Takanuva crept through the corridor as quietly as he was able, although it wasn’t hard to avoid notice because of all the noise from the Protodermis processing facility he was currently trying to infiltrate. This wasn’t one of the more bizarre alternate universes that he had visited during his travels with the Kanohi Olmak, the mask of dimensional gates; the only major difference between this universe and his own ‘Alpha Universe’ as he called it, was that the Toa here didn’t have Kanohi masks, but weapons that contained the powers of the Kanohi.
When he came to an open doorway, he risked a look inside to see what he was up against, but what he saw was not what he had been expecting. Before he set out to Karda Nui, the Turaga had told him that they suspected the Makuta to be making new weapons out of harvested Protodermis at their processing facility to equip their forces. However, that was not at all what Takanuva found himself looking at when he peered around the door.
He found himself face to face with an army, hundreds of rows of Makuta, each near identical save for a single ‘mutation’ on each one’s face, like the masks of his original universe. At the rear end of the room was a large production line, which was pumping protodermis into moulds of a dozen different parts, then directed them to a final assembly line, where all the pieces were put together. The constructed husks were then infused with life by what appeared to be the Kanohi Ignika, Kanohi of life, of the universe, which had taken the form of an elaborate spear, mounted on a frame which harnessed and directed the energy.
The bodies were currently in an apparent state of stasis, which meant that Takanuva was able to move freely within the room without detection. He realised with a shock that if they were to be activated, then they would easily overwhelm the forces of the Toa; and if Takanuva wasn’t able to escape the area, or even the dimension, in time to avoid them, he himself would be defeated, allowing them to use the Olmak. This would then endanger every dimension in existence. The importance of his mission suddenly skyrocketed.
Takanuva walked in between the rows of bodies, trying to find some way to disable the production. He was taking one more look at the machine which was steadily churning out shells and positioning them at the back of the army, when he noticed that the Ignika wasn’t completely fastened into the machine. It was merely resting in a support frame, and Takanuva thought that it might be possible to remove it, given enough time.
Before he could convince himself against it, he broke into a run towards the machine and leaped up onto the frame holding the staff. Upon closer inspection, the frame that held the staff was more awkward than it had looked, with clasps on both sides of the haft. In order to remove it, he would need to forcibly remove the latches, which he was certain would activate some form of alarm. However, he knew the dangers of letting the machine carry on greatly outweighed those of removing it. He grasped the haft of the spear and pulled on it, with all the strength he could muster.
It took a while of tugging to finally break the frame holding the spear. When it came off in his hands, the room was filled with a loud siren. The door slammed shut, and the army of shells suddenly lit up and turned to face him. The army had awoken.
Takanuva grasped the spear firmly in both hands and prepared to fight for his life. There was only one door into the room and there was an army of angry Makuta robots between him and it. He lunged forwards towards the nearest enemy and brought the butt of the spear down on its head, shattering it and rendering the robot lifeless. He then swung it around and stabbed another through the face with the blade. He continued this pattern many times as he slowly made his way across the room towards the door. After what seemed like hours of intense fighting, Takanuva finally came to the doorway and leapt through, slamming the door shut behind him.
He turned to leave the facility, as the robots would instantly follow him through if he tried to open a portal, and warn the Toa to set up defenses, coming face to face with yet another group of robots. He knew that the only viable option available to him would be to run, and so he did, wanting to get far enough away from them so he could open a gate to the Toa camp with the Olmak. The drones, however, were not so willing to let an intruder escape, and were a lot faster than Takanuva had thought, barely managing to stay ahead of them.
The featureless grey walls seemed to go on forever, occasionally there was a junction where he would have to quickly try to remember which way he had come in, so he could try to lose them in the open. All the time this was happening, the mass of robots behind him were slowly closing the gap, bringing them ever closer to catching him. When the exit finally came into view, the drones were only a few yards away from him.
He came out into a large courtyard, with a treeline on the other side, about 150 metres away. Since he didn’t need to worry about corners, he could really open up, pulling away very slightly from the army chasing after him. As soon as he reached the treeline,he focused on his mask, trying to create a doorway to the Toa camp. However, just as he was about to open it, one of the true Makuta, Teridax,burst through the doorway, and launched a blast from his Kanohi, which took the form of a handheld cannon.
It caught up with Takanuva in seconds, and just as he was about to manifest the doorway he had created, it struck him in the back of the head. The Olmak soared clear of him, and landed in the brush just the other side of the incomplete gateway. Takanuva didn’t have time to go and get it, as he could feel the effects of the Kanohi blast already, so he leapt into the doorway just as it collapsed, hoping it took him where he wanted to go, and dreading what the future would bring.
