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// Chapter 2: Of Kanohi Masks and Cutie Marks 
// Story: My Little Bionicle: The Legends Reborn 
// by PinoyPony 
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Well, I was exhausted. Playing Kolhii was one thing, learning it was another. Put them together, and what do you get? A collapsed colt on the Protodermis floor. 
I took a sip of my water. Often times, I’d store about a gallon of it in my saddlebags to keep myself cool from all the heat of the Ta-Metru. It’s a good thing that the Ga-Matoran make it an effort to provide water to all of Equestria. If it wasn’t for them… well you could fill in the blanks. 
Mintfire recommended that I watch the practice match while cooling off. So far, I’ve concluded that Kolhii is a subsequent of Lacrosse. But it has its own set of rules. Like the obvious “There is a minimum of two teams and no team can have more players than the other team” some more complex rules are “Only the Defender may have a shield, but during Rahi attack, this rule is rendered void”
Of all the players on the field, Mintfire had a special group of friends. Many were a mix of Matoran and Ponies. Not to mention two were pegasai working in the same forges we were. 
I sat on the bleachers, eyeing the game closely. My goodness, I was outmatched. Each one of them was extremely good at Kolhii. Most of the time, they stood in a Stalemate for a while, until one team caught the other off-guard. The whole thing was mesmerizing. 
Wait. I glanced at the nearest clock, mounted on the wall. It’s about 5:30 PM. 
“I stayed too long!” I shouted to myself as I climbed down the bleachers. 
“Wait! Lhikan! Where are you going?” Mintfire held his hoof up to alert the others to stop the game. The others halted for a second as if the game shifted from Kolhii to freeze tag. 
“I stayed here too long! I need to get home and study!” I blasted through the doors and bolted through the hallways. 
I heard the reply from Mintfire “Well, good luck on your studying Lhikan! Have a good one!” 
I headed through the hallways, rushing past various ponies working at the recreational center. 
I wasn’t looking where I was going, and bumped into a particular Bio-Pony. At first I thought it was another Matoran-Pony, basing those conclusions by the hooves aided by mechanical parts. 
That was my conclusion until I looked up. 
I bowed toward the towering Alicorn in front of me. She had a white coat, pink hair and eyes to match it her form. She was clad in Golden mechanical parts, the iconic mask covering her face. 
“My apologies, Toa Nirva,” I backed away an inch just to be safe. 
“You’re fine, Lhikan,” She replied.  
Wait… how did she know my name? 
“Besides, I was looking for you,” Her voice was calm and soothing, yet firm and direct. 
“For me? Why?” I ask. Why would a Toa so high and mighty like Toa Nirva bother to seek me out? I was a normal, everyday pony. 
Nirva fished an item out of her saddlebags. She pulled out a parabolic stone, with a simple inscription of the crest of Mata Nui. “That’s not important now, I have urgent matters that I need to address.” She held out the stone in front of me with her golden aura. “Here, take this, and show it to nopony nor Bionicle.”
I didn’t want to be rude, so I accepted it. Examining it, I asked “What is this for?”
“Open it when you get home, make sure you are alone.” Toa Nirva instructed. Her ear popped up as if she was heard something. I didn’t hear anything, all I could hear was the hiss of steam and the clatter of exhaust pipes. She zipped the saddlebags closed. 
“Keep it safe,” quicker than my eyes could register, she rushed down the hall, disappearing into the steam.
“Wait, Toa Nirva!” I tried running after her, before I came to a fork in the path. I wanted to chase her down, but I was wasting time. I needed to go home and do a little studying. 
I examined the stone in my hooves, unsure what it was for. I shrugged as I stuffed it in my pack. 
Better get home now… my parents are probably worried sick. 

I opened the front door of home, taking a deep breath. Here it comes, the lecture. My parents are the type that worry a lot. They stress over the little things. That is why I make an effort to take charge and be responsible. If I was even 10 seconds late… they would start sending magic-transferred messages to the police.
