• Published 9th Nov 2014
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The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time - Ganondorf8



Sunset Shimmer was simply enjoying a night indoors with her friends, but the magical energies of the human world which clashed in Rainbow Rocks has caused something unexpected to happen.

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Chapter 42: Returning to the Past, and Below the Well

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding the Legend of Zelda, the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks. These are the properties of Nintendo and Hasbro respectively.

And they say that you can't turn back the clock. Also, be careful when talking near strange stones because you never know if they are listening on your conversation.

Cast appearing in this chapter.

Sunset Shimmer - Link
Spike - Navi the Fairy
Twilight Sparkle - Princess Zelda
Applejack - Impa
Fluttershy - Saria
Discord - Guru-Guru

The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
February 14, 2015
Chapter 42: Returning to the Past, and Below the Well

Before deciding to leave the Temple of Time, I turned around to look at the Master Sword which was now stuck in the pedestal. It felt so weird to me that it was back where it belonged instead of in its scabbard, but now that I was back in the past, I was too young to wield it even though in the present I looked the same there as I do right now.

Or, would that be the future given that the world I left exists seven years from now. Maybe I shouldn't think too hard about it as all it would do is confuse me, so I had to focus on what needed to be done. Kakariko Village had a secret literally buried beneath it, and I must uncover what it was if I were to be able to go to the Shadow Temple.

" Let's get this sorted out before we go anywhere. First of all, we went to the windmill in the future where Discord, the man who lives there, taught us a song which he learned from us in this time due to playing it in front of him. This resulted in the water being drained from the well which is connected to the windmill, yet we haven't done this because the well has no water in the future.

Second, we now have to go fix the time paradox, and somehow creating additional ones because of knowing something later and applying it now. Finally, we need to find an item hidden beneath the well which can see the unseen, for it's needed to enter the Shadow Temple....does any of this make sense to you?" I asked.

" None of it makes sense because we're dealing with the power of time itself, and it's a force that only the Great Fairy and the Great Goddesses would be able to understand, or the Goddess of Time herself who would be the most obvious choice," replied Spike.

" I didn't know there was a goddess dedicated to time," I said.

" Most people don't know this because she is a being who isn't really worshipped all that much in Hyrule. There are some dedicated followers, but the general consensus is that they are a small group often looked down upon by others," said Spike.

" Do you suppose the shadow beast is some kind of ancient enemy of the Sheikah?" I asked.

" It's possible given Impa was the one who sealed it away, or because she needed to prevent Ganondorf's power from strengthening it as evil beings draw their strength from darkness. Right now, the well remains open as the seal hasn't been created yet, so we essentially have all the time in the world to get what we need as he can't do anything until you pull out the Master Sword again," replied Spike.

" When you think about it like that, wouldn't it make sense not to draw it from the pedestal?" I asked.

" I understand where you're going with this, and it would have been easy to have refused to take the divine blade. However, because he was the most powerful man of this time, he essentially had all of the trump cards in his favour, and would have used them to force you into pulling out the Master Sword. Simply put, no matter what ended up happening in the end, Ganondorf had everything all figured out from the start," replied Spike.

" His manipulations went by undetected as no one knew what he was planning," I said.

" That's why no one was able to stop him because he was so secretive about his actions, and not even the members of his own tribe knew what he was planning," said Spike. This was true even though I wish that it weren't, but just knowing that he used me to achieve his goal made me feel really furious. I still believe that we could just stay here in the past without needing to go back to the future, but I know that we need to eventually return and awaken the other Sages.

It might have been possible to defeat Ganondorf if we could somehow warn people of what was to happen, yet that wouldn't work either as who would honestly believe I came back from the future?

" Guess we should get going as lingering about here will get us nowhere," I said.

" I took the liberty of writing down the Song of Storms for you as I remembered how it plays," said Spike.

" At least I have the proper weapons and items to help me explore what lies beneath the well," I said.

" You might want to look again after saying that," said Spike.

" What are you talking about?" I asked as I began to check on my inventory, and discovered that I no longer had the Fairy Bow, the Megaton Hammer, the Iron Boots, the two tunics, and the Longshot. I did learn that I now had access to the Fairy Slingshot, the Boomerang, the Mask of Truth, Deku Sticks and the Magic Beans again....which made me realize what Spike was getting at.

" The items that I picked up in the future....I can't use them here in the past because I don't have them on my person, so I have to rely on what I used before obtaining the Master Sword....a sword....I don't even have one of those."

" That's one of the disadvantages of travelling through time," sighed Spike.

" How can I use these items and weapons after so long?" I asked.

" You have no choice but to remember how they work as that's all you have in addition to your magic. Luckily, you can still use Bombs, Bombchu, and Deku Nuts so at least you do have some familiar items on hand; the same is also true of Din's Fire and Farore's Wind as they are still available. Finally, you've still got the Hylian Shield although now it's too heavy for you to put it onto your arms, so all you can do with it is use as a shell on your back," replied Spike.

" I wish Sheik could have warned me before coming back here," I moaned.

" It's doubtful that she even knew this was going to be an issue," said Spike.

" Just when you think that things couldn't get any worse, they went ahead and did exactly that. There's no point in complaining about something which was beyond our control, so let's get out of here as the Temple of Time is getting on my nerves," I moaned. As I walked along to the entrance of the temple, I checked my inventory again, and saw that I still had the Sage Medallions. If this is the case, then the songs I learned must still be available to me.

Upon leaving the temple and seeing the outside world....two simultaneous events hit me at the exact time. " Everything is back where it used to be....Hyrule Castle Town is back where it belongs." Seeing the beauty of the town before it was destroyed by Ganondorf was a sight to behold, and it made me want to just stay where I was standing without ever moving again.

