back there with lava. I found a ladder that dropped from the ceiling back there, it should bring us back upstairs, but we need to hurry before lava fills the room up completely!" Navi instructed Blue, who nodded and hurried back down towards the lava river.
Gripping the wand tightly, Blue swung it out from his side, blue end exposed, and instantly froze a portion of the lava into a rocky platform. Grinning from ear-to-ear, Blue continued the process of creating himself platforms, and leaping between them, until the end of the twisting hallway.
Peaking out from the edge, he could tell that the room was nearly completely swallowed by the lava, with only the top portion of the large room exposed. Looking forward, Blue noticed the metal, strangely shaped ladder that Navi had mentioned. Making his way over via lava platforms, Blue quickly became aware of the red hot glow that was coming off the end of the ladder.
"Huh...I wonder if I can just cool stuff off with this thing." Blue pondered as he gripped the wand tightly. Pointing it at the ladder and giving the wand a little flick, what felt like an arctic wind blasted out from the wand and cooled the ladder off within seconds. Stowing the wand aware with a smirk, Blue lept off his final lava platform as it was swallowed up by the lava again and gripped the oddly shaped ladder, not wasting any time climbing it.
Upon reaching the top, Blue pushed on a wooden trap door that blocked his path, and peeked out to find himself in what could pass for a giant closet. Pulling himself up, he quickly glanced around in the dimly lit room (Thanks to Navi) and came upon a door. Seeing no alternative, Blue walked over and gave the knob a turn, and pulled the door open. Quickly recognizing the room they were in, Blue gave a startled jump when the door behind him slammed shut of it's own accord, and a series of iron bars shot up from the floor to block it.
"You came through here already, didn't you?" Navi asked, flitting out in-front of Blue as she took in the sights of the frozen ballroom.
"Yeah, the stairs at the back of the stage lead back into the room that you found me in." Blue explained, thumbing towards the stage. Turning his gaze towards the giant red doors that adorned the entrance, Blue steeled himself for the opposite side of the dungeon.
"I get the feeling that things are going to be just as hard on the other side of this place, so let's get going while I'm still on a roll."