The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time

by Ganondorf8

Chapter 48: Shadow of the Ancient Vessel

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
March 4, 2015
Chapter 48: Shadow of the Ancient Vessel.

" How am I supposed to get up to the top of that ledge before a minute is up?" I asked.
" Don't you have a resistance to fire? So then wouldn't those flame-walls mean nothing to you?" asked Spike.
" My resilience doesn't protect me from all kinds of fire as you may recall when we faced that dragon back in the Fire Temple. It's fiery breath almost burned me to a cinder, and let's not forget that I would've burned alive in lava. Unlike Pinkie Pie who can practically bathe in the stuff, I would die within seconds of being submerged in lava, and that is with the resistance," I replied.
" Then you need to see if you can withstand those flames before you otherwise the acid rising in that pot will gush out," said Spike. He had a good point for there was no other option available, so I began to climb up the ledges while throwing myself into the flames. The intensity coming from them wasn't doing anything to me which was a good thing, but I could feel something else affecting me.
" It looks like my resilience is doing its thing, but why am I feeling pain?" I asked.
" Remember that Sunset Demon has been granted dark powers from the shadow beast, so what you're feeling is the evil radiating from the flames. Because of your taint, you shouldn't feel too much damage although it will still cause some injury, so you need to get to the top, and destroy that pot before you're forced to use the last red potion," replied Spike.
With this new resolve in my heart, I climbed up the remaining ledges all the while being burned by the darkness within the flames, and upon reaching the top, I saw that the pot had almost filled up with the deadly acid. Quickly, I pulled out a Bomb from my Bomb Bag and tossed it into the pot where it exploded, but I had no means of protecting myself.
That's when Sunset Demon came over to me, and used some kind of barrier to protect me and Spike as well as herself from the acid as it splattered all across the room. It wasn't strong enough to cause any permanent damage to the room, but there was still some residual effects to be had.
" Once again you've defied my expectations, and completed this magical duel with little to no problems. I knew you were going to throw yourself into the walls of fire as your resistance to flames is pretty self evident. Don't forget that I'm your dark side, so any resistances you have are what I have as well. You're now free to resume your little journey in this temple," said Sunset Demon.
" Why did you decide to save me?" I asked.
" Quite the unusual question coming from the likes of you," replied Sunset Demon.
" You could've left me to die at the hands of that acid, and yet you chose to save me. I wouldn't have been able to survive, and your success was a guarantee had you not acted in such a manner. If I didn't know any better, I could swear you had no intention of seeing me killed. If I had been too late in destroying that giant pot, you would have saved me regardless," I said.
" Don't assume that I saved you because of viewing you as some kind of friend," began Sunset Demon.
" That thought has never once crossed my mind," I said.
" I do intend on claiming your life as my own, for that's something which I'll never give up on, but now I desire you to be even stronger so that when I do claim it, I'll be able to make you into a force that's beyond even my own expectations," said Sunset Demon.
" Then why not decide to face me right now in a final showdown?" I asked.
" I'm not going to blind myself to the obvious truth Sunset Shimmer, and that is your transformation is still a wild card. Even if you can't control yourself when you initiate it, I'd rather not deal with it right now. Oh, I have a means of handling it, but I'll save that for when we shall truly have a final showdown as you call it.
I'm going to have you go through one more duel, and if you manage to overcome it which I know you will, I'll take my leave, and meet you in the one place where your inner self is tested," replied Sunset Demon.
" I'm willing to bet that you're not going to tell what that is are you?" I asked.
" Why spoil the surprise that awaits you? I will give you another piece of advice for this temple as you could sure use some of that right now, and here it is so listen up. The ferry that will take you to the other side will only go so far before it decides to drop, so if you want to live and see the next sunrise, you'll abandon it before too long. I hope to see you again near the end," replied Sunset Demon.
She then disappeared into the ground leaving me to ponder over all of the things she said, and there was certainly a lot that was thrown my way. The good news was that her next challenge was going to be the last, and for that I'm happy as these duels are just getting ridiculous. Yet, what did she mean that our final encounter will be in a place where my inner self will be tested.
This was going to be on my mind for quite some time as well as what she said about being able to handle my transformation. Could she have found a means of being able to transform herself? I mean, she is a transformation of my true self due to when I put on Twilight's crown, but could Sunset Demon have discovered a means of going beyond what she already is?
" What are you thinking about?" asked Spike.
" Sunset Demon certainly had a lot to say before leaving, and I've been wondering what she meant," I replied.
" My advice to you would be to ignore it as she could be trying to freak you out, or she could be serious in which case you should still ignore her as you can't allow it to distract you. You're going to be encountering the she-demon one more time in the temple, and maybe you can question her meanings then, but whether she will choose to say anything or not remains to be seen," said Spike.
" The one thing that does bother me the most is what she said regarding my transformation. Could she have found a way to neutralize and render it useless? If she has then I suppose it wouldn't be all that bad as I prefer not to rely on my stronger form due to being unable to wield it properly. Or, she may have discovered an ability which can allow her to go beyond her current form," I said.
" Hard to say which of the two options is true as she was being rather cryptic, but again you should focus on finding the shadow beast, and destroy it in order to save Impa, and free Kakariko Village from the darkness that currently grips it," said Spike.
