Chapter 17: Into the Catfish's Maw.
The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Link's Awakening.
By Ganondorf8.
December 21, 2019.
Chapter 17: Into the Catfish's Maw.
Good thing Sugar Belle's place was close by otherwise I'd have had to have trekked a long way just to purchase more medicine from her. Leaving the graveyard on account of not wanting to deal with the Ghini, I almost made it out when a Giant Ghini appeared before me. Princess Twilight wasn't kidding when she said these were huge in comparison along with being relatively rare. I stopped immediately before hiding behind one of the gravestones and waited to see what it would do. At first, the Giant Ghini paced back and forth as though it were bored but then it began moving away from me until it suddenly came back.
I could defeat it but then it was stronger than a regular Ghini and attacking could draw the attention of the other Ghini nearby. Was I afraid of this giant? Not really, but after what I had just been through in the Colour Dungeon, I wanted to avoid any fights until I had regained my composure. Her Highness then reminded me about how I was wearing the blue tunic which granted me more defence. As such, I could just plow my way through and simply take the hit but that would be giving into reckless behaviour, something to avoid given how going down that path tends to land me in so much hot water.
No... I was going to wait for the right moment to slip on by without it noticing me. A couple of minutes of waiting later and the Giant Ghini was still pacing about. This was starting to get really irritating. Why couldn't it just go away and leave me alone!? Things were getting to the point where I would have no choice but to fight but then an idea came to mind. I had no idea if it would work but at this point, I was starting to get really desperate about this. Taking out a bomb and tossing it away from me, it exploded near a gravestone (It didn't get destroyed much to my pleasure as vandalization of a graveyard would be a horrible act), the Giant Ghini flew off in order to see what was going on.
Before it even had a chance to figure out that I had deceived it, I dashed forward using the Pegasus Boots until I was safely out of the graveyard. If I knew my monsters, it wasn't going to start following me around so I breathed a sigh of relief. While part of me was curious as to what I could've gotten from defeating it, I wasn't feeling that desperate in order to acquire the final rupees to purchase the bow. That's when it became apparent that to get more medicine from Sugar Belle would require spending twenty-eight rupees. I doubted she would let me have it without paying so my money problem was still that, a problem.
Picking up and tossing the boulder aside, I made my way north making sure to avoid the Tabahl Wasteland (Those Crows could provide me with some extra rupees but I doubted they would be that generous) as I didn't need to go through there again, picked up another boulder, tossed it aside, and kept going until I entered Sugar Belle's home. She was doing the same thing she did before during my last visit and a part of me was curious as to why she was even bothering. Another part of me believed she was bored seeing as hardly anyone came this way what with having to go past a graveyard along with the Zombie infestation.
"Welcome back, big girl." Sugar Belle said.
"Your medicine worked just like you said it would." I said.
"Never underestimate my abilities." Sugar Belle then noticed the scars on my arms and legs. "You really needed my special medicine given how you have all those scars. I take it you fell to a powerful monster that proved to be rather challenging?"
I nodded but didn't specify a monster. If I had told her that I was 'killed' by a giant octopus-like monster, I'd never hear the end of it. "It proved to be more powerful than I thought which forced me to use your medicine when my body gave out completely. At first, I didn't know what would happen but it felt like I had been brought back by a fairy's magic. If not for you then my life would've ended in the Angler's Tunnel." I stopped upon believing she was getting bored with my description yet she continued listening indicating she that was really curious about what I experienced. "After going through another difficult dungeon, I came back to see you."
Sugar Belle clasped her hands together. "I knew you couldn't stay away from my medicine."
"So... Can I buy some more?"
"It will still be twenty-eight rupees."
"Um... Would you be willing to lower the price?"
"Can't do that."
"It was worth asking."
I handed over the rupees to Sugar Belle who pocketed them. "You know, if you're having money problems, you could talk to Dampé who lives not far from here. She's been working on this strange thing she calls a Dungeon Creator and needs someone brave enough to test it out for her. No one I know had volunteered as let's face it, the risk is just too high for anyone who prefers living, but I hear that by helping her, one can become very rich." She then began applying the medicine by rubbing it on my body. "You look as though you'd be interested but let me give you some advice."
"I already tried it."
Sugar Belle was surprised. "What!? Really!? Well... You do have that look of an adventurer on you so I shouldn't be surprised you said that. If you really must pay her another visit, you should ask her to increase the reward as one hundred rupee is pittance compared to what can be found inside a treasure chest."
"You know... I should take on another of her challenges, but I do have other things to do."
"Like what?"
"I'm not sure you'd be interested seeing as you sell medicine."
"I'll have you know that I'm a pretty good gossip... Even if I rarely get visitors." Sugar Belle was starting to become rather defensive so I quickly calmed her down by apologizing. "You'd be surprised as to how information flies around here. Now... Tell me what 'things' you have to do and maybe I can help relieve some stress for you?" I then explained about the broom in my inventory and needing to swim in Martha's Bay (I had other objectives but I felt it best not letting her in on that just in case it proved to be too much) to reach my next goal. "Wow... You have an interesting life, big girl."
"You don't know the half of it."
"That broom you have... I know someone in Mabe Village who loves cleaning."
"I've met her once."
"She can be a real workaholic especially once she gets herself going." Sugar Belle then changed the subject to Martha's Bay. "You plan on taking a swim in the bay? Not what I'd call a smart idea since that water is filled with some nasty creatures, but I suppose you're interested in Catfish's Maw? I mean, who isn't interested in that place? You can't go anywhere in the bay without having to look upon it." She then had a thought brewing in her mind which made me wonder if it would beneficial to me. "I know little else about Catfish's Maw but there is a mermaid who knows way more about it."
"A mermaid?"
"You've never seen one?"
I nodded slightly. "Kind of." The only thing I'd seen that bore a slight resemblance to a mermaid were Seaponies and the Dazzlings in their true forms. "Let's just say that what I've seen have either been incredibly friendly or absolutely deceitful.
"Mermaids are a fickle bunch to be sure." Sugar Belle then lifted her hands away from me indicating that she was done applying her medicine. "And I'm done, big girl. If you don't like the idea of dealing with Dampé, why not go diving into hidden caves? You ought to find rupees hiding in one of those! Besides, they are easy to find as whoever tried to hide the entrances wasn't very smart. If you need more of my medicine in the future, come back and I'll apply more on you for the same small price as before."
Thanking Sugar Belle for the medicine, (I wished she could have given me some kind of discount) I left her house and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set which made me wonder where the day had gone only for me to realize that much of it had been spent on going through two dungeons. I could go back to Mabe Village and crash there for the night or I could ask Sugar Belle if I could sleep on the floor. Thinking about my two choices, I decided that Mabe Village was my better option. Besides, I didn't know Sugar Belle well enough (Both in real life and in this world) and she did come across as perhaps being too eccentric for my tastes.
Taking out the Ocarina and playing Manbo's Mambo (Going to Mabe Village was a good idea as Vignette lived there with Discord), I focused on the raised platform just outside the village and wanting to be teleported to it. Everything began going white as the magic of the warp whisked me away and moments later found myself where I needed to be. Heading west, I picked up the boulder, tossed it, and entered Mabe Village where everyone was beginning to make their way inside. I'll give them props for being punctual here for knowing exactly when it was time to go inside for the night.
