Chapter 64: The Giant Insects
The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask
By Ganondorf8
July 17, 2017
Chapter 64: The Giant Insects.
After figuring out how to defeat the creature known as Gomess, it chose to attack me in the head as a means of causing both injury and weakening my vision as a means of taking advantage. My head began bleeding upon being hit and I began stumbling about whilst trying to figure out where I was all while trying to keep from losing too much blood. The wound wasn't fatal or anything but rather it was inconvenient especially considering how strong Gomess was compared with other monsters. I could have used a Red Potion to relieve myself of the problem yet I hadn't taken much damage so using one now would have been too soon.
When Gomess struck me again with its scythe, I went sailing across the room and landed on the ground, my body stopping mere inches from the wall. Had my head actually gone and hit the wall, I would have suffered from a concussion, and the situation would have gotten a lot worse than it already was. As I got back onto my feet, my vision was still hazy as the loss of blood from my head was beginning to take its toll on me. I stumbled about in hopes of the blood flow stopping yet it continued gushing forth until I fell over and landed on my stomach, but not before Gomess tripped over me, crashing into the wall with a loud thud.
I didn't know whether I should be happy or ashamed that a blunder had given me a few moments to address my wound, but considering the problem I was in, I couldn't afford to complain about an unexpected turn of events. As Gomess began getting itself back up, its eyes glowed brighter and filled with hatred towards me, yet I couldn't really see what it was doing as my focus was on getting the blood to stop otherwise I could collapse from blood loss and truly be at the mercy of this monster. Princess Twilight was able to use some of her fairy magic to slow down the bleeding though I needed a temporary solution to stop it entirely.
That solution came in the form of ripping a small piece from my tunic--the shirt and not the shorts--before wrapping it around my head and tieing it with a knot. It wasn't the best means of applying first aid but I was desperate to do anything to keep me from losing anymore blood. It was a good thing that I took those first aid seminars at Canterlot High when they were being offered as a means of bonus credit otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do anything other than bleed to death. Already, it was beginning to take effect and my vision slowly returned just as Gomess began sending its bats out at me again.
My eyes then noticed what lurked in the tiny room blocked by iron bars and I almost slapped my forehead--I refrained in case doing so would have caused my wound to seep through the makeshift bandage--upon seeing a familiar blue and gold ornate treasure chest. Those were the kinds of chests that contained Boss Keys and that meant Gomess had been stationed here to ensure no one would collect it. Either it was a creation of Starlight Glimmer or it was a spirit that had lurked here in Ikana for countless ages though my mind was leaning more towards the latter as Starlight was more interested in pranks than ancient spectres.
Firing another Light Arrow at Gomess caused the bats to fly away, exposing its weak point, but instead of using a regular sword attack, I decided to perform a jump attack as I remembered that it inflicted double damage against monsters. My jump attack was successful, inflicting pain upon Gomess and causing it to retaliate by swinging its scythe around in circles until the bats returned and produced their cloak to protect its weakness. It then occurred to me that this was the full extent of what it could in terms of attack and defence so perhaps this wasn't as difficult as it looked.
Other than the simple scythe swings and spinning it around out of frustration, Gomess was nothing more than a creature whose presence was enough to instill fear into those who were easy to frighten. I mean, it's not the most pleasant looking monster as it had a truly horrifying face, yet this battle began feeling like a disappointment when compared with the duel I had earlier against the Garo Master. In that sense, Gomess felt like an afterthought and not a true threat by whoever created this video game, but I couldn't simply dismiss it as doing so would only lead to careless mistakes, my wound being a constant reminder of that.
I fired another Light Arrow, exposing the weak point and performed another jump attack afterwards where Gomess reeled back before spinning its scythe around though this time it was able to connect with me--it was a graze more than anything else--and I was knocked down before it trampled over me. No doubt it did so as personal payback for tripping it up earlier when my vision was weakened but I couldn't let it get away with a cheap tactic just because I kind of did one myself but not intentionally. Getting back up, I then got bombarded by numerous bats that began biting my body in various places.
" Guess I underestimated this one." I said as I struggled to shake the bats off of my body.
" What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
" Given how Gomess only really has two means of attacking with a third involving the bats, I figured this monster isn't as difficult as it appears." I answered. " If anything it only serves as a means of instilling fear because of its looks."
Princess Twilight took a good look at Gomess before nodding. " Yes, I do see where you're coming from, Sunset, but you shouldn't judge someone or something based on appearances alone. You of all people can understand that better than most given past incidents."
I sighed. " I know, Twilight, but I was just trying to make a point."
" Never assume until you know all of the facts."
" Sage advice." I said with a smirk. " You should apply it to yourself sometime."
Princess Twilight responded with a smirk of her own. " Okay, so you've got me there. Guess my ways of teaching you valuable lessons has a tendency to backfire on me when I least expect it, but I was being serious about the assumptions and not making them until you know everything. Anyway, we should probably get those bats off of you before they end up sucking away your health."
" You think!?"
" Use the spin attack!" Twilight announced. " That should get them off!"
" The what!?"
Princess Twilight looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. " You did not just say that to me, Sunset." I couldn't respond as I was still struggling to get rid of the bats yet she knew that I had no idea what she was talking about. " It was the special ability Adagio gave you all the way back in the swamp." Her Highness then realized that I had never used it before as my own natural skills had proven to be effective enough. " Guess I'll teach you about this one again. If you hold out your sword like you were about to swing it at something, magical buildup should naturally appear until you're ready to unleash it."
I was surprised as well as idiotic for not remembering one of the first abilities that Adagio had given me after returning all of the Stray Fairies. Granted, I never really used the spin attack during my previous journey other than for rare occasions that didn't involve combat, but now I needed to in order to get these bats off of me before they damaged me even more than they already had. Holding out my sword and assuming a defensive position, my blade began to glow blue and I immediately unleashed a spin attack though only a small handful of bats were destroyed leaving the rest still clinging onto me.
It turned out that what I used was the weaker variation of the spin attack--a blue shimmer--whereas I needed the stronger one--a red shimmer. Princess Twilight told me that I had always been able to use the weaker spin attack and that what Adagio gave me was the stronger one so as to give me a wider attack radius. I then assumed my defensive position after hearing that and began charging it up only for Gomess to start attacking by swinging its scythe around. My raised shield deflected its blows though it was rattling my bones given how much power was behind each swing.
My sword then changed from blue to red so I unleashed the full power of the spin attack in hopes it would do something. Not only were all of the bats destroyed but it was enough to push Gomess back allowing me some breathing room. " Well? How was that?" I asked as I got myself out of the spin attack.
" Much better this time around."
" I didn't think it would have such a large radius."
" If you had used it in earlier situations..."
" Things could have gone a lot better."
" At least you now know for the future."
I felt as though my pride had been wounded slightly but I would eventually get over it. It's not like my confidence had been wounded as that would have been much worse than simply pride, a feeling that wasn't as important in the long run. Gomess, in the mean time, had bounced back from being pushed by my spin attack and swung its scythe around in circles before knocking me down onto my butt. I got back up and fired a Light Arrow that scattered its bats about and attacked the exposed orb though it refused to give up and began attacking in the same manner as before--the same result happened where I got knocked down onto my butt.
Getting back up again, I sensed that I was beginning to run low on Magic Power so I needed my next shot to count. I fired another Light Arrow though Gomess blocked it by using its scythe as a shield much to my displeasure yet I couldn't allow that to deter me especially when it had taken plenty of damage already. The bats then swarmed me and I responded with the stronger variant of the spin attack though it gave Gomess a free shot as my defenses were slightly weakened during the final swinging motion of the spin attack. Its attack wasn't enough to knock me down again so I responded by firing another Light Arrow and exposing its weak point.
When I struck Gomess in its exposed orb this time, it screamed in pain as the orb shattered to pieces and then its body began crumbling to pieces. The bats that scattered after fleeing from the light all dropped to the ground and burned away to nothing while I received quite the shock when the scythe sailed through the air and landed mere inches away from me before it too burned to nothing leaving nothing. As the last remnants disappeared, both doors unlocked allowing me access to the chest that contained the Boss Key. Before doing that though, I first needed a moment to regain my composure.
" That ended up being much harder than I thought." I said as I dropped to my knees.
" And all because you underestimated it."
I sighed. " Okay, I get where you're coming from now, Twilight."
