//------------------------------// // Act I: Hunger: Sight // Story: Six Shadows // by Vicron //------------------------------// Tempest needed to get to lower ground away from this damn fog.  She dodged around a patch of loose shingles. The roofs in this place weren’t built for combat, too many points she could slip and fall, and her opponents had the advantage of not needing to close the gap, or having a dead weight on their backs slowing them down. Grubber clung to her back, head down and shouting in panic every time a bolt of darkness whizzed past his head, which was entirely too often for her tastes.  She’d been moving at full speed from the start and their aim was only improving, if she didn’t reach the edge of the fog soon they were going to be hit. If they knocked her off balance up here it was over. She needed something to push them back long enough for her to orient herself.  Flicking her eyes across the rooftops she spotted the next best thing to a proper barrier and shifted course slightly to reach it, an alleyway that ended against a building with a flat roof.  She saw the hazy outlines of pursuers down in the fog below her following close behind as she made a hard right, leading them down the alley. Now came the risky part. She braced her hooves, feeling both the shingles and her joints tremble dangerously beneath her as she pushed, leaping over the alley to reach the other building’s roof.  Grubber screamed entirely too close to her ear, making sound ring sharp and painful in her head, but she was flying true. She allowed herself a smirk as one of her front hooves touched the roof, but then the wind was driven out of her by an impact. She grit her teeth and stars popped across her vision as one of their bursts of shadow hit home across the left side of her ribs.  There was a moment of breathless weightlessness before she felt the rough concrete of the roof she’d been aiming for smash across her brow, her sense of balance spinning wildly as she tumbled end over end, skidding to a painful stop.  She gasped through the pain, trying to regain her bearings. She didn’t feel Grubber’s weight on her back, she lifted her head, blinking to clear her vision and try to locate him. “Ah Tartarus,” he swore, scrambling to his feet and rushing over to Tempest as she tried to catch her breath, “those things aren’t gonna be far behind, what do I do?”  He grabbed at her hooves and tried to drag her. Tempest waved him off, breathing deeply through her nose to try and get her breathing under control but the attempt sent violent twinges through her left side, almost driving her back down in a coughing fit. “I’ll be fine,” she was cut off by another cough, but she forced herself to her hooves.  Her chest burned and stung with the pain of what was likely a bruised rib, maybe a cracked one.  They needed to get out of here, now. She could take maybe one or two things bigger than her in this state, but there were far more of them down there.  “Come on, we need to find somewhere safe to put out a call.” Looking out from where she was now she could see the edge of the fog, it had expanded to encompass the entire town but she was almost to the edge of it. She tried to jump to the edge of the roof and felt another painful twinge lance through her chest.  Though she was able to contain her reaction to just wincing slightly she wouldn’t be able to keep to the skyline anymore, the jolts of jumping from roof to roof would only exacerbate her injury.  She grabbed Grubber by the scruff of his neck again and tossed him back down to ground level before jumping after him. She let her legs take the impact but couldn’t help the sharp stab she felt in her chest, making her body lock up as she skidded considerably more than she would have liked.  Grubber threw her a concerned look as he pulled himself to his feet but she just shook her head and bit her tongue, turning to run. They started running through the muffling fog, making it another couple of blocks before they heard what must have been a quite impressive explosion behind them.  Tempest quietly cursed the weather teams this far north, with just the snow everywhere and all the plant life barren it was going to be tough to find somewhere they could hide and her left side was already starting to protest her movements more mightily. If they couldn’t find somewhere to hide they’d just need to put on enough distance that it wasn’t worth chasing them.  She grit her teeth and ignored the growing pain as she reached the edge of the fog, the sound of the wind returned in a rush and she felt the cold air stabbing into her coat, soothing her chest slightly.  A bruise then. She didn’t allow them to pause once they reached open air, choosing a direction with halfway decent ground cover to continue her escape.  As annoying as it was from a tactical standpoint, the mist had worked both ways, out here they were exposed and, injured as she was, at an even greater disadvantage.  