> Bionicle: The Darkness Within
>  by FenrisianBrony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Gathered friends. Listen again to the legend of the Bionicle. In the time before time, six mighty Toa vanquished the Makuta, encasing him in protodermis. Before their mission was ended, the Toa pledged to rescue the Matoran, traveling far from their home in search of those the Makuta had flung from him, with every intent on seeing them returned home.

But the Makuta was not about to relinquish his subjects without a fight. Free from the bonds placed upon him, the Makuta prepared his forces, gathering the remaining Matoran; the Makuta retreated to a new world. A world where Makuta was known by another name, a world where his return was whispered by those few who believed his rule of shadows, to be absolute.




> Across the Great Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The small ship floated across the calm surface of Protodermis, a small light flashing on its prow, intermittently bringing light to the inky blackness the craft found itself in. Everything the light flashed, five figures were briefly visible to any observer, before they were bloated out again by the darkness.

"Vakama." Spoke the black figure, "Are you sure that this is the right way? We wouldn't want another detour, would we now brother."

"I am Whenua." Vakama said, turning to face his friend. "The energy trails of the Makuta are difficult to miss."

"Even with your navigational skills. Right Nokama?" The brown figure laughed.

"My navigational skills are perfect." The blue Toa said, with a touch of indignation. 

"Oh. I'm sorry, but how did are last little journey on a ship end up?" Sniggered the white Toa.

"I believe we decided that was a pilot error Nuju." Nokama said, gesturing towards the cockpit.

"Heh." Came the indignant voice of Matau. "I was only order-taking."

"Enough." Vakama said, silencing the other Toa. "Bickering gets us nowhere. We need to find the Makuta and retrieve the Matoran he took. Everything else is secondary."

"I just hope this expedition turns out better than our last one." Nuju shuddered, "I'd rather not think about what could lie in an unexplored region. Any ideas Whenua?"

"We're off all the charts I could find in the archives." The Toa said, thinking back to his days as a Matoran. Wherever the Makuta's running to, no-one else has gone there before, or at least, no-one’s documented it properly."

"So we can rule out any Onu-Metru going there then?" Nuju asked, his red eye shutter squinting at Whenua.

"Yeah. My people would have hauled half of it back to Onu-Metru to study it."

"You still want to keep going fire-spitter?" Came Mataus' voice from the cockpit.

"Of course not. We're not going to be scared off because the Makuta's running away from us. For a person who supposedly is the embodiment of shadow, he seems to be running from ours."

"Great. If we get poisoned again, I swear to the great spirit." Matau grumbled, as he steered the ship onwards, following the commands that Nokama was giving.

***

High up on the mountains, the city of Canterlot slumbered. The ponies of the town were all asleep, save for the odd Luna guard, their bat-like wings fluttering in the slight breeze as they patrolled the city.

Higher still rested the castle, a majestic sight, visible from halfway across Equestria. On one of its many balconies, stood a lone midnight blue Alicorn, her midnight mane blowing in the ethereal winds that surrounded her and her sister.

Princess Luna looked over the city and sighed. Although ponies were no longer afraid of the mere mention of her name, they still refused to leave the comfort of their homes during her glorious night, preferring the heat of her sister’s sun as they had done one thousand years ago.

"Your highness." Came a voice from behind her, causing Luna to turn around a confront the source of the voice. "The captain of the Luna guard reports that all is clear. Only one minor incident occurred during the night, bars brawl, if I remember correctly." The Bat-Pony said smartly.

"My thanks. Inform the guard they may begin to wind down. My sisters guard will relieve them of their duties shortly."

"As you wish your highness." The stallion said, bowing low, before backing out of the room.

With a sigh, Luna turned back to the balcony, looking out over the horizons, where she could already make out her sisters sun attempting to crest the mountain tops and replace her darkness with its light. 

'How easy would it be for her to simply reach out and stop the sun from rising?'

'She could do it, easily in fact. All it would take was one little...'

NO! She had gone down that path once before, and she had paid the price for her hubris. But still. She could not quite shake the idea from her head entirely. It was as if there was a voice in her head, slowly crawling its way deeper into her thoughts. Was it just her being paranoid? Or was the voice familiar? Something from a long time past.

***

"Matau!" Came the desperate voice of Nokama, "Bring us to a halt!"

The Toa of water ran towards the back of the boat, unsheathing her weapons as she went. Desperately looking for something to attach her Hydro Blades to in the great empty expanse of water around them.

"Nhhh...Trying." Grunted Matau from the cockpit, who was frantically trying to turn the wheel on the ship, eventually causing the ship to stop with a jolt.

"Nokama!" Shouted Vakama, running up to his sister. "What is it?" He asked.

"Look ahead." She said, pointing to the front of the ship.

Following her finger, Vakama stared out infront of the ship, a single entity catching his eye. Bubbling across the surface, was a swirling mass of glowing liquid, a whirlpool, formed from energised Protodermis.

"Matau?" Vakama asked slowly, drawing his own disk launcher wearily "Status?"

"I can't...nhhh...turn the wheel." Came the reply from the cockpit.

"What's happening?" Came the voice of Onewa, the Toa of stone, leading his two brothers, Whenua and Nuju, towards the bow.

"That's happening." Said Vakama simply, pointing at the energised protodermis ahead of them.

"Great. And here I thought our pilot would be able to get us to our destination alive for once. What is this? Two for Two on crashes Matau?" Whenua said sarcastically.

"Hey. Don't blame me. I just order-take, not order-give." Matau said indignantly.

"The location is correct. Makutas’ signal leads there." Vakama said hesitantly.

"You can't honestly be thinking of trying to sail through that can you?" Asked Nokama.

"Nokamas’ right. Who knows what will happen if we touch that stuff. Bad things happen when things touch that stuff." Whenua said carefully. "We had a leak in the archives once. Nasty stuff."

"We can't allow the Makuta to escape us again. Every Matoran he keeps from us is one to many." Vakama said confidently. "It changes nothing. We simply go in, and hope for the best."

"Because that turned out so well last time. I am not going to get poisoned again am I?" Quipped Matau.

"We cannot leave the Matoran with the Makuta. I agree with our brother here." Onewa said, standing next to Vakama. 

"As do I." Nuju said, standing by his brothers side.

"It is not our destiny to fail now." Nokama said slowly, walking over to the group forming around Vakama. 

"Ahh. Fine. If we don't make it fire-spitter, I'm coming back to haunt you." Said Matau, the green Toa stepping out of the cockpit and moving over towards the group. "You coming Whenua?"

"And miss the chance to save all your sorry butts again? Not likely." He said, walking over to the group, placing his hand into the middle of the group.

As one, the remaining Toa all place their hands on top of his.

"Unity. Duty. Destiny." They all said together, before breaking off and walking towards the railing on the front of the ship.

"Matau." Vakama said confidently. "Take us through."

Running back to the cockpit, the ship slowly began to edge forward, picking up speed as it got ever nearer to the maelstrom of energised protodermis infront of them.

"Everyone hold on!" Shouted Nuju, gripping the railings as the ship touched the edge of the whirlpool.

A flash of light broke the darkness of the night, lighting up the surrounding area for a fraction of a second, before fading, leaving the sea around the swirling maelstrom empty once again.
***

A flash of light lit up the sky above Equestria, catching Lunas' eye from her vantage point atop the Canterlot Castle.

"Sister?" Came the concerned voice of Celestia. "What was that?"

"I do not know. It looked like it was centred over the Everfree forest though." Luna replied, turning to her older sister. "Should I send a detachment of guards to check it out?"

"No. But I would like you to travel to Ponyville. I will send a message ahead to spike. Twilight will be expecting you."

"I would feel safer taking a contingent of guards with me." Luna replied.

"Fine. You may take who you believe is nessissary, but I would like you to bring Twilight and her friends with you when you inspect the cause.

With that, Celestia edged passed Luna, her horn beginning to glow as she slowly began to move the sun above the horizon. In tandem with Celestias horn, Lunas began to glow, taking hold of the moon and beginning to move it out of the heavens. Eventually, night gave way to day, and Luna walked down towards the Lunar guard barracks.

Upon entry, Luna was greeted by the commander of the Lunar guard, a stotic, pale bat-pony.

"To what do we owe the pleasure your highness?" The stallion asked.

"There has been a development Castelian. I want you to gather  nine of your most trusted warriors. I want them ready for deployment under my personal command in thirty minutes."

"Your will. My hooves." Castelian said simply, bowing, before turning and exiting the room.

Half an hour later, Luna stood in the courtyard. In front of her stood ten guards, each bedecked in the attire of the Lunar guards elite.

"Princess. May I present the members of the Moonlight Wardens." Castelian said smartly, walking out from the line and saluting crisply.

"They are impressive Castelian. Prepare to move out. We must reach Ponyville within the hour."

Silently, the eleven ponies filed out of the room, the guards allowing Luna to exit first, before they exited as well, their onyx armour seemingly drawing in the light from their surroundings.

***

"Twilight. Twilight." Called spike, walking around the library.

"What? It's six o'clock in the morning spike." Came Twilights voice from upstairs, proceeding the mare as she wearily walked down the stairs.

"I got a scroll from the princess. Looks important." He said, as he waved a piece of parchment in the air.

Almost immediately, the scroll was surrounded in a bright glow, and was wrenched out of spikes claw by an instantly awake and enthusiastic Twilight. As soon as she had the scroll infront of her, she began to read it verociously, her eyes darting across the page, and her expression falling the further in she got.

"So Twilight, what's it say?" Asked spike as soon as Twilight had put the scroll down.

"Apparently something caused a disturbance over the Everfree forest. Luna's bringing some guards to check it out, and she wants the elements of harmony to be with her when she does."

"Does this mean we have to go and wake everypony up?" Spike asked exasperatedly

"I guess so. You go get Rainbow Dash, I'll get the others." She said, before running out of the library.

"Wait. Don't you want me to get more than one of them?" Spike called after her.

"I'll help you when I'm done." She called back, racing towards Sugarcube corner.

"But I..." Spike began, but Twilight was already out of ear shot. With a sigh, Spike turned around and began to walk through town towards the large mass of clouds just visible on the horizon. 

Waking Rainbow Dash up was not going to be easy.


> Waking Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike was right. Waking Rainbow up was impossible at the best of times. Factoring in the earlier time just made it even harder, if that was even possible.

"Spike. What did you say I had to be up for?" Rainbow Dash asked, rubbing her eyes as she lazily flew behind the baby dragon.

"Ugh. I told you. Princess Luna saw something in the sky, so Princess Celestia told her to investigate with us, so we need to be ready when she gets here." Spike said exasperatedly.

"And when was is she supposed to be here?" Rainbow yawned.

"About ten minutes ago, maybe more. If you'd just got up when I first tried we'd already be their."

Lapsing into silence, the pair rushed through Ponyville, the newly risen sun casting long shadows across the ground. Eventually, the pair came into sight of a group of ponies standing outside the town hall. In one cluster were the rest of her friends, while in the other cluster stood Luna, surrounded by ten imposing bat-ponies, each wearing some strange version of the normal Lunar guard armour.

"Ah. Rainbow Dash. You're here then." Luna smiled, catching sight of the Pegasus and the dragon as they ran up to the group. "And you to spike. I'm glad you both finally arrived."

"I take it Rainbow was as difficult to get up as I expected?" Twilight smiled.

"I don't know. Did you expect it to take almost half an hour?" Spike asked sarcastically.

"Well I thought it would take closer to forty minutes myself." Rarity smiled.

"Does this mean I win?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"Actually. I believe I won this bet you speak of." Luna laughed.

"Wait, which bet?" Rainbow asked, scratching her head in confusion.

"Oh nothin' RD." applejack said, putting her hoof round Rainbow. "We just had a bet on how long it would take Spike to get you up."

Grumbling, Pinkie, Rarity and a few of the lunar guards got out a few bits each. A magical aura surrounded the bits as Luna grabbed them with her magic.

"Now that that's out of the way, let us get down to business." Luna smiled, putting the bits in a small drawstring bag. "Almost an hour ago I observed a flash of light in my night sky, one not scheduled by me to happen. This light seemed to emanate from above the Everfree Forest. As an unknown entity, I have been sent to investigate what caused this. My sister asked me to take you girls as well, but I believe this to be unnecessary. Never the less, I have brought the elements of harmony, and would appreciate it if you would wear them while we investigate."

As she mentioned the Elements of Harmony, two of the guards walked towards a chest, opening it to reveal all six of the Elements of Harmony. As one, the six bearers walked forward and donned their respective elements.

"OK girls. Lets roll." Twilight said, beginning to stride off in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

"Alright. The seven of us going on an adventure together." Spike smiled from his position on Twilight's back.

"Whoa Spike. Where do you think your going?" Twilight asked, stopping and taking Spike off of her back. "The Everfree forest is no place for a baby. Even a dragon baby."

"Oh come on." Spike said in indignation. "You guys never let me come with you. Just this once. Please?"

"No Spike. Go back to sleep. I'll wake you when I get back." Twilight said, with an air of finality.

"Ugh. Fine. I still think I should be allowed to come." Grumbled Spike as he trudged back to the library.

"Now that that's done." Luna said, setting off towards the Everfree, her guards following closely behind.

***

"Ugh." Groaned Nuju, sitting up from where he had been flung. Gazing across the clearing that they had landed in, Nuju sighed. 

Once again, the ship that they had traveled on was in pieces on its back. Parts of its wreckage were littering the ground around the main body of their past vessel.

Struggling to his feet, Nuju walked over to a pile of rubble which had a green foot sticking out of it. With a smile, Nuju stopped by it.

"Need a hand Matau?" He laughed

"Not funny." Came the muffled reply from the green Toa.

With another chuckle, Nujus' mask began to glow. With a thought, Nuju simply moved the pile of wreckage off of his fallen brother, setting it down a few meters away, before offering a hand to the now prone form of Matau.

"Here's the hand I offered." He smiled as Matau grabbed hold and hauled himself up.

The pair of Toa stood together, surveying the wreckage, Nujus' red eye occasionally zooming in on a piece of rubble as he scanned for the other four Toa.

"Another graceful landing eh Matau?" Came the voice of Whenua from behind the pair. The black Toa was followed by Onewa and Nokama, the group emerging from behind a pile of ruined ship.

"You can't blame me this time." Matau said indignantly. "Nakama was the one who gave the order."

"Speaking of our fearless leader, where is he?" Onewa asked, looking around.

"Boo." Came a lazy voice from the center of the group. 

The five Toa looked around, scanning for the source of the voice, before the red Toa revealed himself, his form slowly becoming visible again.

"Oh ha ha." Matau said, crossing his arms.

"You always say I should lighten up Matau. I thought I could just take your advice."

"Well, I guess we're not going to be going back home on this thing are we?" Whenua asked, kicking a piece of wreckage across the clearing. "Anyone got any idea where we are?"

"None. We didn't know where we were before we entered the energized protodermis, let alone now." Nokama said.

"Spread out. Find anything that may be of use. Then we begin looking for the Matoran, and Makuta." Vakama said, striding towards the main body of their ship.

As one, the six Toa spread out, scanning the wreckage for anything that could be useful. After ten minutes of searching, they returned to the center of the clearing. Their search had been fairly unfruitful, turning up a few light stones along with a stack of Kanoka Disks found by Vakama.

"Still carrying those things around smelt-head?" Matau asked as Vakama dropped the disks in a pile in front of him.

"You never know when we may need then for something other than ammo." Vakama smiled, drawing his weapon and inspecting it for damage. 

Taking this as a prompt, the other five Toa drew their own weapons, some inspecting them, while other, namely Matau, just admired them.

"Have you ever seen anything as handsome as this face?" He asked as he looked at his reflection in the blade.

"Yeah. I think it was a beetle." Whenua laughed, clapping Matau on the back and sending him sprawling on the ground. Getting up, he launched himself at Whenua, knocking him to the ground. The pair rolled around on the floor, Whenua laughing at Matau's attempt at intimidation.

"Are you two quite finished?" Nokama asked, shearing her own weapons.

"Fine." Whenua relented, allowing Matau to get up from where he was pinned.

"So. Vakama. Game plan?" Onewa asked.

"Well. We have no idea where we are, or where the Matoran will be, so I suggest that we find any signs of life and try to find out anything we can. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Replied the other Toa.

The six Toa gathered up their belongings, shearing their weapons and placing the light stones on their persons. Vakama grabbed the Kanoka Disks, placing them on his back, along with his disk launcher. Leading the way, Vakama led the Toa out of the clearing, following the position of the newly rising sun he could see off in the distance.

***

The group of ponies walked deeper into the Everfree Forest, Celestia's rising sun shining on their backs. From the front of the group came the voice of the guard commander, Castelian, if Twilight remembered correctly.

"How far in are we planning on going your highness?"

"Until we find evidence of something that caused the flash." Luna replied simply.

"And if we don't find anything?" Twilight asked.

Luna didn't reply, gazing off into the distance. After waiting for a reply which never came, Twilight walked up next to Castelian.

"So, Castelian. What's it like being..." Twilight began.

"In the Lunar guard?" 

"I was going to say a 'bat...pony?" She asked hesitantly.

"You mean a Equos Lunar? Well other than being seen as a monster by most ponies, its not that bad. Think of us as a cross between Pegasus and Earth Ponies. The majority of us are stronger than your average Pegasi, and we're faster and more agile than most Earth ponies." He explained.

"So your like...the forth breed of ponies? How come noponies ever documented you?"

"We live away from other ponies for a reason. We only started to integrate back into pony society when Nightmare Moon returned."

"You mean Luna? Why?"

"She was the one who originally molded our species. Legend has it that Celestia created Equestria, and created the Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns. Luna however, created her own race. She created just one, a race she believed to be perfect. The result was the Equos Lunar."

"So how many of your kind are there? There can't be that many or ponies would have seen you more often."

"There were lots of us. One thousand years ago. Now there's only a few thousand of us." He said, matter-of-factly

"Sooo... You fought with Nightmare Moon then? Against Celestia?"

"Not me, and not my ancestors. Most our kind followed her blindly, but a few stayed loyal to the Solar goddess. If it wasn't for that...well. I don't think she would have allowed us to reintegrate back into society."

"So who do you serve now? Celestia or Luna?"

"Officially we are Lunas personal guard, but I prefer to think of myself as serving Equestria as a whole."

"But you lead them? The rest of the Equos Lunar?"

"And the Moonlight Wardens."

"The what?"

"The Moonlight Wardens. The elite within the Lunar guard. The best of the best."

"And that's you guys?" Twilight asked, gesturing at the other guards. "The best of the Lunar Guard."

"Affirmative. And I'm proud to call each one of them my brothers and sisters in arms."

With that, Castelian dropped back to one of the other guards and began a hushed conversation with the mare in question.

"What was that all about Twi?" Asked Applejack.

"I just found out more about a rare species." She smiled gleefully, skipping ahead of the group.

The group continued to walk towards the source of the light flash, while six pairs of eyes watched their movements.

***
Earlier
***

The six Toa continued walking through the forest they had found the self in. Half of the Toa, Matau, Onewa and Nuju, had drawn their weapons, cutting through the dense undergrowth in their path.

"So, fire-spitter. Any stroke of genius as to what we're going to find when we get to this mysterious settlement you think we're going to find?" Matau asked from the front of the group.

"Heh. As long as we don't find any Le-Metru there, I'm sure we'll be fine." Whenua laughed.

"Whatever. You’d be lucky to meet any of my friends here.” Matau said.

The group lapsed back into silence, and began to think about what they were going to do. It seemed like only a few weeks ago the six Toa were actually Matoran from the different villages around Metru Nui.

That had all changed when Toa Lhikan had paid each of them a visit. The old Toa of fire, and leader of the Toa Mangai team before them, had presented them each with a Toa Stone.

That single act had led them to where they were today. From Matoran to Toa, the team had combated the Makuta, a being created by the great spirit himself. Unfortunately, the Makuta fell from the light, and attempted to shroud the land in shadows, casting a great slumber over the land, he imprisoned the Matoran in an endless slumber.

Standing together, the six Toa had defeated the Makuta, sealing him in protodermis. In the wake if the victory, the Toa had continued to look for the remaining Matoran.

Unfortunately, the Makuta had escaped, which is why the Toa were now searching for him, and to retrieve the final stolen Matoran.

"Vakama." Came the hushed voice of Nuju from the front of the group. "We have a situation."

The group of Toa stopped, drawing their weapons in anticipation for whatever the 'situation' was.

"What is it Nuju?" Vakama asked, moving up beside his brother.

"Look there." Nuju said, pointing through the undergrowth.

Peering through the dim light from the sun, Vakama looked through the plants at the path they had carefully avoided lay walking alone. Vakama caught sight of some shadows advancing up the pathway, but couldn't make out what was casting them.

Crouching down, and signalling the other Toa to do the same. 

"Vakama? What is it?" Nokama asked, moving closer to her brother.

"I don't know. There's movement ahead of us."

"What kind of movement?" Whenua asked, spinning his own weapons nervously.

"The kind that moves slowthink." Laughed Matau

"You know what I mean." Whenua whispered exasperatedly. "You remember what happened last time we ran into something we didn't know we got..." He began

"Don't say it." Matau said quickly. "I don't like thinking about it. I mean, being that hideous? That was just horrifying."

"I still can't see the difference brother." Smiled Onewa.

"Why you..." Matau began, before being silenced by Nuju. 

"Quite. We still don't know what's out there." He chastised.

"Good. Nokama, ideas?" Vakama asked.

"Wait and see what they are? They probably don't even know we are here." She answered slowly.

Lying down and crawling closer to the road, Vakama's mask began to glow, shrouding his body in a shimmering field, before causing him to vanish from sight.

Time ticked by, and the shadows grew larger still, until the Toa finally saw something move.

"What. Is that?" Nuju asked, staring at the path way.

"I don't know." Whispered Nokama

"Just going out on a limb here." Onewa started, "you haven't got anything like that in archives have you Whenua?"

"No." He said simply, his mouth hanging open.

"Didn't you say you had specimens of every creature in there?" Nokama asked worriedly.

"Exactly." Whenua shuddered. "Going on on a limb here, but I don't think we're anywhere near Metru Nui, are we?"

The five visible Toa stared out onto the path, as a plethora of creatures walked into sight. What was immediately clear to the Toa was how strange they looked. Instead of being bio-mechanical like the Toa were, they looked almost...sleek, organic.

There were seventeen of the creatures in all, one of whom towered above the rest of the group. Another thing that Nokama noticed instantly was the subtle differences between them. Other than the colours differentiating between them, some of them had different physical features. Over half of the group had what looked like wings, while other ones had horns on their heads. The only exception to these two groups were two of the creatures, who seemed to not have either, and the large one, who seemed to have both.

"Vakama, what do we do?" Nokama asked in a hushed voice.

The Toa of fire re-materialized next to his sister and sighed. 

"I don't know. What are they for one?" He asked

"Why don't we attempt communication?" Suggested Nuju.

"And if that turns out as well as the last time we tried to just walk into a situation without think-talking?" Matau asked.

"Then we handle it like we did then. Don't worry Matau, I'm sure they wont be able to turn you into uglier than you are now anyway" Onewa said joked.

"Alright. So we wait until an opportunity presents itself and attempt to make contact. Everyone agree?" Asked Nakama.

The six Toa nodded in agreement, slowly getting to their feet, and silently following the creatures, making sure to stay out of sight.

***

"G-guys." Fluttershy whispered. "I think we're being watched."

"Ah come on now Fluttershy. Y'all know better than any of us about the critters that live in the forest. It's probably just one of them." Applejack replied, smiling at her friend.

"No. It didn't feel like their eyes do." Fluttershy said.

"I agree with Fluttershy here." Luna boomed. "I do not recognize the feeling of the presence."

"Do you know who they are?" Rarity asked.

"No. I can't find the source of the feeling. Twilight can you feel anything?" 

"Nothing. It's like there's a cloud preventing me from seeing in the astral plane." Twilight replied

"Should we continue princess?" Castelian asked, trotting up next to Luna.

"Oh course. We need to find out what caused the light."

"And how long are we going to keep searching?" Castelian asked.

"Commander!" Came the shout from one of the Moonlight Wardens, "You may want to take a look at this."

Running over to the guard in question, Castelian looked at where the pony was pointing and gasped.

"Your majesty. I believe we've found what caused the disturbance."

Quickly, the group of ponies ran up to where the two guards were now standing, and looked out at the clearing infront of them. Covering the ground around the group was a huge amount of strange, metal-like, debris, just lying around. Slowly, the group walked into the clearing, carefully avoiding any of the wreckage.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, inspecting a smaller piece of the wreckage.

"I don't know." Luna said softly, taking in the scene around her. "Castelian, spread yourself and the rest of the Moonlight Wardens out around the wreckage. Check to see if there is anything else of note around."

"Would an extremely handsome Toa hero class as something of note?" Came a voice from behind the group.

Whirling around, the group searched for the source of the voice, settling their eyes upon a dark grey bat-pony stallion. His cutie mark was a strange looking mask type thing, which even now was glowing as a dull white glow surrounded him, revealing an extremely strange looking bipedal creature.

"Especially an extremely handsome Toa hero like me." The creature asked, as three horns and a host of blades were pointed at him.

***

"Looks like they found the result of your driving Matau." Whenua laughed quietly.

"Stop it." Nokama ordered.

"How should we go about this?" Vakama asked.

"Well luckily for us, one of our mask powers is actually worth the weight." Matau laughed.

Concentrating hard, the Toa of Air's mask began to glow, shrouding the Toa in a corona of dull white light. Once it had cleared, the tall green figure had disappeared, being replaced by another one of the strange ponies.

"Matau? How can you..." Vakama began, before trailing off.

"Don't look at me. I didn't think it was going to work." The grey pony laughed, before striding out into the clearing, just as the large winged and horned pony spoke again.

"I don't know." It said softly, taking in the scene around it. "Castelian, spread yourself and the rest of the Moonlight Wardens out around the wreckage. Check to see if there is anything else of note around."

"Would an extremely handsome Toa hero class as something of note?" Matau said, causing the remainder of Toa to sigh in exasperation.

Once again, the white light surrounded Matau, burning off to once again reveal the green Toa, striking a pose in the middle of the group of ponies.

"Especially an extremely handsome Toa hero like me." Matau grinned, as three horns and a host of blades were pointed at him.

> This Could Have Gone Better
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	'This could have gone better.' Matau thought to himself as the creatures in front of him all pointed things that could be weapons at him.

"Sooo." He began, smiling crookedly at the group, "does..."

"He was cut off by a blue blur as one of the winged creatures flew into his chest, knocking him to the ground. Matau quickly threw the creature off and was immediately pushed back to the ground when he found a blade at his neck.

"Don't move creature." The bat pony hissed, pushing the blade closer.

"I could say the same thing for you." Came another voice from behind the pony.

Not taking his blade away from Matau, the pony whirled around, searching for the voice, which was all the time Matau needed to kick the creatures legs out from under it, sending it flying.

"Nice of you guys to join me." Matau said, brushing some dust off his arms as he got to his feet.

Emerging from the undergrowth of the forest stepped four of the Toa, while Vakama came back into view next to Matau.

"So much for your genius plan brother." Whenua laughed, slapping Matau on the back.

"Hey." Matau said indignantly.

"Foul creatures. Explain thy presence in my land, or face my wrath." Shouted the largest of the strange creatures, its voice physically hitting the Toa.

"Ouch. Someone's good at anger-shouting." Matau smiled.

"Matau." Nokama began sweetly. "Be quite please."

Stepping forward, Vakama advanced towards the creatures in front of him, causing the bat-winged ones to bristle and ready the blades they wore on their wings.

"I will ask you one more time creatures. Explain your presence in this land willingly, or we will force you to tell us." The large one said, advancing forward.

"I'm sure we'd all love for some answerfinding, but right now we've got our own duty, so why don't..." Matau started, but was cut off by a sudden burst light from the horn of the large one, propelling the Toa of air back into a tree.

"Wrong answer. Wardens. Subdue and restrain the creatures. We will take them back to my sister for judgment."

"Oh no. You did not just attack Matau." Whenua grunted, raising his fists. "That's my job."

With that, Whenua slammed his fists into the ground, causing it to erupt in spikes between the Toa and the creatures, surrounding them with stone.

"We don't want to fight you." Vakama shouted, banging on the stone.

"Well it looks like they do." Onewa said stubbornly.

Before the Toa could do anything else, the rock spikes exploded outwards, peppering the Toa with small shards of stone. Inside, the large one was panting, the horn on its head still faintly glowing from whatever it just did. The other creatures did not look so out of breath though, and as one sprang at the Toa.

The first of the creatures to hit home were the warrior looking ones, the blades attached to their wings raking across the Toas’ own armour as they hastily drew their own weapons to fend off the attack.

"Stop! We are not your enemies." Nokama shouted, blocking a strike with her own weapons.

"Funny. I don't believe you." The creature grunted, before Nokama threw the creature away from her. "Vakama, what should we do?"

"Do not hurt them. They are just doing their duty." He grunted as he fended off attacks directed at him.

"Easy said than done fire-spitter." Matau groaned, getting up from where he had been thrown into the tree.

***

"Castelian! Take two ponies and handle the red and blue one." Luna shouted, getting up from where she had been crouching after she performed her spell. 

Whatever the creatures were, they had their own form of magic. At least three of them had shown different powers. The green one could change its shape, the red one seemed to be able to turn invisible at will, and the black one seemed to be able to control the very earth beneath their hooves.

Luna herself began to move into action, closing in on the green creature that had just gotten up from where she had thrown him. Running full tilt at him, she lowered her horn, catching its leg and tripping it up again, causing it to land on the floor with a thud.

"Don't." It groaned, standing up and drawing two blades from its back. "Scratch. My. Armour."

The creature stood up at its full height, coming to the eye level of Luna. The creature stared at her for a second, before breaking down into laughter.

"Mata Nui. These creatures think that they're intimidating to Toa heroes."

The creature was cut off in its laughter by another blast from Lunas horn, which once again was thrown back into the tree. Even Luna had to admit that the green creature was amusing at the very least.

"Castelian. How are you handling the red and blue ones?" She asked, walking over to the unmoving form of the creature.

***

The six elements of harmony faced off against three more of the creatures, in this case, the black, brown and white ones.

"We don't want to fight you...whatever you are." Twilight said, her tiara beginning to glow slightly.

"It sure looks that way." The brown one quipped, drawing what looked like a strange hammer from its back.

"It does appear that your comrades think differently." The white one agreed, drawing its own weapons.

"It was y'all who didn't listen to the princess and attacked us." Applejack reasoned

"One of you attacked Matau first." The black one reasoned. "Now I'm not sayin' that he didn't deserve it, but we didn't throw the first..." 

He was cut off by a sudden blow to his chest, which knocked him to the ground.

"Don't try it buddy. You can't talk your way out of this." Rainbow Dash said.

"Alright, that's it." The black one shouted, standing up and throwing Rainbow Dash across the clearing.

The three creatures ran forwards, closing the gap between themselves and the Elements of Harmony. Twilight’s horn began to glow, and a magenta shield formed between them and the oncoming creatures. The three beasts barely even slowed, as the black one took the lead, smashing its weapons against the shield and causing Twilight to cry out in pain.

Twilight screamed as the shield shattered around her, her horn was burning now, and felt like it was driving a nail into her brain. She collapsed to the floor as the rest of her friends crowded round her.

"Twi? What's wrong?" Applejack said, kneeling down next to her friends.

"You meanies. What did you do to Twilight? Or for that matter, what did Twilight ever do to you?" Pinkie shouted.

"Oh you're in for it now." Rainbow Dash growled.

Leaping forward, four of the five remaining elements leaped forwards, landing on the unprepared Toa and striking them with their hooves. Only Fluttershy remained by Twilights side, gently holding her head as she groaned in pain.

***

Vakama blocked an attack from one of the bat-like creatures, before leaping at the largest one, who he guessed from how they acted was their leader. 

"We do not want to fight you." He shouted, grappling with her hooves as she tried to lash out at him.

"Then command your kin to stop and to lay down their weapons." The tall one shouted back.

"Will you allow us to leave and continue in our duty if we do?" Vakama grunted, pushing the tall one away from him for a split second.

"You will be taken to my sister whether you like it." The tall one shouted, charging at Vakama. "Or not."

Vakama braced himself for the impact, but still found himself bowled head over heels, landing in the mud a few meters away. The tall one stood over him, planting a foot on his chest.

"I have won creature. Surrender now."

***

Onewa threw the Rainbow coloured creature away from him, only to find the orange one already back on his back. Spinning around, he watched as Nuju pushed the pink one away from him. Somehow, she suddenly appeared behind him, brandishing a plate of something, which she proceeded to smash into his brothers’ face.

Looking around again, he saw that the rest of the Toa were up to their eyes in trouble. Whenua was desperately trying to avoid blasts from the white creatures’ horn, while Nuju was still struggling to wipe the substance from his mask. Looking around, he watched as Nokama fended off an attack from one of the oddly winged creatures, only for three more to come at her. Matau was unconscious from the impact with the tree still, while Vakama was fighting the largest of the creatures.

As he watched, the creature lunged at Vakama, knocking him to the floor and standing victoriously over him.

With a roar, Onewa threw the orange creature off his back, sending it crashing into the white one who was trying to pin down Whenua. Instantly, he ran forwards, his mask beginning to glow as he ran towards the talk creature. His shout drew her attention and she looked directly at him, which was all Onewa needed.

"Call off your soldiers." He said firmly, his voice resonating around the clearing. The tall creature attempted to move towards him, but Onewa simply pushed harder with his mask power.

"Call them off. Call them off, now!" He all but shouted.

The creature continued to fight his command, but Onewa simply pushed harder, forcing it to submit his will.

***

Fluttershy watched in horror as the brown creature threw Applejack from its back, throwing her into Rarity, before turning and charging at Luna. She watched its mask begin to glow, and heard it speak, its voice reverberating around her head.

Instantly, almost subconsciously, she got up and began to move towards the pair, slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed until she was running towards the pair.

"STOP!" She yelled, jumping between the pair and fixing her gaze on the creature. Opening her eyes wide, she used the only thing that she could think of at a time like this.

The creature stared into her eyes, she stared into its eyes, and two immovable objects clashed against each other, in a battle purely of the mind.

> An Unstoppable Force Meets and Immovable Object
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The two beings, both so diametrically opposed in both looks and personalities stood facing each other, staring into the others visage of control, neither able to break the other, but both unwilling to back down first.

By now, both groups had stopped fighting, forming two impromptu groups behind the pair as the very air seemed to crackle between them.

The pair shifted slightly, sending a visible shiver down both of their bodies as the air physically began to get heavy between the Toa and the pony.

“What’s the matter brother? Losing your touch?” Whenua laughed, breaking his eyes from the group opposite him.

***

“’Shy? What’s wrong Sugarcube?” Applejack asked, worry permeating her voice.

“Yeah. Show this guy that he doesn’t mess with you.” Rainbow whooped, making to fly forward, but being held in place as a magical aura surrounded her tail and yanked her to the ground.

“Wait. Don’t touch them.” Twilight warned. “Something’s happening.”

A she said this; the clearing was lit up as a streak of blue light flashed between the pair. A split second later there was an almighty crack which seemed to rend the very air around the forest.

“Get Back!” Ordered Luna, opening her wings to their fullest extension and shielding the ponies as she herself moved back from the pair as more and more lightening and cracks flashed between them, striking the ground in quick succession.

***

“The creature is right.” Vakama ordered, “Move back.”

“And what of our brother?” Nokama asked as she walked backwards with the rest of her brothers.

“We need to get him out of there.” Agreed Nuju.

As he said this, another almighty crash sprang from between them, this one larger and louder than any that had come before, preceding a flash of Lightning that burnt the ground around the pair, causing a cluster of leaves to start to smoulder, a fact that went unnoticed by both groups.

“That’s it!” Whenua shouted. “Get them apart.” He said, before running towards the pair, Nuju following hot on his heels.

***

“We can’t let Fluttershy stay there any longer.”   Rarity proclaimed, moving towards the two locked combatants.

“Finally somepony sees sense.” Rainbow exclaimed, wrenching her tail from Twilights grasp, before speeding towards Fluttershy.

***

The four got to the middle at exactly the same time, taking no notice of the other species beside them as they grabbed their respective friends, yanking them out of the circle that had been burnt on the ground around them.

With great effort, the Element of Kindness and the Toa of Stone were separated, falling to the floor a way away from each other, and instantly being surrounded by the remainder of their friends.

***

“She isn’t breathing!” Rainbow screamed frantically, shaking Fluttershy’s body frantically.

“Move.” Twilight ordered, prompting Rainbow to scurry out of her path as Twilight knelt down by Fluttershy’s unmoving body. 

“Twilight darling. Please tell me you can do this.” Rarity said, her eyes filling with tears.

