The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
November 25, 2014
Chapter 8: Dazzle of the Great Fairy.
The Lizalfos landed and began to swarm around me, and I could nothing at first due to my vision still being impaired. Pinkie Pine was working feverishly on shattering the boulder which had trapped her leg, and Spike chose to hide under my hat because he wasn't able to fight at all. Despite not being able to see them clearly, I no longer heard their footsteps which meant they had stopped, and were keeping their distance in order to ascertain that I was no threat to them. If they had been smarter, they would have attacked me there and then, and quite possibly ended it for me.
By choosing to wait and see if I was dangerous, it gave me some time to focus my magic so that I could use it without my hands or my eyes. Long ago, Princess Celestia taught me how to channel my magic so that it could flow forth without the need of my horn. I honestly wished that I could have learned all of the secrets of such a technique, but my lust for power made that notion impossible. However, I had learned enough to achieve what I needed to do.
Once the Lizalfos finally made their move, I unleashed a powerful magic burst which sent them all flying. About half of them fell into the lava pool and found themselves defeated due to not being able to climb back out, and the other half managed to prevent themselves from falling in. This latter group were pretty winded, and it would take them a few moments to get back on their feet.
" Whoa! I've never seen anything like that before," commented Pinkie Pie.
" That took a lot more out of me than I assumed, so it's left me drained of my magic for a short while. I guess I need to practice that technique so that it doesn't affect me quite like this in the future," I said.
" You've done enough with these Lizalfos, so why don't you let me take care of things so that you can work on getting your eyes working again," said Pinkie Pie.
" But what your leg?" I asked.
" We Gorons can handle things much worse than a sprained leg otherwise we would stand no chance against our enemies. My leg is definitely going to sting for a while, but it will heal itself in no time so long as I don't put any kind of pressure on it. Now then, time for me to smash some Lizalfos with my trusty hammer! Oh, and also get this boulder off of my leg while I'm at it," replied Pinkie Pie. With one swing of her hammer, she shattered the boulder and managed to get back onto her feet without any trouble.
I didn't notice, but her injured leg did wobble which made her wince with pain a little bit, but she was determined to fight no matter what injury plagued her. Within a matter of moments, Pinkie smashed the remaining Lizalfos before dropping her hammer and falling to the ground in order to take some weight off of her leg. As for me, I had to wait for about five minutes for the shrapnel in my eyes to finally clear up enough for me to wipe away the rest without causing any damage.
" Now that my sight is finally back to normal, I can see that the bars on the doors have finally opened up which means we can get out of this room, and make some actual progress for a change. As for you Darunia, your leg doesn't look really good, so maybe you should have some kind of sling on it so that it can heal. We need to take things a bit more cautiously as my magic is tapped until I've had enough time to recharge it," I said.
" Why would you want me to use a sling?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" You don't mean to continue walking around on that leg of yours do you?" I asked.
" If my Brothers saw me walking around with my leg taped up, it would cause them to freak out as they view me as being a Goron who doesn't allow anything to slow her down no matter what it is. My sister on the other hand would never stop laughing at me. Heh, despite her being monotone and having the personality of a rock, Maud's pretty good when it comes to poking fun for the sake of poking fun. Anyway, this injury won't last for very long as I can recover very quickly, so it looks like I'll have to handle some of the workload while you get your magic back in order," replied Pinkie Pie.
" But if you start to do what I'm supposed to do, then me earning the spiritual stone will lose all meaning," I said.
" Are you still on about that? That was just me flexing my authority as Big Boss of the Gorons, but in truth you have to come to understand that you can't do everything by yourself even if you think otherwise. I could never lead my people on my own as my personality makes me stubborn, and that would surely lead everyone to their deaths. That's why I turn to Maud for advice as her stoic personality compliments my own personality as she is able to handle situations which would cause me to lose control.
While it's okay for you to want to do things on your own Sunset Shimmer, there are times where you should rely on your friends to help you out. Right now, you can't use your magic which is how you fight, so as a friend I'm helping you out by taking care of any monsters that may come our way. Solving the puzzles around here is so totally your department as that's a skill I don't quite often use enough," said Pinkie Pie as she smiled a huge grin.
" Guess I can't argue with logic like that," I said.
" And I can't even comprehend what I just said, but as long as you understand then that's what matters. Okay, we've delayed things long enough, so let's get going to the next room," said Pinkie Pie. She then walked slowly over to the door we needed to go through to progress, and she was doing her best not to showcase the fact that her leg was still in pain. I smiled briefly before following her and opening the door to the next room.
Upon entering this new room, a familiar sound could be heard from a distance as well as another familiar sound to accompany the first. Pinkie gritted her teeth and swung her hammer around a few times as she knew exactly what it was. " Dodongos....just like the one that entered the city by burrowing from here into there, but these ones will be the standard size compared to the other one. I'm guessing that there are at least three of them based on the sounds echoing, so we should take them on one at a time, and not attract the attention of the other two."
" You can probably smash them with your hammer, but your leg is going to slow you down more than usual. My magic as I said is tapped until I can recover, and my Fairy Slingshot may not work due to their tails being a small target. Sometimes I wish that I had obtained some kind of sword as it would have made things a lot more bearable than relying on my magic for everything. The embarrassing part is that I don't even know how to swing about a sword, so having one on my person would just bog me down with some weight," I said.
" Then why not use a substitute sword," began Pinkie Pie.
" A what?" I asked.
" Just give me a second and I'll explain it to you," replied Pinkie Pie. She then walked over to a small jar that was located on the ground, and smashed it with her bare fist revealing several sticks that looked more like twigs. " These are Deku Sticks which once were a part of the Great Deku Tree according to what travelers have said. While it may look like a harmless twig, this stick can inflict a lot of damage on any unsuspecting foe, so why not use one of them and whack some Dodongos?"
" You're kidding me right?" I asked.
" No, I don't think so," replied Pinkie Pie.
" You want me to strike those Dodongos....with a stick!?!? Why don't I just walk up to them and tell them here I am! Come and get me! If anything, the only use I could possibly see with a Deku Stick would be to light it on fire and use it as a torch," I said.
