The Legend, Rebuilt

by Caldoric


Too Many Heroes...

Later, back in the Present
The smallish hut, somewhere hot:

"Hey! Tall, dark and scary? You there?"

Ian, having mostly regained his senses, brought his attention back to the present. "H-wha...?" He asked, intelligently.

"He lives! I asked why you--"

"Takua?" Came a loud, somewhat angry voice from outside the structure. "Takua! You better not be in there alone, you koli-head..."

"I'm not alone!" Pony-Takua shouted over his shoulder, turning his head clear around. "And he seems friendly enough!"

"By the Great Beings!" The second voice shouted, it's owner soon sliding to a stop in the doorless entryway. "Takua! Get away from him!"

Ian barely had time to take in the new arrival's appearance before he felt his new combat instincts kicking in. He rolled sideways off the cot, away from Takua and the newcomer, then flipped the cot onto its side as a sad excuse for a barricade. Only then did he get a good look at the second figure: he was about as tall as Takua, but was bipedal in form. He had red armor covering most of his body, except for his mask and feet, which were dandelion yellow. The mask itself was domed and helmet-like, with three slash-like holes in each "cheek."

Oh, and he was also holding what looked to be a shortsword in one hand.

"Away, put the weapon!" Ian pleaded, well aware that all his stuff was missing, short of his armor. "I mean you no harm, Jaller! I'm just a bit lost, and confused!"

"Yeah, he doesn't seem to be the brightest lightstone in Onu-Koro," chimed Takua, "but he might still be able to shed some light on the current situation..."

"I don't care!" Interjected the red-and-yellow figure. "He's dangerous! He nearly killed me and a few other members of the Guard, and he somehow knows my name, mispronounced as it was, even though we've never met him before!"

"Wait, what?" Asked Ian. "D'you mean... Oh, geez, I'm sorry about that! The damn thing went off in my hand. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, and I've just been having the worst day..."

"Tell that to Kapura! He already had a few screws loose, but now, he's--" Jala began, but was cut off by the sound of horns echoing outside the tiny building.

"Tahu, the Toa of Fire, has returned!" A distant voice announced. "And he's brought guests!"

"Ah, great," Jala growled, looking momentarily over his shoulder, then returned his attention to Ian. "You," he commanded, "stay put, and don't cause trouble. Takua? Do me a favor and shift, will you? You can't defend yourself in that form." And without further ado, he left.

"Alright!" Takua called to his friend, then did something that left Ian speechless: he surged up onto his yellow hindlegs, as if he were about to slam his forehooves into Ian's chest, only to hang there for a moment. Just as Ian was wondering if Takua would ever come back down, the Matoran's entire biomechanical makeup shifted, changing him from quadruped to biped. His former forelegs were now full-blown arms, with individual fingers on each hand, and his legs now matched Jala's, although they were red, instead of yellow.

His face had flattened during the transformation, allowing his mask to return to it's "normal" shape. As an added oddity, his head was still at about the same height as it had been before the transformation. It seemed his torso and neck compacted into more appropriate lengths.

"Ta-dah!" Takua said, waving his hands for dramatic effect, but Ian just stared. "What? You look like you've never seen someone Shift before."

"I...ah...you...but...how...what?" Ian stammered. "Wh-wha-what? What? How even... I mean, the fuck?! Like, I don't remember that being a thing!" He gesticulated wildly in the general direction of Takua the Shapeshifter, continuing to make startled noises.

"Oh, this is completely normal," replied Takua, evidently trying to be comforting, "everyone else can do it too, even Toa Tahu. Mata Nui, you should've seen him when he first shifted. He was like a wild Kane-Ra in an ice sculpture field. He almost set the whole Wahi on fire. It was completely terrifying, yet strangely hilarious."

Ian's jaw was practically on the floor at this point. "Wha-- No! No. That is... that is wrong on sooo many levels. I'll just pretend none of that happened." He clapped his hands together, and looked at the slightly concerned Av-Matoran. "Alright, here's my first question: where's my stuff?"

"Uh... I don't know."

"Ok, second question: where are we?"

Takua gave Ian a strange look. "Ta-Koro, of course! Where else?"

Ian nodded. "Alright, good to know. Now, I'm gonna go look for-- YEERGH...!" He'd tried to stand up, only for his legs to give out, leaving him on his back. "Wh-why do I feel... weak?"