Princess Twilight then took a closer look at my bandaged wound. " Good thing you knew how to address that or else you would have bled to death. I'm actually surprised at how resourceful you are, Sunset, to have come up with something like that." Her Highness then tapped the bandage causing me to wince a little before she quickly backed off. " I never would have come up with it myself. Maybe I should pay a visit to Ponyville Hospital when everything goes back to normal and ask Nurse Redheart to teach me how to apply first aid so that I can do it for myself or anyone else for that matter."
" It would give you another skill in life."
" You might want to consider consuming one of your Red Potions." Twilight said. " You did take some damage when all those bats attacked and the blood loss would have caused further damage in the process."
" I think I can still keep going but I'll probably use one in a bit."
" Don't act reckless now."
I smirked. " And the Princess of Friendship is telling me this? I seem to recall you telling me that you have done so many reckless things that even Princess Celestia herself has questioned your actions. You may be an alicorn but even you can be reckless and perhaps even more than me. Celestia taught me--when I actually paid attention--that cutting lose and being reckless can prove beneficial provided you maintain a strong focus towards achieving your goal."
Princess Twilight took offence. " What!? Princess Celestia is a ruler of Equestria! She has no time to be all gung ho and wanting to have fun when she has her royal duties consuming her every waking moment."
" I guess she taught you the same thing."
Princess Twilight tried to respond only to wind up being tongue-tied before bursting into laughter. " I'll admit that she has told me to lighten up but I've always been one who is dedicated towards advancing my knowledge." Her Highness paused for a brief moment before continuing on. " You know, I should give myself a vacation and go somewhere warm in the southern seas or someplace similar so as to be as reckless as possible... Without causing a massive scene given my status as a princess."
Now it was my turn to start laughing. " Like I said, Princess Celestia taught you the same thing." In response, Princess Twilight gave me a light punch on the shoulder as a means of expressing her friendship--she even smiled and winked--and affection before I walked forward and opened the door to the enclosed section of the room that had unlocked upon defeating Gomess. Walking up to the chest, I opened it, took out the Boss Key and put it in my pocket. " Now we just need those remaining Stray Fairies in addition to finding the one door in here that this key slots into."
" Can I take a look at the Dungeon Map, Sunset?"
" Sure." I answered as I took it out of my pocket and unfurled it.
Princess Twilight then took a closer look to see where we needed to eventually go and her face suddenly went cold when she discovered where we were going. " According to the map, the room we need to get to is the same one the Light Arrows were located in. I think we determined this before, Sunset, but didn't pay much attention to it at the time since we didn't have a Boss Key like we do now."
" If that's the case..." I began. " Then that hole in the ceiling has become a hole in the ground."
" Yes." Twilight said. " Which means something must be hidden below the temple."
" What do you think it is?"
" I don't know."
" That's not very reassuring."
Princess Twilight nodded. " If I was to make a guess as to what could be down there, it would be the source of the darkness that plagues the Stone Tower. In fact, I think that's what it is but without a clear indication of how large this source is, there is no way of knowing what we'll find until we get down there." She then paused when a thought entered her mind, a mannerism I had long come to know. " Midnight Sparkle might try to reach that source herself assuming she is even aware that it exists."
" I assumed that it was the temple itself that was causing this darkness."
" That was what I thought too until you fought Gomess."
" So the fight with it clued you in?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " It makes sense that a powerful presence would be responsible for the darkness that exists all around us in here. I mean, there was already a darkness in the temple because of how decrepit this part of Termina is, and Midnight Sparkle did say she had acquired great power when she tapped into the darkness. She has acquired the power of whatever lurked down below and it might not be very happy with what she has done."
" And just when I thought this place couldn't get even more confusing."
" Of course, everything I've said is merely a guess on my part."
My jaw dropped. " A guess!? Seriously!?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Without proof, I can only make a guess."
I honestly thought Her Highness had figured out something truly spectacular that would have changed everything, but it turned out that she had merely been guessing thus leaving everything down to chance in hopes that it would happen in that fashion. I didn't know whether to slap my forehead or hit my head against a wall--neither option was good as it meant the wound on my head bleeding again profusely--upon hearing her words but ultimately, I just sighed and walked over to the door before entering the previous room. I knew she enjoyed coming up with interesting theories yet now wasn't the time since we were in a dangerous situation to begin with.
As soon as I entered the previous room, Midnight Sparkle's voice echoed all around. " You actually survived against that monster!?"
" Surprised?"
" Actually, I am." Midnight Sparkle answered. " I thought about using my power to give that creature some needed firepower but refrained when I saw just how frightening it looked what with that scythe and all those bats that flittered around it. Had I gone and given it a boost, you would have been killed without me needing to get my hands dirty. Guess I shouldn't just rely on a face to get results and instead rely on their abilities to get the job done."
I could understand what Midnight Sparkle was saying as I had done a similar thing what with underestimating Gomess just because of how scary it was. By choosing to focus on its intimidation and nothing more, I was lulled into the belief that it wasn't threatening when in fact I sustained lots of injuries including the one on my head that required immediate first aid to prevent it from getting worse. Instead, I should have treated Gomess like I had done against other strong monsters by taking precautions and watching their movements so as to not be undone by them. I wasn't going to make that mistake--hopefully--in the future.
That's when the other thing Midnight Sparkle said registered into my brain. " Wait! You wanted me to die back there?"
" You would have had I chosen to use my power."
" I can't believe this!"
" Neither can I." Midnight Sparkle added. " I honestly thought you would be dead leaving me just having to deal with Princess Twilight, your friends, and the other me, but you had to go and survive once again.
" You're nothing but a coward!"
Midnight Sparkle began laughing. " It's called using strategy to come up with the perfect outcome, Sunset. You've been overcoming every challenge I've thrown at you including ones that were naturally part of the Stone Tower Temple itself. It's reached a point where I need to consider the possibility that I could lose to you and be denied everything I've worked so hard to achieve. Such a possibility is one I intend to avoid at any and all costs so relying on more subtle means isn't something to call me coward over."
" You're desperate."
" That's one way to put it, yes."
I then smirked but made sure not to go overboard. " Ha! You really are pathetic."
Midnight Sparkle went silent for a few moments before responding. " You know... I was going to let you off just because I made a slight miscalculation, but that little cheap shot just changed my mind."
Her voice then disappeared leaving me to wonder what she was planning on doing next. No doubt I had gotten under her skin as her usual calm composure had been shattered and replaced with unbridled rage upon calling her out for acting like a coward rather than face me in person to settle the score. I could have continued to ridicule her as a means of further making her mad yet that would have had two negative effects on me. One was acting like a bully despite her being a monster and the other was her figuring out my ploy and turning the tables against me in some way. No, I needed to be above that and act like a proper heroine.
Before moving forward, I took out a single green rupee from my wallet upon pulling it out of my pocket, and tossed it forward where it bounced several times until it stopped. I did this so as to ascertain whether the traps Midnight Sparkle had used before were still there. Nothing happened which lead me to believe that they responded to my presence rather than a green rupee and yet I knew I couldn't just stand there and perform another test. I had to take the risk and hoped I wouldn't get skewered in the process by spikes coming from the ground and the ceiling whilst avoiding the Blue Bubbles.
Gulping, I ran forward, closing my eyes out of fear that I was about to become a pincushion. Fortunately, the spikes didn't appear which meant that I was either incredibly lucky or Midnight Sparkle wanted me to suffer in a different way. In any case, I continued running, dodging the Blue Bubbles though one of them did collide with me causing me to glow in a blue hue indicating that I couldn't use my sword until the curse it had placed on me had been broken--I could have removed the curse by playing the Song of Storms but that would have wasted precious time not to mention leave me vulnerable to another Blue Bubble.
Once I had gotten past them, I entered the next room and was back in the place where I had to use the Deku Flower to reach an alcove blocked by spiked mines so that I could go the rest of the distance as it was too far going across using just the one flower. I took out the map and looked at it again to see where I could go next only to discover there were no other rooms for me to explore. I had explored every inch of the temple yet there were still three Stray Fairies that I hadn't found--I had only picked up twelve. I remembered seeing two small treasure chests appearing on the ceiling so I needed to invert everything back to how it was originally yet it still left one Stray Fairy unaccounted for.
I looked at the map again and the response I made was deafeaning to say the least. " Arrrrgggghhhh!!!!"
" What's wrong?"
" We missed a treasure chest all the way back there!" I answered as I pointed at the map.