" Well of course Deku Sticks are used as torches as that's what most people tend to do with them, but few people use them as swords which is a crying shame. While it's true that these sticks snap in two when they connect with something strong, they are pretty common all over the place if you look hard enough. All I'm saying to you is to give the whole use-a-stick-as-a-weapon routine a try, you might find out just how effective it really is.
Of course, you won't be going into that den of Dodongos alone as that would be just plain silly. I'll be there right behind you as like you said, my leg makes me slower than usual, so you'll be running headlong into battle ushering a battle cry, and I'll be picking up the rear using my own battle cry," said Pinkie Pie. Was she actually serious about me using a stick in order to strike the tail of a dinosaur? Sigh, I really didn't want to go through with this, but I had little choice in the matter, so I picked up all of the Deku Sticks and ran into the main area of the room where the Dodongos were.
Dodging their flames was easy enough, and upon hitting the closest one near me with a Deku Stick, it fell to the ground and exploded a few seconds later. The stick naturally snapped in two essentially making it worthless. Perhaps the scariest part was knowing this was a really effect tactic, or that Pinkie was right about something so bizarre. In any case, defeating the other two Dodongos was simple enough, but now I had only one stick left.
" Just the one stick left now, and judging from that one torch way back there and these three unlit torches here, I'll need to set them all ablaze in order to unlock the next door which should lead us back into the main room according to the map. Maybe that switch Spike mentioned is on the other side of the door, and pressing it will allow us to proceed to the other side of this floor," I suggested.
" Then you should solve this puzzle not only because you figured it out, but also because you can run faster than me. When a Deku Stick gets set on fire, it burns out in about 10 seconds so you need to be quick. Funny enough, if a burning Deku Stick reacts with something else that's burning, the 10 seconds are reset giving you more time to do what you need to do. Well, that's what some traveler once told me, so I don't know if what I said is going to work.
Either way, you'll need to make this one count otherwise we're pretty much out of luck, but no pressure," said Pinkie Pie. No pressure she says....that's quite an understatement if I ever heard one. But, she was right about me being the only one who could do this, so I ran over to where the torch was, set the stick on fire, and ran back the other way lighting the other torches one by one. This caused the bars on the door to rise allowing us access to the main room, but from a different entrance as opposed to what we used before.
On the other side of the door a few metres down the hall was the switch which I stepped on without even realizing it. This caused the bars on the farthest away door to rise which meant we could finally go through there and see what lied beyond. I was able to jump over the gaps as before, but Pinkie had to climb down a ladder in order to make it over there. Then I realized that she had to cross the pool of lava to reach the ladder on the other side.
" Wait! If you walk into that lava pool, you'll end up being burned alive," I said.
" That only apples to you other tribes, for we Gorons are resilient when it comes to fire and lava. We love the heat of lava as it makes for quite a relaxing bath, so for me, walking in this pool of lava would be like walking outside in a heavy rainstorm. You just wait right there Sunset Shimmer, and I'll join you in just a moment. Besides, my leg could do with the soothing warmth of lava right about now," said Pinkie Pie.
Lava is soothing to her? I really should have paid more attention to Rainbow Dash back in the human world as whenever it looks like I'm about to get a full grasp of my surroundings, something else comes in and leaves me utterly confused. It didn't take long for Pinkie to walk across the lava, and climb up the ladder to join me again, and we entered the now unlocked door which lead into a room that contained a strange column surrounded on all sides by Bomb Flowers with another one suspiciously growing to the side.
" I've never seen this many Bomb Flowers before," commented Spike.
" You've been awfully quiet as of late," I said.
" Well, you and Darunia have been getting along and being all buddy-buddy, so I figured that I wouldn't interrupt as I'm just a fairy. Besides, your head is so warm under your hat that I ended up falling asleep while you two were having all kinds of moments and awkward moments. Now then, do you notice how these Bomb Flowers have been arranged around this column? Do you think it's possible to blow them all up at once?" asked Spike.
" If I used that one flower off to the side, then I should be able to blow them all up, but then where would be the best place to put it? I can't just pick it up, throw it, and hope for the best," I replied.
" There is a gap in-between those two Bomb Flowers right there for another one to be placed, and that should cause a chain reaction setting off the others. If you two look upwards towards the top of this column, you'll see that it isn't a column but rather a staircase. I know you'll be able to climb up those stairs Sunset Shimmer, but Darunia may not be able to what with her leg still being injured. That's not the only problem that I can see for our Goron friend," said Spike.
" What else is there?" I asked.
" There were two catwalks back in the main room which connect this area with the one on the other side, and they were pretty high up if I remember correctly. You can easily make it across those catwalks, but Darunia wouldn't be able to because of an innate fear that she and other Gorons have. They have a big problem when it comes to dealing with heights, and don't like falling of any kind as they tend to do so really fast due to their weight. If I was her, I would probably head back into the main room, and shout to us from below in order to give out any kind of advice. Of course, I don't know what she plans on doing as I'm not her," replied Spike.
" Is this true?" I asked.
" We Gorons aren't fans of high places even though we live on a mountain where elevated areas are all over the place. We can handle small heights without any problems, but your fairy friend is right in that we can't handle extreme heights of any kind," replied Pinkie Pie.
" Next you'll be telling me that you can't handle water," I said.
" Yeah....about that," began Pinkie Pie.
" Are you serious?" I asked.
" We don't like going into any body of water because we would simply drown if we waded in too deeply. Because we are heavy, we would sink like rocks unlike other creatures who would simply swim about in the water. That's why you never see a Goron travel up Zora's River or travel down to Lake Hylia in the south as those places are literally death traps for us. I guess that I just got so much into the excitement of this adventure, that I forgot all about the areas of the Dodongo's Cavern that are too high for me to traverse in fear of my height problem. Your fairy is also right about me having to go back into the other room, and quite possibly shout out at you," replied Pinkie Pie.
" But what about your leg?" I asked.
