The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time

by Ganondorf8

Chapter 46: Demonic Magical Duels

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
February 25, 2015
Chapter 46: Demonic Magical Duels.

The images flowing through my mind of my last encounter with the she-demon were painful to recall, and facing her here and now once again wasn't making things any easier. My transformation allowed me to defeat her although I lose self control in the process, yet this time she is insisting on fighting in a different manner. Why should I have to resort to doing what she says when clearly I was stronger before despite using a power which I'm afraid of?
I guess Sunset Demon is truly a reflection of myself due to being the opposite of me, and therefore my likes and dislikes are reversed for her own. And yet, there are some things we have in common which really worries me. She desires a duel in magic, and knew that I would have no choice but to accept it for it goes hand-in-hand with my being a unicorn.
It was a grim reminder that my studies back in Equestria, brief as they were, taught me the fundamentals of magic, and that I should strive to go as far as possible. She knows that I can't refuse her challenge as that would mean going against my creed as a unicorn, but I wish that I could so as to avoid a needless fight.
" So are you going to prepare yourself, or are you just going to stand there daydreaming?" asked Sunset Demon.
" Why do you want to go through with this?" I asked.
" I already told you my reason for wanting a magic duel, so I have nothing more to say to you," replied Sunset Demon.
" I've nothing against that because you're doing what your twisted heart desires, but why not choose to fight me head-on like we did back in the Water Temple? My transformation may cause me to lose control, but it should be enough to whet your appetite considering you care about power. Why bother to prolong this when we can just get it over with as soon as possible? To be frank, I don't have the time to deal with you as I need to rescue someone who is very important," I replied.
" You wish to rescue the Sheikah woman?" asked Sunset Demon. That caused me to react with shock which in turn made the she-demon chuckle a little bit, but she didn't go into a maniacal laughter. Perhaps her defeat made her see things a little differently, and if so then this makes my task all the more difficult. " I thought as much considering that she came through this way quite some time ago.
While I wasn't here when she traversed these dark corridors, I've heard things from the undead monsters that say she was heading down to the lowest level. I also heard that she did something to ensure any who wanted to follow would be able to. I'll admit that I'm impressed with her skills for thinking of every last possibility."
" What do you know?" I asked.
" Quite the demanding tone in your voice....there's hope for you yet. If you want to know what information I have, then the only way you'll find out is by defeating me in a magical duel, but do know that you must play by my rules seeing as the Shadow Temple favours me more than it does you," replied Sunset Demon.
" How will this duel work?" I asked.
" I want to challenge you several times throughout this temple, so getting it out of the way in just one attempt would be such a travesty for I want to make this last as long as I can. Think of it as me inflicting emotional damage against you," replied Sunset Demon. Seeing that smug expression on her face really made me boiling mad, and wanted me to consider transforming just to go and put her out of both of our miseries, yet I knew that was what she would expect.
No, I needed to remain calm even if it meant taking plenty of jabs from her teasing. I won't deny the fact that she is much more level-headed than before. " Anyway, we're each going to use our strongest magic against the other through the use of one spell. Neither of us will be allowed to dodge, so the aim is to take the force of the magic head-on, and hopefully survive."
" Are you being serious?" I asked.
" Oh I'm definitely taking this seriously Sunset Shimmer otherwise I wouldn't have even thought of it. You and I are going to throw our magic at each other in a sort of quick-draw fashion, so let's see how good your resistance to magic really is. Being able to withstand fire is certainly an amazing talent you have because of how it reflects your cutie mark, but can you stand up to the darkest of flames used only by those who truly have become one with the purity of evil?" asked Sunset Demon.
That must be what those flames in her hands represent....she never did this previously, so what she said about the Shadow Temple was true. Since I had no other choice but to go through with her challenge if I wanted to escape from this room, I stood firm and conjured up the strongest fireballs that I could muster and prepared to use them. The she-demon then counted down from four to one before we both launched our respective attacks.
Both streams of magic passed by the other and struck their respective targets, yet it felt like my heart was being squeezed because of how powerful those dark flames were. The force was enough to send me flying back against the wall before I dropped to the ground and clutched my chest in pain.
Sunset Demon was thrown into the opposite wall as my magic had gotten stronger thanks to Rarity's powers as a Sage adding onto what I already had, yet she was able to get up quite quickly which was a bad sign. " Your magic has grown a lot stronger in such a short amount of time....how is that even possible? I know you were strong when we last fought, but this is completely unprecedented."
" You'd be surprised as to what I'm capable of," I said as I struggled to get onto my feet.
" How do you like the flames of darkness which I integrated into my own magic?" asked Sunset Demon.
" It felt like my heart was about to be smashed to pieces where it was being pushed at from two sides," I replied.
" Most people would have perished the instant they felt such darkness piercing their bodies in such a manner, but you are able to survive despite feeling some discomfort in the process. Even though you've changed your destiny by following the path of friendship, the taint of evil still exists inside of you, and it's something you can never get rid of.
Don't think of it as a curse, but rather a blessing for it means you can stand up to the purest of malice better than most. Sure, you'll eventually succumb, yet you'll last longer which makes for an interesting experience," said Sunset Demon.
" I kind of figured out that I was tainted," I began.
" And what lead to you that conclusion?" asked Sunset Demon.
" While you claim that I changed my ways from being a manipulative, intimidating, and downright horrible girl into what I am now, the transition wasn't as easy as you think. All I had in the name of friends were Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity who forgave me for my actions. Everyone else at Canterlot High wouldn't give me the time of day, and instead alienated me because they weren't ready to forgive me for my actions.
