//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13: In the Belly of the Fish 
// Story: The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time 
// by Ganondorf8 
//------------------------------//

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
December 3, 2014
Chapter 13: In the Belly of the Fish.

" Thank you for letting us know that our presence is requested Captain."
" I'm still unsure about all of this Madam Impa. I feel that Ganondorf is going to do something that will change the face of Hyrule forever. Even though he appears as calm, collected, and perhaps a little eager to forge this alliance with the king, what if it's all a facade and his true intention is to claim the throne for himself. His majesty could be walking straight into a trap, and all we can do is simply wait for something to happen," said Shining Armour.
" As servants of the king, we are obligated to fulfill his commands as that is our sworn duty. Our place is not to question his actions, but to carry them out to the best of our ability. Ganondorf's motives are unclear to anyone except for himself, and while I too believe that he is planning something, as long as he remains civil, nothing can be done because of his status as King of the Gerudo," said Applejack.
" That's the problem with the law of the land as the kings get to do whatever they want, and everyone else has to follow or suffer," said Shining Armour.
" Do you honestly believe that Captain?" asked Applejack.
" I've been serving the royal family for many years now, and while I haven't been around here as long as you have Madam Impa, I've seen enough to know how the politics of the kingdom work. The various leaders of the land are free to act however they see fit so long as they don't break any fundamental law. 
They can do things that we common folk would be accused of treason if the shoe fits the sole of the crime. If Ganondorf were to come to power, he would just become a tyrant where he can get away with anything, and no law could stop him....which is why someone needs to act now before things go that far," replied Shining Armour.
" You plan on acting out something that has the potential to fail because you lack the necessary proof. If you decide on this course of action, you could be risking your very life. You do have every right to be frustrated at how the political system of Hyrule favours the leaders, but you need to have patience before jumping to the wrong conclusion," said Applejack.
" This is the very reason why you and I can never really get along Madam Impa as you favour a more calm approach which so far has done nothing, and my way of doing things is seen as being reckless and could cost me my life. I'm sorry, but I'm finished with this conversation as I'm liable to say something to you which I might end up regretting later. 
I've given you the message from the king, so I'll be on my way and do what must be done for the sake of our land," said Shining Armour. He then turned and started to walk off with his head held low. Applejack heaved a heavy sigh and turned her attention to Twilight who was standing there shocked at everything she had just heard.
" I am sorry that you had to hear all of that your highness," said Applejack.
" I just can't believe that he would say all of that about the governance of Hyrule, and view us as being above the law. Shining Armour was always the perfect gentleman, and I viewed him as a sort of big brother in my eyes, so why is he willing to throw everything away?" asked Twilight.
" He is consumed with anger and rage over the fact that we suspect Ganondorf to be planning something, and that the King of the Gerudo has yet to be held accountable for his actions across the kingdom. As I have already told you princess, he cannot be arrested or charged with any crime as long as he hasn't broken any fundamental Law. While nothing would please me more than to expose his plans, I am in no such position as your father views Ganondorf as a man who will be loyal to the royal family thus completely unifying the kingdom," replied Applejack.
" Why does my father not see that Ganondorf only cares about the Triforce, and conquering all of Hyrule? Has be become so blinded by the notion of forging an alliance that he has allowed himself to be mis-lead so easily? I know that I should not be speaking out against my father in such a manner Impa, but the truth is something that he needs to see. 
The fact that my father has requested me to bring the Ocarina of Time to this meeting to share with Ganondorf the secrets of the royal family in exchange for secrets of the Gerudo is completely absurd. Ganondorf is essentially being given the information that he needs to rule over us all, and the most important key could very well be in his hands," said Twilight.
" That is why I have taken the liberty of arranging a plan to ensure that Ganondorf does not acquire that which he seeks, and you need to be more faithful when it comes to the actions of your father as he is doing all of this in the name of peace. Speaking of being faithful princess, there is something that we must discuss as we make our way to the meeting, and it has to do with Sunset Shimmer," said Applejack.
" What about her?" asked Twilight.
" She came here the other day in order to inform you that she had acquired the Spiritual Stone of Fire from the Gorons, and was on her way to securing the final stone, but she told me that I too had this "Equestrian Magic" inside of me, and that I was being too stubborn as she called it to realize it. When I concluded my business with her, I told her that I would think about it when in actuality I was going to dismiss it, but now I find that the notion that we come from a different world is much too strong for me to simply ignore any longer. Your highness, I must know what all of this means as I fear that it has the potential to tear me apart," replied Applejack.