" Remember that this is what things used to be like," said Spike.

" I know, but I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic. You don't know to appreciate something until you lose it, and losing this town is something I took for granted as I never got the chance to marvel in its beauty. All I did was talk to Applebloom, and head to the castle to meet with Twilight....the castle....the one that Ganondorf ended up constructing when he took over Hyrule by destroying the old one," I said.

" What are you mumbling about?" asked Spike.

" The castle that exists where Hyrule Castle once stood....we never went to see what it looked like despite being given a description from Rarity when she had to go there to pay tribute to Ganondorf. No doubt about it Spike, his castle will surely enrage me to no end because of having the gall to do what he did just because he had the power of a goddess flowing through him," I replied.

" Even if we were to see it, there is probably nothing we'd be able to do to gain access for the time being,. We really need to focus Sunset Shimmer as all of these comparisons between the past and the future are not only slowing us down, they are blinding your perception of the world," said Spike.

" You're right, so let's go to Kakariko Village," I said.

" We can't do that," began Spike.

" But you just said that I need to focus, and now you say that we can't go to the village? Make up your mind already!" I shouted.

" Have you forgotten that it was night-time when we returned to the Temple of Time because of needing to see Shining Armour after sundown? We may have travelled back through time, but the time of day is still the same for some reason. In other words, we can't leave Hyrule Castle Town until it's morning, so we might as well get some sleep as you certainly need it," said Spike. Looking up at the sky, it was indeed night out, so I slapped my head for not realizing this.

Since the town was still safe at least for the time being, I decided to sleep near the entrance to the Temple of Time as I didn't want to go back in there for a while as it frustrated me. While I was sleeping, something was happening out in Hyrule Field, yet this had already occurred back in the future, but was just beginning in the present day.

Applejack as I remember was able to take Twilight away from the castle due to Ganondorf having killed the king, and chasing after them in the hopes of getting his clutches on the Ocarina of Time. They had been chased all across the field until she was able to guide her horse into a hidden clearing, but she soon discovered something was amiss which had her suspect the motives of the Evil King.

" We should be safe here for the time being your highness," said Applejack.

" I cannot believe that my father is dead, and Ganondorf was the one who snuffed out his life. All of the signs were there for my father to realize that the Gerudo King could not be trusted, and yet he chose to ignore those in favour of an false alliance. Oh Impa, why did this have to happen? My father just wanted to unite all of the tribes under one kingdom, yet his life was taken away from him," said Twilight.

" Ganondorf is someone who desires to rule through strength alone, and lacks the compassion that a true ruler would rely on to govern their people. I must admit that I did not expect him to want to carry things this far as it was my assumption that the issues he had could have been solved through talking.

Shining Armour wished to take a more direct approach, and he too has become a victim. I apologize for having taken you away from the castle Princess Zelda, but my duty forced my hand and your life is to be protected even," said Applejack. She then peaked from behind a rock expecting Ganondorf to gallop past on his nightmare of a horse, but he was no where to be found.

She kept up this vigil for several minutes before turning her attention back to Twilight who was still in disbelief over what had happened. If only she knew what the future was going to bring, but at this point in time she is oblivious to what I know. " It looks like he decided against following us all the way down here, so that means he must have chosen to make his way back to the castle."

" Why would he decide to do that and not continue with the chase?" asked Twilight.

" I fear that he has figured out my deception much sooner than what I was hoping for, your highness. My plan was to have him chase us and make him believe that you had the Ocarina of Time in your possession. The purpose was to give Sunset Shimmer enough time to make it to the Sacred Realm, and secure the Triforce before he could," replied Applejack.

" He figured out that she has all of the keys, so he must have gone back to wait for her to make a move. If only I had known that he manipulated us from the very beginning, Sunset Shimmer would not have been dragged into this situation, and her life would not be in danger. She has no idea that the Gerudo King is going to surprise her when the Sacred Realm is opened, and that means.....Impa....what did she do to deserve this?" asked Twilight.

" There is not much that we can do your highness," replied Applejack. She peaked from behind the rock again to double-check if Ganondorf was really no longer trailing them, so she grabbed the reins of her horse and beckoned for Twilight to come out of hiding. Quickly grabbing something from her clothes, Applejack handed it over which gave Twilight a confused expression on her face. " What I have given you is the cloth worn by the Sheikah, and I want you to wear it should you end up having to."

" Are you sure there is no alternative?" asked Twilight.

" This must be done your highness, and you should know that this my allotted task. Sunset Shimmer will most likely find herself having to fight against Ganondorf, and I know that she will risk her life to achieve her goal. That one has a powerful aura hidden deep inside of her which is yearning to be unleashed, yet nothing has been able to stoke her desire to keep this world safe," replied Applejack.

" She must acquire the Triforce and stop Ganondorf from using it to conquer the world," said Twilight.

" Our concern should be getting you to safety your highness, and I know the perfect place for you to hide while we wait. I shall take you to my home of Kakariko during the next night so that no one notices us coming into the village, for we do not want any unwanted attention to come our way. There is something that I need to do there that involves protecting the villagers, and if Ganondorf were to succeed, then it will become stronger," said Applejack.

" This has to do with the creature that lives underneath the well?" asked Twilight.

" It cannot be allowed to draw from the power of the Triforce, so I will make the preparations for creating a powerful sealing spell that will bind the shadow, and prevent it from escaping the well," replied Applejack.

