//------------------------------// // Chapter 63: The Iron Rainbow // Story: The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time // by Ganondorf8 //------------------------------// The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time. By Ganondorf8 April 22, 2015 Chapter 63: The Iron Rainbow Of the different traps I've fallen prey to throughout this journey, this was probably the most embarrassing. I should have tried to destroy that bomb, but instead I wanted to investigate it because of feeling curious. As it exploded in a powerful burst of darkness, the amount of damage I sustained ended up killing me which made me feel really annoyed. I just used a fairy against that Iron Knuckle, and now I'm using another one just a short time later. It's good that I had four on my person, but it was the principle of the thing where I didn't want to use all of them in such a small timeframe, yet has now become the case. As my body slumped to the ground, one of my remaining fairies appeared above me, and used its special powers causing me to get back onto my feet with my health completely restored. " Well, that was unexpected," I said. " That bomb certainly had a lot of power locked away inside of it," said Spike. " I have no doubt the she-demon was behind this, for she is still determined to claim my life as her own. Yet, the wound I inflicted has left her severely weak, so she is forced to rely on such subtle means. As I think about it, I feel sad for her as she really wants to have her own existence, yet feels the need to take my life," I said. " You said she was stuck in the past," said Spike. " Sunset Demon is a reminder of who I used to be, and not who I want to become anymore as it's a lifestyle which causes nothing but pain and misery. When you choose to follow a path of darkness, it just leaves you feeling alone without anyone being there by your side to comfort you even in the most difficult of times," I said. " Because friendship is nothing but weakness which doesn't do anything!" That was the voice of the she-demon, yet it sounded like she was somewhere really high, and that made me realize she was standing on top of this wall. I then looked upwards, and she was standing there although her trembling stature indicated she was continuing to weaken, but I could tell that she wasn't willing to admit defeat. I should know because I was once stubborn like that. I then heard a sound coming from in front of me, so I turned my attention towards it, and I looked away in disgust for the sound was her blood as it was dripping down to the floor below. " You may believe that friendship will lead you to happiness, but you're merely deluding yourself. Friendship holds you back from what is really important, and that is relying on power to achieve your goals." " And here I thought you were finished," I said. " While you did inflict a rather severe wound on me, it isn't enough to keep me down. I'm still going to get what is mine, but now you've forced me to use other methods. If I were in a much better condition, I would have come down there in my transformed state, and beaten you senseless before you could use those new skills of yours," said Sunset Demon. " Tell me something she-demon, and I do want an honest answer from you. Why do you insist on acting so tough all the time? You know that wound of yours has weakened you, and you've been trying to kill me because of wanting to take control of my life, but I can't help but feel sorry for you about all of this," I said. " No offence to you Sunset Shimmer, but I have no need of such sympathetic nonsense. I'll be able to regain my strength simply by absorbing a lot of darkness, and then we'll be at each other's throats again. You may not wish to fight because you believe it will solve nothing, but there is a simple solution to all of this. I just want your life as I feel you betrayed your true nature by accepting friendship over power. Why continue struggling, for you were meant to become the ruler of Equestria," said Sunset Demon. " You know that will never happen," I said. " Which is why we're going to keep on fighting until I have won," said Sunset Demon. " And that's why I've chosen to finally stop with all of this. I'm fed up with having to go through this pointless argument with you, so I'm not going to deal with it anymore. You're just a relic of my past who has no purpose other than to remind me of how horrible I was. So, do whatever you want so long as it doesn't involve me. Oh, and your attempt to kill me just now is proof that you're desperate. Now, if you don't mind, I have a curse to break and a Sage to awaken," I said. Those were perhaps the harshest words I've ever spoken towards the she-demon, and it made me feel really good about myself. It felt like I was punishing the darkness that once consumed my heart for everything it had done. In my heart, I no longer need look back at what was, but rather look forward at what will be. Of course, I knew she wasn't going to take my words too kindly, and she certainly became rather vocal about the whole thing. " How dare you choose to just ignore me!" shouted Sunset Demon. " I'm done speaking with you," I said. " Is that so? Well, I will never give up until I have what I want," said Sunset Demon. It looked like she was going to do something, but stopped as her wound started acting up again. " Shoot! I just can't do anything like this! I don't care what she says, for there is no way for her to just simply ignore me given how I keep coming back for more." The she-demon then dropped to both knees, and felt pain despite trying her best to shrug it off. " I'll just take my leave and let her do whatever she wants....for now." Sunset Demon then slinked off into the darkness although she moved slowly as her weakened state made it hard for her to walk away. As she disappeared into the shadows, I couldn't help but feel sorry for what she was going through, yet I needed to make my stand as I refuse to let her treat me as unworthy to exist. " That was a rather intense situation," said Spike. " I had to tell it to her straight," I said. " Maybe she will finally get the message, and choose to take your advice and live her own existence. I'm not sure if she will live long enough given that wound does look to be slowly killing her, but I hope she will pull through because she really needs to figure things out much like what you did," said Spike. " Perhaps that's the reason why I understand her pain, for she is my other half after all. I'm not the one who should decide what she should do with her existence, as that's something she must discover, but I do have the right to my own existence. Anyway, we should focus on what we need to be doing in the temple. Since those Beamos ended up getting destroyed when that modified bomb exploded, I don't have to worry about being attacked from below as I climb up," I said. " You need to take your time with this as going too fast will cause you to make a mistake," said Spike. " Not all of those panels are moving," I said. " Consider them safe zones along the way where you need to wait for the moving panels to line up. Remember not to climb in-between the panels as they move otherwise you'll fall down to the ground, and take fall damage," said Spike. I then looked up at the wall, and saw there were four moving panels situated between panels which didn't move, so that tells me that every other panel I need to watch just to prevent myself