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Rainbow Dash soared downwards, wings flat against her back as she dove towards the ground, clouds whizzing past her face as she got closer and closer to the ground. Faster and faster, closer and closer, as she felt the air ahead of her tighten, fighting against her, threatening to push her back and send her spiralling off course.
She could just start to make out the beginnings of a cone, forming around her head and hooves, and pushed harder, urging her body to go faster, anything to break the barrier that was forming around her. The force of her speed was so strong, that the front of her mane was being pushed into her eyes, obscuring her vision slightly, yet not deterring the determined athlete.
Rainbow felt that she was nearing the apex of her speed, about to perform the ‘impossible’ for the third time ever, when in the corner of her eye, she saw a bright light, not glaring, but just enough to catch her attention. She turned her head, ever so slightly, to try and get a better view, but what she saw was beyond her ability to explain.
High above her, even above the top of the cloudiseum, was a glowing light, about twice the size of a regular pegasus. It took just a moment for Rainbow Dash to notice that there was something in front of the light. At first, she just thought that it was some amateur pegasus trying to show off, but then she noticed that it was moving, falling towards the ground. She kept watching to see if the figure would do anything, but there was no movement from the falling body. There was no-one else around to help, so Rainbow Dash sighed to herself as she understood what needed to be done.
She opened her right wing slightly, using the slight drag on one side to help her turn around to face the falling figure. Now, rather than fighting the pressure in her way before, she just relaxed a bit, and let it push her, and propel her, faster than she could have ever achieved by herself, fast enough to catch the falling figure. As she got closer and closer, she could start to make out the features of the falling pegasus.
Despite being able to, Rainbow Dash didn’t have time to study the features of them, other than the fact that it was a seemingly middle aged stallion, with dark grey fur, and a nearly black mane. She didn’t get much of a look, but his cutie mark seemed to be a strange type of face, which Dash didn’t have a clue about.With the unconscious stallion supported in her front legs, she began her descent towards the ground. It took longer than usual to reach ground level, as she couldn’t fly too steep without the stallions body slipping out of her already shaky grip.
After several minutes of flying, she reached the ground, and set the stallion down just outside the giant tree that made up Twilight’s library. Rainbow Dash knocked loudly on the door, several times, until a bleary-eyed Twilight opened the door.
“What is it Rainbow?” Twilight asked with yawn, as it was quite early in the morning, even for the studious unicorn.
“I found this guy just falling out the sky, and thought you could help.” Dash replied.
“You should take him to Nurse Redheart, she’s more qualified for this than I am. Besides, who is this guy anyway? I don’t recognise him.”
“I have no idea myself, but, yeah, I probably should’ve taken him straight to the nurse. Sorry ‘bout waking ya Twilight.”
With that, Rainbow Dash scooped up the stallion and flew off in search of the nurse, so she could get back to practicing her skills. Looking around, she spotted the familiar blue tent of Ponyville Urgent Care, where Nurse Redheart could often be found. She swooped down through the front flaps of the tent, to find both of the Nurses, tending to a group of ponies who looked like they had eaten some bad food at a party.
“Uh, Nurses, sorry if this is a bad time, but I think I’ve got another patient for you.”
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Takanuva woke slowly as he regained consciousness, and then suddenly jolted fully awake as he remembered what had just happened. Looking around him, he saw that he was in a blue tent, lined with beds along either side, almost like a hospital ward. A couple of the beds were occupied, but he couldn’t see much more of them than a lump in a bedsheet.
He heard sounds from outside the tent, and since he didn’t know if the people of this universe would take kindly to a toa appearing out of nowhere or not, he thought it best to lie there and pretend to be asleep. He laid his head back on the soft pillow which someone had placed under it. As he lay there, he saw the flap at the front of the tent swing open and a set of hooves enter.
Takanuva had to prevent himself from gasping, as that would surely have given him away. This universe was full of equines? It truly was one of the stranger universes had travelled to.
“Has he woken up at all?” he heard one of them ask, in a soft voice.
“No, he has not stirred since he arrived.” the other replied.
He risked a brief glance upwards to get a better look at the ‘ponies’, as he felt that no other word truly fit what he was seeing. One was a very clean white, with a light pink mane, and a small cylindrical hat, with a red cross on it. The other however, was more confusing, it had a lavender coat, a mane of dark blue, with a purple and pink streak through it. The really strange part however, was that this one had a horn sticking up through its head.