" I only have myself to blame for her cryptic nature," I began.
" How do you figure that?" asked Spike.
" Back when I was the "mean girl" in the human world, I often never indulged anyone about my plans. My belief was that I could trust no one, and all of them were merely tools for me to exploit to my own ends. If I were to reveal anything, I did so in a way that served to confuse rather than explain how it was supposed to go.
I didn't want to explain my actions as that would have meant being thwarted by any who had the courage to stand up against me, but no one ever did as my intimidation was too much for them to resist. Sunset Demon is essentially carrying on in the manner that I used to be, and just knowing this makes me feel ashamed of what I used to do. But, you don't have to worry about me, for I know that what I did was the old me. I just need to figure out what she has in store for me as it could prevent me from defeating Ganondorf," I replied.
" When you put it that way, then my suggestion of ignoring it gets thrown out the window," said Spike.
" Ganondorf is my priority because defeating him will bring peace back to Hyrule, but if Sunset Demon has her way and defeats me, she won't take up the task of bringing the Evil King down," I said. It was a little difficult to get back to the previous room as the acid had weakened the floor, and at one point my foot went through the ground which gave me a scare, but I was able to regain my footing and opened the door.
Back in this area, I recall seeing an invisible Hookshot plate that was above the ledge that housed the locked door I need to open, yet there was also a treasure chest that appeared when the two Re-Deads were defeated. " Do you think I should go for that chest, or should I ignore it and focus on exploring?"
" Even though the Re-Deads are powerful undead monsters, defeating just two of them to earn a small chest doesn't seem like the effort was worth it. I have a hunch that it will contain something pointless, so I suggest you ignore it and move onto the next room. Besides, there are other chests further along which will contain even better goodies for you to take," replied Spike.
" It is tempting, but you're right in that it's just too suspicious," I said. Using the Lens of Truth by holding it up to my eye, I could see the invisible plate right above me, and took out the Longshot so as to aim for it. I did need to move back a little in order to get the right angle otherwise I'd have gone nowhere. Once I was on the ledge, I unlocked the door and entered a corridor where I clutched my ears due to a howling sound. " What is that awful noise?"
" That would be the sound of wind," replied Spike.
" Not the bad kind if you know what I mean," I said.
" Take a look at that fan in front of you, and watch what it's about to do," said Spike. Ahead of me was a hideous looking statue with a large fan inside of it which wasn't protected by anything. As I stared at it, the fan inside started to spin which created a powerful gust of wind which blew me back into the door which did injure me a little bit.
After blowing for about ten seconds, the fan came to a stop before it started up again roughly 15 seconds later and repeating the process. " These fans are generating wind power from somewhere, and your current weight allows them to blow you about, so you'll need to gain some weight in order to stand your ground."
" The Iron Boots should give me the weight I need," I said.
" True, but remember that you'll be walking at a snail's pace so don't complain about being slow," said Spike.
" I actually forgot about that one drawback, but you can't exactly blame me seeing as I only used the boots when traversing underwater. This is a different situation altogether which I've not tried before until now," I said.
" And now you get to try it," laughed Spike.
" Lucky me," I moaned as I switched over to the Iron Boots. Immediately upon putting them on, I felt the weight of them wanting to bog me down, but I managed to persevere and began to walk forward just as the fan in front of me began to spin around again. While I wasn't pushed back this time around, the wind was so powerful that I almost lost my hat in the process.
I walked around the corner and hovering in front of me was a Big Skulltula, yet it was completely unaffected by the wind coming from another fan behind it. " How is that thing able to stay suspended without the wind causing it to be blown down the hallway?"
" This wind must be enhanced with the power of the shadow beast, and thus the monsters are immune to its effects. You should be lucky that it's just a Skulltula instead of something more serious like say a Re-Dead. In any case, you can defeat this monster by using either the Fairy Bow, the Longshot, the Master Sword, or even your magic," replied Spike. So many different choices I had at my disposal, and in the end I decided to go with the Longshot as I needed to conserve my arrows.
I fired the chain at the Skulltula which destroyed it, and continued to the right where I came to a stop at a pit. On the other side were two fans on the wall which were blowing wind, so now I needed to figure out how to make it across without falling into the abyss.
" Any ideas?" I asked.
" That wooden plank on the ceiling could make for a good target for you to fire the Longshot at, and while that would be the easiest course of action, I propose you try something a little different. You know how you've used earth, and water magic courtesy of the Great Fairy of Power? Well, wind magic is the one element you've yet to use," replied Spike.
" There aren't many places in Hyrule where I can manipulate the wind," I said.
" Until now if you catch my drift," smiled Spike. Despite his attempt at making a pun falling on deaf ears, I did understand what he was saying, and I'm surprised that I didn't think about it sooner. Since this wind was blowing about at timed intervals, it was possible for me to use wind magic and cause the fans to pull me towards them.
So I then closed my eyes and began to concentrate hoping that I could manipulate the fans to start blowing me forward. It wasn't easy considering this was my first attempt, but the fans began to spin as before, but this time the wind caught me and instantly pulled me across even with me wearing the Iron Boots.
" I never knew the wind could be so strong," I said.