“I-I don’t know. I can’t…keep going.” She panted as sweat poured down her forehead.

“Then it is a good thing I am here Miss Sparkle.” Boomed Luna, “Stand aside.”

Moving out of the way, Twilight allowed Luna access to Fluttershy, whereupon she knelt down beside her, her horn glowing faintly in the dim light of the forest.

“Stand back!” She shouted, as the light overtook her horn and bathed herself and Fluttershy in its light.

***

“Onewa? Brother, speak to me.” Whenua said nervously, shaking his brothers body.

“Hey, hey, hey!” He shouted suddenly sitting up, smashing his head against Whenuas.

“Glad to see you’re still with us brother.” Whenua laughed, holding his head with one hand while offering the other to 

“Can’t get rid of me that easily.” He agreed. “What of the creatures that attacked us?”

“I do not know.” Vakama admitted, looking over to where the creatures were all crowded around the yellow one, who wasn’t moving.

“We should help them.” Nokama proclaimed, getting to her feet.

“Yeah right. I say we quick-run before they try and ‘apprehend’ us again.” Matau said, standing up and facing Nokama.

“We have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves.” Nokama insisted.

“Did you just see them? I doubt that any thing around here will give them trouble.” Whenua responded.

“The yellow one is hurt through our actions.” Nokama insisted. “It is our…” She was cut off by a sudden flash of light, which covered both the yellow pony and the large dark one.

“What was that?!” Onewa shouted, looking over at the area that was now engulfed in a white light.

“New plan. We help them.” Vakama said, running towards the group.

“Arrg. Fine.” Matau said, following Vakama towards the epicentre of the light.

As the six Toa moved to help the creatures, the leaves that had been struck by the lightening began to smoke more, before bursting into flames, causing the other fallen leaves to catch fire in quick succession, bathing the clearing in fire.

***

Luna collapsed on the floor, her horns glow flickering before dying completely as her eyes closed and she fell into a state of unconsciousness next to the prone form of Fluttershy.

“Your highness?!” Castelian shouted, running up to Luna and kneeling by her side.

“’Shy?!” Applejack shouted, rushing over to Fluttershy as her eyes cracked open.

Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow rushed over and embraced Fluttershy as she took a ragged breath, her chest rising and falling in tandem with it.

“I thought…”Rarity started, but was cut off by a sudden eruption of fire, which spread with alarming speed, surrounding the group in a wall of flame, cutting them off the Lunar guards.

“Twilight? Luna?” Applejack asked uncertainly, backing away from the fire.

“I…I” Twilight began, her horn flickering into life slightly before fading again, causing her to collapse to the ground, panting heavily.

“TWILIGHT?!” Rainbow shouted, attempting to fly over to her fallen friend.

The flames crawled further up a tree, creeping along a branch, before breaking it off and sending it plummeting towards the ground. As Rainbow flew underneath it, it smashed into her back, pinning her to the ground.

“RAINBOW?!” Applejack shouted, making to run towards Rainbow, but being held back by Pinkie Pie, whose hair had gone flat as her tail twitching as she grabbed hold of her.

“Careful!” She shouted, as another burning log hit the ground near Rainbow.

“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“I…I don’t know.” Rarity admitted, pulling Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie into a hug as the fire continued to get closer.

The four ponies embraced each other tightly, watching in terror as the fire continued to creep closer to them. They could dimly make out a cacophony of voices from the other side of the fire wall, but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy closed their eyes, waiting for the inevitable end, and unable to watch as death creeped closer to them. Applejack however opted to keep her eyes open, unwilling to shy away from the fire. 

“I think we should leave now.” A voice sounded from behind her, causing her to turn around, laying her eyes on one of the creatures.

***

“Hey fire-spitter. This is for you.” Matau smiled, pushing Vakama forward.

Taking it in his stride, Vakama simply walked forward, raising his hand slightly and parting the flames as he walked past. The sight that greeted him was grim to say the best.

Out of the six creatures within the ring of fire, two were unconscious. The closest one to him was the purple horned one, while the cyan and rainbow one was pinned by a fallen log and not moving.

The remainder of the creatures seemed physically fine, and were holding onto each other tightly. 

“I think we should leave now.” He said, striding over to the group, and causing the orange one to turn around and stare at him.

“But…fire…how?” She stammered.

“Later.” Vakama insisted, closing his eyes and concentrating slightly.

“What in tarnation are ya doin’” The orange one asked, rising to her fullest height and squaring off against Vakama. “Y’all need ta help my friends.”

As she uttered the last syllable, Vakama opened his eyes again, and spread his arms wide. In an instant, the fire ceased to exist. It didn’t burn down, or go out; it simply disappeared. Concentrating for a split second longer, Vakama released the built up heat, forcing it to take the form of a pillar of heat, before he shot it into the night sky.

“From what?” He laughed, lowering his gaze to the creature again as the rest of the Toa joined their leader.

“And I thought I was supposed to be the show-off.” Matau laughed.

“You are brother.” Whenua laughed.

“But…fire…you…gone?” The orange one spluttered.

“I think you broke it Vakama.” Nuju said sceptically.

***

Castelian watched in horror as the fire sprung up around the Element bearer, cutting them off from the guard.

“Noctunre! Get the out of there!” He shouted, pointing his hoof at a guard.

The guard saluted as Castelian checked on Luna again. As far as he could tell she was just unconscious, probably from magical exhaustion, although he didn’t know much about magic as a whole.

Nocturne took to the sky instantly, attempting to fly over the rising inferno.  He was stopped in his ascent by the tree canopy catching fire above him, forcing him away as the intense heat washed over him.

“Lord Commander!” He shouted, “I can’t get to them.”

Castelian looked up at the rising fire, before looking back at the base. ‘If they couldn’t get over the fire, how could they save the elements? Without Luna, he was powerless to act.’

Even as he thought this, he heard a voice that he didn’t recognise. A second later, the fire simply ceased to exist, and revealed one of the odd creatures towering over Applejack and the other Element Bearers. As he watched, the creature released a wave of visible heat into the night, before looking back at them.

“And I thought I was supposed to be the show-off.” The Green one laughed.

“You are brother.” The Black one laughed.

“But…fire…you…gone?” Applejack spluttered.

“I think you broke it Vakama.” The White said sceptically.

“You saved the Elements?” Castelian asked incredulously.

“The who?” The blue creature asked, stepping forward.

“The Elements of Harmony.” Castelian answered.

“Lord Commander.” One of the guards called over. “Ms. Dash is injured. She needs to get to a hospital.”

“Ms. Sparkle is unconscious as well.” Another called over.

“And the princess as well.” Castelian muttered to himself, before turning back to the creatures in front of him. “I hate to ask you this, but we require some assistance in getting the injured to medical care. I know you have no reason to help us, but my duty requires that I ask anyway. Will you help us?”

“Help? You just attacked us.” The green one pointed out.

“And you were an unknown variable who could have threatened our princess.” Castelian reasoned.

“Give us a moment.” The red one said, before turning and conversing with his friends.

***

“We’ve got a duty to the Matoran, not these creatures.” Matau pointed out.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m having to go with Matau on this one.” Onewa spoke up.

“How can you say that?” Whenua asked incredulously. “This is a whole new species that aren’t even in the archives.”

“These creatures could help us find the Makuta and the stolen Matron.” Nuju added.

“Nokama, your opinion?” Vakama asked.

“There is much these creatures could teach us.” She said eventually.

“It’s settled then. We can at least offer aid to them in getting the injured to medical attention.” Vakama said, before turning back to the creature that the others had referred to as ‘Castelian’. “We will help you, if we can have some of our own questions answered.”

“Well at least we can have some answerfinding.” Matau grumbled.

“Thank you.” Castelian said, his face almost cracking into a smile. Almost. “Now follow me please, and we can take the injured to Ponyville general.”

With that, Castelian turned and walked over to one of the unconscious bodies. Looking at Vakama quickly, who replied with a single nod, the Toa followed Castelian.

***

Five minutes later, the Toa team and the remaining ponies were ready to begin the walk back to this ‘Ponyville’ that Castelian had mentioned. Onewa had taken the large one, who Castelian had called Luna, onto his back, and was being helped by Nuju. Matau had grabbed hold of the multi-coloured pony, ‘Rainbow Dash’, who he was holding in both of his arms and scowling.

The last pony, the one that the others had referred to as ‘Twilight Sparkle’, had actually regained consciousness, and was currently attempting to control her shaking legs enough to stand and walk again. Sighing, Vakama bent down and picked her up, cradling her in both of his arms.

“T-thank you.” She whispered.

“Where to?” Vakama asked, turning to Castelian.

“Ponyville General hospital is almost an hours walk from here. Factor in the injured, and we are looking at an hour and a half to two hours.” Castelian answered, making to walk off the way they had come.

“So. You command these men?” Vakama asked, walking next to Castelian.

“I do. The Moonlight Wardens, Pride of the Lunar Guard.” He said proudly. “You command these…men.” He finished uncertainly.

“I am their leader. We are the Toa of Metru Nui.” Vakama tapped his chest. “I am Vakama. Toa of fire.”

“Nokama. Toa of Water.” Nokama said gracefully.

“Whenua. Toa of Earth.”

“Nuju. Toa of Ice.”

“Onewa. Toa of Stone.”

“Matau. Toa of Air and the handsomest creature on the face of Metru Nui.”

“Of course you are brother.” Whenua said sarcastically.

“And who might you be?” Nuju asked Castelian.

“Lord Commander Castelian. Second in command of the Lunar Guard, and overall command of the Moonlight Wardens.”

“Care to explain what any of that means?” Onewa asked.

“How much do you know about Equestria?” Twilight asked, regaining some of her faculties. 

“Where?” Nokama asked.

“I’ll take that as nothing then.” Twilight mumbled.

“Want me ta handle this one Twi?” Applejack asked.

“Please. I’ll join in at bits, but now.” She yawned, before turning and wrapping her hooves around Vakamas chest.

“Looks like someone’s picked up a new friend.” Matau grinned. 

“Yeah. I feel hurt brother. Replacing us this quickly.” Onewa laughed.

“Laugh it up.” Vakama said, before turning back to Applejack. “Please continue miss…”

“Applejack. Y’all can call me AJ if ya want.” She smiled. “Well this here land is called Equestria. Princess Celestia and Luna control the day and night respectively and rule from Canterlot.”

Wait. These princesses control your solar cycles?” Whenua asked, sounding astonished.

“Yeah. They’re super-duper nice, I mean, even when Luna was all ‘Grr’, and we were like ‘aggh’ we met each other, so it’s all ok.” Pinkie smiled, appearing on Whenuas shoulder.

“Whoa!” He shouted, spinning around and trying to get Pinkie off his shoulders. “How did you do that?”

“It’s Pinkie Pie darling. It’s best not to question anything she does.” Rarity laughed nervously.

“So tell us more about your people.” Whenua asked. “What are your economies like? What does your country do culturally? Why do some of you have wings, while others have horns?” He rattled off the list, while the rest of the ponies looked on in confusion.

“What are you, some sort of egg-head?” Rainbow slurred, waking and cracking one eye open. “Wait! What are you doing?!” She suddenly shouted, wriggling from Mataus grasp and falling to the ground.

“Rainbow.” Rarity called in concern. “We have made peace with the…Toa? They are helping us get you, Twilight and Luna back to Ponyville for medical attention.”

“What? But we were fighting them…and then there was a fire…and then that log hit me.” She said in a confused voice.

“Which is why ya need to get to hospital RD.” Applejack said, walking over and placing her hoof on Rainbow.

“But…” Rainbow started, but was silenced by a groan from Twilight.

“Rainbow. Let it slide. Let’s get to hospital first, then you can have your posturing session.”

“Whatever. Back to my original question. Are you an egg-head?” Rainbow asked Whenua.

“I am an archivist. I’m not sure what an egg-head is though.”

“An archivist? Like a librarian?” Twilight asked, suddenly perking up and looking excited.

“I guess the archives could have been called a library.” Whenua agreed slowly. “Now can someone answer my questions.”

“In answer to your last one, there are three, well four, types of ponies, as well as three alicorns. The first are the Earth ponies, like AJ and Pinkie Pie here. They’re stronger than the other races, except the alicorns, and have innate magic that allows them to grow crops better than the other races.” Twilight began, going into full lecture mod. “The Pegasus, such as Rainbow and Fluttershy, can fly obviously. They can also manipulate the weather, specifically clouds. The final of the main three races are the unicorns, such as myself and Rarity. We can manipulate the flow of arcane energy that permeates this world. Some, such as Rarity, specialise in a specific field of magic, while others, such as myself, specialise in magic as a whole, it being are special talent.”

“And what of the other two races?” Vakama asked.

“The alicorns and the Equos Lunar. The former, nopony truly knows about, while the latter, only a select few know about them.”

“Luckily, you have ten of the most knowledgeable Equos Lunar in Equestria right here.” Castelian said, walking forward.

“Go on then.” Whenua prompted.

“We are Lunas personal soldiers. Part Pegasus and part Earth pony. Stronger than the first. Faster than the second.”

“And the Alicorns?” Nokama asked.

“Unless Princess Celestia, Luna or Cadence decide to tell you themselves, we will not divulge information.” Castelian replied.

“You now know about us. But what about you?” Twilight asked. “Clearly you’re intelligent life forms, but you know nothing Celestia and Luna. I never seen anything documented about any creatures such as you either.”

“I’m going to let you two take this.” Vakama smiled, indicating Nokama and Whenua. “Although intelligent life forms can only be applied to five of us.”

“Was that an insult?” Matau asked indignantly.

“If you have to ask, then I believe it was.” Nuju snickered.

“Anyway…” Nokama interupted, before the pair could begin to argue in earnest. “We six are mighty Toa, each in command of one of the six elements, Fire, Water, Stone, Earth, Air, Ice.”

“So there are only six of you in your entire species?” Rarity asked in confusion.

“No, although there are only six Toa at this time.” Nokama compromised. “We were once Matoran however.”

“Once? Matoran?” Applejack asked.

“The majority of our world are Matoran, separated into six districts, Ta-Metru, Ga-Metru, Le-Metru, Po-Metru, Onu-Metru and Ko-Metru.” Whenua began. “If it is the will of Mata Nui, worthy Matoran can be elevated to mighty Toa. When our duty is complete, we pass on our title to another to fulfill their own destiny, while we would elevate to Turaga, great teachers and advisers to the Matoran and Toa alike.”

“Who is this Mata Nui?” Castelian asked. “You seem to hold them in as high a regard as the Princesses.”

“Mata Nui created the Matoran, and scattered us upon our homeland.” Nokama started, easily reciting the lessons she had once taught as a Ga-Matoran. 

“He also gifted us with the three virtues.” Vakama added.

“The what?” Twilight asked.

“The three Virtues. Unity. Duty. Destiny.” Whenua said, stopping and bending down to draw in the dirt. 



“The two smaller points on the symbol represent Unity on the left, and Duty on the right. The middle mark represents Destiny.”

“Unity teaches that it is easier to succeed if you are not alone.” Nokama started.  “Duty dictates us doing one's everyday jobs diligently and responsibly. Our duty, for example, is to protect the Matoran.” She trailed off at this.

“Something we have not managed to do.” Vakama said glumly.

The Toa stood in silence for a moment as they reflected on their current mission. The other ponies stood around awkwardly, wondering if they had crossed a line or touched a sensitive area. Eventually however, Nokama spoke up again.

“Destiny represents the ability to better oneself. It means what a being is 'meant' to accomplish in its lifetime. All beings have a different destiny.”

She finished her tuition and walked forward, bidding Whenua to rise and follow her, followed swiftly by the remainder of the two groups.

“And now on to the real question. What are you doing here?” Castelian asked.

“I would rather wait until your leaders are in a state to listen to our goals, so as to better fulfil them.” Vakama responded.

“If that is your wish, then I will allow you to hold true to it.” Castelian said, before lapsing into silence

***

Roughly an hour and a half later, the two groups stood on the edge of the Everfree forest. They stared out as the sun began to crest over the horizon.

“My sister is awake.” Luna remarked, having recently regained consciousness and walking along with the group.

“As well as some of the ponies in Ponyville.” Twilight pointed out. She too had regained the majority of her senses, but unlike Luna, had not managed to stand yet.

“Regardless, we need to get you three to the hospital. Especially Ms. Dash.” Castelian interupted, laying his eyes upon Rainbows unconscious form.

Almost half an hour ago, Rainbow had once again passed out from the injuries she had obtained during the fire, and was now being held by Nokama.

“Then we need to press onwards and see them to aid.” Nuju proclaimed, making to walk forward, only to be stopped by Applejacks hoof.

“Hold on there partner. Six new creatures stridin’ out of the Everfree will scare the daylights out of everypony.”

“You mean like Zecora?” Twilight asked, a hint of skepticism creeping into her voice.

“Yes, like Zecora.” Applejack admitted reluctantly.

“That makes sense I suppose. Very well, what would you propose?” Vakama asked.

“I will accompany Twilight and the other Elements to Ponyville general. Castelian and the other Wardens will find a path away from prying eyes to Twilights library, where the Toa will await myself and my sister.” Luna proclaimed. 

“Very good your majesty.” Castelian answered, before turning to the Toa. “If you would follow me.”

“Yeah right.” Matau laughed, his mask glowing as he was surrounded by a white glow. 

When the glow faded, Matau had once again taken up the visage of a dark grey Equos Lunar, the strange mark on his rear taking the form of the Mahiki Kanohi that he wore as a Toa.

“It’s time for my own answerfinding.” He grinned, before darting off into Ponyville.

“Really Matau?” Vakama asked in skepticism, bringing his hand up to his mask.

“Pursue him and bring him back.” Luna commanded.

“It will be done.” Castelian said, making to move forward, but being held back by Onewa.

“Our fearless leader has this.” He said, pointing to Vakama, who was walking towards Ponyville.

“Does that not defeat the point of bringing back Matau? He is at least disguised.” Castelian pointed out.

“Vakama as his ways.” Nuju smiled as h pointed to Vakama again, whose own mask was beginning to glow.

As the ponies watched, Vakama faded from view, his mask being the last thing to disappear from sight.

With a sigh, Vakama set off into Ponyville, in search of the errant Toa of Air.


> Meeting the Sun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Woo-hoo.” Matau whooped as he ran through the streets of Ponyville as the early morning sun began to spread its light over the small town. Matau periodically spread his wings, cresting the ground slightly before falling back to it, not yet having enough skill with his new wings to achieve true flight.

As Matau shouted, more and more lights began to flicker on in the houses, as more ponies woke earlier than they had intended from their slumber.

“Keep it down out there!” Came a voice from one of the houses, as a sea foam green mare stuck her head out of a window.

Matau was already past her however, and was already crossing a bridge towards what looked like the center of town.
Matau began to slow down, but was knocked from his hooves by a massive impact, or three, into his side.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER NIGHT GAURDS!” The trio of the shapes shouted, attempting to disentangle itself from Matau.

“Stop right there criminal scum!” Shouted a small orange pegasus, standing on top of Matau triumphantly.

“You’re under arrest for...um...making a noise at night.” The white unicorn said, putting her hoof to her chin in thought, before muttering to herself, “at least that’s what my sister does.”

“Y’all are hereby needed to come with us to face the supreme justice of...” The yellow earth pony began.

“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” The three shouted in unison.

“Uggh. What?” Matau groaned, looking up at the three ponies he decided must be children by their size and mentality.

“Oh no.” The white one said suddenly, “We may have hurt him.”

“Relax. He’s fine.” The orange one said. “We’re not going to get our cutie marks in guarding if we let criminals go just because we hurt them a little.”

“Can someone tell me what you three are doing?” Matau asked again, pushing them off his chest and getting back to his hooves.

“Ah, give it up girls. We’re never gonna get our cutie marks as night guards.” The little yellow one said, her face dropping.

“What Is Going On?!” Matau all but shouted.

“Whoa, chill out.” The orange pegasus said nervously. “I’m Scootaloo.”

“Sweetie Belle.” The white one squeaked excitedly.

“And ah’m Apple Bloom.” The final yellow child spoke. “And together we’re the...” She began, before Matau hurriedly cut her off.

“I heard, the cutie mark crusaders.” He said exasperatedly. “Mind telling me what they are?”

“Oh yeah.” Applebloom began. “We’re crusading ta find our special talents and earn our cutie marks. This here’s the Ponyville branch, but we’re growing. Ma cousins busy runnin’ the Manehatten branch.” She said proudly.

“What are cutie marks?” Matau asked in confusion.

“Are you serious?” Scootaloo asked in amazement. “How can you have earned your own cutie mark without knowing what a cutie mark is?”

“Scootaloo!” Admonished Sweetie Belle. “Don’t talk to the stranger that way.”

“Oh yeah, and what are you going to do about it?” Scootaloo asked, squaring up to Sweetie Belle in a way that even Matau had to admit was adorable.

“More than you you dodo.” Sweetie Belle replied, pushing her head against Scootaloos.

The two growled at each other, forcing their heads against each other, before Apple Bloom pushed them apart.

“Girls! Stop fightin’. We don’t want ta set a bad example for the Cutie Mark Crusaders do we?”

“No. I guess not.” Scootaloo said, backing down from Sweetie Belle.

“Sorry...” Sweetie Belle began, before trailing off when she realised she didn’t know the new ponies name.

“Matau.” He prompted with a smile.

“What’s yer cutie mark mr? I don’t think I ever saw one like it.” Apple Bloom asked, her eyes darting to the picture of the mask resting on Mataus flank.

“My what?” Matau asked, turning his head to look at his flank. “You mean the picture on my frankly magnificent arse?”

“Yer flank.” Apple Bloom corrected.

“It’s the great Mahiki Kanohi mask of shape shifting.” Matau said proudly.

“The great what of what now?” Sweetie Belle asked in confusion.

“Umm, something that allows me to change form.” He said, attempting to dumb his language down for the three children.
“Really?” Scootaloo asked in excitement, “Can you show us?”

“I sure can.” Matau smiled, focusing slightly.

As the cutie mark began to glow, Matau felt a hand press onto his back. Losing his concentration, Matau looked behind him. Finding noone there, he turned back, before realising what it must have been. Sighing, he realised what Vakama was telling him.

“Maybe another time.” He said. “It’s difficult and I’m too tiered to do it now.”

“Ahh.” The three children said in unison.

“Tell you what. Come and meet me in a couple of days and I’ll show you. Ok?”

“Ok.” Scootaloo said brightly, her wings buzzing in anticipation. “Maybe we can get our cutie marks in...um...shape-shifting.”

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SHAPE-SHIFTERS. YAY!” the three bellowed, before turning and running off.

“Whoa there.” Matau said, stopping Apple Bloom from running off. “Are you by any chance related to Applejack?”

“Ah sure am. She’s ma sister. Why? Do ya know her?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I guess you could say that.” He muttered, before speaking louder to allow Apple Bloom to hear. “Yes. I had the pleasure of making her acquaintance. You may want to check on her in a bit. Just to be sure.”

“Um...ok?” Apple Bloom said uncertainly, before running off after the other two cutie mark crusaders.

“Making friends?” Came the voice of Vakama from the corner in the shadows. “Seems only an hour ago you said a similar thing.”

“Whatever, fire-spitter. I just wanted to look around for a bit.”

“And risk scaring the rest of these ponies away from us?” Vakama asked, his bright red mask fading back into sight, although while he was standing in the shadows, it was hard to make it out properly.

“Fine, fine. So what now smelt-head?” Matau asked.

“We find this library that the ponies spoke of and make peace with the leaders of this land.”

“And what of our mission to the Matoran? Surely we should be looking for them?”

“And where should we start looking? The forest? This town? No. We need more eyes than the six of us can provide. Befriending the leadership of this world will hasten our task and allow us to return home quicker.”

“Well why didn’t you say so? Any way to get home quicker.” Matau smiled. “Lead on.”

Nodding, Vakamas’ mask glowed again, before disappearing from sight. Matau looked around for a second, before he felt a hand gripping him by the scruff on the neck.

“Hey. Watch the armo...fur.” Matau said indignantly.

“One, you can’t follow me if I don’t show you where to go, and unless you’ve developed new skills that I’m unaware of, you can’t see me. Two, I’m not going to risk you running off again.” Came the disembodied voice of Vakama.

“Whatever.” Matau sighed, allowing himself to be led by the neck towards the library that the ponies and Vakama had spoken of.

***

“How long do we wait until we go after the green one?” Nocturne asked, impatiently hopping from hoof to hoof, while checking the blades attached to his wings.

“We will allow Vakama five more minutes. Then, we will take matters into our own hooves and find this, Matau, ourselves.” Castelian replied, checking his own blades.

“You must give our brother more time. Vakama and Matau may bicker like gacko birds, but they are truly the closest of us all. The bond formed from a life time as Toa who find themselves at crossed path.” Nokama inputted.

“Our sister speaks the truth. Matau is thick headed, but Vakama knows how to get through his dense mask.” Onewa added.
“You six truly hold each other in the highest esteem, don’t you?” Castelian asked, his voice betraying an emotion of a solider talking of his own camaraderie with his allies.

“The highest. We fought innumerable foes to see Vakama returned to us when he was stolen, just to see him returned to our own fold.” Nuju said. “Each of us would do the same for the others, without a seconds thought.”

Castelian looked between the four figures before him. Looking at them now, he saw that regardless of their species, the bonds of warriors stood firmer than any friendship. Even that of the vaunted elements of harmony. His lips turned from the usual scowl into a flat slit across his mouth, not anywhere near a true smile, but closer than the Toa had seen on his face since they had arrived.

“How much longer?” Whined Nocturne.

“If you speak of us, then you don’t have to wait on us anymore.” Came a voice from the door, although not from the grey bat-pony who walked through the door.

“Vakama.” Cried Whenua happily, walking towards the form of Matau. “And you to Matau.”

“Can you at least show me some respect?” Matau asked innocently.

“Maybe if you prove yourself clever enough to earn it.” Laughed Whenua, clapping an invisible mass on the back. “You got through his mask then and struck sense?”

“I did.” Vakama replied, fading into sight at Whenuas touch.

“I would have come back in a bit you know.” Matau said, the image on his flank glowing and shrouding his body in light. When it faded, the now familiar form of the Toa of Air stood before the group. “Ahh. Feels good to be back in your own body.” Matau grinned.

“If you didn’t run off, you would never have been parted from it.” Nuju pointed out, but was studiously ignored by Matau.

The group looked at each other, and Vakama was about to speak, before the door swung open, revealing six forms at the door. Quickly, Luna strode into the building, followed closely by five of the elements of harmony.

“Where is the other one?” Nuju asked, looking around the group.

“Oh you mean RD? The doc said she had ta stay in the hospital for the night. Apparently she’s lucky she didn’t break her back or somethin’” AJ informed the group.

“It is good that noone was truly hurt in our miscommunication.” Nokama said happily. “What happens now?”

“Firstly, Twilight is going to compose a letter to my sister and let her know what has happened. She will arrive and she and I will make our own decision about how to continue.” Luna replied.

“Spike!” Called Twilight, walking over to the staircase situated at the back of the library tree.

“Coming.” Came a groggy voice from upstairs. “I swear, you never let me come with you guys, but the moment you want something it’s all...” It began again, as the small green and purple form of spike descended the stairs. He trailed off as he saw the six Toa standing in the room, surrounded by the Moonlight Wardens. “M-M-Monsters.” He stammered, backing up the stairs slowly, but finding himself wrapped in a purple aura and pulled back downstairs.

“Relax Spike. They’re not monsters.” Twilight said through gritted teeth as she deposited her number one assistant onto her back.

“Twilight dear. Remember what the doctor said. Try not to put too much strain on your horn for at least a few more hours.” Rarity comforted as Twilight rubbed her head.

“I know. It’s just hard breaking a habit of a lifetime, you know?” Twilight sighed, before clearing her throat with a small series of coughs. “Spike, take a letter.”

“Got ya covered.” The purple dragon beamed, drawing a quill and parchment from seemingly nowhere.

Dear Princess Celestia.
I am writing to inform you of our latest expedition into the Everfree forest in response to the errant flash of light that was observed last night by Luna and many other ponies of the land. We believe we have found the cause, and while it will sound fanciful, it is also the truth. We found the wreckage of a craft which had non-equestrian signs of origin about it, and set about investigating it when we were confronted by six creatures from another world. We have currently settled the disagreements between us, receiving only minor injuries that have been treated, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who has been told to stay in the hospital until tomorrow. We now wait upon you to help your sister come to a decision about what should be our next step.
Always your faithful student. 
Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight finished dictating the letter, and gave a nod to Spike, who simply nodded and sealed the parchment, before going over to a window and opening it.

“And how will this letter now reach your princess?” Nuju asked, sounding slightly sceptical.

“Just watch.” Twilight replied smugly.

As she said that, Spike took in a breath of air, before blowing green fire all over the letter, turning it into a puff of ethereal magic, which promptly flew out of the window and disappeared as it sped towards Canterlot.

“That’s a...different...way of sending a message.” Onewa commented wryly.

“It works. And it’s quick.” Twilight pointed out.

“Not saying it’s not. Just not as good as air-flying for message-sending.” Matau said.

“Wind-flying?” Twilight asked.

“Matau speaks in the way of all Le-Matoran.” Nokama said. “They use an, odd, form of speaking.”

“Fascinating.” Twilight said in amazement, “I could learn so much about your species.”

“Maybe we could come to a mutual agreement.” Whenua said, coming forward. “Perhaps, we could...” He began, but was cut off when Spike belched a burst of green fire, materialising a scroll in the middle of the room.

“A reply from your princess?” Vakama asked.

“Yes.” Twilight said, before clearing her throat.

My dearest and most faithful student Twilight.
This outcome is an unexpected conclusion to what I believed was a routine check-up into the wilderness of the Everfree forest. I beseech you to make sure that these creatures you speak of are of a peaceful nature, before divulging sensitive information to them. I would not see you injured again by their hooves. This being said, I trust your judgement, and will arrive shortly after I have finished up my current duties. I will be with you and my sister shortly to discuss what will happen now they have been discovered.
Your mentor. 
Princess Celestia.

“That was quick.” Onewa said. “So this Celestia will be coming soon then?”

“It looks that way. My sister will come when she is able.” Luna replied.

“She is already here.” Came a voice, which was preceded by a flash of bright golden light.

As quickly as it appeared, the light faded, leaving behind the white form of an Alicorn, this one being just slightly taller than Luna was, and having an image of the sun emblazoned on her flank, as opposed to a picture of the moon. Almost instantly, the remaining ponies fell to their knees in reverence of the new appearance, leaving only the six Toa heroes and Luna on their feet.

“Rise my faithful subjects.” Princess Celestia commanded softly, before turning to address her sister, her eyes glancing at the small bruising on her. “You are well Luna?”

“I am sister. It is nought but a scratch, born of a quick temper and an ill-conceived attempt to apprehend a force that meant us no harm.”

“Ah yes.” Celestia said, turning from her sister and finally letting her eyes fall upon the six Toa heroes. “I am correct in my assumption that you are the strange creatures that were found in the Everfree forest?”

“You would be. Vakama, Toa of fire and leader of the Toa Metru team.” Vakama said.

“Nokama. Toa of Water.”

“Whenua. Toa of Earth.”

“Nuju. Toa of Ice.”

“Onewa. Toa of Stone.”

“Matau. Toa of Air"

“I would be right to say that you are the second leader of this world?” Vakama asked.

“I would be. Princess Celestia. Monarch of the Sun.” Celestia replied.

“Now that we have exchanged pleasantries.” Luna said.

“Of course. Toa, although both my sister, her guard and my student tell me that you offer no threat to my ponies or their land, I must ask you myself, what is your purpose in Equestria?” Celestia said.

“Very well. I’ll start at the beginning then. The six of us once faced a mighty adversary on our own world, known as the Makuta. He was defeated and sealed in a mighty prison of Protodermis, forged by our own hands. Our people, the Matoran, however, have been cursed by the Makuta, to sleep for eternity until he awakens them to take the guise of their god and saviour. We managed to return to our home land after we fled his wrath to rescue those Matoran left behind, but in doing so allowed the Makuta to escape. He fled from us with the few remaining Matoran across our world, ending up here, in the same place we arrived. Once he is found, and the Matoran are returned to us, we will leave your land.” Vakama said, briefly summing up their mission.

“You say you imprisoned the Makuta?” Celestia asked.

“We did.” Nokama said.

“Then how is it he managed to escape and flee to our own world?” She asked.

The six Toa looked between each other, before casting their eyes on Vakama.

“I freed him.” He said, not allowing his voice to waver in the slightest. “I was consumed by revenge, and allowed the Makuta to escape to get it. A mistake I will make sure to rectify.”

Celestia turned away from the Toa, beckoning for the element bearers and Moonlight wardens to her side, before quietly conversing with them so that the Toa could not hear what plans they were making.

***

“Luna. What are your thoughts of the Toa?” Celestia asked.

“I believe that they are great warriors, ones who will fight hoof and mane to fulfil their mission, regardless of who stands in their path.” Luna said.

“Castelian. Your opinion?” Celestia asked.

“As the princess of the moon has said, they are mighty warriors. Equal of myself and the moonlight wardens and able to hold their own against both greater numbers and the princess. If they were to set their sights upon a more violent path, it would take all in our power to stop them.” Castelian said.

“Now hold on their partner.” Applejack cut in. “The Toa may have fought us, but that was only because they couldn’t see another way to continue their quest. I don’t think it right to punish them cause of them doing what they think is right.”

“I’m with Applejack here. There is much we could learn from the Toa. Just imagine, this is proof of life beyond this world. The possibilities we could learn from them our endless.” Twilight added hastily.

“I am not saying they are not honourable, nor that they will turn on us.” Castelian reassured. “But it is always a possibility that a solider must consider when dealing with new variables.”

“Does anypony else hold objection to what has been said?” Celestia asked the group, only to be met by shaking heads. “Very well then,” She turned back to address the Toa, “My sister, the moonlight wardens, the element bearers and I have decided to assist you in your endeavour. We must discuss what our next steps shall be.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Vakama said, raising a hand out is a clenched fist.

“Please, do not prove the trust I place in you false.” Celestia replied, raising her own hoof and placing it against Vakamas’ fist.



> A Universal Impossibility
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"So now that we have all agreed that the Toa are a non-hostile force, what would our next step be princess?" Castelian asked, turning to Celestia.

"Yes. Searching for the Makuta must be our prerogative, but without the assistance you can provide, I fear that we would not even know where to begin." Nokama agreed.

"A valid point." Celestia mused, thinking for a moment. "Luna, your personal appraisal?"

"I believe that before we make our decision, we must know how long the Toa expect this mission to take. If it will be a quick in and out grab, then there is no need to alarm the general population with the knowledge of their presence." Luna mused.

"And if it will take a long time?" Vakama asked.

"Then I believe it would be best if you could operate in the way you are most comfortable with, without having to worry about interference from civilians." Celestia replied.

"Speak your mind sister." Luna urged.

"I am assuming by your question Vakama, that you are expecting your mission to take longer than, say, a standard seven day week?" Celestia asked.

"I believe so. When we first faced the Makuta, we knew where he hid, and where we could retreat to when we found and rescued the remaining Matoran. When we returned to our home, we had Norik to assist us. Now, as then, we need assistance to provide us with local knowledge." Nuju cut in.

"Then it is settled. We must inform the population of the arrival of the Toa. Once we have spoken to the major of both here and Canterlot, we can arrange to move the Toa to our palace until we can arrange for the press to meet them, on our terms." Celestia decreed.

"How long will this take? We don't have time for nice making." Matau grumbled from the corner in which he was standing. "We should be out there searching for the missing Matoran, not think talking."

"Then perhaps you could enlighten us as to where they are brother." Whenua laughed.

When Matau remained silent, Whenua scoffed, before turning back to the two princesses and gesturing for them to continue.

"Vakama, Toa of fire. You lead your brothers and sister gallantly. Will you speak on their behalf?" Celestia asked.

"I will speak with them your highness, with them standing by my side. I hold myself above none of them. That path has already been trodden." Vakama said wistfully.

"You speak as though you have known betrayal." Luna said, walking over to Vakama with a quizzical look on her face.

"A story for another time." Vakama replied, firmly enough to assure her that the case was closed, but not so far as to make it sound uncivil.

Nodding slowly, Luna retreated, drawing a glacé from Celestia. Neither pressed the matter however, as they knew the sting of betrayal, especially if it came at the price of a broken brotherhood.

"So are we doing this thing or what?" Matau asked impatiently.

"I thought you didn't want to do this Matau." Nokama said with a smirk.

"I don't, but if it has to be done, at least the ponies can see something good looking." Matau laughed.

"Yeah, I guess having me on stage would make them feel more at ease about the aliens." Rainbow mused.

"You?" Matau asked, turning to the Rainbow coloured pony. "I was talking about me, ya know, the best looking Le-Matoran and Toa hero ever."