from taking a nasty fall. As I walked over to the wall where I began to climb, it felt comfortable on my hands despite it not being vines. As I climbed to the first panel, I took some time to determine how many seconds go by before the panels move, and I concluded that it takes about five. Climbing up this wall did prove to be more difficult than I thought as I didn't take into account of just how high up I was going. " Did you know that I'm not comfortable with heights?" I asked. " That's a new one for me as you never brought it up before until now. Besides, you climbed up an entire mountain and you were perfectly fine, and this wall is nothing compared to the raw nature of Death Mountain," replied Spike. " I was fixated on reaching the Great Fairy, so I never really paid much attention to my surroundings. All I'm doing here is simply climbing up to the next floor which isn't really all that much, so my mind is taking notice of how high we're climbing up," I said. " But I thought you could fly back where you came from?" asked Spike. " Only the Pegasus' were capable of doing that in Equestria along with the alicorns. We unicorns along with the earth ponies were strictly grounded unless we took to the skies using a hot-air balloon for example," I replied. " Then you should have become an alicorn," said Spike. " Alicorns are the rarest form of ponies in Equestria. You need to be chosen to ascend to that level, and even then I've heard how difficult it can be one from Twilight. She's told me a few stories about what she has to do as an alicorn, and I can't help feeling sorry for her given how much pressure it places onto her shoulders. I'd like to be able to ascend, but I don't know if I'll ever get the opportunity. My past actions are still remembered even now, and that alone essentially condemns me," I said. It actually felt comforting to talk about Equestria because Spike here in this world had no idea what it was like there, yet he showed a lot of curiosity given how he tends to ask questions whenever I bring anything up about it. Would I ever become an alicorn like Twilight and the other princesses? Who knows what the future holds, but deep down I believe my chances are next to nothing. What I did before going into self-exile was pretty damaging, so the Royal Guard could have me arrested for trying to study the forbidden magic of Equestria. Making sure to wait for each panel on this wall to move into place before continuing with my climb, I managed to reach the top although I almost fell right at the end because of slipping slightly when I stood up. " I can't believe you almost fell," said Spike. " How was I supposed to know that my feet were mostly hanging off the side?" I asked. " Luckily, you got your balance just in time otherwise you would have fallen back down," replied Spike. " I don't think I'm going to be climbing anything like this for a long time, but I wished it had been easier," I said. " Well, perhaps if you had fired the Longshot towards the top, you could have skipped over much of the climb although I'm not sure if the chain would reach given how it can only go so far," said Spike. Was he being serious here!?!? This wall was something that I had the chance to skip over just by using the Longshot? No words could describe how irritated I felt about having to climb up a difficult section only to learn I didn't even need to. Spike was then curious as to why my face suddenly turned bright red, but I refused to talk about it, and he dropped the subject. I needed to let off some steam, and luckily that came in the form of two Beamos which were working. " At least these are operating," I said. " Which means Sunset Demon sabotaged the two down below because she knew you would investigate the bomb," said Spike. I've got to give credit to her for coming up with such an elaborate trap, and curse myself for falling for something so obvious. That's when I started to assess the situation, and concluded that attempting to let off some steam would make things worse. Given how small this ledge was, if I were hit by one of those laser beams, the knockback could send me back down below. Granted, I can easily climb back up without any problems, but I'd take a lot of damage in the process. " I think we should just run by and avoid their lasers," I suggested. " You're not going to defeat them?" asked Spike. " Not every situation needs a fight to end up resolving it," I replied. " Those are the words of a true hero, for they learn that fighting doesn't solve every problem. Using wits, cunning, intelligence, and luck can overcome even the most difficult of situations. Some heroes prefer not to use brains, and instead prefer going with as much power as they can possibly muster to overcome a problem. Granted, there have been times where you've gone with force, but then you had no other choice as using brains wasn't an option. I'd say you have the best of both words in that regard Sunset Shimmer," said Spike. " I've learned a lot on this journey," I said. " Then let's see you put it to the test," suggested Spike. Fighting these two Beamos would be too risky, and doing so would mean that I allowed myself to become consumed with wanting to rely on brute force, so I decided to run for it whether these monsters were looking my way or not. Okay, maybe I should have waited for their gazes to turn away from me. As I began running for the portcullis, the two Beamos began firing their lasers which I avoided just in time. If I had been a second slower, I would have suffered from severe burns in addition to some heavy damage, but I managed to enter the next room. Meanwhile, the explosion which occurred earlier caught the attention of the witches, and I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow blame me for doing it. " What was that loud bang?" asked Chrysalis. " It felt like someone set off one of those bombs the Gorons make before teaching their skills to the Hylians, yet such a small thing could not have caused such an explosion which we could feel here in our sanctuary," replied Trixie. " Could this have been the work of the forest girl?" asked Chrysalis. " No, I doubt she would have done something this careless, and the bomb which was used had been augmented with a lot of dark power. The girl would never resort to using the power of evil, so I suspect this was the work of the she-demon. I knew that wretch would be nothing but trouble simply because she has been allowed to do things without of restraint, it makes her truly unpredictable. The Great Ganondorf knew of this yet chose to allow the wretch to do whatever she saw fit, so you and I must suffer all because we haven't been providing our necessary weight as it were," replied Trixie. " Had that bomb been even more powerful, our temple would be destroyed right now," said Chrysalis. " The she-demon doesn't care what ends up being sacrificed, so we must finally put our feet down. This has gone on long enough where both versions of the child have angered us both for too long," said Trixie. " Indeed, for we have been humiliated by them, and in turn look weak in the Great Ganondorf's eyes! The she-demon shall be the first to die as she is still weak, but we can no longer hold back because our temple won't survive if any further events take place which can bring down its foundations. Once that wretch has been taken care of, we can focus our efforts on the girl," said Chrysalis. " Is our special guardian ready?" asked