The Legend of Equestria: Majora's Mask

by xombiekilla

Chapter five: Dawn of the Second Night (I)

Night of the second day:
36 hours remaining

Hero Pinkie and her friendly Changeling companion have arrived at Woodfall Temple, submerged in toxic water. Due to the poison in the lake, the bog has narrow bridges made of withered oak logs and degraded lilypads.

The three of them managed to reach the island in the middle of the bog, where the altar had a stand for their musical instruments. Hero took a stand on it, gazing momentarily at the night sky as the hours went by faster than expected.

"We can do this, Hero. Let's rescue the king's daughter for Dashie," Pinkie cheered. Hero agreed and got his hive horns ready to play the Sonata of Awakening. The ivory-like horns sang their song, summoning the temple from underneath the bog.

The magnificent display of power left the three of them in awe. Once the temple was unearthed, Pinkie and Hero stepped forth. "I shall head back. If you will permit me to do so," the changeling bowed to Hero, who saluted him with his left forehoof. "Yes, my liege, I shall take my leave," the changeling replied before flying away. They then entered the temple.

---

The interiors had a Mayan or Zebraican design. The water was contaminated, but the toxins were strongest here, suggesting this was the source.

Pinkie noticed a strange smell as they entered the temple's main section, an ancient underground city that must have been home to a civilization before it was buried. "Eww, gross, this place smells funny and not in the ha-ha way either," Pinkie pinches her nose with her right forehoof as they press on. The place was infested with insect-like monsters, beetles armored in the front but not the rear. Hero and Pinkie dodged them as best as they could.

As they ventured deeper into the temple, Pinkie and Hero found a key that would lead them even further towards their goal. As they opened the door, they were met with a vast room that appeared too empty. Pinkie was concerned, "I don't like this room, Hero."

Suddenly, a giant snapper turtle appeared in the center of the room with an inhumanly-sized gecko monster riding on its back. The duo challenged Pinkie and Hero to a fight. Without hesitation, Hero accepted the challenge: "Okay then, you big lizards, it's tussle time!" Pinkie exclaimed as the battle began.

The gecko monster hopped up to hang on the ceiling while the snapper turtle tucked into its shell, exposing sharp spikes that spun like a top and bounced off the chamber walls. Hero realizes that he can take off his mask and use his blade to defeat the monsters.

He grabbed the sides of his face, and the cursed form was pulled from his body, returning him to his normal state. He drew out his blade to confront the gecko on the ceiling, who was taunting Pinkie and Hero from its perch. "Can you find a way to get him to ground level? I might have a little something-something to use on him." Pinkie then dug into her mane to pull out her party cannon, which Hero was surprised to see.

He forgot that she had taken that with her everywhere. How she fit that into her mane and moved around like it was weightless was a mystery that Hero was completely fine with never figuring out. She loaded herself into it like a cannonball and used a helmet on her head to turn herself into a crude ballistic missile.

As she fired her body at the gecco monster, her head smashed into his stomach, knocking him off the ceiling and stunning him as Hero slashed at the gecco to wound it. The gecco monster shrieked in pain as he hopped up, dancing before jumping back on the giant turtle and gripping tight.

"I won't be able to use my party cannon on him when he moves that fast, Hero. It looks like there are pods everywhere. Use your changeling form to finish him. That might be our only chance to win now."

Hero nodded as he walked forward and put on the changeling mask. It clamped onto his face with a sickening crunch sound, causing him to scream in agony. In a flash, he transformed into his changeling form.

Hero then galloped over to a changeling pod and dove into it while the spinning snapper headed towards Pinkie. Just before it could reach her, Hero hopped up from underneath the snapper, causing it to capsize onto its back as the gecko panicked.

Hero used his insectoid wings to fly over to the trembling gecko and swoop down onto it, using his razor-sharp wings to slice and cut into its body. After the final slash, the gecko monster doubled back in pain, letting out one final whimper before perishing. A chest appeared at the center where the snapper turtle was before vanishing.