The second one turned in his direction, making Takanuva’s heart lurch. Had she seen him? The horn on its head started to glow, as he felt a tingling sensation caress his body, like it was searching through it. He had to focus really hard, to stop himself from shivering and giving himself away.
“It’s alright, I know you’re awake, you can stop pretending.” the lavender one said, directly to him, with only the slightest hint of animosity in her voice, and he guessed that even that was just impatience. Takanuva slowly sat up, and got his first good look at himself. Somehow, either because of the faulty gateway, or something else, he had become a pony himself. He had a silvery grey coat, with a dark grey mane, and tail just like his mask after he was attacked by that shadow leech. He also no longer had any hands, and in their place, were hooves.
“How are you feeling? Are you alright?” the white one asked him, with genuine concern in her voice.
“I...I think so.” Takanuva replied, still dazed by the realization that he was a pony, and that his voice still worked normally.
“Thank Celestia” the lavender one said, with a noticeable exhalation, “You gave us quite a scare there.”
“Where am I? How did I get here?” he asked, with slight hints of unease creeping into his voice.
“You’re in Ponyville, you just fell out of the sky. If it hadn’t been for Rainbow Dash catching you, I don’t think there’s much anyone could have done for you.” Takanuva was quite intrigued by this. The Olmak must have really failed if it created the exit gate that high above the ground, as it usually made sure they were formed either on or slightly above ground level.
“And you are...?” he asked the unicorn.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I run the library here in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash brought you to me when she first found you, so I thought I’d drop in and see how you’re doing.” He was surprised, she came to check up on a complete stranger?
“Tha..Thank you. Can I meet this Rainbow Dash? I’d like to thank her for saving me.” he asked.
“Physically you’re fine, we were just waiting for you to wake up. You can leave if you want” the white pony cut in.
“Thank you nurse redheart.” Twilight said to the nurse, “Come on, I’ll take you to Rainbow Dash.” Takanuva shakily got to his feet, and stumbled a few steps after the unicorn. After several shaky steps, he got used to the way his new body worked, and managed to keep up with Twilight. They walked through what Twilight had called ‘Ponyville’, with quaint little cottages on either side of a cobblestone road.
Every so often, they would see ponies flying through the sky, and moving or getting rid of clouds. So, there are pegasi here as well. How many other types of pony are there Takanuva thought to himself. The sight of the pegasi caused Takanuva to turn and look at his own back. He realised, with a bit of a shock, that he had a pair of feathered wings, laid flat against his back. He also spotted that, where his hind legs met his body, he had a small image, which looked surprisingly like the Kanohi Avohkii (the mask of light).
After a very quiet walk through town, they reached a large orchard, with rows and rows of apple trees, all of them laden with bright shiny red apples.
“Rainbow Dash likes to come her to practise her flying skills.” Twilight casually remarked, breaking the awkwardly long silence between them. “Her and Applejack are really good friends.” And with that they settled back into silence as they made their way between two rows of trees.
They were about halfway to the bright red barn at the centre of the orchard, when a bright rainbow streak appeared over their heads, accompanied by a gust of wind that almost blew Takanuva over. Just as he had recovered himself, the streak turned sharply and came back towards them. He got down into a firm posture, determined not to get blown over again, but instead of flying past again, it just slowed down and came to a stop just in front of him.
Now that it wasn’t moving so fast, Takanuva could see that it wasn’t just a streak, but in fact a bright blue pegasus, with a rainbow coloured mane that must have been what caused the rainbow streak effect.
“Heya Twilight, how’s it hangin’!” The pegasus called out, seemingly oblivious to Takanuva’s presence.
“Fine, Rainbow, I’ve brought someone to see you.” Twilight replied.
“Hey, it’s you!” Rainbow said, noticing Takanuva for the first time, “How you feeling? Sorry I couldn’t come by earlier, I’ve been practising some tricks for the Wonderbolts.”
“I’m...fine, Rainbow Dash. Besides, I only just woke up a few minutes ago myself.”
“Glad I could help. And by the way, what exactly is your name?” This gave Takanuva pause, sure they had seemed friendly so far, but for all he knew it could be an act. But at the same time, they seemed like they genuinely wanted to get to know him.
“My name... is Takanuva.”He said hesitantly.
“Hmm, that’s not a type of name I’ve ever heard of” Twilight cut in, with curiosity in her voice. “Where are you from?”
“It will be hard to believe, but... I am from another dimension entirely.” This caused both Twilight and Rainbow Dash to step backwards in shock.
“Anoth...Another dimension? How is that possible? I’ve never read about any spells on dimensional travel.” Twilight stammered, clearly shaken by this news.