" My leg will be just fine as there are no more monsters back in the main room. If there were any stragglers about, I'd introduce them to my hammer which would make any others think twice about wanting to mess with me. I know you want me to continue on with you onto the second floor, but I would prove to be more of a liability than helpful, and you can't afford to have that kind of burden. As my friend, you can understand and accept why I need to remain here on the first floor, but know that I won't abandon you as that would be going against my Goron instincts," replied Pinkie Pie.
" Well, if this is what needs to happen, I guess you can wait for us to do whatever we have to do on the second floor," I said. That was definitely a crushing blow if I ever heard and/or felt one knowing that Pinkie couldn't continue on at least for the time being. I did feel sorry for her not being able to withstand heights, as the Pinkie Pie I knew defied logic all the time by either walking on the ceiling, or using a balloon and floating up to the ceiling, so this felt bittersweet because this Pinkie couldn't break reality.
As she left the room to wait for us to finish, I picked up the lone Bomb Flower and placed it in the gap where it fit, and it caused the chain reaction Spike said was going to happen. The column sank down until the staircase was revealed which enabled me to climb it and reach the second floor. After having to solve another puzzle that involved moving a heavy statue around, Spike and I found ourselves in the main room once again, but this time we were up much higher. The catwalks he mentioned earlier were rather rickety at best which made me understand why Pinkie wasn't willing to want to attempt to cross over either one.
" Even though this catwalk and the other one have seen better days, and that the ropes holding them up look as though they could snap at any moment, you have no choice but to cross over if you want to get to the other side and progress. You just have to take it very slowly as there are no guard rails to save you if you were to suddenly fall, and those Fire Keese that are flying about could cause some problems. Using the Fairy Slingshot on them should get rid of them and make the crossing easier," said Spike.
" I can't believe that Darunia didn't want to come up here and assist us further," I said.
" What she said about the Gorons and heights is true Sunset Shimmer, and she didn't want to be a burden on your journey as deep down she knows that you are on a mission to save this world from Ganondorf. The mission is the most important thing in Darunia's heart, and is aware that you can't stop for any reason otherwise you'd be risking the lives of countless people just to ensure the safety and well-being of one. While it sounds like both of us are being overly critical and maybe even cruel, you have to remember that you need to use both your head and your heart as one entity rather than let one dictate the other and your actions. Right now, her place is below us waiting for us to return from exploring the area on the other side of this catwalk," said Spike.
" Yes, I suppose you're right Spike, but I still feel bad knowing that she isn't able to help out. Also, since when did this journey suddenly turn itself into a mission? I believe that the princess said that I had to receive the spiritual stones as a means of preventing Ganondorf from entering the Sacred Realm and claiming the Triforce, and that she never indicated that it was a mission. Her attendant also didn't indicate it that way, so the idea that this is just a mission is rather hard to believe it like that. If anything, I'd say that this was a journey of self-discovery, going up against incredible odds, and proving to myself that I can be a great heroine if I live up to my own expectations," I said.
" That was pretty deep right there," said Spike.
" I suppose it was which is kind of odd seeing as before I started this journey, I never would have thought of this as being a journey to discover who I am, and what I'm really capable of doing. Instead, I would have viewed this whole experience as me having to do this in order to redeem myself for the actions I committed in the past when my heart was filled with greed and the desire for power.
In a way, I still feel my journey is for me to atone for my mistakes as believe me, I made a lot of them; more than I would like to admit to anyone. Think of me however you want to Spike now that I've gone and said that, but it won't change my opinion of myself no matter what you or anyone else says. I agreed to this quest in order to save the world, but I'm also doing it for a reason that isn't just redemption, discovery, and learning my true potential. I'm doing this so that I can return to my own world along with everyone else here who is meant to be there," I said.
With that out of the way, I started to make my way across the catwalk taking things one step at a time so as to not fall off, and plunge to what could very well be my certain death. I saw Pinkie Pie down below, and all she did was raise her hammer as a means of showing me that she was supporting my efforts despite not travelling alongside me for a while. After what felt like an eternity due to not wanting to fall, and defeating a pair of bothersome Fire Keese, I reached the other side and walked forward into a room where I heard the sounds of what was metal scratching across the ground, and it was coming from below me. I looked down and saw that there were spiked balls sliding back and forth in a set pattern in what looked like cramped hallways.
" What are those things?" I asked.
" Those are known as spiked traps which serve as an obstacle for anyone who wanted to explore this place. No one knows where exactly they came from, or who put them here to begin with, but they can't be destroyed by any means. They will slide into you and damage you if you're not careful, but their pattern is very basic, so avoiding them is pretty simple. Guess this means it's time for one of those leaps of faith you've been doing for a while now....huh? Hey, Sunset Shimmer? Are you listening to me?" asked Spike.
" I heard what you said about those traps Spike, but it's that big treasure chest over there that's caught my attention," I replied.
" Do you think it might contain a new weapon for you just like what happened in the Great Deku Tree with the Fairy Slingshot?" asked Spike.
" Most likely which means I need to make my way over there and get it. Hmmmm....I don't think I can quite make it even if I were to leap onto that small ledge and attempted to make a big leap over to the chest. Let me just take out that map for a moment and see what it shows. Hmmmm....hmmmm....according to the map, if we keep going the way we're headed, we'll end up in the very room where those Lizalfos ambushed us. Then if we keep following the route, it will take us back to the treasure chest. Why not just give me a ways of reaching it without having to go out of my way," I replied.
" As that would be too easy?" asked Spike.
" Your sarcasm never ceases to amaze me," I moaned as I began to make my way across the room avoiding the spiked traps. Leaping from the top of the ladder down to the ground placed me in-between the traps, but I remained calm as I didn't want to become a life-sized pin cushion. Waiting for the perfect opportunity, I slipped past the traps only to find that I needed to pull out a block to be able to climb up a ladder, and upon doing that and climbing up, I was stuck facing another wall.
Luckily, there was a Bomb Flower on the ledge I noticed before, and used it in order to blow up the wall giving me access. The next room was simple enough as all it required me to do was to hit a switch with the slingshot in order to get past a wall of flame, and then came the room after that where Pinkie Pie and I had gotten into a lot of trouble. " No bars came down behind us as we entered, and there are none on that door over there. I wonder if some of those Lizalfos were meant to fight us up here, but instead they wanted to take care of us down below due to being impatient?"