" You did it Sunset Shimmer!" exclaimed Spike.
" It may have taken a long time, but I finally managed to use the fourth and final element," I said.
" While fire may be your natural element, you should consider using the other three whenever you can. They might just prove to be useful to you when you least expect it," said Spike. Ahead of me, the pathway dropped down a little which was a little awkward because of wearing Iron Boots, but I was smart to have kept them on my feet as the next section featured fans on both walls all the way down to the end where a door was waiting for me to come and open it.
" This could be a problem," I said.
" You just need to keep the boots on, and that wind will not blow you away. That darkness below is nothing more than an abyss, and if you fall down into it then you know what will end up happening. That door looks to be the way forward, but there is something strange about the eye switch which is hanging on the wall above it," said Spike.
" It looks harmless enough to me," I said as I started to slowly walk forward. Each step was more like a stomp as I made my way across with the wind blowing about on both sides, but when I got close enough to the door, the eye switch suddenly opened up and a fireball came out from it which struck me in the chest. Luckily, I felt next to no damage because of my fire resistance, but this was really strange. " Why did that switch attack me all of a sudden?"
" This is a trap which has rarely been seen, yet it's deadly because of how deceptive it is in design. These switches will shoot fire at you when you get close enough, and it will follow you for a time until it either makes contact, or disappears after a while. It can be destroyed by shooting an arrow at it, but you can only hit the eye when it's open which lasts for about two seconds before closing again," replied Spike.
" So what should I do?" I asked.
" I'd just ignore it considering your fire resistance makes it nothing less than a minor distraction," replied Spike. Walking forward the rest of the way with the switch shooting another fireball at me, I opened the door where it closed on the other side with iron bars. That wasn't so much of a big deal, but the two Re-Deads in here definitely were because of how annoying they are getting.
" This is starting to get silly," I said.
" Just use the same tactics as before, and you'll do just fine," said Spike.
" At least you don't have to fight against the undead!" I moaned. Of course, I knew that I had to take care of them otherwise I wouldn't be able to escape from this room, so I took out the Ocarina of Time from my pouch and played the Sun's Song which paralyzed them in place which had me thinking. Now that I've been playing the Sun's Song a few times, I'm starting to memorize the notes.
It was giving me the incentive to really consider sitting down sometime and practice playing some of the other songs. Of course, I haven't had the time because of all the running around due to having to save Hyrule. Drawing the Master Sword from its scabbard, I sliced the Re-Deads with it which defeated them, but I accidentally let go of the divine blade where it collided with the wall and made a terrible clanging sound in the process.
" Be glad that it's incapable of breaking," moaned Spike.
" Somehow, I knew that was going to happen," I sighed.
" Thus the tradition of you struggling to wield the Master Sword continues, but you're getting better," smiled Spike. With the undead monsters having now disappeared, the iron bars covering the door rose up, yet no treasure chest appeared which had me wondering what the purpose was to this room. That's when I noticed something familiar on the back wall which I immediately brought to Spike's attention by pointing my finger at it.
" It's another one of those pictures of the skull, so does that mean you can hear the spirits?" I asked.
" I can definitely hear them speaking to me, and they have an important message. 'Those who have sacred feet should let the wind guide them. Then they will be led to the hidden path.' The spirits must be referring to the fans back in the previous room, and that one of them is the solution to this riddle. It looks like the Hover Boots are going to be getting some more action," replied Spike.
" But I don't recall seeing another door," I said.
" They did say that it was a hidden path, and that means a part of the wall is fake," said Spike.
" Using the Lens of Truth will allow us to see where we need to go," I said. That's when I realized that I had been wearing the Iron Boots this entire time, so I switched over to the Hover Boots and made my way over to the corner to pick up the Master Sword. Unfortunately, I neglected to take the lack of traction into consideration, and walked right into the wall before landing on my rear. " This temple is one bad nightmare after another, and I can't wait to be finally done with it so that I can focus on better things."
Heading back into the previous by walking very slowly so as to not walk into the door, I raised the Lens of Truth to my eye, and sure enough the fake part of the wall was to my right, so now I had to wait for the wind to do its thing. When the fan started to blow, I ran off of the ledge and across the gap without any problems....until I ran right into the hidden door.
" Oh come on!" Switching back to my regular boots after picking myself up, I opened the door which locked behind me, and in front was an ancient trap, a locked door, and two Gibdos which were even worse than Re-Deads in my personal opinion.
" Now this looks like quite the challenging room," commented Spike.
" Don't say it like that because Sunset Demon could end up appearing here, and make the situation even worse than it is," I said.
" It's not as bad as you make it out to be, for the Gibdo operate in the same manner as the Re-Deads where playing the Sun's Song will paralyze them on the spot making it easy to defeat them," said Spike.
" I know that, but the problem is they're both making their way towards me," I said. That's when Spike realized what I said was true for the undead mummies were slowly walking forward in the hopes of draining away my life energy. I had to act fast, so I took out the Ocarina of Time again and before being able to play it, one of the Gibdo wrapped its arms and legs around me, and began to drain my energy.
There was no way I was going to let that happen again, so I wiggled really hard which was enough for me to break free. As the Gibdo reeled backwards, I slashed it with the Master Sword, but it was still standing which gave me quite a shock, and then it grabbed me again.
