Bionicle: Equestrian Saga Side Storiesby Nova_BlastChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Hey, my name's Surefire, I'm an 18 year old unicorn from Trottingham with a red coat, black mane, and a bloody boring life. I hate constant routine, seriously, it drives me crazy. It's not like I actually have anything to do job wise, not many ponies are looking for a unicorn with a knack for fire magic, if anything they're trying to put fires out, which is the reason why I was walking down the streets of Trottingham towards the train station with a one way ticket to New Altero. I entered the foyer of the station and took note of the golden statue depicting several of the Toa that helped to save Equestria from Teridax, can't remember their names of the top of my head. I glanced up at the information board, I needed to catch a train to Appleloosa and then enter a chute headed to New Altero, that was the part I was most excited about, but first I had a week or so of traveling from one side of the country to the other, not so exciting. I trotted through the ticket barrier and headed towards the platform my train was waiting at, I soon found my train and quickly climbed on, no sooner had i found my cabin and sat down than the train quickly departed a sped towards Appleloosa. *one week later* I stepped out of the carriage and took note of the multitude of different species milling about, half were ponies (most of which were earth ponies), the other half were either tourists from one of the other northern countries like Minotauria or the Griffin kingdoms, or members of the many species that lived in New Altero, from what i had read there was about 10 or so different species native to the metropolis. I walked towards one of the information desks located inside the station building, an earth pony stallion was sat at the desk with a bored look on his face. "Um, excuse me?" I asked, he looked at me. "What can ah do for yawl, son?" he asked, smiling. "I was wondering if you could direct me to the chutes to New Altero" I said. "Look for the sign that says 'to the chutes'" he said "follow it and you should start to see signs in two languages, one of them's written in circular symbols" i nodded. "Thank you" I said, before turning and walking away. I soon found the aforementioned sign and followed it until I came to an intersection with a set of signs in some weird text: I stared at the text and tilted my head in confusion, I heard chuckling behind me and turned to see a four hoof and a half tall mechanical biped with brown legs and hands, cream chest and arms and a bronze coloured mask with lenses on the right side. "Let me guess" he said, crossing his arms "first time going to New Altero?" I nodded. "Yeah" I said "needed to escape from home for a while, figured a trip down south would do the trick" he looked at me like I'd grown a second horn. "On your own?" he asked, I shrugged. "what can I say" I said, shrugging "I'm a fairly independent pony" "Trust me when I say you're gonna need a guide" he said. "Are you offering?" I asked, he dead-panned. "No, I'm gonna sell you a thornax...of course I'm offering" he said. "Well then" I said "what's the best place to go to in New Altero?" "Definitely Po-Altero" he said "come on, I'll show you the way" he then led me down one of the corridors, where I could mostly see more of the brown types. "Say, I never got your name" he said after a while. "It's Surefire" I said "you?" "Bour" he said "I used to be a bricklayer, but bricks aren't exactly in high demand at the moment" "Tough call" I muttered. we soon reached the station and I stopped when I noticed one glaring problem "I can't breath under water" Bour apparently found this funny as he promptly burst out laughing. "Ha! That isn't water" he said "besides, you don't need to worry about that, you can breath just fine in the chutes. Come on" and with that he ran and jumped into the 25 hoof wide clear tube, the surface rippled as he passed through, and left a faint outline as he sped away. I tapped the surface with a hoof and it rippled slightly. "Oh, Celestia, I must be mad" I said as I tightened the straps on my saddlebags and took several steps back before galloping and jumping in. i was temporarily disoriented as i floated in place for a few moments before being violently dragged along by the current, I got a sudden sense of vertigo as I accelerated rapidly along the chute. I soon heard a familiar chuckle. "Heh, you can stop holding your breath now" I heard Bour say, I looked over to see him traveling feet first, laying on his back with his hands behind his head. I released a breath I didn't realise I was holding and expected the liquid we were traveling through to start rushing down my throat...only it never happened, it was certainly an odd experience, breathing through a liquid, it almost felt like breathing humid, summer air, only it was cool. I absentmindedly wondered if this is what it was like to be a