//------------------------------//
// Chapter 23: Phantom of the King 
// Story: The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time 
// by Ganondorf8 
//------------------------------//

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
December 25, 2014
Chapter 23: Phantom of the King.

I had to do something in order to get this undead hand off of my throat before my life energy would be drained away, so I resorted to a tactic which was going to be dangerous, and that was to use my magic to burn myself in order to shake it off. Closing my eyes and concentrating, I set myself on fire for a few moments which was enough to burn away the Floormaster and defeating it which caused another small treasure to materialize.
" You know that you're still on fire right?" asked Spike.
" It's not as painful as it looks given that fire and I go hand-in-hand in case you haven't noticed. I'll wait and see if it will just burn itself out after a while, or I could always jump into the water located outside and fizzle it out that way. While I am aware that we drained the well of water, there was a small pool of water where those Octorok were swimming around in, so I hope they don't mind having a guest use their facility for just a couple of seconds," I replied.
" Glad to see that you haven't lost all sense of sanity considering that was a risking maneuver you performed just to get rid of that Floormaster," said Spike.
" I should find another fairy and catch it with a bottle just in case we run into something really dangerous. Speaking of running, we have to backtrack all the way to that twisted room, and change it back to being twisted in order to progress don't we?" I asked.
" You wanted to come down here because you felt compelled to do so, but maybe it was a good idea after all as that treasure chest could contain another small key, or it could have something completely useless meaning that we wasted our time," replied Spike. I walked over to the chest and kicked it open where I picked up a key which meant that it was worth coming down here. 
" Now that's what I call ironic in that we would have had to have backtracked anyway as we would have been stuck at the next locked door that we came across....after using the one you obtained from defeating that Poe earlier."
" Hopefully, it shouldn't take us very long to get back to that eye switch and activating it again," I said.
" Sunset Shimmer? You're still burning away there, so maybe you should douse yourself before you end becoming char-broiled or something," suggested Spike. I nodded my approval of his idea and went back into the first garden, and jumped off the side and into the water without even taking the time to think about what I was doing. As soon as I was doused out, I climbed back out and immediately entered the door before the Big Deku Baba realized what was going on. 
Back in the central chamber, I noticed that one of the flames had returned, but it was too soon to celebrate as I had to find the other three Poe Sisters, and defeat them in order to restore all of the flames. So began the long trek back through the room which I don't like, and while walking along amid the climbing, I noticed that Spike was in deep thought which made me curious as to what he was thinking. " Is something on your mind?"
" It's not really a mind thing as opposed to it being an observation," replied Spike.
" What is it?" I asked.
" During that second Stalfos encounter where you ended up falling in battle before the fairy revived you, it dawned on me that you didn't transform into that half-human and half-pony form which you used against Ganondorf. If I remember what you said, you can only transform when in a desperate situation, and I think what happened in that battle was certainly fitting the description for you to transform," replied Spike.
" It's not something that I can just use whenever my life is in danger," I said.
" I thought that's how it's supposed to work?" asked Spike.
" To be honest, the only time apart from fighting Ganondorf where I did transform was when it first happened which was the result of finding friendship in my heart, and being able to understand what it meant to be loved. Remember that I transformed against Ganondorf because I held the Master Sword in my hand, so my theory is that I need the blade's energy to channel through me which will invoke the change," I replied.
" Not exactly the best theory," moaned Spike.
" This transformation is foreign to this world Spike! How it works back there is much different to how it works here in Hyrule in terms of the activation requirements. I think that just holding the Master Sword in my hand, and being on the verge of death isn't enough to cause me to transform and gain both pony ears and a pony tail. There's some other factor involved that I can't put my finger on otherwise I would have figured it out by now," I said.
" While I don't mind the fact that you can't use the Master Sword due to a lack of experience, you have to admit that the fight against them would have completely different if you had managed to transform. Is this going to be one of those questions where you don't find out the answer until right at the end of the quest?" asked Spike.
" It does look to appear that way," I replied.
" What if you were to be trained to wield the Master Sword instead of relying on your magic all the time? Having a sword would make using your shield that much more often, and you can conserve magic until you feel that you really need it," said Spike.
" Can you teach me how to wield a sword?" I asked.
" That's beyond my means Sunset Shimmer, but I do have an idea as to who might be able to teach you the basics. I know that you don't like the idea of using a sword, but you should learn how just in case. There was one Kokiri in the village who knew some sword techniques, but I don't think he can help you now as he prefers to teach people his own age. The only other person I can think of would be Darunia," replied Spike.
" Why her?" I asked.
" Darunia is a fighter as that's what she loves doing, and I think she might be able to teach you despite the fact that she wields a hammer as opposed to a sword," replied Spike.
" I'm sure that she would be more than willing to give me some pointers, but right now I don't need to know how to use the Master Sword, or any sword in general as my magic is more than enough to get me where I'm going," I said. Hearing him mention Pinkie Pie made me wonder how she was faring in this changed world. 
We eventually arrived back at the eye switch where I hit it with an arrow....three attempts later mind you, and the room beyond the door became twisted once again allowing us to proceed to the room where the Fairy Bow was located. The room beyond that one was completely identical to the one that came before it, except we were going up instead of down.
" This temple truly is like a mirror where both sides of the place are identical in shape with the central rooms being the odd ones out," said Spike.