"Mata Nui," Takua said, facepalming. "You need your mask... Here, let me help you up." And so, with Takua lending Ian support, they made their way into the main courtyard. Ian could see many Matoran around the place, in both bipedal and quadrupedal forms, most of which were going about their business. There were the odd few, however, that gave him strange looks, either whispering to companions or rushing off somewhere.

"Well..." Ian began, adressing Takua through his lightheadedness, "the place looks ok... What was the last major thing that went down?"

"Uh, what?" The Matoran asked.

"Hm?"

"I don't understand what you mean by 'went down.'" said Takua. "Also, out of curiosity... do you have a name?"

Ian thought for a moment as they progressed through the Koro. "I think... I think I'll stick with Caldoric, for now. As for what I meant... Well, what's the last important event in recent history that you remember? And where are we going if you don't know where my stuff is?"

"I can only guess they'd have them at the Guards' barracks, or the Watch house." Explained Takua. "And with regards to recent history... Ah, the Toa showed up, then they began the search for their masks, and then seven more beings showed up, except they can't shift like we can... We're still not sure who they are, but most of them seem to be stuck in Runner form. I mean, the four-legged form I was in earlier, or like him over there." He waved at an equine Matoran across the way, who hurried off. "Personally, I think they're just really smart Rahi, though strange ones at that."

"Wait, hold up" Ian said, not sure he'd heard right. "Seven other beings? In 'Runner' form? What did the ones who weren't stuck look like?"

"Actually, there's just the one, and he's kinda on the small side. Looks a bit like a Hikaki, but about chest-high on me. He's purple and green, and belches fire occasionally. Oh, and he doesn't have wings."

"...Hikaki?" Ian asked, confused. "Remember, I'm a bit new here."

"Oh, I thought you knew..." Takua admitted. "You seemed to know a fair bit about us, from what Rainbow's told me..."

Ian halted in place, nearly causing them both to fall over near the back end of the village. "Rainbow...?" He growled. "Rainbow, as in--"

"...And then," came a new voice from behind them, "I came up from behind the guy all sneaky-like, since he'd just freakin' teleported, then I chopped him in the back of the neck with one of those disks, but it only seemed to stun him. So, I whacked him one on the side of the head with my hoof, and BAM, he was out like a light!"

Turning around, Ian and Takua saw three figures approaching their position. One was taller than the others, mostly red, biomechanical, and carrying a flame-shaped sword. The second was Jala, having apparently returned from whatever he'd been doing. And the third was a completely organic pegasus, about 4 feet tall, with sky-blue fur and wings, Technicolor hair in their mane and tail, and wearing red-and-silver armor.

"You!" She and Ian exclaimed together, pointing at each other. "What're you doing here?!"

"I thought I told you to stay put!" Jala shouted at Ian, then turned on Takua. "And I told you not to trust this stranger, and make sure he didn't cause trouble!"

"You only told me to shift!" Takua countered.

"Enough!" Demanded a new voice, calm, yet firm. Everyone turned to see a small, elderly figure, who wore an orange mask and carried a staff with a Fire Marble on one end, joining their little confrontation.

"Turaga Vakama." Said the tallest among them, as he stowed his sword and took a knee. Jaller and the blue mare saluted, and Takua joined the speaker in kneeling. "I was not aware that there was to be a seventh Toa."

"As was I, Tahu..." Said the one who had been addressed, looking critically at Ian. "Where's his mask?"

"Oh, we confiscated it, along with--" began Jala.

"Get it, then, Captain." Said Vakama. "You too, miss Rainbow Dash. As a matter of fact, bring all of his possessions, and make sure they are all in one piece." As they left, he turned back to Ian, who had sat down in an attempt to stave off collapsing.

"Where have you come from, stranger?" He finally asked. "And what should we call you?"

"C-Caldoric..." Ian said through a yawn, passing a hand over his bare face. "I'm from... a far-away world. My people call it Earth."

"Great," said Tahu, grumpily, "another trans-whatever being. Just what we needed. At least he's got his own armor."

Ian shivered. "I'm confused... You called me a Toa? I'm not a Toa, this is just a costume... Or, it was." He looked more intently at his arms and lower torso, once again taking in the mechanical components that had merged with his physical being. "Maybe you're right. But even if it's true, I'm not sure what abilities I'd have."

"Isn't it obvious?" Asked Tahu, extending a hand in Ian's direction. "You're a Toa of Earth, like Onua. Though the coloration of your armor is... most unusual."

"Do not jump to such conclusions, Tahu," Vakama admonished him, "in all my time, I have not seen someone with such a design. He may well be something unique."

