Chapter 28: Dancing Shimmer
The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
January 4, 2015
Chapter 28: Dancing Shimmer.
With no possible means of avoiding the boulder, I closed my eyes and expected to get bowled over, but then I quickly opened them when I heard the sound of Pinkie screaming as she ran out in front of me, and struck the boulder with her own fist. At first I thought she was crazy for doing something so reckless, but when the boulder shattered to pieces, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had forgotten that in this world, Pinkie had immense strength on her side, so smashing a boulder to pieces was simple for her.
" Are you okay?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" I've certainly had better days," I replied.
" Strange how these boulders are rolling around when there are no places where rocks can fall. I have a suspicion that Ganondorf's followers must have brought them into the temple by gathering them up outside, and having them roll around serving the role of general nuisance," said Pinkie Pie.
" Nice theory and all, but can you explain that?" I asked. Another boulder was rolling down the corridor towards us, and Pinkie was prepared to shatter this one to pieces, but then it came to a sudden stop before heading left whereas another boulder came down the same direction about ten seconds later, and rolled away from us. " Since when do boulders have the ability to just come to a stop, and change direction before continuing on?"
" Magic?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" That could possibly be the actual answer as I have nothing. I guess you should take the lead from here as that power you possess will allow us to not have to worry about being bowled over if any boulders come our way," I replied. We then began to make our way around this maze by heading to the left from the point of entry where Pinkie shattered every boulder along the way, and then we came across a locked door with no means of opening it.
We needed to find this spot again as we're bound to get lost, so I took out the Hookshot and started to fire it at the wall in order to make a marking big enough for us to recognize. Once I was satisfied with my little piece of work, we continued to walk on until Pinkie came to a stop, and placed her hand around her ear.
" I can hear the sounds of a shivering Goron coming from over there," said Pinkie Pie.
" And there is a door just to the left of us, so we can either stick together and free each one in turn, or split up with you following the sound, and I check out the room beyond that door," I suggested.
" You go and rescue my Brother while I try to find out where that shivering is coming from. I'll be sure to yell out for you to come on over when I've pinpointed a general location," said Pinkie Pie as she walked off. The room I entered upon opening the door went around to the left before stopping at a prison cell where a Goron appeared to be sleeping in the corner instead of being afraid.
That's when I recognized this one as Photo Finish, the same Goron who was guarding that Bomb Flower that was growing outside of the Dodongo's Cavern. I activated the switch which opened her cell, but she was still asleep which was inconvenient, so I had to call out to her in order to wake her up so that she could escape.
" Hello!" I shouted.
" Huh? What's this? What possessed you to want to wake me up?" asked Photo Finish.
" You've been set free from your awful prison," I replied.
" So you decided to free me little schnitzel? I was wondering what was taking so long for someone to come all the way here to rescue me, but here you are at long last. I'll give you a reward for saving my life. When you are on fire, you can put it out by swinging your sword, or by rolling forward. Did you know that?" asked Photo Finish.
" I've been set on fire a few times back when I was younger, but I never thought to consider doing either of those things in order to put it out. Usually, I let the fire run its course due to having a strong affinity towards it, but I suppose that your advice will prove to be most helpful," I replied.
" Actually, I do have a second piece of information which may prove to your liking. While I was being dragged off to rot in this prison cell, I overheard my captors talking to each other about the location of the Goron Hero's legendary hammer. They aren't able to make off with the weapon for it is protected by some kind of fiery defence, so all they can do is prevent anyone from getting their hands on it and destroying the dragon," said Photo Finish.
" Did they say where it is exactly?" I asked.
" Somewhere on the highest level of the Fire Temple," replied Photo Finish.
" Darunia will definitely want to know about that seeing as she and I are trying to find that hammer," I said.
" Big Brother is in here as well rescuing us from our imprisonment? I take it she was the one who asked you to save me and the others, so I retract what I said earlier. You know, there's something about you schnitzel which feels familiar to me, but I can't figure it out and I don't have the time to do so. I have to return to the city and wait for the others to come back.
Be sure to tell Big Brother Darunia about that extra bit of information as it will help you both," said Photo Finish. She then walked down the corridor and opened the door before disappearing, and I breathed a sigh of relief as she was a little difficult for me to deal with. I then walked over to the small treasure chest, and received another small key when I kicked it open.
" That Goron certainly had her moments didn't she?" asked Spike.
" It's weird as back in the human world, Photo Finish was rather flamboyant, yet here in Hyrule she just likes to sleep a lot, and isn't concerned about the way she looks. It's a nice change of pace compared to some of the other alternative versions of my friends which I wish I didn't get to see," I replied.
" At least she was able to tell us something about the location of the legendary hammer before she left. We really could do with the Dungeon Map right as there is no way of knowing how many floors this temple has, and even then we don't have a 100% confirmed location as it could be anywhere on the highest level. By the way, how are you holding up with regards to the heat and humidity?" asked Spike.
" I feel fine right now," I replied.
" The upper levels of the Fire Temple seem to lack the intense pools of lava that we saw back on the first floor, but I advise that you keep the Goron Tunic on as we don't know what else is in store for us. I honestly would have thought Darunia knew this place awfully well given that she is the Goron Chieftain, yet she's been just as surprised as us," said Spike.
" Maybe she just forgot some details," I suggested.
" Darunia doesn't look like the sort of person who would be forgetful," said Spike. Once I left the small room and re-entered the large maze chamber, I heard Pinkie call my name from somewhere to my left which felt really embarrassing. It reminded me of when Pinkie called me over in the human world to check out the poster she made for the Battle of the Bands, but that was a fun thing to walk over and this, this was anything but that as I was traversing around a fiery dungeon having to rescue people.
I sighed and started to walk in the direction of Pinkie's booming voice which got louder the closer I was getting to her. It took me a couple of minutes before I found her, and she looked like she was having a fantastic time what with screaming my name without losing her voice in the process.
" I tried to find the location of the Goron that was shivering, and it lead me all the way to this corner of the room. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds coming from behind one of these walls," said Pinkie Pie. She then stopped talking to allow me to listen to where the sound was coming from, and sure enough I could hear something which meant part of the wall was hollow and could be blown up to reveal the prisoner. " This is actually the perfect time to give you another lesson in how to wield that Master Sword of yours, and it's one that I am well familiar with."