I truly felt alone despite my friends being there to support me, but deep down I knew that I was going to have a rough time especially when the majority of the student body were against me....not that I blame them of course. Even with my friends, I felt rejected because they favoured Twilight when she returned, but that was because I was the outsider trying to find her place.
The Dazzlings certainly didn't make things any easier for me, but I managed to pull through in the end, yet I still have some kind of evil hidden inside of me which comes out whenever I transform," I replied.
" Which happens due to losing control," said Sunset Demon.
" Maybe I'm meant to be tainted by evil, but I won't allow myself to become corrupted by it," I said.
" That means claiming your life has become a lot more interesting. You're still alive and standing which is all I care about at this point, but I suppose you've earned some rewards," said Sunset Demon. She then raised her hands which caused the iron bars on the door behind me to rise up, and this was followed by her eyes glowing that produced a large treasure chest.
Once it had finished materializing into the room, the she-demon walked over to the chest, and patted it on the lid several times before slamming her hand down onto it as a means of trying to intimidate me. " Hopefully, this will give you the incentive to want to make your way through this temple as fast as possible."
" And if it doesn't?" I asked.
" Then how about I sweeten things by giving you this to comb over," replied Sunset Demon. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a piece of paper which looked rather suspicious at first, but my expression immediately changed when I saw that the symbol of the Sheikah was printed on the top of it. How did she manage to get that in her possession? In any case, that pretty much served as an ideal incentive because I suspected that Applejack may have something to do with that paper, so I needed to get my hands on it.
" You don't have to fight me for it as I'm just going to give this paper to you, but I expect you to continue proving my expectations in exchange. I've had enough fun for now, so I'll leave you to carry on with your temple exploration." Sunset Demon then turned around and walked into the shadows where she disappeared which made me wonder which future room she will choose to challenge me again. While I'd rather not have to go and do what she says, there was no other choice as this was essentially her stomping grounds.
" Are you okay Sunset Shimmer?" asked Spike.
" I'm surprised at how all of that turned out," I replied.
" Even though I could have given you some good advice, I decided to let you handle it as Sunset Demon is your problem, and you know her better than anyone. It does strike me as odd that she would just up and leave like that, so what's with her sudden change from evil monster to manipulative fiend?" asked Spike.
" Her defeat at my hands back in the Water Temple made her realize that trying to kill me as a result of being enraged almost got her destroyed, so now she taking a more calm approach by testing me. Sunset Demon was genuinely afraid of my transformation as she knows that's what defeated her, but she also is aware that I can't control it right now. I don't want to say it Spike, but she is more dangerous now than she was before," I replied.
" I'd say she was less of a threat and more of a stubborn obstacle," said Spike.
" Believe me, she is going to become quite the problem especially since she knows that I'll meet all of her expectations before we're done here. I was hoping to have pretended to be unworthy, but that would be betraying myself. No, I'm going to have to play her game for a while until it reaches the point where I can defeat her once and for all. What that essentially means is that she is going to have the advantage from now on, unless I can find a means of providing my own advantage that trumps hers," I said.
" If you say so," said Spike.
" So what do you make of this piece of paper?" I asked.
" It bears the symbol of the Sheikah on it, so it's safe to assume that this was written by Impa. How that demon got hold of it is anyone's guess, but she was willing to give it to you. I suggest you take a look at what has been written down as it could provide us some clues as to how to progress through the Shadow Temple," replied Spike.
Holding it up and using some of my magic to make it bright enough for me to see the text, I began to read the paper and sure enough this was Applejack's handwriting. It said 'If you are reading this, then you have entered a place where the undead roam free without restraint. Why you chose to follow me is irrelevant, but I must warn you that progress is impossible unless you have the means to cross areas that loom above the descent into darkness.
There is an item somewhere near the beginning of the temple which contains the power to float, but I could not find it as my concern was on the shadow which even now grows in strength below.' The message on the paper ended there all of a sudden, and it made me wonder if Applejack had written anymore messages and scattered them throughout the temple. I guess this was just another collectible I needed to find, but this was one which served a rather limited purpose for it was useless in the outside world.
" So the treasure of this dungeon is somewhere on the first basement?" I asked.
" Pretty convenient if you ask me, for it means we don't have to do all that much to find it," replied Spike.
" Applejack seemed really concerned with wanting to deal with the shadow beast if she decided to ignore the treasure, but how was she able to cross that chasm we saw back in the room with that statue?" I asked.
" The Sheikah have abilities which the other tribes could never hope to obtain, and these skills enable them to carry out impressive feats which made them the perfect spies and warriors during the times of war. Impa used such skills to make it across without the need of sacred feet, so you need to find that treasure otherwise we're stuck on this level," replied Spike. Turning my attention back to the treasure chest, I opened it up to reveal the Dungeon Map, and I looked at it to give me an idea as to how the temple layout was shaped.
It seems that this place was like the Bottom of the Well where there were no floors, but rather basements which go deeper and deeper below underground. What was weird was that the first two basements were really small, and the other two were massive. Sunset Demon had plenty of opportunities to attack me on those lower levels, so I needed to watch myself when making my way around down there.
" Why is this room so huge compared to the rest of the rooms in the temple?" I asked.
" It does stick out pretty well which has you wonder what could be there to warrant such a size," replied Spike.
" Maybe the vessel that is said to take us to the other side is located in that room? It would need to be a large enough chamber to allow for a boat and a river to be able to exist down there, or perhaps it could be something else altogether? Also, I noticed some areas appear to be overlapping each other where certain rooms exist on two different basements as opposed to just the one," I said.
" Where do you think the shadow beast could be?" asked Spike.