" It certainly does make navigating a lot easier, but it would be nice if I knew exactly where we were going. I mean, the map is useful for knowing the general layout of the area, but it needs the power of that Compass you mentioned earlier to really make it work. I was hoping for you to tell me more about it, but you were insistent on actually finding it first before wanting to explain its purpose to me," I said.
" All part of being on a journey is the self-discovery one experiences," said Spike.
" I never thought of it that way before," I said. Maybe Spike was right in that I should experience certain things myself without constantly asking him or anyone else for help, but one thing I was about to experience felt like a rinse and repeat one due to the fact that I came upon another of the four Poes using paintings in order to avoid being discovered. Since I knew what needed to be done, I shot each of the paintings where she was hiding with an arrow apiece until she appeared and hovered down to where the door was.
" That is Beth, the second youngest of the Poe Sisters. She operates in the exact same fashion as her sister did before her, so you know what to do without me having to explain it," said Spike. How true he was about that as I quickly took care of this Poe, and restored the flame to the nearby torch which meant it had been restored in the central chamber, and caused a big treasure chest to materialize. 
Upon opening it, I took out a compass which is what Spike had been talking about. " Now that you have found a compass Sunset Shimmer, I can tell you more about it. The compass works with the map by showing you the location of all the treasure chests throughout the dungeon. It also shows you the level of the dungeon that the boss is located on through the use of a skull icon, and the same icon is used to determine where exactly on that level the boss room is located."
" Am I to deduce that without the map, the compass is next to useless?" I asked.
" I'm afraid so as the compass just shows you the locations of the chests and boss, and without a map it's completely useless. Now then, according to the compass, there are at least three more treasure chests located in the dungeon, and I'm willing to believe that each of them contains some kind of random rupee reward or ammunition. So, I'd say that the chests aren't really all that important, but you can still open them up if you want to use what they contain," replied Spike.
" What I'm worried about is that the boss is located on the lowest level of the temple. That means that we could have gotten down there a lot sooner if those Poe Sisters had not stolen the flames in the first place. Then again, I bet they were ordered by the source of the evil here to go and do just that so as to guide us along, and wind up falling to the numerous tricks and traps that have been scattered about," I said.
" Don't forget that if we hadn't explored the vast majority of the temple, you wouldn't be using that Fairy Bow right now, so in a way I guess we should be thankful that those Poes did what they did," said Spike.
" Yeah, I guess you're right about that. In any case, two of the flames have been restored which means two more remain, so we might as well keep going and see if we can find the other two Poes," I said. Walking up the sets of stairs and opening the next locked door with a small key, I entered another room which was exactly like the twisted room from before except this one was already looking normal judging from the fact that nothing was out of the ordinary. " It looks like we'll need to find another eye switch and activate it in order to twist this room. Also, what is that strange sound coming from the next corridor?"
" Those sound like Blue Bubbles, but why are they flapping about in place instead of moving around? Unless, it's another of their variations which may pose some problems. By the way, remember how we saw a Wallmaster in the other twisted room? Well, unless you want to go back to the start of the temple, you may want to move within the next five seconds," replied Spike. I looked down and saw that he was right, so I quickly moved just as the Wallmaster landed on the ground and jumped back up when it realized I was no longer there.
The adjacent corridor did indeed have different Blue Bubbles as these were surrounded by green fire. " These are Green Bubbles which float around in a circular pattern in order to block your path. You can only attack them when their flames disappear as they are immune to attacks at any other time....with the exception of arrows as they are vulnerable to those period."
" Arrows you say? I think I'm going to like using this Fairy Bow," I said as I fired an arrow at each Green Bubble destroying them and proceeding to unlock the door at the end of the corridor with the last small key that I had. This next room was a dead-end which wasn't surprising given the map indicated it as such, and the eye switch was indeed located in here, but it was covered in ice. " The switch is frozen and I take it that arrows or any other sharp object is going to shatter it any time soon, but I could use my magic and just melt it away."
" Or you could do it the intended way and conserve your magic for something more important," said Spike.
" What would be the proper way?" I asked.
" Do you see the torch on that platform in the middle of the room surrounded by the rotating platforms? If you fire an arrow through the flame, it will set the tip on fire and melt the ice covering the eye switch and even activate it for you. Sure it sounds like a mundane task given that you do have magic, but like I said you should conserve it. Also, I'd avoid falling into that pool of water as I suspect that it's poison which is certainly a unique trap that has been placed here," replied Spike.
" What would happen if I were to come in contact with the ice?" I asked.
" You'll end up frozen in a block of ice for a few moments, and the freezing cold will damage you a little bit until you either break free of it yourself, or you allow it to break on its own after a while. To be on the safe side, let's not touch the ice whenever you see it covering a switch as that won't do you any good. By activating that switch, it should twist the previous room up and allow us to explore that last portion of the temple on the first floor which we haven't been to yet," replied Spike. 
I wasn't planning on touching the ice anyway as I figured that it would have that kind of effect, but I'm glad that he mentioned it to me as it shows that he cared for my well-being. Jumping onto one of the rotating platforms, I waited for it to revolve around until I was standing behind the torch, and I fired an arrow which went through the flame, but missing the target and hitting the wall.
" I missed....how humiliating," I sighed.
" It's not easy to do this seeing as the rotating platforms do make aiming a bit more difficult, but you can do it because you never give up. Besides, there's bound to be some loose arrows inside of the jars over there by the door in case you run out, but I doubt that will come to pass," said Spike. He has so much faith in me while I constantly doubt myself with every action I take....maybe I should try to be more positive like him instead of wallowing in pity all the time because of my troubled past. 