Now she just had to hope they could manage to get far enough away before those creatures figured out where they had gone. ______ Twilight cast the spell, capturing the essence of it in a jar on her desk.  The energy of it pulsed against the runed walls of its container, changing from Twilight’s purple to a bright, gleaming gold.  It didn’t look like the pollution of an incredibly intricate scrying spell.  Now that she knew where it had come from, what it had been meant to be, she could almost feel the harmonies of Life Magics singing out from inside of it as a physical sensation, could see the structure it had been meant to have.  It almost felt pure in a way. She shook her head, there was something hypnotic about the corrupted spell once it was active, something that almost had the draw of obsession some of the more powerful magical artifacts had.  It honestly shouldn’t have even been able to sustain itself like this, it wasn’t a spell in any conventional sense, it just forced the magic inscribing it into a structure resembling a cell and that, somehow, let it exist in isolation.  She shuddered to think what standing next to the Kanohi Ignika would be like if just its aftershocks could create such a construct and pull on her mind like this. She concentrated on the spell she and Mutran had crafted to counteract it.  It was a strange sort of spell, a combination of Life and Soul magics that had to be more coerced into cooperating than anything else, but it only needed to work for a split second.  She closed her eyes and channeled the spell into the jar, letting it wash over the corrupted version and sink in. She opened her eyes, watching as the counterspell did its work. It was almost frightening, watching the golden light dim, the living magic smothered out as the original shape of the scry took precedence, but when it was done the spell glowed purple with Twilight’s magic again.  Now for the moment of truth. She closed her eyes and opened the jar, letting the spell take its desired place layered across her mind. She kept her eyes closed but the world around her came into sharp relief, more detail than she ever would have noticed with her eyes open readily apparent. She glanced over to a bookshelf next to her desk and could see almost every speck of dust floating in the air between her and it, every fleck that landed on the shelf.  It made her head hurt a little but she was able to focus on the book she wanted to after a moment. It was like there was no difference between her peripheral and central vision, that slight blur on the edges of her focus dearly missed now that it wasn’t there.  She cancelled the spell and opened her eyes, her vision returning to normal. She let out a breath, she’d been testing the spell since she woke up at almost noon.  It had been a bit shaky at first, but with a couple tweaks and shifting her focus from making the magic do its job to more gently asking it to it had worked consistently for the last hour of her working with it.  She wondered if this was the way all magic worked where the Makuta were from, more request than command, or if it just had to be this way to work with the aftereffects of something as apparently profoundly powerful as the Ignika.  She’d have to ask Mutran and Chirox later. For now, though, she had a job to do.  She yawned, she’d hardly gotten six hours of sleep, but she’d done more on less.  She headed for the throne room, it would be best for this to be done somewhere with the proper grandeur.  A smile tugged at her face as she imagined the first thing Chirox saw after months of blindness being the stained glass lining the hall.  She didn’t know what he regarded as beauty, this would be a great opportunity to learn. Celestia was spending her day in the conference hall with the various heads of state that helped her keep the nation running smoothly, so she knew the throne room itself would be empty as she needed it to be.  She asked a guard to send for the Makuta to meet her there and couldn’t help the slight skip in her step as she entered and made her way to the throne. She considered sending for Celestia as well, but this was meant to be a gift to future friends, not a political move, it would sent the wrong message to have anyone other than her there. She felt the base of her mane start to stand on end and looked around the room, it wouldn’t have been the first time she stumbled upon Vamprah just going about her day, but it was a strangely conspicuous moment for him to appear.  She didn’t see him and the moment passed; she shrugged, perhaps she was getting paranoid, or he’d just been passing through. She didn’t have to wait much longer for the Makuta to arrive, Mutran leading the pack with a prideful swagger.  The others filed into the room in short order. Twilight noticed Krika was among them this time and gave him a smile and a nod of greeting.  Vamprah slunk through the door just before it closed, making Gorast and Krika jump slightly when they noticed him. Twilight couldn’t help the quiet chuckle that came from her.  