" I was hoping that you would turn yourself around in this regard Impa. Of course I will tell you everything that I have been visioning in my dreams these past moons, but while we are making our way to the impending meeting between my father and Ganondorf. I suspect that my father may be starting to grow impatience as we should have started to make our way to the throne room by now. 
Let us proceed there at once even though I would rather not because of my suspicions of that man. I would prefer to remain here, but not showing up would be betraying my father's wishes, and the royal family would be viewed as weak in the eyes of the other tribes. Sometimes I feel that there is too much pressure on my shoulders due to being the princess of the land," said Twilight.

Here I was inside of a gigantic fish and having finally found Rarity after all this time of searching for her, and now she refuses to do anything until I have explained about the story of me coming from a different world, and how I am able to use magic. Telling her the entire story was bound to take a long time, and she was being stubborn as to not wanting to accept the shortened version that I told her. It looked as though I was about to lose the last of my patience, and snap at Rarity who hadn't really done anything wrong, but then I began to breathe deeply so as to remain calm over the entire situation. That was when I came to a decision which should prove to be acceptable to everyone.
" Do you really want me to explain everything to you?" I asked.
" If you refuse to share with me the exact details, then you shall never have the spiritual stone as I will make sure that it never becomes yours. While it does sound like I'm being unfair to you, it's due to you being unfair to me for giving me a simple story, and telling other people a much more grander version," replied Rarity.
" Then I will explain things to you in the amount of detail that you deserve your highness, but it is going to have to be a gradual process instead of me telling you all at once because as I have repeated to you already, time is not on my side right now. This method is the only option that I can give you, so I am hoping that you choose to accept my terms, or else we'll be stuck at an impasse," I said.
" And here I thought that you were going to be one of those people who does whatever someone of royal birth tells them to do like some kind of loyal puppet. I'm actually glad that you decided to give me an ultimatum as it shows that you are someone who deserves respect for standing up for yourself. Very well Sunset Shimmer, I agree to your terms, but you must not hide any kind of details no matter how vague they may seem," said Rarity.
" Now that we've got that sorted out, let's get out of this room before those Biri decide to want to give us some electrical therapy. I think we need to make our way back up to the floor above where you said that the item I need to defeat these monsters may be residing. I don't know about you, but I'll feel much safer walking around in here with the proper means of dealing with the monsters instead of running away," I said. 
The next room we entered consisted of a small passageway which turned at a corner a little ways on, and apart from what sounded like bubbles expanding and contacting far away, nothing else seemed to be an issue, so I decided to get down to business explaining things. " To start things off, this world is not where I am from, but rather I am from a world known as Equestria. 
It's populated by ponies of Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth varieties with the rulers being Alicorns. I was a unicorn who was quite gifted in magic, and was once the personal protégé of Princess Celestia, but I was consumed with power and chose to go my own path which resulted in me coming to live in the human world where you yourself are really from."
" You are a pony?" asked Rarity.
" My true form is that of a pony yes, but in recent years I've assumed this form of a teenaged girl," I replied.
" And being a unicorn is how you can wield magic because you were born with it, and not being a girl who suddenly learned how to use magic at an early age. I am sorry to hear darling that you ended up being corrupted with power as that is quite the norm here in Hyrule as so many crave it, but it appears that you don't crave it now," said Rarity.
" When I first came to the human world, I was manipulative, spiteful, feared, and intimidating to everyone around me as I wanted to be both popular and powerful. I didn't care that I was hurting so many people as in my heart, there was no desire to make friends, and instead all I cared about was becoming more and more powerful. If it wasn't for Princess Twilight Sparkle, an alicorn princess from Equestria helping me to see what I had truly become, my life wouldn't have turned around and I would still be destined to be forever alone. 
Since those dark days, I have slowly begun to understand the ideals of friendship, and I am in a much better place now than I was before. Of course, there are times where it has been difficult for me to overcome my troubled past as I am constantly reminded of the things I used to do, but my new friends are there to help me overcome them," I said.
" It's good to hear that you were given a second chance to become someone that you truly felt was the real you, and not someone who was obsessed with wanting to become an all-powerful deity at any cost. I think you have given me enough of an explanation for the time being, so for now we can focus on finding the spiritual stone. Do know that I will be asking you to explain more of your story later on, so don't think that this is the end of the discussion," said Rarity.