" What should we do regarding me Impa? I simply just cannot disappear and leave my people's lives hanging in the balance, for that would be betraying their trust in the royal family which they have had for generations. Yes, I know that I must remain hidden, but how can I do that? Sunset Shimmer will no doubt succeed as I have the utmost faith in her abilities, but if she were to fail, must I be forced to hide away like....like....like a princess?" asked Twilight.

" Your life is the most important one for this kingdom Princess Zelda, for it will be you who shall become the future queen, and lead Hyrule into a new golden age of prosperity and peace. I am but your loyal attendant, and so I am able to move about freely as Ganondorf has no desire to capture me.

He knows that I will never reveal any information, for we Sheikah carry any and all secrets to our graves which is the way we operate as shadow warriors. As such, you must remain hidden despite wanting to do something, but you will understand soon enough as I have made sure to prepare everything for you," replied Applejack.

" This is a situation that you prepared for?" asked Twilight.

" I always knew that something like this would happen, and so I prepared in advance otherwise this would all be blind. There is no need for you to ask me any questions your highness, for everything will be made clear to you. Now, let us get some sleep as we must be ready to move out to Kakariko by the next sunset.

As far as the people of Hyrule shall be concerned, I shall spread a rumour saying your life was cut tragically short, or you were captured by Ganondorf....such acts of trickery are deceitful, but needed to protect you," replied Applejack.

By the time the sun had risen many hours later, I was up and ready to make my way over to Kakariko Village. Walking along the path that connected from the Temple of Time to the Market, I happened to notice some unusual statues which had the symbol of the Sheikah on them. I didn't know what was coming over me, but I was compelled to walk to them and take a closer inspection.

" What are these things?" I asked.

" They are known as Gossip Stones because they are always listening to the conversations people have when in their presence, yet no one is aware that these statues are capable of independent thought. Whenever they are struck by something like a sword, they just simply tell you what time it is. Blowing them up with a bomb causes a rather unusual reaction where they suddenly shoot straight upwards, and explode if they connect with the ceiling," replied Spike.

" If that is what they do, then why would anyone want to bother using them to provide the time?" I asked.

" Because that is what most people believe them to be useful for, yet they have a true purpose that is almost never seen. The Mask of Truth allows you to hear what they have to say whenever you wear the mask in front of them. I had a feeling you had forgotten what Sonata Dusk, the Happy Mask Saleswoman, said to you when she gave you that mask after helping her out, so I figured I'd tell it to you again. Whether you want to use that mask is up to you, but it might be funny to hear something they've overheard," replied Spike.

" Right....I remember what she said now," I said which was a complete lie and no doubt that Spike was aware of this. How could I have forgotten what Sonata said to me when she gave me the Mask of Truth? From my perspective, she told me about what it was capable of seven years ago, but in this time she only told me roughly an hour or so ago making it something that should be fresh in my memory.

Argh! All of this talk regarding past, present, and future is just confusing me and making me feel irritated. I was curious though as to what these Gossip Stones had to say, so I took out the mask and placed it onto my face before walking to the closest statue where I could feel it reaching into my mind in order to share its wisdom with me.

" I overheard this....they say that Gerudos sometimes come to Hyrule Castle Town to look for boyfriends."

" Did you hear that?" I asked.

" Indeed although it wasn't exactly useful information, but I suppose it may be useful for something I guess. Why not try the next one and see what it has to say? You might get lucky and be told something useful," replied Spike. Deciding to follow his suggestion, I shifted over to the next Gossip Stone where I began to listen to what it had to say to my mind.

" I overheard this....they say that Malon of Lon Lon Ranch hopes a knight in shining armor will come and sweep her off her feet someday." That was something just as pointless although I never would have pictured Applebloom as wanting to fall in love with someone due to being so young. Sighing, I tried the next one and hoped it would give me something useful, and it turns out that the third time is the charm although this one said something rather unusual.

" I overheard this....they say that it is against the rules to use glasses at the Treasure Chest Shop in Hyrule Castle Town Market."

" What do you make of this one?" I asked.

" I've heard of this particular shop, and some believe it to be shady due to it only being open at night. I don't know exactly how it's supposed to work, but rumours say the owner is a pirate who likes it when people gamble away their money. The fact that glasses aren't allowed can be viewed as an act of discrimination against those with poor eyesight, but he is allowed to make whatever rules he wants given how he is still in business.

Whether you want to go there or not is up to you to decide," replied Spike. There was one Gossip Stone left, so once again I shifted over to listen to its words, and what this one told me was very interesting, yet also confusing as it involved a place I don't even know about.

" I overheard this....they say that the treasure you can earn in the Gerudo's Training Ground is not as great as you would expect, given its difficulty!"

" Where is that?" I asked.

" I'm not sure other than it's somewhere to the west of Hyrule. If you want me to, I can make a note of what this Gossip Stone had to say if you feel that it's going to be of importance. That was the last one to share its secrets with you, but there are other stones like these all over Hyrule, and each has its own stories to tell," replied Spike.

" If I get the time to go around searching for any then I'll do just that, but now I really want to go to Kakariko Village as this whole going back in time bit is beginning to feel really weird," I said. I took off the Mask of Truth and put it away, but not before thinking about how I was able to hear the words of the Gossip Stones in my mind. I never knew the Sheikah were in possession of such powerful magic, and for some reason it made me want to ask Applejack about it the next time I see her.

That will be back in the future as where she is right now is something I'll never know. Without wasting anymore time, I through the town and back outside into Hyrule Field where I took out the Ocarina of Time in order to play Epona's Song....until I made the unfortunate conclusion. " I can't call Epona to my side, as in this time she is still just a filly, and located at Lon Lon Ranch.