Pinkie saw the chest and exclaimed, "Yes! A special gift for us. Whoopee!" Hero walked over to the chest and opened it up, revealing the Flash Nuts. These were used for self-defense, such as blinding foes with an explosion of light from above or even on the ground. "Oohh... those look like they'll come in handy. We're getting close now. Let's keep moving."

Hero and Pinkie continued to the deepest parts of the temple, where they found a locked fortified door. They searched the deepest corridors for the key and found a chest containing the Temple key. "I have a good feeling about this, Hero. We'll find out who's responsible for this now."

Hero and Pinkie arrived at a fortified door and used the key they found to enter the Throne Room. Inside, they heard the faint sound of wooden drums and maracas playing as part of a ritual. Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching, and a tall, tattooed, and menacing figure appeared, falling from the ceiling and landing perfectly in front of them.

The figure was a giant zebra creature wearing a wooden mask with three yellow feathers on top and a terrifying face carved into it, complete with glowing red eyes. It held a shield in one hoof and a giant sword in the other, standing on just its hind hooves. At the top of its head was an eye that looked very similar to Majora's. The creature was chanting as if trying to boost its vigor for combat.

Masked Zebrician Warrior

𝕆𝕕𝕠𝕝𝕨𝕒

"Be careful, Hero! That big guy is charging towards us; he's so tall!" Pinkie exclaimed with a sense of urgency. Pinkie and Hero quickly dodged Odolwa's rushing attack as he chanted a tune to increase his walking speed, making it difficult to catch him. "He's not playing fair. We need to slow him down, or else Fluttershy and Rainbow are in danger," Pinkie said to Hero.

Hero took advantage of Odolwa's shortsightedness and quickly dove into a changeling pod, making the masked warrior search in all directions to find him. Hero then launched himself using the pod and unfurled his buzzing wings to fly over Odolwa. He then dropped a flash nut down onto the top of Odolwa's head, which caused a blinding flash and stunned him. Odolwa fumbled to the ground, and Hero landed beside him to slice him up with his wings while he was vulnerable.

Pinkie and Hero were being chased by a swarm of evil-looking moths with tiny mouths on their backs, summoned by Odolwa, who had jumped up to the center of the room and began chanting and dancing. "You go after that big meanie, Hero; I'll handle these moths!" Pinkie decided to deal with the moths by lighting a torch with a match in her mane and setting it ablaze to lure them to it, burning them in the process.

Meanwhile, Hero dived into another pod, and the attacker, Odolwa, got confused about his whereabouts and searched in all directions for him. Taking advantage of Odolwa's confusion, Hero flew over him, dropped a flash nut to knock him over, and landed next to him to repeat the attack. After several more slashes, Odolwa looked a bit beat up but was still in the fight. Suddenly, he aggressively charged into her and kicked Pinkie away, causing her to fly back and then get up. Pinkie shouted, "Ow! Hey, you big bully!"

Odolwa returns to the center of the room, chanting a series of incantations. After a few moments, he stands up and begins to spin around like a tribal dance, with his forearms outstretched, summoning insects from the ceiling. The insects start to fall, attacking Pinkie and Hero in groups of two or three. However, Pinkie cheers for Hero as he quickly reacts and fights off the insects with his sword.

Pinkie and Hero's quick thinking visibly frustrated the masked warrior, and Odolwa aimed straight for them. Hero jumped in, using his razor-sharp wings to block Odolwa's sword thrust attack. Hero deflected the warrior's attack, guiding him away from Pinkie by slashing at his forelegs.

"Nice try, Mr. Masked bully, but we're not gonna fall like that," Pinkie said, determined not to be defeated. Hero nodded in agreement, ready to defend themselves against any further attacks.

In a fierce battle, Hero and Odolwa exchanged blows with each other. Hero dodged Odolwa's attacks with his acrobatic skills and retaliated with swift strikes. Odolwa was quick to react and defended himself with his weapons.

Hero jumped into a pod and launched high as the fight progressed. While in mid-air, he dropped a flash nut on Odolwa's eye, stunning him. As Odolwa panicked and tried to get back up, Hero rushed in for a few final slashes.