Since Starlight was still at the Animal Village, I entered her house and was greeted by Sunburst who agreed to allow me to sleep there for the night. I didn't really have anything else to say to him nor did I want to sleep in a comfy bed or on a chair (Sure, a comfy bed sounded nice but for an adventurer like myself, I needed to be able to wake up at a moment's notice and a bed would make me doze off completely and not wake up when necessary) so I intended on leaving as early as possible once the sun rose next morning. Resting my sword and shield up against a wall, I sat down, my back pressing against the same wall, and I thought about what I had been through thus far.
Unlike my previous two adventures, this one wasn't quite as stressful in terms of being in a race against time to prevent a great disaster from happening. I also didn't have to worry about dealing with Sunset Demon, who finally managed to rest in peace by accepting that I had moved on from my troubled past. Looking back on it, she was perhaps my greatest enemy as she represented the person I used to be in life: mean, ruthless, having a self-inflated ego, willing to go to great lengths (Including illegal means) in order to ensure everything went the way I wanted it to, and so on. Defeating her allowed me to become much stronger in terms of spirit.
On the subject of this adventure as a whole, there was this nagging feeling I had which I just couldn't get my mind off of. Sure, things were going great, but something told me that it was going to get much worse later on. The very thought scared me as whenever things became stressful for me, I tended to not think properly which resulted in me making some very bad mistakes which had almost cost me my life during such occasions. If this quest were to suddenly change and become a nightmare, I had no choice but to accept it. No way would Ganondorf not give up on such an opportunity like that.
Hours passed and I eventually fell asleep and began dreaming about being back in Equestria again. As I continued sleeping, in my subconscious, I knew something was wrong as my dream slowly transformed into a nightmare. If this had been any other occurrence, I'd have chalked it up to my past coming back to haunt me again, but this had nothing to do what my former self. I knew this to do with the likes of Grogar as who else could cause a nightmare with this amount of power? Also, I figured I was due for another visit from the ancient goat since I had defeated five Nightmares and collected four instruments.
Grogar's form appeared before me in my dream. "Outsider... We have underestimated you."
"Creatures like you have a tendency to do that." I said.
That caused Grogar to smash his hooves into the ground creating a slight tremor. "Do not think you are above us! You are beneath our notice and shall always be as such even as you continue to overcome the Nightmares." He began calming down which was probably for the best as his power was much greater than what I could muster. "We normally do not admit weakness, outsider, but we have realized that you are stronger than we thought. Had we known you would become this threatening, we would've killed you in your sleep during our previous encounter with you."
I chose to play my words carefully. "I know that right now, I'm no match for you."
"Which is what we like to hear coming from you."
"Why come to me now?"
"You have defeated five of the Nightmares." Grogar answered, his eyes burning with a hot fury. "When you defeated the Moldorm, we believed you had merely lucked out and sheer incompetence is what caused the Moldorm's defeat. Now, with it, the Genie, the Slime Eye, the Angler Fish, and the Hardhit Beetle defeated, we know now that it wasn't luck but rather your inner strength. Had we known this sooner, we'd have acted sooner instead of now."
"The way I see it, I'm likely to defeat the remaining Nightmares."
"And that is why we shall end this now."
"What do you mean?"
"You are in our domain now, Outsider." Grogar answered. "In the dream, we control everything and nothing is beyond our reach. We shall expose you to such a terrifying nightmare, it shall cause your heart to stop and death's grip to choke you until you no longer breathe. You shall die in your sleep and this island will continue on as before without your interference getting in the way."
"Then I'll just wake up."
"You cannot."
I tried to open my eyes in the waking world only to discover that Grogar was right. His power in the dream was immense! I needed to come up with a plan quickly otherwise he would carry out his threat. If only Princess Twilight were here, she'd be able to give me some much needed advice, but I knew that Her Highness couldn't help so it was up to me to find a solution but in all honesty, what could I even come up with against an ancient goat and one who had power over all nightmares? Thinking quickly, the only option I could think of was fighting Grogar yet I knew that wouldn't work. Anything else would've been pointless.
Raising my shield, Grogar laughed at my attempt to fight him before his eyes suddenly went dark. I then saw an image of myself turning into Sunset Demon and relishing the fact that I was embracing the transformation before using magic and attacking my friends with it. My body instantly went numb and I could feel my heart coming to a stop which was also affecting me in the waking world. He was dead serious on carrying out his threat! I wanted to break free of the nightmare but couldn't! Grogar was too powerful! My nightmare continued getting worse as my friends succumbed to my magic... Truly, a nightmare of horrific proportions.
Just when it looked like I was about to die (I didn't think Sugar Belle's medicine would work in the dream), my hand suddenly glowed as the Mark of the Triforce made its presence known, a reminder that I possessed one of the three pieces of the golden power. The mark continued glowing until it dispelled the nightmare leaving Grogar shocked as to what just happened and me snapping out of what he had done. I checked my heart and it was beating normally (My body was no longer numb otherwise I couldn't have checked my heart) and that was when I saw the mark. Despite hating the mark over how it connected me to Ganondorf, I was happy about having it in this instance.
"Looks like you failed."
Grogar didn't take this well at all. "How!? How did you manage to overcome us!?"
"Think of it as divine power."
"You are more dangerous than we expected."
"Your nightmares don't work on me."
"So it appears." Grogar sounded defeated but I knew better than to underestimate him. "Though our nightmare did not kill you, you are still beneath us. We know that even with this divine power of yours, you are no match for us. The remaining Nightmares shall enjoy making you suffer, outsider, but hopefully the next one is all that is necessary to kill you. But... It might not be the Nightmares that shall prove to be your undoing. Perhaps learning the truth shall suffice."
"What do you mean?"
"You will know and when you do..."
Before I had a chance to question him further, Grogar disappeared into the darkness and my dream returned. Again, I appreciated having the Triforce of Courage only because it saved me from meeting my end in the dream. In any other situation, it was nothing more than a burden which I'd rather not have. What Grogar said about learning about the truth worried me as it could mean just about anything, but judging from the tone in his voice when he said it, it was something to be feared. The rest of the night passed without any other incidents but I had trouble sleeping a little on account of Grogar's parting words.
The morning came and to my surprise, Sunburst wasn't around which probably meant he was off in the Mysterious Forest looking for toadstools again. As I gathered my equipment and prepared to head out, I still had feelings of dread regarding Grogar's words. Not just those but also what he said regarding the remaining Nightmares. While Moldorm had proven difficult along with Hardhit Beatle and the Genie to an extent, Slime Eye and Angler Fish were jokes in comparison. Perhaps future boss monsters would require me to become even stronger in hopes of overcoming them. I wasn't looking forward towards such a prospect.
"Are you okay, Sunset?" Princess Twilight asked as I walked out of Starlight and Sunburst's house.
"Grogar visited me during the night in my dreams." I answered.
Princess Twilight gasped. "No wonder you looked pale in the middle of the night when I woke up." Her Highness then blushed which made me curious as to why she was up so late but eventually I decided it was probably best not to question it. "What happened to you?"
"He nearly killed me in my sleep via the dream world."
"I didn't think that was possible."
"Well... He almost succeeded."
"How did you manage to survive?"
