Bionicle: The Darkness Within

by FenrisianBrony

Meeting the Public

After a few minutes of walking, the six Toa found themselves standing in a large room, filled with hundreds of empty seats. At the front of the room was a raised stage, upon which rested six wooden plinths, with two large ones situated behind them.

“This is where the press conference will take place.” Celestia informed the assembled group. “In an hour, they will enter, and we will introduce you to the world. I would like to play this safely. I see no reason to inform them of all you are here for. To that end, I would like you to portrait yourself as simple travellers, ones who are passing through on a mission for your own world, but do not mention your status as warriors. Nor shall you mention the Makuta. To do so would only insight panic in the population of Equestria, and I would not have that. Are these terms agreeable?”

“They are Celestia.” Vakama nodded. “I would also suggest that we alter the story to leave out the fight between ourselves and Luna’s forces.”

“Agreed.” Celestia nodded.

“Very well then. Toa. Please follow me. We will await the press out of their sight, and wait for the opportune moment to show yourselves.” Luna said, before turning and walking through a set of doors just behind the two larger podiums, which Vakama summarised were for the two princesses.

Following behind Luna, the six Toa were lead into another room, this one smaller than the press room, but no less grand in terms of decor. Turning to face them, Luna addressed the pan-dimensional warriors.

“Make yourselves comfortable. We will be here for a long time.”

***

“What you making there smelt head?” Matai asked, walking over to Vakama.

It had almost been an hour, and the Toa could clearly hear the voices of a multitude of ponies beginning to fill the hall. Luna had exited the room as she heard the first voices, saying that she would need to stand with her sister if they were to prevent an angry outbreak. When the Toa had asked if it was really a possibility that the public would try anything against the Princesses, Luna had simply replied that it wasn’t the public she was worried about, before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

The Toa had busied themselves much in the same way that they had the previous night, and Vakama had once again got back to smelting the object. To no one’s surprise, Matau had got bored quickly, and was now walking around annoying all of the other Toa.

“Nothing special.” Vakama admitted, holding up the half-finished object for the rest to see.

“Is that a mask?” Nokama asked, walking over to look at the object.

“The beginnings of one, yes.” Vakama admitted. “The structure of the ponies face enthralled me. I wanted to see if I could replicate it.”

“You have done well.” Nuju complimented, looking at the skeletal, half-finished mask.

“Well it isn’t finished yet. I was hoping to have it completed for the conference as a gift of peace, but…”

“Hey, don’t worry brother.” Whenua said, clapping his brother on the back. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate the gesture regardless.”

“They won’t see it.” Vakama said simply.” A craftsman does not usually reveal his work until it is completed.”

“Ah come on fire-spitter.” Matau said in exasperation. “You’re a Toa now. You don’t have to keep acting like a mask maker anymore.”

“If we cannot awaken the Matoran, then there will be no more mask makers.” Vakama said simply, slipping the mask behind his back, along with his smelting stick. “Until they are awaken, I will keep the tradition going.”

“That’s…morbid.” Nuju said dejectedly.

For a moment, the Toa were silent, and were instantly aware that on the other side of the door, the ponies were also silent, which could only mean one thing. The press conference had started.

“Ponies of the press.” Celestia began, her voice slightly muffled by the wood. “I have called you here today to settle some rumours that I believe have been circulating since a few nights ago.”

“What is currently common knowledge,” Luna took over, “is that two nights ago, an unscheduled flash of light illuminated my night sky, and an object landed deep within the boundaries of the Everfree forest. I personally lead the Moonlight Wardens and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony to discover what had made the flash, and what had landed in the Everfree forest. The official story was a meteorite, caught in the gravity well of my sisters sun had got through both of our screening and crash landed in the Everfree.”

“This was not the case.” Celestia admitted, causing many ponies in the audience to gasp, and the sound of frantic writing could be heard.

“I’m guessing they aren’t expected to lie.” Nokama muttered to Vakama.

“What we actually found was much more important.” Luna continued. “At the sight of the impact, we found a craft, one that had non-Equis origins. The craft was a wreck, and initially we believed that it was either unponied or that the crew did not survive. This assumption was also false. After a period of time, six beings made, contact, with us.” Luna said uneasily.

“These beings went on to assist my sister in saving three ponies from a forest fire. In doing so, they proved the intentions that they proclaimed were true, and as such, were granted the hospitality of this nation.”

“What did they want?” Came a voice, probably that of a reporter.

“Please, hold all questions until the end. Some of them may be answered at a later stage.” Celestia replied.

“The six creatures were brought back to Ponyville, where they briefly stayed in the home of Twilight Sparkle, before being transported to the castle here in Canterlot.” Celestia said, as the sound of moving hooves could be heard.

Slowly, the door to room where the Toa were, was cracked open, and Luna whispered through.

“Be ready to enter. My sister will let you know when the right time is.”

“Nokama. You were a teacher. I’ll let you handle the talking.” Vakama whispered.

With that, Luna closed the door, and presumably went back to her podium, while Nokama nodded in acknowledgment.

“Without further ado then, it is my great honour and privilege to welcome the first extra-Equis creatures to our planet and country. Please welcome, the Toa Metru team.”

Taking this as their cue, Vakama threw open the door, and the six Toa walked out onto the stage.

The entire room was silent, save for the footfalls of the Toa, as they took their place at the six small podiums. For almost a minute, no one in the room spoke or moved, until Celestia finally broke the silence with a small, but deliberate cough. Taking this as a sign to begin, Nokama cleared her throat and addressed the assembled ponies.