The Epona that I'm used to is back in front of the entrance to Kakariko Village in the future, so that means I'll need to travel on foot to reach the village which will take me an hour or two." Sighing, I began to run in the direction of the village, and by the time I finally made it over there, I was so tired that I just wanted to rest for a few moments even though I only woke up recently. I guess relying on Epona so much has made me a little lazy, but I won't be resorting to that, so I shook off the notion of sleeping, and entered the village.

" Notice that the windmill is spinning around?" asked Spike.

" That's what they are supposed to do," I replied.

" No, what I mean is that the reason it's spinning is because there is water in the well. In the future when the well has been drained, the windmill isn't spinning as its source has been taken away. I'm surprised at myself that it's taken me this long to actually figure out the connection, but I suppose it's thanks to not considering the windmill to be of any significance that had me at a loss," said Spike.

" The village didn't really change all that much between now and the future apart from the additional of several houses, and other people relocating from the castle when it was destroyed and opening up shop here. No matter which version I'm looking at, it all feels incredibly peaceful which makes me feel at ease with myself.

You know, before we go and drain the water from the well by playing the Song of Storms in the windmill, I actually want to take a closer look at it as I never got the chance to do so when we came here for the first time as we had to deal with an angry Pinkie Pie," I said.

" I guess we can take a quick look," suggested Spike.

" It will only take a minute, and it is on our way," I said. Walking through the village back before it became a bigger place certainly brought back some wonderful memories, but I couldn't allow myself to feel too nostalgic otherwise I'll start to want to think about staying here in the past again. The well itself certainly looked impressive, and Discord was right when he said that it became a tourist hotspot although it looked like it was such a thing already.

There was a sign situated in front of the well, and it read that this well was known for its three distinct features....dark, narrow, and scary....definitely something for tourists to think about as clearly it was anything but that. However, that was what you could see on the surface, for what lied beneath the well was a different matter altogether.

At this moment in time, the shadow beast which would set fire to the village is located somewhere down there, and it probably remains in a dormant state. This will all change when Ganondorf becomes king, and its power begins to grow prompting Applejack to seal it away until it's able to escape once it has enough power.

" Satisfied?" asked Spike.

" Despite knowing what lurks below, this is pretty much an ordinary well," I replied.

" I have a theory regarding what we learned from Sheik. Impa was the one who ended up sealing the shadow beast away, but in order for her to do that, the water would need to be drained so she could cast the sealing spell. We're about to drain the water and explore the well to pick up whatever we're supposed to get down there, yet what if we weren't meant to go down and explore the well's bottom?

Maybe she went to the windmill, and requested Discord to drain the water so as to complete the seal? No matter which result occurs, the seal is put into place and the shadow beast remains trapped for the next seven years," said Spike.

" Either option does seem plausible as the well was drained when I was told about it when the fire was blazing over the village, but I'm of the mindset that our way is the method that allows for the water to be removed. You know what Spike? Let's just go into the windmill, and get this sorted out ourselves as all of this talk is getting us confused," I said.

Spike agreed that this was getting annoying, so I walked up to where the windmill was and went inside by opening the door. I remember when I came in here before that Discord was acting crazy because of what I supposedly did, so I was expecting this to remain true. However, when I noticed him standing near the main shaft, he looked completely happy. " Discord looks like he's having the time of his life in here, and it's surprising to see that this is what he used to be like."

" This was before the Song of Storms changed things, and he became filled with the desire to be chaotic," said Spike.

" Do we really have to ruin his life?" I asked.

" We need to rescue Impa in the future, and to do that we need the treasure that lies below the well. Besides, you know what ends up happening to Discord when we mess up the windmill. He becomes a lot more happier than he is now as he embraces the chaotic nature of his psyche. Yet, I do understand where you're coming from with this, so maybe you should talk to him first just to see what he has to say. He might know something about the well itself, and may be willing to discuss it before you play that song," replied Spike.

Just looking at how he was having a great time made me regret what I was about to do, but there was no other choice. Sometimes being a hero does mean having to make some tough decisions including ones that you feel aren't the best things one can consider, yet this was another reminder of me being subjected to constant torment. Sighing, I walked over to where Discord was and began to talk to him when he noticed me.

" Hello there," I said.

" Go around, and around, and around! What fun! I'm so happy! Hello little girl! My name is Discord, and I am the proud owner who lives and operates this windmill. For years this place has been channeling the water in the well located in the heart of Kakariko, and has served as the villagers means of securing their water, yet these days I've been distracted from my usual means of maintaining order because of something which has been on my mind," said Discord.

" What's that?" I asked.

" I am a music maker which is a hobby, so I've been trying to come up with a song inspired by the music one can hear echoing throughout this windmill if you stop and take a good listen. So far, I have come up with the idea of going around, and around, but I haven't been able to figure out the next part of the song. Perhaps you may be able to help me finish this little project of mine? If you happen to have an instrument of some kind, you could play me something which might give me the inspiration that I need," replied Discord.

" Well, I do have something in mind," I began.

" Then I'd like to hear you play it," said Discord.

" Actually, I was hoping that you could give me some information regarding the well," I said.

" You must be one of those adventurer types who seem to show up every now and then, for only they would be interested in such knowledge. A long time ago, there was a man who lived in this village, and it was said that he had an eye which was capable of seeing the truth. These days, one would need to put immense strain on their vision to see the truth for what it is, but this guy was different in that what he used was a special magnifying glass.

No one really knows what it looked like, for he never took it with him due to fearing that someone would steal it from him, and attempt to use it to get what they wanted," said Discord.

" An eye that can see the truth? It sounds like something which can only be achieved by magic," I said.