Right as I closed the door, my mother peeked behind door frame to the kitchen. She gasped in surprise. I put my saddlebags down on the floor, ready for the routine measure. 
She charged toward me, eyes full of tears. I held out my fore hooves, ready to embrace her. “Lhikan! Your Home! I thought you were eaten by a Rahi!” Her hug became tighter.
I don’t blame her. Lately, for the past century, the tame Rahi have become restless and more aggressive. There were multiple cases of ponies or Matoran being mauled or attacked by a Nui-Jaga, Tarakava, or other Rahi. 
“I’m sorry, mom. Turaga Tahu is cracking the whip again,” I came up with that excuse, hopefully it was enough to cover up my mistake.  
“Please send me a magic message at the very least!” 
“C’mon Mom, you know that my workplace has mostly pegasai and earth-ponies. The unicorns do not listen to grunt workers.” I explain. “Not to mention the nearest unicorn that will listen is about a mile from the forges!”
“You go to school with lots of Unicorns! Have them send the message for you!”
“They are tired of sending ‘mommy’ mail for me,”
“Tell them that your message is urgent!”
“Gah! I don’t have time for this!” I pick up my saddlebags and head upstairs to my room. 
“Lhikan, please, just let me know how you are doing… I can’t bear to lose you too.” I stop and glance back at my mother. I look her in the eyes. Those blue eyes plead for my safety. 
“I’ll make sure to send you a message next time.” I continue to my room. Upon entry, I tossed the saddlebags to the mattress I have on the floor. I rub my face in my hooves in frustration. “Why can’t anypony understand that I have bigger problems?” I mumble to myself
Stretching, my wings flutter around, causing mini-tornadoes to form in my room. I open the saddlebags, pulling out my history book. While pulling it out, the stone Toa Nirva gave me fell on my beside. 
I pick it up and examine it a little more. Shrugging again, I put the stone back into the pouch and pick up the history book with my mouth. 
BLAM! The desk trembled under the immense pressure of the heavy book. Toughest wood from the Le-Metru, I am glad it isn’t the wimpy-type, otherwise this desk would’ve snapped a long time ago.
Now, back where I left off. “No time will be much darker and desperate when she returns, for Equestria will be thrown into chaos mixed with Protodermis,” 
I turn the page. “Equestrian-Mata Nui Era- Genesis Age” My brow furrows as I read the title. I read over the brief summary of the Age- “First Matoran and Toa come to Equestria, from all different ages, and introduce their customs to the ponies. Villages and communities are formed, Kohlii is introduced, and two worlds begin to mingle. Voya Nui and Puritan-Equestrian Resistance armies form. Matoran Nirva begins her quest to find her destiny.”
“You’ve really done it now,” a voice says behind me. 
“Hahli, how many times do I have to tell you? Stay out of my room!” I turn around to face the filly. She has the same blue mane as my mother, only her coat is kelp-green. It must’ve been my father’s yellow coat mixing with my mother’s blue coat. 
“Mom was very worried. Please don’t do that again,”  
I dismissed the comment and turned back to studying my book. C’mon Lhikan… you’ve done this before… ignore her. “Get out, I’m busy,” I said for good measure. 
I hear her trot to my bedside. The next thing she does, it can be easily inferred by the faint clink of Kanoka discs. I swivel another 180, this time around, shooting her a death glare. She was playing with the welding torch, rolling it around in a Kanoka disc. “Bringing work home again?”
“Hahli, don’t play with that, that equipment is not a toy,” I say. She set down the Kanoka Discs back into my pack. “Now, out of here, I’m busy,” The mistake I made was turning my back once more. 
“Can I watch you make a mask?” She asks. 
“No, Later, I’m studying,” I say. I roll my eyes as I hear the sound of rummaging through my pack. C’mon Lhikan… just pay attention to your history book… pretend she doesn’t exist. 