Apparently he had the same effect on the other Makuta as he did on ponies. She cleared her throat as Mutran strode forwards to stand beside her.  She blinked and he just threw her a proud smile. She rolled her eyes at him, he had told her to credit him. “Antroz, Chirox, Vamprah, if you could step forwards.”  Antroz and Vamprah did right away, but Chirox hesitated, an almost resentful expression twitching across his face before he stood before her.  “Thank you,” Twilight rose off the throne, “for the last five days I have been working on something for you. I had little progress until last night, when I asked your brother Mutran for help, and from there we were able to complete the spell I am about to cast on you.” Antroz’ brow went up, but Twilight cut him off at the pass.  “I assure you, there are no adverse effects, I have tested this spell thoroughly, both on myself and the affected process in isolation.”  She stood in front of Antroz, “Antroz, if you wou-” A clumsy, if bright and cheery, jingle filled the air from the other side of the door.  Twilight blinked in confusion, looking past the Makuta to see the door. “Twilight!”  Spike shouted, barrelling through it with a vial of glowing blue liquid in one hand and a bowl under his other arm.  “We’ve got a problem!” The vial let out another bout of clunky music. “Is that Tempest’s emergency line?”  Twilight asked, stepping around Antroz, who stood aside, a puzzled expression on his face as Spike nodded.  Twilight looked back at the Makuta to find similar expressions on each of them, Mutran’s in particular incredulous bordering on livid.  “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.” She turned back to Spike, who had set the bowl down, “answer it.” Spike poured the vial into the bowl, it erupted into a haze of blue smoke, the strange, grating sound of the spell connecting to its counterpart in Tempest’s hooves making Twilight’s ears go back. “Come on already, this spell isn’t exactly quiet, we’re gonna have those things on us any minute with this racket and she can’t even answer the potion?”  Grubber’s lisping voice came through as Tempest appeared in the smoke. “She did, Grubber, calm down,” Tempest growled through a wince.  She was moving carefully, almost stiff. “Tempest, what’s wrong?”  Twilight asked. “This had better be good,” Mutran barked, “I was just about to unveil a crowning achievement!”  Tempest crooked an eyebrow and Antroz snipped at Mutran in their native tongue, gesturing for Gorast to come closer.  Twilight grinned sheepishly at Tempest’s raised eyebrow. “I see I caught you in the middle of something,” Tempest spoke quickly, if a bit faintly, like she was afraid to take too deep of a breath.  “I was already going to make this quick. I’m in a town just south of Yakistan, and everyone’s been abducted.” Twilight gasped, “it’s not Changelings or any other force I know of, Twilight.  I don’t recognize the thing that did this.” “You saw them?”  Twilight asked, the Makuta had begun murmuring among themselves in their native tongue. “Visibility was poor, I only saw one of them,” Tempest shook her head, “and it was weird.” “Describe it?”  Twilight asked. “Uhh, Tempest,” Grubber hissed from out of view, but Tempest ignored him. “Almost as tall as the Storm King, bipedal, primarily black and silver armour,” Twilight heard a sigh of what sounded like relief from Mutran as Tempest continued, “it was hunched and had mechanical components all over, carried a curved spear and a lantern.”  Gorast twitched, taking a step forwards, but Antroz grabbed her shoulder before she could get close enough for Tempest to see her. Tempest shivered, blowing a breath between her hooves and rubbing them together.  “It was wearing some form of mask, I think.” “You think?”  Twilight probed, ignoring another murmur from Gubber on the other side of the line. “It’s the only way I have to explain what I saw.  It had two faces,” Twilight heard Gorast’s teeth snap and turned back to her, her blood ran cold for a moment.  Gorast’s eyes were wide as the needlepoint grin stretched across her face, burning with a kind of devotion bordering on obsession Twilight had seen too many times in the mirror growing up.  “A forward facing golden one, and an upward turned silver one.” The fire in Gorast’s eyes went out and Twilight found herself releasing a breath she didn’t notice she’d been holding as Gorast’s expression twisted in confusion.  “Twilight?” “Sorry,” Twilight said, shaking her head and returning her attention to Tempest.  “I’ve recently gained some friends who know a thing or two about special masks, one of them distracted me, is there anything else you can tell us about it?” “The golden half had mandibles,” Tempest nodded, “enormous, like an ant.  The silver half had very big, flat teeth and an exposed hinge for its jaw.”  Twilight turned to Antroz expectantly. “Any of that sound familiar?”  