BIONICLE: Toa of Harmony

by ToaofTwilightZ

Chapter 6: The Infection, the Crusade Begins

Piatra stood atop the walls of Po-Koro, looking out over the desert. Below, a winding path curved through the dust and sculptures. Normally, there were three more matoran up here keeping guard alongside Piatra, but all had succumbed to the plague. So here he was, alone, watching the path in case any rahi tried to get through the main gate. Looking toward the horizon, he noticed a cloud of dust coming fast from the direction of the sea. So fast, in fact, that he doubted he’d be able to hit it with a disk should it come in range.
So instead, he decided to get down and block the entrance himself. As it came closer, he spotted an orange and purple blur at the head of the sandstorm. Closer, and he heard loud and excited woops of joy. Piatra lowered his chisel in a defensive position. Whatever this was wasn’t getting into his village without permission. As the cloud got even closer, the orange blur coalesced into a small pony on a board with handles that rolled on wheels, and another pony foal being pulled in a red wagon behind her. The orange filly’s tiny wings buzzed loudly, and she wore a Ta-Koro lava board on its back. Upon seeing the matoran blocking her path, the pony didn’t stop, or even slow down. Instead, she whipped to the right and grinded past Piatra along the edge of a statue. “’Scuse me!” she yelled in an adorably tomboyish voice as she flew through the Po-Koro gate.
Piatra must have stood there for 30 seconds, simply staring at the gate the small pony disappeared through. The matoran shrugged. “Oh well, next time.” With that the matoran turned to begin the climb back up to the top of the gate… only to be hit in the face by a charging ussal crab.

Applebloom breathed heavily as her hooves pounded against sand and rock again and again. She knew if a certain pink foal saw her now, the bully would take no time in pointing out how awful the young earth foal looked. Her mane hung messily over one shoulder, her trademark bow lying discarded in the dirt. She could hear Diamond Tiara making a crack at how Applebloom’s coat, now slick with sweat and stained bronze by dust, was fitting for a foal whose family made a living beating dirt and wood. And, of course, how stupid she must be to be running into the path of a flying boulder.
Seriously, what’s wrong with these Po-Matoran fellers that they think kickin’ rocks at each other is fun? Applebloom thought to herself as, grunting from effort, the filly channeled all her fledgling earth magic and the power of countless generations of Apples into a single buck. The impact sent a shock through the filly’s entire body, and the Kohlii ball was sent straight toward the head of the opposing goalie. But instead of dodging the massive projectile, the matoran goalie rose to deliver a massive head-butt, launching the rock back towards his ally. Oh… ah guess brain damage’ll do it…
As the goalie popped his neck, his partner did a backflip to catch the Kohlii ball in mid-air between his feet. He then used his momentum to launch the stone ball at high speed towards the opposite goal. More specifically, the same earth pony filly whose legs were too sore from that last buck to dodge in time. Applebloom’s eyes widened as she began to realize what she’d gotten herself into. Her thoughts (and screams) were cut short as a buzzing noise and a yell preceded a sharp impact not her skull, but to her side. She rolled in sparse dirt of the Po-Koro Kohlii arena as the stone landed loudly off to her left. When the dust settled, Applebloom opened her eyes to find herself at the bottom of a pile of saddlebags, sports equipment, and a two familiar fillies with their eyes spinning in their sockets.
“Scootaloo!” shouted Applebloom with equal parts relief and excitement.
“Uh, hey Applebloom,” Scootaloo replied as she dizzily got back to her hooves. Once the orange chickens stopped flying around her head, Scootaloo remembered where she was. “So what in the hay was that?!” she exclaimed, stomping a hoof. “Why were you screaming, and why was that boulder flying straight at you?”
Applebloom struggled out from Sweetie Belle before helping the unicorn to her feet, hugging her friend before explaining. “The matoran here like to play a game called Kohlii. It’s kinda like soccer, but they don’t have the materials to make regular balls, so they use rocks.”
One of the villagers on the field spoke up. “Your friend said she wanted to try, something about getting a ‘cutie mark’ or something like that. So we let her join our game. In hindsight, we probably should have gone a little easier on her, seeing as she’s a beginners and don’t have the advantage of having a skull made of metal.”
At the mention of cutie marks, all three crusaders looked at Applebloom’s flank expectantly, only to be disappointed yet again. Applebloom looked back at the matoran. “The head-butt might ’a been a lil’ overkill,” she admitted, straightening her bow in her still-messy mane.
“Wait,” Scootaloo said. “You mean you’ve been crusading without me?”
“What’s all this yelling about?” said a tan being limping onto the field. Scootaloo noticed he was similar in shape and dress to Vakama and Nokama, though quite a bit taller, and carrying a large hammer in place of a torch or trident. “I just got finished saving Piatra from being mauled at the gate by an ussal, of all things. Next I hear there’s been an accident at the Kohlii field. Mata Nui knows we have enough problems with the sickness going around the village; I don’t need this kind of stress at my age…”
“Piatra needed the village elder to stop an ussal crab?” the matoran goalie cocked his head, smirking. “Remind me again why he’s in the guard?”
“Sorry, Onewa,” said Applebloom. “Ah thought ah could get my Cutie Marks playin’ Kohlii, but ah guess I was wrong.”