" They are more resilient than Re-Deads are, so it will take more than one strike to bring one down," said Spike.
" I wish you could have told me that earlier," I moaned. The undead mummy had drained a tiny bit of my strength before I shook it off again through constant wiggling, and in its confusion I slashed it again where it toppled over to the ground in a heap.
" Use your fire magic," suggested Spike.
" What good would that do?" I asked.
" While Re-Deads are immune to all kinds of magic, Gibdos are vulnerable to fire as their bandages are ancient and thus really flammable. I know that I told you about this before when we were exploring the Bottom of the Well, for I also warned you that who knows what lies behind the wrappings of a Gibdo, yet you don't have much of a choice but to rely on your natural abilities as you can't afford to lose anymore of your health," replied Spike.
" Guess I have to go for it," I said. As the other undead mummy grabbed onto me in order to start draining my energy, I concentrated and quickly burst into flames which caused the Gibdo to release its grip on me before backing away. The fire which engulfed its body made it flail about in frustration, and that's when the bandages burned away revealing a Re-Dead underneath. Before this new monster could do anything, I slashed at its torso which felled it in one hit.
A small treasure chest then materialized as the second Gibdo disappeared, but when I opened it up, I was disappointed in that I pulled out a blue rupee. " Huh? Why did I get one of these instead of the key?"
" You may have missed a chest along the way," replied Spike.
" Like the one in that room where the invisible spiked sections were?" I asked.
" Perhaps, but why don't we take a look at the Dungeon Map? Besides, we need to check it anyway in order to confirm our current location," replied Spike. I took it out and began to scan over the lowest basement, and it turns out that the next room is the huge room where we saw the ferry back when I plummeted down that deep hole.
" According to this, there is a chest somewhere around here, but I don't see anything suspicious," I said.
" What about that pile of dirt over there?" asked Spike.
" Huh, I never noticed that until now," I replied. Indeed there was a dirt pile in one corner of the room, and it did look rather out of place, so I walked over to check it out. Once I reached it after avoiding the ancient trap, I dropped to my knees and began to observe this pile for any signs, and I could barely see a small gap which could potentially hide an item. " It looks like something is hiding beneath this, so how do I uncover it?"
" You could use a bomb," replied Spike.
" Wouldn't that blow up the chest?" I asked.
" Chests in this world are immune to pretty much everything because they can be found in the most bizarre of locations which we've seen plenty of times in the various dungeons," replied Spike. I decided to go with his judgement even though I was having some doubts, so I took out a bomb from my Bomb Bag, and tossed it onto the top of the dirt pile. When the dirt was destroyed, I was saddened to discover that there was nothing there.
" That was a waste of time," I sighed.
" But why have something that looked so obvious?" asked Spike.
" I wonder then if there's more to this," I replied before placing the Lens of Truth to my eye. Sure enough, a treasure chest was invisible which I thought was a pretty sneaky tactic, so I kicked it open which made it visible and took out the small key. " I just noticed that the power coming from the lens is looking a lot fader than before, so does that mean its magic is running out?"
" It sounds plausible," answered Spike.
" I'll keep going for a little while longer before I use that Green Potion," I said. Using the key on the locked door, and opening it to enter the next room, I came face to face with the ferry once again. This vessel was huge where it could easily be mistaken for one of those cruise liners that exist in the human world, yet its morbid appearance gave me a sense of dread. I walked forward in order to check out the kind of water this thing was floating on, but to my shock it was floating on the air itself.
If this temple wanted to freak me out if it hadn't done so already, it was doing a pretty good job of it. The ferry looked to be made of some sturdy wood, but that wasn't what was wrong. How do I go about making it move was the problem I had. " The fact that it's just floating is enough to make me want to go back, but we need to keep on going, so the question is how do we use it?"
" We're too low to be able to see any kind of steering wheel, so maybe we should make our way onto the deck, and see what we can find. There is a block nearby which you can push into that groove allowing you to climb up onto the vessel," replied Spike. It was a solid plan no doubt, but something about this just didn't seem right.
Applejack came this way previously, and she somehow made it across without needing to use this ferry. How did she pull it off? That's when a piece of paper suddenly floated down from above before it landed on my head, and when I looked at it, the symbol of the Sheikah could be seen. Spike noticed this as well, and was curious to know what was written on it. " Another message from Impa? I wonder what she has to say this time?"
" Let me read it then. 'You are nearing the end of your journey through the Shadow Temple, yet there are still some trials standing before you and the shadow. This vessel upon making it move, will take you to its pre-determined location. You simply cannot force the vessel to move, for it has no means for you to control it, yet you will be able to command it to carry you to the other side if you play the song which was entrusted to you that serves as your connection.'," I replied.
" Impa must be referring to Zelda's Lullaby as that's the melody which informed people that you were associated with the royal family," said Spike.
" Is there anywhere in this kingdom where their influence has yet to reach?" I asked.
" No, the royal family covered every aspect of the land with their way of governing," replied Spike.
" So I need to get up onto the deck, and play Twilight's Lullaby....that should be simple enough," I said. I walked over to the block, and realized that it was right underneath the section we were in earlier that goes back to the second basement. This block was the same one I felt stuck out like a sore thumb, so it meant that things were starting to come full circle.