She asked. “The first…” he hesitated, his expression conflicted, “sounds like it could be an Olmak, but the second doesn’t match any Kanohi I know of, it sounds like a Skakdi’s face.” “Skakdi, Olmak?”  Tempest asked, “what is he talking about?” “The Olmak is a mask that allows the user to create portals to anywhere they like,” Antroz huffed, “both in this universe and others, but a Skakdi is an ape creature of debatable intelligence and negligible discipline.  They’re thugs; I can’t imagine one of them getting their hands on an Olmak, much less being able to use it.” “Tempest!”  Grubber shouted from the other end, the perspective through the mist shook violently as a sound like thunder boomed through it.  Twilight heard Tempest shout something but couldn’t make it out as she was shoved aside on a rush of blackness. What stepped forwards to take her place was enormous, only the bottom half of its face and upper half of its chest showing through, despite being hunched over in a crouch.  Dark, silvery grey and white armour rushed past and came to a stop in front of the viewport. A sleek, rounded chin in dark metals led up to a mouth pulled in a grimace. It stood up to its full height, pistons in its chest, an almost leaflike chestplate in dark grey, and arms in gleaming white hissing as white claws came into view, a weakly struggling Grubber held in one hand, his back pressed up against a silvery attachment to the creature’s lower arm.  It raised its arm and shouted something in the Makuta’s language, its voice surprisingly boyish. “Fizzlepop!”  Twilight shouted, taking a step forwards, a mechanical whir and the clatter of metal sounding behind her.  The creature twitched and turned, driving something through whatever bowl Tempest had been using to channel the spell in a flash of silver.  The blue cloud twitched and shuddered before sinking back down into the bowl. Twilight turned to the Makuta to find them in a state of disarray.  Looking over them she realized the sound she’d heard had been the six of them scrambling away from the communication spell.  Antroz stood stiffly, a hand on one of the axes strapped to his hip and the other on a snarling, practically vibrating Gorast’s shoulder to keep her in place, her arms had unfolded from two into four, her silver fore-claws bristling on the top pair and her thumbs flexing dangerously on the bottom.  Chirox had stepped behind Mutran and Twilight caught him clutching at a spot on his chest for a moment before shaking his head and taking his hand away. Krika’s eyes were narrowed, his body seemed almost hazy, streaks of white and red bleeding off of him into the air around him. Vamprah was nowhere to be seen and Mutran was staring at one of his hands, his expression puzzled. Twilight took a deep breath and felt her expression harden slightly.  They knew who that was, they knew and they were afraid. Their war had come knocking on her doorstep.  And she had already taken a side. She felt panic welling up inside her, her chest feeling tight and heat rising in her face.  They still didn’t know what these Toa were physically capable of, she’d been hoping to gather more information once she’d befriended the Makuta, but now it seemed they were out of time.  They were going to be going into this blind! Then there were the Makuta themselves, who knew how they would react to this, they had said they would run, but if the Toa were really clearing people out in their search how long would it be before the Toa and their allies made a proper offensive against Equestria? She brought up a hoof and let the breath out, her expression settling, she couldn’t panic, she couldn’t be angry.  She, Celestia and Luna had made a miscalculation, that was all, the situation was salvageable. Or, it would be soon.  “Who was that?” She asked, unable to help the slight tremble in her voice. “Takua, Toa of Light,” Antroz said, his voice as expressionless as his face.  “He was created to destroy us.” Gorast snapped her teeth again and growled out something in their tongue.  Antroz’ expression returned with a blink, a look of consideration flashing across his features. “Something’s wrong,” he gestured for silence, “Mutran, was his armour still dark?” “Huh?”  Mutran jumped slightly, his gaze leaving his hand to scan over the others, “yes, it was.” “Toa of Light and Shadow in equal measure still, then.  That doesn’t explain what he’s doing in running with a Skakdi.”  He hummed to himself, “if he had been here for us, he hardly would have been chasing down one of the natives like that, either.”  Twilight blinked, he had a point. They may have been cagey about the Toa’s usual operating styles, but taking hostages at weaponpoint hardly seemed to mesh with “self-proclaimed heroes.” “We’ve been out of the picture too long,” Chirox cleared his throat, stepping out from behind the still dazed Mutran.  “We don’t know how allegences have shifted in our absence… Or, for that matter, how long we’ve even been out of the loop.”  