" Okay, that's fair enough! Anyway, I was hoping that perhaps you had an idea as to where we are exactly inside Lord Jabu-Jabu as I haven't a clue about it, and you did say that you've been going in and out of his belly since you were little?" I asked.
" That is true as it is how I have to feed him as he is not capable of feeding himself. I will be honest though in that the layout of his interior has changed since last time due to the sudden infestation of monsters, and of course those weird electrical currents. As I recall, we need to eventually make our way to the chamber where his heart is located as I believe that is where the source of his problem is located. The only issue is that there should have been a walkway that connects to the room which we need to access in order to get to the heart," replied Rarity.
" Was there some kind of blue switch in front of the door?" I asked.
" That's right! We need to reach the room beyond that door as that leads towards Lord Jabu-Jabu's heart, but we first need to figure out how to get the walkway back to where it's supposed to be. The item that I told you about which can help defeat these creatures is located at the back where Lord Jabu-Jabu's tail is, so I suggest that we search there first," replied Rarity. 
As we walked around the corner, the passageway opened up to become a slightly bigger room, and a second sound could be heard in the small pool of water below. I couldn't see exactly was down there, but it looked as though something was swimming about. Then I saw the creature that was making the bubble noises, and it was several actual bubbles bouncing around in an awkward fashion.
" What are those things Spike?" I asked.
" The one in the water is called a Stinger, and not the kind that you would find on a bee. This creature swims about underwater avoiding any kind of attack, but as soon as you get close to it, it will come out of hiding, and attempt to fly into you before going back down and repeating the process. Your Fairy Slingshot will be able to shoot them down while they are flying about, so try to lure them out first before firing a Deku Seed," replied Spike.
" And the other one?" I asked.
" Those are called Shabom, and all they seem to do is bounce around in an attempt to be annoying. If it comes into contact with you, it will pop as one would expect from a bubble, but you will take some slight damage. If they are struck with a sword, or reflected with a shield, they will pop although you may get pushed back from the recoil that they give. Deku Seeds and magic have no effect on them, so you might as well go for the shield reflecting route in order to get by them," replied Spike.
" At least I can deal with these monsters without having to run away, but it still has me on edge wondering just what else we might find in here. Princess, you wait here while I jump down into this pool and take care of things. You are royalty after all, and one such as yourself shouldn't be seen fighting against evil creatures that threaten to inflict harm upon you," I said.
" If that is your way of telling me to be careful, then you have done a lousy job of it! Still, I'll take your advice and stay here while you do that heroic thing you adventurer types like to do," said Rarity. I then jumped down and started to draw out the Stingers, and pelted them all with seeds causing them to fade away upon being defeated. With that taken care of, I pressed a suspicious switch on the ground which caused the water to rise up so that I could climb up the other side, and focus on popping the Shabom. 
As for Rarity, she knew that she had to cross this pool in order to keep up with me, and I was certain that she would want me to throw her over just so that her dress wouldn't get wet. To my surprise though, she dove into the water without even a second glance, and quickly jumped out the other side where I was jaw-dropped at what I had just witnessed. " Why are looking so surprised darling? Just because I am of royal blood doesn't mean that I would like to be treated in such a manner. I am not so petty that I would not allow this dress of mine to be sullied in any way. Anyway, how are you handling those bubble monsters as they seem to be unfazed by your shield."
" As long as they don't damage me, I'm pretty much content with them colliding with my shield and popping," I said. As the last Shabom popped against my shield, Rarity and I walked onward until we reached another switch on the ceiling, and the door covered up with a mass. " And here I thought what we saw back in the first room regarding this set-up was going to be a one-time thing, but I guess that it's going to become a recurring theme." 
After sighing yet again, I fired a seed at the switch allowing us access to the next room which consisted of a small ledge and a large body of water. Could this have been a dead-end meaning we would have to go back? My question would be answered quickly when a small platform came down from above and settled into the water. Rarity and I stepped onto it, and the platform took us all the way back to the narrow pathway where I encountered the first Biri, but now it was hovering about the door which lead back to the mouth of Lord Jabu-Jabu.
" As you can see Sunset Shimmer, that door over there on that far ledge will lead us to the heart, but the problem is that there is no way for us to reach it from this distance. Not even jumping across will work as we wouldn't make it, so we need to find the walkway that will allow us to reach over there. Now where do you suppose it could be?" asked Rarity. She then began to look around which struck me as being odd, but then she looked up and started to jump up and down. " There it is! How do you suppose that it ended up way up there? In any case, we need to find some way of getting that part of the walkway down otherwise accessing the heart is impossible."