I then showed Princess Twilight the back of my right hand. "It was the Triforce of Courage. Somehow, it's divine power resonated with my plight resulting in me overcoming my near-death experience at the hands of Grogar." I honestly couldn't explain things any better than that as I didn't understand everything the Triforce could do. "Normally, I hate having this power because it reminds me that I'm connected with Ganondorf not to mention you since you possess your own Triforce, but I am grateful that it saved my life."
"A mixed blessing."
"I suppose so."
Princess Twilight then flew all around me in order to make sure that I was okay. "I'm relieved that you survived your encounter with Grogar. From what I've heard about him via various books, aside from Gusty the Great, no one else has ever overcome Grogar let alone withstood his magic. I know this instance doesn't count, Sunset, as this is a different version of him, but I'd like to think you are similar to Gusty."
That made me smile. "Thanks, Twilight."
"What else did he have to say?"
"For one thing, the Nightmares are going to become much stronger from now on."
"That sounds typical."
I nodded. "But then he mentioned something about the truth. He didn't go into any specifics and disappeared into the shadows before I had a chance to question him. I've been feeling this dread ever since which kept me up all night wondering what it could mean."
"It could be about the island."
"You think so?"
Princess Twilight shrugged. "As much as I would like it to be that as it would satisfy my curiosity, I can't fathom the notion of understanding Grogar's mind. I guess the answer will eventually come to you whether you like it or not. Whatever he was getting at, you can't let it consume your every waking thought otherwise he'll have found a means to torment you outside of the dream. If we can figure out what he meant as soon as possible, it won't cause problems later on, or it might, and we'd be carrying out whatever his agenda is."
That was what I feared the most and why I hated it when villains acted like that. It was a combination of intimidation, wordplay, atmosphere, and knowing things that others didn't which made me truly worried about Grogar's mentioning of the truth. I had to focus on the task at hand and not allow myself to become obsessed with figuring out the meaning. At least I knew that much regarding the ancient goat's intentions. He planned on weakening my confidence which in turn would leave me vulnerable against the Nightmares. Her Highness was right about me not letting his words consume me.
But what if Grogar expected me to not let his words get to me? What if he wanted me to start second-guessing myself? That would lead to further disarray on my part which in turn would weaken my resolve. I then shook my head in a violent manner to remove such thoughts. Already he was starting to get to me. No wonder Gusty the Great, according to the stories of Grogar, resisted his methods and overcame him by banishing him from Equestria. It made me wish that I could have such a strong resolve instead of second-guessing myself but this was something I'd need to beat... Hopefully soon.
Focusing on what I needed to do next, I was in Mabe Village so hopefully Vignette should still be here. If not then the only other place would be the Animal Village as outside of either village was danger. Heading south towards where Discord lived, sure enough, she was standing to the left of their home but was clearly upset. That's when I noticed that she was no longer holding a broom, the instrument of her happiness. Vignette being an elderly character instead of bragging about her huge online fan base... I just found the whole thing weird in addition to her having so many fans who enjoyed seeing her 'antics' online.
I approached her and she turned to face me. "Oh... It's you."
"It's been a while." I said.
"I know that you've been calling my husband on a regular basis." Vignette said. "I've never seen Ulrira so happy speaking to someone and share his vast knowledge with them. It's made him even more precious."
"He's proven invaluable to my adventure."
"When it comes to knowledge of Koholint Island, my husband just can't be beat... Unless you were a fairy."
I looked at Princess Twilight momentarily to acknowledge Vignette's words before looking back at the latter. "I owe Grandpa Ulrira a lot." I then had to address the obvious since it was clear she was clearly distraught. "By the way... I noticed that you don't have your broom with you. If I remember correctly, you love sweeping where it's become an obsession. I believe you once said something about wanting to sweep all of Koholint Island."
"That does sound like something I'd say."
"Um... So what happened?"
Vignette sighed. "I went down to the river in order to sweep the bank and when I finished down there, I made my way over to the Animal Village since it hadn't been swept in a very long time, but then that's when everything fell apart." She then took out her current room which no longer had any of its bristles. "My old broom here was running on fumes but I believed I could continue using it for just a little bit longer, but when it suddenly lost all its bristles, my life lost all meaning. If I can't sweep the island, then what use am I? I know Ulrira needs me but that's beside the point."
"Maybe I can help?"
"How do you plan on helping me?"
I then took out the broom which Canter Zoom gave me. "I recently acquired this."
Seeing the broom made Vignette perk up instantly. "YAHOO! YAHOO! A new broom!?" She then began trying to reach out for it which looked rather pitiful. Upon noticing her own actions, she took on a more calmer persona. "Did you bring me this, lass?"
I nodded. "I'd rather not say how I got it though."
"That doesn't bother me."
"I don't need this broom so you can have it."
Handing over the broom to Vignette, her expression was that of pure joy. "At last! I can continue my purpose of sweeping Koholint Island. I'd say this new broom is going to last me about ten years or so." She then looked in my direction. "I know you want to be given a reward, lass, and I've got just the thing. When I was sweeping down by the river, I happened upon this fishing hook which had been buried. I'm no fishing enthusiast but perhaps there is someone out there who could do with one of these."
"Isn't there a fishing pond in this village?"
"There is but the fisherman there doesn't need a new fishing hook."
"Oh..."
"You could try the other fisherman though." Vignette began scratching her chin as she tried to remember something before it came to her. "He fishes somewhere in Martha's Bay though I don't know where exactly. You know how these fellows like having their secret fishing spots because of not wanting anyone else finding them. If you could talk to someone who lives in Martha's Bay, you might find out where he is."
"I was planning on going there."
"Then you should find a good use for that hook."
With that, Vignette shouted before continuing on with her sweeping and completely ignored me. As for myself, I looked at the fishing hook she had given me. Out of all the items I had been trading, this one was perhaps one of the more weirder ones. What could a fishing hook possibly become upon trading it to a fisherman? The only way to know was to find this guy and hoped he needed it otherwise I'd be stuck with something that was useless to me... Unless I wanted to try fishing for myself. In any case, my journey involved Martha's Bay and now it was time for me to go there, and fortunately, I had a quick means of reaching it.
Taking out the ocarina again and playing Manbo's Mambo, I began picturing Martha's Bay in my mind but I needed to make sure I would be warped to the right location. There wasn't a warp point that would take me directly into the bay but rather a few that would get me close to it yet required some walking on my part. Hmmm... From what I remembered of the general location of Martha's Bay, the warp that was right next to the Seashell Mansion was my best bet. Besides, I was familiar with that area since I had been there twice already. Focusing on the mansion, everything went white as the magic once again whisked me away.
Appearing moments later to the right of the mansion, I thought about going in there and checking to see how many Secret Seashells I had collected, but declined when I counted up how many I had in my head and discovered I didn't have enough of them to get the next reward. (I had roughly eight and needed ten) At least coming back to the mansion would be easy thanks to the warp panel I was standing on. Stepping off of it and seeing several Boarblins protecting the mansion's entrance, (They weren't going to go inside and tear up the place especially with Adagio acting as its guardian), I dashed through them with the Pegasus Boots.
Heading south by continuing to dash along, it took me about a minute to reach the northern most part of Martha's Bay, and I took a moment to take it all in. Last time I was here, I couldn't focus too much on what was in the bay since I had King Sombra around and he wanted to be taken home, but now that burden had passed and I was free to check things out to at my own leisure. I recalled seeing a large rock formation in the middle of the water along with a giant structure which was the Catfish's Maw but I didn't see how it could be accessed. Then again, Flash Sentry did hint as me needing to dive to get there.