fish before rejecting that thought as stupid. "How long till we reach, what was it called again?" I asked, absentmindedly noting in the cacti flashing past us "'Po-Altero'?" he nodded. "about an hour or so" he said. "Is that all!?" I asked in surprise, he nodded. "we're traveling at about 300 Kio per hour" he said "give or take a few" I didn't know how long a Kio was, but it sounded like the equivalent of Miles back home, I'd have to ask someone about it when we reached New Altero. Chapter 2Soon the desert gave way to suburbs filled with metal houses. "Is this Po-Altero?" I asked, my voice slightly muffled by the 'protodermis' that we were traveling through, Bour nodded. "Po-Altero is the district where all the building work is done, alongside the Ta, Fe and Fa-Altero districts" he said. "How many districts are there?" I asked, he thought for a moment. "15 in total" he said. "That many!?" I asked. "There's a reason it's called a metropolis; it's a big city" he said, before looking ahead, at that moment we entered a tunnel, signifying the end of our journey "come on, we're almost there, and we're gonna have to time this just right" he then grabbed my forehoof and pulled me out, I ended up sprawled on the floor. "You really need to get out more from...where did you say you were from?" Bour asked, pulling me up. "I didn't" I said, quickly checking my saddlebags "I'm from Trottingham" "Long way from home then" he said, I nodded "I kind of figured you were from around those parts, seeing as some of the Nue-Toa hail from there, and your accent is a dead match to theirs" I went to say something but was interrupted by my stomach rumbling, my cheeks flushed "Heh heh, you wouldn't know where a good place to get some food would be, would you?" he thought for a moment. "let me think" Bour said, rubbing his chin in thought "I think I know of a place to get something to eat" He soon led me towards a market of some sorts, I was slightly overwhelmed by the strange and new sights, sounds and smells. Be it stall owners trying to persuade potential customers into purchasing items for a supposedly cheap price, the smell of unfamiliar spices that tickled my nose, or a side show with a tall, troll-like creature with a spine running down its back, trying to draw passers by in with the promise of incredible spectacles. "Step right up!" he announced "come see a living Tower of Visorak, right here" "Don't get too distracted" Bour said quietly "most of the people here are honest enough, but some are just up to no good" at that moment I felt a tugging from my saddle bags I quickly turned around to see a 5 foot tall biped with black armour in the process of trying to pickpocket me. "'ey! What the bloody 'ell do you think you're doin'?" I asked, my horn flashing with magic. "Um, Surefire?" Bour said, stepping forward "I think it's best if I deal with him" "I was brought up to deal with my own problems" I said, before turning to the 5 ft tall being "I'll ask you again, what do you think you're doing?" "Give me your money and I'll let you got without a scratch" he said, flashing a large knife. I walked up to him, by now a small number of passers by had started to notice what was happening. "How about this for an idea?" I asked, looking him dead in the eyes "you go buck yourself with that knife of yours" the crowd began muttering. "You gotta lot of talk for such a fragile sack of flesh" he said. I chuckled "A word of advice" I said, before turning around and bucking him down the street, using my magic to add extra force to the buck "you don't mess with a pony from Trotting'am!" I then carried on down the street, the crowd quickly went about their business, seems what happened wasn't unusual. as we walked I noticed Bour was staring at me. "What?" I asked. "Are you sure that was the best way to deal with him?" Bour asked, jerking a thumb behind us "you could have just let me deal with it" "Like I said, I was brought up to deal with my problems, not go running from them" I said "and let's just say I have enough experience to handle myself in a fight, kind of a necessity of living in Trottingham. Equestria isn't all sunshine and rainbows, mate, savvy?" "He had a knife" Bour said, I levitated the knife into view. "You mean this knife?" I asked smugly, he deadpanned. "you ponies and your magic" he muttered. "You gotta admit, that was good" I said. "I admit nothing" he said, before nodding his head to one side of the street, where what looked like a restaurant was set up "we're here" he led me inside and we took a seat at one of the tables. The interior was similar to a restaurant from Southern Equestria, with a small number of individuals either at the bar, drinking, eating at one of the tables. I levitated a Menu over and began to browse the options, only to immediately slam my face onto the table. "Are you okay?" Bour asked. "I need to learn how read the bloody language" I muttered "I need a guidebook for translating text" "How