Onewa’s mouth hung agape. He gestured to the two matoran. “You mean you…?” he turned to look at Applebloom, “with the Toa’s sister?!” the turaga hissed. He facepalmed. “Of course you did. If they can kick a ball, then they’re good enough to hurl 40 kio-an-hour rocks at. Never mind that if anything were to happen to her under our watch, Toa Applejack might not help be so willing to help us.”
“Um, sir? Are you related to Turaga Vakama and Nokama and Nuju?” asked Sweetie Belle asked.
Onewa turned to the other two crusaders, having not yet noticed their presence. “You might say that. There was a time when we, the turaga, called each other ‘brother’ and ‘sister’, but we are the only ones who remember that time in the before-time. And you are one of the toa?”
“Why does everypony keep asking us that?” thought Scootaloo aloud, shaking her head in answer.
“Scootaloo Sweetie are my friends!” exclaimed Applebloom, draping her forelegs over her friends’ withers. “We’re all part of the-“
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” cheered all three fillies at once, with Scootaloo adding a final “Yay!” Everyone in the village stopped what they were doing to stare at the young ponies, all of Po-koro going awkwardly silent save for shouting coming from the gate as a crab pounced on the distracted guard. The Crusaders simply stood there, smiling obliviously at the Turaga.
“We’re a secret club!” said Applebloom.
“Mm-hm…” replied Onewa. “And what exactly is a Cutie Mark?”
Now it was the girls’ turn to be shocked. “You don’t know what a Cutie Mark is?” Applebloom asked, shocked.
“I’m afraid not. Why don’t you follow me to my home so you can introduce me to your friends, and I can tell you about our village? Maybe you can tell under what circumstances you met the other turaga.” As Onewa and the crusaders walked away, both matoran started to cough violently.

“You come at a dark time, I’m afraid,” said the Turaga once they were inside his home. “While we are joyful at the arrival of the toa, a dark plague has corrupted my people and my village. Though many still stay at work, and visit the bazaar, and play Kohlii, they have blinded themselves to the truth. Huki, our greatest Kohlii champion, was one of the first to fall ill. He has become weakened, and cannot move from his bed. I fear that soon we will see in him the beginnings of the Madness, the same diabolical force that grips the wild Rahi when their masks become infected.”
“Wait, did you say Huki?” interrupted Scootaloo. “I think I heard that name somewhere… Oh yeah! I think Maku from that floating water village is friends with him!”
“An entire village floating on water?!” Applebloom responded incredulously. “And you’re complainin’ about ME havin’ fun without YOU? What’ve ya’ll been doin’ while ah been here?”
Scootaloo chuckled, rubbing the back of her head as she and Sweetie recounted their adventures on Mata Nui, starting with waking up on the beach and finally the Fluttershy’s battle with the sea monster. Onewa and Applebloom listened intently, the earth pony gasping where appropriate and laughing at some of the more embarrassing parts. Once the tale was finished, Applebloom stared at her fellow crusaders, eyes wide with awe and perhaps a little fear at what her friends had gone through. The turaga seemed to be looking all three travelers over, as if now viewing them in a completely different light.
“That’s one heckuva story, girls,” said Applebloom. “Way better than what ah’ve been doin’. Ah I just woke up in the desert Applejack yellin’ to me about somethin’, an’ then I got to watch my sister hogtie a giant bug thing ‘fore droppin’ me off at this here village. Ah was so bored after a while that ah decided to try this Kohlii thing that everyone in the village wouldn’t stop talking about it. Then… I guess that’s where you showed up. And we still don’t have our cutie marks!” the filly whined.
Onewa interrupted here. “Now I know I asked this at the Kohlii field, but what is this ‘cutie mark’?”
“It’s like a sign,” said Applebloom. “It’s appears on grown-up ponies’ flank to show what they’re good at.”
“My sister has three diamonds to represent how good she is at finding gems, Applejack has apples because she works at Sweetie Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash has a lightning bolt because she can fly faster than anypony…” Sweetie Belle explained, pointing to her blank white flank, “Younger ponies don’t get their cutie marks until they discover their own special talent.”
“So that’s why we founded the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” gushed Scootaloo. “We try all kinds of stuff until we find something we’re good at, and then we’ll have our cutie marks! I want mine to be awesome, just like Rainbow Dash!”
“We even have our capes!” said Sweetie Belle, whipping one of her gold and red creations from her saddlebags and draping it across her withers to proudly display the blue and yellow pony crest patch.
“You think we could find a new clubhouse on the island here?” asked Scoots as she and Applebloom put on their own capes.
“That would be AMAZING!” both Sweetie and Applebloom agreed.
“Excuse me,” said Onewa, trying to get a word in. All three fillies looked at him, just now remembering that the tan turaga was, in fact, present in his own home. “That’s all well and good, but I’d rather you try things that aren’t so dangerous while you are here? I’m supposed to be looking after you for Toa Applejack, and I’ve already got my hands full trying to find the source of this plague…”
“Hey! That’s it!” Applebloom exclaimed, realization striking her. “We can investigate around here, interviewin’ the locals an’ seein’ if we can find the source of that ‘Madness’ stuff! We’ll be the-“
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS OUTBREAK INVESTIGATORS! Yay!” all three shouted as they bolted out the door, capes flapping. Scootaloo poked her head back in. “Oh, can you hang onto this lava surfboard?” she asked, tossing the board on top of the turaga’s worktable, knocking several half-finished sculptures and tablets to the floor.