Trixie. " The magic we used to create it continues to hold, but I made sure to apply an extra spell just to be on the safe side. If it sustains too much damage then the spell will become undone, and that armour will fall apart thus releasing what lies within, but I do have some alternate plans in case things go wrong," replied Chrysalis. " And our own means of fighting?" asked Trixie. " I have prepared a suitable arena which will allow us both to flex our magical might without needing to hold back," replied Chrysalis. " Granted, she will have that accursed shield in her possession which will enable her to reflect our magic back at us, but it's a risk we must take given how we're backed into a corner. I know nothing will stop her from reaching us as she is determined to defeat us, yet her own idiocy will end up being her downfall," said Trixie. " Everything is ready, so now we must wait for her," said Chrysalis. " It still boggles my mind as to how this one child has overcome so many odds just to make it to this point," said Trixie. " The Triforce essence can be credited for allowing her to survive situations which would have killed others, and the fact that she was chosen by destiny to become this legendary hero adds onto the list. Even that transformation she possesses has proven to become quite the miracle for her, so we do have our work cut out for us when she finally shows up. Then we have that she-demon who even now remains a unpredictable factor. We cannot allow her to become any sort of threat otherwise things will simply spiral out of control," said Chrysalis. " Perhaps we can merely frighten the she-demon away, and the only place she could possibly go at this point where she could regain her strength through absorbing darkness would be the castle of the Great Ganondorf. If she becomes too big of a threat then surely he will obliterate her with a mere thought given how he refuses to allow anyone else to be on equal footing with him. Of course, I want the wretch to go there as a means of punishing our son for the way he has been treating us because we've been so loyal, yet he has treated us with little to no contempt," said Trixie. " Yes, he does need to be reminded that if not for us teaching him so long ago when he was just a child, he wouldn't even be where he is today. We always knew he was destined for greatness, yet he has gained a sense of being superior to others even though it is merely because of the Triforce granting him power that goes beyond the limitations of mortals. The Great Ganondorf will kill that forest girl without any trouble, for he is more powerful than she could ever hope to be, but I hope he doesn't allow his ego to get in the way otherwise he will lose everything," said Chrysalis. " It sounds like you think we'll both be killed," said Trixie. " Merely putting it into a perspective where we failed, but he won't need to get his hands dirty," said Chrysalis. " Still, you should choose your words more carefully," said Trixie. " Don't chastise me on something so trivial," said Chrysalis. " Why are we suddenly arguing? We've never done anything like this before! All of this talk about the forest girl and the she-demon have gotten us both on edge, so we need to remain calm otherwise the battle is going to be lost. Come, let us get our special guardian ready, for I am certain it wishes to face the girl again, and hopefully it will do the necessary task without using needing to lift a finger," said Trixie. " I suppose recent events have gotten us to criticize one another," said Chrysalis. " Then we need to get such foolish notions out of our heads if we hope to ensure the world remains in constant darkness. We've worked too hard see it come to an end just because of petty arguments. If we remain calm and stick with our general strategy, then everything will work out in the end which shall please the Great Ganondorf immensely," said Chrysalis. This next room Spike and I found ourselves in looked like a typical dungeon corridor, and it was actually a nice change of pace when compared to what I've experienced so far. Before, I was able to look at the trail of blood left behind when Sunset Demon retreated, and I could tell that she was struggling to keep herself alive. I found it sad that she was acting stubborn all because of not wanting to rely on friends, and instead sticking with her instincts. But, she is a representation of the woman I used to be who didn't care about anyone other than herself, and I was insistent back then on doing things on my own without help. Still, I wish Sunset Demon could be given the chance to reform like I was given, but I suppose there are some beings who just can't be changed because they are too far gone to be saved. " Look at this Sunset Shimmer," began Spike. " What is it?" I asked. " It's another Crest of the Royal Family in the ground right in front of you," replied Spike. " That's the third one we've seen, so I'm guessing they're trying to give us a constant reminder of their influence, or not wanting to be subtle about it. Since I can't see other way of opening this portcullis, I might as well play Twilight's Lullaby although it's going to feel weird playing a song in front of a door," I said. Taking out the Ocarina of Time from the pouch on my belt, I played it, and the iron bars blocking the portcullis rose up allowing me access. When I opened and went inside, I found myself in a large room that had a lot of doors on each wall, yet what interested me was located inside of a circle of fire, and it was the standard blue and gold ornate chest which meant this was the Boss Key. Actually, I was going to ask why I needed to come up to the fourth floor, but I no longer need to ask given that I just saw the very answer in front of me. That's when I noticed the monsters in-between me and the chest, and I instantly recognized them. " Hey! Didn't I fight these creatures back during our visit to the Fire Temple?" " Yep! Those are Torch Slugs, so you'll need to use the Megaton Hammer to flip them over, or you can use the Master Sword if you want to go with something more simple. Remember they are unaffected by fire magic, so don't even consider relying on it here," replied Spike. " I would use water magic, but there is no water nearby," I moaned. " Also, those doors aren't real because the Spirit Temple only has portcullises," said Spike. " That means they must be those fake doors which fall down on their victims if they try to open them. I could use my bombs to blow them up, or I could just use my hammer as it can break things too," I said. Taking out the Megaton Hammer, I slammed it into the ground which caused all of the monsters to flip over onto their backs. I then proceeded to smash each one of them without too much difficulty, and soon they were destroyed so I started smashing the fake doors before any of them could fall on top of me. Upon destroying the one in the top left-hand corner of the room, I found something which could help figure out how to gain access to the chest. " An eye-switch, and it isn't even covered in ice, so I don't need to use any fire arrows." " It might remove that circle of fire when activated," said Spike. " Good thing I have plenty of arrows," I said. Putting the Megaton Hammer away, and taking out the Fairy Bow, I fired at the switch which activated it, yet the circle of fire was still there. " Maybe it did something else," suggested Spike. " Like what?" I asked. " If