"You? I'm way cooler than you could ever be." Rainbow said, flapping her wings and getting level with Mataus eyes.

"So you defeated the Visorak horde and stopped Makuta then? How about becoming a Toa?" Matau asked, his mask beginning to glow.

"Did you defeat a living embodiment of chaos and an avatar of eternal night?" Rainbow shot back, gaining her a glare from Luna.

The other assembled ponies and Toa watched the two bicker, exchanging reasons why they were more awesome back and forth.

"It's like there's two of them." Applejack said in a mix of amazement and fear.

"It's like Canterlot all over again." Rarity agreed.

Suddenly, the room was filled with light, which slowly faded to reveal the form of Rainbow Dash and Matau, or in this case, Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash.

"Oh now that's creepy." Pinkie said, watching the pair.

Why did Matau change into Rainbow Dash?" Twilight whispered to Vakama, "Isn't that just detrimental to his entire argument?"

"Yes, but Matau has never been the smartest of us." Vakama reasoned, just as Rainbow picked up on this fact.

"Heh, looks like I am the best. You’re so jealous your turning into me." Rainbow jeered.

"Hey...but...no I..." Matau stammered, realising that it probably wasn't that good a move, and now he was soundly beaten.

"It takes a certain type of pony to be out smarted by Rainbow Dash." Sniggered Applejack.

"Heh!" Shouted both ponies simultaneously.

Eventually, the Rainbow Dash that was Matau began to glow, before turning back into the green form of the Le-Toa.

"You done Matau?" Onewa asked lazily, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against.

Matau didn't reply, merely grumbling to himself as he went to sit down in a corner.

"Now those two have finished posturing." Castelian began, leading the conversation away from the now, and looking forward to the future. "I believe we should begin making preparations to move to Canterlot. I believe we have space in the Lunar Guard barracks until we can make the needed preparations."

"Your offer is accepted Lord Castelian." Celestia said, nodding her head in respect to the guard. "As for preparations, please gather round. All of you if you would please. Luna, lend a hoof?"

Nodding, Luna walked over to her sister, placing her horn against her sisters. Quickly moving into action, the others gathered around the two Alicorn sisters. As soon as they were all in position, the two connected horns began to glow, casting a twofold light of gold and silver across the room. A strong wing emanated from the horns, blowing the few loose pieces of paper around the room, before all those present vanished.

***

They reappeared in a large, spacious room, adorned with symbols of the moon, and other objects of the night.

"Luna, I had no idea the Lunar Guard were so, loyal." Celestia said in awe.

"Why should they not be? Is it not their right to revere the night as I do?" She asked.

"You know that is not what I meant sister. Ponies are free to do as they wish in this regard. I was merely asking a question."

"The Solar Guard do not decorate their barracks with pictures of the sun?" Castelian asked in confusion. 

"They aren't prohibited from doing it." Celestia said uncertainly, "But they have never expressed any desire to portray me as anything more than what I am."

"Neither do we. We simply revere the one who caused our creation, as we should" Castelian said, turning to face Celestia.

"Luna did not create you. That is a myth from the ancient times. How many times must your kind be told this?" Celestia asked, the irritation clearly rising in her voice.

"For the last time!" Castelian shouted, "Luna is our creator! History tells us irrefutably that when you appeared, and refuse to rule might I add, there were only three types of ponies and you. The first documented report of Luna was just before the fall of Discord, accompanied by a new species. What is this if not proof of our creation?"

"Do not raise your voice at me Lord Commander!" Celestia boomed, emphasising his rank, as if to prove his insignificance next to her.

"ENOUGH!!!" Luna screamed, her horn flaring and pushing the two apart. "Castelian, you will take the wardens and prepare the Toas accommodation. And you! Sister! I need to speak to you. In private."

Shocked at the sudden outburst, everyone in the room was deathly silent, before Castelian finally broke the tension.

"As you wish your highness." He said calmly, bowing deeply, before gesturing for the other guards to follow him.

"I am...sorry sister. I will await you in the Onyx tower." Celestia said, nodding to her sister before vanishing into a soft golden light.

"What was that all about princess?" Twilight asked, walking over to the Alicorn.

"An argument that I thought had fizzled out long ago." She smiled back. "There are certain members of the bat-ponies who believe one thing, and my sister attempts to convince them otherwise."

"But he said..." Twilight began, before being cut off by Luna.

"Twilight. I understand your insatiable thirst for knowledge and learning, but I would appreciate if you did not follow this topic up. Some things are not to be known."

"But...I..." She stammered, before relenting. "Oh course princess."

"Thank you Twilight. As a fellow scholar, I understand the difficulty of letting go of this. Perhaps one day it will be the right time for me to tell you. Now, if you and your friends would kindly follow the wardens, I am sure they will accommodating"

"Yes Princess." Twilight said, leading the other five Elements of Harmony out of the room.

"So now we're alone eh?" Matau smirked. "I knew you liked me Luna."

"Matau. Shut up." Nokama laughed.

"Agreed." Vakama nodded, before turning to Luna. I assume we are going to be concealed until you can inform the general population about us?" Vakama asked.

"Yes. I will see to the preparation of better quarters in due course. For now, I will leave you six."

With that, Luna exited the room and shut the door behind her. The audible sound of the door locking was accompanied by a glow around the edge of the door. As it faded, there was nothing to show that there had ever been a door.

The Toa slowly looked around the room, exploring every inch of it, before congregating back in the middle of the room.

"Any exits?" Onewa asked.

"It would appear that these ponies do not trust us completely." Nuju agreed.

"So. No windows. No doors. No other ways to get out of this room." Whenua asked.

"It does look like it." Nokama said, sitting down on the floor and crossing her legs. "We may as well make ourselves comfortable."

The other Toa began to split off, moving about the room and beginning to do their own thing.

Vakama himself walked over towards one of the corners, sitting down and drawing out one of the disks from his back, and his smelting stick in the other hand. Activating the smelter, Vakama placed it against the disk, and began to shape it into something new, even to him.

***

"What was that?!" Luna shouted, teleporting into the interior of the Onyx tower, where Celestia was waiting.

"I...am sorry sister. The past...is difficult to talk about." Celestia admitted.

"I know." Luna said, relenting slightly and walking over to a pair of large cushions and sitting down, bidding Celestia to sit next to her. "It is difficult for me as well."

"Something that has not escaped my notice." Celestia said, nuzzling her sisters neck softly. "The Toa. What do you make of them? Speak your mind."

"I do not know. There are uncomfortable connotations with their story. Especially this Makuta character."

"Agreed." Celestia nodded. "We should go and organise the press meeting."

"Why don't you let me handle this one sister?"

"I don't know. Are you sure about this? You never showed much love for the press." Celestia said doubtfully.

"Don't worry your little head Celestia." She smiled, patting her sister on her head, "You just sit back and let your auntie Luna organise everything."

With that, Luna walked out of the room, leaving Celestia on her own.

"But I'm 400 years older than you." She said in confusion.

***
1 day later
***

The next morning, the Toa were woken from the uneasy sleep they had found themselves in by the same glow around the area of the wall that had housed the door the day before.

Quickly, the six Toa were on their feet, assembling in front of the door. Vakama was the last to stand up, slipping the disk back onto his back, although it was finally taking shape of something other than a simple disk.

"Toa. I trust you slept well?" Luna asked from the doorway, flanked by two lunar guard.

"As well as you can when locked into a room, yes." Vakama nodded.

"I apologise, but it was as much for your safety as your containment." Luna explained. "While we took great pains to keep you hidden from the public, we did. Not want to take the risk of causing a panic. The spell that sealed you in can only be reversed by the one who cast it, me."

"Makes sense I guess." Onewa nodded.

"We going then?" Matau asked, stretching his arms wide and sighing. 

"Yes. The press conference is set for one hour. My sister has asked you to join us for breakfast before we do this."

"Breakfast?" Whenua asked, scratching the top of his mask.

"Yes. You know, breakfast? The morning meal?. Luna said in confusion.

"What's a meal?" Vakama asked.

Luna looked between the Toa, her confused gaze falling on each of them, before asking uncertainly, "Does your species require sustenance?"

"Not that I know of." Whenua admitted. "There are so many differences between our species. Just imagine how much I could add to the archive."

"You are beginning to sound like Twilight." Luna smiled, before standing aside for the Toa. "Come then. Perhaps you will find the proceedings educational, rather than essential."

***

The six Toa followed behind the imposing form of Luna as they approached the massive doors that lead to the great hall. Without a word, the two royal guards that stood to the side of the door moved to open it.

Sweeping inside, the Toa were greeted by a strange sight. The massive room was occupied by an equally massive table, one that spanned the entire length of the room. Set on the table were a multitude of round, flat metal objects, laden with various other pieces of metal, or steaming pieces of some sort of green organic substance.

Walking up the room, Vakama spied eight familiar ponies, as well as three who were unknown to him. At the head of the table sat Celestia. To her right, sat Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy, while to the left, past another large, throne like chair, were Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Behind the two thrones, were the forms of six guards, three in golden armour, and three in purple armour, one of which was the form of Castelian. Further down the table, three more ponies, two males and a female.

"Introducing the Toa Metru team, Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Nuju, Onewa and Whenua." Called one of the golden armour clad guards.

"More commoners?" Came the voice of one of the ponies. "I should not be forced to eat my meal with such, distasteful creatures."

"Blueblood." Cautioned Celestia, as Luna took her seat by her sisters side.

Slowly, The Toa walked around the table, taking six seats that were obviously set out for them.

"These savages are allowed to sit at our table?" Blueblood asked in shock, "I allowed these other, commoners, to sit on my table, but I will not stand by and allow these six, creatures, to dine with us."

"PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!" Boomed Luna. "You will sit down."

"Aunt Luna. Let me." The Pink Alicorn spoke. 

"Cadence." Luna smiled. "You always know how to handle my...outbursts."

"Blueblood. These six are obviously the Toa warriors that we were told about. They have every right to dine with us, especially if Celestia and Luna have asked for them to join us."

"But I..." Blueblood began, but was cut off by a stern look from Celestia.

"Now that everypony's here, let’s eat!" Pinkie shouted, diving at a plate of food.

"Is this how everyone, eats?" Vakama asked Twilight, uncertainly saying the word 'eat'.

"No. Just Pinkie." She smiled. 

Everypony began to tuck in, with the exception of the blue maned stallion, who was simply staring at the Toa in interest.

"Feel free to start Toa." Celestia said, smiling at the six Toa.

"Start?" Whenua asked.

"Yes. Eat. Please, as much as you would like."

"Oh sister, the Toa have already informed me that they do not need sustenance. They agreed to still come along to observe."

The silence was instant, Pinkie Pie having stopped what she was doing and stared at the Toa. The other ponies were still attempting to converse, but whenever they moved their mouths, no sound came out.

Eventually, the sound came rushing back, and everypony gasped in relief. 

"What was that?" Twilight asked.

"Oh silly, how was I meant to make a dramatic silence if nopony was silent?" Pinkie laughed, before turning back to the Toa. "You don't eat?!"

"Nooo." Nokama said uncertainly. "It would appear that another difference between our species is your need to ingest organic sustenance, whereas our does not."

"So let me get this straight." Pinkie asked slowly. "You've never eaten? And if you've never eaten, then you've never had a cupcake, and if you've never had a cupcake, then you've never had one of my cupcakes, and if you haven't had..." Pinkie started before being stopped by a hoof being put in her mouth.

"Whoa there Pinkie. Let the Toa get a word in edge ways." Applejack laughed.

"Thank you Applejack." Nuju said, nodding his appreciation. "I am more interested in the Stallion there who has been staring at us for the past one hundred and sixty four seconds."

"Who? Shiny?" Twilight asked, looking over at her brother.

"Yes. If 'Shiny' is the Unicorn sitting next to Cadence."

"I am. Sorry for staring. I didn't mean to be rude." He said, standing up and giving a bow. "Prince Shining Armour of the Crystal Empire. Formerly Captain Shinning Armour of the Equestrian Royal Guard. I was just, fascinated by your armour. It is armour isn't it?" He asked.

"Vakama? Do you want to take this one? You are the forger after all." Nuju asked.

"The armour we wear is fashioned from Protodermis." He explained. "In its raw form, Protodermis is a silvery white semi-solid substance. It can be used for anything from making Kanohi disks, to Toa weapons and armour."

"Fascinating." Twilight mused. "Such a diverse material could have almost innumerable uses."

"It does have uses." Nokama said. "It is used for all sorts of thing as Vakama mentioned. The Matoran mined it for everyday use."

After that, the conversation, the congregated ponies lapsed into silence, Pinkie trying once again to ask the Toa how they managed to live without tasting cake, but being stopped by Applejack again. 

Eventually, everypony had finished eating, and the Toa were content that they had observed the ritual of in taking food. They still did not understand it completely, but accepted it as part of the culture of this land.

Standing up from the table, Celestia addressed the table.

"The press ponies will be arriving to the conference room within the next ten minutes. I believe it would be best if we made our way there now, and allow the Toa to enter unseen by the public. We must be extremely careful with how we handle this. A premature sighting could be devastating for what we have set out to do.

"No quarrel from me." Vakama said, looking at the other Toa. "Anyone else find an objection?"

The Toa mumbled briefly, before expressing their agreement to the statement. 

"Thank you. If you would follow me." Celestia said, moving towards the door.

As she did so, the guards that had surrounded her throne moved to be beside her, two coming alongside her, while the final one moved ahead and opened the door for her. Luna stood and followed her sister, and her guards scampered to follow their princess.

Following suite, the Toa, The Elements of Harmony, Blueblood and the Prince and Princess of the Crystal Empire followed the path shown by the two royal alicorns.

> 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.

> Hangin’ with the ponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The six Toa followed the element bearers out of the castle, and made their way towards the front gate. Signalling to the guards, the gates were thrown open, and the two groups walked out onto the streets of Canterlot.

Instantly, the ponies walking around the city stopped in their tracks, staring at the Toa in a mixture of shock and awe.

“This is what they do when anypony leaves the castle.” Rarity whispered to the group.

“Even more so when six of them are the Elements of Harmony, and the other six are aliens.” Twilight whispered.

“Will it be a problem?” Vakama asked.

“None. We just need to get y’all the station. Ponyville is more accepting of, different, ponies than Canterlot.” Applejack said.

“Zecora.” Twilight coughed, unsubtlety, drawing a look from the other five ponies.

“I feel like we just missed something.” Nokama whispered to her brothers.

“Anyway, we need to go or we won’t make it to the station in time to catch the train.” Twilight pointed out, walking away from the group and leading them towards the station.

The strange looks persisted all the way to the station, as did the half-audible whispers.

“Who are…”

“…hurt…”

“Celestia…mad…crazy.”

Eventually, the twelve arrived at the station, and, walking past the ticket officer, stopped on the platform. Not even a minute later, the train chugged into view, and stopped by the platform.

“All aboard!” Shouted the conductor, stepping off from the guards’ wagon at the back. “Next stop. Ponyville.”

“Looks like this is us girls. And, Toa.” Twilight smiled, holding the door open for the others.

“Oh, I can’t wait to get back to my little animal friends.” Fluttershy said softly. “They always get so nervous when I’m not around.”

“You always say that.” Rainbow laughed.

“So you care for animals?” Nokama asked, sitting down awkwardly next to Fluttershy.

“Oh yes. My little critter friends help keep my house warm and cosy, and I help them to do the same for theirs.” She replied, happy to be talking about her animal friends.

“Nokama over here’s a regular Rahi-speaker, aren’t you sister.” Matau laughed, sitting down as far away from Rainbow Dash as he could. The divide was not unnoticed by the others.

“You two. Still so ill at ease?” Onewa asked, sitting down next to his brother.

The two descended into conversation, while the other Toa found seats around the empty carriage.

Other than the occasional bad joke from Matau or a random act of Pinkie, the journey was surprisingly uneventful, and soon, the two groups were leaving the train in Ponyville.

“So what should we do now?” Nokama asked, looking around at the others. 

“Well I want to see if this place has an archive.” Whenua said decisively, “Just think of what I could learn.”

“Oh boy. Egghead mode.” Rainbow muttered.

“Archive? Like, library type archive?” Twilight asked, bouncing excitedly in front of Whenua.

“Uh, yeah. You have a library don’t you?”

“Oh yesyesyesyesyes.” Twilight said gleefully, bouncing around, before pushing Whenua with her head in the direction of the library.

The other Toa looked shocked for a second, before asking the obvious question.

“What was that?” Vakama asked.

“Oh, that’s just Twilight. She goes into full egghead mode when she thinks she’s with a scholar.”

“Interesting.” Nuju said.

“Well, I got ta be getting’ back to the farm.” Applejack proclaimed. “Any of y’all Toa want ta come with?”

“Why don’t you go Onewa?” Matau laughed.

“Great idea. I could use some help around the farm anyhow.” Applejack said, before walking over to Onewa. “That’s if it’s ok with y’all?”

Onewa looked between Applejack and the others, before scowling at Matau.

“Fine.”

“Great. Well, come on their partner. We best be goin’.” Applejack said, turning and walking off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, Onewa skulking behind her.

“Well as Applejack so eloquently put it, some of us do have duties. I suggest we all get going.” Rarity said, looking around the group.

“Yep. I’ve got to catch up on some serious stunt flying.” Rainbow proclaimed with a smile.

“Oh yeah, as if you could wind-fly properly.” Matau sneered.

“Was that a challenge?” Rainbow asked, squaring off to Matau.

“Come on. Let’s leave the two love birds alone.” Pinkie said, somehow pushing both of the three remaining Toa, Rarity and Fluttershy away at the same time.

“I…I need to get back to my animal friends.” Fluttershy stammered.

“I’ll come with you. It will be interesting to see the different types of Rahi beasts that inhabit your planet.”

“I really must be getting back to Sweetie Belle.” Rarity said, looking between Vakama and Nuju. “Would one of you like to accompany me?”

“I’ll come.” Nuju said, standing next to the white unicorn. “Everybody else seems to be going off with a pony.”

“Guess that leaves you and me hey Vakami?” Pinkie said, smiling and nudging the Toa as the two white creatures walked away.

“It would appear so Pinkie.” Vakama said. “And please, Vakama, not Vakami.”

“Okie dokie loki Vakokie” She giggled, before bouncing off towards sugar cube corner.

Sighing, Vakama followed the eccentric pink pony into the main town.

***
The Scholars
***

“Ohmygosh. Whatcanwelookat? Oohohh,Iknow,book.” Twilight said excitedly, hardly taking time to breath in between words. 

“Hey, take it easy there Twilight.” Whenua said with a chuckle. “We need level heads to properly search the archives.”

“You…your right.” Twilight said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head with a fore hoof. “So what exactly are we looking for?”

“Anything that may help us find the Makuta. Our ship indicates that he came through only an hour before we did, but we found no trace of him when we came through. It is likely that he knew where he was going before he came here, meaning he must have been here before.”

“So we are looking for any anomalies in history that may point to him appearing before?” Twilight said, more to herself than Whenua, before walking off to a bookshelf.

Igniting her horn, she drew out a book, and brought it down, blowing a small bit of dust off the cover.

“A History of Equestrian and the Equine race.” She read, setting the book in front of Whenua. “If you read this one, I’ll search other books for clues.”

“Good idea. Well, I best get reading then.” Whenua said, opening the books. “It’s odd. All these books look like they are in old Matoran.” 

“Oh that? That is the writing of post-nightmare Equestria. No pony really knows where it came from, but it replaced the pre-nightmare language almost overnight.” Twilight explained.

“Interesting.” Whenua said absent minded. “Luckily for you, I’m not some Po-Metru builder. I can actually read.”

“Then we best get started.” Twilight agreed, grabbing another book with her magic and setting it on the floor, before lying down to read it.

***
The Help
***

“Who-we. Looks Big Mac already started on the southern field. I’m gonna say hi ta Applebloom, then we can go and help mah brother.” Applejack said, pushing her hat up so she could see properly.

“Whoa. Whoa.” Onewa said, stopping Applejack. “What’s this about work?”

“Ah shoot. Did ah forget ta mention. Y’all probably don’t have ta buck Apple trees where you come from. It’s simple, I’ll show ya right after…”

She was cut off by a small yellow blur, as a small pony with a bow in her mane jumped on her sister.

“Applejack. Yer back.” She said excitedly.

“Ah missed ya to little sis.” Applejack said, rustling her sisters’ mane, before standing up again. “I’d like y’all ta meet my new friend Onewa.”

She moved over and indicated the Toa standing behind her. Applebloom jumped back in surprise, as if she hadn’t seen the Toa yet, before regaining her composure.

“Pleased ta meet ya. I’m Applebloom. Applejacks little sister.” She said, enthusiastically shaking Onewas’ hand.

“Likewise.” He said dryly, before letting go of her hoof.

“Yer head looks familiar.” Applebloom said uncertainly, peering at Onewas’ mask. 

“My mask?” 

“Oh, it’s a mask.” Applebloom said, nodding her head. “Like Matau had as his Cutie Mark.”

“Wait, you’ve met Matau?” Onewa asked in surprise.

“Yeah. Me and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders ran tried to arrest him to git ah Cutie Marks in being night guards. He said his cutie mark was the great Mah-something of shape-shifting.”
“The great Mahiki Kanohi mask of shape-shifting?” Onewa asked.

“Yeah, that’s it.” She said excitedly. “How d’y’all know him?”

“He’s my brother.” Onewa said reluctantly.

“But, he’s a pony.” Applebloom said uncertainly.

“Nope. Let me guess, 	a dark grey bat-pony thing?” Getting a nod from Applebloom, he continued. “He can shapeshift. It’s the power of his mask.”

“I’ve got to tell the girls.” Applebloom said excitedly, before rushing off, disappearing from sight in a matter of seconds.

“Is she always like that?” Onewa asked.

“Yeah. Her and her friends are excitable, that’s fer sure, but their hearts are in the right place.” Applejack smiled, before setting off in the direction of her brother.

Following behind, Onewa finally caught sight of Big Macintosh, and was visibly cowed by his presence. Sure, the princesses had been big, but only in so much as they were taller than other ponies. This pony however, was physically bigger than any pony he had seen, and Onewa did not want to think of the damage he could do if he wanted to.

“Howdy Big Mac.” Applejack said, waving at her brother. “This here is mah brother big Macintosh.” She said, by way of introduction. “This here is Onewa. He’s a guest of the Princesses and my friend.”

“Howdy.” Big Mac said, nodding slightly.

“Well, come on then. These apples aren’t gonna buck themselves.”

Moving off, the two ponies began to move through the trees, placing buckets under them, before delivering a swift kick to the trunk of each one, and causing the fruit to fall of it. Onewa looked at the spectacle, before sliding down the trunk of one of the trees, and sitting on the grass, watching the two pony’s impassively.

After hours, Applejack had finally had enough, and marched over to the Toa.

“Up. Y’all need ta stop being lazy and help. This here is a big harvest, and we got ta get it all done by the end of the day if we want to sell them at the market.”

“Yeah, well you and your brother seem to have it under control.” Onewa pointed out, rising to his feet.

“Maybe, but y’all can still help.” Applejack pointed out, “Or do I have ta get my brother to make ya help?”

That particular veiled threat was enough to stir Onewa into action. Groaning, he got to his feet.

“What do I do?”

“That’s the spirit.” Applejack smiled. “Well we kick the trees to get the apples down, but I’m not sure if that would work for y’all.”

“What about this?” Onewa asked, drawing an odd, hammer like object.

“That may work.” Applejack nodded, before leading Onewa over to a tree, a pair of buckets already placed beneath it. “Why don’t ya try it out on this one?”

Sighing, Onewa moved himself into position, before readying his weapon. Drawing it back, he brought it whistling through the air, and smashing against the trees. A crack was heard, and a bit of the bark splintered under his hit, but it had the desired effect, and the apples fell neatly into the baskets.

“Not bad Onewa.” Applejack smiled.

“Yeah, not bad at all.” Onewa said, smiling slightly. 

***
Design
***

“Sweetie Belle? Sweetie Belle.” Rarity called, walking into Carousel Boutique.

“Nice place.” Nuju commented, ducking through the door.

“Oh sorry, allow me to welcome you to Carousel Boutique, where everything is sheek, sleek and manifique.” Rarity said with a flourish.

“This is where you work?” Nuju asked.

“And live, with my sister.” She smiled. “Sweetie Belle?!”

“Coming.” Came a voice from upstairs, followed swiftly by a small white unicorn bounding down the stairs, before coming to a halt, her eyes wide as she stared at Nuju.

“Sweetie Belle. It does not behove a lady to stare.” Rarity admonished, before turning to Nuju. “I am sorry for my sisters rudeness.”

“There is no need. If I saw a pony walk into my home, I would be more than a bit concerned.” With that, he knelt down until he was almost at the eye level of Sweetie Belle. “Greetings. I am Nuju, the Toa of Ice, and a guest of both your princesses, and your sister. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Such poise.” Rarity said in a hushed tone.

“You look like someone I’ve met before.” Sweetie Belle said after a period of time had passed.

“Perhaps you have seen one of my brothers, or my sister?” Nuju offered.

“No, it was a pony.” She said, scratching her head, before jumping in the air in glee. “I’ve got it!” She squeaked. “That nice pony Mr Matau had a Cutie Mark that looked kind of like your face.”

“Oh. That.” Nuju said, amusement slipping into his voice, before rising to his feet.

“Was this pony by any chance a grey bat-pony?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah. How did you know?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Getting down to whisper in Sweetie Belles ear, Rarity told her something the Nuju could not make out.

“You mean…” Sweetie Belle asked, her voice squeaking.

“Yes.” Rarity nodded, a slight smirk appearing on her face.

“I’ve got to tell the others.” She said excitedly, before rushing out of the building.

“I am assuming that you told her that the pony was also a Toa like me?” Nuju asked.

“I may have hinted as such.” Rarity said mischievously.” Now that my sister is gone, I have a proposal for you.” She said.

“What did you have in mind?” Nuju asked, his left eye cover narrowing.

“I am a fashion designer by trade, and I am usually called upon to make dresses. Beautiful dresses I may add. Occasionally, I am asked to create an ensemble for a stallion, but never have I had the opportunity to create my art for a bipedal creature, such as yourself.

“So you are asking to make me an ‘outfit’?” Nuju asked, summarising her point.

“Yes.”

“What you are doing is an aspect of the present. The future is the only thing that can truly matter.” Nuju argued.

“I could not agree more darling.” Rarity smiled. “As a fashion designer, I need to constantly predict what new fashions are going to be prevalent. The future is important, but I must create my ensembles in the present, for them to be available in the future.”

“That does make a certain amount of sense I suppose.” Nuju nodded. “Lead on then, and you may create your ensemble.”

“Thank you for being so agreeable darling.” Rarity smiled, levitating a tape measure over to Nuju and stretching it next to his arm. “I was afraid you would be a brute like the Minotaur warriors are.”

“Toa are more than warriors. We are heroes to our people. We are bound by our honour and our code.” Nuju said, not unkindly, but with an edge to his voice.

“I meant no offense.” Rarity said, concentrating on her work.

Realising that he was unlikely to get any more out of the pony now she was in full designer mode, and instead opted to stay silent and unmoving, allowing Rarity to go about her work.

***
Stunts
***

“Ugh, leave me alone!” Rainbow shouted, finally getting fed up with the insufferable Toa of Air.

“How about you admit I’m way more awesome than you, and then I will?” Matau said with a smirk.

“There’s only one way to settle this.” Rainbow smiled. “Oh but wait, you don’t have wings, so it looks like I win by default.”

“Oh really? You think you can out wind-fly me?” Matau asked, a smirk of his own forming.

“What?” Rainbow asked. “You mean you can fly?”	

“Can a Ta-Matoran form a great Kanohi?” Matau smiled. “Choose a course, and I’ll prove that I’m more than a match for you.”

“Bring it on.” Rainbow smiled. “See that mountain over there?” Rainbow pointed off into the distance.  

“To that and back?” Matau guessed.

“You read my mind.” Rainbow grinned back, before taking off at high speeds, leaving a small trail of dust behind her.

“Quick-speed wind-flyer.” Matau muttered, sprinting forward. 

As he did so, his two aero slicers appeared on his back, and he smiled, before pushing himself off from the ground and following Rainbow.

Catching up with the Rainbow pony, he gave her a gentle nudge, before beginning to edge past her.

“Whoa. That’s fast.” Rainbow grunted, pushing herself back into the lead.

Matau didn’t reply, and for a moment, the pair were neck and neck, reaching the mountains peak and circling around it.

It was Matau noticed an odd cone forming just in front of Rainbows nose. Edging away from Rainbow, Matau began to lose ground, falling behind Rainbow, first by a tiny bit, and then by an ever growing margin.

“Oh no you…” he began, before the Mach cone forming in front of Rainbow condensed, and she shot forward, rocketing away from Matau.

That was the least of his concerns however.

The shockwave produced by Rainbow buffeted the Toa, shaking loose one of his aero slicers, and sending him spinning out of control to the floor below.

***

“Girls? Girls?! He’s waking up.” Came a disjointed voice, and Matau struggled to open his eyes to see the speaker.

Opening his eyes, he found he could only see from one eye, and smacked his mask, moving it round so he could see properly again. In doing so, he managed to focus his vision on the three small ponies in front of him.

“Hey, I’m remember you.” He said, getting to his feet. “You’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, aren’t you?”

“See, there’s proof.” Sweetie Belle said excitedly, turning to address Scootaloo.

“No it’s not.” Scootaloo insisted. “We’re pretty famous, maybe he just heard of us.”

“But Onewa said he was.” Applebloom pointed out.

“And my sister said it as well.” Sweetie Belle insisted.

“Girls.” Matau said, holding up his arms. “What’s going on?”

“Scootaloo doesn’t believe us that you were that pony we tried to arrest.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Oh that, yeah, I wanted to see the town.” Matau said with a smirk.

“Well…um…” Scootaloo said uncertainly, before making up her mind. “He could just be lying for you.”

“Would this change your mind?” Matau asked, his mask glowing, heralding his transformation into the same grey bat-pony as before.

“Uh…bah…huh?” Scootaloo babbled, while the other two fillies snickered at their friends’ discomfort.

“Does that settle the argument?” Matau asked, transforming back into his Toa self.

“Yeah, I guess.” Scootaloo said glumly.

“Hey, chin up pony.” Matau smiled, kneeling down to Scootaloos eye level. “Not every quarrel can be won. Sometimes we are wrong, and have to accept it.”

“Thanks.” Scootaloo smiled, looking up at the Toa.

“Now, what are three little ponies doing way out here?”  

“We were lookin’ for ya’ll.” Applebloom said proudly. “Rainbow was worried about y’all, and when she saw us walkin’ around, she asked us for her help.”

“Well you have my thanks then.” Matau smiled, getting back to his feet properly.

“We should probably get back to Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Yeah.” Matau said glumly. “Still can’t believe she did, whatever she did.”

“What? Her Sonic Rainboom?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. “It was awesome!”

“Yeah, I’m not sure any pony has ever been that close to a Sonic Rainboom.” Sweetie Belle said thoughtfully.

“Not sure it’s a good thing.” Mata sighed, before setting off at a walking pace. “Come on, we’ve probably got a long walk to make before we get back to Ponyville.”

***
Rahi Speak
***

Fluttershy and Nokama walked beside each other in silence, deep in contemplation as they moved towards Fluttershys cottage. Eventually, the silent pair reached the bridge that lead over the small brook that lay just outside it and stopped.

“Um…well, this is my cottage. I know it’s not much, but it’s…” Fluttershy began softly.

“…beautiful.” Nokama finished in stunned amazement.

“It is?” Fluttershy asked in surprise.

“Yes. It reminds me of Ga-Metru in a lot of ways.” Nokama said with a wistful smile.

“Oh, here I am babbling away like an old fish-mare, while my little animal friends are getting lonely inside.” Fluttershy said, suddenly darting towards her door and slipping inside.

Smiling, Nokama followed the pony, walking inside her house and closing the door behind her.

Inside the house were all manner of Rahi-beasts were walking around, or flitting around the roof, darting in and out of little houses that looked completely hand made. Nokama watched with interest as Fluttershy flew around the house, placing foodstuffs in front of the various houses and animals, before turning to face Nokama once more.

“Would you like anything to drink?” She asked, before remembering that the Toa didn’t need to intake substances, and clamping her hooves over her mouth.

“It is ok Fluttershy.” Nokama said, realising what the pony was worried about and taking steps to calm her. “I was curious about this food and drink at breakfast, but decided it was best to wait until after we had ascertained what our next plan was.”

“Oh. Well, I can make some tea if you’d like?” Fluttershy said.

“If you would like some as well, it would be an appreciated gesture.” Nokama said. “As long as it will not inconvenience you.”

“Not at all.” Fluttershy smiled, before turning towards the kitchen. “Please have a seat.”

Nodding, Nokama turned and walked towards the sofa, taking a seat on it and placing her hands on her lap. A she did so, she heard an indignant squeak from around her feet, and looked down to see a tiny white Rahi-beast.

“Hello little one.” She smiled, picking up the little white creature.

The creature in return simply stared at Nokama with a disapproving glare, before pulling back one of its feet and kicking Nokama in her mask.

“Stop that.” Nokama said sternly, looking down at the creature. 

Once again, the creature simply drew back it leg and started to kick her quicker. Taking that as the final straw, Nokamas’ mask began to glow a soft blue colour, and she stared at the white creature, projecting her thoughts in its language towards it.

“Stop that, now. I am a friend of Fluttershy.”

The creature looked at Nokama quizzically, before replying.

“You know master?”

“I do. And that of her friends and the princesses.” Nokama said. “Now, I believe introductions shall help to balm the wound you believe I have done you. I am Nokama, the Toa of Water of the Toa Metru team.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you. Fluttershy named me Angel, or Angel Bunny.” The creature said with a smile.

“If I may ask, what manner of Rahi are you?” Nokama asked.

“I assume you are talking about what form of creature I am?” Angel asked. “I am a rabbit, or a bunny to be specific.”

“Then it is a pleasure to meet you on equal terms, Angel Bunny the Rabbit.” Nokama said, holding Angel bunny close to her face.

“Likewise, Nokama, Toa of Water.” The bunny smiled.

“Oh, Angel isn’t giving you any trouble is he? Fluttershy asked, coming back into the room with a tray and setting it down before the pair. 

“Not at all.” Nokama smiled as Fluttershy say down next to her. “We were just having a friendly conversation.”

“Wait, can you understand animals as well?” Fluttershy asked, before pouring a cup of tea and passing it to Nokama.

Thank you.” She relied, taking the proffered cup. “And yes, each Toa has a power that is donated by their mask. Mine grants me the ability to converse with animals in their own tongue.”

“Amazing.” Fluttershy said, taking a sip of her own tea and sighing. 

Taking this as a cue, Nokama raised her own cup to her mouth, before taking a small, cautious sip. As soon as the liquid touched Nokamas lips, her eyes shot open in amazement.

“This is…lovely.” She said, taking another sip.

“You like it?” Fluttershy asked happily, as Angel bounded away and grabbing hold of a leaf of lettuce. 

“I do.” Nokama affirmed.

“Oh well please, have as much as you like.” Fluttershy smiled, glad to have another who could share in her indulgence. Another bonus was the fact that Nokama was great with animals, and was, while not shy, seemed to be quite, which suited her perfectly.

***
Baking and Smelting
***

“Ohoh, what should we do?” Pinkie said, bouncing around Vakama as the pair walked towards Sugarcube corner.

“What is it that you usually do?” Vakama asked back.

“Ooh, I bake cakes, and cupcakes, and cakes in cup so I can drink them, and sweets, and sugar, come to think of it I don’t bake sugar, but I eat it, so that counts.” Pinkie said excitedly.

“You seem taken with your calling.” Vakama smiled. “I used to have a clear calling as well, back when I was a Matoran.”

“What did you do? *Gasp* Were you a baker as well? Oh wait, you don’t eat? *Gasp* That means you’ve never had a cupcake.”

With that, she grabbed hold of Vakamas hand and dragging him along.

“Out of the way. We need to get this Toa a cake stat.”

A moment later, Vakama had somehow been dragged into the odd looking building and sat down at a table, while Pinkie reached behind him and pulled a cake out, placing it  on the table in front of him. 

“What…how?” Vakama asked, looking at the empty space behind him and then back to the cake.

“Oh silly, I have cakes stashed all over, well, Equestria actually, in case of cake related emergencies.” Pinkie Pie said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Now, here comes the aeroplane, do we even have aeroplanes?” Pinkie said, picking up a piece of cake and moving it towards Vakama while deep in her own thoughts.

“Thank you Pinkie.” Vakama said, tentatively taking the cake and bringing it to his mouth, before taking a small bite.

“Weeeelllllll?” Pinkie asked.

