The pillar was tall, and seemingly un-scalable, but Ganondorf had remembered the obsidian stripe, and that was his way up. Obsidian is a pretty hard rock, but unlike the stuff that made up the pillar, it isn't impenetrable.
Ganondorf made sure his sword was securely tied to his back, and then pulled out two daggers from his pockets. He shivered slightly as he saw the daggers, remembering his dream, but he shook his head and continued. He slammed one the daggers into the obsidian, using it as anchors. He pulled himself up with it, and then slammed the other one up even higher. Basically, it was rock climbing without the luxury of using his feet. It was tedious, but he finally reached the top.
There was a nest on the tip of the pillar, one just like all the others in everything except size. Inside the nest was the king bird. It had been waiting for him.
The bird smiled and Ganondorf smirked back, their two grins an ironic contrast. The saint-like one of the bird, and the demon-like one of Ganondorf, who, for once, was the good guy. Then the bird struck.
Ganondorf leapt out of the way just in time, barely keeping his balance on the edge of the pillar. Before the bird could strike again, Ganondorf had drawn his sword and leapt onto the birds back. But the bird wouldn't be taken down so easily, it reared up, gravity forcing Ganondorf to snatch the bird's feathers so he wouldn't fall off. He bit the bird in pure spite, getting nothing but a mouthful of feathers. The bird gave out a caw that almost sounded like a laugh, and then it leapt into the air and began to swing along the ceiling.
Ganondorf was still holding his sword with his right hand, so he could only grasp the feathers properly with his left. His right hand was jolted of the feathers by the swinging, and his left was practically yanked out of its socket. But there was no way he would let go of his sword.
His left hand was slipping, and Ganondorf swung his sword up to its sheath, his left fist so tight on the feathers that it was starting to go numb. He finally managed to sheath his sword, and only then did he swing up his right hand to aid his left. But at that moment the bird turned sharply, spinning in an one-eighty degree circle. Ganondorf's grip slipped off entirely, and he went flying.
But Ganondorf wasn't one to be taken down so easily either. He snatched the bird's tail feathers as he went down, and the bird screeched in pain.
It lost its own grip on the ceiling, but only for a moment. It quickly regained it, but could only hang there instead of swinging. Instead, it shook its entire body like crazy, trying to dislodge Ganondorf. Ganondorf grinned, even though his brains were being scrambled by the shaking. Apparently he had found a weakness, but while it was a weakness, pulling out its tail feathers couldn't kill it.
He hung on as tight as he could, and then when the tail swung upward in the earthquake attempt to get rid the pest, Ganondorf let go. It was a gamble, he didn't know if he the bird would move before he could grab on, but a well placed gamble. Ganondorf landed on the bird's head.
The king bird began swinging again, but while Ganondorf was still stopped from drawing his sword, he was no longer in danger of falling unless the bird itself lost its grip on the ceiling.
Which was exactly what Ganondorf was planning.
The triforce began to glow, and Ganondorf grew bigger and bigger, fur and tusks sprouting as he turned into Ganon.
The bird couldn't hold the weight it grabbed at the stone even more desperately than Ganondorf had grabbed at its feathers, but in vain. Its claws snapped, and they both plummeted to the ground. On the way down, the bird managed to bite Ganon, one last attack.
Then the king bird was dead. The force of the earth and the weight of Ganon had snapped its spinal cord to fast for it to even realize what had happened.
Ganon stood up unsteadily, transforming back into his 'dorf version as he did. The bird's body had cushioned the fall, but it was still quite a bit of impact.
He began to laugh. He had been right, he hadn't needed the others.
"The others" woke up to find Ganondorf snoring right were they left him, albeit bruised and bloody. He only woke up long enough to point towards the largest pillar. He wouldn't explain anything; only mutter something about not wanting to climb it again before going back to sleep.
They encountered the bird's corpse on the way there; all of them were noticeably shaken by it. Midna flew to the top of the pillar, finding a treasure box in the center of the birds nest. They brought it back to the camp without opening it, though it took forever to do so. They figured that Ganondorf should at least have the honor of seeing the chest opened.
But a dangerous question worried all of their minds: if Ganondorf was so strong, perhaps he could defeat Muerte alone. And if he could, he didn't need them any longer. But they did need him. In other words: they couldn't get rid of them, but he could stab them in the back whenever he wanted.
They could only hope Ganondorf didn't think he could defeat Muerte alone.