" If that's true then this room is just an empty one devoid of anything apart from the pool of lava," replied Spike.
" Maybe, but I still feel uneasy being back in here knowing we almost didn't make it out alive," I said.
" Then let's move onto the next room before something does happen, and we end up regretting it," said Spike. I couldn't agree with him more, so I entered the adjacent door and eventually made my way back to where the treasure was, and upon opening it up, I pulled out what appeared to be an ordinary bag which made my smile shatter as I was expecting something else besides this.
" We worked hard to make it all the way through this place, and all I end up getting out of it is a bag!" I shouted.
" That's no ordinary bag you found there Sunset Shimmer. It's actually a Bomb Bag which was made from a Dodongo's stomach, and is used to carry bombs around. If I'm right and I most likely am, that rustling sound coming from inside of the bag is bombs, so that makes this quite the lucky find. Perhaps one of the Gorons placed this Bomb Bag into the chest as a means of safe-keeping, and was planning on coming back for it later, but hasn't been able to due to the outbreak of Dodongos," said Spike.
" Okay, I've counted the number of bombs inside of this bag, and the total is 20, so no need to rely on Bomb Flowers when I have my own explosives to utilize. I think I'll keep wearing this Goron's Bracelet as another memento of sorts as a reminder of what I've experienced here on Death Mountain. While 20 bombs is a good number, I'll need to conserve these and only use them for when I need them. Since Darunia did say that anything I find in here which can be useful to my quest is mine to keep, this Bomb Bag is going to be very useful," I smiled.
" Feeling better now?" asked Spike.
" Much better," I replied.
" If you find yourself running low on bombs, you can always purchase some more from the Goron Shop in their city, or at the Bazaar the next time you decide to pay a visit to Hyrule Castle Town. If money is going to be an issue for you, then you can acquire some bombs by cutting the grass and/or shrubbery, or getting some by defeating enemies. It all sounds weird I know, but these are useful ways to ensure that your stock is full, and you won't be freaking out over running low," said Spike.
Taking those words to mind, I walked onward until we arrived in the main room once again....this was starting to become quite the habit for this place wasn't it? The second catwalk was to the right and it was situated right over that King Dodongo skull which gives off the big creepy factor this room had. Ugh! Seeing that skull up close wasn't exactly my idea of pleasant, but then I noticed that the catwalk had two pieces missing from it, and below each of the gaps were the empty eye sockets of the skull. There was a plaque nearby with a message which I then began to read.
" Giant, dead Dodongo....when it sees red, a new path shall be opened," I read.
" What do you think it means?" asked Spike.
" When it sees red....if anything were to see red, it would mean that its eyes had been painted red, or something hit them causing the colour red to obscure their vision. I wonder if it means having to do something to that skull over there. Every time I look at that thing, it just creeps me out to no end. Hmmmm....since it's dead and all, it can't really see anything as it's just a lifeless husk, but then what if I were to drop a bomb into each of the eye sockets? It sounds a little cruel I know, but it won't feel a thing seeing as it doesn't do so period. But, what if that theory is wrong and something else has to be done? With only 20 bombs at my disposal and no Bomb Flowers nearby, I don't have the luxury of just simply trying numerous methods until something works," I replied.
" Do you suppose Saria might know something?" asked Spike.
" I don't think so as this is a place I feel the spirits of the forest wouldn't be able to reach," I replied.
" Then what about Darunia? She recognized that skull when we first entered the Dodongo's Cavern, so maybe she has an idea as to what can be done. I hope you're good at shouting Sunset Shimmer as she's all the way down there, and we're all the way up here," said Spike. He made a good point regarding Pinkie having a good idea as to what I was supposed to do, but did I really have to shout? Sigh....there was no alternative other than to hope that my throat doesn't get too sore.
" Hello down there!" I shouted.
" So you managed to make it all the way up there on your own? See? I told you that you could go on without having to worry about me. My leg has completely healed which means I'm back to full fighting form and itching to make some noise," said Pinkie.
" I seem to be stuck with a problem!" I shouted.
" What kind of problem?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" There's this message about this King Dodongo skull having to see read in order to open up a new path, but I don't see how it can even see anything due to it not being alive anymore. My theory was to drop a bomb onto each of the empty eye sockets, and see if that can make it see red, but I wanted to know if you knew what I'm supposed to be doing up here," I replied.
" Oh, that little riddle of sorts huh? Yeah, it's stumped a lot of people over the years because they can't see past the obvious, and attempt to figure it out using the most ridiculous of complications. Do I know the solution? Of course I do silly otherwise how else would I know about there being a room behind the skull? So yeah, to open up the mouth, all you have to do is drop bombs into the eyes in order to light them up which does sound strange when you think about it. Dodongos have never been a fan of bombs, and it was these which ended up costing that King Dodongo its life according to what our ancestors left behind in their journals," said Pinkie Pie.
" There was a lot of that I couldn't even understand," I said.
" It's best not to think about it too much otherwise you're liable to get a headache out of it," smiled Pinkie Pie. I dropped a bomb into each empty eye socket which caused them to light up bright red as though something had set them ablaze. Then a rumbling sound occurred that resulted in the skull's mouth dropping open and revealing a door at the back of the throat.
Unbelievable! Even back in the human world, Pinkie Pie constantly defied reality by doing things and knowing stuff that she couldn't possible do and know, yet here in Hyrule it was even more unbelievable because of how ridiculous some of these legends, riddles, and puzzles have been set up.
" See? There is the way onwards to the room that lies beyond the skull. By the way, I know you're probably thinking about walking all the way back down here, but that's going to take way too long. So, you can either hitch a ride on this moving platform by hitting the switch you somehow missed, or you can jump off and I'll catch you before you smack into the ground."
" Excuse me?" I asked.
" I said I'll catch you if you jump," replied Pinkie Pie.
" I know you said that, but are you kidding me? If I jump from all the way up here, you'll only have a few seconds to attempt to catch me, and if you miss then I'm liable to break a lot of bones, and quite possibly die. Like you, I don't like high places, but then I'm not as sturdy as you are," I said.