I grabbed the block and pulled it before switching to the other side, and pushed it forward until it dropped into the groove. Climbing up the ladder onto the ledge that was situated near where the ferry was docking, I could see the Crest of the Triforce in the center of the deck, so now I knew what needed to be done."
" What's wrong?" asked Spike.
" This seems a little too easy," I replied.
" I couldn't agree with you more on that subject Sunset Shimmer. Something as majestic as this would surely have some guards protecting it, or there ought to be a trap of some kind waiting to be activated if we were to tamper with it," said Spike.
" I'm still unsure of riding this thing if there is no water beneath us," I said.
" It does feel weird doesn't it, but we need to make it across if we are to rescue Impa," said Spike. Once again, his words were correct despite my insistence. I then jumped onto the vessel which seemed quite solid despite it being such an ancient ferry, but I decided to get it over with by standing on top of the crest and playing the appropriate song.
As soon as I walked onto the Triforce mark, I took out the Ocarina of Time from my pouch, and played Twilight's Lullaby which caused the two small bells on the bottom of the vessel to start swaying back and forth. Each gave off a rather dull ringing sound which indicated that the vessel was about to move, yet why did I have this feeling of dread plague me all of a sudden?
" How long do you think this ride is going to last?" I asked.
" Hard to say for certain," replied Spike. The ferry then started to move forwards with the bells continuing to ring out which made me feel uncomfortable, but I suppose I ought to just kick back and relax while being taken to my destination at the far end of this massive chamber. It also meant that there was no going back now unless I rely on my strategy involving Farore's Wind.
" I still can't believe that this vessel even exists down here," I said.
" Perhaps it was used by the Sheikah for their training purposes," suggested Spike.
" While I know the Shadow Temple was originally a facility where they trained in their shadowy techniques, I can't imagine this ferry helping them become stronger so that they can serve the royal family better. I'd say that this was something which was used to deal with those who tried to infiltrate their tribe in the hopes of learning their secrets, or anyone who was too dangerous to be left alive," I said.
" Quite the morbid theory," said Spike.
" And one that happens to be rather accurate."
" I had a feeling we'd have to face her on this vessel as it made so much sense," I sighed. Sunset Demon then rose up from below in front of me where she folded her arms, and provided me with that smug grin which really gets on my nerves. " So you decided to wait for me on this vessel which doesn't isn't all that surprising, but even though you'll ignore what I have to say next, just hear me out.
I don't want to take on another challenge because you've gone against what you originally claimed them to be. You've been forcing me into situations where my life was on the line, and while I've gotten much stronger, you had no right to throw me into such peril."
" Granted, I do agree that my original intentions have not been carried out in the way that I said they would, yet despite that you've met each of my expectations which is what really matters. This is going to be the final challenge you'll be getting from me Sunset Shimmer, and would you believe that this is going to be the hardest one of the lot?" asked Sunset Demon.
" Not surprising," I replied.
" I want you to surpass my expectations one more time, and that will involve going through a quick skirmish," said Sunset Demon.
" Why does it have to be quick?" I asked.
" This vessel will only go so far until it reaches its final destination, and when that happens it will plummet into the abyss below us where death is certain. You've got roughly several minutes to overcome my final challenge, and if you can't succeed then your fate will be sealed. All you have to do is defeat your opponents in a duel using either weapons and magic, but you're not just facing me as that would be too easy," replied Sunset Demon.
" Going for the cowardly approach of having to need backup just to beat me?" I asked.
" Not really, for this is will benefit you more than it does me, and besides it's your life that hangs in the balance. If I plunge into the abyss then I'll just get brought back to life courtesy of the shadow beast who awaits at the end of this voyage. So, in that sense I have nothing to gain or lose, yet you have everything to lose if you're unable to prevail," replied Sunset Demon.
She snapped her finger which was starting to become a trend, and suddenly two Stalfos came down from the ceiling and landed on either side of her. While I didn't like the idea of having to fight these undead monsters again, I knew that I had to if I wanted to make it through this. That's when the she-demon winked which caused the Stalfos to glow with red auras, and right away did I suspect something was wrong.
" What did you do to those two monsters?" I asked.
" They've been enhanced with my magic to make them stronger than usual, so now you know what you have to do which means I don't want you to betray my expectations. Oh, and you should know that there is a barrier of magic surrounding this vessel, and it won't shatter until you defeat me and my assistants.
So don't attempt to bail out at the last possible moment because you can't. Also, your transformation won't work while within the barrier, so it comes down to you using your natural abilities and your weapons which should be to your liking," replied Sunset Demon.
" It actually is," I admitted.
" Yes because I'm aware that you don't like to use your alternate form," said Sunset Demon.
" I need to wrap this up as fast as possible, so I think the time for talk is over," I said.
" Agreed because you do deserve a fighting chance," said Sunset Demon. That's when she raised her hand and pointed at me which told the Stalfos to begin attacking with her following behind them in a tight formation. The undead monsters then swung their swords at me which I managed to dodge by jumping backwards, but then they suddenly shifted forward somehow allowing them to swing at me again with both blows slashing me in the chest.