" Maybe we have to find a way to get up there from another room?" I asked.
" It is possible, but we would first need to find said room. Those electrical currents seem to be blocking specific routes which is no doubt making Lord Jabu-Jabu most uncomfortable. Sunset Shimmer, you must help him! We Zoras have worshipped him as our patron deity for generations, and in return he has guided us and protected us. If we were to lose him....we'd be completely lost," replied Rarity.
" I have no intention of seeing him suffer anymore than he already has," I said.
" Thank you! It seems to me that you are indeed worthy of the spiritual stone as you place others before yourself," smiled Rarity. Hearing her say that made me smile as it meant that she was starting to warm up to me a little. I still had to explain more of my story to her though, so I wasn't completely off the hook with that. Entering the main room again felt different not because of coming back here a second time, but because with Rarity along for the ride, I could explore the rest of what the room had to offer. 
Further ahead was the electrical current that she had been talking about, and it was green in colour and also looked really slimy. Just looking at it made me want to throw up, but I declined that notion and started to think about what to do with it. The only thing that came to mind was firing a Deku Seed in order to see what kind of reaction would take place, so I fired one and sure enough the current reacted by pulsating a little before resuming its normal function.
" If a Deku Seed had no effect on this thing, then I doubt that anything else I have will work," I said.
" Then there has to be some other means of getting rid of this," said Spike.
" How do you figure that?" I asked.
" This electrical current can't simply exist by itself as that would be impossible, but perhaps there is something else in here that acts as a power source, and by removing that source, it would cause this to simply disappear. The area where Lord Jabu-Jabu's tail is should be the place to find whatever it is that's controlling the current, and we need to destroy it in order to be able to move on," replied Spike.
" You seem to know an awful lot of the anatomy of Lord Jabu-Jabu," I said.
" Well, most of it is just guess work," said Spike.
" Are you kidding me?" I asked.
" I may be able to give you plenty of advice Sunset Shimmer, but I'm just a fairy and not a miracle worker. Sometimes all I can do for you is provide you with my best guess, and run with it in the hopes of being correct. I know that you appreciate everything that I've done for you, and I will continue to be there to help out, but sometimes I do need to stress that some of what I say isn't 100% accurate in description. As such I hope that you don't take it the wrong way," replied Spike.
" It's okay Spike as I'm not accurate when it comes to being a hero due to all the self-doubt that I have, so it looks like we're both in the position of not being completely aware that our actions may not be the right ones," I said.
" No wonder we've become pretty good partners and friends," said Spike.
" That's the spirit! So, um....what about that large jellyfish that just came down from the ceiling?" I asked.
" It's a Bari which is essentially three Biri combined together to form one big monster. It does have the same electrical properties as its smaller cousin, but it is more durable and has a slight reach when it swings its tentacles around. It will electrocute you if you touch it which also includes when you separate it into the three Biri that merged to make it. 
As before, Deku Seeds and magic have no effect unless you can paralyze it with a ranged weapon. After that, it can be defeated with pretty much anything, so right now it would be best to avoid it," replied Spike. Taking his advice to heart, Rarity and I ran to the other side of the room, and entered the door which lead us to a really bizarre room where the colours were swirling about, and that it felt that the ground itself was moving.
" This place is a lot different than when I came here previously," said Rarity.
" Just seeing all of the swirling colours in here is making me feel so dizzy," I said.
" Well, we need to keep on going darling if we are to save Lord Jabu-Jabu and all of Hyrule. The pathway splits into three directions from here, so the question here is which direction should we take first? Hold on a second Sunset Shimmer as I intend to check things out this time seeing as you....well....you don't look too good because of the colours swirling about. I'll be just a second and I don't plan on getting into any scrapes," said Rarity. 
She then walked forward leaving me to figure out exactly how to stand in this room, and she noticed straight away that the path directly in front of us was blocked by another electrical current. The other two directions were not to her liking either as all she could see was dark passageways. 
Once she had confirmed things for herself, she walked back to tell me about it. " The path ahead is no good as it has another electrical current, but this one is blue instead of green. Could be possible that there are multiple power sources of differing colours controlling them instead of just one? In any case, we need to take a break until you've gotten adjusted to this area, so why not tell me more about this story of yours."