I waited for the platform to rotate around again before firing several arrows hoping that one of them would hit the target, and the last one managed to do just that causing the ice to melt, the eye switch to activate, and the sound of the previous room shifting to indicate that a new path has opened.
" Looks like I still need some practice before I can consider being a master of the bow," I said.
" Want to break those jars to see if there are any arrows in them?" asked Spike.
" Sure as I could do with a fresh supply," I replied. I then jumped back to the first platform where the door was, and smashed the jars by picking up and throwing them into the wall which did produce arrows that I picked up and placed into my quiver. " That gives me my full 30 again which I'm sure I'll need for the coming trials, so let's see where this room now leads us." Heading back into the previous room and defeating the two Green Bubbles again, my suspicions were right in that the room being twisted produced a new passage in the form of a hole in the ground just like before although with that one I had to straighten the room. 
Falling into the hole, I landed in a room which had an interesting checkerboard pattern, and hanging from the ceiling were a number of Skulltulas that were sure to drop down and attack if I get too close.
" This is where the Fairy Bow shines as you can pick off these enemies from a distance," said Spike.
" It has that amount of range?" I asked.
" Of course, but the further away the target is, the more you have to aim if you desire to hit it without wasting an arrow. It's strange that those Skulltulas are positioned in such as way as though they were aware of what is happening in this room," replied Spike.
" The room looks fine to me," I said.
" Look up at the ceiling and tell me what you see," said Spike.
" That ceiling looks like it could fall down at any moment," I said.
" Exactly and those Skulltulas are positioned in a way that prevents them from getting hit. I'd say that ceiling is magical in that it drops down to the ground before rising back up and repeating the process. You could take some serious damage if the ceiling ends up falling on you, so get rid of the Skulltulas and stand where they are positioned in order to avoid getting squashed. 
It's best to take out as many of them as you can with arrows, and then defeat the rest of them by forcing them to drop down and confront you where you can use the Hookshot or your magic," said Spike. Aiming my bow at each of the Skulltulas, I fired many arrows hitting the first two, but I struggled against the next two despite hitting them eventually. 
The fifth and final one was too far away, so I had to move in and defeat it up close, and as soon as I reached the first safety area, the ceiling came crashing down, and I avoided it as it made a loud thud on the ground before going back up.
" There's a treasure chest over there," I said.
" It must be a safe location from the falling ceiling, so try to make your way over to it before the ceiling falls down again," said Spike. I quickly made a mad dash for the chest, and reached it just as the ceiling came down. Inside of the chest was a bunch of arrows which I needed in order to make up for the ones I wasted, and I was also within range of the Skulltula which I destroyed with an arrow. 
Near the chest was a switch which I walked over to and stepped on which unlocked the door at the end of the room. That was when the ceiling came down again and landed, but luckily I was in a safe position when it fell. As soon as it went back up again, I ran for the door and opened it where I entered a room that featured another torch next to a door, and a rather obvious painting to my left.
" Looks like this Poe isn't even trying," I said.
" Don't be so sure about that," said Spike.
" How come?" I asked.
" Just look above you and you'll see what I mean," replied Spike. I looked up at the ceiling and saw some strange blocks which featured designs on them which looked like the Poe in the painting. Was that a coincidence, or perhaps some kind of trap waiting for me to stumble into it? " I'm not sure what will happen if you shoot the painting with an arrow, but I can deduce safely that the Poe doesn't have anywhere to go," replied Spike.
" Could it be some kind of puzzle?" I asked.
" Only way to know is to shoot the painting," replied Spike. I did so which caused the Poe in the painting to laugh at me, and then the blocks fell down from the ceiling and revealed themselves to be pieces of the painting. " I get what you need to do now. You have to push the different blocks together in order to form the picture in the painting, but there's one extra piece that doesn't fit with the rest of the theme. 
I have a feeling that you are being timed for this, so you should try to solve this as quickly as possible." The blocks were surprisingly easy to push, and I had to look at the panel on the top of each one as I determined that side was the one that needed to be matched up with the others. As I pushed a couple of blocks into place, I had to push the wrong one out of the way, but this cost me some time, and when it looked as though I was about to prevail, the Poe laughed at me again, and the blocks suddenly flipped sides meaning I had to do it again.
" At least we know what happens when I fail," I sighed.
" You just have to try again," said Spike. Fortunately, the blocks arranged themselves in a better pattern than before, and I was able to push all of the blocks together to complete the picture which caused the blocks to disappear into the ground, and the painting on the wall to burn away revealing the Poe who proceeded to attack me with the stolen flame before disappearing. " Okay, this is Amy, the second oldest of the four Poe Sisters, and she acts just like the other two, so I don't need to say anymore do I?" Indeed he didn't as all I did was wait for the Poe to reappear before using my magic to destroy her and returning the third flame back to its rightful place.
" That's three of them taken down, but what about the fourth and final Poe?" I asked.
" According to the dungeon map, we've been everywhere now aside from the level where the boss room is, and we can't get down there without all four flames. Maybe we missed the last one somewhere along the way, and now we need to backtrack again in order to find it," replied Spike.
" I'm not looking forward to the sound of that," I moaned.
" Why don't we go back to the central chamber and start looking for the final Poe from there? The door in front of us does eventually go back there, and the other route through the room with the falling ceiling goes back to the second garden area, so essentially we're going back to the central chamber no matter what," said Spike.