" I've got a suspicion that it's located somewhere on the lowest level," I replied. Taking my finger, I began to run it along the map as a means of giving myself a small guidance to determine where we would end up going, and so far I was having trouble figuring out which parts of the basements we were to enter from.
My own guess was that the location of the shadow beast was somewhere to the left of the giant room, but I'd need to find the Compass first to be able to prove that what I'm guessing is going to be correct. " I think we need the compass, so I hope we can find it as soon as possible otherwise we might have to backtrack a little."
" The layout suggests that having to go backwards isn't going to be all that bad," said Spike.
" Until we see it with our own eyes, you need to assume that we'll have to backtrack to be able to progress," I said.
" Good point considering what we've experienced so far in the other temples. According to what I saw on the map, there is still one more room to explore on the first basement, and it's to the right of this room, so we might as well check it out. There are no other rooms where the sacred feet can be except for that chamber, so the process of elimination is quite evident," said Spike.
Leaving this room and turning to the right where before I determined that the wall in front of me was fake, I continued on into the next part of the area where the booming voice spoke out once again choosing to repeat a statement it already said.
" What is hidden in the darkness....tricks full of ill will....you can't see the way forward..."
" Now why do you suppose that voice would repeat itself?" I asked.
" Perhaps as a means of making it sink in that you're hopelessly lost in a place where the darkness has no equal, but you have the Lens of Truth which lets you uncover the tricks this temple is going to throw at you," replied Spike. Continuing on down the passageway, I ended up reaching a door where I could sense something familiar coming from the other side of it.
" Do you feel that Spike? I know we've felt this force before," I said.
" Just like what we sensed back in the Bottom of the Well," said Spike.
" You don't think I have to deal with that thing again do you?" I asked.
" Only way to know is to open the door," replied Spike.
" The last time was just embarrassing as all I had to rely on were bombs, but I suppose this time would be easier given that I do have better weapons. Still, I don't like it because of all those hands reaching out, and wanting to grab me with their hideous touch," I said. When I opened the door and entered the next room, it locked behind me with iron bars, and when I looked forward, I slapped my head in response. " Oh no! Did it really have to be this thing again!?!?"
Rising up from the ground before me were the arms of Dead Hand, but this time there were six arms as opposed to four. Not only that, but the room was much smaller which meant avoiding these arms was going to be difficult. " I'd rather face off against Sunset Demon than having to face that undead horror again."
" Last time you didn't really take that much damage, and you were using an unorthodox method. Now you have potions to heal your wounds should things get out of control, but it really shouldn't come to that. Also, you have stronger weapons to use like the Master Sword and the Megaton Hammer. If anything, I'd say you'll be able to defeat Dead Hand in a much quicker fashion, yet it does mean having to have one of those hands grab you in order to summon it from below," said Spike.
" Guess I've no other choice but to let one of those hands take a swipe at me," I sighed as I walked over to the nearest hand where it reached out and grabbed my head using a much stronger grip than before. Then, as if it were on cue, Dead Hand rose up from the ground with its neck looking upward making its weak-point impossible to hit until it lowered it down when it got close enough to me. I struggled to break free, but then suddenly a second hand grabbed me which completely pinned me down.
There was nothing I could do as the undead monster lowered its head and bit me in the arm as hard as it could before it continued the assault by biting me several times. Eventually, after a lot of wiggling about to no avail, Dead Hand attacked again which was enough for me to break free of the two hands before I retreated back to the door.
" What happened?" asked Spike.
" Struggling to break free from the grip of one hand was bad enough, but there's no way I can free myself when two hands are holding me down. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought if the hands decide to gang-up on me, and allow Dead Hand to get in as many free hits as it wants," I replied.
" At least you know that it doesn't inflict that much damage," said Spike.
" No, but it certainly adds up after a while," I moaned. Moving in closer in order to get it to lower its head down for me to strike it, I drew the Master Sword where one of the hands reached out and grabbed me which caused the sword to drop out of my hand where it fell onto the floor, and slid along a short distance before coming to a stop. " Oh come on!"
This was one of the most humiliating moments I've experienced on this journey, and just as I was starting to get the hang of using a sword without the need to change forms, but I guess I needed some more work. As I struggled to free myself again from the grip of Dead Hand's infinite hands, it managed to bite me which allowed me to break free.
I ran over and picked up the Master Sword where another hand tried to grab me, but I avoided it and cut it down with a simple swing before doing the same thing to a second hand which gave me some breathing room.
" Remember that new hands will grow back after a while, so be sure to watch out for those," said Spike.
" As long as I can keep on cutting them down carefully, I won't have to worry about being caught by those appendages," I said.
" Those hands do have a fast reaction time, so you would have to be extremely quick before they can grab you," said Spike. With that in mind, I waited for Dead Hand to make its way over and lower its head, but then it suddenly disappeared which meant having to use one of the hands to summon it back again.
Not exactly the best course of action for me to take, but I didn't exactly have much in the way of options. That's when an idea popped into my head which caused me to look down at the Lens of Truth, but not before dodging the newly grown hands which immediately wanted to hold me down while their owner reveals itself and attacks me.
" You know, I was thinking that maybe the lens can be used to locate Dead Hand," I said.
" It's possible for it's somewhere underground, and the lens does reveal all secrets no matter how hard they try to hide. I'm surprised at you Sunset Shimmer for coming up with such an interesting thought," said Spike.
" The longer this journey takes, the more I seem to get out of it which could prove to be useful. Anyway, if the lens can reveal its location, I should be able to make it reappear on my own terms rather than having to have those hands do the work," I said. Taking out the Lens of Truth and holding it up to my eye, I could see a large circular shadow near the back of the room in front of a hand.
