//------------------------------// // Carving Out the Past // Story: Bionicle: The Darkness Within // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// Twilight began her ascent up the stairs of the temple, setting off at a brisk pace before anyone, Toa or Pony, could stop her. “Hey Twilight, wait please.” Vakama shouted, rushing after Twilight. Following the lead of the red Toa, the others sprinted after Twilight, catching her just before she cleared the halfway point. “Please stop for a moment Twilight.” Nokama said, putting the pony down. “But…temple…undiscovered…why?” Twilight asked disjointedly, not taking her eyes off the top of the staircase. “As you said Twilight, it’s undiscovered.” Whenua said. “We don’t know what is in there, and I believe it would be for the best if we lead.” “Hey, hold up there.” Rainbow said indignantly, flying in front of Whenua. “We went into the castle of the two Alicorn sisters, and that was much scarier than this place.” “Ah have to agree with Rainbow here.” Applejack added. “Why don’t we just settle on us all going in at the same time?” Rarity asked, attempting to find a middle ground. “That does make sense.” Nuju agreed. “Grr, fine.” Rainbow relented. “My insistence that you obey our commands in the event of an emergency still stands.” Vakama pointed out. “I understand.” Twilight smiled, before slipping out of Nokamas grasp and rushing to the top of the staircase. “I see she really listened to you brother.” Onewa laughed, before following Twilight up the stairs. “Yeah, that’s Twilight for you.” Pinkie grinned. “Any time she thinks she can get a hold of some new knowledge, she goes running off.” “Great.” Sighed Vakama, following the rest of the group. As they reached the top, they once again caught sight of Twilight, who was staring slack jawed at the main entrance of the temple. “And here it is.” Rainbow smiled. “Stage one of the egghead cycle, awe.” “Do we want to know what the next stages are?” Onewa whispered to Applejack. “Oh, that depends.” Applejack whispered back. “On what?” Onewa hissed. “On how much it lives up to her expectations. She could either squeal and jump around like a school filly for the next five minutes, or she could have a magical overload in frustration.” “Great.” Onewa said, standing back up. “Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes.” Twilight shouted, jumping around the group. For the most part, the ponies looked nonchalantly at the spectacle, while the Toa looked confused. The only exception to this was Pinkie Pie, who had promptly joined in the impromptu bouncing session, and was now following Twilight around with her eyes closed and a content smile upon her lips. “I guess it was the former.” Onewa said dryly. “Agreed.” Rainbow laughed. “Ok Twilight. Settle down please.” Vakama smiled, putting his arm in front of her and stopping her mid bounce. “Ummm…yes.” Twilight admitted, blushing deeply. “Should we…” “Explore deeper into this crumbling and damaged temple of unknown origins that could have anything lurking inside it but that doesn’t matter because we have six super strong Toa heroes that will protect us if anything goes wrong?” Pinkie asked in a single breath. “Pinkie Pie worries me.” Whenua muttered. “We all get worried about Pinkie Pie dear.” Rarity muttered back, without breaking her smile. “I get worried about Pinkie to.” Pinkie smiled, before bouncing into the temple. “Come on, let’s follow her before she hurts herself.” Nokama said, setting off after The eleven friends set off deeper into the temple, looking around the interior of the temple as they went. Twilight, Whenua and Nokama seemed to be fascinated by everything they saw, while Matau, Onewa, Rainbow and Nuju looked extremely bored. Vakama, Applejack and Fluttershy on the other hand were walking at the back, chatting between themselves. “So does Twilight do this sort of thing a lot when it comes to historical artefacts?” Vakama asked. “More or less. She usually just ogles the object until she’s studied every tiny bit of it. Then she goes off and writes a thesis on it before sending the thesis to Celestia. Not that there’s anything wrong with having a hobby.” Fluttershy said, finishing in a small squeak. “That’s fair enough.” Vakama nodded. “Twilights a good friend but she gets a mite excited over these things. Maybe a tad too excited, but it’s better than not being interested in anything.” Applejack pointed out. “I guess she has her own quirks like everyone does.” Vakama said in an absent minded tone, before walking over to a mural on the wall. “Hey guys, come look at this.” Vakama said uncertainly. “What is it Vakami?” Pinkie asked, peering over Vakamas shoulder. “Gah. How…what…never mind.” Vakama said, recoiling at the sudden appearance of Pinkie, before dismissing it. “What is it brother?” Nuju asked, walking over to Vakama. “This mural, it’s…odd.” Vakama said, placing his hand on the wall and wiping away a layer of dust and grime, before recoiling for a second time. “Is that…” Nokama asked. “…a Kanoka Disk” Vakama finished. “But, that’s not possible.” Onewa said simply. “More than that, look at this.” Vakama said, pulling a disk from his back and holding it up. “Look, 1-3-6.” He said, pointing at the inscription on the disk, before pointing to the wall again. “And here, 1-3-6. It’s the same disk designation.” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “These disks are used by the Matoran for everything from Sport and fun to defence.” Vakama began. “Each one has a three digit code detailing their effects and powers.” “If it’s only a three digit code between 1 and 9, couldn’t the same code appear more than once?” Rarity asked. “Yes, but the chances of these two disks having the exact same code, as well as the same inscriptions is…” Vakama began. “…roughly nine hundred and seventy six thousand, eight hundred and seventy two to one.” Nuju finished. “Did you work that out in your head?” Twilight asked. “Yes.” Nuju replied. “Nice. However, if we can get back to this matter at hand?” Twilight said. “I believe that would be good.” Nuju nodded. “Hey Twi, if there’s a disk inscription here, that’s the same as the one Vakama has. Doesn’t that mean…” “Someone from their world built this place?” Rainbow asked. “No, I’m sure there must be a logical explanation for this.” Nokama said, not looking away from the inscription. “Hey guys,” Rainbow said, hovering over to another wall. “Come up with a logical explanation for this.” “What are you…talking…about?” Twilight said, looking over and catching sight what Rainbow was looking at. “What are we looking at here Twi?” Applejack asked. “Pass.” She said slowly, before looking closer at the wall. The whole wall was dominated by a series of carvings. Slowly, the entire group walked over to the wall and stared at it. “What is that Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. “I can’t make out the writing, but it looks like a pictorial representation of a past event.” Twilight said, looking closer. “Does it make anyone nervous that I know what language that is?” Whenua asked. “Very.” Rarity said. “What is it?” “A very old dialect of the modern language of the Matoran.” Whenua replied. “How old?” Applejack asked. “Very.” Whenua said uncertainly. “Luckily, not all of us are from Po-Metru, or some over backwards Metru.” Whenua smiled, getting a foul look from Onewa. “Let’s see here.” With that, Whenua leaned in closer to the worn script, muttering softly to himself as he sought to decipher the writing. “Umm…does anypony else get the feeling we’re being watched?” Fluttershy asked, moving her head slightly so she was hidden behind her mane. “I feel it to.” Nokama said, placing her hand on Fluttershys back. “Me to.” Vakama admitted. “Nokama, take Nuju and Matau and scout the area. Check to see if anything is in here with us.” “Way ahead of you fire-spitter.” Matau laughed, before moving off. Instantly, Rainbow made to follow the three Toa, but found Vakama blocking her way. “Hey! What gives?” She asked indignantly. “’What gives’ is I would like you to stay here.” Vakama explained. “Buck that. I can handle myself.” Rainbow said defensively, trying to get around Vakama, but he moved so as to not allow her past. “I do not doubt that fact Rainbow, but do you remember the condition upon which I allowed you to come?” “Yeah but…” She began. “What did I say?” Vakama insisted. “That we had to listen to you and the other Toa.” Rainbow said reluctantly. “Thank you.” Vakama smiled. “It is not that I do not trust you Rainbow, but if anything happened to you, it would be my fault for letting you get into the situation in the first place. Grumbling, Rainbow sat on the floor by herself, facing out of the temple, while the others chatted in hushed tones. All the while, Whenua continued to attempt to read the inscription. Almost twenty minutes later, Nokama, Nuju and Matau returned, declaring that the temple was completely barren. This did not however, stop Fluttershy from continuing to feel watched, and soon, everyone in the group had the same uneasy feeling. Finally, Whenua straightened himself and turned to the others with an uneasy smile on his face. “It was tricky, but I think I know how to translate it now.” He declared. “What?!” Rainbow shouted. “All that time and you haven’t even read it?” “Hey, I said I knew the dialect, not that I could read it properly. It took me a while to get used to it.” Whenua said defensively. “What does it say?” Twilight asked. “Let’s see.” Whenua said, turning back to the inscription, Whenua began to read it off, running his finger just below the odd symbols that made up the inscription. “Please, keep quite while I do this.” “In the time before time, a single being ruled over this land in total unity, brokering peace between the flora and fauna.” At this, he gestured to the first mural, this one depicting an Alicorn above trees and birds, as well as ponies. “For eons, this singular being ruled alone, watching the three tribes carved in her image, until one day, a being of the night appeared, bringing with her a forth tribe, carved in the new comers image.” The second mural depicted a second, darker Alicorn facing off against the white one, bringing with her a host of bat-winged ponies. “These two celestial beings decided to share the lands, and ruled once more in harmony, but is was not to last. The dark one fell, taking