“What’s this?” Her voice asks. I groan and rub my face in my hooves. 
“Hahli…” I trail off. I was about to give her a piece of my mind, until I found what she was holding. It was the same stone with the insignia of Mata Nui on it. I blanched for a second, then snapped out of my shock “Put that back,” 
“What is it?” 
“None of your business, put it back,” I spoke a tad too late. Hahli could probably sense that the stone was important. After all, Toa Nirva gave it to me, and told me not to show anypony. I’ve already failed at my task. 
She started to toss it up and down. Another thing I had to worry about, is the stone fragile? I couldn’t risk breaking it, Toa Nirva would be furious. “Put it back, I don’t know what it is, it could be a Kraata pod, so best is not to mess with it,”
“You mean you don’t know what this thing is?” 
Now, how was I going to get out of this? She keeps on asking questions, and the further we go into discussion, the more she’ll find the truth. So, I came up with a plausible excuse “I found it in the forges. It’s not Kanoka, Protodermis, nor metal.” I pointed to my saddlebags “Now, put it back, please,”
She smiled devilishly. “Hmph!” she folded her forelegs and refused to put it back. I knew what she wanted, and she wasn’t going down without a fight. 
“Fine, I’ll work on a mask and you can help, but only if you put it back and never speak of it again,” my request always works if I included her in my mask-making. That is all she ever cared about. 
She nodded eagerly and put the stone back into the pack. I trotted over to my pack and picked up the welding torch with three Kanoka discs. Heading downstairs, we passed by my mother, who was preparing dinner. 
She snickered as she saw me with my sister heading to the workshop. “Let me guess, Hahli forced you into a deal,” 
“Eeyup,” I answered the best I could with three Kanoka discs in my mouth. 
I had nothing to worry about. As long as Hahli got to help me with mask-making, she honored her side of the deal, never once broke the truce. That was one of her good qualities. She even kept secrets from mom and dad when needed. Let’s just say, having a little crush at the University is the tip of the iceberg. As brother and sister, we share secrets from parents. Isn’t that just the sum of the relationship between siblings?
As soon as I got the anvil set up, and my welding torch lit, Hahli had placed a barrel of water next to the anvil. Standard Protocol… have water nearby so you could cool off the metal. She even fetched the tongs along the way so cooling the mask would be a breeze. 
It’s a little odd for somepony like Hahli to enjoy Mask-making. The general populous said that pegasai and earth ponies work in the forges with the Ta-Matoran, and the Unicorns and Sea-ponies work at the aquifers and wells with the Ga-Matoran. Hahli was born a sea-pony, hence the reason why my parents picked a Toa of water name. 
Generally, when ponies see my sister (or any sea pony for that matter), they automatically think she is good at working with water at the wells and aquifers. That is only half-true. If only ponies could see how good she’s at in mask-making. 
She even has made masks herself. Whenever I come home with a spare Kanoka Disc or Scrap Kanohi Mask, she takes it and makes her own creations. Some of the creations on my desk is from her handiwork. 
It’s a shame she still doesn’t have her cutie mark yet. I would’ve sworn she earned it by now, being this talented at handling the torch. Yet, her flank remains void, waiting a tad too long for a cutie mark. 
Nonetheless, Cutie mark or not, she always manages to help me. 
I’m half-way through making the next Matoran mask, but need to fetch another disc. “Here, can you carve it down a little more, I’ll be back in a second.” She gladly held the torch, following the instructions of the blueprints.
I rushed upstairs and rummaged through my pack again, trying to find another disc. Upon pulling out the next disc, the stone fell out. 
Why is it that I flinch every time I see that stone? I snap out of my trance and stuffed it back into the pack. Alright, back to the workshop. As I trotted downstairs, my mother snickered again, seeing me with yet another disc in my mouth. 
When I entered the workshop, Hahli was nearly done with the mask. She already had filled the gap I was about to fix. 