" There's always the switch," suggested Pinkie Pie. After pondering it over for a few moments, I decided to take the easy approach, and press the switch in order to make it down safely, but then I made my mistake by running back along the catwalk when I knew that I should have walked. After taking a few steps, I accidentally slipped and fell off the side landing on top of the skull's nose, and then I slid down the face and fell off of the chin where Pinkie caught me by holding her arms up allowing me to land firmly on top of them.
" Wow! I didn't even think of using the skull as a makeshift slide! That must have been so much fun!" Fun wasn't exactly the word I was thinking of when my life was flashing before my eyes, but at least I made it back down. Pinkie then put me down and we proceeded to enter the door, and the next room was a bit on the dark side with nothing of interest apart from a small hole in the center of the room, and a block was perched on a ledge that was a bit too high to reach. I walked over to the hole in order to see what lied within, and there was another blue switch which meant something heavy needed to be placed on it....the block was just the thing.
" It looks like we'll have to go the long way around as we need that block on that ledge to act as a weight to activate the pressure switch. The map does indicate that we can climb onto that smaller ledge over there, and walk into the room it leads to, but there's no telling as to what kind of danger may be lurking beyond," I said.
" Or we can take the easy approach and I can get that block down for you," said Pinkie Pie.
" And how do you plan on doing that?" I asked.
" You'll see what I mean in just a few seconds," replied Pinkie Pie. She walked over to where the block was perched and she eyed it for a few moments before eyeing the wall, and that was when she started to smash the wall with her hammer repeatedly in the same spot until she changed to a different spot and continued to repeat her hammer strikes before switching yet again to a different spot. At first I thought that she had lost it and was merely trying to have a little bit of fun at my expense, but then I looked up and noticed that the block was shifting its way towards the edge which made me realize that Pinkie was a genius.
She was using the force of the hammer blows to manipulate the block, and she adjusted the position so as to keep up the pressure without causing it to move in the other direction. Eventually, the block fell down where Pinkie caught it with one hand and quickly threw it into the hole where the pressure switch was. I have to admit that she has quite the dexterity to be able to pull of a stunt like that. In any case, the activated switch caused the bars on the nearby door to rise up, and we entered the next room which consisted of a dead-end.
" This is nothing but a dead-end, so why go to all that trouble with the pressure switch just to lock a door that leads to nowhere?" I asked.
" Do you feel the heat coming from below?" asked Spike.
" Now that you mention it, I am feeling a strong surge of heat, which means that there must be another room right below us. Given how the Dodongo's Cavern had numerous walls which could be blown up in order to reveal new passageways, I suspect that using a bomb on the floor somewhere in here will give us the same result. Now let me see where I would need to use a bomb," I replied.
I then got onto my hands and knees and started to tap the ground so as to determine where the weakest part of it was. After tapping in a few places, I tapped another spot which sounded different from the previous ones. " Pay dirt!" This must be the correct spot, so I took out a bomb and placed it down and scurried away before I got caught in the blast. A hole appeared after the explosion, and it revealed another room which had a large pool of lava which was where the source of the heat was coming from.
" Well, the only way we can move on is by going down this hole and into the room below. My magic still hasn't recovered, so I'll have to rely on using what I've got for weapons to deal with whatever we find down there. What about you Darunia? The drop isn't quite too high, but you may want to sit this one out in case you feel that you won't enjoy that particular experience.
" Nah! That drop distance isn't quite so bad as the one back in the main room, so expect me to come along with you and fight to my heart's content. I am concerned though about the fact that your magical powers haven't come back to you yet. You must have used up an awful lot when we dealt with those Lizalfos earlier, but I would have thought you'd have made a full recovery by now just like I have with my leg," said Pinkie Pie.
" When I use too much magic like I did back there, it strains me to the point where I get exhausted. Perhaps I need a good night's sleep so that I can relax and allow my magic to get a proper means of recovery, but sleeping is the last thing I need right now especially with where we are. It may be crazy that I'm going into this without my ace, but there isn't much say in the matter other than to make the best of the situation ," I said. With that little bit of self-doubt out of the way, I dropped down into the hole with Pinkie Pie following right behind me, and it turned out that the room below was massive to say the least. Judging from what we could see in front of us, the vapours of heat were enough to make most people faint after a while, but no doubt Pinkie was used to it, and my fire magic made me appreciate it.
" It's quiet," commented Spike. I wish that he hadn't said that because the moment he did, a loud stomping sound reverberated throughout the room, and was followed by several more stomps as though something big were approaching behind us.
" What is that?" I asked.
" Uh, Sunset Shimmer? I think you ought to turn around right now as the answer to your question is coming this way," replied Spike. I quickly turned around in order to see what he was talking about, and I immediately froze in terror at the sight of a massive dinosaur-like monster stomping its way toward us. It then came to a stop before rearing its head up and roaring before it proceeded to breathe in deeply.
I was wondering why it was suddenly doing something so weird, but then that wonder shattered immediately when it breathed out a huge burst of flame that traveled half-way around the room before fading away. That was when the dinosaur curled up into a ball and began to roll around in the same direction it blasted out the ball of flame before crashing into a wall half-way around the room before rightening itself and stomping back towards us.
" What in Equestria?" I asked.
" That's a King Dodongo! Remember that giant Dodongo whose skull served as a creepy fixture, and its spine was used as a support beam for the ceiling? Well, this is what one looks like when it's alive, has its skin, and its bones are in the proper places. It may be not be fast when it comes to moving about and attacking, but that ball of flame it shoots from its mouth is pretty difficult to avoid.
You were lucky enough that you managed to use your Hylian Shield to protect yourself otherwise we'd be seeing roasted Sunset Shimmer on that guy's dinner menu tonight. Every time it breathes out fire, it will immediately follow with its infamous Dodongo Roll where it will attempt to roll you over with its massive bulk before coming to a stop, and then making its way back to repeat the process," replied Spike.
" Is that all it does?" I asked.