" What did you have in mind?" I asked.
" Before, I showed you how to swing horizontally, so now I'll teach you how to swing vertically which is essentially the same thing, but swinging down instead of from left to right. Think of it as trying to chop something with your fist, or using a cutting tool in order to achieve the same result," replied Pinkie Pie.
" I think you need to give me another visual as I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.
" Really? What do they teach you in that forest home of yours? Pretend my hammer is your sword and lift it up like so," said Pinkie Pie. She lifted up her hammer until she was holding it slightly behind her back, and then she swung it down where it hit the ground with a loud thud causing a slight tremor which disrupted my balance.
" That was a slow example because that's how I fight and because I wield such a heavy hammer, but your sword is much lighter. If your sword collides with something, it will be like a parry attack where the blade gets knocked back, so you don't freak out and just resume swinging again, or waiting for another opportunity to strike."
" You never mentioned anything about the sword being knocked back," I said.
" That's because I forgot to bring it up as it's another basic technique," said Pinkie Pie.
" One where I have no control over it, and it happens because the Master Sword isn't able to complete the swing," I said.
" I've had my hammer knocked back from being involved in a parry attack more times than I can count, so believe me when I say that you will get used to it. Anyway, time to put this technique into practice, and what better way than to strike the Master Sword against the wall here until you find the part that is hollow," said Pinkie Pie.
I nervously drew the Master Sword from its scabbard and held it in hand although I wish that I wasn't, but I had to do this in order to rescue the imprisoned Goron. Taking a deep breath followed by a large gulp, I swung the sword forward in a vertical slice and it bounced off the wall with a loud clang which made me almost drop it.
" This part of the wall is real," I said with chattering teeth.
" Try a different spot," suggested Pinkie Pie. I moved along the left of where I swung before, and swung at the wall again with a vertical slice. This time when I connected with the wall, I did get knocked back but the sound was different as though this part of the wall was hollow or lacking in volume. " There! That must be the part that you need to blow up with the Goron Special Crop.
You did pretty well despite that slight hiccup you had." I felt relieved as I sheathed the Master Sword before removing the Bomb Bag from my belt and taking out a bomb where I placed it in front of the wall. After stepping back and putting my bag back onto my belt, the wall exploded shattering into pieces, and behind it was another prison cell within the groove along with a switch which I activated.
" Huh? What's going on?"
" You're being rescued," I replied.
" I'm free to go? You have no idea how long I've been trapped in this prison cell."
" You've been here several months when Ganondorf's followers came along, and took you and the other Gorons to the Fire Temple in order to be fed to Volvagia. That should be the answer to your query, but I don't mean to insult the torment you've been through. Darunia and I are going through this temple to set you and the others free before we find the legendary hammer, and use it to destroy the dragon for good," I said.
" Big Brother is here! Oh! Big Brother! I'm so glad that you're here to help us along with this young woman."
" I'm Sunset Shimmer by the way," I said.
" As in the one who saved us from being starved to death? Wow! I'm honoured to have been rescued by you oh great Dodongo Buster and Goron Hero. You must simply let me thank you for what you have done. I know, I'll tell you a secret for saving me! In this temple, there are doors that fall down when you try to open them. When one of these doors starts to fall, move! If you use a sample of the Goron Special Crop, you can break it."
" Doors that fall down!?!? How will I know if the door is real or not?" I asked.
" Real doors in this temple are always embedded into the walls whereas the fake ones look as though someone just placed them up against the wall. They also have this weird dull colouring to them that gives them away. I'm going home now, so I hope to see you both back there soon." The Goron then walked off happily leaving Pinkie and I to ponder over our next course of action.
" What do you make of that?" I asked.
" Doors which are able to fall down when being opened? It sounds rather silly if you ask me, but I suppose that Ganondorf's followers are willing to try any tactics in order to stop us from progressing any further. I think my hammer should be able to smash those fake doors with one strike, but maybe using the crop will be safer as you can throw them at a distance, and not have to get in close. So far, we've saved five of my people with two more currently locked up due to not being able to reach them right now, but there are still others who need us," replied Pinkie Pie.
" Let's go back to where that locked door was as that should be where we need to go next," I suggested.
" Don't forget to grab the small key in the treasure chest as we don't want to backtrack," smiled Pinkie Pie.
" Almost forgot," I blushed knowing that I was about to leave a vital item behind. As soon as I kicked open the chest and took out the small key, we headed back to where the locked door was by finding the marking which I left behind. Making that proved to be a smart decision on my part as we managed to find it in a matter of seconds, and when I unlocked the door and opened it to proceed into the next room, my heart beated rapidly as I was about to fall down into a deep pit. Luckily, Pinkie grabbed me and pulled me back just in time.
" That was too close," began Spike.
" I know! If I had fallen down into that pit, I probably would have ended up falling into some lava, and that would have been the end of me," I said.
" No, you would have fallen back into that large room with the moving platforms. If you look over the edge and straight down, you can see the walkway down there. If you had dropped into this pit, you would have survived although hurt yourself pretty badly, and you would have had to have walked all the way back up here which would have been a real waste of time," said Spike.
" Thank goodness Darunia was on hand to pull me back," I said.
" You need to be careful in this room as look at the layout of the path in front of us. That is a very narrow walkway, so you need to walk carefully so as to not slip and plunge all the way back down to the first floor. Take your time and everything will be okay so long as you don't look down. This applies especially to you Darunia as you still have an issue when it comes to heights," said Spike.
" Anything else?" I asked.
" There's an eye switch way up there on the wall hidden inconspicuously from view, and it should open that door over there with the iron bars covering it if you hit it with an arrow. I think we should see what is behind that barred door as it could be something useful, but I'll let you make the call on this one Sunset Shimmer," replied Spike.
" I'll go for that door first before we unlock the other one with the small key I have," I said. That was when I began to walk across the narrow path which turned out to be more difficult than I imagined as it felt like one slip up, and I was going to plunge to my death even though Spike said I would survive. I didn't even want to walk across, so I relied on sliding along inch by inch as I wasn't confidant at all.