Princess Twilight then took a look for herself. " You mean the room with all those air currents? Funny, I could have sworn there weren't any additional treasure chest marks on the map when I last looked at it, but I see there is one we missed." Her Highness then blushed sheepishly before covering her face with her hands. " The fault here is mine, Sunset, as I should have noticed there was an additional chest but I guess I was either too fixated on something else or was ignorant of it all."
" At least it's in a room we can access without too much backtracking."
" Yes, but it does mean backtracking."
I moaned. " Let's just get this over with."
" Before doing that, we need to see which path we need to take to reach the room where the Garo Master was."
" That's what I was doing when I found out we missed a chest."
Princess Twilight checked over my possessions. " You still have a small key so we need to find a locked door. It's a shame that the map cannot display the locations of locked doors but then I'm certain the temple needs to be inverted in order to find it. Speaking of which, you will have to flip the temple back to its original state to open up those additional treasure chests we couldn't open initially. I suggest going after this first chest while the temple is still inverted before going outside and using a Light Arrow. No matter what, there is going to be a lot of backtracking yet this cannot be helped."
" I guess this is one case of backtracking I have to endure because of what it involves."
" Glad you reminded me of that."
" What do you mean?"
" Unlike the other temples, we'll have all fifteen Stray Fairies long before reaching the room that houses the source of the darkness." Twilight answered. " We could visit Adagio back in the village and restore her body back to normal before awakening the final Giant."
I scratched my chin. " We could do that but I'd rather get this place over with and not have to drag things out further than they already have."
" Midnight Sparkle getting to you, Sunset?"
I nodded slightly. " It's not just her, Twilight. You remember what Ganondorf said the last time we saw him in person? I know, shocking at how I brought him up for the first time in a very long time, yet he said he would face me again in the dream world upon the final Giant's awakening. It hasn't been on my mind that much but now that we're close to finishing things here, my mind has been thinking about what kind of conflict he has in store for me this time. If anything, Ganondorf is far worse than Midnight Sparkle could ever be, and yet she has been doing everything in her power to kill me while he has remained silent."
" I'm not sure why he wants to fight you while you sleep."
" Me neither."
Princess Twilight flopped onto my head. " You shouldn't allow Ganondorf to cast such a powerful shadow over you, Sunset. I know you fear him more than anything else given all he has done to you--I'm afraid of him as well--but right now your focus should be on awakening the final Giant and preventing Midnight Sparkle from succeeding in her plans. I'm surprised that someone like Ganondorf has yet to step in and stop her considering she has become a threat what with her new powers."
" If he viewed her as a threat, she would have died long before we got here."
" Wow... Is he really that trivial about that kind of thing?"
I nodded. " It's what he said to me when Spike and I encountered him when my previous journey ended. I don't understand everything about him as there is much he has kept close to his twisted black heart but what I do know is that he still wants for me to become his servant by embracing the darkness that exists inside of my heart. By subjecting me to various forms of torment, he aims to weaken my spirit until I finally cave in. In his eyes, most people aren't a threat so he brushes them aside like they were nothing, but those who are deemed special pique his interest and he goes out of his way just to see if he was right about them."
" It's like you're a pawn to him."
" Something like that."
" Well... You're not the same person you once were." Twilight said. " If anything, I have no doubt that you will be able to resist his efforts of turning you into a monster. Besides, you owe it to Sunset Demon to continue living out the life that was given to you when you earned a second chance when I showed pity towards you. If anything, Sunset, you owe it to both of us and yourself."
Her Highness was making it sound like it was a lot easier than that but the truth was that it was much more difficult than she realized. Ganondorf, from what I recalled of my previous encounters with him and not the one that Lord Tirek portrayed, was one who relied on manipulation through words to make others succumb to their desires all by using what they wanted in life against them until they were convinced he could give them what they wanted. I didn't quite understand every facet of this approach apart from the fact that it worked a lot especially he tried using this tactic against me and I almost fell into it.
There was no doubt in my mind that he would attempt a similar approach when it came time to face him in the dream world. I still didn't get why he wanted to face me there and not in the waking world where I wouldn't be able to put up much in the way of resistance. In this world, I didn't have my Equestrian magic nor the ability to pony-up--regular form in addition to Daydream Shimmer as my friends called tha form--and I doubted the items I had acquired so far along would have any real effect on him. In my dreams, I could do whatever I wanted but was this a means to an end for Ganondorf? Did he want me to use my dreams for a better challenge?
Since I couldn't go any further, I had no choice but to go back to the beginning of the temple and begin backtracking, much to my annoyance. Taking out the Ocarina of Time from the pouch on my belt, I played the Song of Soaring and concentrated on wanting to go back to where I entered the temple. Wings then protruded from my back, wrapped themselves around me, and began spinning in circles until I disappeared. Moments later, I found myself in the first room and walked forward before Princess Twilight began tugging at my ears and I stopped so that she could tell me what was bothering her.
" You know, bopping me on the head would have worked."
Princess Twilight bowed. " Sorry but I just noticed something and wanted you to see it with your own eyes."
" What's that?"
" I think I may have figured out where we need to go to reach that one room."
I was ecstatic. " You have? Where is it?"
Princess Twilight then pointed up at the ceiling prompting me to do the same yet all I saw was an open treasure chest, the same one I opened back when we first started exploring the temple that contained the first Stray Fairy. " I know what you're thinking, Sunset, but please let me explain. You know how you can use the Hookshot to latch onto a chest and pull yourself towards it right? Maybe you could do it here with this chest? It will either lead us to the locked door we're looking for or inflict tremendous pain since you would have to jump back down here to continue searching."
I continued looking up at the ceiling before looking at her. " Guess we might as well try."
" Wait until you have all of the Stray Fairies first."
" Good idea."
Heading to the right, I opened the door and entered the room that housed the numerous air currents. My first thought was that flames were still shooting out instead of air which was what Midnight Sparkle had done to make things more difficult yet there were no flames. That meant I could find this one chest without having to deal with anything ridiculous though it did pose a concern for me. Either she didn't know where I was or what I was doing or was fixated on making me suffer elsewhere in the temple. I hoped it was the first option as I wasn't looking forward to the second one if it turned out to be true.
I began looking around to see if I could find any traces of the treasure chest I missed but so far my efforts amounted to nothing. I took out the map and looked at it again to confirm that there was a chest located in this room--there was--yet I couldn't see it anywhere. After mulling it over, I concluded that it first needed to be materialized into the room by solving some kind of puzzle so I walked forward to get a better perspective on things. Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten all about the Hiploop and it knocked me over upon seeing me and charging towards me using the horn on its masked face.
Getting back onto my feet, I took out my Hookshot and fired the chain at the Hiploop, latching onto its mask before pulling back and yanking it off. I then switched over to my sword and struck it twice where it was destroyed and fell apart leaving me to continue with my search. I walked to the end of the walkway without finding anything and it began vexing me that I couldn't find anything that stood out as being different from everything else. I turned and began heading back only to stop upon seeing a cleverly hidden eye switch above the path I used to enter this room from. How did I miss something so obvious!?
Since it wasn't frozen or anything, I just needed to hit it with a regular arrow. Taking out the Hero's Bow and switching from Light Arrows to regular ones, I got as close as I could to the switch so as to be able to hit it without something else going on, and fired where upon my arrow struck it, causing the eye to close. This caused a small treasure chest to materialize in a small alcove on my right that I never noticed was there before and judging from how slightly up off the ground it was, I couldn't simply jump and climb up. No, this required some creative thinking and it quickly came when I remembered what Princess Twilight said.
Switching out the bow for the Hookshot again, I got as close as I could to the treasure chest whilst still being able to see it, fired the chain, and latched onto the chest before being pulled forward towards it. I then kicked it open and out came the thirteenth Stray Fairy where it immediately entered my body and now only two more remained. I looked at the map again to confirm that there was still another chest, the one that appeared upside-down above but would become submerged in the water when the temple was inverted back to its original position upon using a Light Arrow on the red emblem outside.
I then jumped down to the main walkway, walked back to the door, entered the previous room and made my way outside. " If there was one good thing of merit regarding this whole backtracking bit, it would be that it will only take a few minutes."
" It will take you longer than that."
" How do you figure?"
" Once the Stone Tower has been reverted back to its original state, you will need to re-create the pathway across by manipulating those blocks with the Elergy of Emptiness in addition to using three of your four forms." Twilight answered.
I moaned under my breath. " I forgot about that part."
" Judging from where the sun is in the sky below us, nightfall should occur within the next hour or two."