"It looks so peaceful." I said as I continued looking at the vast expanse of water.
"Yes, but you need to be mindful of the Zoras that are swimming about." Princess Twilight said.
I looked down and could see a fish-like creature poke its head out of the water before going back down. "That's a Zora? It looks way different from the ones I've seen in my previous adventures." Those Zora in question looked more like humanoid fish while these Zoras were all fish and were green as opposed to blue. "Could these be a more ancient type of Zora or maybe they devolved over time to become this?"
"I'm going to go with the latter."
"And I take it they're not friendly?"
Princess Twilight nodded. "Over the centuries, some Zora got sick and tired of being hunted mercilessly by humans and decided to do something about it. They began attacking them by using fire magic, something forbidden in their culture, which resulted in their exile from the tribe. From there, they called themselves River Zora while the remaining Zora, feeling shame because of this new branch, evolved by adapting to land and eventually became an entirely new species known as the Rito."
"How accurate is that?"
"It's not 100% accurate as some details have been questioned by historians."
"And these Zora?"
"When they pop their heads up, they will shoot a fireball from their mouths." Princess Twilight answered. "After that, they will go back down only to pop up a few seconds later and repeating the process. Since you can't fight while swimming on the water's surface, all you can do is avoid Zoras as best as you can. Considering they thrive in water and are rarely seen on land, you won't be able to defeat them unless you could find a way to get them out of the water."
I wasn't liking the idea of a monster that couldn't be defeated by conventional means but this was something that couldn't be helped. Zoras were masters of the water and my swimming skills were nothing compared to them. I had to heed Princess Twilight's words and just avoided them and their attacks or else they'd be able to pick me off with ease. Continuing on south, ignoring the Boarblins, and reaching some stairs that went into the water (There were many of these), I walked into the water and the Flippers immediately appeared on my feet enabling me to swim.
"Hey! You!" Someone called out to me.
"Huh?"
"Look over here!"
I looked in the direction of the voice and to my surprise, floating in the water was Gloriosa Daisy. If not for her using the magical geodes in her bid to save Camp Everfree from the likes of Filthy Rich as well as finding them, my friends and I wouldn't have gotten them ourselves and used them ever since to overcome additional problems that involved magic. In that sense, we owe her immensely for allowing us to unlock our true magical potential. At first, I was surprised to see her swimming in the water, but upon seeing a glimpse of a tail behind her, I discovered that she was a mermaid in this world.
"Um... Hello there."
"What!?" Gloriosa said with a huff. "You've never seen a mermaid before?"
I shook my head. "I've seen something similar."
"Uh huh."
"Sorry if I came across as ignorant."
Gloriosa clearly didn't appreciate my apology. In fact, she looked like she couldn't care less about talking to me since she was frantically looking around for something. "I don't need an apology from you! I need information and you're going to give me some!" That was surprising. Someone wanted information from me when usually it was the other way around where I needed it. "Swimming around here is meant to be fun but I'm not having it right now!"
"What happened?"
"When I was swimming earlier, the waves took a very important necklace from around my neck!" Gloriosa answered as she pointed at her neck. "Why it's important isn't any of your concern but it means everything to me. Have you seen it anywhere?"
I shook my head. "I haven't seen your necklace."
That made Gloriosa feel even worse. "Then you're not much help are you? You look like someone who's pretty capable but instead you've been disappointing. If you find it and bring it back to me, I will let you take a scale from my tail! I know that sounds like utter desperation on my part but I'm very serious here! Sorry if I sound rude but I've been in a panic all day long and until it's safe in my hands again, I'm going to continue being rude because it's the only way to get any answers."
"Do you know anything about a fisherman?"
"Huh?"
"A fisherman."
"Normally, mentioning a fisherman in the presence of a mermaid is nothing short of insulting, but I'm too upset right now to care." It was unfortunate that Gloriosa was feeling the way she was but I knew that I could help her out with her problem. What she said about fishermen and mermaids had some truth but whether you believed the stories or not depended on a person's opinions. "Since you did ask nicely, I suppose I can tell you about this secret location I know of. There's a bridge near the Mermaid Statue and underneath it is a fishing spot deemed an excellent place for fishermen to catch their quarry. If there's a fisherman in Martha's Bay, that's where I'd look for him."
"I'll find your necklace."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
I shook my head. "No, I really mean it."
Gloriosa grumbled in response. "Okay, I'll believe you for now, but if you're lying to me, you'll wish you never met me. I may be beautiful but we mermaids can be vicious when provoked so remember that."
She then resumed looking for her necklace leaving me to do the same thing. Before I could swim away, she said that she had already scoured this area of Martha's Bay so there was no point in me searching here. With that, I swam south towards where that rock formation was. Upon reaching it, I began thinking about where her necklace could've gone. She said waves took it away yet I immediately had to question her claim. This area would have to be connected to the ocean in some way for a wave to get here and I remembered the map of the island correctly, there was no such connection.
Could it have been caused by a Zora? Maybe but then it would've taken an entire group of them and not just one. Perhaps the Catfish's Maw? The Nightmare could've done something that created waves resulting in Gloriosa's necklace becoming lost. So many possibilities yet each had a number of holes that made them dubious at best and completely pointless at worst which wasn't to my liking. Whether it was waves or not, I had to find that necklace because I needed her help despite her needing mine. If anyone knew anything about the next dungeon, Gloriosa fit that description.
I eliminated one possible area from my mind, that of where the Mermaid Statue was. Despite only catching a glimpse of it when I was over that way with King Sombra, there was no bridge but rather a series of rocks in the water that covered up one dead-end. Another area I could eliminate was swimming up river and Gloriosa didn't seem the kind of person who would want to swim in shallow waters. Besides, Kanalet Castle was up river and knowing her, she would want to avoid such a place what with the berserk soldiers. That left just one area, the southeast which was near the Animal Village.
Swimming to the east, Princess Twilight also warned me about whirlpools that could appear. Even though these wouldn't cause me to drown, they would inflict damage because of their unusual strength so I needed to avoid them. Good thing she mentioned it as one suddenly materialized next to me. I didn't panic as that would've caused me to do something stupid so I carefully maneuvered past it only for a pair of Zora to emerge their heads from below the water's surface. Each shot out a fireball so I reacted by diving underwater as the flippers enabled me to do so though for just a brief moment.
Popping back up, both Zora had gone back down but I knew that were pausing before coming back up and attacking again. Before they had the chance, I swam past some more stairs and continued swimming south and eventually came across a bridge. It had certainly seen better days judging from how poorly it looked yet it looked like something was underneath it as I could see an object bobbing on the water's surface in the shadows though what I didn't know. Swimming under the bridge, I was surprised to see a large spacious area which looked way bigger on the inside than it did outside.
The object I saw turned out to be a boat and sitting in it was a man who had to be the fisherman. When he turned his face, I was looking at Grand Pear, Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Macintosh's grandfather. From what Princess Twilight told me, he abandoned his daughter, Pear Butter, because she married into the Apple Family when she and Bright Macintosh said their vows. He remained out of their lives for years until returning to Ponyville where he finally allowed his heart to guide him rather than his pride resulting in both families reconciling rather than continuing on with a pointless feud.