So this is how Dead Hand is able to hide until one of its hands alerts it to the presence of an enemy, and when that happens it reveals itself and attacks. So long as it remains underground like that, it's immune to any kind of attack.
" Do you see that shadow over there?" I asked.
" That's what happens whenever Dead Hand disappears when you've wounded it enough times, or it goes about without being able to bite anything for a while. It's location will change each time it vanishes, yet you'll always know its position by using the lens to spot it. If you could use some kind of force to get it to come out of the ground, you won't need to rely on those hands grabbing you," replied Spike.
" What would be designated as using force?" I asked.
" Striking near the shadow is one way to force it to reveal itself, or you could use a Bomb to bring it up. Be careful when using bombs as you do need to walk forward a little if you want to throw it, or if you choose to drop on top of the shadow, you'll need to get away quickly before it explodes and damages you in the process. I suggest using the power of the Megaton Hammer, and see what ends up happening.
Now, when it comes to attacking Dead Hand this time, the Master Sword has a much longer reach than the Kokiri Sword, so you can afford to get a slight distance away from it before striking. Also, the divine blade inflicts twice as much damage so defeating this thing will probably take a few whacks before it goes down," replied Spike.
" Guess I should leave the Lens of Truth on for a few moments as to ascertain the location of the shadow," I suggested. Spike agreed and I took out the Megaton Hammer where I jumped forward and slammed it into the ground with a tremendous thud. This caused Dead Hand to rise up from the ground, and I immediately retreated back to the door in order to avoid the hands.
When the undead monster got as close as possible, I switched from the hammer to the Master Sword, but I ended up being grabbed by two hands which pinned me down. " Not again! This is something I'm hoping will never happen to me again!" This whole situation was really starting to get on my nerves, but I knew that struggling was futile as the hands were too strong with their grip on me.
Dead Hand finally made its way over where it lowered its head, and took a bite of my head to free me where I swung with my sword where one hit was enough to make it turn around and retreat by disappearing.
" It's changed locations, so use the Lens of Truth to see where it is now," suggested Spike. Pulling out the lens and looking through it again, the shadow was now right next to me which was both convenient and creepy.
" Now why would it choose to end up right here of all places?" I asked.
" I think that wound you inflicted upon it has caused it to become enraged, so now it's determined to finish you off even though the most likely outcome is you finishing it off given if you manage to hit it one more time with the Master Sword," replied Spike.
" Sometimes I have this weird feeling that these monsters have a strange attraction towards me," I said.
" I hope you don't mean that in a certain way?" asked Spike.
" No! Of course not! I'd never think like that as such a thought is enough to make me want to throw up repeatedly," I replied. Okay, that was taken well out of context which wasn't my intention, but my concern is still a legitimate one because these monsters always have this strange urge to want to get right in my face.
Focusing back on the matter at hand, I switched to the Megaton Hammer, and slammed the ground which forced Dead Hand to reappear although I wasn't expecting it to lower its head so quickly, and it resulted in me getting bitten one more time. Upon reeling from being hit, I swung the Master Sword where it flung out of my hand and sliced into Dead Hand which was surprisingly enough to defeat it.
It crashed to the ground where it's elongated mouth stretched out which still looked creepy, and my sword ended up on the other side of the room to my utter embarrassment. " Sigh....I've got to stop being so clumsy with that sword otherwise one of these days it's going to shatter to pieces, or I'll end up losing it which would be the worst possible thing."
" At least Dead Hand has been defeated, so you can relax for a while," said Spike.
" I suppose that's true, but still I really need to improve before I have to face Ganondorf," I said.
" That time is almost upon us given that we only have two more Sages to find," said Spike.
" Don't forget about the additional one Fluttershy mentioned which makes it a total of three, but you're right in that the time is nearing to the final conflict where I'll finally be able to return to my own world. It kind of makes me feel sad knowing that I have to leave Hyrule as I've grown quite attached to it, but I suppose all good things must come to an end even if you deeply don't want them to.
Listen to me having such a philosophical moment in a place like this Spike. I can't really look forward to returning home as there is still much more for me to do here," I said.
" You just need to focus on one thing at a time, and right now we need to wait for the treasure chest to appear which you know will happen as defeating Dead Hand should unlock the door," said Spike. As if on cue, Dead Hand's body finally disappeared which caused a chest to materialize in front of me, and the iron bars covering the door to raise upwards. Walking over and opening it, I pulled out what looked to be a pair of boots which were brightly coloured, but also featured a pair of wings on each boot which looked rather strange.
" I wasn't expecting the sacred feet to literally be a pair of new boots," I commented.
" These are the Hover Boots! While you wear them, you will have the ability to hover in the air for a few seconds. This can allow you to move across gaps which are too large for a regular jump, but there is a side-effect which cannot be ignored. They have no traction which means you will have trouble walking, and coming to a stop involves sliding forward a little bit. Also, getting knocked back by an attack is going to really be just that as you'll go sliding across the floor for a few seconds.
It may sound like what you've discovered isn't going to be that much useful, yet I can assure you that the Hover Boots are definitely going to prove their worth," said Spike.
" It sounds like they are needed for specific situations rather than being used as a permanent footwear," I said.
" You can walk around in them unlike the Iron Boots which are restricted to underwater, but I hope you like walking at a rapid pace just to be able to maintain any kind of movement what with the lack of traction being a problem. Still, you should be brave and trust in the boots as I'm sure they will be needed to overcome some of the more intricate puzzles that lie further ahead," said Spike.
I'll admit that I do like the idea of walking on air itself, and cross large chasms without fear of falling into one, so I suppose these Hover Boots are going to quickly gain my favour especially since I need them to proceed down to the next basement. Just as I was about to walk over to the door, Spike urged me to stop and look up at the wall where he saw another one of those skull pictures.