" What he had was indeed magical in nature, and that was why he chose not to take it out of his home. There were people living in the village at the time who desired to have his eye, but he always refused them despite the numerous offers he received. One day, he decided that he could no longer handle the pressure, so he chose to leave the village. However, he could not simply take the eye with him as the problem he was having would merely follow him to wherever he would go next.

That is why he requested that his house be destroyed, and a well be built in its place. Beneath his house was an underground complex filled with dark creatures, and his plan was to hide his treasure down there to ensure that no one would claim it. The village elders agreed with his decision to hide the eye, and thus the well was constructed and filled with water. It has been in the heart of the village for some 30 years or so, and has remained as a testament to the actions of a man who wished for nothing but peace," said Discord.

" Have you heard of something called a shadow beast?" I asked.

" Yes, that is a name which I am familiar with," replied Discord.

" I've heard rumours that this creature has been plaguing your village for a long time, and that there is a plan in place that will prevent it from escaping. The plan involves using some powerful magic in order to trap it beneath the well, but that would require making some kind of sacrifice in the process," I said.

" Impa plans on coming here sometime this evening, and having me drain the well by using the windmill. I know that it's for the good of the village, but if the water is drained, the windmill will never be able to operate again. The shadow beast has proven to be too problematic to be allowed to remain free, so this needs to be done....I think I've had enough answering questions, so can I listen to the song idea you claim to have?" asked Discord.

Knowing how this would affect him in the future, I took out the Ocarina of Time from my pouch, and Spike showed me on a piece of paper the exact notes I needed to play. Once I memorized them enough, I played the Song of Storms which caused it to start raining inside, but it also made the windmill blade spin faster.

As the seconds went by, the blade kept on gaining speed until it was spinning around at a ridiculous pace. Discord was happy at first with what I played him, but then he noticed that things weren't correct. " Go around, and around....huh? What? It's going too fast! The windmill is spinning out of control, and that means....you....what in the world have you done!?!?"

" Something that would have been done anything if Impa had come instead of me," I replied.

" That song....it messed up the windmill....you messed it up. Why would you do something like this? I was so happy knowing that the windmill was doing its job, but now it's completely gone out of whack. Everything is too fast for me to keep up with it! As long as I live, I will never forget that song! It shall remain forever locked into my memory for what it, and you have done to this place.

Yes, I will keep a mental note of it because writing it down would just be plain silly, and I don't even have anything to write on. Strange, why do I suddenly feel like I'm descending into madness? Eh, it will pass I suppose," said Discord. That's when I took my leave and left the windmill with a sad look on my face, for while I may have done the right thing, the cost was too great for me to be happy.

" Why did it have to be this way?" I asked.

" Because there was no other choice Sunset Shimmer, and you know my words are true. Right now, it will be difficult for you to concentrate because of what has happened to Discord, but remember that he turned out well in the end despite having some quirks in his mannerisms," replied Spike.

" It isn't just that Spike! I've had to do a lot of things which have ended up making things worse, and I don't just refer to events that need to be fixed as a result of the time paradox placed onto them. Why does being a hero have to involve making such unnecessary sacrifices? If we could have entered the well in a manner that didn't involve making someone lose their mind in the process, I'd be feeling a whole lot better than I do right now.

This is the kind of mental stress which I don't need to be experiencing, yet it's another reminder that I am being tormented as a consequence of my actions," I said.

" Sometimes we have to do things we don't like because of how painful they might become later, but it's something we must do if it means for the good of everyone. You needed to drain the water so that we could enter the Shadow Temple with the treasure down below, and without that item, Hyrule in the future will remain in the grip of darkness where peace will never happen again," said Spike.

" Now you know why I was reluctant to be involved in this," I said.

" You've come this far on your journey, so you might as well keep on going until it's finished," said Spike.

" Like I don't have any other choice in the matter, but I will continue as I need to defeat Ganondorf to not only save this world, but also be able to return to mine. I know you still have some doubts about my story Spike, but it's not like I'm trying to force you into believing my words. Anyway, the water has been draining from the well while we were talking, so now we can access the Bottom of the Well. Let's get what we came here for before we attract some unwanted attention, or Applejack gets here before we're finished," I said.

" Do you know how to climb down this well?" asked Spike.

" I'm hoping for a ladder to be present as I don't think I want to jump in," I replied. If I were to simply leap into the well without thinking, I'd end up falling quite the distance, and possibly breaking my legs or my back if I'm really unlucky. Searching around the rim of the well, I discovered the top of a ladder barely sticking out, so I deduced that I could climb down from this spot.

While climbing down, I did find myself immersed in the darkness which reminded me of when I climbed down that ladder while making my way to the Fire Temple, but the distance wasn't nearly as long as that was. Once I reached the bottom, I could see a cave entrance was down here with the complex Discord mentioning being beyond, so I breathed deeply for a moment before walking forward....where I immediately had to hold my nose due to a foul stench pervading the air. " Yuck! What in the world is that horrible smell?"

" Remember that this is the Bottom of the Well, so what you're smelling is the refuse which has found its way down here," replied Spike.

" I don't think I want to know anymore than that, but why isn't the stench affecting you?" I asked.

" We fairies aren't affected by odors like you humans are, so I can't smell anything," replied Spike.

" Maybe I should have been turned into a fairy when I was sent into this world as then I wouldn't have to deal with this, but I suppose that I'll just get used to the smell although I will need to take a shower after this is said and done. Anyway, I can see one of those crawl spaces in front of us, so I need to get down onto my hands and knees, and crawl through to the other side right?" I asked.

" There's no telling what lurks in this dungeon, so be careful," replied Spike.