Climbing into the boat, Grand Pear took immediate notice. (My equipment weighed me down, not my weight) "Oh? And who might you be?"
"I'm Sunset Shimmer." I answered.
"Me? I'm just a lonely fisherman who's been trying to score the big one." Grand Pear answered. "Have you ever been to the Fishing Hole in Mabe Village? If you haven't, I recommend trying it out at least once. The guy running that place happens to be my twin brother so if you tell him I sent you, he should give you a special discount and maybe fish for something pretty rare."
"Why are you out here?"
"Everyone knows that this is a secret fishing spot where the rarest fish are supposed to be."
"Yet you don't look very happy."
Grand Pear sighed. "It's that obvious is it? It's no use, Sunset Shimmer! A fish took my best hook and it's been a nightmare since. I have no idea where it ended up but what I do know is that I'll never see my hook again. I keep casting my line into the water, but I haven't got a bite. Makes sense when you think about as without a hook, fish won't get caught up on it and I'd just be wasting time. I thought this would happen..." He continued sighing before pulling out his line. "At this point, I should just pack up and go home. If only I had brought another hook with me then I'd be fine."
"Well... I do have this." I said as I took out the fishing hook from my pocket.
"Oh! What is that you have in your hand?"
"I was wondering what to do with it but it looks like you solved that problem."
Grand Pear's eyes lit up. "Is that a fishing hook you have there? It's not the one I lost but it should be a perfect replacement. Can you please let me have it seeing as you just said you don't know what to do with the thing. Please? I'll give you my next catch if you let me have that hook." I nodded and handed it over to him. "Yes! I can continue fishing again. Okay, now we're in business. Keep your eyes open and watch a professional at work. The secret in catching a fish is patience." Tying the hook onto the line and casting it into the water, nothing happened at first but then the line started reacting. "My, that's a BIIIIG one!"
"It might be too big."
"The bigger the better!"
"If you say so."
After pulling on the line for what felt like forever, Grand Pear gave the line a big yank resulting in him pulling something out of the water where it landed in my lap. "Well... You don't see anything like that everyday in this line of work." In my lap was a beautiful necklace, the very one Gloriosa had been searching for. How it got all the way down here was beyond me but now I could go back and give it to her. "I did say you could have the next thing I catch but at least it wasn't a rare fish."
"This is just what I needed."
"Whatever works for you."
"Thanks for fishing this necklace up for me."
"My pleasure." Grand Pear said as he threw his line back into the water. "I'm going to be here for a while using this new hook to score the big one. Again, you should give fishing a try by going to the Fishing Hole over in Mabe Village. I guarantee you'll become addicted!"
Leaving Grand Pear to continue doing what he was doing, I carefully placed the necklace in my pocket and jumped back into the water. I was still surprised at the fact that the necklace managed to get all the way down here, yet Gloriosa never once tried searching this far. Had she swam this way, she'd have eventually found it herself though it would've meant having to interact with something she wasn't particular fond of. At least I could now get a scale from her and eventually give it to Bulk Biceps (The one in the Animal Village and not his brother in Toronbo Shores) since he was the one who made that Mermaid Statue.
Swimming back the way I came, I immediately was attacked by the same two Zora from before where they popped up from below the surface and shot fireballs at me. Diving underwater to avoid getting hit, this time, instead of staying put, I swam forward a little in hopes that believed I had drowned and would ignore me. Sure enough, the Zoras went back down and didn't come up again indicating my plan was successful. Even the simplest of solutions were the most effective when applied correctly. Ignoring the whirlpool by slowly swimming past it, I kept on swimming until I encountered Gloriosa again.
"You weren't gone for very long."
"I did what I needed to do."
"And did you find my necklace?" Gloriosa asked.
"I did find a fisherman in that secret spot you mentioned."
Gloriosa's expression went from bad to worse. "You seriously just went and said that!? How insensitive can one get!?" Then her mood changed. "I'm glad you managed to find that secret fishing hole but it doesn't change the fact that I'm still missing my necklace. You made a promise and broke it!"
I reached into my pocket and carefully took out the necklace. "No I didn't."
Seeing the necklace in my hand, Gloriosa's reaction was expected. " Ah! That's it! That's my necklace!" She then calmed down upon realizing that I kept my word. "Wow... You actually went and brought it back to me despite what I said to you. I... I don't know what to say other than to give it back. I will give you a scale as I said but promise to only take one from my tail as the thought of being a scale-less mermaid creeps me out."
Handing over the scale, Gloriosa immediately put it on and showed it off. Rolling my eyes, I then dove underwater in order to get a scale from her. Upon seeing her tail up close, it was certainly majestic in appearance, and I felt honoured that she would allow me to take one for myself as a reward. I couldn't just rip it off as that would surely cause pain nor could I use my sword and pry it off as that would also result in pain. Instead, I reached out for a scale of significant size and began slowly loosening it by gently tugging. After about a minute or so of doing this, the scale fell into my hands leaving no scar on Gloriosa.
I then came back up to the surface. "Sorry that took me a while."
"You were very gentle when you did that."
"Hurting you would've made me feel terrible."
Gloriosa smiled. "I appreciate the sentiment. You know, an artist once asked me to pose for him, and he wanted a scale, too. I refused his offer as I'm not the kind of girl who wishes to stay in one place while someone painted me. I mean, it was a nice gesture and all but not something I wanted. Can the legend of the Magnifying Lens be true?"
"What legend?"
"A long time ago, someone on this island once had a Magnifying Lens that could see anything." Gloriosa answered. "No matter how small something was or if it was invisible to the naked eye, this lens could see anything. It's said that the lens was buried underground where that Mermaid Statue is located but whether that's true remains a mystery. That artist always kept say his work remained incomplete all because of a single missing scale. I think he's just being too personal with his creation. Anyway, he still lives in the village over there so you can give that scale to him if you want."
Pocketing the scale, I then addressed the current elephant in the room. "I need information on the Catfish's Maw."
"You mean that structure south of us?"
I nodded. "I'm going in there to acquire something important."
"Since you were so kind in returning my necklace and taking a scale from my tail, I would be happy to tell you all I know." Gloriosa took a deep breath before continuing. "In order to be able to enter the Catfish's Maw, you need to dive underwater on the other side of that rock formation. That should be a simple thing for you since you're a pretty capable swimmer, but once you go inside, things will get much more complicated. I hear that there are monsters everywhere in that place and one in particular proclaims itself as a master."
"A master of what?"
"It calls itself Master Stalfos."
"Sounds like it's full of itself."
Gloriosa laughed. "Maybe but it's a fearsome creature. Once, I went into the Catfish's Maw on a wanting of being curious, and it appeared at the entrance. I was so terrified that I immediately swam away and never went back. With that sword and shield, the Master Stalfos looked to be a formidable warrior, yet that skeletal body looked old. I'd say it could crumble instantly if it were struck with a blunt object. There was something else about that creature which I'm trying to remember."
"Any information will do."
"It had some kind of object dangling on its belt."
"That's... Informative... I guess?"
"Sorry if it isn't entirely accurate."
"I'll make do."