“It’s good, but I have nothing to compare it against, so I cannot say how good it is.” Vakama pointed out.

“*Gasp* Why don’t we cook together? We can make you some more cake so you can compare stuff, and we can have fun doing it together.” Pinkie said excitedly.

“I don’t have much experience with this type of thing.” Vakama pointed out. “The closest I’ve done is smelting masks.” Vakama reached behind his back and pulled out the almost finished mask.

“Wow.” Pinkie said, nodding at the mask she now held.

“What?” Vakama asked, looking between the mask and his hand, trying to work out how it got from his hand to Pinkies hoof.

“Does this make me look like a spooky alien?” Pinkie asked, putting the mask on her face and walking around on her hind legs.

“Maybe when I’ve finished it.” Vakama smiled, plucking the mask off of Pinkie face.

“Okie Dokie Lokie.” She smiled, before bouncing off into the kitchen. Sighing, Vakama followed her.

***
5 hours later
***

“Find anything Whenua?” Twilight asked, putting another book into the ever growing pile next to her.

“Nothing.” Whenua said, tossing a book from him. “The only thing is this eternal night that Nightmare Moon attempted to bring about.”

“How so?” Twilight asked.

“The Makuta attempted to shroud our land in Shadows.” Whenua said, turning to Twilight. 

“Hey hey hey.” Rainbow said, pushing the door open and strutting inside.

“Have you heard of knocking? Twilight asked in an annoyed tone.

“Yeah.” Rainbow said with a smirk.

“Whatever. Where’s Matau?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. We had a race and he fell out of the sky.” Rainbow smirked.

“And you didn’t stop to help him?” Twilight asked in astonishment.

“I…” She trailed off.

“Don’t worry about Matau.” Whenua smiled. “He’s much too stupid to do anything more than knock sense into his head.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.

“Positive.” Whenua said.

“And what would make the archivist so positive?” Onewa asked, walking into the library.

“Matau.” Whenua said simply.

“Ah. Who else?” Onewa laughed.

“This Toa sure is good at Applebucking.” Applejack said, walking into the room. “We cleared out the whole southern field in a day.”

“You helped?” Whenua asked, turning to Onewa.

“Why are you so surprised?” Onewa asked indignantly.

“Because you’re lazy.” Whenua laughed, effectively silencing Onewa.

“Oh look, more ponies walking into my home without knocking.” Twilight said scathingly.

As she said this, Pinkie and Vakama walked in, the former bouncing happily, while the latter was simply covered in cake batter and icing.

“What happened to you brother?” Onewa laughed.

“Pinkie.” Vakama said with a grimace.

“I pity you.” Twilight and Applejack muttered at almost the same time.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Twilight let out a sigh of relief that at least someponies had some manners.

“Do come in.” She said, opening the door to reveal Fluttershy and Nokama.

“Did you two get along?” Twilight asked as they walked over the threshold of the house.

“Oh yes.” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Nokama and I had a wonderful time with my animal friends.”

“Sounds like y’all made a firm friend there Fluttershy.” Applejack smiled.

“Oh yes, Nokama is…” Fluttershy began, but was cut off by a loud shout.

“RAINBOW DASH!?” 

A moment later, the green form of Matau appeared in the doorway, flanked by Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

“You owe me a debt!” Matau shouted.

“I do?” Rainbow asked, stepping back from the Toa, a chill of fear running down her spine.

Matau advanced towards Rainbow, and she slowly began edging back, but Matau was on her before she could get more than a few places away. He thrust his arm towards her, stopping it just before her muzzle, and turning it around so his forearm was in front of Rainbows eyes, revealing a long scratch in the armour. 

“You scratched my armour.” He said, his face devoid of emotion, before it broke, and he burst out laughing. “You…I got you.” He wheezed.

“You mean it was a joke?!” Rainbow shouted.

“Yep. We helped.” Sweetie Belle said proudly.

“Yeah. Matau is almost as cool as you Rainbow.” Scootaloo said with a smirk.

“Where are Nuju and Rarity?” Vakama asked, turning from the bickering pony and Toa.

“I have no idea.” Twilight admitted.

“Here we are.” Came Rarity’s voice, as she walked into the library, before turning to face out of the room. “Introducing the new ensemble of Toa Nuju, commander of the element of Ice.” She announced in an overly dramatic way.

At this cue, Nuju walked into the room, stopping just inside of the door and allowing everybody inside to get a proper look at him. The white Toa was resplendent, his armour seeming to glow as if freshly polished. What did catch everybody’s eye however was the clothes he now sported. Rarity had fashioned a perfect tuxedo, its colour darker than any night sky, and seemed to draw in light towards its inky blackness. What did amuse the others more than the suit though, was what he wore on his mask. Over his left eye, he wore a large monocle, its chain falling down, before rising again and attaching directly to his armour. All in all, the Toa warrior looked, dapper.

“Wow. Rarity, you have outdone yourself.” Twilight said in admiration.

“You can say that again Twi.” Applejack said, walking over to Nuju. 

“You look good brother. A welcome break from the usual boringness of your visage.” Whenua laughed.

“In all serious brother, the current ensemble suits you.” Vakama said, nodding in appreciation. “As the other element bearers said Rarity, you have done well.”

“Thank you darling.” Rarity smiled. “I would be honoured to make such an ensemble for you. Your armours bold colours make for such interesting possibilities of colour ranges, even more than ponies fur colour.”

“Maybe at a later date.” Vakama said with a smile of his own, before turning to face Twilight and Whenua. “Have you discovered anything that would assist our search?”

“Nothing. Barring the eternal night of Nightmare moon, but Twilight has assured me that that was the doing of a spirit that infested the mind of Princess Luna, and turned her against her sister.”

“I am interested to hear about this.” Vakama said, stepping forward. “Please, enlightens my brothers, my sister and I.”

“Very well.” Whenua said, sitting on the floor and bidding everybody else to do the same. “It all started just over one thousand years ago…”



> Worth a Look
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning, the twelve new friends once again met in Twilights library. The Toa had opted to stay with the ponies for the night, rather than finding somewhere else to bunker down for the night, and had left with the same ponies that they had spent the previous day with. The only exception was Matau, who had still not completely forgiven Rainbow for the whole race thing. This, coupled with the fact that he couldn’t stay on clouds like Rainbow could, meant that he had decided to sleep at Applejacks farm, spending the night in the barn.

“So did everyone sleep alright?” Twilight asked once the whole group had assembled.

The general consensus around the room was that it had been a pleasurable night. The only exception, was Matau, who unsurprisingly was not happy that he had to sleep in the barn, while Onewa had been allowed to sleep in the house.

“Ah’m sorry Matau.” Applejack apologised. “Ah already promised Onewa he could have the only space in the house.”

“If you and Rainbow got on better, I could have cast a cloud walking spell on you, but you didn’t want to stay there anyway.” Twilight pointed out. 

“Meh. I guess.” Matau grumbled.

“Hey Twilight?” Spike called out, running down the stairs, before clutching his stomach and coughing up a gout of flame. “Mail for ya.”

“Thank you Spike.” Twilight smiled, levitating the scroll from him and opening it. A small smile appeared on her face as she scanned the paper, before closing the scroll and laying it down.

“Umm…what was that Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“A squadron of lunar guard reported back into Canterlot late last night. They said that the Trottingham local guard had seen odd creatures moving in and out of the Everfree forest.”

“Define ‘odd’.” Nuju asked.

“The letter doesn’t say.” Twilight said after scanning at again. “But it’s signed by Princess Luna herself.”

“She must believe this is a credible piece of information that we should act on.” Vakama pointed out.	

“Agreed. We should investigate immediately.” Nokama agreed.

“How long will it take us to get there?” Whenua asked the assembled ponies.

“By airship...four hours. Walking round the Everfree, one day.” Twilight answered.

“And if we walk through the Everfree?” Onewa asked.

“I wouldn’t suggest that partner.” Applejack warned. “The Everfree ain’t exactly the nicest place to walk through.”

“Still, how long?” Onewa asked.

“Well, airships can’t fly over the Everfree forest because of the rouge winds, so they have to go around,” Twilight said, thinking back to the maps she looked at for some light bedtime reading. “so they have to go around. Walking straight through without stopping would probably take you…around…two hours.”

“Well then that is the route we will take.” Vakama declared. “We will be back before tomorrow.” He informed the ponies.

“Now hold on there pal.” Rainbow said, flying in front of Vakama. “You are not going anywhere without us.”

“Although I do not condone the way in which Rainbow informed you,” Rarity began, walking over to Rainbow, “but I do agree her on this point.”

“We ain’t leavin’ y’all alone in case ya do have to face this Makuta fellow.” Applejack added.

“I do not think that will be needed.” Nokama said. “If this Everfree place is as dangerous as you have lead us to believe, I would rather you did not risk yourself to aid us.”

“I agree.” Vakama said, before turning around. 

The Toa began to walk out of the library, but Twilight called out, stopping them

“So, which way are you heading? I mean surely you know where you are going. 

“Twilight…” Vakama said exasperatedly.

“You don’t?” She asked in mock surprise, a smile spreading over her face. “Well, it looks like you need somepony to guide you.”  

“You understand that if this place is truly dangerous…” Matau began.

“It is.” Rainbow butted in.

“Then we can’t guarantee your safety.” Finished Matau, not acknowledging Rainbows interruption.

“We understand.” Pinkie said, bouncing over to the Toa. “But you guys are all like ‘grr’ and any creatures will be like ‘oh please don’t hurt us’, so we’ll be safe.” 

“Can’t argue with that logic.” Rainbow laughed.

“Fine. You can accompany us, on the condition that if anything goes wrong, you listen to, and follow, our instructions to the letter. Is that understood?” Vakama asked, turning to Twilight.

“Perfectly.” Twilight replied.

“Fine then. You may accompany us.” Vakama said, holding the door open, and allowing the Toa and the six ponies to exit the building. He then looked expectantly at Spike, who returned the look in a more quizzical fashion. “Are you coming?”

“Can I come Twilight?” Spike asked excitedly.

“No Spike. The Everfree forest is no place for a baby dragon.” Twilight said with a smile.

“But Twilight…”He whined, but Twilight was having none of it.

“No Spike. Maybe when you are older.”

“You always say that.” He huffed, before turning and walking back up the stairs, muttering to himself.

“Should we go then?” Nokama asked.
“Trottingham is in this direction.” Twilight said, pointing out if the town. “If we get moving now, we should be there before noon.”

***

“So how did you six meet?” Vakama asked as they walked through the Everfree forest.

“I’ve worked in Ponyville on the weather team since I left Cloudsdale.” Rainbow said casually.

“My animal friends all live on the edge of the Everfree forest just by Ponyville.” Fluttershy chimed in.

“I thought that Ponyville was a beautiful town when I was deciding where to set up my shop. I guess I just saw them around in the town.

“I know everypony in Ponyville silly.” Pinkie giggled.

“Oh, well I met them all at the summer sun celebration two years ago.” Twilight finished.

“What is a summer sun celebration?” Nuju asked.

“It’s the longest day of the year. Two years ago, Celestia was going to raise the sun in Ponyville, but Nightmare Moon returned and kidnapped her.”

“And…” Nokama prompted.

“I had found out about Nightmare Moons return before the summer sun celebration, and was intent on stopping it.” Twilight began. “Celestia knew about it all along though, and as always, she had a plan to counter it. I met the others, and we set off to find the Elements of Harmony, which we did, and then used them to purify Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna and to save Princess Celestia.”

“So your ruler knew that she would be captured by this ‘Nightmare Moon’, possibly killed, and yet she went willingly?” Nuju asked.

“Sounds like Toa Lhikans sacrifice.” Vakama said wistfully.

“Who?” Rarity asked in an interested voice.

“Toa Lhikan was the Toa who gave us our Toa stones.” Nuju explained. “He sacrificed his own powers as a Toa when his duty was done, and passed on his mantle to us six.”

“He was captured when he was giving me the last stone. He sacrificed himself to save me.” Vakama said, not glumly, but just, matter-of-factly.

“What happened after that?” Twilight asked, interested to hear a more in-depth version of the Toas life.

“We set off to find the six great disks, under Vakamas guidance.” Nokama began. “After finding them, we presented them to what we thought Turaga Dume. He betrayed us, and set his Vahki enforcers upon us. Only Vakama, Matau and I escaped.”

“Yeah, while we were locked in prison.” Whenua pointed out.

“And we saved you.” Matau smiled back.

“Lhikan saved us. He taught us about the bonds of the Toa and got us out. You just provided an escape vehicle.” Onewa laughed back.

“Moving on.” Nuju prompted.

“Escaping, we returned to the coliseum, and found out the fate of the Matoran, and that of Turaga Dume. We rescued as many of the Matoran as we could, before attempting to take them to a new land. The Makuta followed us, and Vakama engaged him, before we managed to seal him away in Protodermis.” Nokama finished. 

“But you’re hunting the Makuta.” Pinkie pointed out. “*Gasp* Does he have an evil twin brother?”

“No Pinkie.” Vakama smiled. “We returned home again to rescue the remaining Matoran. While there, we were captured by the Visorak horde under the command of Roodaka and Sidorak.”

“And poisoned by them mask-melter, don’t forget that.” Matau smiled.

“I remember. We were transformed into hordika, and I, I fell to its grasp more than the others did.”

“I will continue Vakama.” Nokama said softly. “After a battle with the Visorak, we rescued Vakama, and faced Roodaka. We used the same elemental powers that we used to seal the Makuta away to face her, and in doing so, freed her heartstone, which she took from the Makutas prison. This allowed him to escape, after which, he made his way here.”

“That sounds like a rough time.” Applejack said.

“It was, but it was our duty, and the only way to achieve our destiny was through restoring the unity between us.”

“The three virtues that you spoke of.” Twilight nodded.

“When are we going to get there?” rainbow butted in.

“Well Rainbow, considering the fact it will take us two hours to get through the forest, and we have only been walking for forty five minutes, that should answer your question.” Rarity said exasperatedly.

“Umm, Twilight, are there supposed to be any buildings this deep into the Everfree?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, why?” Twilight asked.

“I am guessing it’s because of that.” Onewa said, pointing at a large structure that was slowly becoming visible through the dense forest.

“Impossible.” Twilight said, darting forward.

Rushing forward, Twilight sped towards the building, prompting everyone else in the group to run after her, until they all stood just in front of the building.

“What is it?” Pinkie asked.

“It looks like a Marean temple.” Twilight said in awe, as she walked towards the stairs that led up to the top of the temple.

> Carving Out the Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight began her ascent up the stairs of the temple, setting off at a brisk pace before anyone, Toa or Pony, could stop her.

“Hey Twilight, wait please.” Vakama shouted, rushing after Twilight.

Following the lead of the red Toa, the others sprinted after Twilight, catching her just before she cleared the halfway point.

“Please stop for a moment Twilight.” Nokama said, putting the pony down.

“But…temple…undiscovered…why?” Twilight asked disjointedly, not taking her eyes off the top of the staircase.

“As you said Twilight, it’s undiscovered.” Whenua said. “We don’t know what is in there, and I believe it would be for the best if we lead.”

“Hey, hold up there.” Rainbow said indignantly, flying in front of Whenua. “We went into the castle of the two Alicorn sisters, and that was much scarier than this place.”

“Ah have to agree with Rainbow here.” Applejack added.

“Why don’t we just settle on us all going in at the same time?” Rarity asked, attempting to find a middle ground.

“That does make sense.” Nuju agreed.

“Grr, fine.” Rainbow relented.

“My insistence that you obey our commands in the event of an emergency still stands.” Vakama pointed out.

“I understand.” Twilight smiled, before slipping out of Nokamas grasp and rushing to the top of the staircase.

“I see she really listened to you brother.” Onewa laughed, before following Twilight up the stairs.

“Yeah, that’s Twilight for you.” Pinkie grinned. “Any time she thinks she can get a hold of some new knowledge, she goes running off.”

“Great.” Sighed Vakama, following the rest of the group.

As they reached the top, they once again caught sight of Twilight, who was staring slack jawed at the main entrance of the temple.

“And here it is.” Rainbow smiled. “Stage one of the egghead cycle, awe.”

“Do we want to know what the next stages are?” Onewa whispered to Applejack.

“Oh, that depends.” Applejack whispered back.

“On what?” Onewa hissed.

“On how much it lives up to her expectations. She could either squeal and jump around like a school filly for the next five minutes, or she could have a magical overload in frustration.”

“Great.” Onewa said, standing back up.

“Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes.” Twilight shouted, jumping around the group. For the most part, the ponies looked nonchalantly at the spectacle, while the Toa looked confused. The only exception to this was Pinkie Pie, who had promptly joined in the impromptu bouncing session, and was now following Twilight around with her eyes closed and a content smile upon her lips.

“I guess it was the former.” Onewa said dryly.

“Agreed.” Rainbow laughed.

“Ok Twilight. Settle down please.” Vakama smiled, putting his arm in front of her and stopping her mid bounce.

“Ummm…yes.” Twilight admitted, blushing deeply. “Should we…”

“Explore deeper into this crumbling and damaged temple of unknown origins that could have anything lurking inside it but that doesn’t matter because we have six super strong Toa heroes that will protect us if anything goes wrong?” Pinkie asked in a single breath.

“Pinkie Pie worries me.” Whenua muttered.

“We all get worried about Pinkie Pie dear.” Rarity muttered back, without breaking her smile.

“I get worried about Pinkie to.” Pinkie smiled, before bouncing into the temple.

“Come on, let’s follow her before she hurts herself.” Nokama said, setting off after 

The eleven friends set off deeper into the temple, looking around the interior of the temple as they went. Twilight, Whenua and Nokama seemed to be fascinated by everything they saw, while Matau, Onewa, Rainbow and Nuju looked extremely bored. Vakama, Applejack and Fluttershy on the other hand were walking at the back, chatting between themselves.

“So does Twilight do this sort of thing a lot when it comes to historical artefacts?” Vakama asked.

“More or less. She usually just ogles the object until she’s studied every tiny bit of it. Then she goes off and writes a thesis on it before sending the thesis to Celestia. Not that there’s anything wrong with having a hobby.” Fluttershy said, finishing in a small squeak.

“That’s fair enough.” Vakama nodded.

“Twilights a good friend but she gets a mite excited over these things. Maybe a tad too excited, but it’s better than not being interested in anything.” Applejack pointed out.

“I guess she has her own quirks like everyone does.” Vakama said in an absent minded tone, before walking over to a mural on the wall. “Hey guys, come look at this.” Vakama said uncertainly.

“What is it Vakami?” Pinkie asked, peering over Vakamas shoulder.

“Gah. How…what…never mind.” Vakama said, recoiling at the sudden appearance of Pinkie, before dismissing it.

“What is it brother?” Nuju asked, walking over to Vakama.

“This mural, it’s…odd.” Vakama said, placing his hand on the wall and wiping away a layer of dust and grime, before recoiling for a second time.

“Is that…” Nokama asked.

“…a Kanoka Disk” Vakama finished.

“But, that’s not possible.” Onewa said simply.

“More than that, look at this.” Vakama said, pulling a disk from his back and holding it up. “Look, 1-3-6.” He said, pointing at the inscription on the disk, before pointing to the wall again. “And here, 1-3-6. It’s the same disk designation.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“These disks are used by the Matoran for everything from Sport and fun to defence.” Vakama began. “Each one has a three digit code detailing their effects and powers.”

“If it’s only a three digit code between 1 and 9, couldn’t the same code appear more than once?” Rarity asked.

“Yes, but the chances of these two disks having the exact same code, as well as the same inscriptions is…” Vakama began.

“…roughly nine hundred and seventy six thousand, eight hundred and seventy two to one.” Nuju finished.

“Did you work that out in your head?” Twilight asked.

“Yes.” Nuju replied.

“Nice. However, if we can get back to this matter at hand?” Twilight said.

“I believe that would be good.” Nuju nodded.

“Hey Twi, if there’s a disk inscription here, that’s the same as the one Vakama has. Doesn’t that mean…”

“Someone from their world built this place?” Rainbow asked.

“No, I’m sure there must be a logical explanation for this.” Nokama said, not looking away from the inscription.

“Hey guys,” Rainbow said, hovering over to another wall. “Come up with a logical explanation for this.”

“What are you…talking…about?” Twilight said, looking over and catching sight what Rainbow was looking at.

“What are we looking at here Twi?” Applejack asked.

“Pass.” She said slowly, before looking closer at the wall.

The whole wall was dominated by a series of carvings. Slowly, the entire group walked over to the wall and stared at it.

“What is that Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“I can’t make out the writing, but it looks like a pictorial representation of a past event.” Twilight said, looking closer.

“Does it make anyone nervous that I know what language that is?” Whenua asked.

“Very.” Rarity said. “What is it?”

“A very old dialect of the modern language of the Matoran.” Whenua replied.

“How old?” Applejack asked.

“Very.” Whenua said uncertainly. “Luckily, not all of us are from Po-Metru, or some over backwards Metru.” Whenua smiled, getting a foul look from Onewa. “Let’s see here.”

With that, Whenua leaned in closer to the worn script, muttering softly to himself as he sought to decipher the writing. 

“Umm…does anypony else get the feeling we’re being watched?” Fluttershy asked, moving her head slightly so she was hidden behind her mane.

“I feel it to.” Nokama said, placing her hand on Fluttershys back.

“Me to.” Vakama admitted. “Nokama, take Nuju and Matau and scout the area. Check to see if anything is in here with us.”

“Way ahead of you fire-spitter.” Matau laughed, before moving off.

Instantly, Rainbow made to follow the three Toa, but found Vakama blocking her way.

“Hey! What gives?” She asked indignantly.

“’What gives’ is I would like you to stay here.” Vakama explained.

“Buck that. I can handle myself.” Rainbow said defensively, trying to get around Vakama, but he moved so as to not allow her past.

“I do not doubt that fact Rainbow, but do you remember the condition upon which I allowed you to come?”

“Yeah but…” She began.

“What did I say?” Vakama insisted.

“That we had to listen to you and the other Toa.” Rainbow said reluctantly.

“Thank you.” Vakama smiled. “It is not that I do not trust you Rainbow, but if anything happened to you, it would be my fault for letting you get into the situation in the first place.

Grumbling, Rainbow sat on the floor by herself, facing out of the temple, while the others chatted in hushed tones. All the while, Whenua continued to attempt to read the inscription.

Almost twenty minutes later, Nokama, Nuju and Matau returned, declaring that the temple was completely barren. This did not however, stop Fluttershy from continuing to feel watched, and soon, everyone in the group had the same uneasy feeling.

Finally, Whenua straightened himself and turned to the others with an uneasy smile on his face.

“It was tricky, but I think I know how to translate it now.” He declared.

“What?!” Rainbow shouted. “All that time and you haven’t even read it?”

“Hey, I said I knew the dialect, not that I could read it properly. It took me a while to get used to it.” Whenua said defensively. 

“What does it say?” Twilight asked.

“Let’s see.” Whenua said, turning back to the inscription, Whenua began to read it off, running his finger just below the odd symbols that made up the inscription. “Please, keep quite while I do this.”

“In the time before time, a single being ruled over this land in total unity, brokering peace between the flora and fauna.”

At this, he gestured to the first mural, this one depicting an Alicorn above trees and birds, as well as ponies.

“For eons, this singular being ruled alone, watching the three tribes carved in her image, until one day, a being of the night appeared, bringing with her a forth tribe, carved in the new comers image.”

The second mural depicted a second, darker Alicorn facing off against the white one, bringing with her a host of bat-winged ponies.

“These two celestial beings decided to share the lands, and ruled once more in harmony, but is was not to last. The dark one fell, taking scores with her, and creating an army of shadows, attempting to plunge the land into an eternal slumber, over which she would be the sole ruler.”

A mural depicted the dark Alicorn, now much bigger and garbed in armour, standing above a host of ponies of all races, but each of whom was completely black, devoid of any features whatsoever.

“The first being gathered all those who were able, and prepared an army of the light to combat this new threat.”

The next mural along showed the white Alicorn in a similar state to the dark one, but the ponies she lead were diverse, and did not show any uniform symbols upon them.

“In a great cataclysm, the two armies clashed, and at the centre, the two beings clashed on every level, their very minds at war with each other.”

This mural depicted scores of ponies, some black and some coloured, clashing, while in the middle, the two Alicorns fought. 

“For three days, the armies fought, until the only ones left were the two beings. The fight would have continued, had the dark one not suddenly failed, reverting to her original form.”

This mural showed the white Alicorn standing over the dark Alicorn, this time however, she looked how she had before the uprising. All around the pair, lay the bodies of ponies of all colours.

“Driven by grief and rage at the loss of so many, the white one banished the other to her own domain, imprisoning her in what was once her own. Her sanctuary now served as her prison.”

The penultimate mural showed the white Alicorn standing in front of the sun and the moon. The moon however, now showed the visage of a pony, and on closer inspection, it was clear that this was the dark Alicorn.

“The lands were devastated by the war, but the light endured, and eventually, prospered.”

Whenua finished abruptly, looking at the next bit in annoyance.

“What’s the matter?” Nokama asked in a hushed tone.

“The next bit of the inscription has been worn away.” He muttered, before shrugging, and moving past the smooth stone to where a final sentence was carved.

“The dark shall once again rise, and all of the light shall fall. And all shall know peace, in an eternal slumber, over which, only one will rule.”

He finished, before straightening up and turning to face the others. 

“That…” Twilight began, her voice cracking. She took a moment to compose herself and wet her lips slightly, before trying again. “That must be the Nightmare era.” She said softly.

“As in Nightmare moon?” Rarity asked.

“Exactly. I never knew half of that though. Whenever I’ve asked Celestia about it she either brushed me off or said it was a family thing. She never said that there was a war.”

“This is amazin’” Applejack said, walking over to look at the mural. “Like, this is history right here.”

“Hey guys.” Onewa said, looking closer at the wall. “This…wasn’t carved by Matoran.”

“What do you mean?” Vakama asked, walking over to the wall.

“Well I mean that it completely goes against the physicality of the Matoran carving techniques.” He said  

“How?” Twilight asked.

“Well, Po-Metru builders always carve with the chisel facing downwards, and use the hammer on the top of it. These markings have been made by the chisel either being placed directly against the wall, or upwards facing.”

“So who carved it?” Nuju asked.

“Hey guys, lookey here.” Pinkie called from off to the right. In her mouth was a small chisel, and in her left hoof was a hammer. 

Moving her head slightly, she pressed the chisel to the wall, before tapping the hammer on the end of it and moving her head, being showered in a cascade of small flakes of rock as she went.

When she had finished, she stepped back to admire her handy work and sighed, looking happily at the full colour drawing she had done on the wall.

“Ummm…there’s colour there.” Onewa said slowly, looking between the wall and the chisel that Pinkie used. Pinkie just smiled and nodding happily.

Shaking his head, Onewa went over to the new carving, running his hand over it, and doing the same to the writing. He began to move slower, before turning around with a perplexed look on his face.

“They’re…” He began, but was cut off by a shriek of pure terror that echoed around the room.

Instantly, the entire group looked around for the source, their eyes finally settling on Fluttershy. 

The yellow Pegasus’s eyes were wide, and her entire face had grown noticeably paler. One of her hooves was outstretched, and shaking violently. However, it was still clear that she was pointing at something, and eleven pairs of eyes followed it to where she was pointing.

Their eyes alighted on a hoof, just emerging from a shadow. The hoof itself was completely black, and nothing else of the pony could be seen.

“Hey, Whenua?” Nuju asked. “Can you see anything in there?” 

“Nothing.” Whenua replied slowly, his mask glowing.

The entire group stared at the hoof, as slowly, it began to move, dragging itself forward, and slowly revealing the body of pony, it’s every aspect completely void of colour.

After a few seconds, it stood in the open, and turned its head towards the group.

Slowly, it opened its mouth, and began to shamble slowly towards the group, its hooves passing silently over the floor as it did so. 

> The Dark Ones Son
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Vakama?” Nokama hissed as the pony continued to limp towards them.

“Guys, we can try talking.” Twilight pointed out.

“I don’t think it will talk.” Nuju pointed out.

“You can try.” Vakama said.

“Thank you.” Twilight said, before stepping forward. As she did this, the shadow pony stopped dead, and stared directly at Twilight. “Hello?”

The pony cocked its head to one side, shutting its mouth, but not making a single sound.

“Ummm…do you know where you are?” Twilight continued, but to be met with only the same response.

“Sugarcube…I’m not sure it’s workin’” Applejack said hesitantly.

“Ah, ba, ba, ba, ba.” Twilight said, waving her hoof in Applejacks direction. “I am Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic. With me are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony, as well as the six Toas of the Toa Metru team.” Twilight introduced. “Who are you?”

Once again, the pony simply cocked its head to one side, but this time, it raised a single hoof, and slammed it down, making the first sound since it had appeared.

“Is that progress or…” Matau asked, before Rainbow cried out.

“Guys? More of them.” She said, pointing into the shadows again.

As she did so, ponies began to appear out of the shadows, they weren’t hiding within the shadows, but were physically materialising out of the very essence of the shadows. As more and more shadow ponies began to appear, the Toa slowly drew their own weapons, creating a cordon between the oncoming ponies and the Elements of Harmony.

“Girls, stay behind us.” Nokama ordered, brandishing her weapons in front of her.

“Ok, Matau, Whenua, you take the left. Onewa, Nuju, take the right side. Nokama, help me with the centre.” Vakama ordered, loading his disk launcher.

“Are you guys sure about this?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“I would rather not.” Vakama said softly.

The ponies began to approach, and the Toa readied themselves to combat them. Then, just as quickly as they had arrived, they stopped dead, surrounding the Toa, but not approaching any further.

“They stopped.” Matau observed.

“Really?” Rainbow asked scathingly. “Is that your intellect showing through again?”

“Stop it. Now.” Onewa hissed.

“What do you think they are doing?” Twilight asked.

“Good soldiers wait for orders.” Vakama mused.

“So they’re waiting for whatever’s in charge?” Rarity asked.

“That can’t be good.” Whenua moaned,

Slowly, the Toa began to move backwards, but the Shadow ponies instantly moved around the back of the group, cutting off the main avenue of escape. Once again though, they didn’t attempt to do anything more than block the group in.

“Looks like this is it.” Onewa observed, looking at the ponies just in front of him.

As he did, the shadow ponies parted down the middle, splitting into two groups, and forming a corridor down the centre of them.

“What do you think it is?” Applejack asked, as the Toa bunched closer together.

“We’re about to find out.” Vakama growled.

As he said that, an actual foot slammed down just into the view of the Toa, before slowly, an entire creature pulled itself into view.

“That’s not possible.” Whenua breathed, as he caught sight of the creature.

The creature itself was big, standing slightly taller than the Toa themselves, and wielding a fearsome looking staff in both of its hands. Its armour was the exact same colour as Onewas armour, a dark brown colour, which was only broken up by the glowing red eyes it sported.

“Rah-kah-nash.” The creature hissed, pointing towards the small group with its spear.

With that command, a ripple spread throughout the group of shadow ponies, and as one, they surged forwards, clashing with the Toa.

“Don’t hurt them.” Fluttershy called desperately from the middle of the group. 

“Trying.” Matau grunted, pushing a shadow pony away from him before its gnashing jaws could snap down on his neck. Ducking another hoof strike, he hit the pony with the flat of one of his aero-slicers, knocking it to the side. 

“You ok there brother?” Whenua asked, pushing a pair of ponies away, before another one jumped on his back, clamping its jaws around his shoulder, and drawing a scream from the black Toa.

“Brother!” Onewa shouted, jumping over to Whenua and tearing the pony of his back, throwing it against a wall with a sickening thud.

“Careful.” Vakama yelled, before turning to look out at the ever growing crowd of shadow ponies. “We need to get out of here.”

“Agreed.” Nokama grunted. “Twilight? Are you and the others ready to move?”

“Yes.” She replied from her position in the centre of the circle of Toa.

“Be ready then.” Nuju said, casting his eye behind him.

“Vakama, I have a plan.” Nokama shouted, pushing away an encroaching shadow pony.

“What?” Vakama grunted, aiming a disk at the ceiling over the leader and collapsing it upon it. The creature itself simply looked amused as it raised its staff, firing a bolt of energy at the falling piece of masonry, shattering it into nothing but dust.

“A pinpoint application of maximum force on a minimal area of resistance may allow us to break through the defence and allow us to break out of this situation.” Nokama replied.

“Y’all lost me there Sugarcube.” Applejack said from behind Nokama.

“Attack in one direction.” Matau summed up quickly, sweeping the legs out from a pony in front of him, before bringing the hilt of his sword down on the back of another ponies head.

“What is it with eggheads and making everything seem complicated?” Rainbow asked, trying once again to get around Vakamas legs and join the fight, but failing as Vakama cut her attempts short.

“Because it makes sure that the rest of my brothers understand me.” Nokama grunted.

“I will take the rear guard position. Nokama, you lead the others out of the temple. We will all meet up outside of the temple. Is everybody ready?” Vakama asked.

“Ready.” Came the near unanimous reply from the group.

“I’ll help you cover the rear Vakama.” Twilight said, moving her way through the other elements until she was next to Vakama.

“Out of the question. Nokama, move now.” Vakama ordered.

Instantly, the Toa moved there combat structure around until they were pushing their way back towards the entrance through which they came. Vakama on the other hand, was walking backwards behind the group, delivering sweeps and punches to keep the majority of the ponies at bay. Any that did get through were quickly dealt with by one of the other five Toa. Slowly but surely, they were making their way towards the exit.

“This is actually working.” Onewa laughed, lashing out at a pony who had manage to sneak past Vakama.

“What was that other thing?” Rarity asked, keeping herself well within the safety that the Toa provided.

“Something that shouldn’t be here.” Whenua growled.

“What?” Twilight asked. “It looked kind of like you.”

“Exactly.” Whenua said.

“Was that the Makuta?” Applejack asked, her face becoming gaunt.

“If it was, we would be in a lot more trouble.” Nuju replied.

“I think we’re getting near the entrance.” Onewa called out.

“Wouldn’t that be the exit?” Pinkie piped up.

“She is right there.” Rainbow laughed, kicking a shadow pony who got past Vakama  

“Nokama, how far?” Vakama shouted, using his disk launcher to push more ponies away.

“Twenty meters. Maybe thirty.” She replied.

“Keep moving them. I can keep this up fo…” Vakama began, but was cut off by a roar.

Vakama turned to look at the origin of the roar, and watched as the same creature from before appeared around the corner. 

Slowly, the creature raised its staff, pointing it first at the group, before raising it slightly higher to aim directly at the archway over the exit.

“Get out.” Vakama said softly.

“What?” Whenua asked.

“I said get out!” Vakama screamed, before turning and picking Rainbow Dash up and hurling her bodily out of the temple.

“I’m confused.” Fluttershy said softly as Rainbow flew overhead.

“Oh Celestia.” Twilight whispered, turning to see what Vakama had seen.

Her eyes alighted upon the creatures’ staff, which was now beginning to glow at one end. As she saw this, her eyes went wide, and she finally realised what Vakama was insinuating.

“Get out!” She screamed, charging her horn and sending out a massive pulse of energy in a cone in front of her.

The Toa and the four remaining Elements of Harmony were lifted from their feet, or the appendages that they used to get around. The same purple aura that surrounded Twilights horn surrounded them, before another pulse sent them flying out of the temple.

“Nice.” Vakama grunted, a moment before the creature fired the energy pulse it had been charging.

The energy impacted just above the archway, causing a single crack to appear in it, before the entire thing began to crumble.

“Time to go.” Vakama shouted, picking Twilight up and preparing to run through the falling hail of debris.

“Too late.” Twilight groaned, her head still spinning from the spell she had performed. 

While she could quite easily pick up an ursa minor these days, with very little effort, attempting to pick up four full sized ponies and five Toa, all of whom were in a non-standard formation, and were unaware of what Twilight was about to attempt, did require a lot of effort. The result had been Twilight nearing the point of unconsciousness.

“Chin up.” Vakama grunted, trying to pick his way through the falling rocks.

They almost got out, and they could make out the others calling for them from the outside. Raising his disk launcher, Vakama attempted to fend off another rock. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the trajectory of the falling rubble by just a fraction, and instead of bouncing harmlessly off his weapon, it impacted on his wrist, causing his weapon to skid out of his grasp and into a corner.

“VAKAMA!” Matau screamed, before the final rocks crashed down over the exit, sealing the two groups apart.

“No!” Vakama screamed in reply, slamming his fist on the wall.

Placing Twilight on the floor, making sure to place the unconscious unicorn behind him, he readied himself to defend her until his brothers and sister could get in to help them. 

They’d get there soon. 
…
…
…
Wouldn’t they?

*** 

“We have to get them out!” Matau shouted, running over to the collapsed entrance, grabbing hold of a small rock and pulling it away.