" Yes as a matter of fact which makes you wonder if you should take pity on it, or be thankful that it doesn't know any other means of attack," replied Spike. King Dodongo at this point had finally stomped its way back to our location, and proceeded to breathe in again which meant we had to prepare. Pinkie simply walked into the pool of lava and stood there unfazed due to being a Goron. I shouldn't have looked at her though as I ignored what was about to come my way. When I turned my attention back to the king, it unleashed another burst of flame, and I chose to run as fast as I could in the hopes of somehow avoiding it before I get cooked.
" Whoa-whoa-whoa, WHOAH!" I shouted as I ran and reached one of the corners of the room and pressed my back against the wall. The flame ball shot past me and faded away after traveling half-way around the room, but the heat vapour coming from it was something that I felt touch my skin in an awful way. " Seriously speaking here, I can't just play a defensive tactic as that would just involve me either running and screaming, or using my shield and hoping that it doesn't break or somehow melt. Darunia, can't you use your hammer and knock some sense out of this thing?"
" Of course I can do something like that, but first we'd need to knock the wind out of King Dodongo before I can make a strike," replied Pinkie Pie.
" So then how do we knock it down?" I asked.
" Since this Dodongo is essentially a giant-sized version of the regular ones we saw after that situation involving the Lizalfos, it must have the same weaknesses. You have bombs at your disposal this time Sunset Shimmer, so you can use them in order to give King Dodongo a serious case of indigestion. When its mouth opens up when it attempts to breathe in and unleash that burst of flame, that should be the right time to toss a bomb in there. Then when it receives a shock from having its stomach blown up on the inside, Darunia can smash its tail, or pretty much any part of its body as a means of wounding it. She'll be handling the damage while you Sunset will have to handle the bomb tossing," replied Spike.
" Does that sound like a plan to you?" I asked Pinkie.
" As long as I get to do my thing and smash this thing to pieces, I'll follow along with any plan you might come up with," replied Pinkie. So I pretty much have the harder of the two tasks, but I guess this was destined to be. As King Dodongo stomped its way towards me at its pace of movement, I waited for the moment which had to be when its mouth was open as it breathes in for its fireball attack. Once it got close enough, it came to a stop and began the process of attack, and when its mouth was open just wide enough, I tossed a bomb inside and moved backwards.
It was kind of disgusting how this thing likes to chew and swallow, but the bomb exploded inside of its stomach causing it to fall down. That's when Pinkie ran up and bashed it right in the head before returning to the center of the pool of lava. Once King Dodongo had gotten back up, it curled into a ball and started to roll towards me. My reaction time wasn't really enough, so I found myself running away from what I would describe was a runaway boulder with scales.
" Not enjoying this!" I shouted.
" You need to live for the moment Sunset Shimmer, and enjoy the experience for what it's worth," laughed Pinkie Pie. Easy for her to say when she isn't being chased around by a fire-breathing dinosaur. Once it stopped, King Dodongo then repeated the process again, and this was kind of sad that this was all it was capable of. For the next five minutes or so, I repeated the process of throwing bombs into its mouth, and Pinkie dealing out the blows with her hammer, but when she hit it for the fifth time, it reared up onto its back legs as though it were in immense pain.
It then started to roll around the room before it tipped over into the pool of lava, and Pinkie had to get out before she found herself getting squashed. King Dodongo then sank into the lava and attempted to get back out, but it was stuck and eventually the lava hardened and caused the poor creature to wind up being burned alive.
" That was a rather morbid way to go," I said.
" Huzzah! Victory is ours! But, I do agree with you in that it was a rather gruesome way to go, but then sometimes you have to deal with the fact that when defeating giant monsters like this, the end result isn't always a pleasant thing to experience. Take it from me, I've seen my share of things like this, and even now it makes me feel uneasy sometimes, but I've had to become tough so as to set a good example for my people. You don't need to enjoy doing this sort of thing," said Pinkie Pie.
" It looks like your sister isn't the only one who is good at pep talks," I smiled.
" Yeah, she gave me some pointers on how best to do those. In any case, King Dodongo has been defeated, and it was quite the battle. This was exactly what I needed in order to let off that steam I had from being in a bad mood, and now I feel content knowing that I got to smash something. By the way, you should take that giant heart-like object that just appeared next to the corpse.
I don't know what it means exactly, but you should take it with you as you earned it for defeating something without relying on your magic," said Pinkie Pie. I walked over to the Heart Container and picked it up whereupon it made me feel warmer just like what happened before. Then the same blue light from before appeared, and I walked into it in order to return back outside where Pinkie and I ended up outside of the entrance to the cavern. " Ha-ha! Now that was a seriously wild adventure! No doubt that it will become the stuff of legends one of these days! But, I guess in a way that all of this is sort of my fault now that I'm being serious again."
" Now what has brought that up?" I asked.
" If only I had known what that Gerudo thief Ganondorf was planning, a lot of what has happened this past week could have been avoided. I allowed my own emotions to cloud my judgment, and it almost destroyed Kakariko Village, but you risked your very life in order to help us. Ha! I'm really liking you now Sunset Shimmer, so how about you and I become Sworn Brothers? There is no big ceremony or anything like that, so as a sign of my friendship, I want you to have that which you came all the way here for....the Spiritual Stone of Fire," replied Pinkie Pie.
" Sworn Brothers?" I asked.
" We Gorons take pride with the fact that we view trust as being the most important of values, next to rocks, and family of course. You have earned both my trust and my friendship, and that is why I feel that you are worthy to become my Sworn Brother," replied Pinkie Pie as she handed over the spiritual stone to me. This now made two stones in my collection with one more left to find. Perhaps I should see Twilight first to let her know that I obtained the spiritual stone from Pinkie, and it would also give me an opportunity to speak to Applejack regarding Equestrian Magic.
" Brother! You continue to sharpen up those skills of yours okay? There are many more trials out there with your name on them waiting for you to conquer them. I know something that you can do right now seeing as you do have a Bomb Bag, and that is go to the very peak of Death Mountain. There is a Great Fairy who lives up there, and if you talk to her, I'm sure that she will be able to power you up with her magic. You should be able to make it up there and back down here in about an hour if you're fast enough, so why not come back to Goron City after paying the Great Fairy a visit? You can spend the night in my room, and totally call it a slumber party."