When I reached the point where the path split up, I took out the Fairy Bow slowly, and aimed for the eye switch and fired an arrow which ended up missing. Figures that would happen and it made me feel even more nervous than I already was. I began to breathe deeply as I needed to remain calm, and my next fired arrow hit its target causing the barred door to be unlocked.
" You did it!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
" Aren't you going to follow me into the next room?" I asked.
" I'll make my way over to where the locked door is and wait for you to come back. I'll be fine Sunset Shimmer as it will take more than a big fall to damper this Goron's spirits," replied Pinkie Pie. Deciding to take her word and leave her to her own devices, I opened the now unlocked door and entered a room which I couldn't access fully due to a tall fence restricting me to this one part. At the end of this tiny area was a large chest which revealed a Dungeon Map when I opened it up.
" Finally! Now we have a pretty good idea as to what this temple's layout is like," I said.
" It looks like there are five floors altogether, so that means the legendary hammer has to be somewhere on the fifth floor....this temple sure has a lot of symmetrical rooms along with some really tiny floors which makes you think why not combine some of it together instead of having it all spaced out," said Spike.
" In any case, we have a map so we don't have to walk around blind anymore. We already know the location of the Boss Key and the Boss Door, so I could mark them on the map, but I suppose that the compass will take care of that when we find it. It's a shame that the map doesn't tell us where the remaining Gorons are being held, so I guess we're still blind when it comes to that," I sighed.
" Not everything will be handed over to us for free you know," said Spike.
" I know because that would make it too easy. Let's get back to the other room and see how Pinkie Pie is doing. I'm sure she made it across that thin walkway by now," I said. As soon as I walked back into the previous room, Pinkie had indeed made it across although she was sweating pretty badly which indicated to me that she struggled with having to deal with her fear of heights. I showed her the Dungeon Map which she squeeled with glee in response before using the key to unlock the door and entering the next room....which turned out to be the one that I was just in where I found the map, but now we had complete access.
" There's something odd about this room," said Spike.
" As in it begins with another narrow walkway, but going across lava instead of a deep pit?" I asked.
" No as that just sounds like having to deal with a minor obstacle before having to face the bigger problem. There's something strange with that series of metal fence platforms over there beyond the walkway. It looks like an easy crossing, but I just have this feeling there's something we're not seeing," replied Spike.
" I can see a locked door up there on a high ledge, but we have no keys right now to open it," I said.
" Then we need to rescue the Goron we missed back on the second floor in order to proceed," said Spike. I slowly walked along the narrow walkway because I didn't want to fall into the lava, yet Pinkie just walked across the lava while humming a tune to herself. Seeing her do that made me feel really aggrievated all because she was immune to lava while I would get killed by it.
But, I couldn't stay mad at her as she was just being Pinkie Pie what with her ability to defy logic, and making it humourous in the process. Once we made it onto the platform, everything seemed to be okay, but as soon as we took a few steps forward, we heard some kind of hissing noise coming from behind us.
" What's that noise?" I asked.
" You'd better start running," replied Spike.
" Why?" I asked.
" Because that's why!" shouted Spike as he floated slightly behind us to indicate something was there. Pinkie and I looked behind and saw a wall of fire had formed, and was starting to make its way towards us. We both decided to make a run for it by running across to the other side where there was a normal looking ledge, yet the firewall was keeping up with us, and the Red Bubbles weren't making it any easier.
Luckily, we managed to make it before getting roasted, and we climbed up the ledges all the way towards the door just as the firewall reached the other side where it disappeared. When we opened the door, we found ourselves back in the maze room although now we were higher up where we saw that the maze-like walls were in fact large platforms we could use to travel across.
" There are the Torch Slugs which we heard before," I said.
" If they manage to ram into you, they could push you off of the platform and onto the floor meaning you'll have to come all the way back up here again. This also applies if you accidentally jump off at the wrong angle," said Spike.
" I'll pick them off with arrows so as to not engage them directly," I suggested.
" That does seem like the best course of action," added Spike. Jumping across to the next platform, I struggled to balance myself as they were thin walkways in some cases, but I had to remain strong to prevent myself from falling down. Taking out the Fairy Bow again, I began to shoot arrows at the Torch Slugs until all of them were defeated, yet I did notice that the top of one of the platforms had some cracks in it which was suspicious.
" I can hear the sounds of a Goron coming from below," said Pinkie Pie.
" That must be how we can open the prison cell from the other side by dropping down into this hole once we uncover it using a bomb. Or, you could do the honours and simply smash it open with your hammer," I suggested.
" There's another prison cell all the way over there embedded into the wall, and the switch appears to be just on the next platform to our right. I suggest that we rescue the one over in that distant prison cell as they are in a dangerous position. You make your way over there once I activate the switch for you, and then I'll proceed to smash open this broken piece of the floor," said Pinkie Pie. She jumped over to the platform where the switch was and activated it which opened the cell, yet the Goron refused to get up and I don't blame them because of the height issue.
I then started to jump across the additional platforms making sure to do so carefully as I didn't want to have to backtrack, and Pinkie in the meantime smashed her hammer into the broken ground where she broke through with only the one blow.
" Did you come here to release me?" asked the Goron as I finally reached him after nearly falling off of the last platform.
" You're free to go now, so take that door which will allow you to make your way down to the first floor, and from there you can easily leave the temple," I replied.
" I'll tell you a secret for saving me! If you find a place that you can see on the map, but can't reach, try playing your Ocarina," said the Goron.
" What will that produce?" I asked.
" I'm not sure what will come up, but it should be helpful to you if you figure out the meaning. My secret also works when you see a high place in a room which you can't reach through normal means. As for the kind of song you can play, you probably know a lot of songs people have taught you over time, so why not try playing one of your own creation? I hear that someone out there in Hyrule loves listening to people create their own music through ocarinas, and has the perfect memory," replied the Goron.
" Then I'll have to see if I can find this person," I said.
" In any case, I'll follow the directions you gave me, and make my way back home," said the Goron. He then jumped down and made his way over to the door before waving me goodbye and entering it. As usual, there was a small treasure chest inside of the cell, and I opened it to reveal another small key. Just how many Gorons ended up being imprisoned in here? I had no time to think about it as I made my way back over to Pinkie making sure that I was as careful as possible.