“Stand back!” Whenua called, pulling his earthshock drills from behind his back.

The drills began to gyrate, until they were nothing more than a blur. Bringing them close to the rock, he pushed them into the debris, slowly cutting into the rock face.

“How long is this going to take?” Rainbow asked frantically, nervously hovering behind the Toa.

“It’s thick.” Whenua grunted. “Thirty seconds, maybe more.”

“Oh Celestia.” Fluttershy squeaked. “I hope they’re ok.”

“Vakama and Twilight are strong. They’ll be fine.” Nokama reassured Fluttershy, but failing miserably to even reassure herself.

Exactly forty eight seconds later, Whenua had finally created a tiny break in the rock, and pulled his drills out of the wall, gesturing for Onewa.

“It would take to long to drill a big enough hole.” He explained.

“This is where I come in then.” Onewa smiled.

Drawing his fist back, he slammed it into the gap Whenua had created, before channelling his elemental power deep into the wall of stone.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a loud ‘CRACK’, a spider web like fissure appeared in the wall originating from the small hole in the wall.

“Stand back.” Onewa said quietly, withdrawing his hand. Bringing his foot up, he kicked out at the wall, and the entire wall fractured, before collapsing in front of him.

“Quickly, spread out and find them.” Nokama ordered.

Instantly, the ten creatures spread out, frantically searching the inside of the un-unnervingly empty temple.

After ten minutes of frantic searching, the group met once again, this time outside of the temple, just in case anything happened again. Eventually, Pinkie broke the silence.

“So…did you guys find anything?” She asked slowly.

“This.” Rarity said, holding up Vakamas disk launcher.

“But, he never puts that thing down.” Nuju said.

“Exactly.” Rarity replied.

After another moment of silence, Pinkie once again broke it.

“Any sign of Twilight?” She asked, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

“None.” Fluttershy whispered.

Instantly, Pinkie burst into tears, pulling a handkerchief out from nowhere and using it to wipe her eyes.

“Whenua?” Applejack asked. “You seemed ta know what that creature was.”

“It was wrong.” He replied. “Come on, we need to tell Celestia about this.”

“But, what was it?” Rainbow asked.

“Rahkshi.” He said darkly.

> Same Song and Dance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vakama awoke with a start, and instantly was alert, knowing something was deeply wrong. For starters, he was in the dark. Not like the nights back home, or even the catacombs that his brothers had been imprisoned in when the Makuta had captured them, this was total, inescapable, heavy, blackness.

The second thing he noticed, was he was on his back, his arms and legs secured by something, and when he tried to move them, he heard a rattling of chains. He could move his limbs a tiny bit, before his bonds snapped taut and he could move them no more.

He thought back to the final things he remembered before waking up. He remembered the ponies appearing literally out of the shadows, and he remembered the Rahkshi appearing to lead them. Then he got snippets of fighting free of the temple, before throwing Rainbow out of the temple, as…

“TWILIGHT!” He yelled, straining against the chains as he remembered the purple mare had stayed with him.

He was met with nothing but the echo of his own voice, as it reverberated off of the walls.

Vakama roared once more, straining against the chains that bound him, attempting to rip them apart so he could save twilight. 

He had promised to keep her safe, and he had failed.

She put her trust in him, and he had let her down.

“Poor Vakama.” A deep voice rumbled, sending a shiver across Vakamas body. He knew that voice.

“Makuta!” He shouted, looking around for his foe.

He had no luck though, as the room was completely dark. He did feel something moving behind him though, and he attempted to look at it, craning his neck to see what it was. He was met with little success, and turned his head back.

He jumped back, as much as he could do anyway, in surprise, as directly in front of him, were a pair of large, red eyes.

“So afraid, little Toa.” The voice said again, and Vakama instantly knew that Makuta was standing right in front of him.

“Let me go.” He demanded, straining against the chains.

“But you have only just got here.” The Makuta said, “Surely you would not be rude enough to refuse my hospitality. And after my son went to such lengths to find you and your brothers.”

“The only thing I desire from you Makuta is that you leave this land, and for you to go back to your Protodermis cage.” Vakama snarled.

“Ah yes. The Protodermis. You and Roodaka were so kind to free me from my prison.” Even in the darkness, Vakama thought he could see the smile spread across Makutas face.

“You don’t scare me anymore Makuta. I defeated you once before, and my brothers and sister will be able to do it again.”

“Only time will tell Vakama.” Makuta growled. “Just as the mask of time would have saved the Matoran years of slumber.”

“You didn’t deserve its power.” 

“What do you think of Equestria Vakama?” Makuta asked, changing the subject suddenly, and catching Vakama off guard. “An amazing place, is it not? It exists outside our own universe, occupying a pocket dimension if you will.”

“It would be better off without you in it Makuta.”

“Come now Toa, must you always snap at everything I say?” The Makuta laughed, the deep sound reverberating around the room. “We all have a part to play in the universe, even in others that we can touch. Our destiny goes further than you can ever imagine. My duty is to the shadows. Yours is to the three virtues and the Matoran.”

“You came here before, didn’t you?” Vakama asked.

“When the Dark Hunters invaded Metru Nui.” Makuta nodded. “I had watched from the shadows with my own brothers as Lhikan fought them, but I found something much more interesting. You found it to, following me. A pool of energised Protodermis, lying atop the great sea of Protodermis. This acted as a portal, and I found myself here. This land Vakama, you have no idea how much I learnt from here. I watched as Ponykind evolved under Discords reign, and watched as his reign of chaos, so similar to my own shadows, failed to hold.”

“I am not interested in your lessons Makuta.”

“Oh, but they are so relevant even now. Corrupting the inhabitants of this land was so easy, especially their princess, but while the other was in power, I could not act against the light openly.”

“So you started a war?” Vakama shouted. “Thousands died, Celestia lost her sister.”

“You are wrong again Toa. Millions died. Ponykind was almost wiped out. All it took was a few choice words, some of my own influence, and some things I had learnt from the brotherhood, was all it took to bring this world to its knees. Just imagine Vakama. Metru Nui, united under one ruler, taking entire without the death of a single Toa or Matoran, is this not better for our race?”

“Innocents would still be killed.” Vakama insisted. “Stop trying to justify what you did here, it will always be wrong. I won’t be swayed to your views.”

“No? You have fallen once. What makes you so sure that you will not fall again?” Makuta asked.

“I won’t betray my friends and siblings again.” Vakama affirmed.

“Well then, perhaps another part of another team will be able to be persuaded.” Makuta smiled.

As he said that, a door slid open behind Vakama, and the room was instantly bathed in a dull light, revealing the Makuta, in all his dark glory, standing straight in front of Vakama.

Slowly, another Rahkshi appeared, walking around Vakama, and standing next to the Makuta. This one was not brown like the one in the temple, but was instead a bright green colour.

“Lerahk.” Makuta smiled, patting the creature on the head, like a father would pat a child. “Panrahk, bring in our guest.”

As the words left his mouth, Vakama heard heavy footfalls behind him, followed by four hoofstep sounds. He cried out as he saw the same Rahkshi from before, holding a short chain. The chain itself was attached to a collar, which was wrapped around Twilights neck.

Twilight looked terrified, a bruise plastering most of her face, and a large ring attached directly to her horn. She looked at Vakama, and tried to say something, but the collar raised up over her mouth and prevented her from talking.

Kneeling down, the Rahkshi attached the chain to the floor, forcing twilight to kneel down. With a flick of its wrist, the gag was removed, and Twilight sucked in a large breath, before turning to Vakama.

“Vakama? Where are we? What happened?” She said, tears forming in her eyes.

“Yes Vakama, tell her what happened.” The Makuta smiled, walking around the pair. “Tell her how you failed her, how you allowed her to be captured when you swore to keep her safe. You may pretend to be a Toa, but even after all this time, you are still just a mask making Matoran.”

“Don’t listen to him Vakama.” Twilight shouted, even as the Makuta bent down towards her.

“Ah, little Twilight Sparkle. The element of Magic. The last time I was here, Celestia still held that trinket.” He mused, “Those trinkets stopped me once before, but how much use will they be if the lynch pin is indisposed?”

“Lay one hand on her and I’ll…” Vakama snarled.

“That’s it Vakama. Let the hatred out.” He smiled.

“Vakama, stop.” Twilight shouted. “It’s what he wants.”

Nodding, Vakama shut his mouth, forcing himself to not say another word to the Makuta.

“A pity you would not see my way willingly.” The Makuta said, gesturing to someone behind Vakama. “Would you like to meet the rest of my sons?” He asked.

As he said this, four more Rahkshi came into view. The six creatures stood together, and Vakama saw that they shared the exact same colours as the Toa.

“Kurahk. Anger.” He said, indicating the white one. “Panrahk. Fragmentation.” The brown one from before. “Guurahk. Disintegration.” Blue. “Turahk. Fear.” Red. “Vorahk. Hunger.” Black. “And Lerahk. Poison.” He said, indicating the green Rahkshi. “Together, they are more than a match for the Toa, but alone, they can be defeated. Now imagine, my sons, led by Toa. My rule would be absolute.”

“Never.” Vakama spat.

“So be it.” Makuta said, before nodding to Kurahk.

Instantly, the white Rahkshi placed his staff on Vakamas chest, before channelling energy through it. 

“Anger will bend you to my will.” The Makuta said, even as Vakama screamed.

“Fear will keep you in line.” He continued, as Turahk repeated the movement that Kurahk had done.

“Fragmentation will turn you on your friends.” Panrahk stepped up and completed his part in the plan.

“Hunger will sap your will to fight my rule.”

“Disintegration will tear down what you have worked so hard on to create.”

“Poison will shape your very body into what I desire.” The Makuta growled, as Lerahk removed his spear. 

Twilight looked over, desperately trying to see the Toa, but her view was blocked by the Rahkshi. As they moved out of the room, Twilight desperately looked around for the Toa, but he was nowhere to be seen. 

“Where’s Vakama!” She screamed.

“He is with my sons.” Makuta smiled. “Sweet Twilight. Always fighting for your friends. But how many times have you had to save them? They betrayed you when you needed the most.”

“That was Discord!” She shouted back.

“Ah yes, the god of chaos in your realm. Would you like to know something about his powers Twilight?” Not waiting for a reply, he opened his mouth again. “He cannot control emotions. He only brings out what has been supressed by the creature, not inverts it. Those of strong enough will can resist his touch. Celestia did. Luna did. You and your friends did not. You were weak, and you allowed him into your mind.”

“You’re lying!” She shouted, but something about his words resonated inside her head.

“Am I Twilight?” The Makuta asked with a small smile. “Think about your recent encounter with Discord. He could have turned your personalities around and escaped at any time, but he didn’t. Why?”

“Because Celestia protected us.” Twilight shot back.

“Oh? And why did she not do this the first time? If it were so easy, why not place the spell on those who would face it. No, you fell the first time due to weakness.”

“Then why didn’t he change us this time?” Twilight shot back.

“Discord never liked playing with used toys.” The Makuta smiled.

“You’re lying!” Twilight screamed.

“No.” he smiled. “Now you must make a choice. Join me, or stand as Vakama stood.”

“I’ll never betray Equestria.” Twilight said firmly.

“I offer you a choice then.” The Makuta said. “One final time. Join me, and serve me willingly, or follow Vakama, and be forced to submit, trapping you within your own mind, forced to watch was you lead my forces.”

“Never.” Twilight shouted. 

“So rash.” The Makuta said, his voice sounding almost sad. “Lerahk.”

The Rahkshi appeared in the doorway, blocking out the light, as it brandished its staff. Twilight shuddered in fear as it came towards her, the door sliding shut, and plunging her world into darkness.

> The Time for Think-Talking is Later
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The group of ponies and Toa pushed their way out of the train carriage, Matau leading the way through the crowds of ponies. They had boarded the train in Ponyville, ignoring the looks that they had got from some of the ponies. A conductor had initially attempted to charge them for tickets, but the Toa were having none of it, and had told the guard in no unsure terms, that if they were not waiting for formalities.

Chastised, the pony had scampered away, and shortly after, the train had begun to move. No one had spoken on the journey, the ponies unsure what the Toa were going to do. They weren’t shouting, or screaming, but everypony present could tell that they were angry, and the thought of warriors such as the Toa being angry was not something they wanted to imagine.

Continuing through the crowded streets of Canterlot, the group made their way towards the castle, pushing anything in their way aside.

“You there. Stop.” A guard ordered as they approached the gates to the castle.

“Move. I need to talk to Celestia and Luna. I want answers and solutions now.” Matau growled.

“No one may enter the castle without permission from the princesses or a prior appointment. I am sorry, but…” He began again.

“This wasn’t up for debate.” Matau shot back. “We are going inside, whether you want us to or not.”

With that, Matau pushed the guard aside, causing him to stumble and fall to the floor, stunned at the sudden attack. The others moved past, walking into the castle.

“Sorry.” Rarity said apologetically to the guard, before hurrying after the rest of the group.

***

The throne room was packed full of ponies, all clamouring and murmuring to each other. Both of the princesses were sitting at the front of the room, sitting on their thrones with impassive views on their faces.

At the front of the room, a blond haired white unicorn was addressing the two Alicorns. Beside him, a second unicorn, this one was also white, but sported a blue mane and was wearing a monocle.

“…the new schooling project is an absolute waste of the royal treasury, and is an expense that we cannot handle, what with the repairs from the Changeling invasion still ongoing.” The blonde unicorn finished, looking at the princesses.

“That’s a tad untrue Blueblood.” The second unicorn said to Prince Blueblood, before turning to the princesses. “The royal treasury is currently spending sixty three percent of its income on the repairs on Canterlot. A further twenty one percent is being spent on a diplomatic missions to the Changelings. This leaves sixteen percent of the budget, which can be spent on new schooling projects, which I assure you, is more than enough,”

“No.” Blueblood stomped. “That money is being spent on renovating my wardrobe Fancypants.”

“Your wardrobe?” Fancypants asked in astonishment. “Surely schooling is more important.”

Before Blueblood could reply, Celestia stood up, and the room went silent.

“Prince Blueblood. Minister Fancypants. Thank you for your proposal, but I am afraid Blueblood, I must side with Fancypants on this. Fifteen percent of the royal treasury income will be devoted to new schools for the ponies of Hoofington. Blueblood, you are not to use any of the Equestrian money for your own purposes. If you would like to get a new wardrobe, I am sure Rarity will make you one, for a price of course.”

“But auntie…” Blueblood began, but was cut off by a slamming sound, before the doors to the throne room smashed open, revealing the five Toa. Behind them, the five elements of harmony peer out, looking at the assembled ponies in slight embarrassment.

“Stop right there!” A guard shouted, but Onewa’s mask began to glow, and the guard sat down.

“Toa.” Luna nodded, looking unwarily at the five bipeds. “Would you mind explaining why you are attacking our guards?”

“We want answers, and solutions.” Whenua said.

“How dare you!” Blueblood fumed, turning to face the Toa. “You savages interrupt my breakfast, and then a royal meeting. Auntie, I want these creatures imprisoned.”

Celestia contemplated the situation for a moment, looking at the gaze on the Toa’s face, before coming to a decision.

“Court adjourned. I am sorry for any inconvenience caused, but I invite you all to return tomorrow to present your cases.”

The majority of the ponies grumbled as they left the room, shooting the Toa disgusted looks. Blueblood looked like he was going to argue, but a glare from Luna put pay to any attempt he may have made. Fancypants also left the room, stopping just in front of the Toa and looking up and down at them.

“Good show.” He said simply, a small smile on his face, before he to left, leaving the throne room empty aside from a few guards, the Toa, the elements of harmony and the two princesses. 

“Now we are away from prying ears, I would like answers.” Luna said.

“Where are Twilight and Vakama?” Celestia asked.

“That’s why we’re here.” Nokama said solemnly.

“What happened?” Celestia asked urgently.

“We were going through the Everfree forest when we found a temple. Twilight insisted we examined it, but it was completely empty. All we found inside were a pair of carvings. One was an exact copy of a Kanohi disk that Vakama owned, and the second…” Nokama began.

“…was a mural of the nightmare era. Written in the ancient Matoran language.” Rarity finished.

“Exactly. So what gives?” Onewa asked. “I want answers, and you’re are the only ones who have them.”

“You still haven’t explained what happened to the others.” Celestia pointed out.

“After we read the mural, a completely black pony appeared. Then more, until we were surrounded. A Rahkshi appeared to lead them, and we were forced to retreat. Vakama and Twilight formed a rear guard to help us, but…” Nuju trailed off.

“Describe the pony!” Luna shouted, suddenly alert.

“Umm, completely black, no eye whites, a mix of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns.” Whenua said after a moment.

“It’s not possible.” Luna breathed softly.

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked.

“Why?” Applejack asked. “What’s wrong?”

“The last time those, ‘things’, began to appear was over a thousand years ago. At first, they just sort of were, they didn’t do anything, not even eating or drinking.” Celestia said.

“And then?” Fluttershy asked.

“Then Luna was changed. She went on an expedition to the Everfree forest, hoping to find a solution for the ponies. When she came back, she was at the head of an army.” Celestia said solemnly.

“Nightmare Moon?” Pinkie asked. 

“Yes.” Luna said softly, before looking up at the others. “I lead a massive force of these, shadow ponies, against Canterlot. My sister gathered the Canterlot guard together and tried to stop us outside of the city, but there were too many. So many of the guards died, and Celestia was forced to retreat. We lay siege to Canterlot for almost a year, before attacking it. Celestia lead the population against my army again, but the result was the same. Only she survived, fleeing from the destruction.”

“For three years, the Nightmare ruled Equestria, her shadow army growing, but I wasn’t idle for that time.” Celestia continued. “I had returned at the head of a horde, to find Equestria shrouded in shadows, the ponies enslaved and being converted into more of the Nightmares army. I had convinced the rest of the world to rally to me though, and any remaining ponies flocked to my side. For a final time, I clashed with the Nightmares army.”

“Millions died. Millions more were injured. Whole races were wiped out in a battle that lasted for days. The goblins had volunteered to help the Nightmare of their own accord, and were wiped out, but so were the Cynogryphs, who fought for my sister. At the very centre of the battle, my sister clashed with the Nightmare. For the entire three days of the battle, we fought. Spells and swords, physical bodies clashing while our minds raged against each other. At the end of the third day, almost everyone else on the field was dead, torn apart by the sheer ferocity of the fighting, and suddenly, the Nightmare faltered. It was like whatever was powering it left.”

“I took advantage of the situation, and used my final trick.” Celestia said reluctantly. “The full power of the elements of harmony banished the remaining Nightmare, and my sister, to the moon. It was hard, and so many across the world died, but we won. It took centuries, but we rebuilt everything we lost, alliances were made, old grievances were forgotten, and we managed to propel ourselves into an age of peace. Don’t you want to know why we haven’t had a war for years, why the warlike Gryphons have never attacked the barbaric Minotaur’s? It is because of our fear that something like that could happen again. If it does, we would be ready.”

“It’s happening.” Nokama said firmly.

“Did…did you say…millions?” Fluttershy asked, the thought of death on that scale being almost incomprehensible to the timid Pegasus mare.

“Yes.” Luna said sadly. “And it was my fault.”

“Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault.” Nuju pointed out. “The fact that the shadow ponies were led by a Rahkshi, one of Makutas sons, proves that he is behind their creation. If you found his lair one thousand years ago, he may have corrupted you, like he has done to so many others. It is not your fault.”

Celestia silently mouthed her thanks to Nuju, while Luna managed a tearful smile.

“Ok, thanks for the history lesson, now what are we going to do about it?” Matau asked, sounding impatient.

“Matau!” Rarity snapped, shocked at the rude outburst. “But I guess you do have a point. You said the other races were prepared for this outcome again.”

“They are.” Celestia nodded. “But it will take time to gather all the representatives to the same place, and even more to convince them to call in their armies. I fear by the time we have managed to do that, the shadow army will be on the move. And if you believe that the Makuta was behind the corruption of my sister, then I fear that Twilight Sparkle and Vakama will also fall, and with those two at its head, I’m not sure if we will be able to stop them.”

“But, you’re princesses.” Applejack pointed out. “Surely if the two of y’all fight together y’all can beat anypony.”

“Twilight is the element of magic. In terms of raw power, she is more powerful than the pair of us, we only outclass her in experience. If she is transformed as Luna was, we will lose that advantage. We have also lost the elements of harmony, them being useless without their leader. And with Vakama at the head as well, I fear we will not even be able to rely on having the tactical advantage of the Toa.” Celestia pointed out.

“If we disturbed the Makutas plans now, he will likely be preparing to move quickly.” Whenua pointed out.

“It’s just like last time.” Celestia said. “They attacked so quickly that we didn’t have time to react properly. Only luck and chance allowed me to raise the army I did. Any longer, and the shadows may have taken the entire world.”

“We can’t let that happen. Not this time.” Luna proclaimed. “I refuse to let Equestria fall again, and I will die before that happens.”

“It won’t come to that.” Nokama said firmly. “But the fact remains, we need to do something.”

“What about a pre-emptive strike?” Pinkie asks.

“Pardon?” Celestia asked, turning to face the Pink ponies.

A pre-emptive strike. Ya know, take a force and attack before they get moving?” Pinkie continued.

“When did you get so tactically savvy?” Luna asked.

“Last night.” Pinkie admitted, before looking around. “Didn’t anyone think something like this would happen? Nope? Just me? Fine.”

“It does make sense.” Nuju agreed. “If we managed to find the Makutas lair, maybe we could stop him before the shadow army is on the move.”

“I agree.” Luna nodded, looking at her sister.

“And I.” Celestia agreed.

“Good, we’re getting somewhere. Now how about less think-talking, and more action-taking?” Matau asked again.

“Luna, please call the guard commanders to the war room. The Sunlight and Moonlight wardens as well. We need to make our plans quickly.”

“Meet you there.” She nodded, before walking out of the room.

“You five, please return to Ponyville.” Celestia said, turning to the elements of harmony. “This is not something you need to hear. Once the plans are made, you will be informed of your parts in it.”

Rainbow and Applejack looked like they wanted to complain, but nodded and walked from the room. Rarity stopped just before the door.

“Are the Toa coming?” She asked expectantly.

“No, I feel like they will be needed. They have experience fighting, something a lot of other guards haven’t.”

Rarity nodded, leaving the room. Celestia turned back to the Toa.

“You five, please follow me. Equestria is going to war.

> Duty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia lead the five Toa through the castle, turning off from the main corridors, and instead moving down small, winding corridors that looked like they hadn’t seen use in decades. Nokama reasoned that if Celestia had been truthful about the length of the peace, it probably hadn’t.

Eventually, the group reached an ominous black iron door, and with a flash from Celestia’s horn, the door swung open. 

“After you Celestia.” Nokama said, allowing Celestia to walk in, before following her in.

The room itself was circular, it walls perfectly rounded in such a way to make even Onewa admire it. In the centre of the room was a large table, easily big enough to get ten ponies Celestias size around it, and on the far wall were shelves upon shelves of books and maps, scrolls and quills, all pertaining to acts of warfare.

“This is the war room then?” Nuju asked.

“It is. We will wait here until my sister arrives with the commanders and elite of the guard.” Celestia declared.

“What about the army?” Matau asked.

“Equestria does not keep a standing army. In times of war, we can call up ponies to fight, but as of now, the guard are the only trained force.” Celestia explained.

“Then you will be calling up the army later?” Nuju reasoned.

“I believe that we may have to, but this meeting is not to decide that. That will be for the alliance high council to decide. We will simply be deciding upon what to do on our own immediately. Rest assured though, I have already sent word to the other races.”

“How did you do that?” Whenua asked.

“Telepathy.” Celestia said simply, before looking up as Luna entered the room, followed swiftly by five other ponies in uniform. 

Behind them were twenty fully armoured ponies. Ten were members of the Moonlight Wardens, and were armoured in the midnight blue and purple armour that they had worn when they had last encountered, while the other ten were wearing almost identical armour, but these ones coloured in gold and white. Clearly these were the Sunlight Wardens.

“May I present, Captain Horn Blower of the Royal Guard, Lord Commander Castelian of the Night guard and the Moonlight Wardens, Commander Storm Surge, leader of the Sunlight Wardens, Commander Shadow Fire of the Equestrian national guard, and finally Lieutenant Heavy Weight of the Cloudsdale Rangers.” Celestia said as they entered.

“So these are the Toa you spoke of?” Heavy Weight asked, the purple Pegasus looking at Nokama. “I thought you said there were six of them.”

“Which is precisely why we are assembled here.” Celestia said, gesturing for the ponies to gather around the table, while simultaneously levitating a pair of books and a sheath of scrolls, placing them on the table. “Luna?”

“Earlier today, the elements of harmony and the six Toa received word of a disturbance near Trottingham. They investigated, and found a temple deep in the Everfree Forest. While within, they were attacked by ponies bearing almost exact similarities to Shadow Ponies.” Luna explained.

“Shadow Ponies? As in…” Castelian began.

“As in members of the army of darkness from one thousand years ago.” Luna finished, and a gasp went around the room. “The myths circulated around the country are fact, as you all well know, but the common citizen of Equestria is blind to this truth, as are most of the guard. Soon however, this may not hold true.”

“As of this moment, I am enacting Wraith Protocol. As of this moment, Equestria is on the highest level of alert. Members of the alliance have been informed, and dignitaries will be here within days, but I will not wait for the army to march on us. I intend to send a force to find their lair, engage them if they must, contain them if they can. What remains is to decide who will be sent.” Celestia declared.

“The Lunar guard is ready.” Castelian proclaimed.

“As is the Royal Guard.” Horn Blower added.

“I expected nothing less.” Celestia smiled. “But I will not commit all of Equestria’s guard straight away. Those who remain will be factored into the alliances plans.”

“We’re going with the first force.” Matau said simply, not leaving any room for argument. “If there are Rahkshi there, you’ll need us.”

“I’m going as well.” Luna added, looking at Celestia. “My mistakes costs millions of lives the last time. This is my time to reconcile for my sins.”

“For the last time sister, the Sins were not yours.” Celestia said firmly, before continuing. “And I would not advise that you go with the first force. This force will sustain high casualties, and if Equestria lost one of its princesses, we would be severely weakened.

“Your objection is noted, but I am as much of a princess as you, and as such, I am going.”

“In that case, the Moonlight Wardens are accompanying you.”

“That is acceptable.” Celestia nodded, before turning to the rest of the assembled ponies. “The force will comprise of the Moonlight Wardens, as well as the Lunar Guard. The rest of the guard, both Royal, Equestrian and the Cloudsdale Rangers, will prepare for mobilisation. We must also prepare to call up the army if the alliance decides that it is necessary.” Celestia declared. “All those apart from the Moonlight Wardens, Lord Commander Castelian and the Toa may leave.”

Without a word, the commanders began to file out of the room, until it was just Celestia and the members of the first wave left.

“This,” Celestia said, opening a book, “is the only book about these ‘Shadow Ponies’ left in existence. It was written by the once king Sombra of the Crystal Empire. He was once our foremost expect on studying these creatures, but in his experiments, was corrupted. The rest is now a known fact.”

“The book details the physicality’s of the Shadow Ponies. They can take any of the four forms of pony, but they have never exhibited the ability of flight or magic. They are however stronger, faster, and have more endurance than any other pony. We do not know what the enemy’s numbers are, but we do know that they will be prepared to fight to the death. No shadow pony ever surrendered when in combat. Gentlecolts, I do not send you out lightly. There is a strong chance that not everypony will return.”

“Your highness, the members of the Lunar guard exist to serve, we will lay down our lives before our arms.” Castelian declared. 

“You never fail to impress me.” Luna smiled, before turning to her sister. “I will take the book and retire to my guards barracks to make our final plans. We will leave at nightfall to hunt out the Makutas lair, and we will drive him back to the darkness from where he came.”

Nodding, Celestia watched as Luna left the room, followed by Castelian, and finally, the five Toa.

“Try not to die.” She whispered softly, before re-shelving the remaining books left. She had a lot of preparations to do before the delegates arrived.

*** 

Luna threw the doors to the Lunar barracks open and breathed in deeply. She loved everything about her children, their smell, their honour, their combat ability, they made her so proud.

“Your highness.” A lunar guard said, bowing deeply as he approached. “To what do we this honour?”

“Corporal Darkside. Please spread the word. Every member of the Lunar guard are to assemble on the central parade square in ten minutes.” Luna ordered.

“As you command.” Darkside said, bowing deeply, before running out of the room.

“Now you will see my guard.” Luna said proudly, turning to the Toa.

“If they are anything like the Moonlight Wardens, they will be a force indeed.” Nokama said.

“Indeed. My Wardens are the elite, but my guard are the only ones to see any real combat in the last few years.”

“I thought you said you’d been at peace for centuries?” Whenua asked.

“Peace is an odd thing.” Luna smiled. “Manticores and Hydras don’t fight wars, and Changelings like to keep everything secret. More so when they no longer speak.”

With that, Luna turned and followed Darkside, leaving the Toa to follow after them.

***

The five Toa stood on a pulpit next to Luna as the entire Lunar guard paraded in front of them. All in all, there had to be thousands of them, stretching back until even Nuju could only just make out the end.

Eventually, Luna decided that everypony was ready, and stood up, casting her eyes over the guard. They were not amazingly turned out, some wearing their armour, some not wearing anything at all, and some being somewhere in between. That suited Luna just fine. In her mind, forcing her guards to follow strict protocols didn’t do anything except take their minds off the thought of surviving in battle.

One think that the Toa had noticed was the different ponies present. There were the usual Bat Ponies present obviously, but there were others to, unicorns, earth ponies, even Pegasi. Every race of pony imaginable were present there. Luna had explained this as part of an old pact which she didn’t have time to go into.

“Members of the Lunar Guard.” She boomed. “By now, I am sure that have heard that we are preparing for mobilisation. This is not like past mobilisations at squad or platoon level. This mobilisation is everypony, private to lord commander.”

She let this hang in the air for a moment, before continuing on.

“One thousand years ago, the Nightmare, me, led an army of darkness against Equestria. Millions perished at the hooves of the Shadow Ponies that I commanded before I was finally defeated by my sister. Now, as then, Shadow Ponies are appearing across the land, and they have made the first move. Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic, and Vakama, leader of the Toa Metru team, have been captured by the enemy. We will get them back!” She shouted the last bit, getting into full swing of her speech. “We will search the Everfree forest, and route out the lair of the beast! We will persevere, we will endure, and we will push their leader, the Makuta, back into the darkness! Together, we will stand! Divided, we would fall! So today, we are all one! No more are we Earth ponies or Unicorns, Pegasi or Equos Lunar, Alicorn or Toa! This time, we are all Lunar guard! This time, we are all, the Children. of. the Night!”

At the final sentence, she drew her sword, and a flash of light erupted out from her. When it faded, she was no longer clad in her royal ensemble. Instead, she was clad in dark metal armour, complete with an inscribed picture of her cutie mark on the armours flank.


Picture by Larsurus

“Impressive.” Matau murmured, looking out at the cheering guards. 

They were ecstatic at being led by their princess for the first time in living memory. Not only that, but they were to be armoured and armed for war, not a skirmish. Officially, this was the first time they had gone to war since the Minotaur rebellions, eight hundred years ago.

“They will be ready for this.” Luna smiled, turning to the Toa. “What about you five? Are you ready to do what must be done?”

“Always.” Matau affirmed. 

“Then there is just one more thing.” Luna said. “I meant what I said about being one. You are all officially given a place in the Lunar guard, if you would accept. It will help moral seeing you at the forefront of the force, especially…” She trailed off.

“Especially?” Nuju asked.

“If you would wear my symbol.” She finished, beckoning for a group of ponies to come forward. 

On each of the ponies back was a single box, and upon opening them, the Toa saw odd metal plates.

“What are these?” Whenua asked, picking the metal plate up, and examining the symbol of Luna’s cutie mark on it.

“They are chest plates, magically altered so that they will mould to the form of what they are placed upon. With you permission, I would like you to wear them.”

For a moment, the Toa silently contemplated this request. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t as if they really expected Luna to try anything to betray them, but still. Finally, Nokama stepped forward to speak for the whole group.

“Princess Luna. We would be honoured to wear your symbol into battle.” She said, before placing the plate on her chest.

Taking this as a cue, the others placed the plates against their own chests, and they instantly became molten and flowed across their armour, spreading across the whole chest plate, before receding and settling over just the left pectoral, the symbol taking up the entire surface.

“Is this adequate?” Onewa asked, looking down at the symbol.

“It is.” Luna smiled, more raising her hoof towards Nokama, who she reasoned was the acting leader of the team, who gingerly tapped the proffered hoof. 

“Welcome to the Lunar Guard.” 

> The Kanohi Trail
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Toa stood in front of the Everfree Forest, looking at the path that they were about to take. It was wide, wider than the one that they had originally walked when they entered the forest with the mane six.

Behind them, stood Luna, still fully armoured from head to hoof, and her two thin swords sheathed on either side of her body.

“Are we ready?” She asked, looking at the Toa, who turned around to look at her.

“Us?” Onewa asked in amusement. “Listen princess. We were ready to go as soon as we left that temple. We just felt that it wouldn’t be possible to do this one our own.”  

“I am sorry.” Luna apologised.

“What of your sister? Have the delegates arrived yet?” Nokama asked.

“They have.” Luna nodded. “The Griffon king and Diamond Dog Alpha of Alphas have already arrived in Canterlot, and the Minotaur chieftain, Zebra shaman and Changeling queen are nearing the capital. As soon as they all arrive, decisions will be able to be made.”

“Let’s hope they come to terms quickly.” Nokama said wistfully. “If the Makuta really was behind the last assault of the shadow ponies, then this could be devastating if we are unprepared.”

“I agree. But we need to go now regardless.” Nuju said. “Vakama and Twilight are depending on us.”

“Castelian.” Luna called, and instantly, the bat pony was beside her.

“Yes your highness?” He asked, bowing deeply.

“The time is now. Signal the advance.” Luna ordered.

“As you wish.” Castelian smiled, before turning around. “Lunar Guard! Forward march! For Luna! For the Night-time! For Equestria!”

As he bellowed the orders, the assembled members of the roared in return, rising their voices until the very trees in the Everfree Forest shook from the force of the cry.

“Let’s go.” Matau growled, setting off into the forest. 

Instantly, the four other Toa followed their brother, and behind them, the ranks upon ranks of Lunar Guard began to move as well.

“Luna?” Whenua asked, calling the dark Alicorn to his side.

“Yes?” She asked.

“Exactly how many ponies are in your guard?” 

“Three thousand nine hundred and sixty five.” Luna said proudly. “Each one has seen more combat than the entire royal guard together. The worst monsters only come out at night.”

“And the Moonlight Wardens?” Whenua continued.

“There are ten of them. Each one taken from the ranks of the Lunar Guard, and given specialist training. They are told secrets that are kept from the rest of Equestria, and sent on missions that in all likelihood, should result in their deaths, and yet, they always come back smiling.” 

“So what’s his story?” Whenua asked, thumbing at Castelian. “He didn’t want to speak about himself when I asked him.” 

“He has been a member of the Lunar Guard all his life. Joined as soon as he was old enough, and was asked to join the Wardens a year after that. He was the youngest member in the orders history, and arguably, one of the best. I read the files from when I was gone. They were kept underground by my sister for those thousand years, even more than they are now, sent on extreme clandestine missions. After seven years, he was in command of the Moonlight Wardens. A further three years, and he took over from the past captain of the Lunar Guard. He is the first pony since the time of Discord and the Nightmare to hold the rank of Lord Commander. In times of war, he can take command of the entire military, centralising command and making decisions that he deems necessary. Even Celestia and I would not be able countermand him if he took this course of action.”

“So, what about the current situation?” Whenua asked. “Does this…”

“…count as a war?” Luna finished for him. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“On what the leaders of the other nations decide on as a cause of action. If they believe that war is the cause of action to take, then their forces will be included in the joint military. Castelian, if he survives, will be placed in command. Personally, I think he would rather die on this mission to make it succeed, rather than survive and fail. I think the idea of taking command of everything terrifies him.”

“You’re damn right I’m afraid.” Castelian said, walking up on the other side of Whenua. “I signed up as a soldier. I was promoted to lead a squad, then the guard, but the thought of commanding millions of soldiers from the rear…” He trailed off.

“Let’s just make sure we don’t fail, and then you won’t have to worry about duty-taking.” Matau said, dropping back to the trio.  

“Agreed.” Luna smiled. “If we complete our mission here, war will not be needed.”

“Let’s go then.” Castelian growled.

***

The army came to a halt outside of an unfortunately familiar building, deep within the Everfree Forest.

“This is the temple?” Luna asked, looking over the building. “It looks like a Marean temple.”

“That’s what Twilight said. Marean.” Nokama observed.” Who were they?”