long do you plan to spend in New Altero?" he asked. "Till the first day of next week" I said. "Then it's not worth it" he said "you've only got a couple of days in this city, so why bother? I could just translate for you" "Good point" I conceded, I suddenly thought about something "Um, what is the currency used here?" "Businesses around here accept most currencies" Bour said. "Why?" i asked. "This City was practically built off of the backbone of other nations" he said "in return, we accept their currencies and provide a large amount of raw material to the countries that helped" "Right" i said "What would you suggest i have to eat?" "anything vegetarian will do for you" he said "just don't get a Thornax soup" after a few minutes of generally making conversation a waiter came over and after explaining what was on the menu ans what was okay for me to eat, I ordered my food. Once the waiter had gone i turned to Bour. "Bour?" i asked "what are all the different species here?" he chuckled slightly. "You had to ask that one" he said "let me think for a moment" he then began to scan the crowd. "You see the tall, snake looking one over there?" he asked, pointing at a slender, 15 hoof tall biped that was talking to the bar tender. I nodded "That's a Vortixx" he said "they're usually found on Moutere Xia, an island near the south-eastern tip of the continent, you're most likely to come across a female. Just try and keep out of their way as they're know for their...promiscuousness" "...Right.." I said. he then pointed out another 15 hoof tall sat at a table in the corner, this one was more bulky compared to the Vortixx. . That's a Higher Steltian" he said "again, stay out of their way" he then pointed out a 7 hoof tall troll like creature with a huge grin and an organic spine running down its back. "That's a Skakdi" he said "Again, stay out of their way..." "is every species here like this?" i asked, he laughed. "You'd think it, wouldn't you?" he said "but no, not every species is like that" at that moment a 10 ft tall dragon-esc looking being with red armour walked into the restaurant and took a seat at the bar, his predatory eyes momentarily lingered on me before he gestured to the bartender and promptly received a whisky glass containing a golden liquid "W-Who is that?" I asked nervously. "He's a Makuta" Bour said quietly, leaning in "from what i've heard, he used to be a pony like you, 'till Teridax turned him" I shuddered, Teridax was one...thing I'd rather not hear about. "If he was with Teridax then why is he able to walk in here without getting jumped?" I asked in a hushed voice. "He switched sides at the first chance he got, helped Equestria to win the war" Bour said. "Then what's he doing here, getting himself pissed on whiskey?" I asked, noting that the Makuta had just finished his third glass and was about to down the forth. "He isn't exactly happy with his current physical state" Bour said, shaking his head sadly. The waiter eventually brought my food over and I promptly began eating, by the time I'd finished a female, bipedal griffin had walked into the restaurant and quickly spoke with the now drunk Makuta before helping him out. Once again his eyes lingered on me before looking where he was going. Chapter 3I was walking through the Bo-Altero Market, Bour was checking with his employers that our plans were okay, so I was taking the time to explore the entire city for the day on my own. Bo and Le-Altero was where they tested out new vehicles and inventions, it was also where the network of chutes began, meaning the sky was almost constantly blocked by chutes. Oh well, at least the sun wasn't constantly beating down upon you like in Po-Altero. I caught sight of a stall where a Minotaur was creating things out of leather and trotted over and he greeted me warmly. "Hello there, stranger" he said, his accent very apparent as he leant on the counter "what can I do for a young master like you then?" I levitated the knife out of my bag. "Think you can create a holder for this?" I asked, he picked the knife out of my aura and examined it briefly. "I'll see what I can do" he said "Where do you want the holder? I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Legs, flank, shoulder, side, front or back?" he asked, I thought for a moment before answering. "um, side please" i said. "Left or right?" he asked. "Surprise me" I said "How much will it be?" "Bits, widgets or bunnoedd?" he asked. "Bits" I replied. "That'll be..." he paused for a moment, as if working out the cost "how does...20 bits sound?" I thought for a moment before conceding. "Alright" i said "am I okay to pay when when it's done" he nodded. "Sure, it'll be ready in a few hours" he said, i nodded before turning away. "Cheers" I called back as I began walking down the street once again. I spied an alleyway with a few stalls down it and decided to check it out, I was just walking over to one of the stalls when i noticed the stall