you look around the room, surely you'll see something that looks suspicious or out of place," replied Spike. There was nothing on the ground because the monsters and fake doors were gone, so I decided to look up at the ceiling. Above me were a couple of ice blocks which were somehow floating by themselves, yet the one by the wall had a switch on top of it. There was also a Hookshot plate which I figured will allow me to get up there. " We need to go up," I said. " Make sure you fire the Longshot from a slight angle otherwise you'll just go straight up," said Spike. " Hopefully that switch will get rid of the flames, but if it doesn't then I'm really going to be stumped," I said. Taking out the Longshot after putting the Fairy Bow away, I stepped backwards a few paces before firing towards where the plate was, and soon I was on the block furthest from the wall. Sure enough, they were made of ice because my feet were struggling to keep upright. Jumping to the other block, I activated the switch which removed the flames, so from there I dropped down below, and opened the chest taking out the Boos Key. " Now we can enter the witches lair," said Spike. " This may be a wild hunch on my part, but what if the witches' location was behind that goddess statue which presides over the area? I know it sounds rather farfetched, yet it's all I can think of," I replied. " If it is behind the statue, then how do you propose we get rid of it?" asked Spike. " I don't think I have anything that powerful which can destroy something that big, but I suppose I could allow Sunset Demon to fight me again," I replied. " Didn't you say that you don't want to do that anymore?" asked Spike. " You're right, so I guess we need another solution," I replied. " Why don't we see what lies beyond that other portcullis? It could lead us to an answer," suggested Spike. I nodded in approval, and left the room before turning to the right and entering the next chamber which certainly was a sight to behind. To my right was a rather impressive looking mirror, yet why was it pointing straight down? There were also chains surrounding a section of the lower area of the room, yet I had no idea why this was the case. In front of me was a sun switch next to a portcullis which was locked with iron bars, and then there were iron bars to my left which appeared to be a natural part of the room. " What do you suppose is up with this setup?" I asked. " I'm not sure, but maybe you should check if anything is beyond those legitimate iron bars," replied Spike. As soon as I moved forward, all of the jars scattered around began to rise up and went straight at me prompting a quick response with my Mirror Shield. The jars smashed to pieces when they collided with it, and I breathed a sigh of relief before looking in the direction of the iron bars. " There appears to be one of those giant mirrors like the one we saw earlier," I said. " Is this some kind of puzzle?" asked Spike. " I wouldn't know myself, but I have a feeling that I'll be needing the Mirror Shield," I replied. " First, we need to open up that portcullis, or we're not going anywhere," said Spike. Looking around for something which can unlock the way forward, I noticed there was a Crystal Switch tucked away in a corner on the lower level, so I jumped down and used my fire magic to activate it unlocking the portcullis. " You could have done that from back up there you know, for now you need to climb back up to the higher level which will waste some time." " It's just a short distance," I said. " That's besides the point," said Spike. " I enjoy these little banters we have," I said. " Huh? Where did that come from?" asked Spike. " It's these little moments where we argue that strengthen our friendship, for if we kept on agreeing all the time, we'd just wind up being boring and the fun that comes with the experience would lose all meaning. Yeah, I don't mean to sound so philosophical, but I just wanted to bring it up. I'm sure we'll have even more instances of arguing especially when we go to Ganondorf's castle, yet we need to do so in order to prevent the darkness from consuming us. Believe me, you don't want to experience it for yourself as it can be really painful as well as pure misery," I replied. Climbing back up to the higher level, I walked over to the portcullis, and entered a room which looked like the inside of a cave, yet some kind of bright light was shining to my left as though a large window or something similar was in that direction. " What do you suppose is making that light?" " It could be another of those mirrors, but we need to take a closer look," replied Spike. " Also, do you hear a strange noise coming from around the corner?" I asked. " Yes, but I don't know what it could be," replied Spike. " It doesn't sound natural at all, so I'm guessing it's some kind of monster," I said. " Probably the most logical answer," said Spike. I took a few steps forward, and a Lizalfos came down from the ceiling which did catch me by surprise. It managed to get a quick hit against me before I raised my shield to prevent further blows from happening. " I believe this is the first time you've faced a Lizalfos in this time period, so know that you can defeat it a lot quicker by using the Master Sword, or even the Biggoron's Sword which would be overdoing things a little bit." It sounded like he wanted me to use the sword that I spent so much time trying to acquire, so I put the Mirror Shield on my back, and brought out my giant-sized sword where I swung it at the Lizalfos. It fell down in just one hit which was surprising, but at least the way was now clear for me to continue. I then looked upwards and noticed a sun switch which may do something, and when I looked in front of me, a giant mirror stood there with light shining down from above. That gave me an idea where I took out the Mirror Shield, and stepped into the light before raising it. Light bounced off to form a small reflection, and aiming accordingly, I shone the light onto the switch where it glowed, and grinned with its smile which caused a small treasure chest to drop down right behind me. It could be a trap chest that contains a cold spray just like what happened before in the room with the other giant mirror, or it could be something good just waiting to be opened and claimed. " What do you think?" I asked. " There's no telling what will happen if you kick it open," replied Spike. " I'm going to risk it as I've opened up most other chests that I was able to reach," I said. Walking over and kicking it open, I was expecting a trap, but instead I received some bombs, which made me wonder what they would be used for. I then walked into the next section, and discovered what was making those strange noises. Flying around were a few of those Bubble monsters, yet they looked and acted in a much different manner than usual. " What kind of Bubbles are these supposed to be?" " This is a rare version known as the White Bubble which likes to fly before coming to a stop then spinning around. While it's flying around, you can't hit it because it's essentially invincible, but once is stops to spin, that's when you can attack it using whatever means at your disposal. Don't take too long as it won't stay spinning forever, and it will eventually resume flying. It does have a tendency to adjust its angle when it flies, so if it ends up stopping above your sword's reach then use a projectile attack," replied