" Well, I soon discovered that in this land of Hyrule, I'm the only one from the human world who remembers how things are supposed to be, and you along with the princess, her attendant, a member of my own tribe, the Goron Chieftain, and the second-in-command of the Gerudo all have some memories of my world flowing about in your minds, but they are hazy at best, and you can't seem to understand what they mean. That's your Equestrian Magic trying to help you remember, but the influence of this world is too strong to ignore," I said.
" Do I along with the others come from this Equestria?" asked Rarity.
" Only Princess Zelda and I are from there while the rest of you are full-fledged humans, but your connection to the princess enabled you to be bestowed with magic, and it has remained with you ever since. There are several others throughout the land that have memories of the human world, but they were evil back there whereas in this world they are good . If you were expecting anymore about my story, then I'm sorry to say that that's it," I replied.
" Well, I was expecting you to go into a full-length explanation, but I suppose that I will accept this," said Rarity.
" I'm glad that I was able to talk while sitting here as my head has finally started to get used to the colours. I'm still a little dizzy, but I'll be able to continue on without delaying things any longer. In fact, the ball is now in your hands Princess Ruto when it comes to believing my story, so I'll leave you to figure it all out and hopefully you'll come to understand where I'm coming from. In the meantime, we need to keep moving which means we either have to go left or right. 
Both directions are possible choices, but I don't really want to choose, so I'll toss this rupee and whichever direction it lands in will be the way we go," I said. I then tossed the green rupee into the air and it landed to the right, so we all began to walk in that direction with Rarity pondering over everything that I had just said. 
We didn't get too far down the passageway for it split into two more directions with one blocked by a red coloured electrical current, and the other lead up to a door which was covered in the same mass we've been seeing all over the place. I stepped on the switch that was in front of the door, but nothing seemed to happen which struck me as odd.
" Sunset Shimmer, this switch looks like it won't support your weight alone, so you'll need to get some more weight on it to activate it," said Spike.
" I think this is where I'll need to pick up Rarity which is going to be very awkward for the both of us, but there is no other way around it. Princess Ruto? In order for us to activate this switch, I'm going to need your help which means I'll need to pick you up and step on the switch myself, and our combined weight should be enough to press it down," I said.
" I beg your pardon!" exclaimed Rarity.
" I need to pick you up," I began.
" Oh I already know that darling, but did you have to refer to it like that? Such a vulgar way of saying it makes you sound like a boor. A better way of saying it would be you require me to be raised up above your head. I'll allow you to raise me in that fashion Sunset Shimmer, for it is a necessary cause, but do not think that you'll be getting used to it," said Rarity. I sighed knowing that it was pointless to try and argue with her, so she walked on over where I lifted her above my head by having her stand on top of my hands. 
It was pretty difficult as Rarity wasn't what you would call a light person, but our combined weight was enough to activate the switch, and we entered the door once the mass had disappeared. This room looked small and was pretty much devoid of anything save for the sounds of Stingers coming from below the ground which was vibrating just like the walls and ceiling. Once again I asked Rarity to wait while I took care of the monsters, and she had no problem with it so long as I was quick about it. 
Destroying the Stingers didn't take very long although I quickly learned that trying to take them all on at the same time wasn't a good idea. By the time I destroyed the last one, I discovered that my supply of Deku Seeds was almost empty, so I needed to remind myself to find some more down the road. A chest would then materialize from out of nowhere which was actually the first time it happened, so it did catch me by surprise, and then I opened it.
" You found yourself a Boomerang, and I've got to admit that it has a pretty sleek design," said Spike.
" Considering that I know how this thing is supposed to work, it should allow me to take care of everything in here that gives off electricity," I said.
" Just remember that when you throw it, the boomerang will curve around and come back to you, so it doesn't have the range of the Fairy Slingshot. For the most part though, the slingshot pretty much becomes obsolete at this point now that you have something more cutting-edge on hand," said Spike.
" We might as well go back down the path we didn't pick when I tossed that rupee earlier as it looks to be the only place we can search. I just hope that Twilight is having an easier time of things compared to us as she has to deal with the one person in all of Hyrule who has the potential to destroy it," I said. 
That was an understatement to be sure because Twilight at that exact moment was in the same room as Ganondorf, and the tensions were already high. I had no idea what was being discussed as they were there and I am here, but I could only imagine what must be taking place.

" Ah, Princess Zelda. It is a pleasure to at last make your acquaintance."
" To be honest with you Lord Ganondorf, the feeling is not quite mutual, but I suppose that you shall prove me wrong in due time," said Twilight.