“I wouldn’t…” The turaga tried to finish, but the fillies were already gone. He drop his head into his hands. “Mata Nui, what have I gotten into?”

The crusaders had hardly gotten out the door before they heard someone yelling at them from across the bazaar. “Hello, strangers! I saw your yellow friend’s remarkable performance on the Kohlii field earlier!”
The three fillies walked over to a stall where a beige matoran with a round, black mask sat atop what looked like a metal ostrich. “Let me recommend the Comet, our most popular model of Kohlii ball. It’s the fasted, most well balanced ball on the market…” The salesman enthusiastically gestured to a market stall behind him, covered in identical stone balls. One of the circular letters on the sign had flames drawn around it to look like a comet tail. Applebloom looked deadpan at the trader.
“Ah ain’t payin’ money for no rock.”
“Ah, but of course not. Here in the bazaar we use the barter system. One of your opponents from the Kohlii match just traded me this Husi Pecking Bird for one.” The trader gestured to his peculiar mount. Sweetie Belle mentally catalogued to the creature under the name ‘Husi’ before remembering that they were supposed to be interviewing the matoran.
“So if we had a Husi, you would give us a ball?” she asked.
“Probably not,” the trader said. “After your friend insulted my ‘rocks’, I might just ask for more. Besides, I already have a Husi, so I’d probably be more willing to trade for, maybe, half a dozen Mahi?”
“What’s a Mahi?” asked Scootaloo.
“It’s one of those goat things,” Sweetie Belle pointed across the bazaar to an armored goat with two massive horns.
“What, now you’re the encyclopedia on alien creatures, too?” Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle skeptically.
“A half-DOZEN a’ them fellers?!” shouted Applebloom, outraged.
The matoran crossed his arms. “Take or leave it.”
“Fine!” yelled Applebloom as she stomped off, fuming. “Ah’m leavin’ it!”
Sweetie Belle pulled Scootaloo off to the side. “You better go after her, Scoots. Make sure she doesn’t get us in trouble.”
“What about you?”
“I still wanna interview this salesman guy, see if I can find I can learn more.”
“Cool. Once I have Applebloom, I’ll look into that Huki guy. Maku says he’s the best Kohlii champion on the island, but the old guy-“
“Turaga Onewa.”
“Right, him. He said that Huki was also the first to get sick. Something doesn’t add up. Even Rainbow Dash didn’t get to be an awesome athlete by ignoring her health.”
“You might be on to something, Scoots. We’ll meet back at the Kohlii field when we’re done.”
“Right. Good luck, Sweetie Belle!”
With that, the caped filly drove off after Applebloom. Once the buzzing wings had faded from hearing, Sweetie Belle turned back to the matoran trader. “Sorry about Applebloom. My sister Rarity says that being stubborn kind of runs in her family. Between you and me,” Sweetie Belle said, smiling at the trader as she tried to bat her eyelashes like she had seen Rarity do to countless uncooperative salesponies, “I just don’t think she can appreciate such fine stonework like I can.”
The trader cocked his head skeptically. “Is that so?”
“Oh, absolutely!” the filly gushed in her best imitation of the Toa of Generosity. “My sister just so happens to collect gems in our home town, and uses them in her FABULOUS outfits. But one simply cannot, I repeat, CANNOT use just any old gem one finds on the ground. One has to be able to be able to recognize certain qualities in the gem such as, um, hardness, and, and, denseness! Yes, and, um, uuuuuuh... shininess!”
“Shininess,” repeated the matoran flatly.
“Well, yes,” replied Sweetie Belle, still in her fake ‘frou frou’ voice, “I do suppose that shininess is not an overall important quality for the stones to have as you're using. But even so, after finding the right stones, you still must have to polish them, yes? One simply does not find boulders in such perfectly aerodynamic shapes like these here, just as Rarity has to buff and polish her gems to reveal their full beauty. Oh, and the craftsmanship on your creations is just, um," let me see, Rarity would say... "DIVINE!!”
The matoran blushed as he rubbed the back of his head. He didn’t get much praise for his carving skill; he usually ended up being overshadowed by some other carver. “Well, I – EH-hrrm, yes, ah-” the matoran started over, trying in vain to hide how much the flattery had affected him with his usual wall of salesman indifference. “While I appreciate the praise, I’m afraid I can’t lower the price.”
“Oh, but I wouldn’t ask you to, darling,” continued Sweetie Belle - she was really starting to get the hang of talking like her sister. Rarity is right: flattery is fun! “After all, why shouldn't something you’ve put so much hard work into be worth every penny, bit, or even bird, for that matter. All I ask, from stone-crafter to stone enthusiast, where do you get such quality boulders?”
“Oh, well, it’s not easy, let me tell you! You see first I have to-,” the carver began, more than happy to boast about himself and his accomplishments, only to realize what he was about to tell the crafty young unicorn. Darn, he’s on to me, thought the caped crusader. But instead of becoming angry at the possible prospect of telling the competition what made his product superior, the matoran looked terrified, as if revealing his secret would be under penalty of death. “Well… I… um…,” the trader stammered. “N-now, that’s pr-r-rivilaged information, my young friend, ehe-he…” As the matoran looked around, it seemed as if every shadow held a pair of frightening red eyes that wanted nothing more than to consume his mind. “I need to go!”
The panicked matoran ran out of the village into the sea of sand, leaving a very confused unicorn in his wake.

Scootaloo ran after her enraged friend. “Applebloom, wait up!”