"I don't have much else to say about the Catfish's Maw other than one thing." Gloriosa said as she pointed to the Mermaid Statue. "That stretching object might be what you need to reach the statue if you're curious enough to want to check it out. I'd like to see it someday but we mermaids can't exactly strut about on shore as we'd suffocate. Anyway, I've said all I can so now I think it's time for me to be on my way. I'll be back here later so if you come on by later, I should be somewhere in Martha's Bay." With that, Gloriosa dove down underwater and swam off before she eventually disappeared.
I then turned to Princess Twilight who hadn't had a chance to speak for quite a while. "Well? What did you make of all of that?"
"I'm surprised that Gloriosa went into the Catfish's Maw just because she was bored." Princess Twilight answered.
"Makes you wonder if anyone else has done something similar barring the Colour Dungeon."
"It's certainly a possibility."
"By the way, what do you make of this Magnifying Lens?"
"It sounds like it's an item that you definitely need as why go to all the trouble of having to trade so many items for it?" I was shocked when Her Highness said that. I never thought of this trading sequence as leading up to something of great importance but it did explain why I was going around with so many weird items in my inventory. "I came to my conclusion by paying close attention to what Gloriosa said about the Magnifying Lens and that her scale is the final key to getting it."
"Now that I think about it, the Magnifying Lens sounds just like the Lens of Truth." I said. In my previous adventures, I acquired a similar lens which could reveal the truth to me through the use of incredible magic. Nothing was beyond its gaze and it proved rather essential despite it being just a lens. "Perhaps this item serves as a precursor to what I would acquire on my previous adventures. Huh... It sounds confusing when you look at this from a video game release perspective." I changed the subject when it was clear that Princess Twilight didn't quite understand what I was getting at. "Anyway, what about this Master Stalfos?"
"It sounds like it could prove problematic."
I nodded. "I was afraid of that."
"Also, the item it has could prove useful."
"I just wish Gloriosa had given me some more details."
"It couldn't be helped."
The time had finally come for me to enter the next dungeon and acquire the fifth instrument. Swimming south until I reached the rock formation which housed the Catfish's Maw, I began swimming around it in hopes of finding a spot where I could dive down since that was what I had to. It took about a minute to find what I was looking for as it was situated on the other side of where I started. Diving down underwater, nothing was blocking me which struck me as odd as normally something would be guarding an important area to prevent anyone from reaching it.
The underwater expedition wasn't long at all as I had to go back up to the surface and upon doing so, I was staring at the dungeon entrance. The sight of such an entrance was guaranteed to scare away any who were curious about exploring. It consisted of an angry catfish complete with whiskers, sinister looking eyes that could pierce your soul, sharp teeth on the entryway's roof, and some moss on top of it which looked gross more than anything. It felt like I was being beckoned to enter and face whatever was waiting for me on the inside. If not for my mission, I wouldn't want to go inside but I had no other choice.
Swimming up to the entrance, I climbed out the water and went inside where I found myself in the entrance of the dungeon. The voice I had been hearing in the past whenever I entered a dungeon then revealed to me that this was 'Level 5. - Catfish's Maw'. It was surprising how there wasn't any water considering that one needed the ability to swim in order to reach this place, but I had no intention of dwelling on it for very long otherwise I'd probably just confuse myself over something trivial. Aside from a pair of statues, nothing else was of interest apart from the ground being sand.
My only way forward was going west and so I did into the next room where I was immediately attacked by a Red Zol which jumped towards me. Luckily, I managed to raise my shield just in time and its attack amounted to nothing. Attacking it which caused it to split into two pieces, I took out both pieces leaving only to deal with a Spark that was rotating around a nearby statue along with a Helmasaur which hadn't noticed me yet. My eyes were then drawn towards a treasure chest but it was in an area I couldn't reach so easily. A series of stone blocks and the abuss were preventing me from reaching it. Princess Twilight said she would make a note of it for later.
The Helmasuar merely paced back and forth so I waited for it to turn its back towards me as I couldn't attack the front because of its armoured helmet. When it turned away, I quickly struck it from behind twice, defeating it where it dropped a rupee which I picked up. Heading into the next room by walking west again, I was next attacked by several Keese who had previously been resting on top of statues situated in the middle of the room. There was another Helmasaur pacing about so I ignored it in order to focus on my main problem. Swinging my sword around in an erratic fashion, I defeated all four Keese though they didn't drop anything.
With just the Helmasaur remaining, I walked around to its backside (It was incredibly slow when it wasn't noticing anything) and I defeated it with two sword strikes. This caused a door to unlock though I could only go in that direction as the other way required a key which I currently lacked. Heading west again (This was starting to become a weird trend which made me wonder how far west did this dungeon go) I immediately came upon a chest when I entered the next room and opened it which contained a Compass. Why was this item almost always the firs key item I would find?
At least I would know when I would enter a room that housed a key but a map was infinitely better. As for what was in this room, a Spark was moving around the outer edges so it would be easy enough to avoid though the two Helmasaurs were blocking my way forward. Raising my shield and slowly walking towards them, one Helmasaur immediately charged at me but I merely stepped aside and when it stumbled past, I attacked it from behind though I forgot about the other one resulting in me getting hit from behind. Turning around, the remaining one had since turned around because of losing interest in me but I responded by dashing into it.
"You didn't need to be that excessive, Sunset."
"I know, but I wanted to prove a point."
"Fair enough."
"Sorry if I did anything wrong."
"No, you did what you thought was best." Princess Twilight said. "One thing I forgot to mention about Helmasaurs is that their helmets aren't as sturdy as appearance suggest. If you were to use a unique item against it, said item would destroy the helmet instead of pulling it off. I don't know what this item could be but it's something to think about. Good thing youdefeated both of them as doing so unlocked the way back, but I suggest checking out those stairs as you do need a small key in order to progress."
Heading downstairs into an underground passage, I was immediately presented with a challenge. "Are those weights?"
Princess Twilight nodded. "If you stand on one, it will drop down which causes the other one to rise up in response. Now, I'm not saying your overweight, Sunset, but your equipment and current inventory will be enough to tip the scales so to speak."
"Thanks for not saying I'm fat, Twilight."
"Well you're not."
Standing on the weight, it slowly began to drop and when it was at equal height with the other weight as it rose up, I jumped onto it using the Roc's Feather, and jumped again onto the platform before heading left where I encountered more weights. There were four of them this time and I could see that the first two were already up whereas the other two were down. I knew something wasn't right at it looked too easy. I suspected that these first two didn't connect with one another and instead one was connected to three. If they did, this puzzle couldn't be solved and I'd be stuck here with no means of progression.
Stepping on the first weight, the third weight began to rise, just as I suspected. I quickly figured out on what I needed to do in order to solve this puzzle and it was actually a lot more simpler than appearances suggested. Once I was low enough where the first three weights were lined up, I jumped across each one which also caused the last weight to begin rising to counter the second weight which began dropping upon my stepping on it. (That sounded a lot more confusing than it actually was) Continuing to jump across, I almost didn't make it on account of nearly missing my jump but I somehow succeeded.
Heading up the ladder and into the next room, I could see dark crystals were everywhere. The Compass also beeped indicating that there was a key in this room. I could also see a pair of Yellow Stalfos but there were also two red ones which were brand new for me. "What can you say about the Red Stalfos?"
"These are perhaps the most annoying among the Stalfos you'll be encountering."
"How so?"