" I was told back down in the village that Death Mountain is an active volcano. Is this true?" I asked.
" What you heard was correct as the mountain has been known to spew forth rocks of fire from the peak the closer you get to the top. None of the rocks have ever made it down this far, so the problem will start to become evident as you climb to the peak. You do have that strong shield on your back, so that should be enough to get you to where you need to go. Well, I must return to the city and inform my Brothers that the Dodongo's Cavern has been cleared of the creatures, and that we can return to digging in there and eating enough rocks until our stomachs burst," replied Pinkie Pie. She then turned around and started to walk back home swinging her hammer about without a care in the world leaving Spike and I to ponder our next move.
" So what do you think we should do next?" I asked.
" What Darunia said about the Great Fairy is true. As the leader of the fairies of Hyrule, she knows many things. Her magical powers are very vast, and make yours look like a joke, but I mean no offence to you as she does possess a strong affinity towards the magical arts. If you didn't have that Hylian Shield with you, I'd have suggested for you to go back to Hyrule Castle Town, and buy one at the Bazaar, but since you have one on your person, we can make the climb before the sun goes down which should be in about a couple of hours," replied Spike.
" Considering that the peak of the mountain is way up high, and we're about at the half-way point from the start which is Kakariko Village and the peak, I'd say that we can make it up there in about an hour. Since I have bombs on hand, we can blow up those boulders that were blocking the path that one Goron said was the way to go. I've never climbed up a mountain before in my entire life, but I guess now is as good a time as any to try it out," I said.
With that, I began the long trek towards the top of Death Mountain which started with blowing up the boulders so that I could leap from ledge to ledge in order to make it to the upper path. This new path actually went downhill for a short period before rising back up, and far off in the distance was a large mass of vines covering up a section of the wall. " Guess I'm also going to see if I can prove myself to be a competent rock climber based on those vines way off in the distance."
" You'd better take out that shield and have it above your head," suggested Spike.
" Why above?" I asked.
" Darunia confirmed to us what that woman Anju said back in the village about this mountain being an active volcano. Since we're getting closer to the top, the chances of being pelted by flaming rocks is quite likely, and if you want to avoid getting heavily damaged, your shield is going to be living up its expectations. You need to run as fast as you can and not stop until you reach those vines," replied Spike. I gulped for a second before lifting my shield above my head, and started to run as fast as possible.
Almost immediately the sky turned dark and the sound of the mountain erupting could be heard from miles away, and then the barrage of rocks started to fall down in rapid-fire succession. I had to stop and keep my shield up in the hopes of not getting hit, but the process proved to be challenging as those rocks were heavy. When the barrage stopped for a brief moment, I made a run for it until I had to stop for the next barrage to go through its course. This unusual means of dodging and running lasted about two minutes until I made it to the vines, and the sky turned crystal clear once again.
" That wasn't so bad, but I don't want to have to go through that again," I said.
" Now you just need to climb all the way up to the top," said Spike.
" Makes me wish that I had brought some mountain climbing gear," I sighed as I started to climb up the vines on the wall. It wasn't as bad as I made it out to be as I had forgotten that this was just like climbing those vines back when I explored inside the Great Deku Tree. Once I realized this, I climbed up faster and without even looking down to see how far I had climbed. When I reached the top of the vines, I noticed that the ledge consisted of a small clearing that featured a large cave entrance, and some kind of stone like structure sticking out of the wall. Perhaps the most encouraging part was seeing Flash Sentry and his owl perched on top of a small sign which meant that I wasn't about to get freaked out by him suddenly speaking to me.
" It's been quite a while since we last saw each other," said Flash Sentry.
" I've been doing a lot of running around in this part of the kingdom over the course of the last couple of days. I'm actually glad that I was able to spot you as in our past encounters, you would speak out all of a sudden which would cause me to freak out in retaliation. It's relieving to know that you are capable of starting a conversation normally," I said.
" Then I'm glad that I did not make you any more uneasy than you have been," said Flash Sentry.
" How do you figure that?" I asked.
" I can see the sweat that pours down your brow from here, and the way you speak in slow breaths shows that you have been struggling a lot since you began your adventures here on Death Mountain, but do not view this as me insulting you for having experienced so much. In fact, I am impressed by how much progress you have made since you first left the safety of the forest. I can also sense that you have achieved your goal here which was to assist the Gorons with their troubles, and that is yet another sign that you are the one who is destined to save this world." replied Flash Sentry.
" I'm still not entirely sure that I'm the right one to fulfill that destiny, but I'm glad to see that my efforts are starting to pay off. Anyway, the reason that I came all the way up here was to visit the Great Fairy who is said to live somewhere around here," I said.
" Then coming up all this way was a smart move on your part, so now I will reward you by telling you more about Death Mountain. Take a look above you for a second. Do you see that ring of smoke that encircles the peak? When this mountain is at peace, the ring of smoke appears as you see it before your eyes, but if the mountain is afflicted, the smoke becomes a ring of fire. I also noticed that you were observing that cave entrance over there when you were climbing up onto the ledge.
That cave is the main entrance to the interior known as the Death Mountain Crater. It is an inferno in there, and those who do not have the means to survive the heat will end up succumbing to it. As of right now, you wouldn't last very long in there, so it would be best for you to not go exploring. What I can tell you though is that there is a temple located at the bottom of the crater that serves as a place of worship to the fire spirits, and that the Gorons have been worshipping there for many generations.
I think that you have learned enough from me for the time being, so now I want to see you make another smart move by uncovering the entrance to the Great Fairy's Fountain, and speaking to her. I'll wait for you here, so I advise that you get going right away," said Flash Sentry.
" So where do you suppose the entrance is Spike?" I asked.
" Do you really want me to answer that?" asked Spike.
" Not really as I wanted to see if you were paying attention," I replied.
" Was that you being smug with me?" asked Spike.
" Think of it as me getting you back for those times where you did exactly that to me, and also think of it as me adopting your mannerisms due to how long we've been on this journey together," I replied. I then walked over to where that stone was sticking out, and placed a bomb in front of it before backing away. The bomb exploded shortly afterwards and revealed a small cave entrance which beckoned me to enter it.