" Now Zelda, there is no need to be so hostile towards our guest," said the King.
" My apologies father for acting out of line," sighed Twilight.
" It seems that your daughter has quite the opinion when it comes to my presence your majesty, but I cannot blame her for feeling that way about a stranger whom she has 
never met before. Rest assured princess that this meeting will not take all that long, for I do need to return to the Gerudo's Fortress at the earliest opportunity. There is something there which requires my immediate attention," said Tirek.
" If that is the case my Lord, then why not go back there now and take care of this problem? Surely, it is more important to you than this alliance that you wish to forge 
with my father to complete Hyrule's unification? Perhaps another meeting in say a few days from now would be more to your liking so as to give all of us some much needed time to prepare things," suggested Twilight.
" While nothing would please me more than to deal with that matter, your father was insistent on forging this alliance, so who I am to deny him something which he has strived to complete for years. I suppose that I will just have to accept the fact that I will be staying here for a lengthy period until this has all been resolved. My second-in-command will inform me of any details upon my return to the fortress. 
Now then, as I recall from the last meeting your majesty, you and I were merely one or two differences away when it came down to forging our alliance. But as you know, I have had a slight change of mind in that I can forego those differences and abide to your way of handling them, and in exchange for my wavering those conditions, my new condition is to know of the secrets of the royal family," said Tirek.
" Yes, you were quite adamant when it came to knowing the history Ganondorf which did strike me as being odd, but hearing you say that you would reveal the secrets of the Gerudo made me feel relieved that you are so willing to give a little yourself," said the King.
" I figured that fair was fair," said Tirek.
" Shall we begin with your secrets Ganondorf as you did say that you would be the one who would start first," said the King.
" Indeed your majesty, and I shall begin with perhaps the most critical secret of the Gerudo. My tribe is one that consists entirely of women. Because of this, several of them come to Hyrule Castle Town to look for potential boyfriends in order to....well, I'm sure you all know where that was going, but I digress. While it serves as a problem for the Hylians, it means the very survival of the Gerudo. 
Now, every 100 years, one male is born into the Gerudo, and that lone male is to become King of the Gerudo and rule over the desert. Why it has to happen this way is something that our ancestors did not decide to divulge for their descendants to understand, but it has been this way for numerous generations, and is likely to continue for generations to come," said Tirek.
" I've always wondered why you are just one man among so many women, and now I know the truth so I thank you Ganondorf for providing such an important detail regarding your tribe. There is no doubt that it shall prove to be vital when it comes to dealing with the matter of your population, and preventing it from dwindling any more than it already has. 
Now it's my turn to reveal to you the secret of the royal family, and I am certain that you have been eagerly awaiting this moment. It is also why my daughter is here because she carries it with her at all time. Dearest Zelda, would you hand over our family's treasure to me so that I may show it to Ganondorf?" asked the King.
" Are you sure that is wise father?" asked Twilight.
" Whatever do you mean?" asked the King.
" Surely you remember my dream about the one from the forest and Ganondorf being the one who represented the dark clouds that consumed Hyrule. While I know that you desire this alliance with him father, is it such a good idea to allow him to know about the treasure our family has guarded for generations? I feel that this is a foolish action you are committing, and our ancestors would be ashamed to know that you are doing something so reckless," replied Twilight.
" And this means?" asked the King.
" I'm sorry father, but I cannot allow Ganondorf to see our treasure even though you have promised him that he could. Whether you choose to believe me, or see the truth in front of you does not matter, but what does is preventing Ganondorf from succeeding in whatever it is he has come here for. I did not even want to attend this meeting because of my feelings towards this ill-fated alliance, yet the only reason I was asked to come was because you gave me no other choice in the matter. Father, I implore you! You must open your eyes and see the truth of Ganondorf's motivations for the sake of the future of this kingdom," replied Twilight.
" Enough! I have heard quite enough of this nonsense Zelda!" shouted the King.
" But father," began Twilight.
" You have embarrassed the royal family in front of an important dignitary, and for that I am most disappointed in you. Ganondorf has come such a long way in order to forge this alliance between the Hylians and the Gerudo in the name of peace and completely unifying Hyrule, yet here you are acting out in such a fashion so as to prevent this historic moment from taking place. 
Perhaps you were right in that you shouldn't have come to this meeting as I should have known that you would talk about that nonsensical dream of yours. You are hereby dismissed my daughter and are to return to your room until further notice, but before you leave, hand over the treasure to me so that Ganondorf may see it, and learn about it as per our agreement," said the King.