“Wait… how did you…” 
“I found a spare disc lying around the workshop. You’re very forgetful sometimes,” She said. Etching the last few marks in the mask, she turned down the heat of the torch and observed her own craftsmanship.
It feels as if I’m taking full credit for work I didn’t do. Mintfire saved my rump 80 percent of the time, while Hahli saved it the other 20 percent. The only thing that cleared my conscience was the permission I had from my sister and my friend. They deemed it okay to take credit for their work. 
My sister turned to me and smiled. Not only she’d finish a mask, she make it quality. As soon as she saw the disc in my mouth, her eyes went wide. 
“Wait! That… It can’t be,” she pointed to the disc. “How did you get your hooves on that?” 
I looked to the disc. What made it special? It was just an ordinary Kanoka disc. I examined it and found what she was talking about. This was a level 7 disc! 
“Can I have it? Please! Please! Please!” She begged. 
There must’ve been a mix-up in the supply areas, a sorter must’ve goofed on one of the discs, and that is probably why I have my hooves on a Level 7 disc. “I don’t know Hahli… I never have worked with Level 7 discs before… Besides, it’s best just to return it”
“C’mon, can I have it? Please? I promise not to bother you for a whole month!” 
Tempting. Then again, I never have worked with a mask of this aptitude. The highest I have gone is a Level 6 disc. As the discs get higher in level, the harder they are to carve through. Still, her offer was tempting. “Oh really, a whole month? A full 31 days?” 
“Yes! Yes!” She was more eager than a Rahi kept from a fruit tree. I gave it a little more thought. She was skilled, so I think she could handle a mask like that, but then again, what if she hurts herself? 
I guess she could handle a Level 7 disc. She is more skilled than me. Plus, I don’t see any problems with the forges missing a Level 7 disc. They had so many, one cannot be missed. I brought spare discs home all the time, and the forges permitted taking extra discs. 
I hoofed the disc over to her. “There, go ahead, go crazy,” 
“Yipee!” She slapped the Disc onto the anvil and thought to herself what she was going to make. 
I was about to trot out of the room, “I’ll help mom with dinner, If you need anything, just give us a hoot,” 
“Yeah, I know,” She was deep in thought. 
“Just be careful, I never worked with a Kanoka disc of that aptitude before,” 
“Yes, Lhikan, just go, I need time to think” She waved her hoof in the same gesture as to say “Shoo!” 
I chuckled to myself as I closed the door. She was acting like me. 
“Letting her work on another mask?” My mother asks. I trot over to the sink. I wash my hooves and dry them off. 
“Eeyup,” I pick up a knife and started to cut carrots. 
“She is very good at mask-making,” 
“Eeyup!” I finished the carrots and moved onto celery. “she is so talented at handling that torch and disc, If she was a Pegasus, the whole Metru would’ve known her for her work,” 	
“Agreed,” She scraped the cut-up carrots into the pan. With a dash of seasoning, she created art herself. “She is so good at it, she could possibly take your job!” She teased
“Yeah right! She is talented, but the operators of the forges would laugh in her face if she tried to apply there.” My mother looked at me and rolled her eyes. 
“Mom?” I ask
“Yes, darling,”
“Why does life have to be so unfair?” My comment made her glance over to me. 
“Why do you say that?” She asked, stirring up the ingredients in the rice. 
“It’s just, come to think about it, I should’ve been the Sea-pony and Hahli should’ve been the Pegasus.” I say. “I’m very good at teaching and history, while Hahli is good at mask-making.”
“Hmm, I see,” She said. “But unfortunately, you are the Pegasus, and she is the Sea-pony. Might I have this correct?” 
“Yes,” I scraped the celery into the rice. “If Hahli inherited dad’s wings, she would’ve taken over the forges a long time ago. Why is it that our creeds don’t match our talents?”
“Lhikan, we’ve talked about this before. Even if you have a cutie mark that contradicts your creed, doesn’t mean it’s not your talent,”
“I’m not saying that. I’m saying why is it that life gave us our race, when our talents are not meant for our creeds?”