I had every intention of ignoring it because those things have been nothing but trouble, but I changed my mind when he told me that he could hear the spirits coming from it. " They are saying that this is a room where the song of light can be used if you wish to perform a special action."
" Could this be one of the rooms which the Royal Composer Sisters talked about?" I asked.
" It does sound like it, so why not play the Sun's Song and see what happens? I'm sure that those two will have something interesting they wish to bring up," replied Spike. Taking out the Ocarina of Time from my pouch, I needed to be reminded as to how the song was meant to be played as I haven't used it for a long time now.
Once again, I could rely on my partner for having taken the liberty of writing down the notes, so once I memorized what he wrote on a small scrap of paper, I played the Sun's Song which brightened up the room. A few moments later, and both Octavia and DJ Pon-3 appeared by floating down after coming in from the ceiling before stopping in front of me with happy looks on their faces.
" To think that we would never get to hear the wondrous melody of our work," said Octavia.
" You mean to tell me that you weren't able to play your own song?" I asked.
" My sister Flat and I lacked the skills one needs to be able to play an ocarina, so our idea was to have Princess Zelda perform our song because she was very skilled. Sadly, Ganondorf made sure that we could never get the chance to hear our work when he killed us in cold blood. That was one of the only things we ever regretted wasn't it my little sister?" asked Octavia.
DJ Pon-3 responded by nodding her head a few times before lowering it down as though she were about to cry, but I understood how they were both feeling as I have had plenty of regrets in my life. " Alas, we can't allow negativity get in the way of helping you Sunset Shimmer, but know that all we can do is provide advice. I notice that you have got some very fancy looking boots in your possession."
" My fairy partner Spike referred to them as Hover Boots," I said.
" I've heard of these boots for they possess the power to allow you to hover in the air as though you were a spirit not bound to the land itself. They say that you can gain even more distance if you allow the power of wind to guide you along, but finding such an element even in a place like this can be difficult.
You can even walk on sand without fear of sinking below the depths, but there hasn't been any sand in this kingdom since after the first people came to settle here. By the way, how many times have you played our song since you first learned of it?" asked Octavia.
" That would have been about the third or fourth time," I replied.
" I'm not surprised," began Octavia.
" How come?" I asked.
" The power contained within the Sun's Song is one that cannot be underestimated, for only the most worthy are able to use the full extent of its arcane magic. You have been using it in order to stop the undead from attacking you in addition to summoning my sister and me, but you also had to play it to fix a mistake where you caused the day to change into night a lot faster than anyone expected.
I wouldn't call you worthy enough to use the true power of the Sun's Song, but you can still use it in order to cause great discomfort for the undead hordes as the light blinds them. Maybe towards the end of your journey will you consider yourself worthy to harness the power to change time from day to night and vice versa," replied Octavia.
" I suppose that's fair although I hope you're not implying anything about my skills," I said.
" Oh I've no doubt about your abilities being real as you've seen things most people would never get to experience in their life times, but I'll admit that the methods you use are quite different from a typical hero with the kind of upbringing you have. Perhaps it's not my place to say anymore on the subject, and so I will not speak any further about it," said Octavia. Did I just make her feel really uncomfortable what with me calling her out on viewing me as being unworthy?
DJ Pon-3 had been merely staring the entire time, and that really does make me uneasy as I expect her to say something, but all she does is rely on the use of expressions. " I'm afraid that Flat and I must leave, and return to the surface for the light of this room is beginning to wane. Remember to play our song, and we shall appear to assist you further," said Octavia. She and DJ Pon-3 then began to float upward towards the ceiling before passing through it and disappearing leaving me and Spike alone again.
" Do you think I made her feel guilty?" I asked.
" She hasn't witnessed what you've been through whereas I have, but even I have to agree that Sharp did go a little too far with that criticism. You're not a traditional hero in that sense of the word Sunset Shimmer, but that's probably why she thought of you as not being worthy to harness the full power of the Sun's Song. We both know what that melody is capable of, and it can be a dangerous force unless it's used wisely," replied Spike.
" Or not at all," I added.
" I'd say to use their song only when you need to overcome any undead monster. With those Hover Boots, you can now cross over that chasm, and make your way down to the second basement which is just as small as this level is. If you can find the Compass, pinpointing the location of the shadow beast will be easy, so we should make that a priority," suggested Spike. I then left the room and made my way back to the area where I had to move the statue.
The booming voice did not speak out which was a relief, but it made me think that maybe it will resume speaking when I get further into the temple as right now I'm merely at the start. Back in the other room, I switched over to the Hover Boots where I immediately struggled to stop myself from slipping all over the place.
" You weren't kidding when you said that these boots lack any traction," I said.
" It does take some time to get used to, but you'll eventually get the hang of it," said Spike.
" Here goes the moment of truth," I said as I ran off of the edge where the power of the boots allowed me to walk on thin air for a few seconds. It was both strange and exciting as it felt like I was a Pegasus flying in the sky even though that wasn't really the case. Once I reached the other side of the chasm, I tried to come to a stop, but I ended up sliding down through the now opened passageway until I tripped and landed flat on my face which brought me to a stop.
" Okay, I can safely say that these Hover Boots are going to give me some problems until I figure out how to use them properly, and you don't need to laugh at my misery Spike even though I just landed face-first into the dirt."
" I'm not laughing," said Spike as he struggled not to burst out into laughter.
" I rest my case," I moaned as I got back onto my feet and switched to my regular boots. Walking down the dirt path and into the second basement, I found myself facing off against a monster which I tried to recall what it was in my head, but my main concern was the piles of rocks which seem to be blocking my progress in all possible directions. " What was the name of this thing again?"
