Edited
By
Blazikenking
Alright I have been focusing on the MLP part of this fic a lot, So I will try to get more of the Bionicle side out in this chapter. Enjoy.
~Toa Coy~
Chapter 8: Caught in a Dream
Takua was sitting on the back of an Ussal Crab on his way to Onu-Koro. The Ussal Crabs were one of the few rahi that worked alongside the ponies on the island; they were prized for speed and their ability to carry heavy loads of ore, which has made them one of the greatest assets of the Onu-ponies’ mining operation, as well for the Fe-ponies, which use them as a transport for their metal works for their customers. Takua thought that it was amazing that a species about the same size as them could do all this. While in deep thought, Takua failed to notice that he had entered Onu-Koro and the guards stopped the Ussal so quickly that Takua when flying. He flew straight and true, until he crashed into a pile of Ussal manure. Takua wondered what he was doing in this pile and how he got there but then he remembered that the Ussal he was riding stopped too quickly.
“Okay this is just getting out of hoof,” Takua thought to himself with an annoyed look. “Why does this stuff keep happening to me? First Macku and her driving, then the map, the Nui-Jaga, and now this! Mata Nui must have it out for me.”
“You sure that's it or is someone trying to stop you form your quest?” An old voice said to Takua's left.
When Takua looked he saw a black stallion with a light gray mane, green eyes, and a gray noble mask of Night vision on his flank. Takua wanted to bow to the turaga but then he remembered where he was.
After getting out of the pile, and asking for a shower, He followed the turaga to the great mine of Onu-Koro. Imagine the tallest thing you have ever seen, now flip it over and you have some clue on how big the mine is.
Takua was in awe at this, even with the work force, machines, and time, it must have taken hundreds of years to get this large of cavern dug out. The sounds of the mining were quiet. Even if they were far away from them, there was still a lot of machines running and ponies working.
“Turaga Whenua, why did you bring me to the great mine?” Takua asked the turaga.
“This is where my Toa Stone is located.” Whenua said bluntly.
Takua did a double take. “Come again?”
“I did not slur my speech.” He said with an annoyed look.
Takua looked around the area, accidentally kicked some pebbles off the edge of the area, Takua was confused. “How have the Onu, Fe, and Ba-ponies not found the stone yet?” He thought to himself. “Is the stone below us or above us?” He asked looking up and below.
“It is closer than you think.” The turaga replied.
“Great, more puzzles.” Takua thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. “Which way are the picks?”
“Two rooms back.”
“Thanks.” With that Takua walked to the room,
---
In Equestria, strange things were happening. Six large stones were moving on their own with no magic, that could be detected, to the west of Equestria. This confused everypony who saw one of these stones. Princess Celestia learned of them after a pony from Hollow Shades came to Canterlot to complain about it. Normally this would have been a matter she would have put off as nothing, but given all the things going on with her kingdom and personal life, she agreed to have her guards to check it out. She chose Capitan Shining Armor, two unicorns, two pegasi, and an earth pony to check it out.
Shining Armor looked at a deep groove carved into the earth. The white unicorn with a blue mane had a confused look on his face.
“I don't sense any magic here, but how else can a rock the size of a small house be able to move like that?” He said to himself.
“Sir.” Shining Armor turned to see a dark green earth pony with a brown short cut mane and tail saluting him.
“What is it Lieutenant Snipe?” Shining Armor asked returning the salute.
“Private Wings and Corporal Jetset noticed that this stone is heading towards Ponyville when they came back from scout duty.” Snipe answered.
“Do we know why it is heading that way?” Shinning asked trying to hide the fact he was concerned that his sister might get hurt by this stone.
“No sir. Private Wings said that he saw nopony in front of the stone.”
Shinning was frustrated with the fact that all they learn was the stone had no spell on it and it was heading towards his little sister's home.
“Warn Ponyville and hope the damage isn't too bad.” He said looking at the groove once again.
“Yes sir.” Spine said with a salute and left.
“Looks like I get to visit Twily, I just wish it was with better news.” He thought with a sigh.
-----
Takua had been digging a while now. He still had yet to find the earth Toa Stone, but some of the Onu-ponies saw that he was struggling and started digging with him. In no time they had cleared six inches of earth and ore, when one of the Onu-ponies found it. The pony's name name was Taipu, who had a light brown almost gray coat with a dark gray mane and a gray noble mask of night vision. He gave it it to Takua and asked if he was sticking around.