" This place is a dungeon? Well, I guess it makes sense as it is a complex, so I assume that we'll find a map and compass down here by looking hard enough. The shadow beast is supposed to be somewhere in here as well, so I hope that we don't run into it as I doubt I'll be able to defeat it even with transforming," I said. Dropping down onto my hands and knees, I began to crawl through the crawl space where I just realized something.

The only way I've been able to change was through having the Master Sword, but I don't have it right now, so would that mean I'm incapable of transforming? As I came out of the other side, in front of me was a small ladder which connected below to the next part of the room, so I climbed down where I found myself wanting to throw up because of the debris down here. " Those dirt piles....that isn't really dirt now is it? If it's what I think it is....I'm going to be sick really quickly."

" It's best not to question it if you can otherwise you'll be wanting to turn back," said Spike.

" No, I'll keep going even if my stomach is feeling weird," I said as the thought of those piles being what I think they are was making me feel awful. I walked a few steps more before being knocked off of my feet by some kind of skeletal spider which came down from the ceiling. " I remember seeing those back in the Forest Temple, but why does it look slightly bigger than those ones?"

" This is Big Skulltula, but the only difference is that this one is larger in size which makes it harder to avoid, and it has a bigger attack range. The principle to defeating it is the same as for the regular sized ones, but you need to remember that you don't have the Longshot or Fairy Bow which can destroy these monsters instantly.

Since all you have on hand is the Fairy Slingshot, you will have to get in close and wait for it to turn its back to you exposing its soft belly before firing Deku Seeds at it. Coincidentally, you can use your fire magic or Din's Fire if you want to go the easy route, but it does cause a case of wanting to waste such magical power on weak monsters," replied Spike.

" I'll go with the slingshot as I do need to get better at using it," I said.

" The Fairy Slingshot works in the same manner as the Fairy Bow, so you already have the experience on your side. You need to improve on your aiming which is certainly lacking, so maybe you can get better as we make our way through this place. Otherwise, we'll be paying a visit to the Shooting Gallery in the future, or maybe even here in the past as it's located in Hyrule Castle Town," said Spike.

Taking out the Fairy Slingshot, which felt weird given that it's been forever since I last used it, I aimed it at the Big Skulltula, and waited for it to turn around and expose its belly. Once this happened, I fired a Deku Seed which struck it, but it wasn't enough to defeat it, so I had to wait for it to turn around again where I fired a second seed which destroyed it. " That took two shots to beat it, so maybe the seeds I fire are weaker than arrows....this is going to be much harder than I thought it would be."

" We are back in your childhood where monsters are more durable because your weapons aren't all that powerful," said Spike.

" This isn't how I lived out my early years although I'd rather not talk about that as it's too painful for me to want to recall. Still, it does mean the strong monsters I took on in the future will be even stronger if I have to face any of them here," I said. There were some chains hanging down from the ceiling which looked really horrifying, but these were nothing compared to what I saw at the end of the room. " Is that the remains of some kind of human!?!?

Okay! This place is starting to creep me out!" Propped up in the corner was a skeleton, but at least it didn't have any rotting flesh hanging on it as that would have been just sick. I did wonder though why this was even down here in the first place given this complex was not so easy to access....unless one could reach it a long time ago even before Kakariko Village was first built.

" I can sense the spirits in this room," began Spike.

" Spirits?" I asked.

" When people pass away for whatever reason they may have had, their spirits tend to linger as a result of unfinished business which keeps them tied to the place where they perished. In this case, the spirits calling out to me exist here for they tried to claim the treasure for themselves, but failed to do so and died trying.

They remain here perhaps to guide future explorers, so that they don't end up suffering the same fate they did. The spirits are all saying the same message to me which I'll repeat for you now...."Look for the eye of truth"....that's what they are saying to me," replied Spike.

" The eye of truth?" I asked.

" That must be the special magnifying glass Discord mentioned before he lost his mind," replied Spike.

" I don't think we'll be able to look for anything given that we're stuck at this wall, and I don't see any cracks that indicate it can be destroyed. Yet, why can I hear water coming from the other side? Hmmmm....I wonder if it isn't what it appears to be," I said. Reaching out with my hand, I wanted to see if I could touch the wall in front of me, and when it went through without any consequence, it did startle me at first before realizing that it was a fake.

" This wall isn't real as in it doesn't exist even though we can see it with our own eyes." I had to make sure that this wasn't just a coincidence, so I pulled my hand back and reached out for the wall, and once again my hand went through. That's when I chose to walk through the wall, and discovered there was much more to this room than first glances showed.

The water I heard was coming from a small pool in front of me, and there was a kind of river flowing throughout the area. Surely, there was a source to all of this water somewhere, so maybe finding it will enable me to progress further. " If that wall I walked through just now was fake, then there must be others like it all over this place."

" The reverse is also true," said Spike.

" What do you mean?" I asked.

" There could be things that are invisible, but in truth we can use them and eventually see them if we can find what is hidden in here. I'm starting to see what how this dungeon works now, and it feels like it is going to be a simplified version of the Shadow Temple. What we see here is merely a small sample of what is to come when we finally enter the temple back in the future," replied Spike.

" Guess we might as well start looking although that won't be easy as we can't determine what is real and what isn't," I said.

" You could use your fire magic if you want to be certain, but that would be kind of trivial as well as a waste," said Spike.

" What do you suggest?" I asked.

" The Fairy Slingshot is something you yourself said you need to get better at using it, so my idea is to fire Deku Seeds at any walls you deem suspicious. If any of the seeds suddenly goes through a wall, then we'll know that it's fake and we can proceed through and continue onward," replied Spike. Before I could do anything else, a strange noise began to sound out as though a large creature was coming by.