Tahu scowled. "Wise one, what are we to do with him?" Just then, there was a commotion down the road.

"What now?" Tahu asked, turning to look with everyone else. What they saw was an... interesting sight. A small, organic-looking purple-and-green lizard was being chased by another member of Jinka's species. "No! Spike, get away from that Hikaki!" Tahu shouted, getting up.

"I'm trying!" The little lizard shouted as it changed course and headed right at the trio. "It's too fast!"

"Wait a sec," Ian interjected groggily, "Jinka? Jinka, is that you?"

The robo-lizard, which the locals seemed to be what Tahu had referred to as a "Hikaki," looked up at the sound of his voice, and became very excited. Arrr, arrr! it exclaimed, and rushed forward with new intensity, completely ignoring "Spike." In mere moments, it had dodged past Tahu, who'd taken a swing and missed, before it tackled Ian and began rubbing against him vigorously. Spike, however, just hid behind the Toa of Fire, keeping a wary eye on the creature.

"Jinka!" Ian exclaimed, laughing. "God, am I glad to see you!"

"You... know this Rahi?" Asked Vakama, dubiously.

"Yeah, I saved him from this giant frog thing that was trying to eat him, or something. Big, nasty thing it was, too. Mostly red and yellow, with a long, sticky tongue. Oh, and an infected mask, but I knocked that off."

"That sounds like a Ranama," observed Vakama, "and, while not much of a threat compared to a Nui Rama, or even a Nui Jaga, they're not easy foes to scare off once they've set their sights on a meal."

"Well, I guess an explosive to the back of the throat will cause it to think twice next time..." Ian added, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He yawned again. "Man, I'm tired. What's taking them so long?"

"They should return in a moment," Vakama assured him. "In the meantime, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?"

"Yeah," added Tahu, eagerly, "like what you meant by 'explosive,' among other things."

By now, Jinka had finished reuniting with Ian, and began looking around for something, which turned out to be Spike. With a deft movement, Jinka pounced, capturing the smaller reptile by the tail, and then gently curled himself around his catch in an attempt to "cuddle".

"Help!" Spike cried, a tiny arm outstretched from the embrace in protest. "Last time this happened, he started trying to groom me!"

"Ah, just be glad he's not humping your leg or something," Ian replied dismissively, then turned his attention back to Tahu and Vakama, who were lightly chuckling. Takua had apparently wandered off somewhere, again. "Now, about your question. I had this thing called a Bruteshot, which seems to be like a grenade launcher on steroids. It kind of went off in my hand, the projectile ended up in the frog's mouth, and then boom, goodbye tonsils. Couldn't have done it if I'd actually tried to."

"What is a... I believe you called it a 'grenade launcher,' yes?" Asked Tahu, his head on one side.

Ian sighed, rubbing his bare face again. "It's... it's complicated... a type of weapon... whoo, is everything supposed to be spinning?"

Just then, there was a pattering of metal feet, and Takua came belting around the corner, only to trip at the last second. From his arms spilled five or six glowing yellow crystals, the Bruteshot, and Ian's mask. Ian picked up the latter, as Takua took a moment to readjust his own mask, which had slid askew.

Ian took a moment to look at the mask in his hands, taking in everything about it. It had a certain weight to it, moreso than it had when he'd first made it out of cardstock, hot glue, Bondo, and other things. Over the left eyehole, he'd painted part of Ingress' "Enlightened" symbol in bright green, which clashed nicely with the metallic black backdrop of the mask itself. In fact, he thought he could see something in it's somewhat reflective surface.

"Is... Is that me?" Ian asked, touching a hand to his face. In the clouded mirror that was his mask, he saw his reflection copying his movements, it's hand brushing the mess of mechanical components that served as the front of it's head. "And Matau thought he looked ugly that one time..."

"You would do well not to insult the Turaga of air," Tahu advised quickly, his legendary temper momentarily burning bright.

"Yes, you would." Agreed Vakama, and though both his tone and expression were guarded, they still conveyed a sense of shock. "Your countenance, however, looks to be about normal for a Toa."

"Sorry," Ian said, and put the mask on. He was immediately almost knocked flat on his back by the surge of power he felt, and as his vision cleared, he saw his armor brightening, becoming shinier, it's colors less muted. He felt... stronger, somehow. More powerful. Like he'd just eaten a whole load of sugar, and had a crap-ton of coffee. "Whoah... head rush!"

"Yeah, putting on a mask'll do that to you," commented Takua, who took the opportunity to shift back into equine form. "Sorry about dropping your stuff, I tripped over a loose stone."