“Sorry but I have to go.” Takua replied with a shrug.
“Alright, well I'll see ya when you pass this way again.” Taipu said with a disappointed voice.
Takua nodded and left the mine. He then went to Turaga Whenua's hut to show him the Toa stone. When he got to the hut, he heard a crash and looked inside to see a rahi attacking the Turaga. Out of pure instinct Takua sent a beam of magic at the rahi. As soon as the beam hit the rahi it evaporated. Takua was surprised that he just did that, while Whenua just dusted himself off.
“Thank you Takua for saving me.” Whenua said looking at the amazed colt. “I assume that you have the Toa stone.”
Takua nodded, still with his jaw dropped.
“You may leave if you wish.” The turaga said as he looked for quill.
Takua left looking at the tunnel system to see if there was one to of the other Koros. Unfortunately for him only the Ta-koro tunnel was built; the others were under construction. This was both a good and a bad thing; good because he was going home, but bad because he was backtracking. He entered the tunnel with a spring in his step, but also with his face in an indecisive look.
----
Vakama was sitting in front of the fire, his eyes closed with a deep-in-thought look on his face. He was remembering his past and the last one thousand years.
“What is the matter Vakama, is your old age getting the better of you?” A voice that sounded like he was taunting. This Voice seemed more animalistic than his and that made him cringe.
“Why are you here?” Vakama asked as he looked around his mind.
“I have always been here Toa Vakama, you just never listened to me until now.” The voice said snickering while it did.
“You and I both know that when we were cured, you ceased to exist.”
“Not true. I just went to sleep, I awoke because of HIM and how he has begun to move.”
“So even a sleeping beast will awaken when he is near.”
“That is right, but there is something in the air.”
“So you felt it to.”
“Yes.”
“Then this matter will be brought up at the next meeting.”
With that Vakama opened his eyes and looked around. He took a deep breath and stood up. He walked over to a desk in the corner of the hut and began to write.
------
Twilight was thankful for putting force fields around the bookcases, otherwise she and Spike would have to reshelve the books again. She was sitting at the center table of the library reading more old tales about the past. She dropped trying to tell everypony that it was Nightmare Moon not this “Artemis” pony in front of them, but even Dash trusted Artemis, so Twilight was without allies to back her up. This was when Luna walked up to her.
“Twilight Sparkle, may I talk to you about my daughter?” Luna asked.
Twilight wanted to ignore her like she would anypony when she was in a bad mood, but Luna was the moon princess so she had to listen out of respect.
“What about her?” Twilight said with a huff, not looking up from her book.
“As you may have guessed, she was not conceived in the normal way.” Luna started, a little bit flustered about speaking about this.
“Ya, I did.” Twilight said sarcastically,
“Well it turns out that the shadow part of the makuta I told my sister about in the letter,” Twilight nodded. “Well...” Luna was now blushing. “It and I did you know what and that began my path to becoming that Nightmare. When you and the other elements freed me from Nightmare Moon, she became another being separate in mind but not in body. She and I developed a relationship of sorts, one in which she would be the aggressor and I would be the one who ignored her. After Nightmare Night, she changed a little and started to act less like a jerk. Up until yesterday she still looked like that Nightmare. After I learned the truth, she was finally able to let the nightmare go.”
Twilight was at odds with herself, while she was still not willing to trust Artemis, she understood her better and it was a start.
Just then there was a knock on the library's door.
“I wonder who that is?” Twilight said aloud.
Twilight got up and walked to the door and opened it. Who she saw there made her squeal like a filly on hearth's warming eve.
“BBBFF what are you doing here?” Twilight asked with a big smile and hugged her brother.
“Calm down Twily, it has just been a month since we last saw each other.” Shinning replied returning her hug.
It was then that he noticed the princess behind his sister. When he let go of his sister he saluted the Princess.
“Greeting Princess Luna.” Shining Armor said.
“Captain you need not be so formal around here.” Luna said with a smile.
“Yes your highness.” he said with a more relaxed tone.
“So why are you here Captain? It must not be social since you are still in your armor.” Luna observed.