Suddenly, a giant winged skull flew by where it set itself on fire with green flames before disappearing around a nearby corner. My heart was pounding like a drum because that was just plain scary, yet Spike seemed rather indifferent about it. " That's strange....I never would have guessed that a Green Bubble would be so huge in the past, but rather small in the future."

That was one of those Green Bubbles from back in the Forest Temple? There's no way that thing could have been one of those monsters as it was huge in size, but then I stopped trying to figure out how this world works a long time ago due to it constantly changing the rules on me. It soon became apparent that this Green Bubble would be a problem as it flew by again.

" That monster appears to be going around in a circle," I said.

" Which means it will likely continue doing that, so maybe it would be a good idea to destroy it," suggested Spike.

" I suppose using the Fairy Slingshot will work, but that would involve aiming at a moving target, and my hitting anything that moves is really bad," I said. From what I gathered at how the Green Bubble was moving, it was stuck going around in a circle and had no desire to suddenly change directions. In that sense, I was completely safe in this location and would only be in danger if I end up on its path. On the other hand, I didn't want to run the risk of being blindsided by it, so I aimed the Fairy Slingshot and waited for it to fly by again.

About 30 seconds later, it came along where I started to fire as many seeds as possible, and I managed to defeat it by hitting it with one seed....after missing about a dozen times before connecting. Coincidentally, some of the seeds went through the wall on the opposite side, so there was more of this room to explore.

" With the Green Bubble out of the way, you should be able to walk around this room without having to be surprised by it," said Spike.

" Until we leave and come back here again where it will have re-spawned," I sighed.

" That's always a possibility when it comes to these dungeons," said Spike.

" So which way should we go from here? We can go left, right, or the middle seeing as the wall in front of us is fake," I said.

" Why not check out what's behind the fake wall? Considering that there isn't a wall to begin with, there might be something that someone wanted to keep hidden in that part of the room," suggested Spike. While his choice of words were confusing, I agreed with him that going beyond that false wall was a good idea as who knows what we may find, so I walked over to where the false part was, and went through it to discover two wooden poles in the shape of an X stood in front of me.

I could see some trace amounts of blood on these poles which had me concerned, for it was a sign and reminder that others came here before me to find the eye of truth, and they didn't make it out alive. Two doors were also in front of me with locks on each one, and to my right was a large treasure chest that could contain the eye....but that would be a little too easy. In fact, nothing here looked to be easy, and I had a feeling something was wrong.

" There's something off about this area," I said.

" In what way?" asked Spike.

" For one thing, that X those wooden poles are forming makes me feel that something will happen if we go near them. Second, that treasure chest to my right looks easy enough to get to, but what if there's some kind of hidden trap? Third, I can't see any monsters, so they're either invisible to my vision, or that Green Bubble was the only thing in this room that constitutes as a threat," I replied.

" Your third concern is about to be answered right now when I say to watch out for the shadows of monsters that hang from the ceiling," said Spike. Hearing those exact words brought up a memory from back in the Forest Temple, and I looked down to see my own shadow had been replaced with that of a clawed hand. I quickly ran forward where a few moments later, a Wallmaster dropped down from the ceiling where it took a few steps using its finger as feet before jumping back up above.

Without realizing it, I had run over to the giant X, and fell through what appeared to be a false part of the floor down to the lowest level of the dungeon where I landed really hard on my rear. This room looked really morbid in nature where there was a pool that was filled with a liquid which I didn't want to know what it was. I could also see skeletal hands coming up from this liquid, so would this be a place where the undead rise from their graves?

" This place is really getting creepy," I said.

" It's nothing compared to what we'll find in the Shadow Temple," said Spike.

" Is there any way for us to get out of this room, and back up to where we were before? I kind of feel like that I was tricked into falling down here because that Wallmaster would have grabbed and dragged me back to the start of this dungeon....which wouldn't have been a bad idea given that the entrance was only a short distance away. Or, perhaps we should take a look around in case there might be something down here worth finding," I said.

" There are some silver rupees in this room, so collecting them is bound to give us the means of escaping. As for wanting to look around for anything, you've got four different paths to choose from, so take your pick and see what each one features," said Spike.

" By the way, I noticed someone sitting by that horrific pool over there," I said.

" A person? Down here of all places?" asked Spike.

" Over there! Someone is sitting down which means they must have been able to survive, but how come they aren't wearing any clothes? I hope this isn't going to be one of those awkward moments where I'll be feeling uncomfortable about it. Still, why would anyone want to sit near that liquid as it looks really nasty what with those hands coming out of it? Anyone who wants to do something like that must have a depraved mind," I replied.

The person hadn't taken notice of me as well as react to the words I used to describe how I felt about their actions, but I was curious as to what they could be doing down here in the first place. Maybe they tried to find the eye of truth, but failed to do so and is now doomed to remain here until someone comes along and takes them back outside into the light of day.

" That isn't a person," began Spike.

" It isn't?" I asked.

" What you believe to be a person is in fact a Re-Dead, the same undead creature we encountered back inside of the Royal Family's Tomb as well as what we saw in the Market back in the future. Because you don't have a sword on hand to defeat it with, and it being immune to all kinds of magic except for light, all you can do right now is avoid it while you walk around down here. If it sees you with its gaze, you will be paralyzed for a few moments, and if it manages to latch onto you, it will drain away your life-force really quickly.