when I noticed his eyes widen in fear. Before I could react I felt a set of large, metal talons grab around my chest and lift me up about 10 or so feet above the ground, bringing me face to face with a large helmet that had three spikes on the back and was a mixture of dark and light green. "Whero me te poniponi pango" he said in what sounded like old Matoran, if I remember what Bour told me correctly. I heard the flapping of wings below me and looked down to see a green pegasus mare with a white mane and tail, she appeared to be roughly the same age as me, in her late teen or early twenties. I couldn't make out her cutie mark as it was obscured by a set of crude and tattered saddlebags. "Da'alrega!" she exclaimed in a Trottingham accent "Maka ia ia ki raro, i teie nei!" the being that was holding me whined quietly like a dog, the pegasus stomped the ground with a forehoof and looked the being dead in the eyes. "Puni Eke. Oneone. Na!" she said, the being slowly began to lower me down until I was once again on the ground. I looked up at the being to get a better look at him, he was tall, about 10 ft or more, with digitigrade legs, his left arm had a set of large, silver talons, whilst his right arm had a large, green blade growing out of it. The pegasus walked over to me "Are you alright?" she asked. "Nothing broken" I said, giving myself the once over. "I'm really sorry about that" she said "Da'alrega seems to forget the meaning of personal space at times" the last bit seemed to be directed more at the tall, green being, who dipped his head slightly and whined. "Um...thanks" I said, slightly stunned that a pegasus mare could command such a large being "say, what's a pegasus filly from Scoltland doing here, with a spherus magnan like that thing no less?" "I could say the same about you" she said. "I needed to escape from normality for a while" I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. she sighed and her ears drooped "When I was younger my parents were explorers" she said "they decided to take me on one of their expeditions to the far south, we came across a pack of bonehunters,...my parents didn't make it out" "I'm sorry" I said. "Don't be" she said "you didn't cause it. Da'alrega took me in, looked after me, taught me how to survive in the forests of Hordika Valley" "So, what's your name?" I asked. "Thunderclap" she said "yours?" "Surefire" I replied. "So" she said "where're you headed?" "down south, but other than that I'm not really sure" I said "I need to talk to Bour about it" "Who?" she asked. "Po-Matoran" I said "he's my guide" she burst out laughing. "A Matoran acting as a guide?" she asked, wiping away a tear "don't make me laugh" "aha ngā mea e ia?" Da'alrega asked. "Ta ia mahi o te Matoran rite tona aratohu mō te haere ki raro, ki te tonga" Thunderclap said, he promptly burst out laughing, it sounded animalistic, like a monkey's laugh. "Is that supposed to be funny?" I asked. "It's tragic, more than anything" Thunderclap said "with a Matoran, you won't last 2 weeks" "Why?" I asked. "Their weak, small, not to mention they don't have any powers other than very basic elemental powers" she said. "Well then, why don't you two act as our guides?" I asked, she snorted. "Sorry kid" she said "We just got back to civilization, i'm not gonna go blindly exploring around nowhere just so a stallion and a Matoran don't kill themselves" she then got really close and kissed me on the cheek. "Though for the record, I think you're cute, try not to get pounced by Vortixx's" she giggled as she turning away and whipped my snout with her tail before she walked off in the direction of one of the stalls. I stood there with a growing redness in my cheeks, I heard a chuckle "Watch it, kid" Da'alrega said in Equestrian, through with a heavy accent "you've taken her interest, I'll see if I can sway her opinion about coming with you" I looked at him in surprise. "You speak Equestrian?" I asked. "I can speak it, I just have trouble understanding it from fluent speakers at times" he said, leaning on his blade like it was a walking stick "I also prefer to speak in my mothertongue" "Why try and change her mind?" I asked "you barely know me" "Like she said, you won't last 2 weeks in the wild" he said, pointing at me "it would be a waste of life if you just wet rushing in blindly" he then walked down the alleyway after Thunderclap. With nothing better to do I walked into one of the larger stalls and began looking at the different items for sale to see if anything took my fancy. I quickly decided that i wasn't interested in what was on offer and was just leaving when I bumped into a certain Rock tribe Agori from yesterday. "I believe you have something that belongs to me" he said. I noticed he had a dent on his helmet. "Heh heh" I chuckled nervously as I began backing up "h-hey mate, no hard feelings, right?" he chuckled sinisterly before pulling out an even larger knife than before, this one was more like