" The broken ground fell apart with just one swing of my hammer, so now we can either climb down this metal fence and reach the room below, or we can jump down if we want to get down there faster. You can climb down Sunset Shimmer as you don't have the bulk to prevent injury, but I'll jump down with my eyes closed so I can get down there as fast as possible," said Pinkie Pie.
I thought she wasn't serious and instead was just playing around, but when she closed her eyes and jumped down into the hole, I quickly ran over to the edge only to end up falling down on my rear due to Pinkie landing on the floor with a loud thud which caused a big tremor. Was she trying to prove herself or something? Or did she want to do that because she felt like it? Either way, I wasn't about to try the same thing because that would have been crazy, so I took the safe route which was climbing down to the floor below.
" Did you have to do that?" I asked as I reached the floor.
" Of course as I wanted to get down here as fast as possible. Remember that I can accompany you until the dragon starts to wake up from its slumber, then I have to go and deal with it because that is my duty while yours is to secure the legendary hammer and rescue the remainder of my people. I'd say that Volvagia will wake up very soon as it has been quite some time since we first started exploring the temple," replied Pinkie Pie.
" In all of the excitement, I'd completely forgotten about the dragon," I said.
" Sometimes we can become so consumed with having fun and adventure, yet we often forget about what's important and it just wallows about in the back of our mind. I know that my chances of containing the dragon are slim to none, but I have to keep it distracted long enough until you are able to complete your tasks. Before you say anything, I'm aware that you're probably thinking I shouldn't risk my life like that, but that's the kind of responsibility I have to my people.
As long as they are safe, my own life means nothing even though I wish to survive this myself," said Pinkie Pie. Who would have thought that Pinkie of all people would have such a serious side to her seeing as she was often depicted as a party animal who loved fun in all forms. I had to pick up the pace if I want to rescue the other Gorons and find the hammer before Pinkie had to go back down to the dragon's lair. Walking along the pathway lead us to the prison cell containing the Goron we passed by earlier, so I activated the switch setting him free.
" I've been saved! Oh? Big Brother! I'm glad to see that you are safe and sound. I've been feeling this strange surge coming from below, and I fear that the dragon could awaken soon which would be a disaster for all of us. Here's a tip for rescuing me! Somewhere in this temple, you're sure to meet up with some creatures that dance as they attack. Arrows won't hurt them! Looks like you might need some of the Goron Special Crop in order to defeat them."
" Would they happen to be creatures made of fire?" I asked.
" Most likely which means you need to avoid contact with them otherwise they will burn you."
" Thanks for the information as it will be very helpful when we end up running into them," I said.
" Don't underestimate these creatures as they can be tricky once you see them for yourself. Anyway, I must return home to Goron City as I'm sure the others are waiting for me to return. Help yourself to that small key in the chest over there as I don't plan on taking it with me as a souvenir." The Goron then walked off towards the door which lead to the room with the fire pit elevator and soon he was gone, so Pinkie and I doubled-back to the fence and climbed up to get back to the third floor again.
She was quite the climber which certainly was surprising to see as she climbed all the way up, and had to wait a while for me to catch up to her. Once I had climbed up, we made our way back to the room where the wall of fire chased us, and the moment we landed on the metal fence platform, the fire returned but this time it was right behind us.
" Oh come on!" I shouted as Pinkie and I ran for it to avoid getting burned.
" There's the locked door up on that ledge," said Pinkie Pie.
" Then that's where we're going next," I said. We had to make a leap of faith in order to grab onto the high ledge, but we managed to succeed and pulled ourselves up just as the wall of fire burned its way by and continued down the pathway before disappearing like it did before. Unlocking the door with the small key lead us into a corridor which consisted of nothing but torches on either side leading up to another door. " This feels like a bad omen like we're about to walk into some kind of trap."
" Only way to know for certain is to open that door in front of us," said Pinkie Pie.
" I know and sometimes that is what I tend to fear the most when exploring these dungeons," I said. I was actually expecting something to happen in this corridor, but nothing came up which had me worried as I opened the door. This lead us into another massive room where the first thing I noticed was some kind of column in front of us with some metal fencing surrounding it where we could see down below. There were also a large number of small columns placed around the room, and finally there were some face columns spewing out flames which served as an obstacle.
" Take a look at this," began Spike.
" What is it?" I asked.
" You can see down into the room below through the metal fencing. Say....isn't that the same room down there where we met Darunia and the Goron trapped in the prison cell? Let me take a look at that map for a second," replied Spike. I opened it up to allow him to find what he was looking for, and he began to shout with excitement once he had found it. " Yep! I was right! That means this must be the top of the pillar that the Goron mentioned we needed to use in order to gain access to the lair of the dragon."
" That's the top of it!?!? Then this pillar must be gigantic if it goes from up here to all the way down there," I said.
" The legendary hammer could very well be the only thing that can knock that pillar back down to the first floor as I don't think anything else is powerful enough. Not even Darunia's hammer would have the strength to be able to slam that thing down below. The question now, is how to get up on top of the pillar so that you can knock it down," said Spike.
" What about those small columns lining up throughout the room?" I asked.
" Something is odd about those as why would they be arranged like that? Also, notice those boulder just go back and forth without changing direction? It's possible that there are traps between those columns, but I don't know for sure as they do look pretty harmless," replied Spike.
" I can see a door over there to the right, so why don't we check that out before trying the other route," I suggested. Pinkie and Spike agreed to my plan, and I immediately walked off towards the door only to end up getting struck and knocked back by a wall of flame which shot up between the pillar and the wall. It refused to go away as though it was forcing me to have to take an alternate path. " Well, there's your trap Spike! I'm taking it that between every column will shoot up a wall of flame that will block our progress?"
" Most of the gaps between the columns will likely do this, so we need to find the gaps where no flame will appear. This is going to be a small guessing game, so you might want to be prepared to get a little burned unless you're really lucky," replied Spike.
" I can handle a little fire," announced Pinkie Pie.
" You're not invincible Darunia, so don't ever think that even though you are stronger than both Sunset Shimmer and me. I think you two should take it in turns in order to find the path through the flames between the pillars, or just run around in a blind panic and hope one of you figures it out first," said Spike.