" Guess we've come full circle then with regards to the temple," I said. Opening the door, I entered into another small corridor which was elegant in design, and opening the door at the end lead back to the central chamber where I discovered that we were on the ledge that was out of our reach when we were first down there on the floor. " Do you hear the sound of someone crying?"
" Crying? No, can't say that I do," replied Spike.
" Let's be quiet for a second and hear the sound," I said. As soon as we stopped talking, the crying sound could be heard a lot clearer, and it was coming from down below where the elevator was located. I tip-toed over to the railing and looked down to see what was causing it, and it turned out to be the final Poe Sister who was on her knees and crying her eyes out. 
It made me feel bad knowing that I destroyed all of her sisters in order to restore the flames back to their original location, but I had no other choice as they all attacked me instead of surrendering and giving the flames up. " I wish that I could go down there and apologize for my actions, but I know that won't be enough to make her feel better, and she will attack me in order to get revenge. Sigh....sometimes being the heroine isn't all that pleasant."
" You had no choice but to fight them as they refused to give you any other alternative," said Spike.
" Exactly my point Spike. I wanted to give them a chance, but they attacked me and I had to take them out in order to rescue Fluttershy. I shouldn't feel guilty over what needed to be done, but I still feel bad that she has lost her other sisters which is a pain no one should ever experience. We might as well confront her and get this over with before the guilt ends up making me feel even worse," I said. 
As soon as I jumped from the ledge and onto the ground, the final Poe turned around to face me; its eyes burning with the hatred I was anticipating, and it began to laugh as it suddenly divided into four copies of itself before disappearing. They then all reappeared and surrounded me as they began to spin around blocking every escape route I could think of.
" This is Meg, the oldest of the four Poe Sisters, and the only one who's decided to try a much different tactic compared to her sisters. You need to figure out which one is the real one among these four and attack her. By the way, magic isn't going to help you as they will dodge as far back as necessary to avoid any kind of attack, so you will need to use the Fairy Bow in order to hit each one until you find the right one," said Spike.
" What if I take too long?" I asked.
" The real Meg is likely to attack you in the same manner as her other sisters, but she will be much too fast for you to try and catch up to her and attack with magic. This battle is going to be one of patience and concentration in order to pick off the real one as the fake ones will likely disappear upon being hit," replied Spike. 
The four Megs continued to spin around me and laughing in the process before three of them vanished leaving the real one to charge at me. Her stolen flame hit me quite hard causing my knees to buckle, and then she disappeared before reappearing which is when I noticed something strange.
" Why did one of them suddenly spin around when they all appeared?" I asked.
" That could be the real one you need to hit with an arrow," replied Spike.
" Since they're all moving around in a circle, aiming could be a problem, but I guess I'll just have to persevere and hope for the best," I said sheepishly. As soon as they all disappeared except for one, Meg came at me and struck me again with the flame before disappearing and reappearing where I saw which one was the real one through that quick spin she made. When I hit her with an arrow, she was knocked back quite a way when she disappeared again. She would then repeat this process until I hit her enough times to defeat her where the final flame was restored, and the elevator finally came back up. 
The central chamber also became a lot brighter now that the four flames had returned. I got onto the elevator and it dropped down to the second basement where it stopped, and I found myself in an odd room where some parts of the wall were jutting out. There was a gate blocking the pathway in front of me, and beyond the gate was a rather large door with an unusual lock on it. Aside from that, nothing else appeared to be out of the ordinary aside from what was jutting out from the wall.
" This room has quite a unique look to it," commented Spike.
" The parts of the wall that are sticking out are way too suspicious like they want to be pushed or pulled. Now that I've taken a better look at the surroundings, the walls look as though they don't really mesh with the room in general," I said.
" Why not give them a push?" asked Spike.
" Do you think that will work?" I asked.
" It does appear to be the only logical solution to this puzzle," replied Spike. Once again his smugness doesn't become him, so I walked over to the wall, and gave it a push in order to see what would happen. At first it didn't move which made me look ridiculous, but eventually it started to move and the entire wall rotated around before coming to a stop. The gate was gone which meant it was behind the wall, but a switch was now accessible, so I pressed and heard a gate opening somewhere. 
From there I continued to push the wall around and activating switches which opened up additional gates while opening up one last small treasure chest which contained more arrows which was always a plus in my book. Eventually, I rotated the wall all the way around and back to its original position where pressing one more switch opened the gate leading to that big door.
" What was the point of that?" I asked.
" Probably to confuse trespassers at the final hurdle by giving them this room of rotation," replied Spike.
" Room of Rotation? Are you seriously calling it that?" I asked.
" Does it sound too silly for you?" asked Spike.
" Not really as to be honest, I couldn't come up with a good name myself," I replied.
" Remember that Boss Key you picked up quite a while ago when you rotated the first twisted room? This is where you need to insert it in order to enter the room beyond, but the question is are you prepared for what lies within? I have no idea what we will find, but you need to be brave and face the source of evil in the Forest Temple," said Spike.
" Like there is any other choice right?" But you're right in that I need to be brave," I said. Taking a few moments to breathe and get myself steeled for what was to come, I slowly walked down the hallway which looked very fancy as though someone was waiting for me to arrive. Once I reached the door, I took out the Boss Key and lodged it into the lock where it fell off and the door opened which prompted me to enter it. 
The next room was very dark and atmospheric although I did find myself stuck in front of a wall before realizing that there were stairs which lead up and around. I walked up the stairs and entered what looked like an arena of some kind where the floor featured the symbol of the Triforce in an impressive pattern. There were numerous paintings hanging on each wall, and they all depicted the same scene which was a pathway through a dark forest at night which lead up to a castle in the distance.
