//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Shattering these Close Ties for Peace // Story: Six Ways, Book 2: Duty // by the_bioXpony_guy //------------------------------// The Equestrians walked forward for a few hours longer, humored that the land had seemed to transform from an icy tundra to an unfamiliar warm desert. To further add to the exoticism, not a single cactus sprouted from the ground. Despite having visited Appaloosa on multiple occasions, almost none of the travelers noticed the lack of cacti—none except Applejack, who noticed immediately and shuddered, feeling like she needed to find a cactus just to keep from going insane. Not long after entering the desert, Twilight heard something nearby and gasped. “Stop!” she exclaimed, her voice barely above a whisper. All the others did what they were told—though some of them looked a little annoyed. “What is it, Twilight?” asked Rainbow Dash, her words sharp and bitter. “Shh!” The Toa of Water clenched her teeth, as though she was resisting the urge to bite Rainbow’s head off. “I can hear somebody nearby.” At that, the Toa of Fire blinked and opened her mouth to protest, but then realized she could hear something, too—something pitter-pattering on the other side of this sandy dune. She could imagine a small figure cowering away once it realized the Equestrians had spotted it—cowering, yet unable to cry for help as it fled. She blinked one more time. “Oh,” said Rainbow Dash. “It doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard.” Twilight’s ears twitched. “You’re right. It sounds small—way smaller than Kopaka or the Rahaga.” Rainbow Dash turned her head toward the source of the noise. “I’m gonna sneak a peek.” And before any one of her friends could protest, she took a great leap over the sandy hill. By the time she hit solid ground, the Toa of Fire had already discovered where the noise was coming from. On the other side of the dune, a large brown crab walked uphill on six legs. The crustacean panicked as the pony leapt from what seemed out of nowhere. Once Rainbow Dash’s hooves hit the ground, the crab immediately turned herself around and retreated, moving at a snail’s pace. “Oh,” muttered Rainbow Dash. Turning her head back over her shoulder, she called, “Don’t worry, guys—it’s just a crab.” Hearing this, the large animal turned back around and exclaimed through a withering female voice, “Don’t scare me like that, you ruffian!” At that, the pony’s jaw dropped. “What the—?” Was she having desert hallucinations or did crabs in this world have the ability to talk? “D-did you just say something?” The crab took a few steps forward. “Of course I did! Now, don’t scare me like that again! Do you understand?” Normally the Toa of Fire would have found herself at a loss for words, but instead she only nodded her head and replied, “Yeah—yeah, I understand. Sorry.” “Good,” the crab said, somewhat satisfied. “Maybe now—oh, by Mata Nui. When did your kind suddenly become common here?” Before the former pegasus could ask what the crab was talking about, a voice from behind asked, “What in tarnation? A talking crab?” “Oh, honestly!” The crustacean took a few more steps forward. “Is your kind common on other parts of the island?” Twilight was the first to speak up. “Actually, no. We’re here to fight the darkness threatening your homeland.” The Toa of Water wasn’t sure, but she thought she could see the giant crab take a few baby steps backward. The creature blinked. “Is that so?” she wondered, her tone a tad more cynical than before. “And what about those tall Matoran?” “You mean the Toa?” asked Twilight, her ears perked. “How do you know about them?” “Haven’t you heard? The tall Matoran are being built by someone from your species. I don’t really remember her name, or why she was doing it, but all—” “Hold up!” This time Applejack spoke. “You’re saying you’ve already seen one of us?” The crab nodded, though really it looked more like her eye stocks were just being abruptly lowered and raised back to their original position. “Last time I saw her, she was building the tall Matoran of stone. I thought the Matoran was dead, but apparently he was just somebody who needed to be fixed.” Feeling like she may have had an idea of whom the crab spoke of, Twilight asked, “And what did she look like?” “She was cyan.” The crab tried to recall more details. “And she had a horn coming out of her head and hair with bits of cyan and white in it. Is that someone you know?” A great mystery may as well have unraveled before the Equestrians’ eyes. “Yes!” replied