“It is no spell Twilight, where I come from, we have masks that grant us special powers. I used the mask of dimensional gateways to get here, but I lost it just before I entered the portal, which must have been why I ended up here.” Takanuva replied.
“So, Takanuva, you used a magic mask to make a doorway here, but just happened to lose it before you went through. Sounds fishy if you ask me.” Rainbow Dash said accusingly.
“I was being chased by people who would do harm to me and anyone else in their way, and now they have the mask. Because of that, I am stuck here, unless of course there is some ‘spell’ to get me back.”
“Now that could be difficult, I’ve read a large portion of the books at Canterlots library, but I’ve never seen any reference to there even being any other dimensions, let alone how to travel between them. However, if I could get into Celestia’s private library, then... ” Twilight replied, with a look in her eye that, if allowed to, she would keep on talking for hours. Before Twilight could continue on about how she could research this, a voice came from up towards the barn.
“Hey, Rainbow! Yah gonna get back here or what?” The voice was soon followed by a bright orange pony, wearing a form of hat that Takanuva didn’t recognise. “ Oh, howdy Twi’, when did you get here?”
“Just now Applejack, I was just bringing Takanuva here to see Rainbow Dash, to say thanks after saving his life.” Twilight answered to Applejack.
“Ah, howdy.” Applejack said turning to Takanuva, “So, where ya from? I can tell you’re not from around here, with a name like Takanuva.” Twilight cut in before Takanuva could say anything.
“It’s...complicated.” she said sheepishly to her friend.
“Well, yah got a place to stay while you’re here?” Applejack asked to him, with genuine concern in her voice.
“Um... well, not really” Takanuva started before he was cut off by Rainbow Dash butting in.
“He can stay with me, I’ve got plenty of space. And besides, how can he repay me for saving him if I don’t know where he is?”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, startling Takanuva with the fieceness of her voice, which was extremely different to the way she normally spoke.
“I was joking! Sheesh Twilight, learn to take a joke.” Rainbow Dash replied, backing away slightly from Twilight’s sudden outburst.
“It is alright Twilight, I would be honored to accept Rainbow Dash’s offer, assuming that wasn’t part of the joke as well.” Takanuva cut in, jokingly raising an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash.
“No, I meant it. Since you’re a pegasus it should be no problem at all, that is, if you can actually use those wings.”
“Why wouldn’t he? Surely he knows how to use those wings of his?” Applejack interrupted, with a confusion both in her voice and on her face.
“Long Story” Twilight and Rainbow Dash both said to Applejack together. Just as Takanuva was about to explain that it’s alright and tell Applejack how he got there, when he felt a deep pain in his stomach, accompanied by a loud rumble.
“Whoa Takanuva, that’s one helluva belly rumble there. Why don’t yah come on up to the farm and we’ll get yah a good ol’ Apple family spread.” Applejack offered warmly, gesturing up the the big barn at the centre of the orchard.
“That’s very nice of you Applejack.” Twilight cut in, before Takanuva had a chance to say anything, ”But I think I’ll just take him down to sugarcube corner, because you know what Pinkie Pie’s like, may as well get it over with, I mean, the sooner we introduce him, the sooner the party; and we all know how great those parties are.” Twilight then turned to Takanuva and quietly said “Believe me, after an Apple family spread, you won’t need to eat for weeks.”
With that, they bid Applejack and Rainbow Dash goodbye, turned around and made their way out of Sweet Apple Acres and back into town. This time, the walk was a bit more conversational, although Twilight did most of the talking, about things like the history of equestria, the different towns and cities, and basic information about Equestria that Takanuva would need in order to pass himself off as a regular pegasus passing through town.
Twilight was just explaining the reasoning behind the names of the major towns and cities as they came up to a brightly coloured building, designed to look like it was assembled out of confectionary. It certainly didn’t leave much doubt as to what it sold.
“Now, when we go in, try not to excite Pinkie too much. Emphasis on try. Also, don’t let her freak you out at all, she’s just being Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said warningly to him, though in a friendly way.
They walked through the door of the building, and Takanuva almost instantly found himself surrounded by pink. It wasn’t that the room had an overabundance of the colour, rather that he had just walked into mass of pink hair. When he had backed up a few steps, he could see that he had accidentally walked into someone leaving the shop. That someone was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, that had now backed away from him and was looking quite nervously at him, glancing repeatedly at Twilight, as if for reassurance.