" Well this is rather anti-climactic," commented Spike.
" I know what you mean as I was expecting something here, yet this room is completely devoid of anything," I said.
" There is some kind of presence in this room as the amount of evil all around us is pretty strong, but maybe someone else came along and either defeated it or sealed it away somehow," said Spike.
" If you think Fluttershy did that then you must be insane to think it," I said.
" Yeah, that is wishful thinking on my part, so then where could the source of the evil in the temple be?" asked Spike.
" I have no idea, but it's obvious that there's no one here, so we might as well leave this room and figure out something else. Still, I can feel the evil all around us as though something was here, but I can't see anything so leaving is the best course of action," I replied. I began to make way towards the stairs when all a sudden, three prongs shot up from the ground which meant we were trapped in this arena as they were too high for me to jump over.
" Do you hear something? Like the sound of a horse?" asked Spike.
" Yeah, but the only person I can think of who would have a horse aside from Ingo would be....oh no....no....it couldn't be him could it? No....impossible....why would he want to choose to face me here and now? We're not ready as we lack the power to oppose him properly," I replied.
" What are you talking about?" asked Spike.
" Spike....we're in big trouble right now if that horse belongs to who I think it does," I replied. I then turned around in order to confirm my suspicions, and sure enough there was Ganondorf riding on that nightmare horse of his. Just seeing him there made me freak out because I wasn't expecting him to be here of all places, but why was he carrying a staff on his person? Also, why would he even be here in the Forest Temple instead of in his castle? As I looked on at the one who ruined my life, his horse reared up and let out a bellowing neigh before stomping its front hooves down and Ganondorf laughed at me.
" So....I've been waiting for you to arrive for quite some time," said Tirek.
" I wasn't expecting to see you here so soon after having returned from the Sacred Realm," I said.
" Heh, I always knew that you would one day return to Hyrule after being trapped in the realm for so many years. It seems that the Master Sword has indeed chosen you to wield it in battle, yet even now you continue to hesitate which will no doubt be your undoing. How pitiful that you should want to rely on magical prowess when you have in your possession a mighty blade which can carve a path of destruction against the evil forces. Of course, it matters not what you decide to use against me for in the end you shall die, and my reign over this land will continue unopposed," said Tirek.
" Why are you here?" I asked.
" Because I had the desire to see you again kid after such a long time, and I also knew that this would be the first temple that you would choose to save due to how close to home it must be for you. If you are looking to find the forest girl that is to become the Sage of this temple, then know that she has been sealed away within the veil of darkness never to see the light of day again," replied Tirek.
" Since when would you know something about that given that normally such a matter as that would be trivial to you?" I asked.
" Are you implying something?" asked Tirek.
" That you would never care about anyone whether it's by name or by title unless it was someone who posed a threat to you. In your eyes, everyone is just a nameless face as your only concern is to maintain your hold over this kingdom. I'm not sure why I'm thinking like this, but you don't appear to be who you say you are unless these past seven years have really changed you," I replied.
" Impressive," began Tirek.
" With what?" I asked.
" I did not think that you would have figured things out so quickly, but it appears that you are one who must not be underestimated. You managed to see through my deception and deduced that I am not the real Ganondorf, but then you will not live to gloat about it for your death shall be quick and painless," replied Tirek. I had no idea what he was talking about, but then he covered his face with his left hand, and as he pulled it back, his face suddenly transformed into a demonic skull with horns sticking out of the top of his head. His hollow eyes then received bright yellow pupils, and this was followed by his horse rising into the air before it jumped into one of the paintings where he galloped off towards the castle laughing.
" What in the world just happened?" I asked.
" Watch out!" shouted Spike. I turned towards one of the mirrors where I saw Ganondorf galloping towards me, but it looked like he was going to smack right into the front of the painting, but then this purple portal appeared and his steed jumped right out and across the room where he aimed his staff straight down and fired a massive electrical blast that spread across the room, and electrocuted me which was painful to no end. He then entered a painting on the opposite side of where he came from, and laughed at my misery as he galloped off. " Sunset Shimmer! Are you okay?"
" It felt like I just got shocked with several thousand volts of electricity, but what's up with Ganondorf? Why has he changed his appearance and relying on such a trivial means of fighting?" I asked.
" That's not Ganondorf, but rather Phantom Ganon, a evil ghost of the Forest Temple, and most likely created by the King of Evil in order to freak you out. He will jump out from one of the paintings and attack you with that electrical shock by striking down in the center of the room. The shock will spread across in six directions which will make avoiding it difficult. Also, watch out for the fake Phantom Ganon which will turn around at the last minute and head back the other way," replied Spike.
" And here he comes now, so let me get my magic ready," I said.
" Actually...." began Spike but I cut him off mid-sentence as I prepared for this ghost to come out of the painting, but then it suddenly turned around and went back towards the castle in the painting, and then the real Phantom Ganon leapt from another painting and struck the ground with another powerful lightning strike which shocked me before he entered another painting and galloped off laughing once again.
" I wasn't able to use my magic fast enough," I said in pain.
" Your magic will have no effect on him as he is a creature forged with the power of the Triforce, so only weapons of magical origin and his own magic will be effective against him. This is where the Fairy Bow is going to come in handy as it was created using powerful fairy magic, so shoot at him whenever he comes out of one of the paintings. It seems to me that the fake Phantom Ganon is slightly less colourful, so use that to your advantage and you'll be able to spot the real one," said Spike.