Spike. " Didn't Fluttershy mention that these are only found in one room?" I asked. " I believe so, and it reiterates what I said about it being rare," replied Spike. " I'm just going to go with magic otherwise this will take too long," I said. As the White Bubbles moved about, it was refreshing to see a version which wasn't surrounded by flames, yet it didn't mean that it was any weaker than the others. This would require patience so as to strike the instant they come to a stop, for I have no idea how long they will spin around in place before moving forward again. As soon as one of them stopped, I used my fire magic which destroyed it instantly, and this also applied to the second one, yet the last one proved to be tricky as it was moving pretty fast. It took me a couple of minutes before I finally managed to defeat it. Then I came to the realization that this was a dead-end which struck me as really odd. " What's wrong?" asked Spike. " Where do we go from here?" I asked. " I notice that a part of the wall looks like it sticks out," replied Spike. " That shouldn't be right," I said. I rubbed my hands against the part it, and it felt very natural to me as though nothing was amiss, but then I smacked the Master Sword against it as I wanted to use that one technique Pinkie Pie taught me. The sound that was made was weird, so this part of the wall was fake. Taking out my Bomb Bag, I took out a bomb which I set down, and it blew up the wall revealing another part of the room. The other mirror was also here, and I began to get the idea as to what needed to be done. I grabbed the red handle of the first mirror, and pushed it around for some time until stopping it where the light shone onto the next mirror. " I see what you're trying to do," said Spike. " The light needs to shine on that big mirror pointing down," I said. " You have one of the mirrors in place, so now you need to push the other one so that the light can continue," said Spike. Walking towards where the second mirror was, another Lizalfos dropped down from above, but I quickly took care of it with the Biggoron's Sword where it fell in one shot. As I grabbed the handle of the second mirror, I pushed it to the right because out of the corner of my eye, I saw the previous room where that giant mirror was. Once it was in place, light shone through which meant this part of the puzzle was finished. " Now I have the means of activating that sun switch," I said. " Remember to watch out for those enchanted jars," said Spike. When I reached the other room, the light was now bouncing off the giant mirror, and going straight down, but I didn't quite understand what it meant. Stepping into the light and raising the Mirror Shield, I activated the sun switch, but all of a sudden something clicked beneath me which caught me by surprise. " What's going on?" I asked. " The section of the room which was surrounded by those four chains....it's currently moving down," replied Spike. " I'm not liking where this is going," I said. " This could be the means of getting access to the boss room," said Spike. The platform continued to lower until it stopped which made me wonder why it wasn't going down completely. When I looked forward after having spent all this time looking down, I was in front of the head of the statue of the desert goddess, and the sunlight was continuing to shine from above. " Now this is weird," I commented. " We've brought the sunlight this far for a reason, but what could it be?" asked Spike. " Now that we can see what the face looks like, it does give off quite a menacing expression," I replied. Because I felt curious, I took out the Dungeon Map from my pocket, and sure enough where we needed to go was located behind the face. I never would have guessed the location of those witches was behind something so innocent, yet creepy at the same time, but the map wouldn't steer me wrong. We have sunlight shining down from above, so does mean using the Mirror Shield on the statue's face is what needs to be done? I don't think the light from the sun will work, but I suppose I won't know unless I try. I then aimed the shield at the face where it started to crack a little before I pulled it away. " Did you see that?" asked Spike. " The face of the statue is surprisingly brittle," I replied. " If you keep on shining the light onto it by using the Mirror Shield, you may end up breaking it," said Spike. I didn't like this idea of destroying something so ancient, yet there was no other choice. Raising the Mirror Shield once again, and aiming carefully, the face eventually shattered after being exposed long enough to the light, and what appeared was really shocking. A gate like the kind one would find in a sewer was right in front of the boss door, so now I needed to figure out how to get across. " Any ideas?" I asked. " The only thing that comes to mind would be using the Longshot," replied Spike. That did sound like the most obvious solution, so I took it out and aimed at the gate, yet would this actually work? I fired the chain at the gate where I got pulled across, and upon reaching my destination, it caused the gate to rise up giving me access to the door itself. I'm not sure why it did that, but at least I finally made it to the location of the witches lair. " We're here," I said. " Are you ready for this?" asked Spike. " This madness must end," I replied. Unlocking the door and entering the room, I immediately drew the Master Sword and Mirror Shield because standing at the opposite side were two figures who I recognized from seeing them seven years ago. I could also see something hiding behind them, but I couldn't tell what it was actually. Without even needing to take a single step, the one on the left then turned her head to face me with an expression which made me feel nervous about being here, yet I wasn't about to retreat not after coming all this way. " So, you've finally made it here forest girl," said Trixie. " We've been watching your progress through our temple ever since you first came here seven years ago," said Chrysalis. " I had a feeling that was the case," I said. " Forest girl, you've proven to be a major problem for not only us, but for the Great Ganondorf as well, and for that you must be punished for your actions. We have been underestimating you, and because of this you've managed to acquire both sacred treasures which have been stored in our temple for years. While we're not upset about them now being in your hands, we're furious about you wandering around without any restraint. You should have been killed many times over, yet here you are standing before us," said Trixie. " Truly, you are an outrageous girl for having eluded our numerous traps and servants, yet such luck can be attributed to the real power that dwells inside. My words sound confusing don't they? I'm not sure if you've already figured out my meaning, but it doesn't really matter as you will soon be dead anyway. The Great Ganondorf has been ruling this land for seven years, and you have been restoring each region which cannot be allowed to stand! You may think that you can achieve victory, child, but you will soon realize just how much you are in over your head. Still, we won't underestimate you given how you've overcome numerous odds throughout your journey," said Chrysalis. " You two have a lot to answer for, and I'm going to make sure that you never hurt anyone again," I said. " It seems you've learned much from the