a shortsword. "You're lucky I have a spare" he said as he began to walk towards me with the knife held down low. I felt my flank bump against the wall "Hey!" I heard Thunderclap yell, we both looked over to see her running towards us "fi rẹ nikan!" the Agori chuckled. "Eleyi rẹ omokunrin?" he asked, she shook her head, he chuckled "Daradara, i amoro o yoo ko lokan ti o ba ti i ṣe eyi!" her eyes widened and I felt something sharp go into my chest. I looked down in shock to see the blade sticking out my chest and I fell to the ground when he pulled it out before running, I barely registered Da'alrega running after him. Thunderclap ran over and gasped. "Oh pōhēhē" she turned to the crowd that was gathering "Me ahau a Toa!" my vision began to go dark. "No-no, stay with me" she said as my eyes began to close. I heard a loud thud just before my eyes closed and my mind went blank... ...I felt myself returning to consciousness and I could begin to hear voices "Sur...re...can...me?" I opened my eyes saw white lights and multiple dark blobs. "Surefire?" a voice asked, I shook my head to clear my thoughts and my vision cleared to reveal Thunderclap, along with Da'alrega and Bour. There was also a tall female with blue and gunmetal armour. I tried to sit up but she placed a hand on my shoulder and gently-but-firmly held me down. "Take it easy, young one" she said, her voice had a motherly quality to it "you still need rest" "*urgh* What happened?" I asked "Where are we?" "You're in Ga-Altero" she said "you're incredibly lucky to have survived the stab wound, a few more moments and you would have been beyond my help" I looked down my chest and, to my surprise, there was a mere scar "Th-thank you" I said in amazement, before remembering something "How the heck am I gonna pay the minotaur for the holder now?" "You mean this one?" Thunderclap asked, before chucking over a leather knife holder, complete with knife. I stared at it with a stunned expression on my face. "W-what?" I said dumbly, Thunderclap giggled before saying. "As they were taking you away to be healed the Minotaur called me over and asked if I knew you, I explained what happened and he finished it free of charge, he even rebalanced the knife for you, he said to 'consider it a get-well gift'" I was left speechless. "Will everything be okay from now on?" the female asked. Thunderclap nodded. "Thank you, Toa Gali" she said, Gali nodded before walking out the room, once she was gone I turned to the others. "How long was I out?" I asked. "A few weeks" Bour said, before smirking "Thunderclap hardly left your side the whole time" said pegasus blushed. "Bour!" she exclaimed "I felt responsible to look after him whilst he was unconscious" "Sure" Bour said, rolling his eyes before walking out the room as Thunderclap stared daggers into the back of his head. "I really hate that kohli head sometimes" she said. *a few days later* I was sat in a restaurant along with my friends. Da'alrega had managed to convince Thunderclap to come with us, so as a group we had planned where to go, whilst they advised me and Bour on what locations were okay or not, so we now had a basic route planned out and we were just working out the finer details. "Right" Thunderclap said through the pencil held between her teeth "personally i'd suggest taking the route to Hordika Valley, stopping in Zebrabwe along the way" she went to say something else but was interrupted by a low boom. "The heck was that?" I asked, the others simply shrugged. My question was answered in the shape of large, metallic, purple pyramid which quickly descended before jets appeared underneath it, rapidly slowing its descent before it touched down with a soft thud. A random Glatorian cautiously walked over, and tapped on the side as everyone looked on curiously. This quickly turned to horror as the side opened up and a two pronged, glowing sword was plunged into the Glatorians chest by an 8ft tall reptile in purple armour. The reptile regarded the Glatorian with curiosity before chucking him to one side and stepping onto the ground. The creature turned back to the object before raising up his sword and shouting out in a language that I didn't understand. "WORT WORT WORT!!!" Chapter 4Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 5Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1Hey, my name's Surefire, I'm an 18 year old unicorn from Trottingham with a red coat, black mane, and a bloody boring life. I hate constant routine, seriously, it drives me crazy. It's not like I actually have anything to do job wise, not many ponies are looking for a unicorn with a knack for fire magic, if anything they're trying to put fires out, which is the reason why I was walking down the streets of Trottingham towards the train station with a one way ticket to New Altero. I entered the foyer of the station and took note of the golden statue depicting several of the Toa that helped to save Equestria from