" Now that's an idea that I can get behind!" laughed Pinkie Pie.
" Not surprised you'd say that," sighed Spike.
" Don't worry about me little fairy as this is the kind of thing I have to endure. Come Sunset Shimmer! Let's find our way to that door and see who gets to it first!" laughed Pinkie Pie. She then ran in-between the pillars hoping to find the right way through, and she ended up getting burned several times in the process. I just slapped my head in frustration that she once again did something without thinking about it.
The walls of flame don't seem to be affecting her all that much let alone slow her down, and she would eventually find her way over to the door despite having a lot of burns across her body. " I thought you would be joining me in the fun? Maybe I overdid it a little in wanting to run around, but I had to do it because time isn't on our side right now."
" I'm sorry if I ever doubted you," I said.
" You don't need to apologize as you were concerned with my behaviour, but know that I am committed to the cause! You check out what's inside of that room, and I'll see which gaps among the columns are safe for us to traverse. I know that I'll get burned, but I'm willing to take the heat in order to help you achieve your goal," said Pinkie Pie. I opened the door which lead me into another corridor which ended with a large treasure chest, yet I was concerned with everything Pinkie said because I did assume that she was just being herself and messing around.
" Guess we underestimated her," said Spike.
" I'll say we have, and I feel pretty bad for thinking of her as being immature what with how she's been acting," I said.
" Darunia may act foolish sometimes, but she is someone who is looked up to all the time, and she has plenty of expectations to live up to. She's right about us not having much time to spare as Volvagia could awaken any minute now, and we haven't rescued all of the Gorons," said Spike.
" And we haven't found the hammer," I added.
" That hammer is the only thing which will defeat the dragon, and without it we don't stand a chance. Darunia must be doing an awfully good job of hiding her fears seeing as her people are being threatened with extinction, and that Volvagia could destroy Death Mountain along with the entiriety of Hyrule. She's putting on a brave face even though she knows the odds have been stacked against her since Ganondorf's followers abducted the Gorons months ago. We need to step up our own game, and do what we need must to ensure that Hyrule doesn't end up becoming burned to a cinder," said Spike.
" I agree....which means I might have to rely on my transformation again," I said in a soft voice as I was afraid of what would happen to me if I were to lose control. I walked over to the chest and opened it to discover a compass inside which wasn't as exciting as it was when I found one in the Forest Temple. " I think we got this a little late seeing as most of the significant treasure chests have been opened, and we know where the boss room is"
" Plus, the compass doesn't confirm the location of the hammer, so we're still a little blind when it comes to that," added Spike.
" It looks like there are two chests on the highest floor, so I hope that the one we're heading to is the right one," I said. With the compass in hand, I went back into the other room where Pinkie Pie was standing there swinging about her hammer as though she were bored. I could see the various burns across her body, but she seemed to just shrug them off which shows that wasn't going to let them slow her down.
" It took me a little longer than expected, but I did manage to find a pathway through the columns. Follow me closely as you don't want to take a wrong turn, and walk right into a wall of flame," said Pinkie Pie. She then began to make her way back to the giant pillar by weaving through the columns, and my way of thinking here was that she must have been burned numerous times before figuring out the right way. " We need to be careful over here as these statues may look harmless, but they will shoot out flames at us as a means of a defensive measure. We just have to wait for the right moment when no flames are being fired before we move on."
" There certainly are a lot of doors around here," I said.
" All of them are fake doors except for the locked one right over there," said Pinkie Pie.
" Did you try to open them?" I asked.
" I did and I managed to smash them all to pieces with one swing of my hammer, but it looks like some kind of magic was used to restore them back. When you try to open one, you only have about a second to react before they fall down on you causing some slight damage," replied Pinkie Pie. The pathway she had uncovered did lead us past one of the fake doors, but it looked so real to me that I just had to see if it was fake for myself.
The door began to wobble before it slammed down on top on me knocking me back a fair distance where I got burned in the back by a wall of flame sending me forward a little where I finally landed on my rear. " Well, that was spectacular to watch even though you did get beaten up by a door."
" I should have listened to you," I sighed.
" Think of it as a learning experience," smiled Pinkie Pie.
" And I just know what kind of lesson I'm going to give myself next," I said as I removed my Bomb Bag from my belt and taking out a bomb in the process. I tossed it at the fake door which caused the bomb to explode and break the door into pieces which felt very satisfying. With the fake door out of the way, I placed my bag back on my belt and Pinkie resumed leading the way towards the locked door.
Once we arrived, I opened it using the key that I picked up back on the second floor, and we entered a room which featured a prison cell to the right, and another door at the end which must lead back into the big room again. Why have this smaller room here? Why set up this side of the third floor in such a manner? Did the wall of flames somewhere force us to take this route?
" I don't see a switch anywhere," said Pinkie Pie.
" Without one to activate, this Goron is going to be stuck in here for a while," I said.
" I'd rather not leave this one behind," said Pinkie Pie.
" You know, it's possible that the switch is somewhere on top of one of these two ledges, but we can't get up due to being too high for us to reach. I suppose you could toss me up there, but there is no guarantee that the switch can be activated as it could be rusty like the one behind Maud's prison cell. It looks like we'll have to come back for this Goron a little later," I said.
" Much to my displeasure, but I know that there is no choice in the matter," said Pinkie Pie. We then walked over to the other door and opened it where it did indeed take us back into the big room, and that gave me a theory which I wanted to try. I produced a ball of fire magic in my hand and built it up for a while before I rolled it along the ground like some kind of bowling ball.
As it rolled along, walls of flame shot up between all of the columns from one side of the wall to the other. Pinkie was quite surprised that I would think of such a clever tactic like this. " Wow! That was pretty smart of you to do that Sunset Shimmer, so now we know that we had to go through that other room as there was no way to get over here due to the flames blocking us."
" And what about that huge wall of flame to our left?" I asked.
" It certainly does give off an intimidating presence no doubt, but I do see a switch in the distance which could get rid of the flames for a short period. I'll take a page from your book and use a more strategic method to find the path through the flames instead of rushing in recklessly. You certainly are an inspiration to watch, and my daughter could learn much from you as well," replied Pinkie Pie. She then tossed her hammer out in front of her where the walls of flame rose up to let us know where they were revealing the path we had to take.