“People… or ponies, whichever you all prefer to be called… of Equestria, my name is Nokama. I am the Toa of water, and one of six members of the Toa Metru team, the group that stands before you today, consisting of Vakama, Toa of Fire, Nuju, Toa off Ice, Onewa, Toa of Stone, Whenua, Toa of Earth and Matau, Toa of Air.” As Nokama introduced each Toa, they gave an indication as to who she was talking to, ranging from the subtle nod that Nuju and Onewa gave, to the massively over the top wave that Matau did. “We mean none of you harm, despite what we may look like, and assure you that we are not here to interfere with your daily lives. We are on a mission from our own home, and did not know when we set out that we would be required to complete the final part of it in your country.”

There was still an eerie air of quiet. And then the very first pony popped the very first question.

“What is your mission?”

“We seek a series of objects from our home. It is vital that we retrieve these objects as quickly as possible and return them to our own home. We believe they have a guard, and as such it is imperative that if you learn of the wear abouts of any of these objects, you inform a member of the guard, the princesses, or one of us six directly.” Nokama explained. “Are their anymore questions?”

The next question came from an accented, quiet voice. “Do ya’ll have cutie marks?”

That stumped Nokama. “Um… what?”

Matau took a moment to study. He quietly replied, “I think she means the tattoos on their asses.”

“Delicate as always.” Nuju deadpanned.

“No. Neither myself, nor my brothers have a cutie mark. They are do not exist where we come from.”

The disappointed “Awwwwwwwww” was barely heard.

“Are there any other questions?”

For the next few hours Nokama fielded any and every possible question. She skirted around the subject of whether or not they were warriors, and assured the population that they were not an advanced guard here to herald the coming of the apocalypse. They did not eat, and as such were neither carnivorous, omnivorous nor vegetarian, but held nothing against those who were. Their home was actually very like Equestria in certain locations, and in other areas, namely Ta-Metru, was completely different. They were not organic, rather bio-mechanical beings. No, they were not the only member of their species, although they were the only one who had answered their current profession. Yes, the others can speak, no, I don’t trust them to speak, because everybody knows Matau’s just going to embarrass us all, and Onewa likely won’t do us any favours…

By the end all were thankful for Nokama, as her people/pony skills had managed to (mostly) endear the team to the assembled press, and very few were against them being allowed to stay in the country while they searching for the objects that they sought, and in fact they were receiving too much attention for Vakamas liking.

“If that is all my ponies, I would like to draw this conference to a close. Everything discussed within this hall is in the public domain, and may be published as each individual deems fit, providing it stays within the boundaries and extents of what was actually discussed, and does not go off on blind speculation.”

Luna and Celestia watched as the press ponies filed out of the room, talking quietly amongst themselves, and soon, the room was empty, save for the six Toa, the princesses, and the Element bearers.

“That went as well as it could of.” Twilight beamed, walking up on stage.

“Indeed.” Celestia agreed, before turning to the Toa. “Oh course, the question remains, what are you going to do now?”

“We need to begin the search for the Makuta and the Matoran as soon as possible. I would suggest that we start in the Everfree forest.” Vakama speculated.

“I have another idea.” Luna cut in. “the public expects you to be seen doing normal things that a civilian would do. Civilians do not usually enter the Everfree forest, as the creatures within are hazardous to most ponies. Personally, I have no doubt you can handle it, but for the purpose of public relations, I am going to suggest that you spend time around the general population, perhaps in Ponyville with the element bearers, if they have no objections that is.”

The six ponies looked between themselves quickly, before unanimously shaking their heads.

“That is a good idea Luna.” Nokama said, “But if we are not searching for the Matoran, how will we find them?”

“I will task my guard to look for them. They are more than capable of entering the Everfree, and they can report back any possible leads they find to you. Then your team can move in to check the validity of these leads.” Luna suggested.

“The Royal Guard and Equestrian Guard stand ready to help as well.” Shining Armour proclaimed proudly.

“That makes a certain amount of sense.” Whenua nodded, before turning to the other Toa. “What do you guys think?”

“What Luna says is true. If we wish to pass as anything other than warriors, it would be prudent of us to avoid situations that only soldiers and warriors would find themselves in.” Nuju agreed.

“That’s it then.” Vakama proclaimed. “As long as the Elements of Harmony have no objections, we will stay in Ponyville for two weeks. If the search takes longer than that, then we will join in, regardless of the public’s view of us.”

“That is fair.” Celestia nodded. “I believe you should be on your way then. A train for Ponyville leaves in under an hour if I am not mistaken. Now that the public, or at least the press, is aware of your existence, you should be able to use public transport. I will send word to the station and pay for the tickets in advance.”

With that, Celestia turned and left the room, swiftly followed by Luna, Cadence and Shining Armour.

Comments

[Tunalock]

+1 for THE Makuta.

[FleetlordAvatar]

I suspect the Toa will get on well with the Mane 6. Nokama is a teacher so I bet she meets Cheerilee and gets on with Twilight, although as an archivist Whenua could as well. It will be interesting to see things develop from here.

[brony323]

this is gonna be on heck of a ride

[Wyrme]

This is getting interesting.

[GoldenCyclone4]

Hm... pairing predictions, GO!
Whenua-Twilight. Duh.
Matau-RD. Again, duh.
Nokama-Fluttershy. Both calm and soft-spoken, though perhaps Onewa due to that whole Mask/Stare clash.
Onewa-AJ. Both strong and competent, they'll probably get along well. But, see above.
Nuju-Pinkie. Mainly for entertainment as Nuju tries to figure her out.
Vakama-Rarity. Both craftsworkers, and Rarity may help out with the mask eventually.

[Edguy0009]

4690604
No NO Pairings.