" Then you will just have to explain it to him father without it, for it will not be leaving my sight no matter what you say," said Twilight.
" Are you defying my orders daughter?" asked the King.
" You have allowed this alliance to blind you from the truth even though it is clearly obvious that something is going to happen, but it seems that my words do nothing but fall on deaf ears when it comes to you dear father. Impa, let us return to my room as I have been instructed to do, and hope that my father can finally open his eyes instead of keeping them shut which has been the case since this all started," replied Twilight. 
She then turned around and walked out of the throne room without saying a word, and Applejack turned to follow. This left the King in quite a state of shock because his own daughter had just walked out on an important matter of state, and Tirek simply chuckled to himself.
" Now that was unexpected your majesty and yet at the same time it was exactly what I was hoping would transpire here. Zelda, you have made this all too easy for me by lashing out in such a fashion. You have slipped dear princess for I now know that you are aware that I am here to claim the Triforce and conquer this world, but it seems that I have made the wrong kind of impression," said Tirek.
" My daughter did not mean to act that way towards you Ganondorf, but perhaps I should have a stern talking to her later once she has calmed down. In any case, allow me 
to explain the secret treasure of my family to you despite not actually having it in person," said the King.
" If that is what you wish your majesty Hylian King, your daughter is right about you in that you have become blind and ignorant to the truth all in the name of your pathetic plans to bring this kingdom's tribes together under one banner. It will make killing you all the more enjoyable for me as you shall depart this world having created a rift with the one person who could have saved you, but you have gone and dismissed her for speaking out against you....such irony is most delicious. 
The moment you have revealed all that I need to know, you will serve no other purpose, and that is when I shall snuff out your meaningless existence....now all I need to do is await the arrival of the one whose magic powers I sensed before, for that one could be who I need to secure my prize, so by all means explain away," said Tirek.

It didn't take long for us to make our way over and down the other path which was essentially the same as the first one was, but just in the opposite direction. This path also split itself into two more directions upon reaching a junction with one route being blocked by another red electrical current, and the other being blocked by more of that mass which likes to latch itself onto doors. In front of this door was a blue switch which meant I had to leave Rarity behind although she was very annoyed at that fact. 
I explained to her about how the blue switch operates, and she accepted my reasoning even though she felt that it was ridiculous to begin with. She stepped on the switch allowing Spike and I to enter the room, and it consisted of nothing apart from what looked like a weird tentacle-like object hanging down from the ceiling.
" Any ideas?" I asked.
" It looks to be some kind of parasitic tentacle although I have no idea what its actual name is, or if it even has one. Anyway, whatever this thing is, if you get too close to it, it will swing about and attempt to knock you away with its own body. Notice that very thin section towards the top? It looks like you need a special weapon to hit that spot, and I think the boomerang you picked up might do the trick. All I ask is that we don't take too long as we don't want to keep Princess Ruto waiting," replied Spike.
" Are you blushing?" I asked.
" Every time I see that beautiful face of hers, it just has me reacting in a way that makes me wonder what it would be like if I were the same size as she is. Could it be love that I'm experiencing? That feels really awkward seeing as I'm a fairy and she is a Zora, but maybe in another world it could be a possibility," replied Spike. I wasn't surprised to hear him say all of that because I was aware of how Spike had a crush with Rarity back in the human world, and even in Equestria according to what Twilight once said. 
I thought it was cute to see him act like this because it shows that even in this new world, elements of the true world managed to make it through. " Anyway, you will need to move in so that the tentacle can expose its weak point."
" This shouldn't take too long," I said. As soon as I got close enough, the parasitic tentacle lowered down and began to swing itself at me, so with the boomerang in my hand, I threw it and struck the weak point which made it reel back for a brief moment. Once it got its second wind back, it attempted to attack again, and I repeated with my own attack which caused it to literally fall apart, and made another chest appear out of nowhere which felt like it was going to be the start of a trend. 
Opening the chest revealed another piece of paper which I have now assumed to be the map of the area, but I felt a little annoyed that it took this long to finally get one when I needed one the moment I first set foot inside the belly of this giant fish. Why couldn't this map have been in the first room instead of all the way back here? After moaning to myself for a few moments, I left the room and Rarity looked very excited about something.
" The red electrical current just disappeared which means whatever you did in there has given us a new place to explore," said Rarity. This was certainly a good piece of news as now we knew how to progress. The next several rooms had me dealing with two more parasitic tentacles of both blue and green varieties, and both were deftly handled by my new boomerang which I was loving to pieces. 