Gerudo," laughed Trixie. " I'm not surprised given how you freed Spitfire from our control, but then we knew it would happen," said Chrysalis. So they knew about Spitfire breaking free of their influence? I'm guessing these two witches are able to see what goes on all across the desert, so that means they've been aware of my presence since the first moment I entered Gerudo Valley. Even though I could just run up to them and bring this problem to an end, I was held back by my conscious which felt confused about this whole ordeal. Despite them having vast magical powers, they were merely frail old women, so could I really use the Master Sword of any other weapon against them without feeling guilty? The one to my left looks exactly like Trixie while the other looked like someone who might exist in Equestria, yet I just couldn't put my finger on it. I know that I can fight them with magic, yet that would be lopsided as they were clearly more experienced. " What have you done with Nabooru?" I asked. " So, the girl is curious as to the fate of the former second-in-command? She was punished for betraying the Great Ganondorf, but we know you were watching when she disappeared, so don't act so oblivious thinking that you can trick us," replied Chrysalis. I thought it was worth a try, but I guess they were at least two steps ahead of me. I was then thinking of transforming in the hopes of getting some kind of advantage, but I have a feeling that they aware of that too, and Sunset Demon's presence as well. " We know you're eager to get things started," began Trixie. " So why not make the first move?" I asked. " Do you honestly think that you're worthy of facing us, the surrogate mothers of the Great Ganondorf? While we have no doubts about how strong you really are forest girl, we view you as more of being a nuisance rather than a threat," replied Trixie. " Your progress is impressive which we cannot help but praise, yet it is all mere coincidence combined with luck, and the inner power which you possess. We've made some preparations prior to your arrival, for we suspected that you would reach our inner sanctum eventually. So, allow us to show you something which shall be teaching you a lesson, and put an end to your life," said Chrysalis. The two witches then climbed onto their broomsticks, and began to float in the air allowing me to see what was sitting behind them. My entire body then turned white for a moment because what they had been blocking from my vision was an Iron Knuckle, yet it didn't have an axe which made me laugh knowing they made a serious blunder. " I was actually worried for a moment there," I said. " Oh? And why is that?" asked Trixie. " Because your monster behind you has no weapon to fight with," I replied. " Your ignorance is very evident, and that shall result in your death. Oh loyal minion! The time has come for you to carry out the task which you were created for, and that is to destroy this forest girl on our behalf. You have no restrictions on how you can administer your power, so go wild with destruction, and kill this child!" said Chrysalis. Trixie then disappeared in what appeared to be orange smoke, and the other witch disappeared in blue smoke leaving me and the Iron Knuckle alone in the room. That's when I realized I've seen it before....back in the Haunted Wasteland....what was preventing Aria, Sonata, and myself from gaining access to the Desert Colossus. " This is the Iron Knuckle which attacked us in the desert," I said. " Now that I can see it without my vision being distorted, I'm able to give you more information about it," said Spike. " Why does it look different from the other two we encountered?" I asked. " Be careful Sunset Shimmer! This isn't an ordinary enemy," replied Spike. " Meaning what?" I asked. " For one thing, this Iron Knuckle has a different design, so I suspect that it will take a long time before you can remove the armour, and expose its weak point. I'm suspecting that it will be slightly stronger, and perhaps a little bit faster, but it's essentially the same kind of fight we've experienced," replied Spike. How did he know just how powerful it was simply by looking at it? Besides, it has no weapon so this was going to be an easy battle, yet that's when something happened. The Iron Knuckle suddenly rose up where it took a single step forward before coming to a stop, and looked at its hands realizing it didn't have a weapon. It then looked up at me before snapping its finger which caused a giant axe to appear. It then grabbed the axe before raising it above its head, and was followed by a strange grunting sound which was one of anger. It began walking towards me, and I needed to prepare myself as this wasn't going to be easy. " Here it comes," I said. " That axe looks like it has a slightly longer reach," commented Spike. " And it probably inflicts the same amount of damage like the other ones," I said. " Remember that you can trick it into destroying the pillars to reveal recovery hearts. You only have two fairies right now, and I suspect you'll need to keep one or both of them to defeat this thing and those witches who are waiting for the results of this conflict. Because this version of Iron Knuckle is different, I suspect it will be able to block and counterattack more often," said Spike. " I should have gone back to the oasis," I moaned. " It's too late as once you're inside a boss room, you're stuck until you succeed or fail," said Spike. I wish he hadn't gone and said that, for now I need to be cautious otherwise I'll use up my remaining fairies, and then I'd be in a real bind. The Iron Knuckle then swung its axe back and forth which was a lot faster than the previous ones, but I was lucky to have avoided being struck. I then took out the Master Sword and Mirror Shield, and swung against it where it parried my blow by holding up the axe handle which blocked my attack. " That axe handle is made of metal," I said. " If you were thinking of snapping it then that method isn't going to work," said Spike. It then slammed its axe down into the ground which caught me off guard given how fast it was, and I found myself sent flying across the room, yet the distance I travelled was slightly further than usual. If there was any consolation, it would be that the axe merely nicked me, so I didn't sustain much damage. Spike quickly flew over to me where I struggled a little bit to get back onto my feet. " Are you okay?" " I'm fine, and you were right about it being faster," I replied. " If you had been struck a little closer, it would have caused that wound of yours to reopen," said Spike. " Not the most comforting thought," I moaned. " That strategy you used where you move in, wait for Iron Knuckle to strike, move back before it does anything, and then you strike in response may not work here as it can keep up pretty well, so another method needs to be used," said Spike. Moving behind the pillar closest to where I landed, I waited for the Iron Knuckle to come along. Each step it took while made me feel as though death itself was slowly walking towards me, and a single mistake will cost me my life. It eventually came to a stop before it started to destroy the pillar prompting me to get out of the way, and I slipped behind where I struck it a few times only for it to quickly turn around striking me in the process. My wound didn't reopen, but this was still pretty painful given how the upper part of my torso felt the brunt of