I was lucky that the wounds weren't serious because I was able to dodge just in time, but how did they pull off such a feat? That's when Sunset Demon started to laugh as she produced fireballs in her hands. " That's one of the techniques they've got thanks to my magic increase, but don't let it put you off because I know you can handle it."
" Without your ability to transform, this isn't going to be easy," said Spike.
" Even if I did have the power to change, I wouldn't have done it anyway," I said.
" Why wouldn't you want to take the opportunity? You need to have the experience to transform of your own free will, and this would have been the perfect opportunity if it wasn't for this barrier which traps us," said Spike.
" I need to change in a friendlier environment if I hope to control it, and this is anything but friendly," I said. That's when the Stalfos attacked me again which I dodged by jumping to the side, and then jumping again when they shifted forward. Sunset Demon then began to fling fireballs filled with darkness at a rapid pace where I had to avoid them all by performing some dance moves, but that's when I forgot about the Stalfos when one performed a jump attack that struck me in the arm which turned out to be really painful.
Luckily, it wasn't my dominant arm which got hit, but this was still a major inconvenience on my part. All of this avoiding was getting annoying, so I needed to go on the offence especially since my time is limited. Using my own fire magic, I launched my own fireballs against the Stalfos, yet they merely bounced off without causing any damage to them which was really odd.
" I knew you were going to use your magic first which is why I took some precautions," said Sunset Demon.
" What else have you done?" I asked.
" These two are immune to your fire magic, and that's essentially the only magical power you have," laughed Sunset Demon. She proceeded to throw more fireballs which I chose to block using my arms, and my resilience kept the damage to a minimum. The Stalfos then attempted to attack me by swinging their swords while I was blocking, so it forced me to get out of this motion and resort to dodging again which is what I don't want to be doing.
One of them then jumped and struck me in the side where my original wound was, but fortunately it didn't start to bleed. Then the other jumped, and I had to dodge by rolling forward, yet as I came out of it, Sunset Demon was right there waiting for me where she blasted me at point-blank range. I ended up flying across the deck of the ferry where I made a rough landing on my back. " You're making this really easy which has me wondering if this is an elaborate scheme where you lose on purpose."
" Believe me when I say that I'm taking this seriously," I said.
" Why not use one of your weapons?" asked Sunset Demon.
" I'm likely to either drop one of them, or not be fast enough to use it in time," I replied.
" You're kidding me aren't you?" asked Sunset Demon.
" Surely you of all people would know that I was telling the truth about me having trouble using my weapons. Such things were never used or even heard of in both Equestria and the human world, so I had to figure out how to use them on the fly rather than coming in knowing how each one worked," I replied.
The she-demon's jaw then dropped which was certainly surprising, but then she quickly raised it back up when it became apparent to her that I had no plans on using my weapons. In her mind, it meant that I was essentially throwing away my life because my magic has been ineffective, and in a way she was correct about it.
" Then that means this challenge is over unless you have some other trick up your sleeve," said Sunset Demon.
" I have a few tricks left....magic that is," I said.
" What did you say?" asked Sunset Demon, but before she could get an answer, that's when I decided to make my move. Even though this ferry wasn't moving on water, it was still moving along a current of wind which I was feeling on my face, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on manipulating it in order to assist me. The wind suddenly came onto the ferry where it caught the two Stalfos and tossed them overboard into the abyss, so that left me with the she-demon who had no idea what was going on.
Directing the wind to blow in her direction, the powerful current caused her to lose her balance although it wasn't enough to make her fall over the side. So I had to redirect the wind by having it strike in all directions, and this left her in such a confused state that she tripped and landed on her face before I brought the wind to a stop. " How did you manage to control that particular element? Your magic style restricts you to the use of fire and nothing more."
" Then it looks like I have some additional powers that you weren't aware of," I said.
" Indeed which makes this even more interesting," smiled Sunset Demon.
" While I don't know what you plan on doing to counter my ability to transform, I'll never allow you the chance to assume my life. It belongs to me, and I earned it by making the right decisions while paying for my past actions. You only exist because I made a poor choice of judgment which resulted in me becoming you," I said.
" In that sense I guess you deserve a thank you for making me conscious and self-aware, but you strayed away from your intended path, and have been doing so for far too long which is why you need to be brought back to it. I will make sure you resume this path as great things await upon its conclusion such as conquered worlds where you serve as the queen, hundreds of thousands of servants who will be yours to command, and acquiring a power that is beyond your wildest dreams," said Sunset Demon.
" And without friends and family, the life you propose means nothing," I said.
" Those two things are worthless and you know it," said Sunset Demon.
" No wonder you're so pitiful," I sighed.
" Perhaps, but then that's the way I choose to look at things because I am your dark side, and I represent the evil feelings that you once had and chose to bury underneath such a strong layer of goodness. I have no desire to change my outlook, so I guess there's no need to continue with this pointless conversation.
Just so that you can humour me for a moment before we reach the end of this voyage which is going to be in about a minute, what other magical elements are you able to use?" asked Sunset Demon.