“Let’s put this in a different context. Suppose there is an earth-pony who has the cutie mark of wings. Do you think that his or her disadvantage will keep them from their talent?”
“No, the earth pony could make some flying contraption to help them fly,” I answer. I have heard this analogy before, many times in my line of schooling. 
“You see Lhikan, I don’t know what is so hard to get about it. Even if nature defies your talent, doesn’t mean you should back down and not embrace it. The world needs ponies who stand up for a cause and fight for it. No pony said that this would be easy, but it is possible.”
“So, you’re saying that I should go forward with teaching and history, even if I break the norms of my race?” I raise a brow as I finish up with the rest of the vegetables.
“Exactly! Be bold and fearless! Get out there and do something about it!” She gave the rice one final stir and scraped it to a bowl. She set the bowl down on the table “Call your sister, it is time to eat,” 
I opened the door to workshop and called my sister in. “Time for dinner!” 
“One minute! Almost done with the mask!” She shouted back. 
I closed the door and took a seat near my dad. He had his gaze zeroed in on a noble Kanohi mask. He pulled out a Philips screwdriver from his tool belt and fiddled with the mask. 
“Good evening father. How was work?” 
“Just fine, I got finished with that forsaken mask today!” He gave me a quick smile then shifted back to his mask. It’s ironic that my dad has the exact same problems as me, working with a difficult mask. 
“That’s good,” I had nothing else to say. 
The door to the workshop swung wide open. Hahli emerged, covered stains from the metal. I guess she knew what she was doing. My first time handling a Level 1 Disc, I came home looking like a metal statue. All I remember from that experience is that stuff was hard to clean off. 
“Just a minute, I need to clean this gunk off,” She headed to the kitchen and used the special cleaner my dad used to clean off the metal splotches.  When she was finished, she washed her hooves and took a seat next to my mother. 

“So… Hahli, what were you making in the workshop?” My dad asked. It was polite of him not to talk with his mouth full, like he usually did. 
“Oh, the usual, just practicing making a mask,” She took another bite of the fried rice. 
“Well, that is nice honey… are you finished?” My mother glanced over to her.
“Yes. After dinner, you can take a look,” Hahli smiled in delight, knowing that we were interested in her work. My mother smiled as she looked to Hahli, mostly clean from the metal splotches. 
My mother hopped up in surprise.  
“Honey, what is it? Did you get burned?” My dad asked in concern. 
“Hahli… wha… what is that on your flank?” My mother stuttered. Hahli looked down to her hindleg. By her facial expression, well, you could probably tell what is going to happen next. 
“A… A Cutie Mark!” She shouted. She squealed in delight, finally knowing what her special talent was. 
“What? Let me see!” I say, I couldn’t wait to see what the picture looked like. 
She moved out of her chair and presented her flank to all of us. It was covered a minute ago by a metal splotch. We didn’t notice it until it decided to stop hiding from under the blanket of metal. 
It was a picture of a welding torch, lit and making a mask. From my studies, I knew that the mask was no ordinary mask. The torch was carving out the Avohkii, the legendary mask of light. It also happens that Toa Takanuva wears that same legendary mask. 
My father was speechless. “My little filly has finally earned her cutie mark!” He hopped out of his seat and galloped toward her for a big hug. Almost Tackling Hahli, He observed the picture a little more, marveling at the grace of it all. 
My mother and I joined into the group hug around my sister. As we pulled away, my mother asked “But how? She has worked on masks for a long time, why does the cutie mark decide to show up now?” 
“I think it’s just because she has reached another milestone in her talent,” My father inferred. 
I chuckled. “That is only partially true, you see, I know why her cutie mark appeared,” Both my parents gestured for me to go on. “This was her first time handling a Level 7 disc,” 
My parents’ expressions shifted from excited to confused. Wait, that was a wrong move, wasn’t it?