//------------------------------// // Mask Hunt // Story: Equestricle: Coming of Harmony // by Sohndann //------------------------------// Following their meeting, Twilight had returned to Twi-Koro to work out where to find her first mask. By her logic, if Rarity had found a mask in her home village, then maybe there was a mask in her own village. She traipsed through the winding spires and towering...towers of Twi-Koro, until she found what she was looking for; the Grand Koro Library. The entirety of the knowledge of Twi-Koro, maybe even Ponyville Nui, was catalogued here. It was one of the first places Turaga Clover had ever taken Twilight when she arrived, and she had practically fallen in love with the place. It was full of raw, unchanged knowledge. Twilight gave a brief nod to Moondancer, the gate guard, as she entered the building and went up a flight of stairs to the legend wing on the fifth floor. This wing was almost always empty. Not many others came up here, save for Cadenza, the Chronicler, who was charged with recording everything on Ponyville Nui, and a couple of other Ponytoran. She carries a heavy burden. Twilight thought as she spotted Cadenza poring over several old-looking stone tablets and rolls of paper. Having to know the island inside out. In a way, I guess I'm jealous of her. It must be both a burden and a privelige to know all of that. She has the strength of a Toa. Twilight made her way into the middle part of the wing, where all the information on the Toa was supposed to be kept. Pulling up a chair that was far too small to fit her, she grabbed several scrolls and tablets, put them on a table, and began reading. Most of the scrolls told her what she already knew: the Toa would have to find the masks in order to save the island from Marekuta and free the island. Some told her of the abilities that the Toa possessed, and another showed drawings of the Toa Canisters that they had arrived in, among other information. Twilight had no idea how long she spent looking over the gigantic amount of scrolls and tablets, but soon she found herself being shaken awake by a Ponytoran. "Toa Twilight? Are you okay?" the Ponytoran asked. "Hmmm...wha?" Twilight shook her head drowzily as the Ponytoran came into focus. She could see that he was primarily a stark white, with piercing blue eyes, and clad in the golden armor of the Twi-Koro guard. "Hey, I know you." Twilight said, blinking a few times. "It's Shining Armor, isn't it?" "Captain of the guard, at your service, Toa." Shining Armor struck a respectful salute. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm complaining, of course." Twilight asked. "The guardsmen got a little nervous when you didn't come out for 4 hours." Shining Armor replied. "What were you doing?" "Looking for the locations of the masks." Twilight said as she started collecting up the scrolls and tablets. "In a library?" Twilight could see the guard captain supressing the urge to chuckle. "Forgive me, Toa, but surely you'd be out in the wilderness looking for them. I doubt there's a mask with all of these dusty scrolls." Twilight frowned. "I was trying to look through all of the prophecies and myths about Toa and the masks to find something like a map. I don't need a guardsmen, much less the captain, to laugh at my methods." Her voice unexpectedly raised, causing the other Ponytoran to look up. "My apologies, Toa." Shining Armor bowed his head. "I was never one for looking through scrolls to find answers." Twilight knew that all too well. The first time she had come to Twi-Koro, she had trained with the guards for a time. Her combat skills weren't exactly warrior-worthy, and Shining Armor had beaten her soundly. "I gathered." she said, placing the scrolls and tablets back in their shelves. "I just thought I could get a sense of direction to help me find them." "Direction, eh?" Shining Armor thought for a moment. "If I remember correctly, the guardsmen at the northern gates said something about there being a mask in the caves by Apple-Wahi." "Surely it would be Applejack's, then." Twilight replied. "It's in her region, after all." "I don't know. They definitely said it was one of yours. They said they could sense the same energy coming from it that comes from you. It's certainly... Twilight?" But the Magic Toa had already vanished. ----------------------- Twilight made her way across the narrow bridge linking Twi-Koro to Apple-Koro. Technically, it was meant to be a stone structure, apparently built before Marekuta ever came to the island as an act of peace between the Ponytoran, but it was really just a big bridge. Twilight had never really broken the code that the Ponytoran lived by since her arrival, and thankfully, there was nothing about crossing the bridge in that code. As she ventured further across the bridge and into Apple-Koro, she noticed several small animals skittering about over the fields. Other, smaller creatures were waving what looked like farming tools at the animals, driving them back. Twilight