" You did say that I should continue to defy your expectations, and I'm going to do so by using the power of the earth," I replied. Since there was nothing of this element on the ferry, I had to resort to using the rocks and dirt from the walls of this chamber which meant concentrating even harder than ever. The she-demon took notice and began to throw more fireballs at an even faster velocity, but because I had to focus, I took each of these magical blasts without trying to block them.
By the time I was ready to make my move, my body had quite a few burn marks due to the darkness of her fire, yet I responded by pulling pieces of rock which slammed into Sunset Demon. She was knocked back several feet before being assaulted on all sides, and after a few moments of throwing an endless barrage, she dropped to the ground where I walked over and looked down upon her battered and defeated body. Yet I knew she wasn't finished as she could handle so much more than that.
" I'm going to assume that water is also what you're capable of using which means you've mastered the four primary elements. I don't know how you managed to pull it off, but once more you've exceeded all expectations. No doubt about it now Sunset Shimmer....you're stronger than before which is exactly what I wanted to see.
As a unicorn back in Equestria, you were chosen by Princess Celestia to be her personal protégé, so it was obvious that you would become such an adept user of magic. Even though you've since left her side to pursue your own goals, you continued your studies most likely with assistance from Princess Twilight, and your fire magic has become so potent.
Although, I have to know why you chose not to use such magic in our previous encounter. You didn't get the ability to use the other elements recently, so now you've piqued my curiosity," said Sunset Demon.
" I've no intention of telling you anything," I said.
" And why not?" asked Sunset Demon.
" Because you have chosen not to tell me anything about your hidden plans," I replied.
" Fair enough, so I won't bother trying to press the issue. You managed to overcome my final challenge just in time as we've reached the end of this voyage, and do know that you'll be able to jump off from this vessel before it sinks into the abyss. The barrier has been destroyed because you defeated me and my assistants, but what you had to deal with here is nothing compared to what lies ahead in the form of the shadow beast," said Sunset Demon.
" What about you?" I asked.
" That final barrage ended up weakening me more than I thought it would, so I'm not able to move right now. I'm going to be taking a plunge into the abyss, but that's okay for I'll be revived soon enough as it is, so I'll take this time to give you one more piece of advice. If you desire the key which opens the way to the shadow, you must answer back with the fire of this world. I'd jump right now if I were you as this vessel is about to drop in ten seconds, but know that we'll meet again where your inner self will be tested.
Let that sink in your mind for a moment while leaping to safety," replied Sunset Demon. She was correct in that we had reached the end of this massive chamber, and when the ferry came to a stop, it began to rumble which was the sign that I needed to get off. I then ran to the left side and jumped off where I landed on the nearby pathway, and a few moments later, the ferry fell into the abyss with the she-demon giving me a glare before she vanished below the ground.
Even though she told me that her survival was going to happen thanks to the shadow beast, I secretly wished that this would be the last time I get to see her because I was at the edge of my rope when it came to having to deal with her persistence.
" You did really well Sunset Shimmer," said Spike.
" I know although it doesn't feel like a true victory because we both know she's coming back," I said.
" The Shadow Temple just isn't the place where you can destroy something as twisted as her because the power of evil itself enables her to cheat death, but once you've defeated the shadow beast, the darkness will weaken and things will return to normal....as normal as one would expect from the house of the dead," said Spike.
" We need to get the Boss Key otherwise we're not finishing this dungeon," I said.
" First, why not take a moment to look around and see where we should go next," suggested Spike. Taking his advice to heart, I began to look around where I instantly noticed there was another abyss to the left meaning this walkway was sandwiched in-between the two thus making this a treacherous path.
On the other side of this second pit stood a locked door, and nearby was a rather tall statue with several Bomb Flowers growing around its base. This looked suspicious to me and I turned to face Spike to see what he had to say about it. " Strange that there are Bomb Flowers growing down here when we were told they only exist on Death Mountain, but this does present a problem in that we have no way of crossing over to the other side unless you can somehow make a bridge appear."
" Or create one using what lies in front of us," I said.
" Do you have an idea?" asked Spike.
" That statue over there has a cracked column which should break if those Bomb Flowers were to explode," I replied.
" Then you need to find a way to make them blow up. Bombs much like their natural cousins the Bomb Flowers are prone to exploding instantly if something were to disturb them. The only item in your possession which can even hit that far would be the Fairy Bow, but you would need to aim with intense precision as you're lacking in arrows right now," said Spike.
" Then it's a good thing that I have a large target as hitting any of them will cause a chain reaction," I said.
" Unless you somehow hit in-between them," said Spike.
" Yeah, there is that possibility which is probably going to happen," I sighed.
" Sorry if I sounded cynical of your skills Sunset Shimmer for that wasn't my intention, but you have been pretty unlucky whenever you use your items. At the same time however, you've made some pretty lucky shots which are a testament of your abilities," said Spike. When he puts it that way, I should be able to do this without messing up too much, and I did have about a dozen arrows which is more than enough to hit one of those Bomb Flowers.
Taking out the Fairy Bow, I aimed at the statue making sure not to lose my concentration, and I fired a few moments later with an arrow that sailed over the abyss....and ended up in-between the explosives which is exactly what Spike said would happen. I just couldn't believe my dumb luck gave me such a pitiful result as this.
" The one result that I didn't want and I got it," I moaned.