" Is that going to be a problem?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. " Not really but it does mean us not being able to deal with any problems back in Clock Town that should have been taken of sooner. When I checked you over earlier for inventory purposes, I discovered that you have a total of nineteen masks. According to Adagio, there are twenty-three all together that you need to collect in order to acquire what she called the ultimate mask."
" So I'm down to the final four?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes, but I have no idea where they could be as Adagio didn't say much when we spoke with her last time."
" Maybe she will give us some hints this time."
" Most likely."
" I wonder what this ultimate mask is like."
" I'm surprised..." Twilight began. " You were absolutely against the idea of getting your hands on it because of how evil it is when Adagio intially mentioned it yet now you seem to be growing more and more interested in wanting to see what it's capable of."
I knew Her Highness was correct about me growing more and more interested in getting the ultimate mask yet I had to remind both her and myself that I had no intention of becoming corrupted and turning into a monster again. That part of my life is over now and I've moved on yet the thought of acquiring the great power locked within the mask scared me as I had no idea if I could resist the temptation that would come upon placing the mask on my face. If it was as powerful as Adagio said, as strong as Majora's Mask itself, I would have the power to oppose Starlight Glimmer, and maybe even Ganondorf himself.
" I'm back, mother!" Scootaloo said as she entered the Stock Pot Inn.
Misty Fly noticed her daughter enter and turned to face her. " I was just about to ask someone to go out and look for you, Anju. You were gone a lot longer than I thought just to get a few items we needed to restock our pantry for our guests." She tapped her foot out of annoyance before sighing. " I suppose this was to be expected since you have had a lot on your mind lately but you shouldn't let it distract you from your work here in the inn."
" I-I'm sorry."
" And I do wish you wouldn't apologize for every little thing."
" I'm sorry..."
Misty Fly sighed. " Never mind! At least you brought back what I asked you to get." She then noticed Scootaloo was no longer holding the letter that she had earlier and decided to inquire about it without making it look obvious. " I see you aren't holding anything else in your hands. Does it mean that you took care of your own little errand?"
Scootaloo nodded. " I mailed the letter as soon as I could so now I will wait for a response."
" That doesn't make any sense."
" What doesn't, mother?"
" It shouldn't have taken you the entire day just to pick up those items." Misty Fly answered. " If anything, you would have been back by around noon yet here you are having come back close to when the sun was about to go down. Tell me, what have you been doing the rest of the time, Anju?"
Scootaloo didn't answer Misty Fly at first prompting the latter to begin tapping her foot before the former finally said something. " I... I actually picked up what you wanted me to get after mailing off my letter and I was about to come back here when something in my heart compelled me to walk around town." She bowed slightly as a means of asking for forgiveness yet her mother didn't seem impressed given what she had just heard. " I couldn't help it! I saw something and it reminded me of those happy days with Kafei. I then began wandering around looking for other places that reminded me of those times."
" Anju..."
" I know what you are going to say, mother."
" And that is?"
" You wish for me to get over my love for Kafei and focus on the here and now." Scootaloo answered. " The truth is, I simply cannot just move without knowing the reason why he disappeared a month ago. I must know if it was something I had done that caused him to act in this manner and do all within my power to fix the mistake. That's why I must remain here tomorrow and wait for him to return."
Misty Fly sighed, walked out of the reception room, through the corridor, and back into the reception room before placing her hand on Scootaloo's shoulder. " After you left early this morning, the postwoman came by and handed over this letter that I now hold in my hand. I thought it best to give it to you so that you can read what it says but perhaps that isn't a good idea since you're still under the delusion that he will return after being gone all this time without saying anything about where he is. Now do you see why I feel he isn't the right person for you, Anju?"
Scootaloo looked away from Misty Fly and the latter knew something was up. As a mother, she could tell that her daughter was hiding something from her and no amount of effort would convince her otherwise, so she decided to press further in hopes of getting her to say something. Scootaloo continued looking away from Misty Fly until the latter whipped out the letter she had been holding causing Scootaloo much distress. The former sighed and revealed that the letters she had been receiving--including the one held by her mother--were from Kafei though Misty Fly couldn't believe it.
Kafei had been missing for a month with no signs of him anywhere, yet here was Scootaloo revealing to her mother that she had been receiving letters supposedly from him and that he was supposed to have disappeared. Misty Fly felt that Kafei was deceiving her daughter by pretending he had disappeared when in fact he was planning on marrying someone else and leaving her daughter hanging. Something had to give before things escalated out of control and it was Misty Fly who decided to take the initiative but before she could, Scootaloo had something else to say.
" Despite his faults, Kafei still remains committed to me, mother."
" I just don't really see that."
" I'm sorry."
" No, I am sorry, Anju, because I have something I must tell you."
" What is that?"
Misty Fly was about to reveal what she was going to do regarding her family when Principal Cinch called out from her room. " Misty Fly? Has Anju come back yet? I was hoping she would want to hear one of my stories but I haven't heard anything all day. In fact, it's getting close to dinner time so you will have to prepare me some food."
" She came back a short time ago, mother." Misty Fly said. " But, I'm too busy dealing with something right now."
" Then by all means send her in here so that I may see her."
" Ugh!" Misty Fly groaned. " She will be with you in a while, mother, but first I need to speak to her about something very important. It will only take a few minutes and then she can prepare you your food before taking over for me at the front desk."
Principal Cinch became slightly erratic. " I insist that you prepare my meal tonight, Misty Fly!"
" I need to speak with Anju."
" Do not question what I want, daughter!"
" Can't you wait until I've finished speaking with Anju, mother?"
Principal Cinch's voice became more volatile. " I want you to come in here right now, Misty Fly. You can talk to Anju later on but first you will prepare a meal for me in addition for the guests who are staying here. One of them has been heard saying that he only eats sirloin rocks from somewhere in Snowhead and won't eat anything else." Her voice grew quieter and more friendly as she continued prattling on about this one particular guest. " I find it strange that a guest only wants rocks from a region draped in snow but then you do owe it to give him what he wants since this is the premier inn of Clock Town."
Misty Fly sighed and turned around before walking towards the room Principal Cinch resided in. Along the way, she mumbled to herself about how it was impossible to import rocks especially when the recent snowstorm in Snowhead had grinded everything to a halt. Even then, had she known ahead of time that one of the inn's guests would be a Goron, she wouldn't have had any rocks to begin with since eating them was seldom seen anywhere apart from Snowhead. Before entering the room, Misty Fly looked over at Scootaloo as though she wanted to say something but didn't and went inside leaving her daughter on her own.
Once she was by herself, Scootaloo picked up the letter that her mother had dropped when she was summoned by her grandmother, and opened it to discover that it had been written by Kafei but again, much like his previous ones, there was no return address so she couldn't even begin to search for him without knowing where he really was. Scootaloo began thinking that perhaps her mother was right in that Kafei was merely deceiving her and he secretly was in love with another. It was unfortunate that she never received any kind of memento letting her know he was waiting for her. Had he done so, Scootaloo wouldn't have felt a wavering sensation coming from her heart.
After flipping the Stone Tower Temple back to its original position, I spent roughly ten minutes using my different forms--excluding the Deku Scrub as the shell it made was too light to be of any use--to hold down the blue switches whilst playing the Elergy of Emptiness for each one. Upon finishing that, I jumped across each platform and re-entered the temple where I ran forward with my shield raised so as to avoid getting electrocuted by the Dragonflies that were now flying about. The Real Bombchu had also returned, it's tail flickering to indicate that it was ready to explode so I jumped down to the lower level just as it charged towards me.
One of the treasure chests I had caused to materialize when everything was inverted ended up here so now I could finally open it and see if it contained a Stray Fairy--I would have been utterly furious if it had contained anything else. Kicking the chest open did indeed reveal a Stray Fairy giving me fourteen leaving just the one remaining and fortunately, it was located in the room to my right so I didn't have to go very far to find it. Once the fairy had safely entered my body, I turned around and climbed up a nearby ladder only to suddenly drop back down when an explosion caused by the Real Bombchu caught me by surprise.
It took a few moments for the smoke to clear and when it did, I climbed back up and was about to make my way to the door when I felt a powerful shock striking me in the back courtesy of one of the Dragonflies. It had caught wind of my presence and thought it could make a meal out of me but I had no time to deal with it as I needed to focus on getting that final fairy and flipping everything back the other way so that I could finally complete this temple. As I ran for the door, my body felt numb in places because of being electrocuted yet I was more than resilient enough to continue going despite experiencing some awkward quirks.