" It's a Beamos, and it has been a very long time since we last encountered one. In fact, the only other time we've seen it was back in Dodongo's Cavern, and it seems like we'll be seeing this a few times throughout the temple. Watch out for its search beam as it rotates around in a complete circle in order to look for anything that ventures into its space. If it catches you with its glare, it will fire a laser at you, and it can do quite a lot of damage if you're not careful.
It doesn't like smoke getting in its eye, so you can throw a bomb at it which will destroy it, or you may have to use two because the larger sized Beamos need to be stunned first before being blown up. This one appears to be of the regular size, so using one bomb is all you need to deal with it," replied Spike.
" As long as I keep my distance, that laser beam shouldn't hit me," I said.
" It does lack range, but you could trap it into constantly firing at you while being at the ideal distance, and all it can do is maintain its course of action until you throw a bomb and destroy it," said Spike. Making sure to keep well out of range of the Beamos, I got down onto my knees where I proceeded to take the Bomb Bag from my belt, and placing it on the ground before taking out a single bomb.
Once I placed the bag back onto my belt, I took aim hoping that I had the correct angle, and tossed the explosive which connected with the eye causing the entire thing to blow up. With the threat now having been taken care of, I turned my attention to the rock piles, and the idea of using additional bombs to destroy each one came to mind.
" There's obviously something on the other side of each of these rock piles as where else are we supposed to go?" I asked.
" It does seem a little too easy to use a bomb to turn each pile into nothing but rubble, so maybe there's more to this than what we can see? I'm not saying you shouldn't use more bombs as that is the logical solution, but maybe we should take a closer look just to make sure they are what they appear to be," replied Spike.
I could see where he was coming from, and I decided to go along with his logic because something did seem off about this. I walked forward to the rock pile directly in front of me as that was sheer instinct kicking in for me, and I pressed my hand up against the rocks to determine if they were authentic.
" These rocks are real, so we know that using a bomb here is a good idea," I said. Taking out another bomb from my Bomb Bag and placing in front of this pile before stepping back a few paces, it exploded and revealed the way onward which was quickly thwarted by a locked door. " Can't say I'm surprised to see a door with a lock on it at this point in the temple, but I knew we were going to need to collect some in order to move on."
" That means either the room to the left, or to the right will have a small key which can open the door," said Spike.
" First we need to figure out if the remaining rock piles are solid," I suggested which is when I quickly smacked myself in the forehead for having said such a lousy pun without intending to. Walking over to the pile on my left, I pressed my hand up against it just like I had done previously, and I almost stumbled when my hand passed through. " This pile of rocks is a fake which means that the other one must be the same, but only one way to really know for sure."
I placed the Lens of Truth up against my eye, and turned around where I saw that the other pile wasn't there either as the lens revealed that I could walk through without any worry. " This item is really incredible in how it can reveal the truth for what it is."
" It was named well," said Spike.
" You said that monsters can be invisible, so the lens would reveal them right?" I asked.
" The Lens of Truth has a small radius in which the truth gets shown through a circle of magic. Anything within that circle is always going to be the truth, so you don't need to worry about being deceived. You just need to watch out when something travels beyond the circle, for when that happens, it won't be under the power of the lens,," replied Spike.
" Makes sense otherwise it would be too powerful," I said.
" Which is why so many wanted it in the first place as they desired to further increase its power. There are some things no one must ever try to tamper with as certain powers are beyond the limitations of mere mortals. Even the Great Fairy would never think of wanting to alter something just to make it more powerful, so you can understand why the original owner of the lens wanted it buried beneath the well in the first place," said Spike.
" Then I need to prove that I'm worthy of using it as it was intended," I said. Walking forward and opening the door which was a portcullis, something I never really took notice of before until now, I entered another small room which locked itself behind me with iron bars, but I quickly backed myself up against the door due to the Re-Dead squatting down in front of me.
I was lucky that it didn't notice me, but this was a really cheap move by the temple to have an undead monster in such an awkward location. " Why did it have to be another one of these guys? I'd take anything else except for this and the Gibdos."
" You now have the means to defeat them properly in the form of the Master Sword," said Spike.
" I'm still pretty bad at using it considering I dropped it and accidentally flung it at Dead Hand earlier," I said.
" It's either that or use the Megaton Hammer which you do appear to have better control over," said Spike.
" While I know that the hammer makes for a very effective weapon in battle, I do need to rely on the Master Sword as I'll need to use it when I confront Ganondorf as I doubt any other weapon will be able to harm him. Pinkie Pie's combat lessons have proven to be effective, but I wish she could have given me some additional practice rather than have me learn from my own experiences," I said.
" All you can do is try to get better," said Spike. I had nothing to argue about in return as what he said was the truth, so once again I sighed over the fact that I really do need to improve on my skills. I took out the Ocarina of Time and played the Sun's Song which paralyzed the Re-Dead in place, yet I had to defeat it if I wanted to escape, so I swung the Master Sword at it where it dug deep into its flesh.
It was something I didn't want to see, so I closed my eyes and swung a few more times. On the final hit, the Re-Dead collapsed to the ground which resulted in the door being unlocked, and a large treasure chest to materialize at the back of the room. " Did you just close your eyes and swing that around madly in an attempt to connect?"
" Was I really that nervous?" I asked.
" That's not the right word I'd use to call it, but I suppose I should expect that coming from you. It's a good thing though as it shows you're slowly getting better, yet you do need to get over this issue with dealing with the undead," replied Spike.
