//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: The Legend Of Zelda: Equestrian Nightmare // by Violet Runner //------------------------------// Link and Rainbow Dash entered inside of the tall, white, roundhouse-styled room. For some odd reason, the walls of this area were in better shape than anywhere else in the temple. As the two slowly walked forward, a condescending look appeared on Rainbow Dash’s face. Link looked towards her face with a puzzled expression. “Is something wrong Rainbow Dash? You've been acting strange since we’ve been in this temple.” He asked in concern. “Why is it that this room looks like it is in better shape than everything else in the temple? I mean, I know that it holds the Element related to me, but it should have at least looked like it was ruined.” Rainbow Dash replied. The two of them looked towards the centre of the room and saw a large, octagon-shaped hole on the ground with a powerful up-draft. As they looked upwards, they noticed a similarly-shaped hole on the ceiling. With a powerful swap, Link took out the Roc’s Cape and wore it. “It looks like the Element is in the place where this draft will take us. Are you ready for what awaits us Rainbow Dash?” He asked. Rainbow Dash regained her cocky grin and slanted her eyes in a readying stance. “I’ve been born ready Link.” She replied with confidence brimming in her tone. Both Link and Rainbow Dash ran up to the hole before they jumped inside of it. The roaring, powerful winds picked up the duo as they shot through the ceiling. The walls of the area above the ceiling were dark as the two kept flying upwards towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Finally, as they passed through the hole at the top, their eyes were greeted with the sight of the open sky not found anywhere else in the area; though the platform itself was roughly the same size as the room they entered in and there were no structures around in the air. It was just a plain, midnight sky. As Link and Rainbow Dash landed on their feet and hooves respectively, they took in the sights around them. “I know this place is amazing and all, but where’s the Element?” Rainbow Dash asked in impatience. “Well, this is a boss room Rainbow Dash. It would make sense for the boss to have it in its possession. Speaking of which, where is it?” As Link said this, the hole behind them closed with a stone cover that slid underneath it. A powerfully loud screech echoed throughout the area followed by what appeared to be an eagle the size of a building made entirely of brown stone with dark lines of energy within it. The most notable characteristic is the purple, diamond-shaped gem embedded within its forehead. “I should have known that it was a giant bird. It only makes natural sense.” Link said as the bird let out another ear-piercing screech as it saw the duo. Warped Golem; Helmaroc Effigy Helmaroc Effigy dove down from the sky and rushed in and swooped towards Link and Rainbow Dash. Its giant talons tried to grasp the both of them, but Link rolled to his left and out of the way and Rainbow Dash flew towards her right. The Helmaroc Effigy flew off in a straight direction. Rainbow Dash stared at it with her jaw dropping to the ground. “That bird is huge! How are we even supposed to damage it?!” She asked in a mix of awe and hopelessness. Link eyed the Helmaroc Effigy carefully and noticed that on its body were pillars periodically punching in a pattern that lead towards the crested platform just underneath the purple gem. “I have an idea Rainbow Dash. Can you match the Helmaroc Effigy’s speed while you are carrying something?” He asked. “Of course I can! I’m only the fastest pegas-“ “I already know that you’re the fastest pegasus in Equestria Rainbow Dash. I just need you to drop me onto the tail of that beast since aiming for the head would end up blowing me back because of the wind around it.” He replied as he interrupted Rainbow Dash. “Gotcha Link!” As she said this, she flapped her wings and flew into the air. She grabbed onto Link’s shoulders with her front hooves. The duo flew into the expanse of the sky after the Helmaroc Effigy. As it flew away, Rainbow Dash tailed its tail and drafted its trail. Though she was within the wind barrier, her eyes watered immensely from the tiny blades of wind that pierced her eyes. “Hey Link, you think you can reach that block over there from here? The wind’s concentration is getting onto my eyes.” She said as she squint her eyes. “With this Roc’s Cape, I should be able to reach that block from here. Just keep up with the Helmaroc.” Link said. Link swung his body forward and jumped. He dove forward before the wind picked up underneath the Roc’s Cape and caused him to soar in the air. Rainbow Dash flew out of the wind space and below the Helmaroc Effigy. Link safely landed on the tail blocks of it. As he looked across, he notices that the blocks pounded in and out of the Helmaroc Effigy. Link jumped across the blocks and flew across the spaces between the blocks along the ascending side of the Helmaroc Effigy. At the last block before the crest, the block rotated forward. Link timed his jump and landed on the block when the side was slanted towards the forward top. Immediately after, he ran off the block and jumped in the air towards the crest and the purple gem. As he took out his blade, Link began to hack and slash at the gem. The Helmaroc Effigy spasmed from the shock of the blows. It shook its head wildly before Link fell off the head with a loud scream. As he fell down, Rainbow Dash arrived out of nowhere and grabbed Link. “Gotcha!” She said triumphantly. The Helmaroc Effigy looked below and roared loudly. Its stone eyes developed a nasty stare before it flew forward. Rainbow Dash looked below Link and grinned. “Looks like you hit it where it hurts. I’ll bring you up there for a second round.” She said confidently. Link simply replied with a shake of his head before Rainbow Dash soared above into the air and trailed behind the Helmaroc Effigy. The wind around it was slightly fiercer than before, but Rainbow Dash did not budge an inch from her path when she tailed the Helmaroc Effigy. As she neared the tail structure, Link jumped off from Rainbow Dash’s front hooves and landed onto the blocks with the use of the Roc’s Cape. Different from last time, the blocks swayed back and forth along with the pounding of the blocks. Link held his stance and