I know I told you this before back in the tomb, but I thought you could do with a reminder," replied Spike. And here I thought I'd never have to see one of these monsters again, but there it is just sitting down waiting for someone to walk by. Since those silver rupees were positioned right near where the Re-Dead was sitting, I would have to eventually go near it if I want to collect them, and quite possibly leave this room by climbing up that ladder situated near that pool.

" That means the pathway behind that Re-Dead is out of the question as I don't want to deal with it right now, so that leaves me with only three other choices. I seem to recall back in the Water Temple that a pathway flanked by two torches on either side of the entrance is an indicator that something good lies down it, so maybe we'll try that path first and continue our way around via an anticlockwise direction.

Before doing anything though, I want to do something which I forgot about, and that is talk to Fluttershy to see what she has to say about this dungeon," I said.

" Are you sure she would be able to tell you anything? We're back in the past now before Saria was awakened as the Sage of Forest, so she doesn't have the kind of knowledge that she has in the future. Playing her song and talking to her may not produce the kind of answers you may be looking for. If you want to go and talk to her, then by all means do so as you could get lucky and she may be able to give you some advice," said Spike.

" On the other hand, I might not be able to learn anything and that would just be a waste of her time. As long as that Re-Dead over there doesn't do anything to give me some grief, I'll be able to play her song and speak to her without any problems," I said. Taking out the Ocarina of Time from my pouch, I went ahead and played Fluttershy's Song hoping that this was going to work.

" Sunset Shimmer? This is Saria. Can you hear me?" asked Fluttershy.

" I thought you had chosen to go with the name of Fluttershy?" I asked.

" I'm not sure what you're talking about as I don't remember making that decision. While the name of Fluttershy does sound like a really nice thing to call someone, I prefer to be called by Saria as that is the name I've been known as. Sorry if that is a little disappointing, but I should stick with the name that I was given by the Great Deku Tree when I was born into the world," replied Fluttershy.

This was really awkward as I clearly forgot that she didn't choose to go with Fluttershy instead of Saria when it came to her name until seven years in the future. Once again, I've allowed the notion of time travel to cause me to make quite the obvious blunder, but I was fortunate in that Fluttershy was kind enough to not allow it to be a concern to her.

" Anyway, where exactly are you? I remember your ocarina sounding a lot different, and now it sounds even more unusual than before, so you either got really better at playing it, or you decided to throw away what I gave you and went with something better. Personally, I feel that it's the first option where you have improved on your playing."

" I have gotten better thanks to being given some pointers courtesy of a scarecrow," I said.

" A scarecrow? Well, that is much different from what I was suspecting which would have been either the princess, or one of her attendants. The spirits are saying to me that you are exploring some kind of complex below Kakariko Village," said Fluttershy.

" I came here in order to acquire something called the eye of truth, and the reason I wanted to talk to you is because I thought you would have some information I could use to make my search a lot better," I said.

" The spirits wish for me to share with you the information that they have, so yes I can tell you something. I'm sure that you've already experienced seeing some false walls and floors, but sometimes you want to take the bait and fall victim to one of these traps. You might find some extra rupees, or perhaps a look ahead at what may be coming up later. There is some kind of creature lurking about in one of the rooms however, and it appears to have numerous hands," said Fluttershy.

" What kind of creature has that many appendages?" I asked.

" I'm not sure what the spirits are getting at, but they say that when you discover this creature, you will need to figure out how to summon it in a way that is sure to grab its attention. They also say that the song which you use to prove your connection to the royal family is going to be useful, but they aren't sure why as the darkness is clouding their vision," replied Fluttershy.

" I guess I'll just figure it out when the time comes," I said.

" Time appears to be against you Sunset Shimmer as someone is coming to the village within a few hours, and will seal up the complex using some kind of powerful magic. If you take too long, you may end up being trapped down there forever. This seal is one the spirits say can negate magical properties, for there is a fear among the villagers that the shadow will use its magic to instantly break it.

I must end this conversation with you now, for I have no doubt that I am wasting what precious time you have, so I wish you good luck even though I still don't know why you are down there in the first place," said Fluttershy. As my mental communication with her came to an end, I couldn't believe that the time outside had already passed by several hours, so that meant Applejack was going to be here soon, so I needed to work fast and get what I came for before I get trapped in here.

" We need to hurry along if what Fluttershy says is true," I said.

" Time does pass by in Hyrule a lot quicker than it probably does in your world," said Spike.

" Guess we should quickly see what lies down that passage as we can't afford to slow down for any reason," I said. Running towards the passageway flanked by two torches which was my first choice, I soon discovered that the way was blocked with boulders, so I took the Bomb Bag from my belt and pulled out a Bomb before tossing it at the boulders, and taking a few paces backwards.

The bomb exploded revealing a dead-end, but there was also a big treasure chest located at the end of this passage. " Looks like luck is on our side as we found ourselves a chest on the first try, so that means searching down the other paths is pointless."

" Unless the silver rupees we need to collect are hidden along those routes," said Spike.

" Good point, so I guess we'll have to check them all out including the one near where that Re-Dead is," I said. As I ran towards the chest hoping that it would contain the eye of truth, I failed to notice that there was another Re-Dead sitting nearby, but how could I have seen it when it was so dark down this passageway? The monster simply blended in with its surroundings, so I was unaware it was even there to begin with. When I approached the chest, it suddenly got up onto its feet, and let out a terrifying moan which froze me on the spot.

It started to walk at a rather slow pace before it grabbed onto my body, and began to squeeze me numerous times. At first I thought it was trying to crush me, but then I started to feel incredibly weak....just like Spike said would happen....my life force is being drained at a rapid rate, and I'd wager that I have mere moments before I lose consciousness and perish.

To Be Continued.

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