" Duly noted," I said before opening the treasure chest where I pulled out the Compass, and that turned out to be the third of the four key chests in the temple I've found in a very short period of time. I'm not even halfway through exploring as all that remains is the Boss Key which is most likely somewhere on the lowest level. " Spike? Did you notice where the location of the skull icon is on the map?"
" It's on the lowest basement all the way on the other end Sunset Shimmer," replied Spike.
" I know I've complained about backtracking all over these dungeons, but this is just ridiculous! If I have this right, this is going to be one long trek from point A to point B with little in the way of having to go backwards in order to go forward," I said.
" This would be a good time to consider using Farore's Wind," suggested Spike.
" I'm thinking of it, but it would probably be best used when we're close to the location of the shadow beast. If I need to use all of my potions while making my way down there, I can create a warp point as close as possible to where it is, but then I would need to leave the temple which might be impossible. Unless....is it possible to use a warp song here inside of a dungeon?" I asked.
" I don't see why not as there is no restriction as far as I can see," replied Spike.
" Then we'll know when the time comes," I said. Once I made sure that there was nothing else in this small room, I went back into the previous one where the Beamos had re-spawned, so I used a bomb to take care of as I didn't want it to fire any lasers at me. With it destroyed and dropping some bombs which I picked up, I made my over to the other door, and opened it where I entered a much larger room which featured a lot of wooden planks on the floor.
There were some silver rupees scattered about, yet my concern was on the unusual decoration in front of me. " What do you suppose that thing is?" It appeared to be two figures dressed in black robes with nothing but yellow eyes coming from their hidden faces, and they were spinning around while holding some kind of sharp blade-like objects.
" Those two figures represent the grim reaper which is another name of Death which is a force that all people in Hyrule fear, and I know you fear it because you've almost succumbed to death more times than I can count. Anyway, what they are holding are scythes which are long curved blades attached to a pole which can strike by using the inside part of the blade to inflict the most damage," replied Spike.
" It looks like those blades appear rather dull as they don't seem to be sharp," I said.
" Not many people come into this temple because of the evil that plagues it, so I guess those scythes have fallen into disuse. They may not inflict that much damage, but it will add up over time if you allow yourself to get struck multiple times. You'll need to avoid the blades while you collect the silver rupees which should open up that gate over there in the far corner of the room....Sunset Shimmer? Did you hear what I just said? Sunset Shimmer? Yoo-hoo!" said Spike.
He then started to get miffed over my ignoring him, but when I pointed towards the base of the decoration, he stopped his griping because standing with her back to us was Sunset Demon who turned around once she had ascertained that we were in the room. The expression she had on her face was a smug one which made me believe she was going to go back on her idea of challenging me to magical duels, but I quickly became confused when she started to clap her hands.
" Glad to see that you made it here in one piece," said Sunset Demon.
" What makes you say that?" I asked.
" I was afraid that Dead Hand was going to end your life, but I knew there was no way that blob would defeat you. So far, you're living up to my expectations which makes me happy, but I wonder if you'll be able to continue with this streak. I'm sure you've taken notice of the scythes spinning around this room courtesy of these two reapers, and I feel that they aren't moving fast enough for my liking.
So what I'm going to do is increase their speed by using a little bit of magic, and you'll have to dodge both blades as you scramble to collect the silver rupees," replied Sunset Demon.
" And what if I were to use my own magic in order to reverse this effect?" I asked.
" I'm using a small portion of the shadow beast's power to enhance my magic, so what you're proposing just falls on death ears. I was also thinking of flinging fireballs at you while you scurry around like a mouse, but I don't want you to fall to such an easy challenge Sunset Shimmer. If you did then all of my efforts of claiming your life as my own will have amounted to nothing, and I can't allow that to happen.
All you need to do is collect the five silver rupees in this room, and the treasure chests over there will belong to you. I've got no doubt that you will succeed in this little test of mine, so don't disappoint me now," replied Sunset Demon.
" I know you're enjoying this," I said.
" Of course because it's my way of dealing with you without having to worry about that transformation of yours," said Sunset Demon.
" What does that imply?" I asked.
" You'll see that with your own eyes in the future, so don't worry about it for the time being," replied Sunset Demon. She then snapped her fingers which caused the decoration to start gaining in speed until it was about almost three times faster. While it looked like the scythes were slashing her to pieces, it turns out that the she-demon in front of me was an illusion, for she had been floating slightly above the decoration this entire time.
" At the current speed they are going, those blades can and will slice you in two should you come into contact with them, and I doubt that any of those potions of yours have the means of fixing something like that. I'm going to remain right here, and watch your progress but do know that I won't be attacking you while you're running about."
" At least I can take solace knowing that," I said.
" Why should I get my hands dirty when you have these spinning scythes to deal with? Oh, and you're not allowed to use any of your magic, so don't even try it as this room is shrouded in darkness which negates it until the challenge ends. You're free to use all of your weapons including that Master Sword, so it's not like you have to feel naked or anything if you're thinking in that manner. Like I said, don't disappoint me now Sunset Shimmer," said Sunset Demon.
This certainly left me in quite a bind for I needed to collect those silver rupees, but those spinning blades were definitely going to be a problem thanks to her magic having gone and increased their speed.
" What do you make of this Spike?" I asked.
" When I said those blades don't inflict that much damage, that was because they were spinning around at a slow pace. Now that Sunset Demon has gone and made them faster, one swipe is going to kill you so you need to avoid them at all costs," replied Spike.
" Can those planks on the floor protect me?" I asked.
" Unless you can somehow lift them up using some kind of immense strength, they're going to be staying where they are. You could always crawl on the ground if you want to avoid being sliced apart, but you will need to get up, grab a silver rupee, and then back down within a matter of moments. I suggest going after the rupees near the location of the reapers to get them out of the way," replied Spike.