“Ancient Equestrians, from before the time of Discord, even before the Windigoes. They were one of the first civilisations to rise in Equestria, making peace with the Romares that owned most of the world at that point. The Romares were warriors, and the Marean’s were builders of great skill.”

“Enough history-learning.” Matau growled. “We need to find Vakama and Twilight, and the only way we can do that is by searching in their again.”

“Agreed.” Nuju said, coming up next to his brother. “Signal the guard to move in.”

Turning on the spot, Matau and Nuju walked towards the steps of the temple, their brothers and sister joining them as they moved. Behind them, Castelian was barking orders, organising the guard into search parties, before sending them after the Toa, who were already halfway up the steps before the first ponies reached the first step.

By the time all the search parties had entered the temple, the Toa had already been inside for half an hour, searching the area that stretched from the mural to the entrance of the temple. Outside, yet more ponies searched the surrounding areas for any sort of clues.

After almost three hours, nopony inside the temple had had any success. The temple wasn’t just bare of evidence, it was bare of anything. Unicorns had scanned for anything they could, searching first for larger organisms, but finding nothing. On a hunch, one of them had searched for microscopic life. Once again, they found nothing. This was when the Toa and Luna knew that something was wrong. There should have been something, even if it was simply bacteria, but there was nothing. It was as if the temple had been swept clean of all life.

“This is bad.” Luna said nervously, addressing the Toa in the entrance way of the temple. 

“In what way?” Nokama asked.

“When the Shadow Ponies walk, they leave dark magic in their wake. Nothing can survive after a march, not even microscopic life. That is what made them so deadly to Equestria. After the war, most of Equestria had been trodden on by Shadow Ponies. The effects didn’t fade for generations, and in that time, nothing could be grown. That is their true power. Not their ability to hide, not their ability to multiply quickly, but what comes after the assault.” Luna said, scowling at the memory. 

“Then shouldn’t we be able to find the dead ground and follow it?” Onewa asked.

“Unfortunately not.” Luna frowned. “A trait is to be able to become one with my shadows. They can move freely if they choose, but they cannot attack, and they cannot pass through magic. That is all that allowed my sister to win the war, and what allowed Equestria to survive for so long, but then they can just fall back on numbers and swarm again.”  

“So we have nothing?” Matau growled.

“My queen!” A guard shouted, rushing up the stairs, and revealing herself to be one of the few unicorns of the Lunar Guard. “Toa warriors.” He said quickly, catching sight of the five Toa and bowing deeply.

“What is it Lieutenant?” Luna asked, looking at the pony.

“Squad Alfalfa Saddle has reported a strange object in the forest. I ordered it not to be moved in case it damaged the object, or made us lose some other significance.” She reported.

“Show us.” Luna said urgently.

Instantly, the guard turned and ran out of the temple, cantering down the steps, as Luna and the Toa followed. Hitting the ground, they set off towards a group of ten ponies, skidding to a halt just next to them.

“Well?” Luna asked.

“This.” The lieutenant pointed, indicating a small object almost hidden completely in the grass.

“What is it?” Luna asked, looking at the object, before turning to the Toa.

“It…Vakama’s.” Matau said, bending down and picking up the small object. “It’s something he was working on. A mask or something. I think he planned on giving it to you as a cultural gift.”

“But if it is here…” Luna began. 

“Then Vakama must have dropped it.” Nuju finished with a smile.

“They went this way then?” The Lieutenant asked.

“That is what it looks like.” Luna smiled, before raising her voice. “Castelian! Form them up and get them moving!”

Grinning, Luna looked at the Toa, who grinned back. With a silent nod, they set off at a run, sprinting into the undergrowth as the thunder of hooves signalled the Lunar Guard following suite.

*** 

The Toa and Luna skidded to a halt after running nonstop for twenty minutes, looking at a second building in the forests. This building had similarities to the first one, but was also different in many others. For starters, it was smaller than the first one, and was also lower, having the entrance on ground level. 

“Do you suppose that Vakama and Twilight are in there?” Luna asked.

“Yes.” Nuju said, crouching down and looking at the dirt.

“I can’t see anything.” Nokama pointed out.

“The marks in the dirt.” He said, indicating a few scrapes in the dirt. “Something was dropped here, and was picked up, before the imprint was scrubbed out.”

“How do you know it wasn’t simply an animal covering its tracks?” Luna asked. “A manticore, or a hydra maybe.”

“Animals wouldn’t be this thorough. The dirt has been smoothed over and cleared for at least ten meters. Unless the object was that large, this was a sentient being, and it was over zealous in cleaning up after itself.”

“So it made more of a mess by trying to clean up?” Matau asked.

“Essentially, yes.” Nuju nodded, before standing up again. “They are here, or at least, they have been through here. We should search this building.”

“I agree.” Castelian nodded.

While Castelian turned to assemble the guard, Luna and the Toa walked towards the two massive doors that guarded the entrance to the building. They were easily as high as the building was, and was almost as wide, being large enough for fifty ponies to comfortably walk through shoulder to shoulder.

“How should we go about opening them?” Onewa asked. 

“I could make a hole, but it wouldn’t be big.” Whenua said, drawing his weapons.

“Luna? What do you think?” Nokama asked. When she received no answer, she turned to face the Alicorn princess, only to find her with closed eyes and a faint glow around her horn. “Luna?”

“Move back.” She growled softly.

The Toa looked at each other uneasily for a moment, before they moved slowly behind Luna, watching as she prepared for whatever she was about to do.

Luna grunted once, before her eyes went wide, and she threw her head back, her horn glowing brighter than the sun, and being shrouded a silvery light. Instantly, the doors were surrounded in the same silvery light, and with a screech of stone on stone, the doors began to slide open, swinging outwards towards the Toa and the Lunar Guard.

Groaning from the effort of the spell, Luna turned and smiled weakly at the Toa.

“The door, is open.” She said softly.

“That was impressive.” Whenua smiled. 

“One of the benefits of being an Alicorn.” She smiled, before turning back to look inside the building.

All that was within the building was a deep hole, a steep staircase leading down, the dim light of the moon not reaching all the way down to the bottom, which was shrouded in shadows.

“Are we going down there?” Onewa asked.

“Could Vakama or Twilight be there?” Matau asked.

“It is possible.” Nuju nodded.

“Then of course we’re going down there.” Matau growled, before walking towards the temple, placing his foot on the first step, before beginning his descent into the darkness.

Without a word, the Toa followed, followed swiftly by the Lunar Guard.

***

Eventually, after walking through an area where even Whenua’s mask had trouble lighting, the six Toa reached the bottom of the staircase, and emerged into a dark, cavernous room. In short order, the guard began to reach the bottom of the stairs as well, and the Toa moved forwards to allow them to fit in to the room. Luna walked up to stand in line with the five Toa, their sigils glinting softly in the dim light cast by the torches secured to the wall. Behind them, the Moonlight Wardens formed up, as Castelian approached Luna.

Looking around, Nokama took in every aspect of the room. It was massive, that much was instantly obvious by the fact that the entire Lunar Guard was within it, and they did not even occupy a quarter of it. All around the room were large doors, all of which were barred shut, and Nokama briefly wondered where they lead. 

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Castelian said, shifting his weight from one set of hooves to another, though whether this was due to nerves or anticipation was unclear.

“And why would you say that?” A voice echoed around the room. It was a deep, female voice, punctuated by an undertone that no one present could quite make sense of.

“Who’s there?” Nokama asked, nervously reaching for her weapons.

“Oh Nokama. So swift to forget?” A new voice continued, this one being male, and holding a different undertone, one that sounded like immense sorrow. It was one of the saddest sounds Luna had ever heard, and she nervously tightened her magical grip on her sword hilts. “We’ve met before, you and I.”

“Makuta?” Matau snarled, clenching his hands into tight fists.

“No.” The male voice said, and suddenly, the torches at the end of the room that had previously been empty sprang to life, flames flickering within the sconces, revealing the outlines of two figures at the end of the room, one biped, and one pony.

“Vakama?” Matau shouted.

“Twilight?” Luna shouted in unison.

The pair began to move forward, but were restrained by Nokama and Castelian respectively.

“Something isn’t right.” Nokama said.

“Agreed.” Castelian nodded.

“Well look who has the brains after all.” The female voice spoke, as the pony figure began to move forward.

“Not Matau.” The male voice sneered, as the biped followed the pony.

The pair continued to walk forward, their features remaining hidden, until suddenly, they stepped into a pool of light being cast by one of the torches.

The Toa, Luna, and the entire Lunar Guard gasped in shock, and a tiny part of fear, as the two figures revealed themselves properly.

The first, the pony, had mottled, near grey, purple fur, divided into small patches by large scars and cracks that slowly oozed blood. Every time she moved, the cracks that managed to healer-opened, spilling out more trickles of blood. On her body rested tattered looking black armour, and a helmet rested upon her head, covering her mane, but somehow managing to accentuate her eyes. Her glowing, green eyes.

The other figure on the other hand, was the complete opposite. While the pony looked like she was in pain just from the act of moving, she was still clearly a Unicorn. The biped on the other hand, was clearly a Toa, but he didn’t look anything like the Vakama that Luna or the others remembered. His chest was near identical to how it looked before, the only difference being a vicious looking burn mark right in the centre of it. That was where the similarities ended however.

His legs were no longer facing the right way, and it looked like a child had simply twisted it round at the waist, resulting in back hinged legs that were as dark as the shadows that seemed to flow around it. On one of its arms, it sported a large pincer type thing, and Luna could see a small flame flickering within it, while the other arm ended in a tightly clenched fist. The worst part however, was his mask. The once clean and pristine face had been warped and twisted on the right side, as if it had been held in a fire for too long, while the other side, looked like the mask of a Hordika. A grimace was fixed upon the mask, while the eyes set deep within were flicking from Toa to Toa to Alicorn to Bat-Pony.

“V-Vakama?” Luna asked, taking a tentative step forward. “Twilight?”

“They’re not here anymore.” The creature that was once Twilight snarled.

“We’ve been expecting you though.” The not-Vakama chuckled darkly. “The guard are an added bonus.”

“We’re here to save you brother.” Matau said, pushing past Luna and running towards the two figures, aiming to grab hold of Vakama and drag him back to the others.

“How can you save us, when you can’t even save yourself?” Twilight asked, a menacing tone slipping into her pain wracked voice.

Just before Matau reached Vakama, he realised his mistake. These two weren’t just physically changed, their minds had been altered as well. 

As this thought went through his head, Vakama twisted on one foot, bringing his other foot right up into Matau’s chest, and sending him skidding back across the floor towards the others.

“Now.” Twilight growled, lowering her body to the floor.

As soon as she uttered that one word, a massive slab of stone crashed down behind the ranks of Lunar Guard, blocking off the stairs to the surface, and their means of escape. 

At the same time, the bars that had previously been holding the doors around the room closed slid back into moorings on the wall, and the doors swung open with ominous creaks.

Although Luna could not see anything beyond the doors, she could feel something. It was something she had not felt for one thousand years, and she had hoped not to feel it for another thousand years from now.

The not-Vakama creature dropped to all fours and raised its head to the high ceiling, before opening its mouth, and roaring. It was a deep, primal roar, and slowly, it was taken up by thousands of other throats. 

Luna suddenly realised exactly how much trouble she and her guard had walked into, as thousands of Shadow Ponies poured into the room, and charged straight at the ranks of Lunar Guard, the Toa, and Luna.

Finishing his roar, Vakama sprinted forward, being joined by Twilight, who had drawn or conjured a long scythe. The pair ran, over taking the Shadow Ponies, their eyes fixed on the ponies in front of them.

Luna barely had time to draw her weapons, before the wave of Shadow Ponies washed over her, crashing into the guard behind, as battle was joined all across the room. 

> Fighting the Tide
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna grunted as a Shadow Pony jumped at her, long teeth arcing towards her neck. Raising her sword, she slapped the creature away with the flat of the blade, sending it flipping across the massive cavern. Within a second though, another three ponies were already jumping towards her.

As Luna began to lash out at the creatures, trying to limit her blows to non-lethal ones, the rest of the Lunar Guard were having troubles of their own. The Shadow Ponies were everywhere, snapping at the guards, and quickly overwhelming and surrounding the front line of troops, dragging some of them down, and literally tearing them apart.

The Toa were also directly involved in combat, fighting back to back in front of the guard. Unfortunately though, they were about to have a much bigger problem, as a massive shape suddenly barrelled into the middle of them, knocking Nuju off his feet, even as the Shadow Ponies cleared a circle around the groups, not directly attacking, but cutting the Toa off from any support.

“Brothers.” The not-Vakama growled, scowling at the Toa as they moved back together, helping Nuju back to his feet.

“Vakama.” Nokama said, readying her weapons nervously. “Snap out of it.”

“I don’t think so.” Vakama grinned, before flexing his claw hand, a gout of flame erupting from it, and forming a small blade.

“Agreed.” The not-Twilight laughed, moving through the ranks of Shadow Ponies, who moved aside at her presence. She didn’t even look at them, as if somehow they were beneath her.

“Oh…Twilight.” Whenua groaned. “Please…”

He didn’t get any further, as a blast of magic drove him to his knees. At the same time, Vakama sprinted forward, readying his blade, and bringing it down towards Matau. The green Toa only just managed to raise his swords into an X shape, before the fire blade crashed down. Before Matau could react, Nokama was by his side, swinging weapon at Vakamas side. Before it could impact though, Vakama disappeared, reappearing behind Nokama and bringing his foot into the small of her back, and knocking her to the floor. From the side, Twilight grinned manically as her horn faded again.

Onewa bellowed, and charged forward, even as Matau and Vakama clashed again. Whenua was instantly by his sister’s side, helping her to her feet, while Nuju attempted to break out of the cordon that the Shadow Ponies had kept out.

“Luna!” Nuju yelled, pushing a pony down, but being confronted by two more. 

“Nuju?!” She called back, dealing with her own problems. “What is…”

Luna suddenly screamed, as a Shadow Pony sank its teeth into her back, ripping a chunk off, and leaving a bloody hole just in front of her cutie mark. Collapsing to the floor, Luna was lost beneath the swirling sea of Shadows.

“PRINCESS!!” Castelian screamed, lashing out at a creature in front of him. 

Around him, the Moonlight Wardens were having similar success, repulsing ponies, and forming a small circle. With a wordless command, they began to move through the pulsating ponies, lashing out as they moved.

“Luna?!” castelian shouted, kicking a ponies legs from under it, while scanning the area for the princess of the Night.

“Sir!” One of the Wardens called, plunging beneath the surface and grabbing hold of something. 

Instantly, Castelian dived after the pony, grabbing hold of Luna, and dragging her back to the surface.

“Circle!” He yelled, before turning back to Luna.

She was in a bad way, that much was instantly obvious. Both her flanks were bloody messes, her cutie mark had been completely ripped off of the left side, and was dangling on by a few tendons of muscle and flesh. What was though, was her right wing, or rather, what was left of it. About half of the wing was missing, having been torn straight off. Over the rest of her body, scars and gashes were oozing blood, but even as Castelian watched, they began to stop bleeding, slowly scabbing over before his eyes. 

“Benefit…Alicorn.” Luna groaned, only just holding onto her consciousness.

“Just, stay quite.” Castelian said, looking around frantically, but he was talking to a pony who could no longer listen, as the princess of the night slipped into unconsciousness.

Looking down at the princess, Castelian’s heart ceased in his chest, before he finally got to his sense, and saw the rise and fall of her chest. Getting to his feet, he looked around, past the cordons that the Moonlight Wardens, and towards the scattered and broken ranks of Lunar Guard. They were holding, if only just, but he could already see that lots of guards had fallen, and every time they knocked a Shadow Pony down, it simply got back up. Making a decision, he raised his voice, shouting over the din of the battle.

“Lunar Guard! Weapons free! Repeat, weapons free! The Shadow Ponies are now to be engaged with deadly force!”

Leading by example, he moved forward, stabbing his sword through a Shadow Ponies mouth, before tearing upwards through the rest of its head.

“Wardens! Protect Luna with your lives!” He ordered, and instantly, the Wardens moved backwards, forming a much tighter circle around the fallen princess of the night.

In the ranks of the Lunar Guard, the balance of power shifted for the first time. Now that they were engaging enemies with the intent to kill, they were able to clear themselves a little bit of room, as the Shadows were taken by surprise at the ferocity of the new attacks.

Unfortunately though, the Shadows were tenacious foes, and quickly recovered from their initial shock, charging back towards the battle lines, teeth bared, and the few weapons that they had, glinting in the half light. 

The Shadow Ponies were not like any opponents the Lunar Guard had ever faced. Manticores and Hydras were mindless beasts, and the Changelings had been controlled by one mind, and even then they hadn’t had to kill as much as they had repulsed attacks and taken prisoners. The Shadow Ponies were different though. They were vicious, and they were cunning, acting in packs to take out isolated pockets of guards. Soon, the Lunar Guards were on the defensive once again, being forced back towards the closed door to the stairs. The only part of the guard who wasn’t being overwhelmed, were the Toa, and the Moonlight Wardens.

The five Toa were still surrounded by the Shadow Ponies, Nuju having given up trying to break out of the circle, as even when he had made a large enough hole to get through, it was filled almost instantly once again. Turning his back on the static ponies, Nuju stared at his brothers and sister, as they tried to hit Vakama or Twilight.

Every time it looked like one of them was going to hit Vakama, Twilights horn flared, and he disappeared, reappearing a split second later and lashing out at someone else, bringing them to the ground, before moving on. Twilight on the other hand, was simply untouchable, surrounding herself in a shield when Onewa tried to hit her, and firing a burst of energy at a wall of rock that Whenua erected in front of her.

All in all, the Toa were barely holding the attack off. Their armour was scratched, and Nokamas mask had been badly damaged, the right eye having a massive scar going diagonally across it. The symbols that they wore on their armour were also mostly gone, having been melted off their body when Vakama had hit them, or had fired a disk at them, knocking them clean off their feet. It was only by dumb luck that nothing worse had happened.

Yelling, Matau sprinted forwards again, bringing one sword up, which Vakama quickly blocked, before he rolled back to avoid Matau’s next strike. Matau suddenly jumped up, spinning around and delivering a kick to Vakamas mask, landing the first telling hit on the Toa.

Vakama grunted as he was powered backwards, before he predictable disappeared, reappearing behind Twilight. He was panting hard, as the two groups faced each other again.

“You’ve gotten sloppy Matau.” Vakama panted, staring at the green Toa. “I think that’s your first hit.”

“Magic is hax.” Matau growled, circling around, as the others began to do the same thing.

“Isn’t it though?” Twilight asked. “To bad that you are powerless to help your pony friends. How long do you think the ponies can hold out?”

“Why are you doing this?” Nokama asked, looking at the pair.

“Why else. Fun.” Vakama grinned. It was not a happy grin.

“That, and it is only one way to assure harmony.” Twilight added.

“What?!” Onewa roared. “Harmony? Have you seen what you are doing here? The death you’re causing?”

“Your friends are just as much to blame.” Vakama spat. “Once the world is ruled by Shadows, there will be peace.”

“No.” Matau growled, diving forward again. On either side him, Onewa and Whenua dived forward as well, intent on bringing the fight to Vakama again.

Vakama growled, before running forward to meet his brothers again.

“Just give up.” Vakama laughed, delivering a punch to Matau’s face that would shatter pony bones, before being teleported behind Whenua and bringing his sword down. Only a quick strike from Onewa protected the black Toa, but by that point, Vakama had already been teleported again.

Far across the room, Castelian was still pushing back against the Shadow Ponies. He and the rest of the Wardens were holding steady, but he didn’t know how long he would be able to hold for. Glancing over, he balked at the sight that greeted him. The lines of Lunar Guard had been completely broken up, with ponies and squads fighting individual battles, and more often than not, being overrun and ripped apart. He could see bits of ponies being thrown across the room, and just a little bit of him died inside. He had seen ponies die under his command before, but not on this scale. From what he could see, they had already lost. They just went going to give up.

“Sir?!” Yelled one of the wardens, his face covered in blood from where he had been forced to use his teeth as a replacement weapon. “Orders?!”

“I…I don’t know!” Castelian admitted, stabbing with his own spear, and imbedding it in a pony’s chest. Before he could pull it out though, the pony was pushed to the floor by its comrades, and the spear was twisted from Castelian’s grip.

Vakama howled in anger as Onewa caught him with his weapon, knocking him to the floor. Instantly, the Shadow Ponies moved forward, surrounding Vakama and cutting him off from the others. At this unspoken signal, more ponies did the same around Twilight, leaving the five Toa alone. Slowly, the Shadow Ponies parted, forming a corridor between the Wardens and the Toa. Quickly, the Toa rushed over to the fallen form of Luna, joining the Wardens in defending the princess.

Without a word, the ponies began to retreat, moving back into perfect ranks behind Vakama and Twilight, some fifty meters away from Luna, the Toas and the Wardens. Looking around, Castelian saw the aftermath of the battle, and his heart dropped. 

All over the floor were dead ponies, or bits, of ponies. A few were still standing, and they slowly limped towards the group, adding to the defence. 

The Lunar Guard had entered the room with almost four thousand ponies. Now, there were twenty six of them, and of those survivors, only eleven of them were in any condition to fight. If the Shadows decided to attack again…well, this could be the end of the Lunar Guard.

Panting hard, Castelian moved up beside Nokama, and glared across the no-man’s land that had been created, fixing Vakama and Twilight with a look that could melt rock.

Vakama let out his own growl, before stepping forward.

This was it.

> Ready for the End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vakama looked at the survivors of the battle, with something akin to disappointment on his face. Beside him, Twilight was busy mouthing something under her breath, and it took a moment for Nokama to realise that she was counting.

Finally, Vakama addressed the group.

“Brothers. Sister. Ponies of Equestria. You have fought well. Not as well as I would have liked…” He trailed off, before Twilight stepped forward.

“You have managed to kill Four thousand and two of our forces, at the cost of three thousand nine hundred and thirty nine of your own.” She informed.

“Pathetic.” Vakama muttered, before speaking louder. “But the Makuta was clear on this point. You are to live, if you all accept his offer. Join him, and lead his army across the land. The elements of harmony are already useless, as are your precious Toa powers. If the Shadow Ponies attack Equestria, their numbers will grow, until even your precious alliance will not stop them. Live or die. It’s up to you.”

Gently pushing past Nokama, Matau moved forward, walking towards Vakama, and stopping ten meters away from him.

“Do you really think we’ll join you?” He asked incredulously. “Don’t you remember the last time this happened brother?”

“I do.” Vakama nodded. “I remember being too weak to stick to my convictions.”

“Your convictions?!” Onewa shouted. “Your duty is to save the Matoran, not to enslave them! The Makuta is the one we need to save them from, not give them to!”

“Oh how little you know.” Vakama said sadly. “The Makuta is the only way to truly save the Matoran. They are divided, the districts, all have rivalry with each other. When problems strike, they don’t always work together. Isn’t this what harmony is really about? Working together at all times? The Makuta will be a leader to all the Matoran, and all the creatures of this world. Tell me, is that not better?”

“No.” Nokama insisted, walking up beside her brothers. “Being forced to submit is not harmony, its slavery.”

“We are all slaves to something.” Twilight mused. “The pair of us to the Makuta, you to your convictions. Slavery is a part of life.”

“Run back to your friend.” Onewa growled. “We’re no…”

Vakama suddenly cut him off, yelling at Onewa.

“He is not our friend!” Don’t ever say that!”

Onewa was momentarily stunned by the sheer ferocity of his brother.

“He is our master.” Twilight growled from behind Vakama. “Never, our friend.”

“If you hate him so much, then help us beat him.” Nuju begged.

“I can’t.” Vakama admitted, and for a moment, the Toa saw a chink appear in Vakama’s armour, before it disappeared again.

“He owns us.” Twilight agreed.

“Let us help you.” Whenua insisted, standing next to his brothers and sister.

“Vakama. Please.” Matau said, his voice hollow, as he put a hand out towards his brother. For a moment, Vakama looked as if he was going to take it, and that he wanted to take it, before his face steeled again.

“Am I to take it, that you will not be accepting my master’s offer?” Vakama growled, losing himself to whatever the Makuta had done to him again.

“Never.” Matau said simply, stepping back with the other Toa, until they were with the survivors. This would be the last fight if something didn’t happen now.

“Whenua.” Nokama whispered. “When they attack, you and I will get to the rock across the door. Make us an exit.”

“Will do.” Whenua whispered back.

“Then I am sorry for this.” Vakama said, and he did actually sound genuinely sad. 

“Kill them.” Twilight said, her own voice completely devoid of emotion.

Instantly, the Shadow ponies surged forward, pushing past Vakama and Twilight to get at the survivors.

“Whenua!” Nokama yelled, sprinting away from the advancing ponies towards the door. 

“Way ahead of you sister.” He grunted, reaching the door first, his mask glowing as he looked over the stone. “It’s going to take time.” 

“Just do it. I will protect you.” Nokama said, readying her weapons.

As she said that, Whenua readied his earthshock drills, before attacking the walls with vigour.

Behind him, the Toa and the remaining members of the Lunar Guard had already formed a circle of defence around the stirring form of Luna. Weapons had been retrieved from the fallen, and they were as ready as they would ever be.

And it still wasn’t as good as it should have been. The Shadow Ponies crashed into the remaining ponies. Teeth flashed through the dim light, and were caught by Lunar steel, before hooves lashed out and impacted with armour plates.

“Don’t hold back!” Castelian roared, smashing his head into a Shadow pony’s chest, before stabbing a sword through its open mouth, dragging it out before it could get stuck.

“Argggh!” A pony screamed, as a Shadow Pony sunk its teeth into his neck.

With an amazing feat of strength, the Shadow Pony hauled its head back, and bodily tossed the unfortunate guard into the seething sea of Shadow Ponies. Even over the sounds of battle, the Toa could still hear his screams. They were not over quickly.

“Enough!!” Twilight suddenly yelled, appearing in the middle of the group and emitting a massive pulse of magic outwards, scattering the group.

The Shadow Ponies began to advance on the individual ponies, but Twilight stopped them.

“They. Are. Mine!” She growled. 

Slowly, she walked towards a pair of Lunar Guardsponies as they struggled to get to their hooves. As they saw her getting closer, the first one roared, and charged towards her, sword brandished in the mare’s mouth.

She never even got close.

When she was a few steps away, Twilights horn flared, and the pony was enveloped in the magical field. She struggled in vain, but it was like trying to beat back the tide with a cocktail stick.

As quickly as the attack had begun, it was over. The magical field expanded outwards, the ponies limbs still anchored within it. With a scream, the pony was ripped apart, the blood being suspended by the field for a split second, before she released the field, and the blood came crashing down, washing over her, and covering her in the pony’s life fluid.

“Who’s next?” She growled, even as the others gawked at her in fear and disbelief.

It seemed that after this, the Shadow Ponies could no longer rein in their own bloodlust, and surged forward again, washing over the guard that Twilight had been about to kill, and tearing into him.

“No!” She screamed, and her magic flared again, this time however, it was not aimed at the Lunar Guardsponies, or even the Toa, but at the Shadow Ponies themselves. She began lifting groups of them off the ground, hurling them across the room, or tearing them apart. The remaining Lunar Guard and the Toa had not time to watch the macabre spectacle, as the Shadow Ponies attacked again.

“Nokama?!” Nuju shouted, pushing the pony away, before shooting a blast of ice outwards. Predictably though, Twilights horn flared, and the ice simply disappeared, like it had every time the Toa had tried to use their elemental powers. Yet another thing that Vakama had sold them out on, willingly or not.

“Whenua’s almost through!” She yelled back, pushing back another pony, before jumping and catching another pony with her foot.

“One minute!” He screamed.

As he said that, he managed to create a tiny hole, and a blinding beam of light streamed through. Momentarily blinded, Whenua placed his eye up to the newly created hole when the light faded slightly, curious as to where the light had come from, considering the fact that they were deep underground.

His eyes went wide as he saw what was on the other side.

“Get down!” He screamed, diving away from the door and covering his head.

A moment later, the rock exploded towards them, shredding Shadow Ponies, and peppering Nokama and Whenua with small fragments as they lay on the floor, beneath the worst of it.

As the dust settled, Whenua looked up, and saw a massive bipedal creature standing in the doorway.

A moment later, the creature roared.

“Skrall is here! Make peace with your false Gods, for you shall be meeting them soon!”

Behind the creature, a roar could easily be heard, and the creature sprinted forwards, jumping over the last bits of rubble.

“Minotaur’s!” Castelian cheered, pushing a pony that was trying to rip his throat out away.

The Minotaur, who had identified himself as Skrall, charged past Nokama and Whenua, who were just getting to their feet, brandishing a massive axe, and garbed from head to toe in dark steel armour. Behind him were more Minotaur’s, slightly smaller than Skrall, but still towering over the Toa, and brandishing various crude, wicked weapons.

The Minotaur’s smashed into the Shadow Ponies, simply crushing the first few ranks with their mass, before beginning to hack at the lines of creatures, cleaving heads from bodies in a single sweep.

Quickly, the stream of Minotaur’s thinned out, and other creatures climbed through the hole. First, came large creatures, that looked like big ponies, and instantly, a pair of horses split off from the group and moved over to one of the Lunar Guard on the floor, setting to work on his injuries.

Next, came a sight that made Nokama’s heart leap. 

“Celestia!” She shouted, moving over to the Solar Princess. 

“Nokama. Where is my sister?” She asked urgently. 

“The Moonlight Wardens are protecting her. She’s in a bad way though.” Whenua grunted, getting to his feet.

“Badly? How?” She asked.

“She’s alive. Right now we need to win this battle.” Whenua growled, before he turned, and ran back over to his brothers, who, bolstered by the appearance of reinforcements had pushed back into the ranks of Shadow Ponies.

Nodding in agreement, Celestia ran after Nokama and Whenua, joining the other Toa on the right flank. Following their princess, the newly arrived Equestrian army, led by the Royal Guard, clashed with the Shadow Ponies, pushing deep into their lines, while the Minotaur’s and Saddle Arabians pushed down the left side. That left the remaining army to push down the middle, spearheaded by scores of Griffons.

Slowly but surely, the alliance forces began to advance across the room. Any injured were instantly pulled backwards, and brought towards the hole in the door, and presumably taken back to the surface. Celestia just caught sight of her sister being borne aloft by the remaining twelve members of her guard, before she tore her eyes away from them, and focused on the battle.

“Vakama!” Matau yelled, catching sight of his brother, who turned from the Griffon he was in the middle of attacking, just in time to see Matau diving towards him, spear tackling him to the ground. 

Recovering quickly, Vakama rolled with the blow, kicking out at Matau, and using the new momentum to slide across the floor, before spinning and springing to his feet.

Quickly, the other Toa surrounded Matau, as Vakama called Twilight to his side, the mare’s armour being dented and covered in blood, but her manic grin still fixed on her face.

“Twilight?” Celestia gasped, tears flooding into her eyes at the sight of the blood stained pony she knew as her student.

“Celestia.” Twilight growled. “Why do you have to ruin everything?!”

“You are not yourself Twi…” She began, before Vakama roared, and charged forward. Instantly, Twilight was focusing all her attention on the Toa, protecting him from blows, and teleporting him to allow him to get in more blows of his own.

“We need Twilight out of the way.” Grunted Matau, as his strike connected with thin air, as Vakama disappeared yet again.

“Leave it to me.” Celestia said softly, before her own horn lit up, surrounding herself and Twilight in a golden glow, before they both disappeared, reappearing in an empty space right at the end of the room, far away from the battle.

“Trying to get me alone Celestia?” Twilight growled, slowly circling the Alicorn princess.

“Twilight. I know you are in there. Fight it, please.” Celestia begged.

“To much talk.” Twilight growled, before launching a beam of purple magic towards Celestia.

Celestia spread her wings and took to the air, as she avoided the blast, before shooting a golden beam of pure energy at Twilight. Twilight did not waste a second, bringing up her magic as she erected a purple barrier around herself. Despite the advantages that Twilight had gained from whatever the Makuta had done to her, Celestia’s raw power began to crack Twilight’s barrier, which had turned a blazing white as Celestia’s solar beam strengthened.

The purple bubble shattered, and thanks to her reflexes, Twilight narrowly dodged the beam as it smashed the floor beneath her. Celestia had begun to aim for her next attack, but as she expected, Twilight vanished in a flash of magic. Celestia looked around, doing her best to locate the monster that had replaced her student as her wings kept her aloft. Or, at least, until she felt a piercing pain in one of them.

Twilight had expected that Celestia would easily break her shield. After observing the hottest spot on her barrier, she evaded the attack and teleported behind an obstacle, hiding herself from her view as she charged and aimed her own magical attack. Striking Celestia’s wings, Twilight seized the opportunity as she fell and charged another attack, calculating the princesses falling trajectory to determine where to fire.

Celestia flapped her wings in an attempt to slow down her fall, but another beam of magic struck her in the back before she regained balance, the force of impact sending the princess flying like a bullet until she crashed into the ground, as ice formed around her, pinning her to the floor.

Twilight allowed herself a smile as she looked at the fallen princess, before regretting the lapse in concentration, as mere moments later, a massive boulder, shining in brilliant gold, smashed her into the ground.

Celestia’s mane burst into flames, and the ice around her melted into a puddle at her hooves. She slowly walked towards her student, keeping her pinned to the ground with the boulder.

“Twilight. You will stop this now!” She screamed, attempting to get through to her student once more.

Instead of answering, Twilight lit her horn and disappeared in a flash, the stone crushing her now crashing down into the empty space that she vacated. Celestia turned, predicting that Twilight would teleport behind her, but this knowledge proved useless as a purple beam of magic hit her straight in the chest, sending her crashing against the very same rock she had used just moments before to pin Twilight to the floor.

Celestia opened her eyes, leaning against the stone with Twilight standing in front of her on trembling hooves. Celestia could see anger in her eyes, but it was not the Twilight that she had known, this was a monster, and Celestia had to fight her as a monster, not as her student. Twilight growled as her horn flared into life again.

Celestia lit her own horn to create a barrier around herself, but the moment before she could cast the spell, she was jerked closer to Twilight by a purple aura. The moment the barrier finally went up, she had trapped herself with her opponent.

Twilight did not give her mentor any moment to breathe. She turned around and kicked her mentor with her two hind-legs, sending her flying into her own barrier.

Twilight was about to kick her mentor into the wall again, but Celestia quickly redirected her magic from the barrier and caused her luminescent mane to burst into flames the moment Twilight’s hooves where about to make contact with it, forcing Twilight to jump away with a few burn-marks on her hooves, mixing with the others scars that covered her body. As the temperature around Celestia rose, Twilight focused her magic onto the stone behind Celestia and trapped her under it instead of attacking her directly, once again disrupting her mentor’s concentration.

With a scream, Celestia pushed her magic outwards, destroying the rock and showering the area with tiny pebbles.

Momentarily stunned, Twilight was unable to respond when Celestia’s telekinetic grab took hold of her and she was thrown at sonic speeds towards the nearest wall.

Twilight impacted with the wall with a loud crack, smashing a small crater into it, and sticking there. When she tried to pull herself out, a golden aura surrounded her, and slammed her back into the wall.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia roared, bearing down on her. “You will listen to me! You are stronger than this creature, and you can break through! You must, or you cannot be saved.”

For a moment, Twilight struggled in vain against the magic that was holding her in the wall, before falling limp. Softly, she started speaking, each word punctuated by untold amounts of pain.

“Pr...princess.” She said, barely above a whisper. 

“I’m here Twilight.” Celestia said, tears filling her eyes as she recognised her actual student, not the monster that inhabited her body.

“kill…me. Please.” She whispered, coughing up blood as she spoke.

“Never.” Celestia growled, her horn lighting up. “Keep fighting Twilight. You are stronger than it is, and we need you. Your friends need you. Vakama needs you, but you must be strong. Weaken the creature, and I can help you beat it back.

“I…can’t.” She whispered.

“Damn it Twilight!” Celestia sobbed. “We need you. Your element is the only thing that can purge Vakama!”

“Can’t…fight it. To…strong.” Twilight insisted. “But…”

“Yes?!” Celestia asked, getting closer to Twilight to hear what she had to say.

“Can…transfer…element. Let somepony…else…use it.” She said weakly.

“That’s not possible!” Celestia said quickly, but racking her brains for a reason why she knew that.

“Not…impossible. Just…hard.” Twilight said. “Please…quickly. It’s fighting…me.”

“Give me the element then.” Celestia said quickly.

“Can’t. No…past bearer. Of any element.” Twilight groaned. “Any unicorn. But…can’t be you…or Luna.”

Processing this new information, Celestia horn glowed lighter, and she opened a mental link with the only pony who she could think of.

“Shining Armour. Get to the rear of the battle now. And bring the elements.”