Twilight, her purple eyes suddenly dazzling with relief, success, and hope. “Nopony back home knew where Lyra was.” She sighed. “Poor thing; it’s been almost a week since we last heard of her. And I can’t even begin to wonder what Bon Bon feels about the whole ordeal.” “Well, shoot!” Applejack snorted. “No wonder Lyra’s been gone. Roodaka must’ve zapped her here like she did to us!” Eager to find out more, Twilight stepped up to the crab—her body casting a shadow over the crustaceous being—when she asked, “Do you know where Lyra’s gone since you last saw her?” “Um…I truthfully have no idea.” And at that moment, the ponies’ progress toward finding Lyra seemed to come to a halt. The crab looked down at the sandy ground, clearly embarrassed. “She could be anywhere by now.” Looking around, she tried to find some place where Lyra might have gone. “Hmm—maybe she went to Onu-Koro,” she said while pointing toward a nearby cave with her pincer. Rarity’s ears twitched. “Onu-Koro?” she probed. “The village of Earth?” “Oh yes,” cooed the crab, feeling a little nostalgic. “If you want to look for her there, I can give you people some directions.” Twilight found herself a little taken aback by the crab’s polite gesture. “That’d be very kind of you!” But even still, the unicorn knew not all of them could go. Remember what Kopaka said, she told herself. Rarity will have to go in on her own. As the Toa of Water lost herself in her thoughts, Rarity walked up to the cave on her own accord, “So odd,” she murmured to herself, noticing the mysterious scriptures upon the cave’s walls. “These people have their own language, their own tunnels—yet they leave so much of this island alone.” Stuck with these thoughts, Rarity’s nose started to tickle; her ticklish nose started to quiver; she took a deep breath and stifled a sneeze, burying her nose in her foreleg. Twilight came walking up from behind. “Celestia bless you! I forgot you were allergic to dust.” The thought in mind, she looked up at the cave and saw some of the little dust particles floating around—some of which Rarity had stirred into the air when she sneezed. “Oh my; to think you’ll have to live here for a while.” She turned to face Rarity. “Do you think you can handle it?” Rarity turned around and chuckled, “Don’t worry, Twilight! I may be allergic, but I’m not going to let that get me down. Besides—” She sniffed again. “—a little sneeze never bothered me, anyway.” While still a little concerned, Twilight assured herself that Rarity would tolerate anything for the sake of fulfilling her duty. With a nod of her head, she replied, “Okay. In that case—I wish you the best of luck!” Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike came walking in from behind. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak: “You’ve got this, Rarity!” Applejack nodded. “Go out and find your partner. You’ll both be the best Earth team ever—or whatever you wanna call it!” But as the three ponies encouraged Rarity to move forward, Spike couldn’t help but feel something like an ulcer peeling away at the pit of his stomach. The dragon-boy twiddled his thumbs, unsure what to say or what to do. He found it so strange that throughout their journey to this island, he had never once spoken to her about his thoughts—only cried for her help shortly after being trapped in a cage of soil. The Ta-Matoran wished he could go with her to the Onu-Matoran village, but he knew such a thing would not, could not happen. From her slightly skewed perspective, Rarity managed to catch a good glimpse at Spike’s saddened face. Seeing this, she pushed past her friends and asked, “Spike, dear—is something wrong?” Hearing her call him “dear” relieved some of the dragon-boy’s stress—but not enough to keep him from admitting his woes. His eyes peering down at his feet, Spike nodded and replied, “Yes.” A moment of silence came in. Rarity—feeling the tension weighing in on the sides of her head—blinked a few times before continuing, “Well…what’s the problem?” But right as she said those words, she’d already thought of a good reason why. She knew instantly that Spike would come to miss her like no one else. Before the Ta-Matoran could utter another word, the Toa of Earth bent over and placed a kiss on his head. Spike’s entire body froze as he felt the woman’s lips pushing gently against his skin. That sweet moment lasted no more than a split-second—and by the time Spike had managed to snap out of his trance, Rarity had almost completely escaped his field of view, shrouded beneath the cave’s shadow. Though