" Now you tell me," I moaned as I started to watch the paintings. Both phantoms then came galloping down side by side in their respective paintings when the one on the left turned back while the one on the right was starting to come through. I quickly took out my bow and fired an arrow which hit his horse, and he retreated back into the painting where he laughed once again while galloping off. " At least I should be thankful that he is a big enough target, but aiming will be difficult if he manages to jump out and attack, so I need to hit him just as he is coming out." 
Then Phantom Ganon started to come back with the other coming from behind me, but I had no time to determine who was who as the one in front retreated, and the other jumped out and struck me again with his lightning attack. " This is starting to get really unbearable for me right now Spike, and I have no means of recovering my strength this time."
" Just try to keep going as I know you can do this," said Spike. Phantom Ganon then came galloping right in front of me with the other from behind, but this time the one behind me retreated, and the real one was in front, so I struck his horse with an arrow before he could come out, and he retreated as well. Then he began to gallop towards me from my right with the other from the left, and it was the right one who turned around and retreated. 
As soon as the phantom on the left emerged from his painting, I struck his horse once more with an arrow, but this time only his horse retreated into the painting while Phantom Ganon himself was now floating around in front of me with his staff behind his back, and continuing to laugh away.
" Now what's he doing?" I asked.
" It looks like he decided to take matters into his own hands by choosing to fight you one-on-one. He's going to be floating around constantly, and will eventually fling a ball of magical energy towards you. You need to answer his magic attack with an attack of your own," replied Spike.
" You said that he was vulnerable only to weapons forged by magic as well as the magic that he possesses, so that means I need to bounce his magic back at him, but how do I do something like that?" I asked. Before Spike could answer, Phantom Ganon spun his staff around before launching a ball of energy at me which struck me so hard that I was knocked back a bit before I got back onto my feet. He then hovered away from me before spinning his staff again and repeating the process which I managed to dodge. " Seriously! How do I bounce back his magical attacks?"
" You need to hit them back at him although I don't think he will make it that easy for you. This is where using the Master Sword would be highly beneficial to you right now, but you can't use it unless you've transformed, so you need to find another means of bouncing his attacks back. Hmmmm....this may sound silly to you, but why not use one of your empty bottles?" asked Spike.
" Seriously?" I asked.
" If you time it just right, you can bounce his attacks back using a bottle, but you need to have precise timing otherwise you won't enjoy the result," replied Spike. Was this a form of punishment I was to receive because I couldn't use one sword without having to transform which only works under intense conditions? Well, I might as well use an empty bottle and see what happens. Phantom Ganon spun his staff around and fired another attack at me which I attempted to bounce back, but I ended up getting flung back due to swinging too soon. 
He then repeated the process and I was too late in my reaction which caused another hit to come my way, and then he did it a third time which I managed to bounce back only for it to harmlessly hit a wall. Phantom Ganon then laughed as he began to hover upwards in order to get some distance from me, and then he spun his staff around and fired a magical attack which I bounced back, but he responded by hitting it back to me which hit me so hard that I went flying into one of the paintings before landing hard on my back....again.
" Okay, I need to remember to constantly bounce his attacks back whenever he does that," I moaned.
" Assuming that you will have the strength to counter him as he has taken a lot out of you. If you want at least a positive bit of news, he won't be able to keep bouncing his attacks back and forth for very long as he looks as though he has a poor time of things when it comes to reaction," said Spike.
" I can do this with a bottle," I said. Phantom Ganon hovered away again and fired another attack which I bounced back to him, and he hit it back while I responded to that, and he responded in kind which ended up hitting me as I was too early. " Okay, I can't do this with a bottle and I'm starting to feel like I can't walk anymore....I need to use the Master Sword which means I need to transform in order to do so."
" How did you do it last time?" asked Spike.
" Your guess is as good as mine as it just happened," I replied. Phantom Ganon then moved closer and flung another magical ball of energy which I had no chance to avoid, and the resulting hit knocked me over the fence and down the staircase as I tumbled down and crashed into a heap next to the door. I tried to righten myself and get back into the battlefield, but my body just wasn't having any of it by this point.
" Is this the full extent of your strength?" asked Phantom Ganon.
" I'm capable....of much more than this," I replied.
" Do not make me laugh pitiful child, for you clearly have proven that you are nothing but a weak little girl who has no chance of saving this world. Why my creator believed you to be a threat is something that I must question, but I feel that you are not as powerful as he claimed. Bah! This is no challenge to me as I was promised a great battle against the chosen hero," said Phantom Ganon.
" Which would be me," I said.
" Do not boast about something that you cannot keep! If you are indeed the legendary hero, then whoever chose you must have been desperate to have selected such a worthless candidate. Who was it that decided to make you the one? Was it that useless pile of lumber known as the Great Deku Tree? Or was it Princess Zelda, the one who ran away like a coward from my creator as he claimed her kingdom as his own? 
Maybe it was the timid little forest girl who remains imprisoned within the depths of the temple? I'm sure that she will not enjoy the horrors that await her once I am finished here with you! Just stay where you are, and allow me to finish this off so that I can attend to my guest," said Phantom Ganon.
" No! Leave her alone!" I shouted.