He added something in the Makuta’s tongue. “Because she’s already seen enough to know they’re involved now, no matter what it turns out is happening.”  Antroz turned his head towards Twilight and hesitated for a moment. “Princess Twilight,” he said after he suppressed some expression Twilight couldn’t quite read, “these are your lands and your subjects, what will you do?”   Twilight gulped, but drew herself up tall.  She’d been around enough of the politicians in Celestia’s court to know what he was trying to do, he was pushing her, trying to see how reliable she would be under pressure.  He wanted to know if he could count on her. “We need information, and Tempest is my friend,” she took another deep breath and this time let her expression harden with determination.  The Makuta may be warriors by nature, but she had faced down creatures both mundane and legendary, and through the power of wit and friendship, had prevailed.  “I will send a team to investigate, and if they can, rescue her and Grubber. With any luck, we can figure out what they want.” “Mutran, Gorast and I will accompany your team,” Antroz nodded, apparently satisfied.  “We’ve fought Takua before, so he’ll be focused on us, but they’re the only two of us in peak form right now.  I can help organize your movements against both Toa and Skakdi, and if worst comes to worst, those two at the very least will be able to cover a retreat.”  Gorast shot him an indignant look and Antroz’ eyes flashed brighter red. Twilight opened her mouth to say something, remembering what she’d been about to do for them, but shut it.  She glanced over to Mutran, but he seemed lost in his head, still inspecting the claws of his left hand. She couldn’t restore their sight now, it would be too convenient, they would think she’d already known what was happening and had done it to ensure they would stand and fight.  It would turn from a gift into an obligation. She forced her face not to twist into a grimace as guilt settled into the pit of her stomach. Mutran had already agreed not to say anything about it until she decided to deliver, she threw him a look that she hoped got through to him, he would have to keep the secret a little longer. “I need to tell Princesses Celestia and Luna,” she said firmly, she would make it up to them, she wouldn’t leave their side until she could restore their sight.  “And I’ll be going, too.” ______ He’d jumped right to Chirox’ defense.  Mutran thought numbly as they made their way back to their room, Antroz throwing his and Gorast’s orders at them, too quickly for Mutran to follow right now. When all the others had stepped back from Takua’s voice, he had stepped forwards.  He blinked, he had stepped forwards and put out a hand to cover Chirox. Why had he done that?  Takua’s presence meant all of Antroz’ scheming was about to come crashing down around their masks, yes, that had sent a wave of panic through them, yes, but he had never been the type to step forwards towards adversity. Had he?   He rubbed his brow, so much of what came before he’d been broken was hazy.  He knew he was different now than he’d been, but he couldn’t remember how. He glanced at Chirox, still scowling and trying to keep from itching at the spot where Takua had once blown a hole through him.  A feeling twisted in Mutran’s chest, something akin to rage. Jealousy? Possession? He couldn’t identify it, but he knew it came from knowing Chirox was in danger. Why should he care?  It should have delighted him to see that thief laid low, but instead a protective fury was settling into his claws.  He closed his eyes, trying to figure out what was causing this muddying of his thoughts, but his mind felt clear, clearer than it had in millenia.  Old holes in his memories slowly filling in, older emotions beginning to move again, a laser focus that had been scattered steadily lining itself back up.  What was the difference? What had changed? A vicious grin stretched across his face, his fangs bared in anticipation.  It hardly mattered, what mattered was that he was going to thoroughly enjoy tearing that accursed Mask from Takua’s face.  Maybe he’d even get to gouge out the presumptuous Toa’s eyes with it, who knew? ______ Luna woke with a start, her gaze flicking around her darkened room.  Her shadow gathered close, roiling and snapping at the air around her, agitated, hungry.  She took a deep breath and sent a feeling of calm out to it, the dark sparkled with stars for a moment before retreating back from whence it came, still itching to act, but reassured for the moment. Stepping out from under her sheets she shook her head, it had been long months since that had happened last, not since she vanquished the Tantabus had her shadows been so distressed.  Her gaze narrowed as her eyes flicked to the door, some foul thing had happened, Celestia and Twilight would need to be informed afore she investigated. She shook out her mane, letting the star studded miasma of it settle proper about her neck as she called her crown and yolk towards herself.  