As for me, I walked over to where the switch was making sure to avoid the statues, and the moment I stepped on the switch, the huge wall of flame disappeared, but it also began a ticking sound which I remembered from before, so I had to move fast in order to make it to the ledge before the fire returned. Pinkie acknowledged what I was doing as she started to run for the ledge making sure to pick up her hammer along the way, and we made it just in time as the ticking stopped and the fire came back.
" That must be another fake door over there," I said.
" Most likely as it certainly doesn't look like the typical doors we've seen," said Pinkie Pie.
" I'm starting to run a little low on bombs, so maybe I should smash these pots lying around and restock before destroying that fake door," I said. Pinkie stepped aside to allow me to shatter the pots although only two of the six contained sets of five bombs apiece while the others contained arrows and Deku Nuts although one did house a fairy which I caught in a bottle.
" This fairy will be very useful especially when it comes to dealing with that dragon, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it later. Right now, I've got a door to blow up although I wish that I had gotten more than ten bombs." Walking down the passageway stopping short of where the fake door was, I took out a bomb and rolled it in front of the door where it exploded and shattered the door into pieces revealing another door. I signalled for Pinkie to come on over and follow me as I opened the door, and it lead me into a small room with a raised platform in the middle with a giant circle of flame surrounding it.
" Sunset Shimmer? I can't open the door!" said Pinkie Pie from outside.
" What!?!?" I exclaimed as I turned around to discover that the door had been sealed with iron bars.
" Is something wrong?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" The door has been sealed with iron bars, so I can't open it until I figure out what has to be solved in this room," I replied. Hearing that did make Pinkie sulk as she wanted to be in there with me, so she walked back to where the giant wall of flame was, and sat down near it while looking at her hammer as a means of something to do. " So what do we have to do in here?"
" There doesn't seem to be any kind of puzzle in here, so I guess that we have to defeat some kind of monster," replied Spike.
" I was hoping for a puzzle to solve, but I guess we are due for a monster as we haven't seen too many of them around here. I just hope that it's an easy one for me to defeat which doesn't involve me being dragged into a lengthy battle where I end up dying and reviving like what happened with those regenerating Stalfos," I said. Unfortunately, an easy monster just wasn't going to happen as the circle of flame suddenly roared to life, and an evil laugh echoed throughout the room.
That's when I heard the sound of something spinning behind me, and as I turned around, I saw what looked like some kind of fire humanoid that was spinning around before it spewed out a barrage of fireballs before it started to move via a sliding motion where it ran into me sending me flying into the wall.
" Are you alright?" asked Spike.
" At least I didn't hit against the iron bars this time around, so my back is okay, but I'm also guessing that this must be the creature that one Goron mentioned?" I asked.
" It's called a Flare Dancer, and it essentially moves around via skating where it will knock you over should you run into it or the other way around. Be careful when it comes to a stop as that's when it will spin around before it unleashes a fireball attack. The amount of time it takes to spin is at random, so make sure you watch it carefully and react accordingly. You need to find a way to extinguish its flaming clothes first before you can actually attack its true form which is the little creature surrounded by flames," replied Spike.
" Didn't that same Goron mention something about using their special crop?" I asked.
" If you mean bombs, then that should be effective, but you need to wait for the right moment to toss one at it," replied Spike. The Flare Dancer continued to skate around the room before it came to a stop, and that was when it started to spin in place for a couple of seconds before spewing another wave of fireballs before resuming its skating leaving me feeling a little flustered.
I tried to catch up with it in the hopes of making it stop, but it was too fast for me and ended up knocking into me from behind where I was flung forward and landed on my face mere inches from the wall. As I got back up onto my feet, it stopped again and began to spin around for a little while longer which gave me enough time to pull out a bomb and toss at Flare Dancer. The resulting explosion extinguished the flames leaving behind a really small creature which suddenly turned around and began to run away from me.
" That's its true form?" I asked.
" You need to chase after it right now!" shouted Spike.
" Okay, but why do I need to?" I asked.
" As soon as the flames surrounding it have been extinguished, it will run away from you and keep on running until it's able to leap back into the circle of fire where it will regain its clothes as well as heal any damage you may have inflicted on it. You need to hit it a certain number of times before it jumps back in to prevent it from healing, and it will just grow weaker from there. In order to strike that tiny form, you will need to use the Master Sword as you have nothing else that will work," replied Spike.
" I can use magic, or maybe bombs," I suggested.
" It's moving too fast for you to blow it up with bombs, and it's immune to your fire magic as it's a creature of fire granting it immunity. No, you need to use the sword this time around Sunset Shimmer even though you don't want to. Darunia has taught you some of the basics, so now you need to take what you've learned from her and put it to the test," said Spike. Despite not wanting to use the sword, I knew that I had no other choice, so I drew the Master Sword from its scabbard, and immediately dropped it on the floor much to my embarrassment.
" Whoops!" was all I could say.
" Not exactly what is needed right now," moaned Spike, and he was right as I need to get my act together and use this sword properly....or as best as I am able to which isn't really saying all that much. As soon as I picked it up, Flare Dancer jumped into the fire and jumped back out with its flaming clothes back before it started to spin around again, but this time it spewed forth blue fireballs which landed on the ground....only to start coming towards me.
" What's going on?" I asked.
" The blue fireballs it sends out are able to follow you so you need to outrun them, or use your shield to protect yourself until they extinguish which should take about ten seconds for that to happen," replied Spike. Shame that my reaction time was slow as I found myself being bombarded on all sides by blue fireballs which did cause some pain, and adding on Flare Dancer sliding into me knocking me into the wall again was just insult to injury. " You really need to work on your reaction time as that was clearly easy to avoid and/or shield against."
" I'm working on it!" I shouted. As Flare Dancer stopped once again and began to spin around, I tossed a bomb at it which extinguished its flames, and then it started to run around the room again reversing direction whenever it came near me. Thinking about what Pinkie taught me, I swung the Master Sword horizontally where it flung out of my hand and striking Flare Dancer's true form several times due to the sword spinning around in the air after it came out of my hand.