Applebloom turned to look as her friend caught up. “Can you believe that feller? Of all the side-windin’ snake-in-the-grass salesponies... Granny Smith told us all ‘xactly what kinda crooks them ponies are. Do ya’ll remember last cider season?”
“How could I forget? That was the best cider I ever had! Those guys might have been crooks, but Celestia, was that a musical number I could dance to! Er, sorry.”
“Hmph. Don’t mention it,” Applebloom huffed, sitting down and crossing her forelegs across her chest.
“C’mon, Applebloom. We still have a mystery to solve. Sweetie’s buttering the guy up so he’ll spill. Meanwhile, I wanna check out a lead on that Huki guy. Like I told Sweetie Belle, he was the first to get sick, so maybe we can find something out by talking to him.”
Scootaloo stopped the first matoran she saw to ask for directions to Huki’s place. The matoran coughed up some mirky green fluid and pointed to a hut with an ‘X’ marked across the door. “But I wouldn't go in there if I were you. *cough cough* Huki isn’t much for visitors these days. When the guy isn’t yelling dilerious, he’s complainin’ about the smell; he’s been bedridden and hasn’t gotten to clean for a week.*cough cough* I hope I’m not comin’ down with what he’s got…” the matoran muttered as he walked away.
The orange filly said goodbye to the sickly villager before turning back to Applebloom. “I just hope ponies can’t catch whatever it is that makes robots sick.”
“Sweetie would tell ya they’re cyborgs,” corrected Applebloom.
"What's the difference?"
"Robots don't have souls." Applebloom looked at the inky sludge that had gotten on her friend’s forehoof when she touched the sick matoran. “Here, let me see that.”
The filly took a glass jar and a hoofkerchief out of her saddlebags, releasing the lightning bugs she had been keeping inside jar and wiping the liquid from Scootaloo’s hoof with the rag before placing said rag in the jar.
“What are you doing there, ‘Bloom?” Scootaloo asked.
“Ah’m takin’ a sample. At the doctor’s, somepony always rubs the back a’ your throat, see if there’re critters in it. You cain’t see ‘em, but maybe if we had a magnifyin’ glass or somethin'…”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. We can do that sciency stuff later. Let’s go see if we can get in an’ see the kohlii champion!”
Applebloom smiled as she replaced the lid on the jar and put it in her bag. “The way you keep talkin’ bout him, seems RD might have some competition.”
“What? No way,” Scootaloo said as she and Applebloom were walking to the hut. “Rainbow Dash is way cooler than some robot that kicks rock for a living.”
Applebloom stopped in front of the stone door of the home, trying to get it to budge. “Cyborg,” she corrected her friend. No dice. The door was locked tight. “’Sides, what’s so bad about kickin’ rocks?” Applebloom smiled as she reared back and bucked the door as hard as she could.
The stone wasn’t too thick, and after a few solid kicks the door cracked and fell to the ground. Immediately, the fillies covered their nostrils; that matoran they talked to wasn’t kidding about the smell. The stench was like the breath of a timber wolf that had eaten a rusty can of tuna. Looking inside, the fillies saw several trophies along the walls and on the shelves, guarding a small blue matoran doll. There were statues on the floor, just like the statues they had seen in homes all over Mata Nui, tall rocks with a face drawn on them. A kohlii ball sat next to the bed. And on the bed sat a matoran, with flies buzzing around his head. “W-who are you?” the matoran wheezed. “*Cough* Stay away from me!”
“I’m Scootaloo, and this is Applebloom. We just wanted to talk to you. We’re trying to help Turaga Onewa investigate the disease in your village. Do you remember when you first got sick?”
“It was right after *cough* I won the last kohlii match. I think I was using a new kind of ball…it was well balanced, and flew really fast…I can’t remember. How long have I been here, anyway? *cough* How many days? I used…I used to know…I’m not sure anymore.”
Applebloom looked around the hut as the two talked, searching for clues. Nothing seemed out of order among the matoran’s belongings (blue matoran-shaped plush doll aside). She gave the matoran a critical eye. While most matoran she had met had eyes that glowed in bright yellows and reds, Huki’s were a dull faded pink. His mask looked like it had seen better days; it looked rusted, and she thought she noticed the same inky green liquid from in the street covering spots of the mask.
“I met Maku in Ga-Koro. She mentioned you were friends…kinda,” Scootaloo continued.
“You know Maku? Listen, she must not know *cough*… she must not know that I am ill. If you tell her, she will come here, and she mustn’t see me like this…she must not…” The matoran’s speech deteriorated into a fit of coughing. Applebloom tried to remain patient, looking away and pretending to study some of the trophies on the wall. Scootaloo wasn’t so subtle, diving to the ground and putting her cape over her head to keep from being coughed on. Applebloom rolled her eyes, lightly kicking her friend for her rude behavior (Scootaloo would later argue they had different definitions of 'lightly'). Applebloom turned back to look at Huki, who had stopped coughing. She found him looking directly at her, bright red eyes piercing her very soul. “You shouldn’t be here,” Huki said in a voice far deeper than his own. Just then he started to cough again, his eyes fading to their light pink hue as he cradled his head. “Oh,” he moaned, his voice returned, “What…What were we talking about?”