Setting those in place she stepped into her shoes and schooled her expression, grim with the importance of her purpose but devoid of the hunger- nay, vengeance, she realized with a sickening drop in her gut- the dark was still whispering into her heart. She opened the door to find herself locking eyes with one who was practically singing out for that revenge with his gaze.  She almost stepped back in surprise as Vamprah’s sightless eyes boiled with fury before her, but she was able to hold firm.  Vamprah was a predator, first and foremost; it wouldn’t do to show weakness if he was truly as taken with frenzy as he seemed. He turned his back to her and she noticed with a considering hum that she couldn’t feel him.  Normally standing next to Vamprah filled one with an intense feeling of being observed, yet now, with rage settled into his heart, the air felt no different than normal.  Had he shut himself away, as he had when she inquired about his Sister? Or was he simply capable of masking his psychic presence? She heard him scoff quietly, the second then. Vamprah nodded towards the stairs, moving with utmost confidence she would follow.  She narrowed her eyes and planted her hooves; she knew he meant her no insult, but he wasn’t about to explain himself, and he needed to know she could not simply be called to heel, especially on missions of retribution. He froze and turned back to her, his fangs bared.  She stood firm, watching him carefully. They stood at an impasse for a long moment, his rage evident in his expression even if he wasn’t letting her feel the reach of his mind in that moment.  His crimson eyes blazed brighter and she finally felt him, he slammed against her mind in a tide, she felt the same anger and ravenous vengeance she expected driving heat through her blood, her wings flaring on instinct.  He pressed the full weight of his mind on her, intending she yield to him through the strength of his conviction alone. Yet it was dull, toothless, she let it wash over her to see beneath.  She recognized the desperation lying below, the cold emptiness it was being stretched to patch over.  This rage, faded though it was, was dear to him, something precious he intended to cultivate. If she did not dissuade him from it now, he would gladly let it consume him. She pressed back, her horn glowing and her teeth gritting at the effort.  Even with the strange dulling of his emotion she could only just bear the weight of his mind, attempting to lift it from her own was like trying to part a mountain range.  He was practiced in this. She heard a shout from one of her guards, some trance seemingly lifted now that Vamprah’s attention was entirely on her. “I cannot march to war for you,” she said, not letting him press her back down, though his mind pulsed with irritation.  “And you would not have come to me if you had the strength to stand alone.” He snarled silently, “but you know this.” She took a step towards him, he shook his head as the anger dulled further for a moment.  The two guards by her door stepped forwards, weapons trained on Vamprah. His eyes flickered flamelike for a moment and she felt his concentration break as the two of them slumped to the floor, unconscious. Sloppy, she thought to herself, pressing the advantage to heave Vamprah’s mind out of her own.  The anger flared, losing the washed out feeling it carried for a moment. “This fury has deafened you, Noble Makuta.”  She took another step, this time Vamprah stepped back in response, “heed the word of one who has succumbed before, if you allow anger to command your heart, naught but ruin shall await you.” His expression slipped, the snarl wavering, fear flashing through his eyes and mind as she felt the same cold as he settle into her chest.  If not this, than what? She brushed the thought aside, “let me show you, Vamprah, you needn’t relinquish it all at once, but there art few less sturdy pillars than rage.”  She took another step, within hoof’s reach, now, “treat me as ally, not tool or stranger, and we shall find one for you together.” The cold stilled, still sitting in the pit of their entangled minds, but its teeth held at bay for the moment.  Something shifted, by the breadth of a hair, but shifted nonetheless. Something like lightning pulsed through him and Vamprah conceded, his head bowing as his mind pulled away.  Luna almost stumbled forwards at his weight suddenly lifting from her. The feeling of being watched returned as he brushed across her mind in a parting message. As you wish, Kraahkan Luna.  He bowed low and his eyes flickered like flame once more, her guards beginning to stir.  He remained bowed in apology as they rose. Kraahkan?  Luna crooked an eyebrow and shook her head slightly, that would likely be a question for another time; it seemed a title of some respect at any rate. “Worry not,” Luna said to the guards as they glanced warily at the bowed Makuta, “he was taken by a fury, but it has been quelled.”  