Entering the next room which was the one with the air currents, or rather the underwater section given that the temple was right-side up again, I walked around the corner until I was on the walkway with water surrounding me on both sides. Before doing anything else, I wanted to make sure Midnight Sparkle hadn't done anything to the water, so I tested the waters by dipping my foot into it. Nothing happened at first yet I maintained this stance for a few minutes until I was certain nothing was out of place. The treasure chest in question was located deep underwater so I needed to become Mikau in order to sink down to it.
As I took out the Zora Mask, I couldn't help but wonder how Midnight Sparkle felt upon the temple being inverted back to its original state. In fact, I was wondering if she still retained her sanity. Her new power had certainly made her stronger than she was during the Friendship Games yet it was slowly coming at the cost of her mind. Despite the personal anguish she had put me through, I wanted to help her before it was too late, yet I didn't know if she were willing to seek my help given her desire to see me, Princess Twilight, Twilight Sparkle, and our friends dead all because she wants Equestrian Magic. Hopefully, she would seek my guidance given I knew what it was like getting consumed with power.
Placing the Zora Mask on my face, I squatted down and watched as my body shimmered from human to Zora until I let out an ear-piercing scream resulting in my transformation finishing and becoming Mikau. While the idea of using one of my other forms for a brief moment annoyed me, I had actually gotten used to it since it had been an occurring theme throughout exploring the Stone Tower Temple. Jumping into the water and sinking downwards, I quickly noticed the treasure chest in question on an isolated ledge so I swam forward slightly and continued to drop until I landed on the ledge, kicked open the chest, and the final Stray Fairy entered my body.
I could have chosen to go back and collect my reward from Adagio but instead I chose to do the right thing by awakening the final Giant first. When it came to priorities, earning a reward wasn't important and was in fact completely optional as saving the day was more important. I swam back up to the surface, climbed out of the water, entered the previous room, avoided the Dragonflies and Real Bombchu, and exited the temple. Grabbing my face, I pulled off the Zora Mask, flipped back my hair, and walked forward a few steps before turning around whilst taking out my bow, switched from regular to Light Arrows, and activated the red emblem.
Just like that, everything flipped around again until I was once again looking down at the sky and up at the ground. I then wiped my brow out of exhaustion from having to do so much backtracking before jumping back across the platforms and entering the inverted Stone Towe Temple again. According to what Princess Twilight showed me earlier, there was a treasure chest I could use as a Hookshot point so that I could pull myself up to a much higher level. I remembered there were two chests on the ceiling with one being higher up than the other and it was this one I needed to use.
" You'll need to make sure you're standing in the right place." Twilight said.
" Otherwise?" I asked.
" You will drop back down and could end up falling into the sky below."
I gulped before looking down at the endless abyss that was the sky. " I don't want that to happen, Twilight."
Princess Twilight landed on my shoulder. " I didn't mean to make you feel nervous, Sunset."
" I'm just nervous at what Midnight Sparkle is going to throw our way next." I said. " We've pretty much reached the end of the temple as according to the map, we only have two more rooms to go before we arrive back in the room where I defeated both Sunset Demon and the Garo Master, and yet she is still relying on cheap tactics rather than choosing to fight me herself given she is stronger than I am."
Princess Twilight nodded. " While I'm mostly unfamiliar with the behavior of Midnight Sparkle since she is the demonic version of Twilight Sparkle, I have noticed that she does have one or two things in common with me. Rather than choosing to fight all out and be defeated, she is using strategy by throwing numerous obstacles in our path in an effort to weaken you enough where she can easily finish the job without getting her hands dirty."
" But you were never a coward."
" No, but I knew the prospect behind using my intellect."
" I still say she is being a coward."
" Midnight Sparkle is a reflection of Twilight Sparkle but with some additional characteristics as you mentioned before." Twilight said. " She has some characteristics that are unique to her person and that makes her unpredictable with regards to her thought process. You needn't stoop down to her level as you're much better than that, Sunset, but perhaps you could turn the tables by using your own versions of her tricks. I know it sounds rather underhanded but it is a solid strategy and it would definitely take her by surprise as I don't think she expects you to use her tricks since it would be against your creed as a heroine."
" Yet will she fight me as a means of ending this?"
" That will be up to her to decide." Twilight answered. " Don't be the one to initiate the fight. Allow her to do it instead so that you can retain the high road should she reach the conclusion where fighting you would be nothing but problematic and not in her best interests. Whether she does or doesn't, you will be the better person for it leaving her with nothing but the shame of knowing that never needed to keep this going."
I nodded. " Guess we shouldn't delay things any further." Walking forward until I reached the raised platform that featured Majora's Mask on it, I looked up at the ceiling and saw the two treasure chests I opened before. " It looks like the one I opened on the lower level is what I need to pull myself up to the top." Taking out the Hookshot and aiming carefully, I adjusted my position by taking a single step backwards before firing the chain where it connected with the chest with a loud thud. I was then pulled upwards to the ceiling only to stop upon hitting the chest and dropped down to a walkway that lead up to a locked door.
" No wonder we couldn't find the door."
" Good thing you brought this little nook to my attention, Twilight." I said as I took out the small key from my pocket and unlocked the door. " At least we can finally progress knowing we've done everything else up to this point." Opening the door and entering the next room, I suddenly came to a stop upon seeing a familar monster blocking my path. " Guess there was another one of those Eyegore monsters lurking about." In front of us was indeed an Eyegore and so far it hadn't noticed me but I knew it wouldn't be long before it would and proceed to attack me like the other one did.
" I believe this one is capable of firing a laser from its eye."
" How serious it it?"
" You can't use your shield to stop it."
" That's going to be annoying."
" Fortunately, it cannot move when shooting the laser." Twilight said. " This means that all you have to do is wait for the eye to glow yellow and shoot it with a Light Arrow. It's going to be a lot easier than the other Eyegore in that you just have to avoid getting hit by the laser."
I was about to say something in response when I stared coldly at Midnight Sparkle, who was now standing in front of the Eyegore. She turned her head to look at it, chuckled to herself and turned her head back before stomping her foot hard on the ground and glared at me. " Did you flip this place over not once but twice just now!?" I didn't answer her yet she knew by my silence that I had done exactly that. " Would it kill you to warn me next time before doing something like that? Anyway, I just couldn't help but laugh at how Princess Twilight is so wrong about this monster behind me."
" What did you do to it, Midnight Sparkle?"
" You'll see when it fires its laser."
I cursed under my breath. " Figures you'd do this instead of facing me."
Midnight Sparkle wagged her finger in front of her face. " All in due time, dear Sunset. I'm not going to allow your taunting to get the best of me. I know that losing my temper would make me irrational and prone to doing something stupid, but I'm much too happy to be doing anything of the sort. I honestly thought I had absorbed all of the dark power in this temple and yet it appears that there is a much greater source coming from deep below the temple. If I was to get my hands on it, nothing would stop me from fulfilling my desires."
" You don't know what kind of power it is."
" Neither do you."
" Midnight Sparkle..." I began. " If you were ever going to listen to someone for a change, then listen to me. I know what it's like to crave power. I became a demonic monster for that exact purpose, yet I was corrupted by that power and became a harbinger of evil. You may think this power will give you all of the Equestrian Magic but it won't. If anything, it will ensure your death or reduce you to a mindless monster whose hunger for power is what keeps you going. Please, just stop this before something goes wrong."
" Unlike you... I think I can handle it."
" So you chose to ignore me then?"
Midnight Sparkle nodded. " I actually took the liberty of doing research by reading the ancient text written on these walls despite the annoying natterings of the spirits who dwell here plaguing my ears at every turn. You'd think they would just leave me alone instead of wailing to no end but I suppose it's all they can do since they're dead and all. Anyway, you have more important things to worry about right now, Sunset." She turned her back to me before disappearing into thin air causing the Eyegore to awaken. " I'm expecting you to come after me but I'm hoping this monster will do the job."
Before I had to stop her, the Eyegore's eye opened, glowed yellow, and fired a massive laser of which I barely managed to avoid by dropping down onto my back. The laser went over my land, slamming into a wall behind me, and kept going until it tapered off when the Eyegore closed its eye. " Okay... I'm no expert on what kind of laser this thing has but I definitely know that wasn't natural."