Shining wanted to facehoof for not telling either of them what was going on. Just then a crash was heard from upstairs. Shinning Armor was on guard, since he didn’t know that the Cutie mark Crusaders, Artemis, and Spike were playing or at least staying busy, and was about to use a detection spell when Twilight walked over to the stairs.
“Spike I thought I told you to keep them away from the shelves.” Twilight yelled up the stairs with an annoyed look.
“Sorry Twilight I was talking to Artemis.” Spike yelled back.
“That is no excuse for being inattentive.” Twilight said giving an evil look.
“Sorry ‘mother’.” Spike replied sarcastically.
Shining Armor was on the verge of laughter by the way Twilight took being called ‘mother’, it was a mix of pride and annoyance all at once. Then She saw his face and went straight to annoyed.
“What is so funny, Shining?” Twilight said looking him dead the eyes.
“Nothing sis.” Shining Armor said with a fake smile, which Twilight didn’t buy. With a cough from Luna Twilight backed off.
“I believe you were about to explain why you were here captain.” She said getting them back on track.
“I was your highness. Earlier today, a pony came to the castle to complain about a large boulder that somehow made a trench in their front yard. We wrote it off as an accident but then more reports came, so me and several others were sent to check it out. The stone was indeed moving with nopony near it and I could not sense any magic in or around it.” He said as he gave the report.
“So why are you here and not near this boulder?” Luna asked.
“Because it is coming this way.” Shining Armor replied.
-----
It was nearly nightfall when Takua came out of the tunnel from Onu-Koro. He had walked for what seemed days but it was only a few hours. Takua felt his hooves nearly go numb from all of his walking.
“Why did I turn down that Ussal ride again?” he asked himself as he headed towards his home.
His fellow Ta-ponies greeted him as he passed by and he just nodded and waved in return. Once he was in his house, he put his bag on the ground and flopped on his bed.
“I’ll talk to Turaga Vakama tomorrow.” He said with a yawn as he shut his eyes. For once he just slept, no dreams, visions, or anything just a dreamless sleep.
----
Twilight was just about to sleep after the day she had. After her brother told her and Luna about one of these strange stones that was heading towards Ponyville, she was exhausted. It seemed like a big deal at the time, but the stone just went around the town. It did however damage the tracks for the train, so she and her brother fixed that. She and other unicorns from the town began to use their magic to repair the trench that the stone made. That took a lot out of the unicorns, but it saved a lot of trouble down the road.
During this Princess Luna was watching the CMC, as well as her daughter. While Artemis was still trying to fit in with her new friends, the CMC were trying to earn their Cutie Marks, again. Luna was surprised as to how many things the three little fillies could do in just one house and how hard it was to get sap out of her mane. By the time Twilight and Shining Armor got back, Luna looked like a tree sneezed on her, along with the other four ponies.
After a quick clean up spell the CMC headed home, but not before asking if Artemis could visit them tomorrow. Luna agreed to allow Artemis to come back tomorrow and also to enroll her into school.
Twilight sighed. She may not see Artemis as Nightmare Moon, but she still didn’t trust her.
-----
Artemis was sound asleep after her first day of having a true life and not just a fake one as Nightmare Moon. When she seemed to wake up, but she was in another place that seemed like a cave instead of her mother's room. She looked around to see if there was anypony near and found nopony was.
It was a few minutes of silence when a sound began to rise.
You're feeling awkward, you’re feeling cool
Artemis scans the room for the sound, but saw nothing.
You feel there is somepony watching you, oh no!
A few wisps of shadow began to form around Artemis. She counted thirteen around her and then they seemed to vanish.
Is this just a dream or is it true?
"Who are you ponies!?!" Artemis said stomping the ground in anger.Which caused the ground to crack out from underneath her. She fell until she remembered that she had wings.
You're getting blind you can not see
Every hour is filled with disbelief
"Show yourselves!" Artemis yelled at the shadows. Snickering came from them.
Are your senses playing a trick on you?
But now is the time....
It's time to say...
Boo! Three of them appeared before her. They looked like changelings but also normal ponies at the same time.They all had crimson eyes and black fading into a color, the ones she saw had gold, silver, and bronze.
Artemis was both angry and scared at these ponies.
We're everywhere you see
Look out we might be real
"What are you talking about?" Artemis said with an annoyed look.