" Why should I listen to the likes of you? You have no control over my actions, so why don't you just die!" shouted Phantom Ganon. Hearing him say that proved to be the last straw, and something inside me reacted to his taunts which is when I began to glow and caused my pony ears and pony tail to appear. Could it be that my transformation occurs as a result of anger, concern for friends, and feeling helpless all at the same time? 
In any case, I leapt back onto my feet and also leapt back into the arena which took the phantom by surprise, but he remained undaunted. " This is the change that my creator mentioned you can become if pressured enough. Heh, it does not look all that much different aside from some ears and a tail, yet it is not going to make a difference."
" I think you should have paid more attention to Ganondorf's words," I said as I drew the Master Sword from its scabbard and held it in front of me. At this point I still had no idea as to how to use it properly, so I'll have to hope that I can do this right otherwise I could be killed again, and on a permanent basis. 
Phantom Ganon hovered back, spun his staff around, and flung an attack at me which I responded by holding out the Master Sword like it was a shield, and bounced it back to him which he then hit back to me. This went on for a couple of moments before my last bounce was too fast for him to react to, and his own magic struck him causing him to drop to the ground on one knee in pain. " Should I attack him now and what with?"
" He'll only be stunned for a few moments, so hit him as many times as you can before he recovers. As for what you can hit him with....magic is still out of the question, and you still can't use the Master Sword properly, so why not pelt him with arrows instead as he is vulnerable to them," replied Spike. That was a good idea, so I pulled out the Fairy Bow and started to shoot arrows at Phantom Ganon which caused him to feel the same pain that he had been inflicting on me. 
Eventually, he recovered and resumed hovering in the air, and he spun his staff around and flung an attack at me from a much closer range which I just barely deflected with the Master Sword. The magical blast smacked into the wall, and disappeared harmlessly which is when Phantom Ganon launched another attack at me, but I was ready for this one, and when I bounced it back with sword, the attack hit him where he fell down to the ground again, but only remained stunned for about two seconds.
" I guess those wild shots aren't as effective on him in terms of stunning him," I said.
" Yes, but they do catch him off guard which is the perfect time to get a quick hit on him," said Spike. I watched as the phantom hovered away from me which was his sign that another volley was about to begin. As I rallied his magical attack back and forth with him, I realized that this isn't the way the Master Sword is meant to be used, and I felt that I was doing it a disservice because of what it meant to the forces of good as a whole.
Eventually, the volley ended in my favour and Phantom Ganon fell again where I shot more arrows at him which weakened him a bit more, and then he resumed his hovering in the air although I could tell that he was seething with rage now.
" How have you managed to push me this far? You are nothing more than a weak little girl who should have fallen to my superior power much sooner! Could it be that I underestimated your strength, and even allowed you the chance to defeat me because you changed your form?" asked Phantom Ganon.
" I'd say that sums things up quite nicely," I replied.
" Could it be that my creator was right about you, and that my insulting of your morals has allowed you to fight back? No, you must have just been lucky! In either case, you have forced my hand by making me do something drastic! Do not think that you can reflect this back little girl, for it is a force that can't be stopped," said Phantom Ganon. He then raised his staff up and began to shoot off some fireworks which I thought was really cute, but I didn't think so when he suddenly dove at me which caught me off guard, and he struck me harder than ever before which made him laugh. 
As soon as his attack came to a stop, he hovered back to where he was before and began to gloat. " That is the true power that you face little girl, and even with your changed appearance, you now realize that there is not much you can do to defeat me." He then raised his staff and repeated the process again, and while I managed to avoid him for the most part, he also showed that his attack can be guided meaning he was able to change direction and struck me from behind causing me to fall flat on my face before he hovered back to his previous position.
" For a desperation technique, you certainly do have a lot of power behind it," I said.
" So do you yield?" asked Phantom Ganon.
" I don't intend on giving up," I replied.
" Your body would like to disagree with you on that statement! I can tell that you are barely able to continue with this fight, so I shall end things right now with a simple magical attack from close range. While I will admit that you defied all of my expectations of you kid, you should know that in the end you were no match for me. Goodbye," said Phantom Ganon. He spun his staff around and fired his magical attack, and with some quick thinking on my part as well as wanting to try something different, I somehow swung the Master Sword hitting the magic back at him which connected causing him to drop down. 
I followed this up quickly with one final arrow which defeated him. The phantom reacted with so much pain from that last hit that he started to fall apart before some kind of strange force picked him up and began to drag him towards the center of the room.
" You defeated him Sunset Shimmer!" exclaimed Spike.
" That was one intense battle filled with all sorts of twists and turns, but why is he floating towards the middle of the room, and where did that purple portal below him come from? I don't recall him summoning it while we were locked in combat," I said.
" Hey kid! You did quite well against my Phantom Ganon! It looks like you may be gaining some slight skill after all which makes things much more interesting. My phantom it seems underestimated your strength and look what ended up happening to the poor creature as a result, yet what surprises me is that you were able to change to that other form you used against me years ago. Now that I realize just how it occurs, it will make things exciting later on," said Tirek as his booming voice radiated through the entire room.
" Ganondorf! Where are you?" I asked.
" I am in my castle and have been observing this battle since the moment it first began. As soon as I was alerted to the fact that someone had reached my phantom, I knew that I was going to be entertained even though the desired outcome was not what I was expecting to see. I knew that you would be the one to face off against my creature kid, as you were the only one who would have the sense to venture into this temple in order to free it from the evil that plagues it," replied Tirek.
" So then you knew that I had returned to Hyrule?" I asked.