the blow, and I went flying across the room where I landed face-first on the floor. " It made a counter-attack, but I had no choice given it was my best chance at hitting it," I said. " How is your upper torso?" asked Spike. " Doing well, but I can't afford to have another wound like the one below become a thing," I replied. " You should grab those hearts as you could do with them," suggested Spike. I almost forgot about those which fell out of the statue as it was being destroyed, so I ran over to pick them up, yet the Iron Knuckle got in my way where it slammed its axe down, but it missed me by such a tiny margin. I grabbed all three hearts, and turned around where it continued following me, so it followed me over to another pillar. However, instead of striking the pillar, it walked right by so I found myself being struck again, but in the back this time. " YEOW!" I screamed. " Sunset Shimmer!" exclaimed Spike. " It feels like my back just got sliced open," I said. " Be thankful you weren't cut in half," said Spike. " This battle is starting to go against me, and I haven't really hit its armour plate all that much," I said. " You need to remind yourself that you have the stamina to keep going," suggested Spike. " I just wish I didn't have to do this because I was expecting a battle against the witches," I sighed. This was already a difficult situation, but it was getting worse as it felt the Iron Knuckle was showing no signs of slowing down. I then dashed forward, and struck it a few times, yet it looked as though nothing seemed to be working, and once again it swung its axe around where I was hit in the process. " Every time I connect against that armour with my sword, it just shrugs off my blows as though they were ineffective." " And you're losing a lot of health," added Spike. I then looked down at myself where I discovered that I was bleeding in several places, yet it wasn't that wound across my stomach which was a sigh of relief on my count. Still, the rest of my injuries were beginning to take their toll, and being forced to use another fairy would really put me at a disadvantage against those witches. Maybe I should use one otherwise these wounds will continue getting worse, and my ability to fight back will quickly reduce until I can no longer do anything. The Iron Knuckle then came to a stop where it started talking to me....just like what it did back in the desert. " You have fought well, but resistance is pointless." " Just what are you?" I asked. " I am a servant of my creators who was commanded to kill you, the one who has become a threat to Ganondorf." " Then nothing I say will convince you to surrender?" I asked. " Such words indicate the desperation coming from your voice, yet it means nothing for I shall not yield. The chances of you accepting defeat are high, so I suggest you allow me to end your life before this drags on any longer than necessary." " I'm not about to give up," I said. " The expected answer from one made of flesh like you, but a foolish one as you are weakening. There is no need to continue, for your chances of defeating me are slim to none. I shall grant what can be constituted as mercy should you submit defeat, and by that you shall be given a quick and painless death befitting one such as you. Forest girl, there is no doubt that you possess power and skill, but it is not enough for you to change the outcome." With that, the Iron Knuckle walked forward once again, yet I had to keep going, so I ran forward where I struck it a few more times, yet its armour plate refused to fall off. I've hit it the appropriate number of times now, but Spike did say this special one would take longer, but before being able to come up with another idea, it slammed its axe down which struck me again sending me flying back, yet now I crashed into the wall which really hurt my back more than it already was. " I should get a fairy ready," I said. " There will be no need for such a thing forest girl, for your life will be over in mere moments." " Don't count on it," I said. That blow to my back really did weaken me like the Iron Knuckle said, but I have to get past it if I want to defeat the witches, yet this thing was giving me quite the challenge much to my dismay. I suppose transforming is an option, but I'd prefer to keep that for when I absolutely need it, but I might have to change mind. " You shall perish as it is necessary." " I can still keep going," I said. At that moment, a dark aura suddenly appeared next to me which meant only one thing....Sunset Demon was about to make an appearance, and she has probably recovered from the wound I gave her earlier. Sure enough, the she-demon came out from the wall, yet she was still sporting that wound which made me wonder just what was going on. " Heh, I can tell you're surprised to see me here," said Sunset Demon. " Not to mention surprised at how your wound hasn't healed," I said. " That is an issue which has nothing to do with the likes of you, but that's not important right now. I can't believe that you are having so much trouble with one of these simple-minded creatures! Just seeing you struggle is enough to make me laugh so hard that I'm likely to cause myself pain because of this wound. Right now, you look utterly weak, yet I suppose it's to be expected that you can't even handle something so easy. Sunset Shimmer, I just can't allow this monster to do whatever it wishes, and kill you in the process as that's my privilege," said Sunset Demon. " What do you intend to do about it?" I asked. " Don't think this will make us friends because it won't, but I'm going to help you just this once," replied Sunset Demon. Was she being serious about this, or had she lost so much blood that it was causing her to act delusional? If she is insistent on giving me a hand, it could be what I need to bridge the gap between us, and thus avoid any future conflicts. " Why am I deciding on something that goes against everything I represent about your former glory? Because I'm the only one who is allowed to kill you! Your life must become mine, and if someone else finishes you before I can claim my prize, not only will I lose out, but the feeling just won't be the same." She only wanted to help me because of protecting her investment as though she were a banker, yet it does have some kind of friendly meaning even if Sunset Demon will deny it. I was curious as to how she planned on carrying out her threat though. She can't transform as I doubt that wound will let her, and she is definitely weaker than before, but maybe she has some other tactic which was never used when we were fighting earlier. The Iron Knuckle in the meantime was feeling slightly confused after seeing my dark half appear on the scene. " Two forest girls? I was informed by my creators that there is only one." " I happen to be the better version of Sunset Shimmer," said Sunset Demon. " Perhaps, but you are not the real one." " Now you've just gone and hurt my feelings. My other self over here has been having a lot of trouble trying to survive in this fight, but she clearly needs assistance otherwise this will end up being a disaster. You may have an immunity to all forms of magic, and numerous forms of weaponry, but I have no doubt that you can't handle dark powers," said Sunset Demon. " My concern is not with a wretch, but rather the forest girl." " Wretch? Now who decided to give you that word in your vocabulary?" asked Sunset Demon. " You have