scores with her, and creating an army of shadows, attempting to plunge the land into an eternal slumber, over which she would be the sole ruler.” A mural depicted the dark Alicorn, now much bigger and garbed in armour, standing above a host of ponies of all races, but each of whom was completely black, devoid of any features whatsoever. “The first being gathered all those who were able, and prepared an army of the light to combat this new threat.” The next mural along showed the white Alicorn in a similar state to the dark one, but the ponies she lead were diverse, and did not show any uniform symbols upon them. “In a great cataclysm, the two armies clashed, and at the centre, the two beings clashed on every level, their very minds at war with each other.” This mural depicted scores of ponies, some black and some coloured, clashing, while in the middle, the two Alicorns fought. “For three days, the armies fought, until the only ones left were the two beings. The fight would have continued, had the dark one not suddenly failed, reverting to her original form.” This mural showed the white Alicorn standing over the dark Alicorn, this time however, she looked how she had before the uprising. All around the pair, lay the bodies of ponies of all colours. “Driven by grief and rage at the loss of so many, the white one banished the other to her own domain, imprisoning her in what was once her own. Her sanctuary now served as her prison.” The penultimate mural showed the white Alicorn standing in front of the sun and the moon. The moon however, now showed the visage of a pony, and on closer inspection, it was clear that this was the dark Alicorn. “The lands were devastated by the war, but the light endured, and eventually, prospered.” Whenua finished abruptly, looking at the next bit in annoyance. “What’s the matter?” Nokama asked in a hushed tone. “The next bit of the inscription has been worn away.” He muttered, before shrugging, and moving past the smooth stone to where a final sentence was carved. “The dark shall once again rise, and all of the light shall fall. And all shall know peace, in an eternal slumber, over which, only one will rule.” He finished, before straightening up and turning to face the others. “That…” Twilight began, her voice cracking. She took a moment to compose herself and wet her lips slightly, before trying again. “That must be the Nightmare era.” She said softly. “As in Nightmare moon?” Rarity asked. “Exactly. I never knew half of that though. Whenever I’ve asked Celestia about it she either brushed me off or said it was a family thing. She never said that there was a war.” “This is amazin’” Applejack said, walking over to look at the mural. “Like, this is history right here.” “Hey guys.” Onewa said, looking closer at the wall. “This…wasn’t carved by Matoran.” “What do you mean?” Vakama asked, walking over to the wall. “Well I mean that it completely goes against the physicality of the Matoran carving techniques.” He said “How?” Twilight asked. “Well, Po-Metru builders always carve with the chisel facing downwards, and use the hammer on the top of it. These markings have been made by the chisel either being placed directly against the wall, or upwards facing.” “So who carved it?” Nuju asked. “Hey guys, lookey here.” Pinkie called from off to the right. In her mouth was a small chisel, and in her left hoof was a hammer. Moving her head slightly, she pressed the chisel to the wall, before tapping the hammer on the end of it and moving her head, being showered in a cascade of small flakes of rock as she went. When she had finished, she stepped back to admire her handy work and sighed, looking happily at the full colour drawing she had done on the wall. “Ummm…there’s colour there.” Onewa said slowly, looking between the wall and the chisel that Pinkie used. Pinkie just smiled and nodding happily. Shaking his head, Onewa went over to the new carving, running his hand over it, and doing the same to the writing. He began to move slower, before turning around with a perplexed look on his face. “They’re…” He began, but was cut off by a shriek of pure terror that echoed around the room. Instantly, the entire group looked around for the source, their eyes finally settling on Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus’s eyes were wide, and her entire face had grown noticeably paler. One of her hooves was outstretched, and shaking violently. However, it was still clear that she was pointing at something, and eleven pairs of eyes followed it to where she was pointing. Their eyes alighted on a hoof, just emerging from a shadow. The hoof itself was completely black, and nothing else of the pony could be seen. “Hey, Whenua?” Nuju asked. “Can you see anything in there?” “Nothing.” Whenua replied slowly, his mask glowing. The entire group stared at the hoof, as slowly, it began to move, dragging itself forward, and slowly revealing the body of pony, it’s every aspect completely void of colour. After a few seconds, it stood in the open, and turned its head towards the group. Slowly, it opened its mouth, and began to shamble slowly towards the group, its hooves passing silently over the floor as it did so.