Princess Twilight nodded. " No doubt Midnight Sparkle increased the power of the laser."
" Now what do I do?"
" You can still defeat the Eyegore using Light Arrows." Twilight answered. " It's just that you need to concentrate even harder so as to avoid that laser. I believe it will take three hits from Light Arrows to prevail here but keep a close watch on your magic. You haven't been collecting Magic Jars so it might be very long right now."
I could have backtracked a little to pick up some Magic Jars but I doubted I could avoid getting hit by the laser from the Eyegore's eye. No, I would need to make each shot count by getting in close enough and striking before it could do the same in return. Taking out my bow and switching over to Light Arrows, I got up onto my feet and dashed forward before dropping to my knees as another laser fired above my head before disappearing moments later. Even though it didn't hit me, I could still feel it like it had made contact with me. Getting back up, I waited for the eye to open, and when it did and changed colour, I fired a Light Arrow just as it was about to fire another laser.
The resulting hit caused the Eyegore some discomfort but then it fired another laser almost immediately and I was caught in the blast. I wasn't pushed back or anything but instead felt tremendous pain in addition to having to cover my eyes to avoid getting blinded by the bright light. When the laser disappeared, my entire body was trembling due to how much damage I received, and I tried to prepare another Light Arrow only for the Eyegore to fire another laser. I was barely able to drop to my knees as the laser sailed past yet I struggled getting back up again due to the damage and was blasted by the next laser.
Again, I wasn't knocked back or anything but my body felt like it was about to shatter due to how powerful the laser was. When it disappeared moments later, I dropped to my knees then my hands and started breathing heavily. Midnight Sparkle truly wanted me dead as why else would she go to so much trouble altering the power of this Eyegore to the point where it could potentially kill me in a few hits? Good thing I had Red Potions on hand as this would have been a lot worse than it really was had I not been prepared. I had no intention of using one until I had defeated the Eyegore.
Rather than getting back up and being hit by the laser for a third time, I simply chose to crawl along until I was close enough to the Eyegore. My tactic worked as it opened its eye but it managed to fire a laser before I could use a Light Arrow as I hadn't gotten my bow ready. When the laser stopped and the eye closed, I got into a sniper-like position and waited for the eye to open again, and when it did and changed colour from blue to yellow, I fired my Light Arrow, inflicting damage upon it again. It reeled back and I was ready to fire another arrow when suddenly, its eye opened, firing a much faster laser than before.
The beam hit me before I could duck and this time I was pushed back until I crashed into the door followed by slumping to the ground. Princess Twilight then flew out in front of me and began pointing down at my pockets. " I think now would be a good time to use a Red Potion, don't you think?"
" No... I can defeat it without using one up."
" Don't be reckless here, Sunset."
" I'm not being reckless, Twilight."
" From where I'm standing, you are most definitely being reckless."
I shook my head. " If I try to drink one of my Red Potions, the Eyegore is sure to notice and fire its laser in response. I could end up dropping the potion where it will either smash on the ground or roll off the side and smash on the ground below, or I could get killed before I could consume it. I wish there were an easier way to consume them without having to waste precious seconds but there isn't so I have to hold on until it's defeated."
Princess Twilight looked as though she was about to contest my decision when the Eyegore's eye opened up, turned yellow, and fired its laser forcing me to remain low as it struck the wall where the door was. Luckily, Her Highness made sure to duck otherwise she would have been hit by the laser as well. " Okay, you've made your point, Sunset, but can you defeat it quickly? You know how I get when you've suffered a lot of wounds."
I smiled. " I just need one more arrow."
" You have plenty of those but Magic Power is the problem."
" Hopefully, I've got enough for one more Light Arrow."
Crawling along the ground, I slowly made my way over to the Eyegore, who kept on firing lasers from its eye every few seconds until I was right next to it. When it opened up its eye again and it changed colour from blue to yellow, I quickly stood up, fired a Light Arrow--it worked despite my low magic--and its eye changed colour again from yellow to red before tumbling forward and landing on its stomach. It then exploded a few moments later revealing a locked door that had been behind it covered with iron bars but then those bars rose up allowing me to continue.
" You did it, Sunset!"
I dropped to my knees. " That was way more intense than it needed to be."
" Now will you use a Red Potion?"
" No need to tell me twice." I said. I took out a Red Potion from behind my back, uncorked it, and drank the contents until it was all gone. Immediately, my wounds began healing and my strength returned. " If I hadn't gone back to get these prior to inverting the temple for the first time, I would have been heading to the source of the darkness below the temple with barely any health." Getting back up onto my feet, I corked the bottle, and put it away behind my back before going through the door. " Whoa!" I exclaimed when something dropped down from the ceiling and I barely managed to avoid getting hit.
" A spiked column..." Twilight said. " I don't think Midnight Sparkle put that there so consider this a natural trap of the temple instead."
On either side of me were some pots that I smashed using my sword with each one containing Magic Jars that I picked up to restore my magic. " That's a relief! At least now I won't need to use my Green Potion for the time being, but where are supposed to go from here? The Crystal Switch from earlier when we came here when the temple was right-side up is in front of us yet I don't see anywhere else we can go. Did we come the wrong way?"
Princess Twilight looked up before bopping me on the head. " There's an opened treasure chest right above us, Sunset. Get close enough to it and use your Hookshot to pull yourself up to the higher ledge."
Taking out the Hookshot, I waited for the spiked column to rise back up before walking forward a few inches and looking up. Firing the chain, I got pulled up to the ledge but upon landing on it, I remained perfectly still as there were two additional spiked columns rolling back and forth. Further ahead on the ceiling was another Hookshot plate and I needed it to get across without being poked to pieces. Carefully aiming to make sure I actually hit it, I fired the Hookshot's chain where it connected, pulling me over the spiked columns before dropping down onto a row of blue rupees--not that I needed them.
I then jumped down to the ground below and stood before the Boss Door. Taking out the Boss Key, I held it firmly in one hand before closing my eyes and placing my other hand on my chest knowing what awaited behind it. Princess Twilight reaffirmed me that I was ready to do this especially after all I had been through throughout the temple and I smiled before unlocking the door and entering the next room which was where I defeated both Sunset Demon and the Garo Master. The room was exactly the same except there was now a huge hole in the ground that lead to where I needed to go. Suddenly, a howling sound echoed all around me.
Night of the Second Day - 36 Hours Remain.
Nightfall had come once again so that meant I would be facing the source of the darkness during the night. Walking up to the edge of the hole, I peered down into it to see if I could see anything but all I saw was a whirlpool of sand that cascaded down in a spiral though it was also glowing in a myriad of colours. My heart told me to jump though I hesitated at first yet Princess Twilight told me that I had to jump as there was no other choice. Breathing heavily, I jumped into the sand where it immediately pulled me under until everything went white. When I eventually opened my eyes, I was shocked at where I had ended up.
I was standing on a platform in the middle of a vast desert outside at night. Aside from what appeared to be remnants of ancient buildings strewn about in the sands, there was nothing of particular merit. Wasn't this supposed to be the bottom of the Stone Tower Temple? Why was I now outside? Furthermore, what exactly was going on? Princess Twilight had no clue what we were doing in the desert yet she sensed a powerful presence coming from somewhere but she couldn't pinpoint its general location. I knew of one presence already and she was standing right before me.
Midnight Sparkle folded her arms. " So you managed to get past that monster too? I knew you would so I'm not surprised to see you here, Sunset."
" You should leave now while you can."
" Are you threatening me?"
I shook my head. " There is a presence even stronger than you lurking about out here. I know you've been ignoring my pleas but this time you should listen to me. At any moment, a battle is going to take place between me and the source of the darkness that has imprisoned the guardian of this region. You have no reason to be here, Midnight Sparkle, so you are free to leave without getting yourself killed."
" And you have to stay because?"
" Because I've been tasked to destroy the monster that is behind the darkness."
" You expect me to believe that?"
" I should hope so."
Midnight Sparkle chuckled. " I do believe you, Sunset. In fact, it makes sense that you would come here to destroy such a creature. However, I am rather curious about what this creature is and the power it supposedly possess according to your own words. If I can absorb its power, I will have more than enough to ensure you and your friends don't get in my way and the Equestrian Magic will be mine. Everything will make sense at last!" She stepped forward until she stood right next to me before she wrapped her around my neck making me very uncomfortable. " Once I absorb the power, I'll finally fight you."
" Sorry but I have to focus on the monster."
" After calling a coward, it seems the tables have turned."