he wanted to go after her, he knew no such thing had any right to happen. Realizing what she had just done, the crab flinched. “W-wait a minute!” she cried, her tiny legs struggling to carry her any faster. She made her way in between the four Equestrians—but found herself suddenly turning around and facing Applejack. “Oh—and for you, tall Matoran of Stone—you need to get to Po-Koro. Look for the giant stone wall with the arch opening.” And with that, the crab turned back around and proceeded to enter the cave, all the while calling, “Wait up! Make sure you turn left; don’t turn toward the lava farm!” Just that little message was enough to make Spike jump. “Wh-what? Lava farm?” Knowing he needed to go and save Rarity from being scorched alive, Spike nearly lurched forward—but found himself being halted as Twilight’s motherly hoof curled over his shoulder. He looked up and saw his Toa friend gazing down on him. “It’s okay, Spike,” she assured, a warm smile on her face. “Rarity’s stronger than she looks.” From behind the two of them, Applejack cleared her throat and said, “Well—I guess I’d better be going off to Po-Koro.” Her words startled Twilight—who turned around and said, “Oh—well, good luck to you too, Applejack!” Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Spike bade Applejack a fond farewell before watching her go off into the distant desert. Only after seeing her fade away did they continue their journey to the Matoran villages. The desert had left the Equestrians warm and dry—but after a while, they finally made it to a nearby body of water. All three were relieved, yet Rainbow Dash—having contracted cottonmouth when in the desert—felt an enormous wave of elation washing over her. A large body of water stood before the Equestrians; Twilight’s village stood not much further ahead. Before Twilight could even begin making her way to the sandy shore, Rainbow Dash rushed forward—as if completely disregarding Twilight’s existence. The Toa of Water wanted to turn up her nose at the pegasus’ rude behavior, but held her tongue and let her anxious friend be. Rainbow Dash began lapping up the water mouthful after mouthful. Meanwhile, Twilight stood back and rolled her eyes. Explosion in three…two…one…. And right on cue, Dashie spat the water back out; she may as well have vomited. She spat and spat until she was sure that every little droplet of that water had flown off her tongue. “What in the hoof?!” she cried. “What kind of water is this?” “Tsk tsk,” said Twilight, walking up to the angry Toa’s side. “That’s saltwater, Rainbow. You won’t find saltwater in Equestria because we don’t live near the ocean.” Feeling as though her friend had gotten what she deserved, Twilight tilted her chin up and absorbed this strange splendor. She’d read many novels that would describe oceans as vast, ever-expanding stretches of water that seemed to go on forever and ever. She’d heard about how these waters hosted the most beautiful and most violent displays of nature imaginable, yet there was still so much to explore—so much ponykind had yet to discover. An orange sun started dipping into the water, revealing the silhouettes of the water villagers’ leaf-crafted houses. And here she stood, soon to live amongst those strange ocean-dwelling people. What all did they know about this world beyond her world? Could they tell her how far it expanded, where it ended—if it had an end at all? Twilight would live peacefully amongst the Ga-Matoran, but what of Rainbow Dash and Spike? Where would they now live? Pinkie Pie went to the jungle, Fluttershy stepped into the icy tundra, Rarity delved deep into the dark caves, Applejack found herself at home in the desert, and Twilight stood a short swim away from the island’s beautiful bay. Taking her two friends’ elemental orientation into consideration, Twilight realized there was only one logical area for them to go: the volcano. Realizing this, Twilight looked over her shoulder and saw the nearby mountain, realizing she and her friends—in the course of one single day—had nearly walked a circle around it. From where she now stood, she could see a path cutting through the beach and into an indistinguishable gray area a little further down the line. The idea of living near a volcano made Twilight shiver. Maybe it’s dormant, she thought. But what if it's not? Back in Equestria, Spike—born into dragonhood—was the only person Twilight knew who could resist the heat of molten lava; could Rainbow Dash manage something so incomprehensible Rainbow Dash seemed to have the same