" That....wasn't what I call a graceful move," said Spike.
" But I did manage to inflict some damage although I agree that was pretty embarrassing," I added. Sighing, I walked over and picked the sword up while Flare Dancer jumped back into the circle of flames before jumping back out....but now surrounded in blue flames as opposed to yellow. " Did it suddenly become stronger due to its flame changing from yellow to blue?"
" That's the sign that you've weakened it due to hitting it enough times before it could heal the damage. Now you just need to repeat the process until it finally goes down, but make sure you hold onto the Master Sword this time," replied Spike. While I would argue with him about that, I had no time to do so as I needed to remove those flaming clothes before Flare Dancer decides to spew forth those blue fireballs again.
Throwing another bomb extinguished them, and I immediately ran over to where its true body dropped to the ground before swinging the Master Sword vertically where I struck a hit without messing it up. I followed this up with a horizontal slice which struck again, but then the sword bounced off of the platform knocking me back.
" Shoot!" I shouted in frustration.
" That was pretty good aside from the finish," commented Spike. Taking that to heart, I waited for Flare Dancer to come around, and I swung horizontally which struck it and I followed up with another horizontal slice which hit it again, but I managed to stop the Master Sword from hitting the platform although it did hit the floor instead. Flare Dancer then jumped in and out of the circle of fire where its flames were now green. " This should be the last phase, so just repeat the process one more time, and you'll win but be careful as Flare Dancer can and will explode when defeated, and the explosion range is pretty big."
" I'll be sure to avoid it," I said. Flare Dancer began to spin in place and I tossed a bomb at it, but it managed to spew forth blue fireballs even though I was able to extinguish the flames again. I had to risk getting hit in order to finish this off, so I chased after Flare Dancer and hit it with some vertical slices before the fireballs caused me to drop the sword on the ground. However, I quickly picked it back up and resumed the offensive where I hit it a few more times all while being hit on all sides which made me drop the sword again.
Just as Flare Dancer was about to turn around, I quickly picked up the sword and struck it one more time where it suddenly grew in size and exploded which sent me flying across the room and landing on the other side by the door. The circle of flames disappeared and the iron bars rose up which allowed Pinkie to finally enter the room.
" What happened to you?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" I just got caught in an explosion and I had no time to get out of the way, but lucky for me that I was on the edge of it otherwise I probably wouldn't be speaking to you right now. That fight wasn't too bad although I did learn that I really need to get better with the Master Sword," I replied.
" Oh, so you used it?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" Yes, and with the techniques you taught me, but I struggled as I either dropped the sword on the floor, or it bounced off of that platform, or it flew out of my hand. I think I'll just put the Master Sword away for now, and focus on using my magical skills, but I will use it again as I actually liked swinging it about, and it did make me feel pretty heroic," I replied.
" Good to hear that, so how do we proceed from here? There aren't any other doors we can use that I can see, but there is a hole in the ceiling which has me thinking that this platform isn't what it appears to be," said Pinkie Pie.
" It must be an elevator," I said as I struggled to get back onto my feet. Pinkie ended up helping me out, and I smiled and said my thanks before we climbed onto the platform where the top part rose up into the air. It stopped when it reached its destination which was another platform where we walked onto it and through a door which lead to another room similar to the one back on the second floor where we had a Crystal Switch to deal with.
I looked up and saw that there was some metal fencing we had to climb as well as a wall of fire blocking the way. " That switch must control the fire, so we need to hit it with a bomb from the higher elevation, and climb up onto the next floor. From there, we'll reach the fifth floor, and hopefully be in the room that houses the legendary hammer."
" And if we're in the wrong room?" asked Pinkie Pie.
" I for one will scream my head off and come very close to pulling my hair out in utter frustration. But, the civil thing to do would be to backtrack all the way to the first big room on the third floor, and somehow find our way up to the other room on the fifth floor using the Ocarina of Time," I replied.
" Let's hope this is the right room as there's no telling when Volvagia will start to wake up. Come on! We need to get to that room quickly, so let's activate the crystal switch," said Pinkie Pie. After climbing up to the next ledge, I walked to the edge of it and dropped a bomb which activated when it exploded causing the fire to disappear, and allowing us to climb to the next floor. We did have to hurry though as there was another ticking sound meaning we had little time, but we managed to make it up long before the timer ran out, and when I opened the door to enter the next room....
" Whoa! I didn't think this room would look so fancy," I commented.
" It's said that the Hero of the Gorons wanted to seal away the legendary hammer in a room that was a testament to both his greatness, and to the Gorons which is why he wanted to have the room feature bronze statues of himself and random Gorons. This must be the place where the hammer was sealed, so we ended up choosing the right path after all," said Pinkie Pie. Far away at the top of a winding staircase was a large treasure chest surrounded by flames, and there was a switch nearby which should remove the fire when activated.
" The hammer must be inside of that chest, but this looks like a simple enough puzzle," I said.
" Appearances can be deceiving Sunset Shimmer, and I for one sense that there's a bit more to it than just pressing a switch and running towards the chest. No, there must be something else otherwise the hero was pretty lax when it came down to the final hurdle. In any case, I must wait here by the door as this is your trial to overcome. You are the one meant to claim the hammer as I was unworthy of that distinction due to not being able to make it past the initial chambers of the Fire Temple," said Pinkie Pie.
" Are you sure?" I asked.
" I am, so go now and claim your weapon," replied Pinkie Pie. I calmly walked over to the switch and activated it which did cause the fire surrounding the chest to disappear, but then the eyes of the bronze statues began to glow and started to shoot beams of fire in a fast motion.
Their patterns were erratic at best, and this wasn't the worst of it as some parts of the staircase began submerged in lava which meant I had to jump over it, but the laser beams would make it difficult as one hit would send me into the lava, and ultimately to my own end. Also, the sound of ticking could be heard, so it meant I was in a race against time which I didn't need. Sighing yet again, I started to make my way through this ridiculous obstacle course.
" The Goron Hero really only wanted the most worthy to reach the hammer," said Spike.
" But did he have to go and overdo it?" I asked.
" Granted, I do agree that this is a little excessive, but I suppose that this was his idea of a test," replied Spike.