Suddenly the shadows wrapped around her wings and hooves. Artemis tried to loosen her bonds, but the shadows just tightened their grip.
This time we got you caught up in a dream
The sound faded and a dark red unicorn with black on his face, shoulders, stomach, and hooves appeared. On it's flank was a mask, similar to the others described by her mother, with a heavy set forehead, an angry look, and fangs in the mouth area.
"Well, well, if it isn't the second most feared Alicorn in the world." It said in a baritone voice. "Nightmare Moon"
"What are you talking about? I'm not Nightmare Moon, I'm Artemis, daughter of Princess Luna, the goddess of the moon." Artemis said with venom in her mouth on the nightmare part and pride on Luna part.
"Not from our point of view. You are the heir of our lord's long plan to take over this world." The unicorn said with a grin.
"I still think it would be quicker to attack the island while there are no Toa on it." A crimson/black pegasus said with a groan.
"Stop your complaining Icarax, you know what the plan is and we stick to it." The unicorn said gnarling at Icarax.
Icarax rolled his eyes. "Whatever Antroz. If I was the leader we would have taken over this world by now."
"And then those Order flunkies would have found us and taken us out before our leader returned." Antroz shot back.
For a second Artemis could have sworn that she saw something shoot from both Antroz and Icarax's eyes, then a lime green/black earth pony mare cut in between the two stallions.
"Cut it out you two. For Makuta's sake, if you two don't stop this I will sent you to Mutran in pieces." She said causing the shadows around her to became claws on her hooves. "Clear?"
"Crystal." Antroz said while Icarax just growled.
"Aren't we forgetting our guest." A blue, silver, and black unicorn stallion said staring at Artemis, who had slowly stopped struggling against her.
"Thank you Vamprah." Antroz thanked with a nod. "Now 'Artemis' where were we?"
"You were going to let me go?" Artemis said with a coy look.
"Nice try but we don't fall for that." Antroz said as the others gathered around him. "You hold a piece of The Makuta in you. In a more agreeable form, you could have just given it to use but since you have decided to stay as you are, then we must take it with force."
With that thirteen ink black tentacles shot from the ponies. For a moment Artemis thought one of the worst possible things was about to happen, but then a flash of light appeared out of nowhere.
"What?!?!" Antroz said in shock. "You can't be here!"
"You dare to attempt to steal my daughter while she was sleeping. Also, using dreams to steal somepony is an extremely stupid move on your part." Luna said as she stood in front of a relieved Artemis.
"Told ya we should have foalnapped her the old fashion way. But no Antroz knows everything." Icarax said in a sarcastic tone.
"Not now you complaining rahi." Antroz yelled at the pegasus and then turned to Luna. "Well it looks like this just got interesting. The host of the makuta's shadow as well as the combined persona of the night and of shadow."
"Hold your tongue demon, you speak nothing but lies." Luna said.
"Remember, we are in a dream, and what are dreams but lies that we tell ourselves at night?" Antroz said circling Luna. "And besides, even a lie has a base of truth."
"Nice try but you forgot one thing." Luna said with a big gin.
"What is that, princess." Antroz said with sarcastically.
"I rule any present dream." Luna said as she used her magic on herself and Artemis.
"No!" Antroz sent a bolt of shadow over Luna's head and hit Artemis.
The shadow and Luna's magic mixed and caused a black ooze to come out of her. Artemis and Luna disappeared seconds later, but the ooze was still there. Antroz smiled.
"My fellow followers, the last piece of the our master has returned to us." He said with thunderous applause.
Meanwhile Artemis and Luna appeared back in Luna's bedroom.
Luna was sad, angry, and having the closest thing to rage that she could remember in along time.Artemis looked as if she lost her color and her breathing was shallow.
"I will hunt down those demons and show them why they should fear their dreams." Luna said with magic glowing around her.
"Mama?" Artemis said softly as she opened her eyes.
"My child are you alright?" Luna asked nudging her daughter lovingly.
"I'm just tired, mom, that's all." Artemis said with eyes slowly closing.
"Then sleep well my lovely daughter." Luna said lifting Artemis into her bed. Luna then thought of a spell that she used to keep her dreams safe from anypony trying to control her. "I feel this is the beginning of something that will change for our land, and the elements might not be able to help.”
-----
Song: Caught in a dream by All Insane Kids