“What? I can’t get there right now.” He mentally shot back. “And I am not bringing the element bearers into this fight.”

“Your sister’s life depends on it.” Celestia said simply.

The result was instantaneous, and a flash of blue light lit up the room. A split second later, a second flash erupted from the far end of the room, and Shining Armour appeared, flanked by the five elements of harmony.

Instantly, Shining Armour began to run towards his sister, but was held back by Celestia. 

“Careful. She is fighting something, don’t get to close.” Celestia warned.

“That’s my baby sister!” Shining roared.

“Right now she is half your baby sister and half a unicorn who rivals me in power.” Celestia snapped back. “Only the elements of harmony can break the spell, and she holds one of them.”

“Then what are you going to do?!” Shining screeched.

“I can’t do anything, but Twilight says she can.” Celestia explained, before turning and speaking directly to Twilight. “Here’s the Unicorn Twilight. Be careful. Please.”

Twilight glanced up, and her one eye that didn’t look dead fixed on her brother, before she grabbed him in her magic. Fluttershy squeaked as Shining was lifted into the air, and tried to pull him down, but Celestia held her down, releasing Twilight, and praying that she was strong enough to do this.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight felt deep into her body and there at the centre, she could feel a warmth. A warmth that reminded her of finishing a good book or making a magical discovery or getting that A* on a test. A warmth reminiscent of Princess Celestia.

Drawing it out, the Element of Magic shone before her eyes, a perfect copy of her own tiara, except in brilliant white rather than gold and purple. With a parting kiss on the pseudo-gem, she floated it down to lie on her brother’s chest, making sure to magically chain the two together, before pushing the magic into her brother.

Shining Armour screamed in pain as the magic coursed through his body, and for a moment, Celestia thought that the monster had broken through, and sabotaged whatever Twilight had been trying to do, and she picked the creature up again, pushing it back against the wall. It didn’t even groan, seemingly focusing solely on breathing. Her anger was curbed however, when a bright light surrounded Shining Armour, and he fell to the floor.

He slowly pushed himself up, getting shakily to his hooves, and holding his head, feeling whatever was now atop it, before pulling it off and holding it in his hooves, staring at it dumbly.

It was a crown, not a tiara like the element of harmony had been when Twilight wore it, but a full blown crown. The only thing that marked it as the element of magic was the gem on top of it, which was still a perfect replica of Twilights Cutie Mark.

“What?” He asked dumbly.

“She did it.” Celestia whispered, as shocked as Shining Armour, before coming to her senses, and shouting suddenly. “Quickly! Use the elements to get help Twilight!”

“I don’t know how!” Shining Armour screamed. “It’s still got her mark on it, not mine!”

“That’s because you haven’t managed to activate it yet.” Celestia said softly. “Girls. Help him.”

"Just reach inside yourself Sugarcube," said Applejack.

"It feels warm like... like... a cute cuddly kitty in your hooves on a winter's night," offered Fluttershy.

"It's calming and soothing and lets you focus on anything you desire," added Rarity. "We know you can do it dear."

Shining Armour scrunched up his face in concentration, and everypony felt that something was happening before they saw anything. There was a pressure in the room pushing them against backwards, and Rarity’s stomach was lurching like when she was falling from Cloudsdale except now it felt like she was moving sideways. It wasn't the seamless summoning that the others performed had performed when they had found their elements, but with a sudden pop and flash of light the crown suddenly jumped out of his hooves, floating just in front of his face. Gazing at the magenta gem, he touched it with his horn.

Everypony's eyes widened as a single crack appeared where his horn had touched the gem. Once more the sound of breaking glass filled the room, which despite the battle clearly still raging at the other end, was now completely silent. Quickly, the cracks expanded and within three seconds the entire gem was covered with fractures. Then the pieces began falling towards the ground, but before they had even hit the stone floor they had disintegrated into fine powder to be blown away in a non-existent breeze, breaking down further, until nothing remain. All the while, a light blue glow pulsed from under the purple gem making it difficult to see clearly. The only pony who could look directly at the Element of Magic was Shining Armour and he wore a gentle smile on her face. By the time everypony else could see again, the purple gem had been replaced by one that matched Shining Armour's cutie mark perfectly.

With a renewed vigour, Shining Armour snatched the crown out of the air, and pulled it onto his head. Instinctively, he knew what he had to do, as he moved backwards, the girls moving up on his sides.

Quickly, the elements they all wore shone brightly, and the six were lifted into the air, before the elements pulsed once, and shot a beam of pure, white light, at the gem atop the crown of magic that Shining Armour now wore.

A split second later, the crown itself pulsed, and the Rainbow which the others had seen twice before, but was still new to Shining Armour, erupted from the crown, and plunged towards Twilight.

Instantly, Celestias magic ceased, as the power of the elements battered it away as if it was a leaf in the way of a hurricane. 

Twilight collapsed to the floor, unable to support herself, as the Rainbow washed over her. Slowly, starting at her tail, a white light enveloped her body, and lifting her off the ground. By the time it had encompassed her body, she was hovering a foot higher than anypony else, even Celestia, her forehooves outstretched.

Suddenly, the glow disappeared, and Twilight fell towards the ground, only to be caught by Celestias magic, and laid on the ground gently. Quickly, the others gathered around the mare, clustering to check on her.

She was back. Her fur had returned to its original purple hue, and the armour had completely disappeared. Unfortunately, while the scars from her transformation had disappeared, the ones that she had received in the battle were still very much in existence, and Celestia felt a pang of guilt as she looked at those that she herself had caused, especially the burn marks.

Stooping low, Celestia gently lifted Twilight onto her back, before standing up and looking at the others.

“Help the Toa. Purify Vakama. Win the battle. Report to me when that is done. Do not advance any further.” She order, before turning, her horn glowing. Before it reached its peak however, she turned back and spoke directly to Shining Armour. “Protect the other elements, once their job is done, get them out.”

With that, her horn flared, and Celestia disappeared, transporting herself and Twilight to the hole in the door, before taking off at a gallop up the stairs, leaving the dying sounds of the end of the battle behind her, as she transported the blood covered form of student to the surface.

> What Happened?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vakama roared in pain as a gout of water erupted from Nokama’s outstretched weapons, smashing into his chest, and sending him head over heels across the room. Landing on his feet, Vakama skidded backwards, gouging out long furloughs in the stone. Before he had even a second to recover, the rest of the Toa were on him again.

The rest of the battle was coming to a swift end, the reinforcements from the alliance had shattered the main advantage that the Shadow ponies held over the Lunar Guard, that of numbers. Now that they had lost that, they were slowly but surely being pushed back across the room. Even now, medical staff were streaming into the room, performing triage to stabilise the wounded, before evacuating them to the surface to receive better care.

As Nokama glanced over, she watch the Minotaur leader, Skrall, swing his weapon at a cluster of Shadow Ponies, sending them flying , before charging forward, and crushing the fallen under his cloven hooves.

“Vakama. It is over.” Onewa roared, grabbing a boulder and pitching it at Vakama.

“It’s not over, until I say!” Vakama roared, jumping up and bringing his flaming sword into the boulder, slicing it in half.

“It is now.” Nuju said calmly, taking aim, and pointing his crystal spikes at the floor beneath the airborne Toa.

Instantly, a pillar of ice began to form, erupting out of the ground, and quickly rising up, until it touched Vakama’s feet, quickly encasing him up to his neck in ice.

“Brother, if you are still in there, fight it.” Matau urged.

“There is nothing left of him!” Vakama roared, the ice around his sword melting, and freeing his arm. “Vakama is dead. Ripped from this world by the Makuta!”

“Not true.” Rainbow Dash said, stepping up beside the Toa, as Vakama’s arm was once again encased in ice.

“Vakami.” Pinkie Smiled. “We’re here to save you.”

“Twilight?” Whenua asked quickly.

“Alive.” Shining Armour said hollowly. He still couldn’t get over the sight of his sister, or how weak she had been when Celestia had carried her out, but at the same time, he was proud that his sister could both fight a monster in her head, battle Celestia, and still have the energy to transfer an element of harmony to another unicorn.

“You purified her without the elements of harmony?” Nuju asked, keeping an eye on the struggling form of Vakama.

“She…gave it up.” Shining said after a moment’s pause.

“No time for think-talking!” Matau growled, pushing Whenua aside. “Use the elements, and save Vakama!”

“Right. Hold on Vakami-ami.” Pinkie bounced, before getting into position around the other elements.

For the second time, Shining Armour felt the odd sensation of being lifted off the ground by the elements. It was not like normal magical levitation, it was something deeper, something, magical.

The six ponies rose off the ground, spreading out and surrounding Shining Armour, as there elements began to glow brighter and brighter, until the rainbow coloured magic erupted from them, arcing towards Vakama.

The creature that had taken over Vakama’s mind screamed as the Rainbow hit it, and the ice around him shattered, sending him plummeting to the floor. Slowly, the changes wrought by the Makuta began to recede along his body, until all that was left was a battered and scarred, but very much back to normal, Vakama.

“Vakama!” Matau yelled, running over to his brother and sweeping him up in a hug.

“We should get him back to the surface.” Nokama said, laying a hand on Matau’s shoulder.

“I’ll take him.” Matau nodded, before looking at the elements. “You’re coming with me to.”

“Like tartarus I am.” Shining Armour growled. “I’m still a soldier, and I…”

“YOU WILL COME WITH ME!” Matau roared. “You are too important to loose now. The Shadow Ponies are defeated, but not the Makuta.”

Reluctantly, Shining Armour nodded, and Matau quickly set off at a run, holding the weak form of Vakama on his back. Reaching the hole in the door, Matau allowed the ponies to get out first, before he followed them, heading up to the surface.

***

A few minutes later, Matau and the element bearers reached the surface, and quickly moved over to a series of tents that were serving as a medical point. While the others ran off to another part of the camp, probably looking for Twilight, Matau found an empty tent, and quickly went inside, laying Vakama on the bed inside, the piece of furniture creaking and groaning under his weight, but holding.

“He survived then?” A familiar voice asked, and Matau turned to see Celestia walking into the tent.

“He did.” Matau nodded, before turning back to his brother.

Matau was worried about his brother in some ways, but also knew that the damage done was only superficial, and given time, he would recover in body. Even his mask, which was scratched and dented, almost to the point of it being useless, would be able to be repaired. Matau was more worried for Twilight and Luna at this point. When Matau had last seen them, they not only looked like they were on death’s doorstep, but had already knocked and could hear footsteps coming down the hall.

“How’s Twilight?” Matau asked, turning back to the Alicorn. “And Luna?”

“Alive.” She admitted, a tear forming in her eye, as she sat down heavily. “My sister…and a pony I consider close enough to be my daughter. I don’t know what to do.”

“They live. Don’t underestimate that as a blessing. If you hadn’t arrived, then we’d not be seeing them here.” Matau reassured her.

“I know.” Celestia nodded. “What truly scares me is how close that…thing…that was controlling my student, came to defeating me. It was as powerful as my student, and it had her brains, but not her knowledge. If she had actually been Twilight, she would have won.”

“But she wasn’t.” Matau pointed out.

“But if she had.” Celestia mused.

“She didn’t.” Matau insisted, before turning back to Vakama.

Taking this as a sign of the conversation finishing, Celestia turned and exited the tent. Taking a deep breath, Celestia turned, and walked through the rows of tents, glancing in a few, and checking on the injured ponies within. There were very few casualties, most of the tents lying empty. At a casual glance, this would have been a blessing, but Celestia knew the heart of this matter, there were few injured, because Shadow Ponies did not leave casualties. When they fought, they killed, or were killed, there was hardly any middle ground.

Sighing deeply, Celestia pushed aside the flap of a slightly larger tent, and went inside, her gaze falling on the dark Alicorn that lay within, and the Lunar Guard that surrounded her, the last, of the Lunar Guard.

“Sis-sister.” Luna managed, coughing with the effort.

“Rest Luna.” Celestia said softly, walking over and sitting next to her fallen sister. “You did well.”

“I…failed.” She struggled. “The Lunar Guard…”

“Sold their own lives to protect yours. You did perfectly, holding the Shadow Ponies at bay until the alliance forces could get here.”

“But…my ponies.” Luna mourned.

“Are heroes.” Celestia finished. “I will allow you rest now, but I must ask to speak Castelian.”

Nodding, Luna slowly closed her eyes, while Castelian stood up, and walked past Celestia, waiting on the other side of the tent flap.

“Sleep well, sister.” Celestia muttered, before she followed Castelian. 

Leading Castelian down the rows of tents, finally getting to a large tent, which served as the command tent. Stepping inside, the pair were instantly confronted by the ten members of the Sunlight Wardens.

“Princess. Lord Commander.” One of them said, snapping off a salute.

“Commander Storm Surge.” Castelian nodded, before turning to Celestia. “What?” He asked tersely.

Letting his tone slide due to what he had experienced in the past few hours, Celestia walked over to a table, and grabbed a scroll with her magic, before passing it to Castelian.

“You are in command of the army now. You are required at meetings.” She said simply.

“Luna could be dying.” Castelian growled. “We defeated the Shadow army, what more do you want? I am not doing it, not unless Luna commands me to.”

“Lord Commander.” Celestia snapped. “You will hold your tongue. You are required because we need to make sure that they are all dead, until the Makuta himself is found.”

“Then get somepony else to command.” Castelian snapped back. “Until Luna is back on her hooves, I will stay by her side.”

With that, Castelian turned his back on Celestia, and walked from the tent, making his way back towards Luna.

“Castelian.” Luna smiled, not yet asleep. “What…did my sister want?”

“She wanted me to take command of the alliance forces.” He replied.

“And…you said?” Luna asked.

“That until you are up, I will stay by your side.” Castelian said simply.

“You…were always…loyal.” Luna coughed. “I would have a favour.”

“Anything.” 

“Go…and check on Twilight. I want to know…that she is safe.” Luna said, closing her eyes.

“It will be done.” Castelian bowed, before exiting the tent again, and making his way towards the tents holding the more critical patients. One thing about being an Alicorn, is that Luna was hard to kill, no matter the injuries that she took in battle. Not that that was much hope, now that she was absent a wing, something no amount of magic could help.

Quickly finding the tent that Twilight occupied, Castelian’s eyes fell upon the mare. Twilight was asleep, or unconscious, Castelian did not know which one was a more appropriate description. Her entire body looked battered and bruised, covered in scars gained in her fight with both his own men, and Celestia. Try as he might, Castelian could not forget the mare in front of him ripping his soldiers apart, and bathing in the blood. Blood that was even now being cleaned from her by her five friends, and distraught brother.

“Prince Armour. Element bearers.” He said, snapping off a lazy salute.

“Lord Commander.” Shining nodded.

“How is the bearer of magic?” Castelian asked. “I come seeking word for Luna.”

“The element of magic is fine.” Shining said glumly. “But my sister no longer holds it. She gave it to me so she could beat the monster.”

“I am sorry.” Castelian said, before turning, and making to leave, only to find himself stopped by a Pink pony, who had fastened herself around his waist.

“What about you darling?” Rarity asked, walking over and helping Castelian peel Pinkie off him. “How are you handling…it?” she asked, struggling to find the right words.

“I’m a soldier. I’ll live.” Castelian deadpanned.

“Ah’m no expert, but ah’m pretty sure that even as a soldier, ya must feel something.” Applejack said, walking over.

“I don’t.” castelian growled, but the ponies would not be deterred.

“You can talk to use Castelian.” Fluttershy said softly.

“You want to know why I want to go?!” castelian suddenly roared, causing all of the ponies to shrink back in fear. Even Shining Armour was not completely unaffected by this outburst, he knew what the Lunar Guard could do when angry. 

“I want to go, because the…thing that was in charge of Twilight killed almost all of my guard.” He growled. “I know it wasn't her fault, but I can’t be here, just like I can’t bear to face Vakama.”

“But…” Rainbow began, leaping up in anger, but Castelian had already stormed out.

“Let it go.” Shining Armour said softly, just as Rainbow looked as if she was about to fly after Castelian.

“Let him go?!” Rainbow asked incredulously. “After what he said about Twilight? No, I’m going to drag him back here and make him apologise.”

“No, you’re not, and you couldn't anyway, not unless your an Alicorn, because that would be what it took to stop him.” Shining Armour said simply, before turning to Rainbow. “And you will not hold this against him either. Castelian is one of the most honourable, if crude, ponies, I have ever met. He will speak his mind, regardless of what others will think. Put yourselves in his hooves for a second. Imagine, two hours ago, you commanded the most feared force the world has ever seen, more so than the Griffon Onyx Sentinel’s and the Minotaur’s army combined, that was what the Lunar Guard truly was. Now, imagine that in the space of a single battle, which you presided over, you not only lost over three thousand ponies at your command, destroying their viability as a fighting force, but very nearly lost the princess that you were charged with protecting as well. Honestly, I hadn't expected him to be so calm about everything. Whether he comes around or not is not up to us, it is up to him. Even if he hates my sister for the rest of his life, I will not hold it against him, I would prefer not to have to make that call, but that is the reality of the situation.”

The other elements of harmony stared at each other for a second, before they lapsed into silence once more, moving back over, and sitting around Twilight.

***

“Lord Commander!” Rang out a voice, and Castelian turned to see Celestia storming towards him. “You will accompany to my command tent, and you will fulfill your duties.”

“I already said, no.” He growled.

“I am your princess, and…” Celestia began.

“LUNA is my princess!” Castelian roared.

“AND SHE IS MY SISTER!” Celestia roared back putting even Luna’s royal Canterlot voice to shame. “Now you will do your duty, and you will accompany me to my command tent, where the other commanders are already assembled, so we can plan our next move.”

Stunned by this sudden outburst, Castelian dumbly followed Celestia, as she stormed back to her tent.

***

“Vakama?” Nokama asked, poking her head into the tent, and seeing Matau sitting beside Vakama. “Brothers. He’s here.” She called out, before entering the tent, followed by the remaining Toa.

“Nokama?” Vakama asked softly, sitting up and looking at the others as they pushed their way into the tent.

“You are with us again then?” Matau asked, surprised that Vakama had awoken.

“I am.” He nodded, pushing himself off the bed.

“Slow down there brother.” Whenua said, moving over to Vakama, but Vakama gently pushed the proffered hand away.

“No. I’m going to see Celestia, and we are going to end this. The last thing I remember was the Shadow army being defeated, so it’s just him, and his sons.”

“You need to rest.” Nuju insisted. 

“I’ll rest when the Matoran are safe, and the Makuta is defeated.” Vakama said simply, putting a hand to his mask to hide the pain, before moving past the others and exiting the tent.

“Come on. We still have to do our duty.” Matau said, before following Vakama.

***

“The Shadow Ponies are all dead.” Skrall reported, resting his hands on the pommel of his axe. “And my soldiers are scouting the surrounding forest for other pockets of resistance.”

“Ii that wise?” The Griffon leader, king Turg, asked. “We all saw what happened to the Lunar Guard.” He gave a worried glance towards castelian, who had not said a word to anypony since Celestia had dragged him back in.

“They have been ordered not to engage, and will report back if they find signs of any survivors.” Skrall countered.

“Good.” Castelian growled, instantly bringing silence to the table. “Then we need to find their leader, the Makuta, and kill him. Then, this ends.”

“Strong words from pony who nearly let own leader die.” A Diamond Dog Alpha growled. 

“I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear that mutt.” Castelian spat, his voice laced with venom.

“Gentlecolt’s please, let us not fight, Castelian, you know the dogs bark is worse than his bite.” The Zebra leader said.

“Well said.” Celestia nodded, before turning to Castelian. “While I understand you want to go, from what the Toa said, we will need them with us to face the Makuta. Vakama is still unconscious from his ordeal. The Toa are doing what they can, but…”

“Celestia.” Came a voice from behind the white Alicorn, and Celestia was surprised to see the red form of Vakama, standing tall behind her. 

“Tough son of a bitch.” Skrall said in awe. “Didn't think he'd be up yet.”

“No one would give me a mirror.” Vakama said, looking around, before turning to Matau. “How bad is it?”

“Hell, smelt-head, you were always ugly. Slap some paint on there and no one will even notice.” Matau laughed, prompting the others to laugh as well.

“Ha-ah!” Vakama said, beginning to laugh, before stopping and grabbing his mask. “Don’t make me laugh damn it. My mask is only barely holding together as it is.” He then turned back to Matau and grinned weakly, making sure not to move his mask that much. “Ah well, probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me, about time you got a fair shot.”

“Hey!” Matau said indignantly, as everyone laughed again, even Vakama joining in slightly. 
“To business then.” Turg said, turning back to the table. “My men have been scouting out the different parts of the cave system, all empty, bar one. We have been unable to open it yet, but the Toa may be able to.”

“Then we need to go there.” Skrall declared. “My troops stand ready to support you, Toa heroes.”

“Thank you.” Vakama nodded. “But I would not have you intervene unless absolutely needed. The Rahkshi are not of this world, and given the numbers you would bring, they would gain the advantage through trickery and poison. No, my brothers and sister will attempt to defeat them. I would also have the elements of harmony nearby, to help if something goes wrong.”

“I will talk to Shining Armour, but I cannot command him, he is a prince of a sovereign nation after all.” Celestia said. “I will accompany them if he does decide to follow you.” Deep down, she was worried for them, but took solace in the fact that they would be protected by the greatest army assembled in living memory.

“We should move as soon as possible.” Skrall said, hefting his axe onto his shoulder.

“Skrall.” Castelian said, turning to the Minotaur. “You have front line command, while I protect my princess. Mutt,” he turned to face the Diamond Dog, “Take your forces and take over from the Minotaur troops scouting the surrounding area, Turg, you will help as well. Dismissed.”

Nodding, everyone at the table went about their duties, preparing troops to move to various different places. While the Toa moved to stand guard near the entrance to the underground cave system, Celestia made her way towards the ten that Twilight occupied.

“Your highness.” The element bearers said in near-unison, bowing low at the Alicorn. 

“Aunt.” Shining Armour said, bowing slightly. “I am afraid that Twilight has not yet awoken.”

“In many ways, that is good.” Celestia nodded, casting a sad eye over her fallen student. “I have a request of you all.”

“What is it your highness?” Rainbow asked.

“The Toa believe they will soon face the Makuta and the Rahkshi, and Vakama has asked for your presence, in case something goes wrong.” She said simply.

“Y-y-you want us to go b-back?” Fluttershy trembled.

“If you would be willing to. You have seen what a single Rahkshi is capable of, and there are believed to be six of them, if what Vakama remembers is accurate.”

“Vakama is awake then?” Shining Armour asked.

“He is.” Celestia nodded.

“And he is willing to head down there again?” Shining continued.

“His duty calls for him to.” Celestia nodded.

“I don't want to leave Twilight.” Shining Armour said, turning to face his sister, and Celestia’s heart dropped. “Nor would I see her awaken to a world still at war. If we can help the Toa bring about an end to this, we have an obligation to help them.”

“If Shining Armour is willin’ ta help, then ah’m with him.” Applejack said, drawing a rousing chorus of agreement from the other elements.

“Thank you.” Celestia smiled. “Prepare yourselves, and meet the Toa at the caves entrance. We do not enter again until the Minotaur’s who will be accompanying us have arrived.”

With that, Celestia walked out of the tent, Celestia walked into her own personal tent, and went straight over to the mannequin holding her armour. She had removed in shortly after she had taken Twilight into the medical tent where she still lay, the feeling of it pressing against her skin being unpleasant to her. Unlike her sister, Celestia had never liked wearing armour, the connotations that it brought going against everything she tried to emulate, but when the time called for it, she would not shy from wearing it.


Picture by Larsurus

Her armour was similar to Luna’s in many ways, but also differed in just as many. First of all, it was a brilliant, gleaming gold, enchantments placed upon it making sure it never dulled from use. Extravagant, yes, but Celestia would prefer ponies to know she took to the field beside them, it was the least she could do if she was going to ask them to lay down their lives. The second big difference was that her armour was much lighter than her sisters, showing the differences in how they fought. Celestia was methodical, rarely engaging in sword play until she saw no alternative, preferring to engage the enemies with magic. Luna on the other hoof, preferred the roar of melee, getting stuck into the enemies, and facing them face-to-face. It was those different traits that had served the pair of them well when they last fought together, and when they were united, they were unstoppable, much like Vakama had been when Twilight had been beside him.

A momentary pang of guilt hit her at that thought. Her sister would never be the same again, she would never take to the skies beside her sibling, and she would possibly never recover to be the pony she once was. Celestia should have been there, beside her sister, not playing politics. Now however, perhaps she would make up for it.

Quickly donning the armour, Celestia exited her tent, walking through the rows of smaller tents, before arriving at her last stop before she met the Toa. Luna’s tent.

Pushing her way in, she looked at the Moonlight Wardens for a second, before looking at her sister.

“Luna. I require a word. Alone.”

“Very well.” Luna nodded. “Wardens, outside if you please.”

Quickly, the remnants of the Lunar Guard filed outside, and Celestia took a seat beside her bed ridden sister.

“You’re more awake then?” Celestia asked, tears springing to her eyes as she looked at the bandage stuff of her wing. “How are you coping?”

“Well enough.” Luna said gruffly. “The doctors are keeping me semi-sedated, in case I have another episode.”

“The last time you were hurt, they heard you yelling at the doctors in Ponyville.” Celestia laughed softly.

“They were trying to pull me apart!” Luna protested.

“It was a splinter.” Celestia smiled, before breaking down into tears. “Oh, Luna. I’m so sorry.”

“I understand.” Luna said, pulling her sister into a weak hug.

She wanted to say that it was OK, but it wasn't. Some things weren’t just going to go away because of some well wishes, no matter how much a pony wanted them to. She didn’t blame her sister, but a part of her, deep, deep down, really wanted to.

Drying her eyes, Celestia stood up again.

“I am going with the Toa and the element bearers to face the Makuta. When I return, I will help you back to Canterlot, and help you with your duties, until you can do them alone again.”

“Thank you.” Luna smiled. “But you didn’t come here just for a chat, did you? No, I think there is something on your mind. Twilight Sparkle?”

“You always were good at deducing things.” Celestia smiled.

“Elementary my dear Celestia.” Luna grinned back weakly.

“I am worried about her.” Celestia admitted. “The creature that took control of her, made her do…horrible things, worse than anything Nightmare Moon did, if in smaller quantities.”

“And you are afraid that she will not be able to handle it?” Luna nodded. “The thought crossed my mind as well, along with protecting her from my guard. She wasn’t in charge of her bodies, and they know that, but if they were to seek revenge…”

“I will assign her her own personal squadron of guards.” Celestia said instantly. “But more than that, I want her to come back to Canterlot Castle for a bit after this is done. I believe you will be able to help her more than anypony else. You know what she has been through.”

“I agree with that. What of the other element bearers? They will not be pleased to be separated from Twilight for so long in her time of need.”

“They will be allowed to stay in the palace as well.” Celestia nodded.

“What of Vakama?” Luna asked. “I doubt he will want to stay once he has awoken and the Makuta is defeated.”

“Vakama is not of this world. He is already moving again, and is leading the assault on the Makuta.” Celestia said with a slight smile.

“Nice recovery time for some.” Luna grumbled.

“Agreed.” Celestia nodded, before turning. “I need to head out now. I will see you when I get back.”

“You better.” Luna smiled. “Die, and I’ll have to come into Tartarus to drag you out before beating you.”

Smiling weakly at her sister’s determination, Celestia exited the tent, motioning for the Lunar Guard to enter again, which they did instantly. Setting off, Celestia made her way over to the entrance of the cave system. Already, the Minotaur’s were formed up, ready to make the descent once more. At the front of the army, stood the Toa, and the elements of harmony, their new leader standing tall in his dented and blood soaked armour.

Celestia didn’t say a word as she reached the front of the force. This wasn’t a time for speeches, or long winded goodbyes, this was a time for action, and there was only one direction left to go.

Setting off, Celestia began to move down the stairs, the army following at her back. It did seem however, that not all present shared her aversion to talking at the moment, as Skrall walked up beside her. At least he had the good graces to whisper. Still, Celestia could not find any fault in what he said.

“Tartarus must be empty. All the devils are here.” 

> Ending the 1000 Year War
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The army marched across the darkened room at the bottom of the stairs, the only sounds being the perfect footfalls of the Minotaur armies, as their cloven hooves struck the ground in unison, and the squelch as foot met corpse. No matter how disgusting the act was, Celestia did not break from her stride, making sure to keep beside the Toa and Skrall. Even Rarity wasn’t complaining out loud, managing to grasp the gravity of the situation, and deciding her complaints would simply annoy the soldiers she was surrounded by.

Onwards they marched, until they neared the final, sealed door, which lay at the end of the chamber.

“HALT!” Skrall yelled, and the Minotaur’s slammed their feet together.

“Here we are then.”  Vakama murmured.

“Is he in there?” Celestia asked cautiously.

“I’m not sure. After the change, Twilight and I were kept in this room. The Rahkshi were somewhere else, but I don’t know where that somewhere else was.” Vakama replied.

“But you believe he is?” Skrall asked.

“Regardless of if he is in there or not, we’ve got to search it anyway. No Shadow Ponies are escaping tonight.” Celestia said, drawing a thin rapier from its scabbard on her back, her horn casting long shadows across the room.

“Are we opening it then?” Whenua asked, twirling his own weapons.

“It didn’t budge when the Griffon’s tried to open it by force, and they tried with hundreds at once.” Skrall informed.

“Maybe it’s a matter of Magic over might.” Celestia said, and her horn flared into life again.

The door was briefly surrounded by a golden light, and Celestia allowed herself a slight smile, as she demonstrated once more than brute strength was nothing when compared with the power of her magic. That was until the glow faltered, flickering for a second, before blinking out of existence. The door hadn’t moved an inch.

“What?” Celestia asked, looking up at her horn in confusion.

“Maybe this is something beyond our world.” Skrall said, before turning to face the Toa.

“Perhaps.” Whenua said, looking over the door. “Onewa. Ever seen this craft work? It’s not rock, that’s for sure.”

“It’s Protosteel.” Vakama said simply, looking over the door. “The strongest metal in the known world.”

“That presents a problem.” Nokama nodded. “Since it appears too heavy to move through might, and impervious to even the most powerful magic’s.”

“A problem for some.” Vakama nodded, before reaching behind him. “I can work the stuff.”

Drawing his disk launcher from behind him, and placing a disk into it.

“You sure that will get through?” Nuju asked.

“It’s the strongest I have.” Vakama said, taking a knee, and taking aim. “Kanoka code, 1-3-8. Strength, weaken, and the highest power level I could make.”

“Where did you get it?” Matau asked.

“Made it. Combined it with others.” Vakama said simply, before firing.

The disk flew through the air, trailing a faint red line behind it, before it impacted with the door. The effect was instantaneous, and a blinding flash momentarily blinded everyone in the room. When it cleared, the door had almost completely crumbled to the floor, the disk having weakened it to the point where the hinges could no longer support the heavy metal.

“Knock-knock.” Matau grinned soberly, before taking a step into the unknown.

The army advanced forwards after the Toa, heading down as the path they were on continued to slope deeper into the fabric of the earth.

“How far down do you think these tunnels go?” one of the Sunlight Wardens asked, looking at Celestia.

“Too far into my country.” Celestia replied.

“Looks like there’s something up ahead.” Shining Armour said, pointing forward.

The room in question was small when compared with the chamber they had just come from, and relatively well lit as well. Slowly, the six Toa advanced into the room, while Celestia and Skrall stood vigilant by the door, the element bearers and the Minotaur army standing silent behind them.

“MAKUTA!” Vakama roared, spinning and looking around the room.

“He’s here?!” Nokama asked, readying her own weapons.

“He was.” Vakama growled. “This was where Twilight and I were brought when we were captured.”

“Well done Vakama.” A deep, ominous voice echoed, instantly setting the teeth of the Minotaur’s and ponies on edge. “I wondered how long it would take you to figure it out.”

“Show yourself!” Nokama shouted.

“But there is so much to say.” Makuta said darkly. “How is young Twilight? She is not with the other element bearers, and another is in her place.”

“You’ll pay for what you did to her!” Celestia roared.

“I’ll bucking kill you!” Shining Armour roared at the same time, trying to push past Skrall, but being held back by the imposing figure.

“Brother?” Makuta laughed. “You must be Shining Armour. Now the element of magic? Is Twilight dead then? Did you kill her, save her from me?”

“She’s stronger than you could ever hope to be Makuta.” Rainbow growled, but held her ground with the rest of the army.

“Stronger? If she is stronger than I, then she would not have fallen before one of my sons.” Makuta said, his voice booming around the room. “Now, I believe it is time we are all properly introduced.”

As he said that, an ominous creaking was heard, and a door swung open across the room, revealing nothing but a black mist, which swirled just within the door. Slowly, a green hand reached out, grabbing the door frame, and pulling, dragging itself out, and revealing itself, followed quickly by five other identical figures.

While the Toa and the five original elements of harmony had already seen a Rahkshi, and knew what they looked like, everybody else present was taken aback at the things that walked towards them. 

That wasn’t all that exited the door, as a large foot crashed down, followed quickly by a tall, dark creature. It was a hulking creature, sharing similarities with the Toa, but being large, and more ominous in appearance. Two dark red wings protruded from its back, and seemed to pulse slightly, almost as if they had a life of their own.

“Welcome Toa.” The Makuta growled, before the Rahkshi screeched and charged forward. 

“Nuju!” Celestia shouted, as the Toa was knocked from his feet, and the white Alicorn began to move forward, only to be cut off by a bright red wall of light.

“Ah ah ah Celestia.” The Makuta warned. “This is not for you to intervene in.”

“Girls! The elements!” Celestia shouted quickly.

Nodding, the five girls, and an extremely angry stallion, rose into the air, launching the rainbow beam from their elements at the shield.

The shield didn’t even so much as flicker as the energy dispersed over it, drawing only laughs from the Makuta, even as the Toa fought their own, individual battles with the Rahkshi.

“You failed Celestia.” The Makuta laughed. “The element represent harmony, in all forms. My sons and I are in perfect balance, to counteract your little trinkets.”

“Keep trying!” Roared Celestia, gathering energy into her horn, and unleashing the full power of the sun in a tiny lance towards the shield, still failing to penetrate. All Celestia could do was watch through the hazy shield, as the Toa fought for the future of the country. Whoever won, would decide the fate of the world.

***

“Nuju!” Nokama roared, as the blue Rahkshi smashed into him, knocking him back, before swinging his staff at the disorientated Toa.

The Toa only just managed to bring his weapons up in time to block the strike, before he pushed himself away, firing a stream of ice at the Rahkshi, but the creature simply raised its glowing staff, and the ice crumbled before it hit it. Instantly, the Rahkshi was on the Toa, forcing Nuju back onto the defensive.

Elsewhere, Onewa and Whenua fended off an attack from two Rahkshi, Onewa narrowly avoiding a beam from the staff of the red one, before swinging his weapon up to intercept the downwards stroke of the second creature as it arced towards Whenua. A moment later, a spear of earth rocked upwards, propelling the first Rahkshi across the room. It was instantly on its feet, and ran back to help its brother.

“Nokama. Matau. Can you handle three?” Vakama asked, ducking under the staff of one Rahkshi, before spinning and kicking a second, narrowly avoiding the staff of the third. One good thing had come from the Makutas corruption, and now Vakama put the skills to use.

“For a minute. Perhaps more.” Nokama shouted.

“Don’t do anything stupid smelt-head.” Matau grunted, fending off the green Rahkshi.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do.” Vakama roared with laughter, before barrelling past Matau, and charging straight for the amused looking Makuta.

“Brash Vakama.” Makuta crowed, before swinging his massive weapon at the Toa.

“You will fall Makuta.” Vakama growled, grabbing hold of the weapons handle with one hand, and using it as a fulcrum to spin himself around, delivering a bone shattering kick into the Makuta’s face, before flipping backwards, and firing a quick shot from his disk launcher at the black Rahkshi threatening Nokama and Matau, knocking it off balance, and allowing Matau to bring his own powers to bear.

Makuta roared, and brought his hand whistling round, swatting Vakama, and sending him through the air, only to impact with one of the pillars and push himself off again, flying back towards the Makuta.

“Vakama!” Matau shouted, before he unleashed a torrent of air, which formed into a Tornado.

Spinning, Vakama extended a hand and shot out a gout of fire, transforming the air into a spinning vortex of fire, which swept up the blue Rahkshi. Continuing in his spin, Vakama brought his other hand round, smashing the back of it into the Makuta.

“Surrender Toa!” Makuta roared, leaping backwards, and swiping out with his weapon.

“Fire never surrenders!” Vakama roared, rolling with the strike, before landing on the ground and hauling back on the weapon, ripping it from the Makuta’s grasp. “Fire burns all!”

Letting his words become a roar, Vakama unleashed a second gout of flame, straight at the Makuta. The flames impacted with his chest, driving him to his knees, before Vakama was thrown from his feet, the ground rupturing beneath him.