Teridax, can't remember their names of the top of my head. I glanced up at the information board, I needed to catch a train to Appleloosa and then enter a chute headed to New Altero, that was the part I was most excited about, but first I had a week or so of traveling from one side of the country to the other, not so exciting. I trotted through the ticket barrier and headed towards the platform my train was waiting at, I soon found my train and quickly climbed on, no sooner had i found my cabin and sat down than the train quickly departed a sped towards Appleloosa. *one week later* I stepped out of the carriage and took note of the multitude of different species milling about, half were ponies (most of which were earth ponies), the other half were either tourists from one of the other northern countries like Minotauria or the Griffin kingdoms, or members of the many species that lived in New Altero, from what i had read there was about 10 or so different species native to the metropolis. I walked towards one of the information desks located inside the station building, an earth pony stallion was sat at the desk with a bored look on his face. "Um, excuse me?" I asked, he looked at me. "What can ah do for yawl, son?" he asked, smiling. "I was wondering if you could direct me to the chutes to New Altero" I said. "Look for the sign that says 'to the chutes'" he said "follow it and you should start to see signs in two languages, one of them's written in circular symbols" i nodded. "Thank you" I said, before turning and walking away. I soon found the aforementioned sign and followed it until I came to an intersection with a set of signs in some weird text: I stared at the text and tilted my head in confusion, I heard chuckling behind me and turned to see a four hoof and a half tall mechanical biped with brown legs and hands, cream chest and arms and a bronze coloured mask with lenses on the right side. "Let me guess" he said, crossing his arms "first time going to New Altero?" I nodded. "Yeah" I said "needed to escape from home for a while, figured a trip down south would do the trick" he looked at me like I'd grown a second horn. "On your own?" he asked, I shrugged. "what can I say" I said, shrugging "I'm a fairly independent pony" "Trust me when I say you're gonna need a guide" he said. "Are you offering?" I asked, he dead-panned. "No, I'm gonna sell you a thornax...of course I'm offering" he said. "Well then" I said "what's the best place to go to in New Altero?" "Definitely Po-Altero" he said "come on, I'll show you the way" he then led me down one of the corridors, where I could mostly see more of the brown types. "Say, I never got your name" he said after a while. "It's Surefire" I said "you?" "Bour" he said "I used to be a bricklayer, but bricks aren't exactly in high demand at the moment" "Tough call" I muttered. we soon reached the station and I stopped when I noticed one glaring problem "I can't breath under water" Bour apparently found this funny as he promptly burst out laughing. "Ha! That isn't water" he said "besides, you don't need to worry about that, you can breath just fine in the chutes. Come on" and with that he ran and jumped into the 25 hoof wide clear tube, the surface rippled as he passed through, and left a faint outline as he sped away. I tapped the surface with a hoof and it rippled slightly. "Oh, Celestia, I must be mad" I said as I tightened the straps on my saddlebags and took several steps back before galloping and jumping in. i was temporarily disoriented as i floated in place for a few moments before being violently dragged along by the current, I got a sudden sense of vertigo as I accelerated rapidly along the chute. I soon heard a familiar chuckle. "Heh, you can stop holding your breath now" I heard Bour say, I looked over to see him traveling feet first, laying on his back with his hands behind his head. I released a breath I didn't realise I was holding and expected the liquid we were traveling through to start rushing down my throat...only it never happened, it was certainly an odd experience, breathing through a liquid, it almost felt like breathing humid, summer air, only it was cool. I absentmindedly wondered if this is what it was like to be a fish before rejecting that thought as stupid. "How long till we reach, what was it called again?" I asked, absentmindedly noting in the cacti flashing past us "'Po-Altero'?" he nodded. "about an hour or so" he said. "Is that all!?" I asked in surprise, he nodded. "we're traveling at about 300 Kio per hour" he said "give or take a few" I didn't know how long a Kio was, but it sounded like the equivalent of Miles back home, I'd have to ask someone about it when we reached New Altero.