“Sorry about that Fluttershy, I didn’t realise you were here. This is Takanuva, I was just taking him for a bit of a tour.” Twilight said reassuringly to the nervous pegasus. Fluttershy relaxed a little at this, but was still a bit stiff.
“No no Twilight, it’s quite alright. I was just helping Pinkie Pie bake some cupcakes. She said she had a feeling that she would be needing them, and we know about Pinkie’s feelings don’t we.” Fluttershy said quietly to Twilight, loosening up in the presence of her friend, despite the lingering unease of a stranger. “Besides, I probably should have been looking where I was going more.”
“It was my fault Fluttershy, don’t worry about it. I should have been more careful.” Takanuva apologised, trying to look as unintimidating as possible, but only causing Fluttershy to back away from him more and whisper something so quietly that he couldn’t make it out. He realised that he may have been a bit too upfront, so he backed off a few steps and tried to look apologetic.
“I..I’m sorry Twilight, I’ve really got to get back to the little animals back at the cottage.” Fluttershy whispered, audibly this time, and got up and left quite quickly. The void in conversation this left between Twilight and Takanuva was nearly instantly filled by a wall of bright pinkness, that filled Takanuva’s entire vision. The mass then backed away a very little bit, so he could make out the features of a pony, a regular wingless, hornless pony, with a air of energy around her that just told you that she was hyper, sugar-induced or not.
“A new pony! I know you must be new because I know literally every pony in ponyville, so if I don’t recognise you, you must be new, so...” The pony began, only to be very quickly cut off by Twilight.
“Pinkie Pie, I’d like you to meet Takanuva, he’s new around these parts.”
“Well DUH! Of course he is! I’m going to need streamers! Balloons! Candy! Good thing I made those cupcakes! GUUAAHH I know what’ll make this great!” Pinkie nearly shouted, with an enthusiasm that was extremely contagious. She then ran up the stairs, making noises that sounds strangely like a hammer and nails.
The space vacated by the hyperactive pony was soon occupied by a blue pony with a mane that was two shades of pink, who seemed very motherly in her actions.
“Hello dearie, don’t mind Pinkie, she just loves meeting new friends.” the pony began, “Anyway, welcome to Sugarcube corner, can we help you with anything?”
“Hi Mrs Cake, I was just taking Takanuva for a snack. He’s new in town, as you could probably guess from Pinkie.” Twilight replied.
“Oh, hello Twilight, I didn’t see you there. What would you like?”
Twilight walked over to the counter and began perusing through the selection of things on offer. Takanuva remembered how hungry he was, and went over there himself. The glass cabinet set into the counter was full of various types of cake and confectionary. They all looked equally appetising to Takanuva, but he found himself drawn to a particular slice of cake. It was dark brown, with a cream filling, white icing on top and covered in little shards of chocolate.
“I would very much like a slice of that cake there, but unfortunately I have no money with which to use to pay for it.” Takanuva said over the counter to Mrs Cake, who was waiting patiently for them.
“Don’t worry about it Takanuva, I’ll pay for this one, but you won’t be able to live off freebies forever” Twilight cut in “You’ll need to get a job if you’re going to stay in town.”
Mrs Cake took out the plates with the things that Twilight and Takanuva had asked for. She took a single slice of each off their plates, and wrapped them up surprisingly delicately considering that she didn’t have fingers. They both picked up their bundles in their teeth, said farewell through gritted teeth and made their way to the door.
As they stepped out the doorway, they heard wingbeats closing in on them. They looked up to see Rainbow Dash flying towards them, an urgent expression on her face. She glided to a halt just in front of them and began to speak.
“Twilight! I just saw Princess Celestia’s carriage on it’s way here, along with a whole bunch of royal guards!”
“What! Princess Celestia? Here?” Twilight echoed, concern easily noticeable in her voice “Why didn’t she tell me, we need to prepare!”
As Twilight looked around rapidly, trying to find things that need sorting out before the Princess arrived, several pairs of wings could be heard, followed by half a dozen very serious looking pegasi, wearing identical suits of golden armour. The pegasi, which Takanuva assumed were the royal guard, were soon followed by a bright white pony, with an air of majesty around her. Instead of having just a horn, or just wings, this pony had both, setting her apart from anypony he’d seen before. The pony’s appearance gave Takanuva the sense that he should be bowing before her, so he did so, while Twilight simply ran up to her like a parent.
“Princess, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would have set something up.”
“Sorry, my dear student, but even I did not know that I was coming until recently, when I felt a shift in the magical balance.” the Princess said to Twilight, like they had known each other for years, “A shift that I traced back here, to Ponyville, specifically to this pony right in front of me. He does not belong here.”
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