“Not this time.” Nuju said, before pressing his weapon into the back of the offending brown Rahkshi. The Rahkshi was caught unaware from the sudden attack, and instantly was covered in a sheet of ice.

“Nice work.” Nokama commended, before running forward, jumping into the air and receiving a boost from an airborne Matau, who flung his sister towards three of the remaining Rahkshi.

Nokama let out a gout of water as she flew forwards, causing the Rahkshi to slip over, even as Nokama landed in their midst.

“Sister.” Whenua called, and instantly, the water became mud, slowing the Rahkshi as the viscous fluid stuck to them.

“Hello.” Nuju smiled, leaping over to pull his sister out, before placing his foot on the mud, freezing it, and the three Rahkshi within, solid.

Even as Vakama duelled with the Makuta, matching him blow for blow with a ferocity that none of the other Toa had ever seen him display, the final Rahkshi advanced towards the remaining Toa, standing over its fallen and frozen brethren.

“Lerahk.” It hissed, brandishing its staff.

“I don’t care for your name.” Onewa snarled, diving forward, and spinning his weapon around, smashing it into the green Rahkshis face. The creature roared in pain as Nokama stepped up beside her brother, blasting the Rahkshi with a burst of water, knocking it to the ground on top of its unconscious brothers.

“Rock and roll.” Onewa growled, using both hands and striking the floor.

Instantly, pillars of rock erupted from the ground, converging over the heads of the Rahkshi, and sealing them within its tomb like structure.

Turning, the five Toa looked towards Vakama and Makuta, who were still striking each other with blow after blow, receiving no quarter and asking for none in return. As they watched, Vakama pushed himself away from the Makuta, diving into the shadows and disappearing.

“Trying to hide in my domain Vakama?” The Makuta asked, making to turn from the other Toa.

“Makuta!” Matau roared. “Leave the smelt-head alone!”

Matau roared as he shot a blast of sand at the Makuta, peppering his armour with tiny shards of rock.

“YOU HAVE BEEN A THORN IN MY SIDE FOR TOO LONG! NOW YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH!” The Makuta boomed before he doubled over, before unleashing an ethereal hand from his chest, where it arced towards the Toa.

Reacting quickly, Nokama shouted, “Brothers, Scatter!” and he as well as the rest of the Toa immediately dived out of the way of the red hand, which impacted with the rock floor, scorching it black.

Dodging yet another strike from the Makuta, Nuju flipped across the room, aiming to attack the Makuta’s legs, before a strike impacted with his own chest, sending him spinning across the room, his mask smashing head first into a pillar, and his eyes closing.

“NUJU!” Matau screamed, diving at the Makuta and grappling with the larger opponent. “Get. Away. From my. Brothers!”

For a moment, Matau held his ground, pushing the Makuta back, even as his brothers and sister rushed to his aid, and the aid of Nuju. Unfortunately, Matau was not Vakama, and could not hold his own against the Makuta, and was thrown across the room, impacting with Nokama and driving her to the floor, leaving Whenua and Onewa facing the Makuta.

“Where’s…” Onewa started, before Whenua pushed him to the floor, narrowly making him avoid another of the Makuta’s attacks, taking it on himself instead.

“Whenua!” Onewa shouted, as he watched in despair as the black Toa was pounded into the ground, the shockwave knocking him from his feet.

“Pathetic.” The Makuta laughed, before the world went white.

***

Celestia watched as the Rahkshi fell before the Toa, while Vakama kept the Makuta at bay. 

“We have to help them!” Skrall roared, charging the shield and striking it with his axe, only to be thrown backwards.

“Try again!” Celestia roared, looking at the elements, before charging her own horn and firing at the weakening shield.

Nodding, the element bearers once again fired the iconic rainbow beam at the shield, this time not being met with instant failure. Celestia’s hunch was right, that now the Rahkshi were all but defeated, the harmony that held the shield strong against the elements had shattered.

Slowly, the shield began to crackle at the edges, destabilising as the rainbow light continued to pulse against it. The whole thing turned a bright white from the power being pumped into it, before finally, the power expanded outwards, blinding the room.

Instantly, Celestia moved forward, intent on helping the Toa in any way she could. Behind her, the Minotaur’s followed, marching in strict ranks behind the solar goddess.

“Makuta. Surrender yourself.” Celestia demanded, before the light faded, and her eyes set upon the scene before her. 

Five of the Toa lay on the floor in various states of consciousness, but all were unable to fight.

“Sweet Celestia.” The Makuta laughed. “If the Toa could not beat me before, and they could not beat me now, how can you hope to defeat me?”

“They don’t have to!” Came a voice from high above the group, and suddenly, the Makuta was driven to his knees by an invisible force. “Surprise.”

Slowly, the form of Vakama became visible once more, and the Toa growled as he grabbed hold of the base of the wings that the Makuta sported, before leaning back and straining against them.

The Makuta let out a scream, a very un-Makuta like scream, as the wings were stretched outwards. Letting out a screech of his own, Vakama leaned back slightly further, ripping the wings from the Makuta’s back, and sending the skidding across the floor.

Stepping off the form of the Makuta, Vakama rushed over and began to help up his brothers and sister back to their feet, before facing the Makuta again, who struggled to do anything more than writhe slightly on the floor.

“You have lost Makuta.” Vakama said, standing by the other Toa, as Celestia and the elements of harmony ran up beside them.

“How…” The Makuta groaned.

“Because we fought together.” Vakama growled.

“And they would fight you a hundred times over to the same result.” Shining Armour continued. 

“Because as long as we stand united.” Matau said, brandishing his weapons

“Friendship!” Rarity shouted.

“Is!” Fluttershy screamed, shocking everyone present.

“MAGIC!” The element bearers finished, rising into the air as the Toa extended their hands.

Even as the Rainbow light erupted upwards, the Toa combined their powers once more, the seal shooting towards the Makuta and his sons, sealing them in Protodermis once more. A moment later, the rainbow light washed over them, and a bright light erupted outwards, filling the room, and blinding everyone in it. A laugh began to echo round the room, a very Makuta like laughed, and a universe away, the same laugh was heard, right across the world.

When the light finally faded, there was no sign of the Makuta, or the Rahkshi. All that remained, was an empty Protodermis cage.

“WHERE IS HE!?” Skrall bellowed, looking around the room, expecting the Makuta to leap out at them at any moment.

“He has fled again.” Vakama said simply.

“You mean he’s back home?” Matau asked.

“The elements have purged him from this land, but they do not kill, and I would guess that just as Nightmare Moon was banished to her domain, he has been banished back to his.” Celestia concurred.

“So all of this was for nothing!?” Shining Armour shouted. “Everything that the Lunar Guard fought and died for, everything my sister sacrificed, it was all for nothing!?”

“Not for nothing, no.” Nokama said, placing a hand on Shining Armour’s back, but he shrugged it off, refusing to be calmed down.

“He’s still alive! He got away once, and came back again! What’s to stop him doing it for a third time in another thousand years!?”

“We are.” Vakama said, looking around at his brothers. “We know of this world, and his plans. He will not return, I give you my word.”

“Vakama!” Matau shouted, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What is it brother?” Vakama asked, walking towards where Matau’s voice had come from.

“This.” The voice sounded again, and a second later, the green Toa appeared again, carrying a very familiar orb in his arms.

“The Matoran!” Whenua exclaimed, running past Matau, and looking at where he had just come from.

“How many?” Onewa asked urgently.

“Eight, nine, ten. Plus the one that Matau took, brings it to eleven.” Whenua smiled.

“They’re all safe.” Nokama smiled.

“I’m sorry, but what are these things?” Celestia asked, looking at the ball that Matau had placed on the floor.

“Here, let me show you.” Vakama said, walking over to Celestia.

Placing his hand on the ball, Vakama felt it bend to his will, and a panel on the front slid open, revealing a tiny, completely still and lifeless figure inside.

“Is it…is it…dead?” Fluttershy asked nervously, looking at the thing in the pod.

“No Fluttershy.” Vakama smiled, before looking in the pod himself. “Just sleeping, until we can wake her up again.”

“What is it?” Applejack asked in confusion.

Smiling, Vakama gazed at the figure, as his brothers began to move more pods into the centre of the room. Slowly, Vakama turned to face the ponies and Minotaur’s.

“That my friends, is a Matoran.”

> We Have What We Came For
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vakama stared out of the stained glass window, looking over the countryside of Equestria with a weary look in his eye.

After their fight with the Makuta, and his banishment back to their home, the Toa had carried the Matoran pods up to the surface, stacking them atop one another. With the help of the Minotaur’s, and Celestia’s magic, all the pods were quickly transferred from the dank underground, to the glorious rays of the morning sun.

At the command of Castelian, the wounded were transported back to Canterlot, protected by the remains of the Lunar Guard and the Toa, to receive proper medical care. By the time they had begun to move back to Canterlot, Twilight had awoken, but so far, she had only spoken to a few ponies, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armour and Cadence being the only ones. Even her friends, the other element bearers, had been unable to coax words from her.

That had been two weeks ago, and yet, the army was still combing the outer edges of the Everfree Forest for remnants of the Shadow Ponies. So far, the army had come across sixteen different pockets of resistance, varying from finding ten Shadow Ponies defending the ruins of the Castle of the Alicorn Sisters, to a secondary force of over one thousand who had been marching towards Hoofington. That had taken place outside of the forest, and the fields surrounding the great city were now a graveyard for over two and a half thousand souls. It was safe to say that if the public hadn’t known about what had happened before, they did now.

Whatever anypony said about the Shadows, they could hold their own against greater numbers, and kill more efficiently than any other group. Well, almost any other group. In every confrontation with the Shadow Ponies, they had killed more than their own number, except for the first confrontation. There, where darkness had met darkness, the Lunar Guard claimed almost one thousand more lives than they lost, adding to the growing awe that surrounded them.

“You see that.” Celestia said, walking up beside Vakama, and indicating the landscape.

“It’s beautiful.” Vakama agreed.

“Yes, it is.” Celestia nodded. “Without you and your family, it would be a lot different.”

“I am sure you would have found a way without us, just like you did the first time.” Vakama said, turning to face the Alicorn.

“Possibly. But at what cost? How much of Equestria would have been devastated? How long would it take to get back to this?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Vakama assured her. “The Makuta failed in his attempt, just like last time, and if he comes back, if he somehow evades my family and me, you will find a way to defeat him again.”

“Let us hope, that the day never comes where that is necessary.” Vakama smiled.

“Agreed.” Celestia smiled. “How are the other Toa?” 

“Surviving.” Vakama said. “Matau is overseeing the efforts to move the wreckage of our craft back to somewhere he can look at it, and try and fix it.”

“Can he fix it?” Celestia asked.

“Maybe, maybe not.” Vakama said simply.

“Perhaps my ponies and I can be of assistance. We have control over magic after all, perhaps with our magic and your technology combined, we can hasten the repairs to your craft, and your return home.” Celestia said.

“Hopefully. How is Twilight? Has she spoken yet?” 

“My sister is with her now. She hadn’t spoken when I last went to see her.” Celestia said mournfully.

“She will recover, all things mend after enough time, and the right comforts.” Vakama reassured her.

“I hope you’re right.” Celestia smiled weakly. “I…”

“Princess.” Shining Armour said, walking into the room. “Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t know you were entertaining guests.”

“Not to worry, Prince Armour.” Celestia smiled, turning to face the new element of magic, and his wife, as Cadence walked in behind him. “What news?”

“The public wants an explanation of what happened. So many ponies died, and now Twilight is…” Shining Armour began, but couldn’t finish, his eyes filling with tears.

“It’s ok dear.” Cadence comforted, pulling him into a hug, before turning to face her aunt. “But it is true, the public wants, no, needs, to know what happened.”

“She’s right.” Vakama nodded. “They deserve to know. I will gather my brothers and sister, and we can organise another press conference.”

“No, not a conference. This requires a more public touch.” Celestia declared, before turning to face Cadence and Shining Armour. “If the pair of you would organise a public address, I would speak to Canterlot as a whole. I would like the pair of you at my side as well, along with the elements, the Toa, and Luna and Twilight, if they are able.”

“We’ll see to it.” Cadence smiled, before turning, and with Shining Armour still clutched tightly beside her, exited the room.

“I’ll go and find my brothers and sister.” Vakama nodded, before striding out of the room after Shining Armour and Cadence.

Left alone, Celestia sighed, and looked out of the window. Smiling weakly, she turned from the room, and set off to find the only two ponies she would really want at her side for this. Her sister, and her pseudo-daughter.

***

Matau grumbled as he looked over the wreck of the craft that they had arrived in. True, it wasn’t beyond fixing, and had actually survived very well, being knocked apart rather than broken, meaning it should have been simply a matter of putting the parts back in the right place, which had almost been done already.

No, what was wrong was the one bit that had broken, and the part that without which, they wouldn’t be able to return home.

“Hey, Matau.” Nokama said, walking over. “How long will it take you to fix this?” She asked, holding out the broken navigational-driver manifold.

“Well, at home, maybe six or seven days, with help from others. Here, longer.” He said, looking at it and sighing. They’d all been so obsessed with getting the Matoran back, they hadn’t even bothered to think about how they would get back.

“How much longer?” Whenua asked.

“Months stretching to years. It’s not going to be easy-fixing.” Matau admitted.

“What’s going on?” Vakama asked, walking into the courtyard and looking over the ship.

“The navigational-driver manifold is shot to pieces, and Matau says it could take close to a year to fix with the technology we have available.” Nuju said.

“What’s wrong with it?” Vakama asked, taking the odd looking piece of hardware.

The thing was tiny in comparison with the ship, but Vakama knew that without this piece, the engines wouldn’t fire, nav-software would fluctuate and fail, and the small amount of life support systems would just not function. In short, without this working, the ship was dead.

“This.” Matau said, taking the small box and opening a small panel. As he did that, a thick grey liquid slid out.

“What am I looking at?” Vakama asked, catching some of the stuff in his hand, before letting it fall onto the ground.

“That was holding the thing together inside. It formed the power matrix.” Matau explained. “It was made of Protodermis, but, ugh, when we came through the portal, it energised, and fried the other circuits. Unless we can get a substitute power matrix, I can’t even see if we can fix it in years.” 

“That’s not good.” Vakama nodded. “But Celestia has offered us her help, and that of the alliance. Until we talk to them, let’s not loose heart. For now though, Celestia is going to address the public, and she wants us and the elements by her side.”

“Well, being here won’t help straight away, so let’s go.” Matau said, placing the manifold down and walking over to Vakama. “Lead the way.”

***

Celestia slowly walked down the corridor, passing by the few guards that had remained at the castle when they had sallied forth to defeat the Shadow Army. From what she had heard from scouts, the alliance forces were wrapping up their searches, and should be back in under two hours, perhaps three. 

‘That was good.’ Celestia nodded to herself. Everyone in that army, pony, Minotaur Griffon, it didn’t matter, was a hero. The world owed them all medals, and the Lunar Guard were owed a lot more than that. Where ever ponies went after death, the Lunar Guard would already be kicking ass and taking names, and when the rest of them finally passed on to the eternal pasture in the sky, even Luna and Celestia, they’d be there to welcome them in, safe and sound.

This, had been their finest hour.

Finally, Celestia reached a large, ornate door, and with a second hesitation, walked inside, her eyes alighting on her sister.

“Sister.” Luna rasped, turning to face Celestia.

Luna was a wreck, she had been ever since she had been hauled back to the surface, but it had been emphasised when she had recovered enough to walk again. Even though the doctors had told her to stay in bed for another three weeks, she had refused, and had been out of bed and walking around for the past week and a half.

“How are you feeling today?” Celestia asked, walking over, and making sure to keep her wings by her side. The first time she had placed one around her sister for comfort, the dark Alicorn had burst into tears.

“Alive.” Luna said simply. 

“We need to tell the public everything.” Celestia informed her. “The Hoofington incident pushed everything to the forefront of world news. I would consider it a great honour if you would stand with me in this.”

“I’m a freak.” Luna grunted, turning away from Celestia. “A one winged, no cutie marked freak.”

“Don’t say that.” Celestia said sternly. “You, and every other pony or creature who was injured in the war, are heroes. Never forget that.”

“But when the world sees me, they won’t see a hero will they? They’ll see me as the Nightmare, who was too weak to hold my own, and who let my entire guard die.”

“They will never see you as that. I will make sure of it.” Celestia assured her. “Now please, accompany me.”

“I…” Luna began.

“Luna. Please. You and your guard, of all the ponies on this planet, deserve recognition for what you did.” Celestia pushed.

“Fine.” Luna said dejectedly, before turning to face her sister properly. “On one condition. Twilight Sparkle is with us.”

“I, we now, are on our way to see her right now. If she agrees, she will come with us.” Celestia assured her.

“Lead on then.” Luna said quietly.

***

Twilight stared out of the window with a glazed look in her eyes, not really seeing the beauty that lay beyond. All she saw when she looked at Equestria, is what it would have been at her hoof had things played out just a tiny bit differently, and whenever she closed her eyes, she was greeted by the faces of the dead, both those deaths she caused, and those deaths that she had an active hoof in. More than once, she had awoken screaming. For other ponies, a nightmare was nothing to worry after they woke up, but Twilight was not like other ponies. Something deep within her had awoke over the past few weeks, and even without the vast magical reserves granted to her when she was the holder of the element of magic, she was still more powerful than even her brother, who held the element. When she awoke, screaming in the dark at the terrors beyond the veil of life and death, she could be heard around the world, and the lights could be seen all over Equestria. After the first fire, she had been moved to the secure vault of the Canterlot castle, where the most dangerous items in Equestria were housed.

Her ears perked up as she heard hoofsteps approaching down the corridor outside her, for want of a better word, cell, and she turned to face an adamantine slab. A moment later, the slab faded slightly, becoming incorporeal, and allowing first Celestia, horn still glowing from casting the spell, and then Luna to walk into the room. As soon as they were both inside, the metal slab became solid again, sealing the three of them in.

“Your magic is still gaining in strength Twilight?” Celestia asked, although it was more like a statement, and any unicorn who had met her before could have felt the change.

Twilight nodded, but didn’t open her mouth.

“Twilight.” Luna said softly, walking over to the mare. “Twilight, are you in there?”

Twilight nodded once more.

“I need an answer Twilight.” Luna smiled softly. “Please, for me.”

“Yes.” Twilight croaked, her voice coming out as a horse rasp due to disuse.

“Thank you.” Luna smiled, sitting down next to Twilight.

“Twilight.” Celestia began softly, sitting down on the other side of the mare. “Have you heard of the Hoofington incident?” Twilight nodded, and Celestia continued. “The ponies know that we are at war, or were, and demand an explanation. I would like you to be by my side when we address the crowd.

“No.” Twilight rasped, before standing up and glaring out of the window again.

“This room has one of the most beautiful views in the castle, wouldn’t you agree Luna?” Celestia smiled, walking over to stand beside Twilight once more.

“I would, especially at the setting of your sun, and the raising of my moon.” Luna nodded.

“All I see is blood.” Twilight said hollowly. “Armies clashing across the country. And I see me. I see me at the head of it all.”

“Stop. Now.” Celestia said sharply, turning Twilight away from the window and forcing her to look at the white Alicorn. “That, would never have happened.” 

Twilight stared at the Alicorn, but her eyes had glazed over again.

“Twilight.” Luna began, turning the mare. “I understand what you are going through.” At this, Twilight gaze flared, and anger slipped into her eyes, but Luna continued. “And I understand if you do not want to see the public, but if you do not face the public, I will not either. I am placing this decision firmly in your hooves.”

By this time, Twilight’s anger had faded, and she looked at the princess of the night despondently. For almost two minutes, the three were silent, before Twilight finally opened her mouth again.

“I’ll come.” She rasped, before walking over to the metal slab.

With a wave of her horn, the metal immolated, melting into a pile of slag on the floor. Before it had even cooled, Twilight walked through the molten metal, not even flinching at the pain she should have been feeling. When she reached the other side, she wasn’t so much as singed. 

Celestia and Luna stared at each other in shock as Twilight simply walked out of the most secure prison cell in Equestria, possible the entire world, before quickly following her. If she continued like this, she would become more powerful than both of them.

***

Cadence and Shining Armour, fully armoured in his old Guard uniform, stood just inside the door to the castle dais. With them, were all six Toa and the remaining five elements of harmony, and beyond the doors, stood thousands of ponies, along with correspondents from foreign countries as well as the press.

“Are we ready?” Celestia asked, approaching the group with Luna and Twilight in tow.

“We are Celestia.” Shining nodded, looking at his sister with a mournful gaze, but not saying a word. 

“Good. Let us begin then.” Celestia nodded, and with a glow of her horn, the doors were flung open, revealing the crowd beyond.

The nine ponies and six Toa quickly made their way out to the large stage like dais that had been kept clear for them, Twilight and Luna keeping to the rear of the group all the while. Celestia quickly took centre stage, and cleared her throat, silencing the last few ponies who were mumbling amongst themselves.

“Citizens of Equestria, and members of the free world. I come before you today, to discuss a matter of great import. As I am sure you are aware, four days ago, a force of roughly one thousand ponies, shrouded in shadows, emerged from the Everfree Forest, and began to move to attack the city of Hoofington. Only the timely intervention of the alliance army, comprised of Lord Skrall’s personal Minotaur guard, elements of my own personal guard, and the Cloudsdale Rangers, stopped the advance of this army, and although the cost in life was high, the force was turned back.”

The ponies all began shouting at once as Celestia paused to get her bearings.

“Has Nightmare Moon returned?!” One pony shouted.

“Why is there an army of Minotaur’s in our country?!” Another shouted.

“Can you show us your butt?!” Another shouted, before guards found and removed the offending pony.

“Silence!” Shining Armour shouted, walking up next to Celestia.

“Thank you Shining Armour.” Celestia nodded. “This was not, however, the first time in recent history that these Shadow Ponies have been engaged. Two weeks ago, a force, led by my sister and five of the Toa, discovered a cave system deep underneath the Everfree Forest. Inside, was a force of Shadow Ponies larger than the one that engaged our forces outside of Hoofington. My sister, the Toa, and the Lunar Guard engaged the forces. It was the last battle almost all of them would see.”

Celestia paused again, and took a deep, shuddering breath, before opening her mouth to continue. Before she could however, Luna moved forward, placing a hoof on her sister’s back, and moving her to the side. The crowd gasped as they looked at the princess of the night, but Luna paid it no mind.

“The Lunar Guard, with the exception of twelve members, including all of the elite Moonlight Wardens group, and the Lord Commander of Equestria, has been destroyed.”

At this, Celestia took back over.

“My sister also received more than her fair share of wounds, but these scars are not to be feared. Rather, they are to be admired, as they represent a pony who gave herself, body and soul, to the defence of this great nation. This however, is not all that has happened to effect Equestrian future. My student, Twilight Sparkle, a mare you all know and love, as well as Vakama, the leader of the Toa, were kidnapped by the Makuta, the leader of the Shadow Army. Against their will, they were forced to fight in the army of the Makuta. When I arrived with reinforcements, Twilight Sparkle broke through his mental barrier, and fought the creature, giving up the element of magic and giving it to her brother, to allow herself to be purified by the elements, followed swiftly by Vakama.”

“Both are alive.” Cadence continued. “But Twilight Sparkle has suffered her fair share of mental and physical injuries. She is not to be feared, even with her new magical prowess. All that now matters, is that the Toa have defeated the Makuta. The creature has been banished, and as soon as they are able, the Toa are going to follow him once more, and take the fight back to him.”

“My team,” Vakama began, walking forward, “is currently working on our way to return home. As soon as we have fixed our craft, we will leave.”

“How do you know he isn’t working with the Shadow Ponies still?” One Griffon reporter called out.

“Much like myself, the elements of harmony purified him, and my sister’s student. Neither of them accountable for their actions, and should not be persecuted for occurrences outside of their control.” Luna replied simply.

“In recognition of their services to Equestria, and to the world of Equis, I, along with leaders from all other nations, have decided that they shall be granted the highest honour possible on this planet. I hereby bestow upon each of them, the core of harmony” Celestia announced, shocking the Toa.

“Henceforth, the Toa are to be known as ambassadors to this world.” Cadence continued. “Furthermore, every member of the Lunar Guard, be they still alive, or having passed on to the pasture in the sky, has been granted the Equestrian cross, the Minotaur Order of Merit, the Griffon commendation of bravery, and the Buffalo Imperial Order of crescent. It has been decided that from this day forth, any soldier, pony or otherwise, who shows courage in the face of extreme danger, shall be granted the Lunar Star.”

Celestia stepped forward, and nodded to a contingent of unicorn guards, who quickly came to attention, before marching to stand in front of Celestia, facing out towards the crowd, as Celestia delivered her final speech.

“For us, the storm has passed. The war is over. But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark, and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure. Sacrifice, and unshakeable conviction that their fight, was then, and that our fight, was elsewhere. As we begin to rebuild all that we have lost in this fight, the cave system, and the field outside of Hoofington, shall remain barren, a memorial to fallen heroes, and to family, who are no longer with us. They ennobled us all, and they shall not be forgotten.”

“Guard of honour! General salute! Pre-sent, HORNS!” Shining Armour bellowed, marching forward and taking his place just behind the rank of guards already standing at attention. As he shouted, the unicorns all lit their horns in perfect unison.

At an unspoken signal, each Unicorn discharged their horn, firing a single flare each high into the sky with a loud crack, before each one exploded with a large bang in the air.

As the individual particles began to float towards the ground, Celestia and the others turned to walk back inside.

“Guard of honour! Extinguish, HORNS!” Shining Armour bellowed.

Instantly, the ponies did so.

“Guard of honour! Dis-miss!” Shining bellowed, before about turning and following the others.

As soon as the door shut, he let out the breath he had been holding, and turned to face the others.

“I thought it went very well.” Cadence smiled, nuzzling Shining’s neck.

“As did I.” Luna nodded, before breaking into a wide grin. “The ponies seemed to take everything very well. Although, that one pony did seem to find your flank interesting.”

“Laugh it up sister.” Celestia smirked.

As the ponies and Toa began to laugh between themselves, getting closer to what they were before the war, Twilight silently slipped off, separating herself from the main group, and heading up towards the roof. Only one pony noticed that she had disappeared.

“I’ve got to go to the ladies room.” Rarity said, quickly slipping off from the group, before hurrying after Twilight.

***

Twilight stood at the edge of the balcony on the tower of the sun, staring over towards the second tower, the tower of the moon. Briefly, she wondered if she could end her nightmares here, put a stop to all the pain she felt just from living these days. All it would take was a little push. One final effort. One, small, step.

“Twilight!” Rarity shouted, as she watched the mare take a step through the wall, which crumbled at her touch.

Instantly, her horn flared into life, and she reached out, grabbing hold of the falling pony, first with her magic, to slow her down, before managing to grab her by the hooves. The pair teetered on the edge of the tower, Twilight not responding, while Rarity struggled to haul her back up.

“Twilight! What are you doing?” Rarity grunted, struggling to hold the mare up. She wasn’t expecting an answer really, after all, Twilight didn’t speak anymore, but she needed to say something.

“Let me go.” Twilight said softly.

Rarity was shocked at this, and almost lost her grip on the purple pony’s leg, but managed to hold on, if barely.

“Twilight. Why are you doing this?” Rarity grunted, slipping closer to the edge, and looking around for help, but finding none. “Somepony!” She screamed, before turning her attention back to the mare, lighting her horn.

Quickly, Twilight was surrounded by a white light, as Rarity caught her in her magic. Slowly, the mare began to rise, before Twilight lit her own horn. Instantly, Rarity’s magic failed, and the Twilight dropped again, this time dragging Rarity over the edge with her. Only by the smallest of margins did Rarity manage to hold on, but her strength was fading, and holding herself, and Twilight up was getting difficult.

“Let me go Rarity.” Twilight said, looking up at the white Unicorn. “Murders shouldn’t go home.”

“You. Aren’t. A Murdered.” Rarity grunted, sweat pouring off of her.

“Did I kill?” Twilight said simply, releasing her grip on Rarity’s hoof, leaving only the white pony holding on, and slipping further from her grip.

“No.” Rarity groaned. “Makuta. Made you.”

“I did it.” Twilight said softly. “Let me…”

“TWILEY!” Shining Armour yelled, diving towards the edge and grabbing Rarity’s hoof, hauling backwards and helping the white Unicorn back onto firm ground.

“Hold on twilight!” Cadence shouted, before taking flight, and swooping towards the purple unicorn.

“Slipping.” Rarity grunted, before the sweat on her hoof finally made her loose her grip.

For a heart wrenching second, Twilight stayed in mid-air, frozen in a moment between life and death. Then, she fell. Faster and faster she went, with Cadence chasing after her.

She began to close the gap, struggling to catch up to the falling mare, as Shining watched in horror.

She was nine meters away.

Eight meters.

Seven meters.

Five.

Two.

Cadence grabbed hold of Twilight, pulling her close into her chest, before flipping over and landing hard on her back.

The Alicorn of Love bounced across the ground like a rock skipping across the surface of a calm pond. It was painful, but cadence refused to cry out, focusing her entire being on remaining on her back and protecting Twilight. After a few bounces, Cadence came to a halt, and slowly pushed herself to her feet. She was bruised and battered, with small grazes across her back, but nothing worse than a small cut.

“Twilight?” She asked nervously, looking at the purple mare.

When she received no word, she immediately assumed the worst, and dived down to lie next to Twilight, opening her mouth and preparing to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation. That was when she saw the mare’s chest rising and falling. Gingerly, she lifted the unconscious mare onto her back, before making her way back into the castle. 

***

“She tried to jump.” Luna said, walking back into the room, and addressing the Toa. “She has been moved into intensive care again, in the black vault.”

“The black vault?” Vakama asked.

“Safest place on the planet. Usually only supposed to be used for dangerous artefacts.” Luna explained. “But for now, this is all we can do for her. You on the other hoof, need help, I hear.”

“Yes.” Matau said, holding out the disassembled manifold. 

“What am I looking at?” Luna asked.

“The core of our ship. Without this, it won’t work. The Protodermis core liquefied when we arrived, and probably is why we crashed.” Matau explained.

“Could have been you’re driving.” Whenua grinned.

“Laugh it up rock-head.” Matau shot back.

“You love me.” Whenua grinned, blowing a fake kiss towards Matau.

“Anyway…” Nokama prompted, turning to Luna. “The core was a crystal of Protodermis. We tried to use just a normal crystal, but it couldn’t handle the energy transfer through it and melted.”

“And you want to see if there is any way we can find or manufacture a crystal that can handle the high level energy transfer.” Luna summarised.

“That is the general idea, yes.” Vakama nodded.

“Well. We should go and see my sister’s scientists. They are probably some of the only ponies who would know what to do.” Luna declared.

“Apart from Twilight.” Matau said glumly.

“Apart from Twilight.” Luna nodded morbidly, before leading the Toa through the castle.

***
2 weeks later
***

“I must say darling, I am so glad you allowed me to continue my work.” Rarity smiled, looking over Nuju. “Of, and Matau,” she said, looking at the green Toa, “you’ve been working so hard for your brothers, I just simply hand to find a way to repay you for everything you have done. I would have like to do it for the others, but…” 

“We need to leave as soon as we can, which should be today.” Nuju finished. “Are we done?”

“I believe I have made the finishing touches.” Rarity said, levitating a parcel over to Nuju, and one to Matau. “Go and put these on, and then meet me outside. The others are waiting for the pair of you.”

With that, Rarity walked out of the shop, while Nuju and Matau walked behind a curtain to get into the outfits Rarity had given them. Truth be told, neither of them had overly wanted to do this, but the white Unicorn had a way of begging to the point where giving in was simply easier. Whining she had called it, not whinnying, as Matau had found out, much to his own pain.

A few minutes later, the door to Carousel Boutique swung open, and the small crowd that had gather outside quickly fell into a hushed silence. A moment later, Nuju walked out of the building, followed swiftly by Matau.

The white Toa was once again dressed in the void black Tuxedo, the silk shining in the setting sun, and the monocle glinting in the half light, and it too had been polished to a gleaming brilliance. There was more than just a monocle on his head now though, and the top of it was adorned with a matching black top hat, perfectly complimenting the rest of the outfit. A brown wooden pipe stuck out of the Toa’s mouth, and completed the look.

Matau emerged from behind his brother, and allowed the others to get a good look at him. The green Toa was adorned in his own tuxedo, the style differing slightly from Nuju’s in the fact that it was sleeker all over, as well as being a bright, vibrant red colour, with a trim that matched his armour’s colour perfectly.

“Brothers.” Nokama smiled, looking over the two Toa. “You are looking exceptional today.”

“Y’all really outdid yerself this time Rarity.” Applejack nodded, looking at Matau. “Hey, Onewa. How come you don’t scrub up nice like this?”

“I regret not being able to make one for all of the Toa.” Rarity cut in. “If you were here for longer, then I would. In fact, I am going to make you each one.” She declared, looking around. “And if you ever return, I can give them to you then.” 

Smiling to herself, Rarity began to visualise the clothes that she would be making in the near future.

“Brothers, Nokama, I believe we should begin to make plans to leave.” Vakama said softly.

“So soon?” Fluttershy asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Vakama nodded. “Our ship shows that the portal may be able to be passed through again in the next hour, and we have no way of knowing when it will open again.”

***

The Toa stood just in front of the ship, doing final checks on it, while the elements, the remains of the Lunar Guard, each of whom was now a member of the Lunar Wardens, and would be used to rebuild the guard as a whole, Cadence, and Celestia, stood back to see them off.

“Are you all set?” Celestia asked, as Vakama walked back towards them, followed quickly by his brothers and Nokama.

“Almost.” Vakama nodded, before looking down at a slightly dejected looking Pinkie Pie. “Hey, chin up.”

“Do you have to go Vakami?” Pinkie asked.

“My duty is elsewhere.” He nodded, before reaching behind him. “But if you ever need anything to remember us by, take this.”

Drawing out what he was holding behind his back, Vakama placed the finished mask on the floor in front of him. Aesthetically, it looked like Vakama’s mask when he had donned the mask of time, but this was merely cosmetic, and the mask itself had no power. The effect it had on Pinkie however, was worth the effort. Beside it, he placed a pair of pads that would fit over her foreleg shoulders, once again, offering no protection, and being merely cosmetic.

The pink pony was instantly her old self again, scooping up the mask and shoulder pads up, and placing them on her own body.

“Vakami.” She smiled, hugging the red Toa.

Behind her, Celestia nodded in approval, before Vakama finally pulled himself from the hug.

“Since we’re giving gifts, eh, I…sorta…have one.” Rainbow said, walking forward awkwardly.

“You darling?” Rarity asked in surprise.

“Yeah, me.” She said dejectedly. “Matau, I was an ass to you. I just, wanted to give you these, to say sorry.”

Reaching behind her, Rainbow drew out a pair of sunglasses and tossed them to the red suited Toa, who quickly caught them, before putting them on, crossing his arms.

“Well…maybe if you say I’m awesome.” Matau grinned.

“Not on your life.” Rainbow grinned back.

“The portal’s open!” Whenua yelled, pointing at the sudden appearance of a silvery circle above the ship.

“Time to go.” Vakama said, and the others quickly turned, and jumped onto the ship. Vakama slowly got on board, before looking back at the ponies. “Celestia, thank you. For everything.”

With that, the ship slowly rose off the ground, before passing through the portal, which closed almost as soon as the ship had passed through it.

“I’m going to miss them.” Shining Armour mused.

“As am I.” Celestia nodded. “As am I.”

***

“Nokama! Where are we?!” Vakama roared over the wind and rain they found themselves in.

“Take a look!” Nokama yelled back, pointing away from the ship.

Vakama followed her finger, and looked outwards, peering through the murky weather. He could just make out a large tower in the distance, and smiled, as he recognised the landmark he had grown up around.

“Home.” He smiled.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
And so it was, as it is. The Makuta was banished, and once more, the land of Equestria was saved from his rule of Shadows. Hope, was returned to those who would have lost all, if not for the intervention of the Toa heroes.

It was in those days, that I realised that courage is not something that one always possesses, but is an attribute that only the scared can truly hold. My new friend Fluttershy, taught me that. In the time to come, the portal to Equestria opened many more times, and we, the Turaga, would visit our other worldly friends many more times, before the Makuta was finally vanquished.

We found our second home, but now, it is time for you to make this one your own, and continue on making new legends.

For that is the way, of the Bionicle.





> Author’s notes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Well anyway, thank you to everybody who read this story, and didn’t give up on it for one reason or another.

This is my first ever story that I have finished, and the feedback has been awesome. Thanks to everyone who commented, or like, or favourited it, or whatever. You are all awesome. 

This is Fenrisianbrony, signing off.