Using his sharp wings, Odolwa was repeatedly slashed at his chest, back, and forearms. In a swift motion, Hero sliced the wooden mask that Odolwa wore clean in half, causing both halves to clatter. Odolwa shrieked in pain, clutching his empty, hollow, and void-like face with his hooves. He dropped his weapons and stood straight up before collapsing and perishing. The battle was over, and Hero emerged victorious.

The illusions of this temple seem to have been completely neutralized, as the magenta mask symbol that vaguely resembled Majora rising from Odolwa's remains was just a mirage. "We did it, Hero! We won. We- Woah?! What's happening to us?"

---

Both Hero and Pinkie found themselves in a void of foggy white, as if in a dream. They stood on a small, rounded pedestal high above the clouds. The surrounding area was a brilliant white, like an elevated Heaven. Suddenly, they noticed a gigantic pony alicorn with a beard covering most of his face and black beady eyes. He appeared to be chanting something, perhaps expressing his gratitude.

They realized the giant was speaking to them as they listened to him. "Thank you, travelers!" he said. "Save them... then call us!" Then he chanted a tune to Hero.

"Listen, Hero," said Pinkie. "He's trying to teach you something. I think he wants you to bring out your instrument."

"He is; he's trying to teach you a song," Pinkie said as Hero pulled out his hive horns and played with the giant: right, bottom, base, bottom, right, high notes. Hero played the Oath to Order song. Alongside the mirthful giant, they performed a duet together.

Harmonious magic swelled around them as the giant sang and Hero played. Pinkie was caught in between while hearing such a powerful and gentle melody. Then, the giant bade the two ponies farewell as it chanted the notes of its music to them.

---

After the vision faded, the two ponies found themselves in a secret room beneath the chamber where they had fought Odolwa. They cleared their minds and focused on their surroundings, discovering a sealed-up wooden gate. On the other side of the gate was a periwinkle-colored changeling female named Princess Ocellus.

Excitedly, Pinkie declared, "Hey, in there! We're here at last!" She and the other pony opened the gate from their side, allowing Ocellus to walk out and meet them.

Curious about the two ponies, Ocellus asked, "Who are you two? And where's that nice blue pegasus? I hope she was able to deliver her message to my father. At least the worst-case scenario didn't happen, and Dad didn't try to accuse her of kidnapping me or, even worse, punish her." However, her expression grew uneasy when they didn't respond. "He didn't, did he? Are you serious?!"

In a rage, Ocellus vented, "Another hasty decision by Father. I can't believe him. We need to get back there right away!"

Hero nodded, and Pinkie led the way as she was carried by both Hero and Ocellus out of the temple's rear entrance now that it was cleared. They saw that the water was now purified again, which made Pinkie shout victoriously, "Yes! The water is good again. Here we come, Fluttershy and Rainbow. The cavalry is on the way!" She blew a little horn in her mane triumphantly, making Hero and Ocellus giggle.

---

Hero, Pinkie, and Ocellus had returned to the Changeling Kingdom and were surprised to see the changelings chanting in unison, "Punishment! Punishment!" All three stormed in as the changelings chased them to try to catch her and Hero.

"What is the meaning of this?! I specifically said no ponies allowed here," said Thorax, the changeling king. Then, Ocellus flew to the throne and glared at Thorax, "My beloved daughter, you have returned."

A pure fury was felt throughout the room as every changeling, and Pinkie shuddered and felt Ocellus's anger forming like an angry thunderstorm. "Father... She was trying to help me, not kidnap me!" Ocellus then hopped onto Thorax's body, lightly stomping on him in a rage as his body flailed and he protested.

Pharynx and the other changelings covered their hooves over their mouths; their jaws hung in astonishment. Ocellus then fixed her glare at the four changelings chanting for Rainbow's punishment, "What do you four think you're doing? Let that pony go this instant!"

"Yeah, Hero... Pinkie. Nice job, guys." Rainbow sighed in relief as she was finally brought down from the boiling pot and untied to stretch her wings and joints, "I knew you guys would save me. I wasn't worried at all."