been deemed a wretch by my creators, for they see you as an unpredictable factor which cannot exist. They shall deal with you soon enough, or perhaps Ganondorf himself shall cast you down." Those words the Iron Knuckle spoke really angered Sunset Demon as her eyes glowed bright red, yet she said nothing as she walked forward before sitting down and entering some kind of meditation. It looked as though she was about to be struck by the axe of the Iron Knuckle as it raised it up, but that's when a burst of darkness seeped forth from the she-demon. It covered the Iron Knuckle where it tried breaking free, but it was too late as it quickly sustained heavy damage. However, it was still capable of fighting despite being weakened, so now I have a chance of securing a victory. " See how easy that was Sunset Shimmer? I relied on both power and darkness to do that, and if you had chosen to follow your intended path, you could have done the exact same thing without any problems. Of course, if you hadn't changed your life, you wouldn't even be here as this world has no need of additional evil threats. Well, if you screw this up somehow, don't expect me to come and help out again because I'm not going to lift a finger. We're going to settle things between us when you arrive at Ganondorf's castle, but that may not happen unless I can consume some darkness, and repair the wound you inflicted on me. Have fun playing with this creature now that I've weakened it for you, but consider this a freebie from me as I won't force you to have to pay me back," said Sunset Demon. She then turned around and walked into the wall where she disappeared entirely, but I wasn't going to deal with her anymore. My patience with her had ended, so I'll just ignore her if I end up running into her at Ganondorf's castle, or hopefully she will choose to stay away because that wound has proven too grave to be healed. The Iron Knuckle had since resumed walking towards me, but I knew it was a lot weaker now, but I shouldn't underestimate it for it could still kill me if I'm not careful. " I can't believe Sunset Demon decided to help you," said Spike. " She did it because she doesn't want anyone else to kill me," I said. " Looks like you've become her property at least in her eyes," said Spike. " I'll still choose to ignore her as I'm through dealing with her," I said. The Iron Knuckle slammed its axe into the ground which struck me because I wasn't paying attention to what it was doing, and after my back connected with the wall again followed by me collapsing, I quickly got back up and ran over to it where I struck as hard as I could, and surprisingly that turned out to be all I needed. The Iron Knuckle was defeated yet something else was happening which was different. Instead of collapsing to the ground and burning away, it merely stumbled backwards before dropping its axe. " What's going on?" " You defeated the Iron Knuckle with help from Sunset Demon, yet this shouldn't be happening," replied Spike. " I'm hoping this isn't going to get worse," I moaned. Suddenly, the head of the Iron Knuckle split in half before falling off, and a very familiar head appeared before me which looked confused. This was followed with the entire monster falling apart where its pieces clanged about on the ground before burning to pieces. That's when my jaw dropped because this Iron Knuckle turned out to be none other than Rainbow Dash....so this is where she has been all these years. She was forced to become a servant, and had to protect the Spirit Temple under the command of the witches. As the final piece of the Iron Knuckle burned away, she dropped to her knees before looking forward. " Uhhhh....where am I?" asked Rainbow Dash. " Is that you?" I asked. " The last thing that I can remember was being pulled down into the quicksand after Ganondorf's surrogate mothers captured me, but everything afterwards is completely blank," replied Rainbow Dash. " You've been missing for seven years," I said. " Wait, what! Are you saying that I've been gone from Hyrule for seven years?" asked Rainbow Dash. There was no doubt that she was suffering from some kind of memory loss considering she is unaware of being an Iron Knuckle a moment ago, but could I tell her what she had been doing this entire time? Maybe, yet would she even believe me after explaining the situation. That's when she finally looked up and noticed me standing there, and I knew what kind of reaction she was going to have. " Hey! I remember you from seven years ago! Sunset Shimmer? How come you still look the same now as you did back then?" Once again that question comes up which has yet to get old although it is getting inconvenient. " Now, would you care to explain to me what's going on?" I then told her everything to the best of my ability, yet I explained that I too was missing for seven years due to being imprisoned in the Sacred Realm as a result of taking on Ganondorf. " You actually fought against him?" " Somehow, I was able to hold my own, but he was immensely strong for a man," I replied. " He was renowned for being the most powerful man in Hyrule, and he made sure to let the other tribes know, but maybe he wasn't as powerful as he claimed considering you were able to go toe-to-toe against him back then, and in the Temple of Time no less. I'm not surprised that you lost because his strength was formidable, but I am surprised that you were sealed away just because you pulled a sword from a pedestal. It just doesn't make any sense, yet I guess you can never trust an ancient relic," said Rainbow Dash. " So you see, we were both trapped," I said. " I'm glad you freed Spitfire from the witches control, so now I know that my people will live in peace from now on. I always knew she had been placed under some kind of mind control, yet I didn't have the means to do something about it. If only I had been stronger, I could have prevented myself from being captured and saved Spitfire myself, but I suppose this was what destiny had in store for me. I'm still having trouble coming to terms about being a monster, and I can't believe that I almost killed you without even knowing until you got me out of that suit of armour. It all sounds so hard to believe from my perspective, but you're the kind of person who would never lie about anything," said Rainbow Dash. She then noticed the Mirror Shield on my back, and her expression became one of shock as she didn't know what to say at first. " Gasp! Where did you get that shield from?" " This is the Mirror Shield which turned out to be the sacred treasure of the Gerudo," I replied. " So you managed to claim it....looks like you became the chosen one after all. I have never seen anything so beautiful in all my life, and it does look really good on you kid. Heh, I guess calling you that doesn't make much sense given how you're older, yet I'm still shocked at how you haven't aged like everyone else has. Well, since you've gone and rescued me, we might as well try to find a way to get out here before those witches come back. I hope you know of a way out otherwise we're going to be stuck here," said Rainbow Dash. She wasn't aware of the fact that we were trapped in this room, and then things took a turn for the worst when the witches returned. Considering how much damage I took against Rainbow Dash while she fought me as an Iron Knuckle, I'm not sure if I'll be able to survive against whatever they decide to do next.... To Be Continued.