Inside the cave was the most amazing sight I have ever witnessed where the walls were flowing with water into a pool of water that was crystal clear. A walkway adorned with beautiful tiles lead me towards an altar where the same symbol I saw at the graveyard was present. I knew then that I had to play 'Twilight's Lullaby' while standing on the symbol, and by doing so I heard a laughter echo throughout the cave; an echo that sounded awfully familiar to me. Suddenly, a young girl came out of the altar in front of me spinning around before she came to a stop and was floating in the air. She was wearing a beautiful white gown complete with some crystal clear jewellery, but when I looked up to see her face, my face turned white cold.
" Welcome Sunset Shimmer to my fountain."
" Adagio!!!! What in the world are you doing here of all places?" I asked in a panic over the fact that the Great Fairy was none other than Adagio Dazzle, a siren from Equestria. She was the leader of the Dazzlings who tried to take over Canterlot High by hypnotizing everyone into being their slaves. She also was sadistic when it came to wanting to have her desires fulfilled
" I see that I resemble a familiar face to you from another world, and for that I apologize for that was not my intention. It seems to me that you have been running into many people with whom you recognize as being from a place far different from this one," said Adagio.
" You know that I'm from a different world?" I asked.
" There is much that I know about that the creatures of this world can only fathom in their heads, but yes, I am aware of the fact that you are someone who has been sent here to Hyrule along with many others from your world including myself. There are certain images of that other world that flow through my mind; memories that I would rather wish were not true of the one that I resemble to you. This is the same thing that has been experienced by those who share a strong bond with you, and that bond exists through a powerful magic that I am both unfamiliar and familiar with," replied Adagio.
" So then you must know of a way to return all of us back to the human world?" I asked.
" The magic that was used to bring you and the others of your world into this one is a magic that is far beyond the limits of my own power. I am sorry that I am not able to help you return home, but what I can tell you is that you can return there if you can achieve the destiny that has been written for you. How exactly you must achieve this is something that only you can figure out, and you must also know that only you can determine the fate of Hyrule.
There is much riding upon your shoulders dear child that may seem small and insignificant to you right now, but you will soon realize that there is more at stake than you can even imagine. Your trials will only grow in difficulty from here, and you must be ready to face those challenges otherwise you shall fall, and this world will become lost," replied Adagio.
" I am a little disappointed that you aren't able to get me back home, but at least you further proved my theory that those who have used Equestrian Magic have retained some aspects of their memories of the human world through their interactions with me in Hyrule. Granted, I still need to talk to Applejack, Sonata, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and even Aria about all of this whenever I am able to see them next, or in the case of Rarity and Aria, for the first time since this all started. Anyway, I was told to come here because you would be able to help me out in my quest to defeat the likes of Ganondorf," I said.
" The Goron Chieftain was wise to tell you to come to me, for indeed I can aid you on your journey. First of all, allow me to introduce myself to you because I have yet to do so for you assumed me to be another whose face you know. I am the Great Fairy of Power, and I have watched over this mountain since the beginning of this world's creation. I am able to grant you a new ability which can help you in your struggles against the evil forces, so I will now bestow it upon you. Close your eyes and relax as my power flows through you and reveals that which has been unknown to you," replied Adagio.
As I closed my eyes, she began to blow a magical wind which engulfed my body, and while this was happening, I was thinking about everything that she had just said regarding the human world. It seems that Adagio of this world is aware that things aren't right, and has accepted this as well as what she had done at C.H.S despite the fact that she is a being of good in Hyrule. I'll admit that it does feel strange knowing that Adagio of all people is helping me out.
" You may open your eyes now Sunset Shimmer, for I have granted you the power to use the elements of water, earth, and wind in addition to your fire magic. The elements are now yours to command, so feel free to experiment with what you have gained so that you may use your new magic to protect this world."
" Thank you," I said.
" By the way, you are the Messenger of the Royal Family are you not? I know that you plan on going back to the castle in order to inform the princess that you have acquired the spiritual stone from the Gorons, but what you did not know was that a fellow Great Fairy has a fountain there where she can bestow upon you a new skill. The next time you happen to be in the neighbourhood of the royal family, you should drop by the Great Fairy for you will need all of the skills that you can get.
I also advise that you explore the kingdom for a while in order to obtain some new items. Having more items and becoming stronger will go a long way towards fulfilling your destiny. Finally, you have been worried about your magic because you over exerted yourself when you had to save both yourself and the Goron Chieftain. You need not worry as a good long rest will allow your magic to restore itself, but I suggest that you be more conservative about it in the future so that this problem does not happen again," said Adagio.
" I do have one last question for you," I began.
" By all means ask away," said Adagio.
" What do you know about Ganondorf?" I asked.
" He is known by many as the King of the Gerudo, a title that he has held since the day he was born, but what few know is that his heart is black and filled with hatred and the desire to conquer this world. He knows much about the legend of the Triforce and the power that it can give him were he to lay his hands upon it, and that is why he has striven to do whatever he can to achieve his desire of being the ruler of Hyrule.
Already, you have witnessed his actions with your own eyes through the death of the Great Deku Tree, and the near extinction of the Gorons. For Ganondorf, everyone is a pawn to him that can be sacrificed when it no longer holds any real use to him, and that includes his own people who blindly follow him. That is all you need to know about the King of the Gerudo from me, for there is much more you can learn if you were to speak to him directly. You must go now and seek out the third spiritual stone and save those who have been protecting it," replied Adagio.
" That's quite a lot of pressure you've given me there," I said.
" Fate decrees that you are to be tested to the limits of endurance and even beyond that, so you must succeed or you will die!" said Adagio.
" I'll....die?" I asked.
" When battle has made you weary, please come back to see me," said Adagio as she disappeared back into the water within the altar leaving me with a rather cryptic means of reminding me of how much rests on my shoulders, and that my own life was hanging in the balance. If she had intended to make me feel even worse about all of this, then she had performed her job admirably well....
To Be Continued.