" Keep trying as you have more arrows," said Spike. Firing another one where I concentrated even harder, I hit one of the Bomb Flowers although you could say I barely nicked it on the side. Upon this one exploding, it caused the rest to blow up in a chain reaction resulting in the statue falling over, and creating a bridge as the horns of the statue were touching the ground on my side.
" That almost didn't connect," I said.
" But it did, yet we can't cross over for we lack a small key," said Spike.
" Then we need to try that door at the end of this pathway," I said. Walking along a few paces, I came to a stop due to there being yet another piece of paper with the symbol of the Sheikah on it. I picked it up knowing that Applejack left it behind, and began to read it in the hopes of learning what has to be done next. " You have almost reached your final goal of encountering the shadow beast, yet you have a few more trials to overcome.
In the room which lies beyond the door in front of you, what looks to be nothing but open space is not what it seems. Of the three possible routes to take, one is not required although you may be able to commune with the spirits should you desire additional information to serve as your guide. This is the final message which I have left behind for whoever has chosen to follow me, and so I shall leave you with my last words....beyond the locked door is an abyss, but do not allow it to frighten you."
" You'll need the Lens of Truth in the room beyond that door," said Spike.
" But what did Applejack mean about what lies on the other side of the locked door?" I asked.
" We'll find out later once we have the small key needed to open it," replied Spike. I then walked over to the door I can access, and opened it where I entered a room where numerous columns were all over the place in perfect lines. I could see what looked like a Wallmaster near the center, but when it turned green for some reason, it reminded me that this was a Floormaster; a similar monster but more aggressive than anything.
Because of what Applejack said in her final letter, I raised the Lens of Truth to my eye, and walls appeared making things more like a maze rather than a room filled with columns. All of a sudden, the ability to see the truth disappeared which had me freaking out a little bit.
" What happened?" I asked.
" You ran out of magic power, so you'll need to drink that Green Potion you purchased before we came in here," replied Spike.
" Glad you convinced me to buy one because of needing to use the lens so often in order to uncover the truth," I said as I took out the potion in question before staring at it for a moment with curiosity. To think that magic in this world is decreased at a much lower pace than that of health, but then it's because I've been using my natural magic as opposed to what is used here in Hyrule.
Uncorking the bottle and drinking the potion, I could feel my magic power returning although I wish the potion tasted better as it had a rather sour flavour. The Lens of Truth reacted to my magic increase, and resumed its ability to show me the truth once again. " I'm guessing that the Floormaster can't see me although it can sense my presence in the room."
" If it begins to glow then you know it's sensing you, and will attempt to charge even though it can't go through walls," said Spike.
" Of these three additional doors, one of them we don't need to enter although Applejack did say that we can talk to the spirits if we were to enter that room. That means we can talk to Octavia and DJ Pon-3 one more time before facing the shadow beast, so which one do you think it is?" I asked.
" One of them is a portcullis, so why not check that one out first," replied Spike.
" That looks too obvious," I said.
" Sometimes what tends to stand out the most is what you need to investigate," said Spike. His attempt at being philosophical kind of fell on deaf ears, but I knew what he was trying to say, so I walked towards the portcullis to the left of where I entered the room. It was a little hard to navigate what with the walls being difficult to traverse, and the Floormaster walking around made things even more of a problem, but after a couple of minutes of taking it slow, I made it to where I needed to go.
The monster was too big of a risk to want to deal with, and destroying it would mean nothing given it would end up re-spawning anyway should I leave the area. Choosing to ignore instead of fighting it, I entered the next room where greeting me was another giant X in the form of two planks covered with blood.
" There's a shadow over there behind that X," I said.
" It must be an invisible enemy which could be a problem," said Spike.
" How do I go about fighting it?" I asked.
" Keep the Lens of Truth on at all times, and make sure that the monster doesn't escape from its line of sight otherwise you'll have to spend a few moments trying to locate it again. We're fortunate only the one creature is invisible here. No matter what though, you must defeat this monster if you want to unlock the door as iron bars are covering it," replied Spike.
" Let's hope that this is one of the rooms I need to enter otherwise this is going to be rather embarrassing," I said. Holding up the lens to my eye and looking through it, the invisible monster was another Floormaster. Since I knew that my fire magic was going to be effective, I tried to use it to roast this monster, but for some reason I wasn't able to do anything. " Why isn't my magic working?"
" While using the lens, you're not able to use any other magic be it Hyrulean or your own until you stop using it," replied Spike.
" Then how do I go about defeating this thing if I can't see it?" I asked.
" You must use a combination of the Master Sword to fight, and the Lens of Truth to see where it's moving," replied Spike. I was really hoping to use my magic in order to make this an easy enough battle, but instead I have to do things the hard way. I had no doubt in my mind that this was going to be simple because I remember how a Floormaster behaves, but what I didn't know was that Sunset Demon had secretly left behind one extra challenge for me which she didn't mention before taking a plunge.
The moment I got close to this undead monster, it suddenly split into four versions of itself all of which were the same size. Once I figured out what the she-demon had done, I felt stupid for believing she was done with her challenges, so now I had to face yet another challenge against four of the same monster who can kill me very quickly if I wasn't careful....

To Be Continued.