"No problem," Ian casually replied, as Jala and Rainbow returned, carrying the remainder of his possessions. "I've had worse spills."

"Help...!" Spike squeaked in Rainbow's direction, still being subjected to Jinka's friendly ministrations.

"Oh, jeeze...!" Breathed the cyan mare, as she moved to extract Spike. "Can't you see what this stupid lizard's doing?"

"Yeah," Ian quipped, as Tahu began taking an unnoticed interest in the Bruteshot, "he's hanging with my friend Jinka."

Rainbow just rolled her eyes, and began trying to shove Jinka off of Spike. The larger of the two reptilian beings merely squawked at her in indignation. "Ugh... New guy? Can you get your pet raptor off my friend?" She demanded at last.

"Ok, fine," Ian conceded, and turned to Jinka. "Alright, buddy, would you... No, wait! Tahu, don't hold it that w--!"

Unobserved by all, except perhaps Vakama, the Toa of Fire had grown a bit bored of the proceedings, and subsequently entertained his curiosity about the alien-looking Bruteshot before him. With one hand, he'd picked it up by the circular "trigger area" on the side, and began turning it this way and that, trying to figure out how it worked. As he did so, he'd squeezed the handle just right, allowing the weapon to rotate around the handle under its own weight. It had come to a stop pointed right at Ian's face, cutting him off mid-sentence as he flinched in fear, and Jala and Rainbow Dash dove for cover.

The only thing that happened, however, was that the Bruteshot began softly clicking repeatedly, only to stop a few seconds later. Tahu tilted the weapon back towards himself, allowing it to turn and whack him in the opposite arm. "It appears to be broken," he observed, and set it with the rest of Ian's stuff.

"...No, I..." Ian had dropped his arms, and took a moment to run an armored hand along the back of his head, idly noting the long mass of wires that seemed to emulate his former hair. "Jegus, no, I think... I think it's just out of ammo, thank God..."

Vakama leaned heavily on his staff, his masked face in his hands. "Perhaps, Tahu," he began, "it would be best not to handle objects with which we are as of yet unfamiliar?"

"Yeah," Ian agreed, "simply put: 'look with your eyes, not with your hands,' as my mom was always telling me."

"Seconded," added Jala from around the corner of a nearby building, shakily clutching a dual-pronged spear-lookin' thing.

"Carried..." Said Rainbow, cautiously peering from the roof of the same structure.

Unexpectedly, Takua leaned forward, and gave a loud gasp. "Caldoric!" He exclaimed. "Your heartlight... it's gone out!"

"Wait, what?" Ian asked blankly, looking at his chest. And, indeed, what the Matoran had said was, in fact, true. "Ah, shit, that's not a problem. It's just a loose wire, happens sometimes." With that, he once again plunged a hand beneath his chestplate, and proceeded to reconnect the wire... again. The light inside his chestplate flickered, went out, flickered again, then settled into a slightly faster than normal rhythm. "See?"

"You should not take things like that so lightly, Caldoric." Tahu admonished. "Right, Turaga...? Turaga?" Vakama didn't answer. Instead, he turned away with a haunted and slightly depressed look, then shapeshifted into his equine Runner form, which was a slightly elderly-looking model.

His armor was mostly burgundy, with undertones of dark grey or black in places. His mask, however, (the shape of which had always put Ian in mind of an Egyptian Pharaoh,) was still that same bright orange color it always was. His mane and tail, while comprised of hair-like wires, and having small Fire Marbles scattered throughout, were the sort of faded orange color that suggested they had once blazed far brighter in his "youth."

Ian thought he heard the Turaga say something about being "too old for this" as he slowly walked away, but he couldn't be sure.

"What's with him?" Rainbow asked, a little insensitively, as she returned to the task of freeing Spike. The poor little dragon was positively dripping with Jinka's saliva by this point, and as a side effect, so was Rainbow.

"He must see to some personal matters," Ian said, hazarding an educated guess. "That probably brought up some painful memories. Folks he's lost..."

"Enough of this sentimentality," Tahu exclaimed, standing up. "I should be out finding my next mask, or fighting off some Rahi. And you, Caldoric, are coming with me."

"Wait, what?" Came the shocked reply. "B-but... I can't fight, or do even half the stuff you can! What--"

He was interrupted by a loud belch from Spike, accompanied by a gout of green flame and the appearance of a scroll from said micro-inferno. This was also enough to scare off Jinka, who had been preparing himself to "fight" Rainbow for his tiny "playmate."