Applebloom just stood there a moment, wondering if what just happened was real. After a few seconds, she tentatively found her voice. “Ya’ll…ya’ll were just sayin’ how we shouldn’t be here…”
“I was? *cough cough* Mm, no one should be here. I just want to be left alone. I feel... strange…you must go.”
“What?” Scootaloo exclaimed, getting up. “But we still have questions we wanted-“
The matoran reached both arms to his head again, groans becoming a savage growl. “Get out!” he roared. The frightened fillies obediently ran out the door, not daring to look back in case the crazed invalid was somehow coming after them.

It was high noon when three disturbed fillies met at the kohlii field to discuss their findings over lunch.
“So why’d that Huki guy snap at you?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Ah don’t know!” answered Applebloom. “But ya know how his eyes were dull red earlier? Well, whenever he got nasty and scary, his eyes got bright and spooky.”
Scootaloo swallowed a bit of apple Applebloom had provided. “I saw something like that in Ga-Koro, with the Terkara…Tarkavana…the fish monster! When it showed up, its eyes were red, but after Fluttershy removed its mask, it’s eyes were yellow, and it just ran away.”
“Come to think of it,” said Sweetie Belle, “Onewa did say something about the epidemic here being similar to how Makuta controls Rahi.”
On a hunch, Applebloom asked Scootaloo “What did the mask of the Fish Monster look like?”
Scootaloo thought for a moment. “Well, it was blue while it was on the thing’s face, but I think all masks change colors when they’re being worn. Aside from that, it looked rusty, and not natural rusty. More like something got splattered on it to make it rust in certain spots.”
Applebloom gasped. “You mean something like -” Applebloom dug in her saddlebags, pulling out the glass jar and the hoofkerchief in it. “-this?” she finished, pointing to the fluid that had condensated off the hoofkerchief and was sloshing at the bottom of the jar.
“Lemme see that,” said Sweetie Belle, throwing the hoofkerchief on the ground before looking at the stuff at the bottom of the jar. The substance swirled as if on its own, like a swarm of bees in a hive. Looking at it too long made one nauseous. “Interesting…”
“Whatcha’ thinkin; there, Sweetie Belle?” asked Applebloom.
“Hmm…” was all the unicorn filly said.
“C’mon Sweetie! You gotta know something!” urged Scootaloo.
“I don’t know. Maybe…” the Sweetie pondered.
“What is it?”
“What’re ya thinkin’?”
“Tell us! Tell us!”
“It’s…” Sweetie Belle started, still staring at fluid the jar. Her friends leaned in, anxious to hear her answer.
“Weird.”
The orange and yellow foals landed face-first in the dirt. Scootaloo shot back up, glaring. “Just ‘weird’?! That’s it? Isn’t there some kind of egghead rule where unicorns are supposed know tons of stuff?”
Sweetie looked up and whined indignantly. “Sorry, that’s all I got! This is my first time seeing anything like this! It sounds like you and Applebloom have more experience with this stuff than I do.”
“Come to think of it, ah noticed some stuff like that splattered on Huki’s mask earlier,” said Applebloom, getting up and going to retrieve her hoofkerchief from where Sweetie had discarded it. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both jumped as they heard the farm-filly scream. They turned to look at her as she pointed a shaking hoof at the cloth on the ground, her eyes wide as dinner plates. The sheet was splayed flat on the ground, and on it, the murky fluid had formed a jagged, scowling face.
“Kill it with fire!” Scootaloo shouted, ducking behind a rock. Sweetie Belle screamed, unthinkingly trying to summon her magic. After several second of struggling, though, the cloth was still sitting there with its static, menacing frown. Sweetie yelped as a sudden spark flashed from her horn, and the hoofkerchief burst into flames. Scootaloo peeked out from her hiding place. “Is it gone?” The orange filly cautiously walked over to kick at the ashes. “Whoa. You know Sweetie, I didn’t mean for you to actually light it on fire.”
“Um, oops,” said Sweetie, blushing as she rubbed the back of her head. “I didn’t mean to do it, either. I was just trying to use telekinesis to throw it away.”
“It’s ok, Sweetie Belle,” said Applebloom. “Just remind me not ta ask ya ta pass the dynamite when we try for our minin’ cutie marks.”
"Hey!"
“Gosh, I hope nopony heard us screaming like that,” said Scootaloo, looking around. The others searched the field and the surrounding area. It was then that they realized they hadn’t seen anyone there since they met for lunch.
“That’s weird,” Applebloom thought aloud. “This place hasn’t been empty since ah first set hoof in this village. These matoran love kohlii more’n anything. There’s always somebody at least kickin’ a boulder around.”
“Hey, isn’t that a kohlii ball over there?” said Scoots, pointing to a boulder in the center of the court. The three fillies went over to investigate.
“Not just any kohlii ball,” said Sweetie, examining the stone closely. “This looks a lot like the balls that carver was selling in the bazaar. I remember him saying that after we went into Onewa’s place, our friends from the kohlii field bought one of his works and came back here. So where did those matoran g-AH!” She jumped back as the same green fluid they had found in Huki’s hut and Applebloom’s jar began trickling along the grooves and edges of the stone.
“Gah! Kill it with-“ Scootaloo started to yell, only for Applebloom to stop her by shoving a yellow hoof in her mouth. “Wait,” the farm filly said. “This could be another clue!”
“Hmm…” Sweetie Belle tapped her chin with her hoof, deep in thought.