" Not the kind of test I wanted to take, yet I have to do this in order to awaken the Sage," I said.
" I wonder who the Sage could be?" asked Spike.
" Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea as to who it's going to end up being as I am starting to see the signs, but I can't 100% confirm my suspicions until we actually get to the dragon....I'm not looking forward to that in the least Spike as I've never encountered a dragon before in my entire life with the exception of a small one who changed into a dog back where I'm from," I replied.
" A Dog? That sounds weird, but this is your story again so it makes sense to you. Anyway, dragons were quite a rarity in Hyrule as they were few and far between, but they somehow manage to make it through the cracks of history and end up being an issue that requires careful attention. By the way, you might want to duck right now if you want your hair to remain intact," said Spike.
" What are you....whoa! WHOA!" I shouted and ducked just as a laser shot over my head. I had a freaked out expression on my face from that which got even worse when I suddenly stopped in front of a pool of lava, and struggled to keep my balance and not fall in. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse....boulders began to roll down towards me in straight lines. " Oh come on!" This was now completely absurd as it was way too much just for one hammer, but I jumped over the lava pool and to the side to avoid getting flattened by the boulder.
Then I had to jump again to avoid the incoming laser beam, and I dodged another boulder upon landing which I followed up with another jump over a lava pool. After what felt like forever, I managed to somehow make it to the top where I immediately opened the treasure chest before slumping to the ground and breathing heavily as that was just was too intense. All of the obstacles immediately stopped where Pinkie started to make her way in a casual manner which made my jaw drop before I smacked my head in frustration.
" You made it," said Spike.
" Never again! I don't want to ever go through something like that again," I said with a booming voice.
" Let's hope not as that was just ridiculous. It should have been something simpler like say the switch removes the flames surrounding the chest, and in order to get up here, you had to use that series of steps next to the edge of that bottomless pit before time ran out. That would have made for a much better challenge, and also one that was well within the realm of logic," said Spike.
" Well, let's see what we have in the chest," I sighed as I got up and peered into the chest where I pulled out what looked like a regular hammer carpenters, plumbers, and mechanics use, but it was much bigger in size compared to an average hammer. It also felt pretty heavy as though the hammer was forged from a powerful metal alloy.
" You found the Megaton Hammer! You can use it to smash and break junk such as rusty switches, boulders which are stronger than normal, and even shatter fragile objects like they were nothing! However, this weapon is very heavy to wield, so you'll need to use both hands in order to swing it around successfully. That means you will be more vulnerable than before, but you do have a different means of attacking although it isn't as swift as the Master Sword. If anything, the Megaton Hammer is a bulky weapon which takes some time getting used to," said Spike.
" Smash and break junk? That sounds like fun to me," I smiled.
" I don't know where you can put that on your person as it is pretty bulky," said Spike.
" I'll figure something out," I said.
" You did it Sunset Shimmer! You now hold in your hands the legendary hammer which was used by my ancestor to destroy Volvagia! I knew that you were the one who was meant to claim it, so use it to free the rest of my people and defeat that accursed dragon once and for all. You don't need me to teach you how to use it as you've seen me use my own hammer lots of times. Just do what I did and you'll do fine.
I do have one more sword trick to teach you and its called a jump attack where you...." said Pinkie Pie. Just as she was about to explain to me what a jump attack was, a huge bellow came from deep within the pit. My heart sank as I knew exactly what it was, and the expression in Pinkie's eyes meant that she knew it as well.
" Was that?" I asked.
" The roar of Volvagia which means we're out of time. It has awoken from its slumber and could begin to try and leave the Fire Temple and lay waste to the land. I know I was about to teach you the jump attack, but it looks like I won't be able to explain to you the full details. Instead, I'll just give you a quick explanation as I must get on over to the dragon's lair and keep it at bay," replied Pinkie Pie.
" Don't do it! Without the hammer you'll be killed," I cried.
" It must be done even though I don't want to have to do it either. This is what I must do, and you must rescue the remainder of my people. I am asking you to do this as my Sworn Brother! Now then, the jump attack is where you leap into the air and swing your sword down with plenty of force behind it.
Most creatures will have no answer to this technique, and if you connect then you can inflict double the damage. Don't overuse it otherwise you will be exposed if they figure out your tactic. This is where we must part ways, for you must go back down the long way while I jump down into this pit," said Pinkie Pie.
" That's insane!" I shouted.
" Well, I have been known for doing some rather crazy methods. Good-bye Sunset Shimmer, and hopefully we will meet again," said Pinkie Pie.
" How do you plan on entering the lair if you don't have a Boss Key?" I asked.
" I've always had one of those keys on my person ever since I first entered the temple months ago, but I kept it a secret from you as you would have no doubt attempted to take it away from me, and prevent me from doing what needs to be done. You don't need to worry about me as this is what I am destined to do," replied Pinkie Pie.
With that, she quickly showed me the Boss Key she had on her person before jumping down into the pit, and curling up into a ball as she plunged down to the level below. I ran towards the edge of the pit and dropped to my knees in tears knowing that she was heading towards her death....
To Be Continued.
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5309410 Really? I love Spike, but he is more annoying tha Navi. I hope that sunny flips out when She has to get the little coins, and even more when she faces Ganon.
You DO know that Gorons are fire-proof, right!?
5497562
I'm aware that they are seeing as Pinkie has been rolling around in lava, and walking in it much to Sunset's surprise and slight annoyance. However, there are some aspects of fire which are too much for a Goron to handle....like the fiery breath of a dragon made of lava itself. That would actually be the only fire scenario a Goron can't handle.
5497255
The two have had their share of banters every now and again, and it isn't about to stop any time soon. Sunset Shimmer and Spike do get along well, but sometimes they like to prove that they are the respective dominant one in the partnership given unto them by the Great Deku Tree.
5498017 Hey, at least now he can fly! *reaises she has made a tasteless joke*
First you is supposed to be who.
Really hyped for Volvagia.
Ps. As of a few chapters ago, this is the longest thing I've ever read. Congrats.
5503588
You'll enjoy the Volvagia fight as it's full of action and suspense....and Sunset Shimmer brings up the joke where the battle is similar to that one carnival game people play to win those big stuffed animals.