"Not only do these ones jump away from you when you try to attack them, they will also throw bones in your direction." Princess Twilight answered. "The bones won't do much damage to you but it will prove annoying especially with other enemies around causing a distraction. I don't believe their bones can pass through solid objects but I do know that they will throw them whenever they jump in order to move away from you. Think of this method of attacking as a reaction."
"Guess I need to watch them closely."
"They have the same stamina as other Stalfos."
"That's good to know."
Smashing the dark crystals, a Yellow Stalfos and a Red Stalfos began approaching me. I easily took out the yellow one as I knew its attack patterns by heart on account of having fought so many of them, but this wasn't true with the new one. It immediately jumped back before tossing a bone from somewhere that bounced harmlessly off of my shield when I raised it to protect myself. Before it had a chance to throw another, I countered by striking it twice, defeating it. From there, I continued smashing dark crystals because I could see what the solution was to this puzzle but then the remaining two Stalfos decided to come my way.
Again, I easily took out the Yellow Stalfos but the Red Stalfos jumped back before tossing a bone. (I had no idea where it was tossing them from nor did I want to know as there were some things one was never meant to find out about) Using my shield to deflect it, the Red Stalfos continued jumping backwards until it reached the wall and could no longer escape as it couldn't change direction when in mid-air. Walking up to it, I took it out using my sword which left me free to finish smashing what remaining dark crystals there were. Once I had smashed them all, I began pushing two of the four blocks so that they all matched up with each other.
When the last block was moved into place, a small key dropped down from the ceiling which I picked up. Now I could go back to where that locked door was and continue on in that direction, but I was curious as to what lurked in the next room. I couldn't help but be curious as exploration was highly recommended in these kinds of games. Walking into the next room, it was completely empty though there was an unusual pattern on the ground. It comprised of a series of tiles in the form of a skull though four tiles were coloured blue. I had no idea what this meant but maybe Princess Twilight knew.
"What do you think, Twilight?"
"Hmmm... This could mean just about anything."
"So you don't know?"
"I'm afraid I don't."
"I was hoping you would know."
"While I have proven myself time and time again that I'm an immense source of wisdom, not even I know everything, Sunset." Princess Twilight then took out her notepad and began writing something down. "I'm definitely making a note of this room as those coloured tiles are just way too curious for me to simply ignore. Perhaps we might encounter a similar tile pattern in a later room that could shed some light on the meaning. For now, you need to go back to that locked door."
Heading back into the previous room, the blocks were still pushed together though I had a feeling I'd have to solve this puzzle again later if for some reason the puzzle resets due to me being too far away. While it was an easy one to solve, I didn't like the prospect of having to solve something which had already been solved. The dark crystals, however, had re-spawned so I smashed my way through and went downstairs into the underground passage again. Fortunately, I didn't need to jump across the weights as I could simply drop down and use the ladders but if I had to come back here again, I would have to repeat the puzzle.
Dropping down to the ground, I walked across, climbed up the ladder, dropped down again, and climbed up the other ladder until I was back in the room where the two Helmasaurs and Spark were. The Spark was all that remained but I knew those Helmasaurs would eventually re-spawn so this was merely a temporary respite. Ignoring it by simply walking past it and into the next previous room, I used my small key to unlock the door and entered the next room. Dark crystals were scattered about everywhere and there was a very shallow river which ran through though I wasn't surprised to see water since I saw a river in the previous section and we were underwater and all.
There was also a Yellow Stalfos, Red Stalfos, and a Helmasaur in this area so I knew which one to focus on first. Then again, defeating these three monsters wasn't required and I could simply ignore them for the time being. I just hoped that they wouldn't follow me into another section otherwise I'd be completely swarmed. The Red Stalfos was the only one who noticed me and reacted by jumping backwards before throwing a bone in my direction. Rather than raise my shield to deflect it, I just stepped aside and ignored it as I headed west into the darkness before immediately stopping upon almost getting my legs sawed off.
"Was that what I think it was?"
Princess Twilight nodded. "A Blade Trap. It has been a while since you've seen one of these."
I looked around the room and could see four of them, one in each corner. "If I remember your words from way back in Tail Cave, nothing I have can defeat these traps so my only option is to avoid them as best as I can, right?"
Again, Princess Twilight nodded. "Once they reach the other side of where they are supposed to go, they will slowly move back to their original position. You could try to bait them out and use that slow phase to your advantage if necessary. One thing I didn't mention to you before is that Blade Traps don't work on monsters."
"Really?"
"Whoever programmed them made sure of that."
"There goes a potential idea."
"As long as you avoid them, Blade Traps can't do anything to you."
At least I was thankful about that though I wished I could lure the monsters into getting hit by them. Speaking of monsters, the only two in this area were both Helmasaurs and I had to defeat them both in order to unlock both doors. Since they were pacing back and forth in the middle of the room, I didn't have to worry about the Blade Traps unless one of them somehow pushed me back into one. Sticking my foot out, both Blade Traps shot forward where they collided with each other before slowly moving back when I easily slipped past and could focus on the Helmasaurs.
Neither of them had noticed me approach so I waited for them to turn their backs to me before attacking them both. Upon defeating them, both doors unlocked but now I had to choose which room to check first. Thinking it over in my head, I decided that the door on the left would be my first choice but if it was too difficult, I'd leave and come back later. Why choose west instead of north? Call it a gut instinct. Entering this next room, I could see a Spark moving around in a rather erratic manner on account of there being pots in addition to stone blocks for it to maneuver around, two more Helmsaurs, and a flying bomb with the number ten on it.
Both Helmasaurs hadn't noticed me (This actually made them a joke thus diminishing their overall presence) so I snuck behind each one and attacked from behind but not before getting hit a couple of times by the Spark which couldn't be defeated. Defeating both Helmasaurs caused a treasure chest to materialize on the other side of the room yet I was curious as to why one of those item replenishing objects (I didn't have anything else to properly call them) was in this room and of a bomb no less. Did I need to use bombs for something? If so then I needed to stock up before progressing any further.
Jumping to grab the bomb icon, I had just over twenty bombs since I hadn't used any in a while so hopefully that was enough to get me through the dungeon. Heading over to the chest and opening it up, I took out a Stone Beak which was useful in some ways but again, I really needed the Dungeon Map. Pocketing the Stone Beak, I went back to the previous room and almost had my legs sawed off again because of immediately forgetting about the Blade Traps. Gah! They were just so annoying yet also completely forgetful. Using my foot in order to lure them out again, I snuck past when they moved back to their original positions and repeated this method in order to get past the other two.
In this next room, I could see another item floating in the air on wings... But it made my heart sink upon seeing what it was. "Is that an arrow?" Upon a closer inspection, it was an arrow with the number ten next to it, but there was an obvious problem. "Why would this dungeon give me arrows when I don't even have a bow to use them?"
"You could say that if you picked up an arrow, you don't have a bow to deliver the 'ow' if you get my point."
I glared at Princess Twilight. "That was a terrible joke and you know it!"
"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself."
Her joke was in poor taste but I couldn't hold it against her, but then it had me thinking. "If this item replenishing object (I really needed a better name than that) is here, does that mean I need a bow to be able to progress through this dungeon?"
"That's hard to say for certain."
"Now I'm starting to worry."
"You could always leave the dungeon and come back later with a bow."