Scootaloo shoved the yellow hoof away from her muzzled, gagging at the taste before stating “This had better not be another one of your ‘It’s weird’ observations, Sweetie Belle.”
“I think I get it…” Sweetie said to herself more than anyone. “This fluid stuff must be what makes masks get all rusty. I think that whoever wears these masks get infected by them and can be controlled by Makuta. The matoran and other intelligent species must have something that lets them resist the effects to a certain extent. That’s why the infection starts like a regular disease. But as the body and mind get weaker, the mask starts having greater power. Creatures like rahi don’t have this resistance, they aren’t as smart so they won’t always realize that they’re being controlled and how.”
“Um, I lost you at intelligent,” said Scootaloo, before smacking herself in the forehead. “That came out wrong. But how is Makuta getting this stuff into Po-Koro? I mean, so far the guard hasn’t been all that great at stopping fillies and crabs, but I think someone would have to have noticed if evil slime was crawling across the desert.”
“I’m not sure. I also don’t know why this comet ball was slick with the stuff. There’s gotta be a connection.” Sweetie Belle pondered.
Just then, Applebloom remembered something. “Hey, didn’t Huki say he won a kohlii match usin’ some kinda new ball that flew really fast? Ah’ll bet he was usin’ a Comet! Ah thought that trader was shifty! Ah bet all his rocks are covered in this stuff.”
“But then how does it get on the masks?” asked Sweetie.
Applebloom thought back to the kohlii match. She had been doing so well up until her opponent had blocked her shot with his- “That’s it! Po-Matoran sometimes hit kohlii balls with their heads!”
“Why would you hit a rock with your head?” Scootaloo asked.
“Because they already have rocks where their brains should be?” Sweetie suggested. The fillies giggled. “Hey, let’s take our clues to Turaga Onewa! Maybe he’ll know what to do next!”

Onewa concentrated on the chiseled letters on the stone in front of him. He was almost finished with the sign cancel to cancel the match tomorrow; all he had to do was add one dot to the ‘L’ in ‘KOHLII’. He lined up his chisel and raised his hammer. The stone was soft, so he would have to be gentle. He swung –
Just then, three cheering fillies burst through his door. The startled elder sent the chisel straight through the sign, smashing it to pieces and leaving a crack in the stone table below. Sighing at the rubble, Onewa turned to face the assembled Crusaders, each interrupting and trying to talk over one another as they told what Onewa could only hope was the same story.
“We found it!”
“Weird trader-“
“-creepy gunk, and then we-“
“Girls…”
“-screaming like crazy.”
“Huki was-“
“-more apples-“
“Girls…”
“Headshot!”
“Girls!” Onewa shouted, banging his hammer on the table. The three fillies stopped and looked at him, but someone was still talking.
“-and then I said, ‘oatmeal!? Are you cra…“ Pinkie Pie’s voice trailed off as she realized the room had gone quiet. Pinkie looked around. “This isn’t Le-Koro, is it?”
“Le-Koro is at the southern end of the island,” Onewa stated, still unsure what was going on.
“Oh!” Pinkie Pie laughed, bringing a hoof to her head. “And I went north! Oops! Thanks, bye girls!”
“Bye Pinkie!” the Crusaders sang as Pinkie skipped away, as if the pink pony appearing from out of nowhere was the most normal thing in the world to the fillies.
“What was-? I don’t even…” Onewa groaned. “Listen, I’m not even going to ask about the Toa of Laughter, but could you try telling me your story one at a time?”
Onewa listened patiently as the Crusaders told him about the shifty trader, occasionally having to coax the fillies back on track whenever they started arguing about the details. It’s no wonder they need heroes to help them live in harmony, Onewa thought, frowning. Are all ponies like this when Applejack and her allies aren’t around? A better question yet, how much power will even the heroes have if something splinters their Unity?
“An’ that’s when he ran outta the village like Tartarus was on his heels?” asked Applebloom.
“Yeah,” Sweetie nodded. “It was weird.”
“Suspicious, more like it!” added Scootaloo, shifting her eyes left and right.
“Exactly!” agreed Applebloom.
“I see. I believe I know the trader you are referring to. Ahkmou has been known for his…dishonest business practices in the past. And what happened next?”
Scootaloo and Applebloom told Onewa what they had found in Huki’s hut and showed him the green substance in the jar (minus one charred hoofkerchief.)
“I’m aware of how the Makuta infects masks, now do you know how the infection is getting into my village, and how I can stop it?”
The fillies looked at each other and grinned, then removed the last piece of evidence from their saddlebag and gave it to Onewa. The turaga frowned. “But this is just a kohlii ball…”
“Not just any kohlii ball,” said Applebloom.
“A Comet!” Sweetie squealed excitedly, her voice cracking.
“But I still don’t see…” Onewa inhaled sharply as he beheld the green sludge trickling down the stone. He looked back to the Crusaders. “Thank you for showing this to me. If these are indeed the cause of the illness, then the best thing to do is to throw them into the sea. But they are also very popular. My people will need proof before they will give up their new favorite kohlii balls. I need to know from where the balls originate. It is unfortunate that you scared Ahkmou off; I would have liked to asked him myself where he got his stone. I have already sent Vakama a request for some of his guard. As soon as they arrive, and then I can send them into the desert to search for Ahkmou.”
“But-“ Scootaloo tried to protest.