Tahu deftly caught the scroll, as if this was a completely normal occurance, then broke the seal and held it up for Rainbow Dash to read. "I hate not being able to read these things for myself," he groused, to nobody in particular, "what's it say?"

"Twilight and the others will be coming to visit shortly. She says she's got a surprise for all of us..." Summarized the cyan Pegasus. "But it looks like we got one of our own, eh Caldoric?"

"Don't count on it. I'd sooner have all the masks found so the Toa can hurry up and kick Makuta's ass. Them maybe I can go home, and forget any of this happened."

"Wait, how do you know about Makuta?" Takua asked, suspiciously.

"Same way I know about anything else here on Mata Nui." Replied the reluctant Toa. "I'm from another reality, where all of this -- or, most of it, at least -- is part of a story and a matching set of toys, which were originally targeted at a young audience, but garnered the attention of select adults."

"Wait, what do you mean 'most of this'?" Tahu asked, directing a glare at Ian.

"A few variables have changed. For example, the whole shapeshifting thing you guys have is new to me." Ian jerked his head at Rainbow Dash and Spike. "Not to mention, these two and whoever else is present from their little circle of friends shouldn't be here at all. Their world was dreamt up by a rival company to the one that made this one, so I'm surprised this place hasn't imploded from inter-franchise cross-contami--"

There was a loud BAMFFF! and a flash of lavender light from the nearby courtyard, heralding the arrival of several multi-colored beings, and eliciting cries of surprise from nearby Matoran. It was also just loud enough to overpower the startled, slightly higher-than-normal pitched "YEEP!" that passed Ian's lips.

"Ohhhhhhhh..." Groaned the taller of the two green members of the group, clutching his abdomen. "Remind-tell me never to try that again any time quick-soon..."

"Oh, hush, Lewa," a smaller, magenta Alicorn mare admonished him. She was wearing a set of "light" armor, as were the rest of the organic-looking ponies, each with their own style, and seeming to correspond in some way to the color scheme of their biomechanical companions. "The discomfort only happens the first couple times." She turned her attention to her surroundings. "Rainbow? Rainbow Dash, are you around h-- oh, there you are!"

"Hey, Twilight!" The cyan Pegasus replied, walking over. Meanwhile, Ian began gathering his stuff as quickly and quietly as possible, so as to avoid--

"Hey there!" His vision was abruptly and jarringly filled by an overexcited, sideways, cotton-candy pink face, which was grinning from ear to ear.

"Sweet Jegus FUCK!!" Ian exclaimed, caught completely off guard. The sudden appearance of this particular fourth-wall-breaking mare caused him to flinch violently and drop just about everything in his arms. Tahu began to draw his Flame Sword in response, but put it away after he saw who had surprised Ian.

"Ooh, are you new here?" The violently pink mare asked, suddenly becoming far more interested in him, going so far as to clamp his mask between her metal-clad forehooves and try to squish his face. That, and she also began speaking much faster. "Ohmigoshyou'renew! NoponytoldmeweweregettinganewToa! How'reyoudoing? What'syournameandelementandfavoritecolor? Aaah! Wegottathrowyouaparty--!"

"GET THE HELL OUTTA MY FACE!" Ian shouted as he flailed ineffectually at her with one arm, more to get a chance to parse her torrent of words than to be mean or angry. Nonetheless, the mare's impossibly poofy mane and tail flattened visibly as she stepped back and pouted at him.

"Pinkie Pie, darling," interjected a rather refined-sounding voice, coming from a white unicorn mare with heavily styled purple mane and tail, who was wearing armor that seemed more fashionable than functional. "Be a dear and give the poor, strange Toa some space, yes? We don't want a repeat of what happened when you first met our friend Kopaka, do we? After all, it's been nearly a week, and we still keep finding chunks of ice falling out of your mane." Ian could swear that, as he began gathering and re-equipping his stuff again, he saw Kopaka smile ever so slightly at the memory.

"Yeah, well," replied Pinkie, "he didn't have to be so rude about it, Rarity. And this new guy's got no excuse, either, even if he is from yet another new dimension."

"Yeah," agreed the orange, normal-looking pony in the group, adjusting her Stetson, " 's no call fer such harsh language, neither."

"Wait," demanded Twilight, her gaze immediately locking onto Ian's form, "new guy? From yet another dimension? Ohmigosh, I have so many questions to ask you...!"