I pushed Midnight Sparkle away where she stumbled before stopping in the sand. " Just go already! I'll deal with you in good time but right now I have more important things to take care of despite not really wanting to deal with them."
" Oh no! You are not brushing me aside!"
" Go!"
" You wanted to fight me so that you could avenge Sunset Demon." Midnight Sparkle said. " Whether that's your actual intention or not no longer matters! You've been getting past all of my traps long enough and now it's time to finally end this. The Equestrian Magic is calling out to me and I must have it as it is the key to understanding things I never knew before. I must understand it all!"
Suddenly, it felt like an earthquake had struck as everything started shaking. My entire body froze prompting Midnight Sparkle to turn around to see what had caused my reaction where she too froze on the spot upon seeing a giant sand mound rising up from the ground. The mound grew in size and while I just stood there watching, Midnight Sparkle began glowing in a darkening aura as though she intended on fighting whatever was coming. I pleaded with her to leave before it was too late yet she ignored me and continued to build up her power but then the sand mound burst and a terrifying sight greeted us.
Out came a massive red insect-like creature with two huge incissors on both sides of its face in addition to smaller ones on its mouth as well as in it, spikes running down both sides of its body, and finally there was a beautiful looking gem on the tip of its tail. I wasn't expecting the source of the darkness to be so huge and yet I had to defeat it if I was to awaken the final Giant thus restoring Ikana back to normal. I drew my sword and shield though deep down I had no idea what I was supposed to do against something much bigger than myself but before I could come up with a plan, another earthquake began rattling everything and it was coming from behind me.
I turned around and froze upon seeing another sand mound forming. This one also grew in size until another insect-like creature, the same as the other one but blue in colour, came forth though it had three eyeballs lined across one side of its body, each looking in a different direction that made me very uneasy. Both creatures flew about before the red one disappeared by diving into the ground while the other continued flying about, shattering some debris before disappearing into the ground like the red one had done. Midnight Sparkle had no idea what was going on but was determined to fight when something unexpected happened.
The red insect popped out of the ground, noticed Midnight Sparkle, blinked a few times, and then lunged forward, its mandibles twitching in excitement, where it devoured her in one fell swoop much to my eternal horror. It then continued to fly around before diving into the ground again leaving me to stare off into thin air before dropping to my knees. Just like that, she had been eaten alive and after I had warned her to flee yet she refused to listen. I reached out with my hand thinking I could save her but it was too late. I couldn't sense her power any longer... Midnight Sparkle was dead. Clenching my hand into a fist, I pounded the ground, tears trickling down my face.
" Why didn't she run away when I told her?"
Princess Twilight shrugged. " I guess she had my stubbornness when it comes to research."
" I had to stop her but this wasn't what I expected."
" Don't blame yourself, Sunset."
I got back up and wiped the tears from my eyes. " I wanted to help her, Twilight, I really did, yet she ignored me and was insistent on seeing her desire fulfilled. Was she destined to die in such a horrific manner? I mean, part of me is glad that she is gone as it means she won't be able to get her hands on the Equestrian Magic, yet a part of me wishes things had been different and she could have found peace much like Sunset Demon had done." I walked forward towards the insects who had since emerged from the sand with my sword and shield raised yet my entire body began trembling, most likely out of fear that perhaps what happened to Midnight Sparkle would happen to me.
" It's too late to think about it now."
I sighed. " I know..."
" You need to focus on destroying these giant insects." Twilight said. " Midnight Sparkle may be gone but that doesn't mean you can mourn over her death forever. While your desire to help her was indeed a noble one, she was beyond redemption in that she wanted to kill you, me, and our friends all to get some magic and knowledge. In fact, you shouldn't mourn for her at all since she also killed Sunset Demon after using her like a guinea pig."
Her Highness was once again correct on all counts. Midnight Sparkle had caused us nothing but grief and was willing to sacrifice her fellow demon just to succeed in her goal. I couldn't show a monster like that any sympathy yet I still wished she could have changed much like how Sunset Demon did before she died. Hopefully, Midnight Sparkle could finally find peace in the afterlife and allow Twilight Sparkle to be able to move on. I turned to Princess Twilight. " So what exactly are we dealing with?"
" These insects are known as Twinmold, the Giant Masked Insect." Twilight answered. " Both of them are the source of the darkness here in the Stone Tower Temple and spend much of their time rising out of the sand, flying about, and then diving back down into it before repeating the process. Unfortunately, there is much to it than that so don't think is going to be easy because it isn't. Right now, there is nothing you can do against the red one as the gem like object on its tail conceals its weak point and nothing in your arsenal of weapons can shatter it. Instead, you must focus on defeating the blue one."
" What about those eyes on its body?"
" You need to hit them with arrows."
" Sounds easy enough."
Princess Twilight shook her head. " The red Twinmold will do everything in its power to get in your way so hitting the eyes of the blue Twinmold will be difficult. You should be able to use regular arrows or you can use Light Arrows, but again, be mindful of your magic so be sure to smash those pots on this platform. Oh, and be sure not to get hit by the fireballs that come from the mouth of the red Twinmold."
As she said that, a fireball came flying at me and I barely managed to jump to the side as it exploded off in the distance. It then knocked me to the ground simply by flying by without a care in the world. As I got back onto my feet, it had since disappeared by diving back into the sand leaving me to deal with the blue Twinmold. Taking out my bow and switching over to regular arrows, I followed the blue Twinmold out into the desert yet this proved to be a bad decision on my part as my feet began sinking, reducing my movement, allowing it to get further and further away.
Unfortunately, it went into the sand as well as the red Twinmold popped back out and began shooting fireballs. I dodged each one as they exploded behind me, yet I could feel the heat from each one striking my back leaving me to wonder just how strong these creatures really were. The red Twinmold then attempted to knock me over but I raised my shield in hopes it would be enough, and while it was effective at first, I remembered that my shield couldn't protect every part of my body as the red Twinmold turned around by arcing its body and knocking me to the ground, its flaming body dealing additional damage.
I was about to get back up when I was suddenly knocked down again as the blue Twinmold emerged from the sand. I had only just started the battle and already things weren't going in my favour, and then the red Twinmold dove at me in an attempt to knock me over again, but this time, I rolled to my left and kept on rolling until I was back on the platform again before finally getting back onto my feet. Luck was then on my side as the blue Twinmold flew past me over me head so aiming at its eyes, I began shooting arrows in hopes of hitting them yet I only managed to hit one while missing the others. Fortunately, it didn't notice or if it did, it wasn't paying attention.
It also meant that regular arrows were effective so I could conserve my Magic Power for later if I felt the need to use Light Arrows. The blue Twinmold turned around and came back the other way but then so did the red Twinmold where it flung another fireball at me from its maw. I dodged it by side-stepping to my left only to get knocked down as it flew by before diving back into the sand again. I got back onto my feet again only to watch the blue Twinmold dive down as well leaving to wonder where they would pop up next. My answer came when the red Twinmold emerged from the sand and flung a few more fireballs that I blocked using my shield.
It then turned around and shot out another fireball--the number it shot varied so I had to be extra precautious--that I again blocked with my shield, but then the blue Twinmold came out of the sand at the other end of the battlefield yet flew over to my location. The red Twinmold flew in the opposite direction and for a moment it looked like they would collide with one another yet both avoided hitting each other when the red Twinmold flew upwards slightly at the last moment allowing the blue Twinmold to continue on as normal. It flew over my head and I responded by firing more arrows that hit its remaining eyes.
All of a sudden, the blue Twinmold came crashing down into the sand and began sliding along where a fourth eyeball appeared from out of its maw. I immediately knew that this was the weak point yet I couldn't aim for it as the blue Twinmold's face was on the other side of its body and there was no way I could push my way through without being knocked over its tail or any other part of its body. " I can't get around to the other side to hit that new eyeball!"
" Relax, Sunset."
" You have a suggestion?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Just wait for it and you will have your chance."
I had no idea what she meant but I knew better than to question Her Highness so I decided to wait. The blue Twinmold continued to slide along and as it did, it went around in a circle in the sand exposing its weak point to me when its face appeared before me. " There it is!"
" Quickly! Hit the eye with arrows before it can recover and before the red Twinmold can get in the way."
" Should I use regular or Light Arrows?"
" I would suggest going with the latter but be quick."