" Of course I was aware that you had left the Sacred Realm after seven long years. There was a beam of light that came from the Temple of Time which I observed from the window of my throne room, and only one person in the entire kingdom would have caused such a light to even occur. It does not matter what you do in order to try and save this pathetic world, for in the end you shall die at the hands of much more powerful creatures. Of course, should you manage to overcome all of these trials and achieve your goal, you get to have your life ended personally by me when you come to my castle," replied Tirek.
" If your phantom is a reflection of you then it should be an easy battle for me," I said.
" Do you honestly believe those words? If so then you have not changed at all in the time that you have gone," laughed Tirek.
" What do you mean?" I asked.
" While you did end up defying all expectations by prevailing and proving that you do possess some power, you have merely defeated my phantom. When you fight the real me, it won't be so easy as I am far stronger than that pitiful phantom. And now to deal with the only remaining issue on hand. What a worthless creation that ghost was! I shall banish it to the gap between dimensions where it shall rot away for eternity in a perpetual state of limbo! Kid, do not fail my expectations of you," replied Tirek. 
As his voice disappeared, I looked on at Phantom Ganon as he writhed in pain and agony as his broken body was pulled into the portal and he disappeared entirely with the portal closing. Once again, I had to witness such a painful end for a powerful being, and this time it felt especially painful to me because the phantom was punished for failing to fulfill its anointed task.
" Are you okay?" asked Spike.
" I can't believe that Ganondorf would go and do that to one of his own creations," I replied as my pony ears and pony tail disappeared.
" His actions remind you that he is sadistic and has no care for anyone save for himself," said Spike.
" When the time comes for me to finally face him in battle Spike, I will make sure to finish him and not grant him any kind of mercy. While that does make me sound like I'm no better than him, he has never once offered mercy to anyone before and instead treats everyone like tools. For that, he gets no sympathy from me whatsoever," I said.
" We should probably get going, so make sure to grab that Heart Container as you definitely earned it. Once you've picked it up, all you need to do is step into the blue light and we will most likely be transported to the Chamber of the Sages where we will meet the Sage of Forest. With the evil of the Forest Temple having been destroyed, no doubt that Saria has been freed and received the awakening she was to receive from the Sacred Realm," said Spike. I smiled in response to what he said and I walked over and picked up the Heart Container which made me feel really good as my strength returned to me, and my wounds completely healed. 
Once I was ready, I walked into the blue light where I found myself sealed into a crystal which transported me to the chamber where I landed on the Triforce symbol in the middle of the room. Another blue light then shone from the green groove on the central platform, and coming up from it was Fluttershy who still looked the same as she did before.
" Thank you. Because of you, I was able to hear the awakening voice of the Sacred Realm. My name is Saria, and I am the Sage who has been chosen to guard the Forest Temple. With the evil of the temple now having been destroyed, the Kokiri Forest will return to normal, and the dark creatures will return slinking to their holes in the ground. 
I always knew that you would come to rescue me because I know who you are despite not having aged seven years. Sunset Shimmer, I have waited for your return for such a long time because I always believed that you were not responsible for the death of the Great Deku Tree. I now know that it was by Ganondorf's hand that the guardian spirit of the forest was killed which in return caused the evil to spread as far as it did," said Fluttershy.
" I haven't aged at all because of the magic inside of me," I said.
" Yes, the magic that comes from another world much like yourself. I remember you telling me that story years ago, and that I too shared the same magic which caused me to experience memories of a world much different from this one. Over the years, I continued to receive those thoughts yet I chose not to ignore them in the hopes that they would just go away, but rather embrace them to the point where I was able to achieve an answer," said Fluttershy.
" What kind of answer?" I asked.
" That what you said long ago was indeed the truth, and now that I have awakened as one of the six Sages, I realize now that the name you've been calling me by for so long is indeed my true name, yet I never realized it until after you were sealed away. Fluttershy....for the first time in my life, I want you to call me by that name instead of Saria, and I will try to use that name myself from now on. 
Even though you and I can never be in the same world due to my place being here and yours is there, know that I shall help you defeat the evil one who has plagued this land for so long," replied Fluttershy.
" Will I still be able to play your song to contact you?" I asked.
" Yes, for the magic contained within that song will always connect us no matter how far apart we are. Remember that if you want to hear my voice, play my song on your ocarina, and I will talk to you as always. Before you leave I would like for you to take this medallion as a sign that I have been awakened," replied Fluttershy. She then raised her arms and something started to fall down towards me at a rapid pace below slowing down and coming to a stop just a few inches above my head. 
She had given me a green coloured medallion much like the yellow one Starswirl the Bearded gave me when I first awoke after my seven year sleep. " This, Sunset Shimmer, is the Forest Medallion, the proof you need that indicates that I have awakened as a Sage and added my power to yours. This is where we say our goodbyes for you must return now to Hyrule, but know that I will always be your friend."
" Fluttershy...." I said as I was engulfed in a blinding light. When the light finally disappeared, I discovered that I was standing in front of the Great Deku Tree who certainly hasn't decomposed all that well in seven years. Things felt really quiet as though the forest was breathing a sigh of relief due to having been freed of the evil which had plagued it. 
Just as I was about to turn around and leave, I noticed something growing out of the ground in front of the Deku Tree, and it looked like some kind of flower was starting to grow. As I got closer in order to get a better look at it, it suddenly sprouted up causing me to go flying and landing on my rear. That was when I was staring at some kind of unusual plant which could mean big trouble for me....

To Be Continued.