dropped down from the bridge and landed by the creatures, which turned out to be Ponytoran. "Toa Twilight!" one exclaimed as the Magic Toa got to her feet. "You're just in time." "Time for what?" Twilight asked, drawing her blade. "These creatures are at our crops! We have to stop them!" the Ponytoran said. "Alright. These are Nui-jaga. It's best to hit them hard." Twilight jabbed at one with her blade, and it went flying. "Hey there, sugarcube." a familar voice said as a silvery foot came down on another Nui-jaga. "Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed as the Honesty Toa swung her foot back down. Twilight noticed that her feet were surrounded by silver, powerful-looking objects. Her Toa tools, no doubt. "Watcha doin' in my neck of the woods?" Applejack asked, kicking a Nui-jaga in the face. "Looking for a mask. I thought you'd be looking too." Twilight began stabbing at the Nui-jaga. "I already found one. I'm taking a break." Applejack said. Apparently, kicking Nui-jaga in the face was Applejack's idea of a "break". A long while was spent driving back the Nui-jaga. In time, they retreated back through the orchard and towards the cliff face that overlooked Apple-Koro. "Thanks for the help, Twilight." Applejack kicked her Toa tools off her feet and stowed them away. "Want me to help you get your mask?" "Yes please, Applejack. I could always use some help." Twilight replied. "My mask is meant to be in the caves by the cliff." "Where the Nui-jaga went? Are you sure your info's true?" Applejack asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "The captain of the Twi-Koro guard wouldn't lie to me." Twilight said. "If you say so, sugarcube." Applejack followed in apparent defeat. ----------------------------------------------------- The pair ventured deep into the caves. According to Applejack, they were very unstable, and might collapse at any minute. It was an ideal place to test a Toa's mettle. Twilight was careful where she put her step, while Applejack just bounded through the caves, disturbing some of the rocks, and more than once, making the ceiling shake a little. "Applejack! Be careful! You could bring the cave down on us!" Twilight exclaimed as she jumped over a small stream that ran through the floor. "Sorry, sorry." Applejack said, a little embarrased. They descended further into the cave, Twilight leading the way. The cave didn't seem to end, and Twilight had to light her blade up with energy to see where she was going. "Uh, Twilight, I hate to be a spoilsport, but can we turn back?" Applejack asked nervously. "I'm starting to get the jitters about this place." "But we haven't found the mask yet." Twilight replied. "If we just keep going." "And they call me stubborn." Applejack muttered. "Look, sugarcube, it ain't here. Let's just go back." Twilight was about to reply, paused, and gave up. "Fine. Let's go back." She turned around to leave, and as she did, a pair of Nui-jaga skittered up to her and stung her in the foot. She keeled over in pain as Applejack brought her foot down on the scorpions. "Twilight, you okay?" Applejack asked, but Twilight didn't respond. "What in the hay?" Applejack asked, as the Nui-jaga came back, raising its pincers. Applejack could see a mask stuck over where the face would be. The mask seemed too big for the little scorpion, and was blackened with dirt and shadows. Another Nui-jaga seemed to have the same mask stuck over it. Applejack took another swinging kick at the Nui-jaga, but it swung its tail forward, and stung Applejack in the leg. She gave a cry and dropped to her knees, clutching the part of her leg where the scorpion had stung her. The Nui-jaga bared down on her, snapping their pincers. A blast of purple energy blew one of them backwards. Applejack wheeled around to see Twilight, still on the ground, holding her sword out in front of her, which was glowing with power. Another blast, and the second scorpion flew backwards, the mask flying off its face. The moment the masks came off, the Nui-jaga stopped moving. For a second, the thought crossed Twilight's mind that she had killed the beasts, but she noticed their tails waving weakly in the air. "What was that?" Applejack asked, helping Twilight to her feet. "I don't know." Twilight said simply. "Why would Nui-jaga be wearing masks? It doesn't make sense." She bent down to pick up one of the masks. At her touch, the mask changed colour to a scheme similar to the mask Twilight already wore. "This is the mask that Shining Armor told me about." Twilight exclaimed as she lifted it over her mask. Instantly, a rush of strength filled her. "I think it was a mask of Loyalty." She said, feeling able to run as fast as Rainbow. Applejack took the other mask and placed it on. "And there was a mask of Kindness." she said, beaming. "Hey, Twilight, why'd you fall over when the Nui-jaga stang you?" "It knocked me unconscious." Twilight said, walking towards the cave mouth. "Weird. Didn't do that to me." Applejack shrugged as she followed her sister.