thoughts in mind. Stepping just behind Twilight, she scratched her head and said, “If I could still fly, I’d be able to see where the heck the fire village is.” But just as she said that, the rainbow pony felt a sharp poke on her back. “Um—Rainbow?” asked Spike. “Well—I hate to break it to you, but…with something that big, the Matoran here probably built their village inside the volcano.” With that, both ponies’ necks snapped toward the dragon boy. Twilight looked especially dumbfounded, her ears folded over her head. “Spike—” “W-wait a minute!” a disturbed Rainbow Dash interrupted. “What if that thing blows?!” “It won’t blow,” he replied. “The dragons in Equestria do this same thing. They just kind of move the lava somewhere else.” “But…but if I’m gonna live in some thousand-degree pit of hot rock snot, where the heck am I supposed to get water—or cider, or whatever?” Spike contemplated for a moment. “I don’t think that’s how it works,” he confessed. “Since we’re both going to be living in a fiery environment, we’re gonna have to drink something else.” The Toa of Fire raised an eyebrow. “Like what?” “Probably lava.” Spike shrugged as Rainbow Dash cast a dumbfounded stare his way. “Hey, it’s the best I could think of! Besides, lava’s delicious.” Under normal conditions, Twilight would have just rolled her eyes and moved on, but now she found herself blinking in disbelief. She was about to be left with people she’d never met before—and even worse still, two of her best friends would find themselves living in a volcano. Twilight turned around to face her two friends. They’re both beings of fire, she kept telling herself. They’ll be okay. She blinked a few more times before forcing a smile on her face. They’ll be okay. Rainbow Dash is strong and Spike is smart. She blinked again before taking a few more steps toward the beings of fire. She wanted to start laughing for their sake—but just as soon as she made a noise, Twilight felt warm tears rolling down her cheeks. Spike and Rainbow Dash felt Twilight’s forelegs wrap around them as what should have been fit of laughter turned into a fit of sobbing. Twilight sniffed. “I’m sorry—just…I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” “Twilight—” Spike began, knowing Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be able to calm their friend down. “It’ll be okay,” he said, his young voice soft and soothing to the unicorn’s ears. “I think you’re just stressed.” Having worked under Twilight’s belt for most of his life, he knew what it was like to see his mentor, his best friend under so much pressure. But even with that in mind, all the deadlines she’d come to meet, the books she’d had to read, the hours she poured into studying couldn’t compare to the weight of the world—much less the weight of two worlds—pushing down on her shoulders. Deep down, Spike new this—and Twilight knew it too, but she simply had too many words to say on the whole matter. “Y-you’re right.” Twilight wiped her eyes and pulled away from the two of them. “I’m sorry,” she sniffed. Rainbow Dash wasn’t a fan of emotions, but she still had a heart. Her voice gentler than anything Twilight had heard from her, the former pegasus asked, “You’ll be alright, Twilight.” Blinking the rest of the tears out of her eyes, she nodded. “I just…you guys know where you’re supposed to go, right?” At that, the two of them looked over at the nearby volcano—which towered over a desecrated forest. Spike shrugged. “Honestly, it seems like the only place that makes sense.” Twilight nodded once more. “I agree.” Knowing her journey would soon come to an end, she took a look over the ocean and saw a series of little huts floating in the nearby gulf. “I'd better get going—and so should the two of you.” One more time, Twilight came up to her two friends, but proceeded to hug Spike. Rainbow Dash stood by and almost blushed as she saw the two best friends bond like brother and sister. Were she feeling the slightest bit more “sappy,” she would have shed a tear, herself. After a good few seconds, Twilight let her dragon go, feeling his brotherly presence slowly fade as she stepped away. Twilight backpedaled into the ocean, which she managed to walk upon thanks to her control over the element of water. The waves carried her backward to Ga-Koro. She waved one last time toward her two friends “Bye, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried. “Goodbye—goodbye, Spike.” She choked on her words, but still managed to swallow her pride before turning herself around, on her way to the village of Ga-Koro.