maintained his balanced. He ran off of the first block and flew over to the next block with the aid of the Roc’s Cape. He timed the sways of the blocks with his jumps that allowed for him to make it across them and up to the head’s crest where the purple jewel was. As he unsheathed his sword, the purple gem flashed in an unusual colour. With quick reflexes, Link took out his shield and placed it in front of himself. The gem fired a laser against the shield and pushed him back a bit. In retaliation, Link performed a two-handed jumping swipe and slashed the gem. The Helmaroc Effigy became stunned for a moment before Link continued the onslaught of cuts. It spasmed once more before it violently shook its head. Link was swung off from the head and dropped down the sky, where Rainbow Dash flew past and grabbed him. “That thing is looking angrier than ever Link. Look!” As she said this, she pointed up towards the Helmaroc Effigy. Instead of its tan appearance, its blocks were now of a red-brown colour. The rate at which the blocks pounded out of it became erratic when compared to its standard rhythm and several flying orbs appeared from the back of the Helmaroc Effigy. They were red-brown and had a dark purple core. Each of them rained lasers down from the sky. Rainbow Dash swiftly dodged each of them. “This thing isn’t playing around now that’s for sure. Are you ready to bring me up one last time Rainbow Dash?” Link asked. “Of course I am Link. I’ll even keep those orbs distracted so that you’d have one less thing to worry about.” Rainbow Dash said confidently. Link nodded before she flew behind the Helmaroc Effigy. While the winds around it were at their most powerful, Rainbow Dash did not budge one bit. As she neared the tail, Link jumped off from Rainbow Dash’s grip and flew down towards the tail. Rainbow Dash flew out of the area and turned back to see the orbs moving about an erratic pattern. “You want a piece of me? Come get some!” She said before she flew into an orb and smashed it with a roundhouse kick. A bright, purple flash appeared in the air as Link jumped across the blocks. Despite the odd, difficult pattern with them, Link was able to hold his place in the air during his jumps and allowed him to temporarily hover above the blocks that would randomly push themselves back in. As Link jumped across each of the blocks, a block randomly pounded out from a higher position on the side and hit Link. He fell off of the Helmaroc Effigy and dropped past the air barrier. Rainbow Dash, who destroyed several cores, looked back and gasped in shock before she dashed towards Link’s aid. As Link Fell, she barely grasped his left hand with both of her hooves. “Gotcha! I wouldn't let you fall to your doom.” She stated with a smile of relief before Link went onto her back. The Helmaroc Effigy turned back towards Link and Rainbow Dash before its stone, blocky beak opened widely. A concentration of dark energy built up inside its mouth before a large, sweeping laser shot out of it. As the laser aimed towards the duo, Rainbow Dash barrel-rolled out of the way and spiralled around the laser. “Rainbow Dash! I think that we should try to perform a dual strike against that dark crystal on its forehead while we have the chance. What do you say?” Link asked with a devious smile on his face. “You had me at dual strike Link. Just be sure to distract those orbs and I’ll get us up there in ten seconds flat!” Rainbow Dash replied confidently. The orbs appeared behind Rainbow Dash’s tail. Link took out his crossbow and aimed it towards one of the cores. He placed a bolt within the bow and fired it towards the swarm of orbs. With expert precision, the orbs moved into the direction of the bolt’s path and all ended up destroyed. Flashes of dark explosions permeated the air before Rainbow Dash made it to the forehead of the Helmaroc Effigy. Link wore his Roc’s Cape and hopped off of Rainbow Dash’s back as soon as she was directly above the gem. Rainbow Dash dove down towards the crystal and reared her front right hoof for a punch while Link grasped his sword with two hands and dove downwards with it in a plunging position. The combination of the hoof strike and the diving sword struck the gem and caused a significant crack that ran down the middle of the crystal before it shattered. The Helmaroc Effigy’s eyes opened widely as the lines that ran down it disappeared. It cawed loudly before the instability without the energy caused the entire boss to explode. Both Rainbow Dash and Link fell down from the sky. Surprisingly, rather than fall into a void, the two of them fell back onto the tower where they first appeared at with no damage from the fall. “…We did it?” Rainbow Dash asked as she saw what remained of the boss fall down into the endless void. Link looked forward and saw a blue light appear towards the centre north of the tower followed by a crystalline heart container. “Hey! Fluttershy told me about that heart over there. So picking it up heals you completely?” She said as Link picked it up. "You got a Heart Container! Your maximum life energy is increased by one heart. Your life energy will be totally filled." “That’s right. If I collect these, then I’ll be able to survive anything.” Link stated happily. As he said this, his eyes looked over towards the floating orb inside of the light. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened considerably at the sight. “There it is! That’s the Element!” She stated as she ran over into the light. Link ran into the light along with Rainbow Dash and touched the orb inside. “You got the Element of Loyalty! This is one of the Elements needed to stop Nightmare Moon! As Link touched it, both Link and Rainbow Dash ascended into the light before they disappeared completely. They reappeared in the world full of clouds and perpetually flowing waterfalls once again standing on a high pillar. "Wow! This place is weird." Rainbow Dash said looking around. "I find it kind of peaceful." Link said shrugging. "Hey who's that?" She asked looking over at another pillar similar to the one they were standing on. Standing on the other pillar was cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail, wearing a blue cloak with yellow lightning bolts on it. The Pegasus softly smiled at her as he nodded his head before they were surrounded by a bright light which blinded them. “You did awesome…” A voice whispered in Rainbow's ear.