Ian's eyes widened drastically. "NOPE!" He exclaimed, stuffing the empty Bruteshot under one arm, and using the other to shove the Sylladex and it's accessories into a pocket. "Nope nope nope nope nope...!" He then booked it around the back of a nearby hut, breaking the line of sight between himself and the others, then headed for the front gates as fast as he could without knocking over any Matoran. Unfortunately, this took him back into the other end of the courtyard...

"Hey...! Get back here, you!" Exclaimed Twilight, but her only answer was more cries of "Nope!" and Ian's retreating back. "Ugh, fine. Have it your way..." She disappeared in another flash of lavender light, reappearing both inside the front gate and in Ian's way. Her wings were spread wide, and her horn began glowing ominously as she prepared an unknown spell.

"Nope!" He cried again, and pulled something that looked like a sniper rifle around from where it had hung on his back, and proceeded to hip-fire it at the purple Alicorn.

With a loud KA-CHUNK!!! , the weapon disgorged a large red projectile, which flew fast and true at the base of Twilight's horn, only to bounce off with a faint ba-doink! sound. All it succeeded in doing was startling her enough for the unfinished spell to fizzle out, but that was enough for Ian to make his own move.

He let the weapon fall behind him once more, and with a deft precision that surprised even himself, Ian somersaulted through the air above Twilight, catching the spent projectile as he did so, then came up running on the other side. Praise Mata Nui for Nerf guns and built-in Toa reflexes, he thought, as he ran along the main bridge out of Ta-Koro amidst both magic blasts and bamboo disks.

Once on the other side of the huge lava moat around the village, Ian took refuge behind a rock. OK, he thought to himself, catching his breath as the bridge descended into the magma, that could've gone better. And, seriously, why did I freak out back there? However, no answer was forthcoming, so he decided to take the opportunity to take inventory of his stuff again. It seemed that, for once in this crazy place, luck was actually with him, because he hadn't lost anything during his wild flight.

With a sigh of resignation, Ian began fiddling with the Sylladex and Strife Specibus in an attempt to get them set up for easy usage. It only took a moment's work to do, though, so his mind began to wander as he stored his loose items. What, exactly, had the Toa, Turaga, and out-of-place Equestrians discovered that would warrant a meeting between them? And how had the "big six" themselves gotten to this version of the Bionicle universe, anyways? Ian needed answers, and he'd only be able to find them at that meeting.

As was usual for him, he went straight to acting without thinking, which was his old standby for... well, anything, actually. So, he tried using his Kanohi Mask to warp to the top of the castle-like walls of the village...

~~~~
Ta-Koro courtyard:

Meanwhile, as that was happening, everyone at the village was calming down after having seen the seemingly friendly stranger attack one of their allies, and for no logical reason. Takua and the butter-yellow pegasus, named Fluttershy, were busy trying to calm the upset Hikaki that said stranger had apparently left behind in his rush to escape, while everyone else did their own thing.

"...So," said Princess Twilight, once everybody and -pony present had recovered their cool, "as I was saying--"

"But you haven't told us anything yet, Twilight!" Interrupted Pinkie. "So technically you weren't saying anything." She smiled, producing a sound reminiscent of a dog's chew toy.

There was a round of chuckles from most of those present, with the exception of the five Turaga, who merely rolled their eyes.

"Cousin Pinkamena does have a valid point, Twilight," supplied Onua, the ebon-armored Toa of Earth, in his typical bass rumble.

"This is true," agreed Pohatu, the dusty-brown Toa of Stone, "but I'm eager to hear the good news either way! How 'bout you, Kopaka?" The Ice Toa merely rolled his eyes, lazily.

"Well, then," Twilight huffed, "then as I was about to say... we've just received word from--"

"W--AAUGH!"

All heads turned to the parapets over the main gate, where a familiar black, white, and grey figure overbalanced himself and fell off, only to reappear on top again with a flash of green-tinged light.

"Whoo, that was close..." He said, his words barely audible from their location, before-- "Oh, snap! Jinka! I totally forgot! Hold on, boy! I'll be right there!"

In another flash, he appeared next to Jinka and Fluttershy, and in the next instant, all three vanished.

"Eeep!" Came the shy Pegasus' voice from the wall, followed by Caldoric's exclamation of "Whoops, sorry!" and another flash of light. Once that had faded, the startled mare was left by herself on top of the wall, until the guards showed up to comfort her.

Once she had been reunited with the others in the courtyard, and some semblance of order had been restored, Twilight decided to try one final time.

"Alright, if everyone's settled," she began, "the seven of us have finally received word from home..."