“Thank you for providing this lead,” said Onewa, cutting her off. “I did not expect you to accomplish even this much where I had failed. However, I don’t think your sisters would like it very much if I let you run off into the desert searching for clues. This is work for experienced guardsmen. Now go on,” Onewa made a shooing motion with his hands. “I have business to discuss with the guard. Go play ko-…that is, whatever it is you play. Maybe you can see if stone carving is your super power.”
“’Special talent,’” muttered Applebloom to correct him as she and the others walked out the door.

“It’s not fair,” Scootaloo said, kicking at one of the boulders in the market. Despite how easily the Po-Matoran had been sending them flying, all Scootaloo got for trying to move the thing was a sore hoof. “I mean, Onewa said himself he wasn’t expecting us to find anything. You’d think with what we showed him, he’d start trusting us just a little.”
“Besides, we already tried for a rock-carving cutie mark,” Sweetie said. “Between that and kohlii, there’s not much around here in the way of Cutie Marks. What are we going to do?”
“Ah’ll tell ya what we ain’t gonna do, an’ that’s give up!” Apple Bloom declared, jumping on top of a market stall counter. “Maybe the reason we still don’t have our investigatin’ cutie marks is that the case ain’t completely solved!”
“But what are we supposed to do?” whined Sweetie Belle. “It’s not like we have any other leads. The guard might find Ahkmou’s hideout or they might not, but we don’t have the slightest clue where to begin looking!”
Applebloom raise her head and thought for a moment before glancing over at Ahkmou’s market stall, where a wooden sign that probably said something along the lines of ‘closed’ sat on the counter. From her high vantage point, Applebloom could see something hidden behind the stall. “Hold on, we just might…” she said, jumping from stall to stall, her friends exchanging a look as they followed. Once she had reached the Comet stall, Applebloom jumped down behind the counter top. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat in front of the stall, listening to the racket of various objects being sifted through. Every so often Applebloom would toss a random object over the counter: a rock, a hammer, a sandwich (upon this discovery, Applebloom sat up behind the counter and took a huge bite, only to grimace. “Too much mustard.”) Finally, she emerged holding a peculiar object. It was a stone about the size of an apple, with one end rounded engraved with a crude picture of a boulder, and the rest carved into a short X-shaped rod.
“What is it?” asked Scootaloo.
“It looks almost like some kind of key,” observed Sweetie Belle. “I noticed most of the doors around here have keyholes shaped like X’s.”
“Then if this belongs to Ahkmou, ah bet we can use it to get into his house!” exclaimed Applebloom. “C’mon, lets ask around an’ see where Ahkmou lives!”
The crusaders looked around for the nearest matoran. They soon found him: the guard at the Po-Koro gate. Upon being asked, the guard took a look at the key and responded “This does appear to be a key, but I don’t think this is to Ahkmou’s house, or any house in this village for that matter. The keyholes on our houses are all a bit smaller than this; I don’t think your key would fit in any door you’d find around here.”
“So what will it fit into?”
“Well, let’s see. I do recall seeing a larger hole that this might fit into, but I can’t quite place where. It might have been around the quarry.”
“Then let’s go to the quarry!” cheered Scootaloo to a chorus of “yay!” The three fillies rushed for the village exit.
“Now wait just a moment,” the guard said, spreading his arms wide to block the door and bringing the crusaders to a stop. “The quarry is outside of Po-Koro walls, and I, Piatra, Interim Guard Captain, am under strict orders from Turaga Onewa not to let you leave the village.”
Just then a speck of motion behind the matoran caught Scootaloo’s attention. “Uh, mister?”
The matoran continued to rant. “And nothing you do or say is going to make me change my mind! I am the sole remaining guard of Po-koro! My will is as strong and unyielding as the stone!”
The speck in the distance continued to get rapidly bigger. “Uh, there’s something behind you.”
“Something behind me you say? Hah! As if I’d be foolish enough to fall for that old trick! The moment I turn around, you were going to run off to who-knows-where and find a different way out of the village, huh?”
Now Sweetie Belle and Applebloom saw what Scootaloo was talking about. Sweetie pointed. “No, seriously, there really is something-“
“Well it won’t work!” Piatra cut her off, raising his voice. “I’m keeping my eye on you, and you’re not going anywhere anytime…what’s that noise?” The matoran stopped speaking to listen to the sound of insectoid legs scuttling on sandstone. It was coming from behind him, and it was getting rapidly louder. Hesitantly, the guard turned around…
…And screamed as he got a face-full of yellow-blue ussal crab. The ussal then walked past the (now unconscious) body of the guard, straight up to Scootaloo, and stopped. The beady orbs at the end of the crabs eyestalks stared at Scootaloo. Scootaloo recognized the crab, staring right back, a look of challenge on her face. Then, the crab did the most hideous, disgustingly horrifying thing Scootaloo could imagine: it started licking her like a puppy.
“Ew, gross, stop it!” Scootaloo sputtered as she tried to push the crab away. “Girls, little help?” she asked, only to face-hoof as she saw their faces.
“Awww, it’s so cute!” Sweetie squealed.
“Cute?! This thing is the same crab that stole my scooter back on the beach!”
“An’ it followed ya all the way here?” Applebloom asked with the same doe-eyed expression as Sweetie Belle. “That’s one devoted pet ya got there, Scootaloo. What’s its name?”
“It doesn’t have a name! And I don’t want it as a pet! The only pet for me is a turtle like Rainbow Dash.”