Switching from regular arrows to the Light Arrows, I began shooting at the oversized eyeball dangling out from the blue Twinmold's gaping maw. Since the eye was much bigger than the eyeballs that were on its body, it was easier to hit the eye without fear of missing it. I managed to hit it three times before getting knocked over by the red Twinmold, but then, three hits was usually the most I could do before the weak point disappeared forcing me to go through the process of exposing it again. The blue Twinmold pulled its eye back into its maw before lifting itself up from the sand resuming its flying once again.
It then disappeared into the ground though I noticed a small sand mound had appeared and it began making its way around the platform I was standing on. If this mound was indeed that of the blue Twinmold as it moved about underground, I could now pinpoint its location as a means of hopefully intercepting it. I just had to make sure I was following the right one as its counterpart could also go into the sand in order to move about. It moved around the platform for several seconds before emerging from the sand, its mandibles spinning about in circles due to its body being capable of doing so--it was relatively creepy to me.
Each of the eyes on its body had opened up again so now I had to repeat the process only for the red Twinmold to strike me with a fireball from a distance--I was so fixated on the other one that I completely ignored it. The fireball knocked me forward where I landed face-first in the sand and began sinking due to the sand having a powerful current that was also pushing me forward. I scrambled back onto my feet only to jump to my right to avoid another fireball followed by another and then another, jumping each time yet moving further away from the platform due to the sand.
" Uh, Sunset?" Twilight asked. " You might want to look behind you."
I turned my head to see what she was getting at and my face turned white. " Where is the rest of the sand!?" The sand suddenly stopped at the edge of what appeared to be a bottomless pit below despite there actually being a bottom down there that comprised of sand. I immediately began running as fast as I could in hopes of not getting pushed over yet the sand bogged me down reducing my overall speed. " This would have been a great place to use those Hover Boots from my previous journey yet they don't exist here!" My legs began getting exhausted yet I continued running knowing what was now behind me. " WAAAAH!"
" Sunset?"
I dove and landed back on the platform whilst avoiding a fireball though that was surprising. " That was way too close!"
" It seems there is a limited amount of space around here."
" Now I know why I can't stray too far from this platform."
" There has to be a reason why there is so much space in the first place." Twilight said. " I can understand it if it was to accommodate the two Twinmolds but it still doesn't make sense from a logical standpoint."
" I'll worry about that later." I said as I got up onto my feet. " Right now, I need to find where that blue Twinmold is and resume attacking those eyes on its body." I then paused for a moment and reflected upon how things were going. " So far, this battle hasn't been all that bad despite the obvious lopsideness in the form of them being roughly one hundred times my size not to mention the red Twinmold being the more aggressive of the two."
" Strange how one is docile while the other isn't."
" I have a feeling the red Twinmold will be much more problematic."
The blue Twinmold then came flying by and I switched back to my regular arrows before shooting the eyes on its body. I managed to hit the first two after a few misses but as I was about to go for the third eye, I was suddenly blocked by the red Twinmold who knocked me over using its body. I landed on the ground face-first only to quickly roll to the side to avoid getting blasted by another fireball that came at me from behind courtesy of the red Twinmold who had since turned around in its bid to knock me down again. Instead of getting back up again, I chose to stay down until it went back under the sand.
It did so leaving only the blue Twinmold though it too had also disappeared by going back down into the sand. I had no idea which mound belonged to which so I waited on the platform until one of them decided to appear again. One did so moments later, catching me off guard causing me to fall flat on my face again. As I got back up, I saw the blue Twinmold bursting forth from the sand but before it had a chance to move about, I fired another arrow at the remaining eye, striking it, causing the blue Twinmold to crash once again before its weak point stuck out of its gaping maw.
Switching back to the Light Arrow, I waited for the blue Twinmold to turn around thus exposing its eye, and when it did, I fired several more arrows at it, the eyeball growing with every hit until it exploded. Screaming in pain, it flew upwards though at first I thought it was trying to escape but then the tail began to explode followed by a chain reaction that destroyed the rest leaving only the head that merely dropped down and crashed into the sand. As I stared, I could see a waft of smoke billowing from the head before it too exploded, yet this caused a large treasure chest to materialize on the platform.
" You defeated one of them!" Twilight exclaimed. " Now you need to take out the other one."
I looked around for the red Twinmold only it had disappeared. " Where did it go?"
Princess Twilight shrugged. " I don't know but you should check out that treasure chest which just appeared."
" That doesn't make sense."
" What doesn't?"
" A treasure chest materializing in the middle of a conflict such as this." I answered. " Throughtout my previous journey and this one, such a thing has never happened before, so you can excuse me for being a little suspicious."
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes... I do see where you're coming from, Sunset, but I still think you should check it out. In fact, I don't think the red Twinmold will reappear until you take the contents of whatever is inside of that chest. It sounds weird but it's the only explanation that makes sense."
Turning around, I walked up to the chest, and opened it before reaching in and taking out what looked to be a mask, yet one I had never seen before. I couldn't even begin to explain what it looked like yet there was a strange presence emanating from it that filled me with a sense of might. There were no specific features on this mask other than it looking like an ancient costume piece but it had clearly been worn out over the ages as some parts of it were cracked though not enough to break it. Why would anyone want to hide a mask here of all places and what was so special about it?
" Well... This is certainly something."
" It most certainly is."
" What do you mean?"
" That is the Giant's Mask." Twilight answered. " Not much is known about it due to it having been hidden away yet it contains the strength and might of a giant. It's said that the power contained within it was so great that it couldn't be used anywhere other than a special location though no one knows. If you were to put it on, you could take on the largest of monsters but again, no one knows if it will even do anything."
" Should I put it on?"
" I think you should but it's up to you."
As I held the Giant's Mask firmly in my hands, everything started to shake and I knew straight away that the red Twinmold was finally ready to get things started. It was the one that killed Midnight Sparkle by eating her alive so this had become a bit more personal though deep down I knew I couldn't succumb to wanting vengeance. A mound of sand appeared and from it came the red Twinmold and it was definitely infuriated over what I had done. In its hissy fit, three much smaller insect-like creatures emerged and I could tell that they were going to be nothing but a headache unless I could take care of them quickly.
The red Twinmold suddenly ducked back down into the sand before coming out and flying about leaving with very few options. It had no eyes on its body so arrows weren't very effective not to mention I had to avoid getting blasted by fireballs whilst avoiding its little friends and itself. Looking down at the Giant's Mask, something in my heart compelled me to place it on my face as though it were my salvation. I did so and put it on yet nothing happened at first making me wonder if it was broken, but then I began convulsing before letting out a loud, deep scream and I began increasing in size until it eventually stopped.
" Sunset?"
" Twilight? What just happened?"
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Aw yeah, Sunsetzilla!
One Down, One to go. *Twinmold, not the Masks*
I've forgot on how to get the "Giant's Mask" in Majora's mask. How do you get it again?
Not what I had in mind for a demise for "Midnight-Sparkle", but we wouldn't have to worry about her for now. Despite Sunset's ire for her, she really wanted to help Midnight to find peace like Sunset-Devil. But unfortunately it fell on deaf ears.
Let the games begin. It's time to duel!
granted the Red Twinmold is the most annoying in the 3DS version though i do love how you fight it giant vs giant.
Cool but can be annoying with the tiny versions of it 
also loved the chapter
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But is she truly gone?
I wonder if I have some other plan up my sleeve--I do but I won't tell right now.
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And with the muscular arms and legs no less.
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I had to split this battle between chapters otherwise Chapter 64 would have dragged on way too long. By putting it at the start of the next one, it will make for a pleasant read along with the final Giant, another scene involving Scootaloo's problems, and a battle of the minds between Sunset and the Dark Lord himself.
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Both physical and mental as Sunset has a date in the dream world with my master.
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Oh, uhh, no hard feelings about insulting your master, right? Well, at least they're not staking the fate of the world on a children's card game.
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Sunset's battle with Ganondorf is going to be a battle of the minds. How will she fare? Only time will tell...
Ooo... shtako gonna go down on Twinmold now.
As I had not played Majora's Mask THAT far... seeing the description of Twinmold made me wonder if the fight would be similar to Twinrova. I mean she has the Mirror Shield.
Unleash Sunset Shimmer, Knight of Equestria!
And Sunset... GET A BETTER SWORD!
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The 3DS version has the better version of the battle since it's more creative and the red Twinmold actually proves to be quite aggressive when that phase of the battle begins. The battle now requires the Giant's Mask whereas in the original version it was an option to consider to make it even more easier than it already was.