When the green tentacle was destroyed, Rarity insisted that we make our way back to the center room where we saw the first electrical current. That sounded good enough to me, so we made our way back there, and fell down into the hole which had been previously blocked.
" Do you think that Lord Jabu-Jabu is starting to feel better knowing that those parasitic tentacles have all been destroyed?" I asked.
" The parasite at the heart of his problems still exists mind you, but I don't know if Lord Jabu-Jabu is going to survive," replied Rarity.
" I said that I was going to help save him, and I am doing the best that I can," I said.
" While I do appreciate you saying that darling, that is not the problem. He began to feel afflicted with this parasite one week ago, and he could have been helped within a day of the infection, and not a week after the fact. My father's stubborn pride when it comes to the well-being of the Zoras may very well cost our patron deity his life depending on how much damage he has suffered," said Rarity.
" I heard something about the Zoras wanting to be isolated according to the Magic Bean Seller," I said.
" For many generations, the Zoras have lived on their own with no other species to interact with, and for a long time we were happy as it meant living in peace. That all changed mind you when we first learned of the existence of the other tribes of what has become Hyrule. The younger Zora were all eager to finally break tradition and interact with these new beings, but my father and the older Zoras did not feel the same way, and were more hesitant about it all. 
When the King of Hyrule came to Zora's Domain and forged an alliance with my father, he felt that such a thing was necessary in order to unite the kingdom, but has not done much with it since it came into effect ten years ago. My father is of the belief that Zora affairs are for Zora to deal with, and asking for help beyond our waters is a sign of weakness," said Rarity.
" Where do you stand then?" I asked.
" I'm among the Zoras who feel that we should not be isolated like we have done for generations, and that it is time for us to become more active with the other tribes by forging closer ties with them. Choosing to remain alone and isolated will only cause us pain and misery for the foreseeable future, and when the time comes when I must assume the throne as Zora Queen, I'll be sure to have our tribe open up despite the protests of the elders," replied Rarity. 
It felt weird hearing Rarity talking about the Zoras in this fashion as she was usually more interested in fashion, but I suppose there was more to her I never realized until now. When we walked into the next room, her eyes looked as though they were about to explode because of what she was saw in front of her. " There! That's it! The spiritual stone is over there on top of that platform!" I looked in the direction that she was pointing in, and sure enough there was the spiritual stone in plain sight....which I felt was rather suspicious.
" This looks a little too easy," I began.
" Whatever do you mean?" asked Rarity.
" Don't you think it's suspicious that the stone is just laying there out in the open for anyone to come along and pick it up?" I asked.
" Now that I think about it, you make an excellent point which seems to suggest that this is some kind of trap. If you believe that stone to be a fake, then do not as there is only stone like that in all of Hyrule, and I for one should know it better than anyone. Since I am in agreement over this being a trap, how do we go about activating it, and securing the spiritual stone at the same time?" asked Rarity.
" If we could throw some kind of projectile onto the platform, it might trigger the trap, but I don't have anything that would work," I replied.
" Maybe I have something that will work," said Rarity. She then pulled off one of her earrings and held in between her index finger and thumb. " You don't need to feel concerned about me throwing away a piece of jewellery darling as I have plenty more of these at home. Besides, now you get to see with your own eyes at how dexterous I am. I may be a princess, but I do keep myself in shape in order to provide my own weight in any given situation." Rarity then took aim and flicked her earring onto the platform where it collided with the spiritual stone causing it to move a small inch. 
That was when the platform immediately raised up revealing spikes on the rim, and when it reached its destination by hitting the ceiling, a loud noise could be heard coming from up there as though something was pretty upset over being tricked. " It sounds like we're about to have ourselves quite the encounter, yet I suspect that this trap was meant for me seeing as it is my spiritual stone."
" I wonder what it could be?" I asked.
" We're about to find out," replied Rarity. Suddenly, the door that we entered was covered in that strange mass again, and the platform lowered down revealing a hideous looking creature sitting on top of it. It looked like one of those Octoroks, but this one was a lot bigger, and had a shell on its back. Without warning, it jumped off of the platform which was now raised a little to allow the spikes to be exposed, and it proceeded to grab Rarity using one of its tentacles and holding her up above its head. How am I supposed to defeat this thing and save her at the same time? I'd better think of something fast before things start to get worse....

To Be Continued.