“Aw, Scoots, you’re going to make it cry! Come on, maybe it know the way to the quarry,” Sweetie said. Hearing this, the crab excitedly tossed the Crusaders onto its back and dashed off into the sands, three screaming fillies hanging on for the ride.

One wild ride later, the crab stopped in a large canyon, tossing all three fillies unceremoniously into the dust. With that finished, it quickly scurried back the way it came.
“Ugh, anyone get the number on that cart?” Scootaloo asked, groaning as she stood up.
“Ah think ya’ll were right, Scoots,” Applebloom said, also getting up. “That crab ain’t nothing but trouble.”
“Maybe not,” Sweetie said, eyes wide. “Look where we are!”
The fillies looked around. Upon the canyon walls were scores of caves, both nature-made as well as recently dug out by prospective carvers. Six rocky outcroppings were shaped like matoran heads, all but one of them wearing the masks of the Toa of Harmony. The bare one, Applebloom noticed, would have probably born Applejack’s mask of Speed. Walking up to get a closer look, she noticed that the mouth of the face had an X-shaped indentation. “Hmmm,” she pondered as she reached into her bag, pulling out the strange key she had found in the market. Slowly, carefully, she placed the key into the hole.
The ground started to rumble. Stepping back, Applebloom shook as the solid rock she had been standing on sunk into the ground, splitting apart at regular intervals to form a series of steps. And at the bottom of the stairs, the smell of must and rust wafted out from a dark, newly opened cave.
“That…was really cool,” Scootaloo said. “Anypony got a flashlight?”
“Better!” Sweetie said, pulling a lightstone out of her saddlebags.
Descending into the cave revealed a medium-sized chamber, with a ring of pillars giving the ceiling support. Against the back wall, a kanohi Mask of Shielding had been carved out of dark, rough stone, one with a much more menacing expression than the proud carvings in the quarry up above. The mask appeared to be leaking the same infectious green fluid the foals had found in Po-Koro, and as they watched, the fluid trickled across the floor to a group of Kohlii balls resting in the center of the chamber.
“Wellwefoundthesourcetimetogobye!” Sweetie said, intent on leaving the scary chamber to go stand in the sunniest part of the island she could find. As she turned around, however, a large shadow broke off from one of the pillars closest to the stairway back up. Now in the light stood a gigantic rahi scorpion, its claws, one infected mask on each of them, were spread wide to block the exit, and its massive stinger tail swinging back and forth menacingly. The girls screamed as it started to walk closer, closer, herding the fillies toward the back wall and the toxic, evil mask that hung there. The rahi raised its stinger in preparation to silence its prey.
Suddenly, a rainbow blur flew down into the cave and grasped the rahi’s tail, swinging the entire creature over the girl’s heads and throwing it straight through one of the stone pillars.
“Aw, yeah! This new Mask of Strength I beat AJ to is awesome!” said a voice that Scootaloo recognized. Even with her face hidden behind a red, wedge-shaped mask, there was no mistaking this mare as the coolest pony in Equestria. “Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cheered.
“Hey, Squirt,” Rainbow said, winking. “What are you all doing down here?”
“Getting’ inta trouble, seems like,” Applejack replied, bounding down the stairs in order to buck the Nui-Jaga scorpion as it tried to attack Rainbow again. “Ah thought I told ya’ll ta stay in the village!”
“Hey,” Scootaloo snarked. “It’s not our fault Sweetie can’t go five minutes without being abducted by a giant crab.”
Rainbow stopped in midair, looking bewildered. “What was that?”
“Rainbow, dodge!” AJ yelled as Rainbow narrowly avoided the charging rahi. As it passed, Rainbow gave it a kanohi-charged buck, sending the Nui-Jaga straight into another pillar, which collapsed.
Dust began trickling onto Applebloom’s head. Applebloom looked up to see a massive crack lancing across the cave ceiling. “AJ, the pillars!”
Applejack looked up, making the same observations her sister made. “Great job lil sis! Ya’ll get the hay outta here! Rainbow, get ready to bring down the house!”
Rainbow shot her friend with a deadpan. “Really, AJ?”
“Just do it, sugarcube, and be ready to run!” AJ said, wrapping a lasso around the rahi and running around a pillar. As the creature got up, it saw AJ with the rope in its mouth and charged at her, only to be stopped short by the rope as Rainbow plowed through three more pillars. The rahi’s eyes glowed raged red as it growled, snipping the rope with its claws and charging at AJ. Calling upon her Mask of Speed, AJ disappeared, the Nui-Jaga’s momentum carrying it straight through the place she had been standing and into the last remaining pillar. As cracks began to snake their way up the last load-bearing column in the room, the rahi turned around at the sound of a whistle. The orange mare stood halfway up the steps, waving her trademark Stetson with a cocky smile on her face. “Better luck next time, partner!” she said, walking back up the stairs as the entire chamber collapsed under its own weight upon her opponent.

Deep beneath the island, the Makuta raged as he embedded his fist into the walls of his lair, his connection to the Nui-Jaga having cut out. “That mare! So smug, and at besting a mere one of my minions. Curse these ponies, they drive me to…Anger…”
Pulling his arm out of the wall, the Makuta opened his fist, revealing a mall stone resting on his palm. “Worry not my brother, they are not invincible,” he said, using his powers to manipulate the stone’s shape into a caricature of three balloons. “One already is under my power, it is only a matter of time before none shall stand who can disturb you…”