"But that would involve some rupee grinding."
"Yes."
It was a tough choice to consider. On the one hand, if I encountered something that required a bow, I'd be out of luck on account of not having one. On the other hand, it might just be that having one in my inventory was optional for this dungeon in that it wasn't needed. After contemplating both sides, I decided to continue going since I was already making my way through the Catfish's Maw. Explaining my reason to Princess Twilight, she agreed with my decision. I took a step forward and two Red Zols popped up from the ground. Striking them both with one sword swing cut them in half and another swing defeated both of them.
The north door didn't unlock which meant I had to find another way to get to that room, but then Her Highness pointed out a bridge to my right which had been rolled up. If I could find a way to unroll it, I could use it to get to the other side of the locked door. Unfortunately, none of my items could help me but perhaps the item of this dungeon could. Heading left into the next room, I encountered a rather unique set-up. Several holes were aligned in a row with Blade Traps situated in-between them. Sure, I could easily jump across the holes but would I be fast enough to make it across?
"Can I make it?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. "With how fast Blade Traps move, you'd lose your legs in an instant."
"What if I used the Pegasus Boots and performed a couple of dash jumps?"
"That won't work either."
"Really?"
Princess Twilight nodded. "Even if you were to run at the highest maximum speed you're capable of, you wouldn't be able to avoid getting hit by the Blade Traps. You need to be able to move faster than them and the Pegasus Boots simply won't cut it."
"What could possibly be faster than the Pegasus Boots!?"
"Whatever it is, you need to find it if you want to get through this."
I couldn't believe that there was something that could outrun the likes of the Pegasus Boots. As I stood there completely stunned by what Her Highness had said, I began to think about what it was that would allow me to get across without getting sliced apart. Nothing immediately came to mind which meant I was going to be distracted by this throughout the entire dungeon until an answer could be found. Not exactly a comforting thought especially in a place like this but this had become the norm for me. Since I couldn't do anything else, I went back to the previous room where I jumped and collected another arrow--not that it would do me any good without a bow.
Heading south into the next previous room, I stopped as two Blade Traps darted forward from either side of me until they hit one another. At least I was prepared for them this time instead of freaking out. As both traps moved back to their prior positions, I walked past them and then used my foot method from earlier to lure out a previous trap as well as another one so that I could walk past them without injury, which I did though not before almost getting my legs cut off from behind when both traps suddenly darted forward. Rubbing my brow which had since began dripping with sweat, I went back to the last previous room.
The three monsters were still here since I hadn't defeated them initially so now I could take care of them. Taking out the Yellow Stalfos before it even knew what happened, I was struck from behind by a bone courtesy of the Red Stalfos. It didn't hurt but it sure was annoying that it happened so I immediately went after it so that it couldn't throw another bone at me but it knew I was coming for it as it jumped back in order to get away. Like the other Red Stalfos who attempted a similar tactic, this one wound up getting stuck in a dead-end and I defeated it with two sword strikes living just the Helmasaur.
Since it wasn't attacking me, I decided to leave it alone for the time being and instead continue north. In the next area, two more Red Stalfos and a Yellow Stalfos were blocking my way forward even though I could simply ignore them as the next door was already unlocked. But, there was an Owl Statue and it could provide me with some valuable information regarding a mechanic for this dungeon. Raising my shield and slowly moving forward, both Red Stalfos jumped backwards before tossing bones which harmlessly bounced off the shield. They continued jumping back and throwing bones until both had their backs to the wall and I responded by attacking both until they were defeated.
That left just the Yellow Stalfos which jumped up into the air before attempting to land on top of me. I managed to dodge it just in time and responded by striking it twice, defeating it, and gaining myself access to the Owl Statue. I had a feeling this one would prove beneficial unlike the ones in the Colour Dungeon which only talked about those switches. I placed the beak on the statue and listened carefully to what it had to say. 'If you can't destroy the skeleton with your sword, try using a bomb'. That explained why I needed bombs but what skeleton was it talking about?
Entering the next room, I then looked down and saw something familiar. "Didn't we see this before?"
"We did in that one room!" On the ground was the same tile formation that we encountered in the room that was next to the room where I found that small key, but this pattern was different as only a single tile was coloured blue as opposed to four in the other room. "Only one tile has colour this time."
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know."
"I'm not liking all this confusion."
"Neither do I."
I then thought about it. "What if there is a simple pattern that we're clearly overlooking? I mean, here we both are wracking our brains over what this could mean yet the answer could be staring at us until we're both blue in the face." Then I noticed a shadow coming from the ceiling prompting me to get my sword and shield ready. "Then again, all we need to do is wait for an answer to come down from above." Whatever was up there had no desire to come down so I called out in hopes of getting its attention. "I know you're up there so why don't you stop hiding and make yourself known."
"What are you talking about?"
"Someone or something is on the ceiling."
Princess Twilight then noticed the shadow herself. "Okay, now I see what you're getting at."
Both doors suddenly locked indicating that my words got through to whatever was hanging out on the ceiling. It then dropped down from above and landed on the ground with a loud thud combined with the clanking of armour. Standing before me was a large skeleton wearing what looked like ancient armour whilst wielding a rather large sword that gave it quite the reach in comparison to my own and had a shield which had clearly seen its fair share of battles. Its face had teeth though it was probably just the shape of the skull. No doubt that this is what Gloriosa told me earlier. This was the Master Stalfos.
"I was wondering when you would notice my shadow."
"Are you the Master Stalfos?"
"I am."
"I've heard about you from a mermaid."
"A mermaid you say?" As Master Stalfos contemplated my words, I took a much closer look at it. Its bones looked like they could fall apart at any moment as some pieces were missing while others had clearly seen better days. But, it was the sword that worried me the most. A blade like that could easily cleave me in two provided that it boasted a lot of power but perhaps it was more show than anything. "Yes... I seem to recall seeing such a creature enter this place some time ago. Such a cowardly thing who fled in fear upon seeing me yet I do not blame one who cannot be a warrior."
"And what about me?"
"You? A warrior?"
I nodded. "Of course I'm a warrior. Okay, more like a heroine but you get the picture."
Master Stalfos then began laughing though it was stunted. "I cannot believe that a girl like you is a warrior. Though you do possess a sword and shield, they do not have the smell of blood one would expect for weapons used by a warrior who has seen plenty of combat. I have fought many who claimed to be warriors yet they all fell by my hand and either died or became servants of the Nightmares."
"The Nightmares!?" I exclaimed. "You know of them?"
"They control this island."
"I already know that."
Again, Master Stalfos laughed. "And yet you clearly don't know how they are controlling this island. I know the truth but you will not learn this from me as I intend on keeping that information to myself even if you were somehow to rend me asunder. If you claim to be a warrior then prove it by fighting me right now. I could do with a good laugh."
To Be Continued.
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Do four swords adventure next
of course after twilight princess 😃
10354261
I really want twilight princess next too
Also Fluttershy as Yeta/ Blizzeta
Good work with the chapter
10376816
Thanks. I decided to give Master Stalfos some actual personality as a means of making him stand out more.
10378820
Well, it was a good idea... Seriously I don't understand why your story have a low quantity of thumbs up
10379348
I don't understand it either. I'm grateful for the amount of attention its gotten despite my now terrible updating schedule but I would like it to have more.