She allowed them back to their posts, “now Vamprah, what hast stirred your ire so?” He rose and nodded towards the stairs, waiting for her this time.  Now he was prepared for his actions to be seen true, and so she followed. It didn’t take long for them to find Twilight, or for her to explain the situation.  Luna spared a glance over to Vamprah, taking careful note of how his expression tightened slightly when she mentioned this Takua.  A worry had settled into her gut when he’d come for her, but now there were more than the Makuta at risk. She may have to join this battle after all.  It was all she could do not to sigh, circumstances conspired to make a liar of her, how unpleasant. That was without considering Tempest’s involvement.  Her regard for the general could best be described as begrudging.  She would be a hypocrite not to forgive Tempest her actions, but to be defeated so soundly, on the retreat no less, was still a sensitive mark on her pride.  She allowed herself a slight grin, perhaps being a member of the party to rescue Tempest would even the score. Celestia’s political mask slipped by the barest hair when Luna and Twilight entered from the side of the parliament chamber.  Luna stayed back in the doorway as Twilight approached her sister and whispered the news in her ear. Celestia’s face remained impassive through it, but Luna saw the slight twitch in her feathers. “I apologize, Ministers, but something has come up that demands my immediate attention, I will return as soon as I can.”  She stood as Twilight hurried back to the doorway, making her own leisurely way over to Luna. “My office, or a different room?” “Your personal office seems the best for a measure of privacy, sister.”  Luna nodded, turning to head down the hall. Once they arrived Luna gestured for Vamprah to join the guards outside the room in their vigil, he obeyed with only a slight narrowing of his eyes, taking a perch above the door.  Closing it and casting a silencing spell, Luna turned back to the others. “So,” Celestia began, her expression furrowed in consideration, “the Makuta have been discovered?” “I’m actually not sure,” Twilight said, her horn lighting as she projected an image of the creature she had described attacking Tempest.  “This is apparently a Toa named Takua, a Toa of Light created specifically to combat the Makuta, but the Makuta were confused by the methods Tempest described him using.  Apparently it’s not the Toa’s “style,” and the person who he arrived with, something called a Skakdi, isn’t the sort of company he’d normally keep.” “The result being the Makuta are as confused by this as we?”  Luna asked, Twilight nodded. “Also, when he noticed Tempest putting out a call he didn’t make any demands, he didn’t even try to see if the Makuta were on the other end, he just destroyed the spell.”  Twilight paused, “he said something to Tempest in the Makuta’s language before he noticed us listening, Antroz translated it as “surrender now.”” Celestia’s brow twitched. “Then this isn’t a retrieval mission for the Makuta, this is an invasion.”  She said grimly, “whoever this Takua is currently serving wants to gain a foothold without us hearing about it.  A base of operation where they can dig themselves in and attack us at their leisure.” Luna felt her own expression twisting. “There is more here, it seems both the Makuta and we are missing a piece.”  She said, beginning to pace, “Vamprah came to me in a rage, his Sister was taken from him during the mission that landed the Makuta here; I suspect this Takua is the one who stole her away, from his reaction.”  She shook her head, “yet from what we have learned of the Toa and their allies, what little information the Makuta will give us paints them as a reactive force. They fashion themselves guardians. E’en if what they guard is flawed I cannot see such a force spearheading an invasion, especially in such an underhoofed manner.” “Chirox and Antroz have made them out to be more shout it from the rooftop types,” Celestia conceded, tapping a hoof on the floor.  “Twilight, do you have a plan already?” “I do,” Twilight nodded, “I intend to take a small team and investigate.  If possible, I’d like to see if we can rescue the people abducted by the Skakdi, but mostly right now we just need to figure out what we’re up against.  The Makuta have agreed to help, but I don’t want to do anything without hearing your advice.” “I shall join you,” Luna said firmly, “I can aid in both reconnaissance and cover a retreat should it become necessary.”  Celestia threw Luna a concerned look but said nothing, Luna gave her sister a reassuring smile. “Vamprah seems uninclined to leave my side at any rate, and his skills should also be quite useful in this.”  Celestia’s expression softened, having caught Luna’s meaning, she would hardly be going unprotected. “Then it is decided?”  Celestia asked, looking between the two of them.  Twilight glanced over to Luna, who nodded, she had no intent to be left behind. “Yes, Princess Celestia,” Twilight nodded.