" That way I can go after the rest without having to fear this trap," I said. Dropping down onto my stomach proved to be a little uncomfortable as the floor was cold, but I had to grin and bear it if I wanted to grab these rupees. It wasn't easy maneuvering over the planks, yet I managed to quickly get used to it before one of the scythes suddenly came along, and sliced off a small chunk of my hair.
" I've always wanted to cut my hair shorter, but this isn't how I had hoped to go about it! At least it was just my hair and not my head, but the fact still stands that I lost some of my hair." Yeah, I know hair isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things, yet it's the principle of the thing which was the issue here.
When I reached the first silver rupee which was in the path of the spinning blades, I had to time it just right to get up, grab it, and get down which is when I had an idea. " Sunset Demon said that I can use my weapons, so do I have anything which can grab rupees?"
" The Longshot may be able to pull them towards you, but you'd need to aim correctly and with those scythes spinning around like they are, you could ricochet off of one and end up in an even bigger mess," replied Spike.
" It's a risk I must take," I said. Taking out the Longshot and rolling over onto my back, I aimed at the silver rupee and fired the chain which bounced off a blade and landed very close to me before it retracted back. That's what he meant when he said an even bigger mess, so I really need to watch my aiming as I could essentially hurt or even kill myself with my own tool. Aiming again and concentrating really hard, I fired the chain where it snagged the rupee, and brought it back where I collected it.
Now I need to get over to the next one in the sequence, but crawling will take too long so I decided to roll myself along. This wasn't my best idea mind you, but it turned out to be just what I needed to collect the next two silver rupees although I did nearly make myself sick.
" The she-demon hasn't been doing anything since this challenge started," said Spike.
" I know and I don't like it," I added.
" Just two more silver rupees to go, and we can finally move on," said Spike. Lucky for me that the final two were on the outskirts of the room where the scythes couldn't reach, so once I rolled over to a corner, picked myself up, dusted the dirt off of my tunic, and gathered my bearings, I walked around and collected the fourth rupee which left one more to go, and it involved using the Longshot to reach it.
And yet, I had to get back into the range of the scythes to reach the Hookshot plate as my current position wouldn't allow me to aim at the plate properly. I dashed into the center of the room with nothing but gusto, and fired the chain which connected to the plate, and pulled me along to the final rupee, but I got caught by one of blades at just the last moment as I reached a high platform.
The amount of pain I felt as it sliced through the side of my body was so unbearable that I almost let go of the Longshot, and when I grabbed the last rupee and landed, I clutched my side as it was bleeding pretty badly. It wasn't a serious or even fatal injury, but this was definitely an issue which needed resolving.
" Can a potion heal this wound?" I asked.
" It's going to have to if you don't want to walk around in so much pain," replied Spike.
" Good thing we went back and bought those potions otherwise I'd be in real trouble," I said as I took out a Red Potion and drank the contents of the bottle. Within an instant, the wound started to heal although my tunic was a little damaged, and there was still a scar to remind me of what happened.
Sunset Demon then snapped her finger, and the spinning scythes slowed down until they were back at their original speed. With another finger snap, the gate at the far end of the room opened which meant I had passed this challenge although I almost lost it.
" So you were prepared to deal with a devastating wound by bringing along a potion....once again you've living up to my expectations which makes wanting your life so much more of a desire for me. You've passed this challenge Sunset Shimmer, and for that I shall leave you alone for a while until you run into me again somewhere on the lowest level.
Before I go, why don't I give you another good piece of advice which you may take into consideration. First, a question and you had better answer it! Are you aware of the ferry that will take you to the other side?" asked Sunset Demon.
" I know about it," I replied.
" If you search hard enough and uncover the truth of the matter, you might be able to give yourself a sneak preview of what it looks like. I should warn you though that you may not enjoy the means of getting to see it," replied Sunset Demon.
" What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
" I'll let you figure it out because I know how you enjoy discovering new things," replied Sunset Demon. She then turned around and flew into the darkest recesses of the room where she disappeared leaving me and Spike to ponder over what she had said. I was already regretting having agreed to these magical duels although this was more about survival as it was about using magic, and then I realized that she forced me into this.
" We can see the ferry to the other side?" I asked.
" It sounds like it, but can we trust what she says? I know she is your other self and all, yet she is twisted and evil and could very well be lying," replied Spike.
" Only way to know for certain is to see it for ourselves," I said. Walking along the edge of the room to where the treasure chests were, I kicked open the first one which revealed just a bunch of arrows, yet I took these because I forgot to restock on them prior to entering the temple. Kicking open the other chest gave me the small key which we needed to progress, but out of the corner of my eye was another picture of the now familiar skull.
Strange how it was placed in such an unusual part of the room as that direction just leads to a dead-end, and yet I was compelled to know more. " Spike, can you hear any of the spirits near that picture?"
" I can Sunset Shimmer, and they say that if we want to take a trip to see the ferry which will take us to the other side, come here," replied Spike.
" I don't like it," I said bluntly.
" Neither do I, but suppose we do get to see a sneak preview of what it looks like? It would give us an idea as to what to expect when we eventually make it down to the same location through the correct path," said Spike. This is true as it would be quite the advantage, but I still didn't trust the she-demon although a small part of me wanted to believe her words simply because she and I are one and the same.
With that in mind I walked towards where the picture was on the wall, but I should have realized that there was more to this than it looked, for the instant I stepped forward far enough, I found myself falling through the floor. From there, I plunged down into a deep pit with nothing around me to break my fall, but it looks like I'll be breaking all right if and when I finally reach the ground....

To Be Continued.