Chapter 2Soon the desert gave way to suburbs filled with metal houses. "Is this Po-Altero?" I asked, my voice slightly muffled by the 'protodermis' that we were traveling through, Bour nodded. "Po-Altero is the district where all the building work is done, alongside the Ta, Fe and Fa-Altero districts" he said. "How many districts are there?" I asked, he thought for a moment. "15 in total" he said. "That many!?" I asked. "There's a reason it's called a metropolis; it's a big city" he said, before looking ahead, at that moment we entered a tunnel, signifying the end of our journey "come on, we're almost there, and we're gonna have to time this just right" he then grabbed my forehoof and pulled me out, I ended up sprawled on the floor. "You really need to get out more from...where did you say you were from?" Bour asked, pulling me up. "I didn't" I said, quickly checking my saddlebags "I'm from Trottingham" "Long way from home then" he said, I nodded "I kind of figured you were from around those parts, seeing as some of the Nue-Toa hail from there, and your accent is a dead match to theirs" I went to say something but was interrupted by my stomach rumbling, my cheeks flushed "Heh heh, you wouldn't know where a good place to get some food would be, would you?" he thought for a moment. "let me think" Bour said, rubbing his chin in thought "I think I know of a place to get something to eat" He soon led me towards a market of some sorts, I was slightly overwhelmed by the strange and new sights, sounds and smells. Be it stall owners trying to persuade potential customers into purchasing items for a supposedly cheap price, the smell of unfamiliar spices that tickled my nose, or a side show with a tall, troll-like creature with a spine running down its back, trying to draw passers by in with the promise of incredible spectacles. "Step right up!" he announced "come see a living Tower of Visorak, right here" "Don't get too distracted" Bour said quietly "most of the people here are honest enough, but some are just up to no good" at that moment I felt a tugging from my saddle bags I quickly turned around to see a 5 foot tall biped with black armour in the process of trying to pickpocket me. "'ey! What the bloody 'ell do you think you're doin'?" I asked, my horn flashing with magic. "Um, Surefire?" Bour said, stepping forward "I think it's best if I deal with him" "I was brought up to deal with my own problems" I said, before turning to the 5 ft tall being "I'll ask you again, what do you think you're doing?" "Give me your money and I'll let you got without a scratch" he said, flashing a large knife. I walked up to him, by now a small number of passers by had started to notice what was happening. "How about this for an idea?" I asked, looking him dead in the eyes "you go buck yourself with that knife of yours" the crowd began muttering. "You gotta lot of talk for such a fragile sack of flesh" he said. I chuckled "A word of advice" I said, before turning around and bucking him down the street, using my magic to add extra force to the buck "you don't mess with a pony from Trotting'am!" I then carried on down the street, the crowd quickly went about their business, seems what happened wasn't unusual. as we walked I noticed Bour was staring at me. "What?" I asked. "Are you sure that was the best way to deal with him?" Bour asked, jerking a thumb behind us "you could have just let me deal with it" "Like I said, I was brought up to deal with my problems, not go running from them" I said "and let's just say I have enough experience to handle myself in a fight, kind of a necessity of living in Trottingham. Equestria isn't all sunshine and rainbows, mate, savvy?" "He had a knife" Bour said, I levitated the knife into view. "You mean this knife?" I asked smugly, he deadpanned. "you ponies and your magic" he muttered. "You gotta admit, that was good" I said. "I admit nothing" he said, before nodding his head to one side of the street, where what looked like a restaurant was set up "we're here" he led me inside and we took a seat at one of the tables. The interior was similar to a restaurant from Southern Equestria, with a small number of individuals either at the bar, drinking, eating at one of the tables. I levitated a Menu over and began to browse the options, only to immediately slam my face onto the table. "Are you okay?" Bour asked. "I need to learn how read the bloody language" I muttered "I need a guidebook for translating text" "How long do you plan to spend in New Altero?" he asked. "Till the first day of next week" I said. "Then it's not worth it" he said "you've only got a couple of days in this city, so why bother? I could just translate for you" "Good point" I conceded, I suddenly thought about something "Um, what is the currency used here?" "Businesses around here accept most currencies" Bour said. "Why?" i asked. "This City was practically built off of the backbone of other nations" he said "in return, we accept their currencies and provide a large amount of raw material to the countries that helped" "Right" i said "What would you suggest i have to eat?" "anything vegetarian will do for you" he said "just don't get a Thornax soup" after a few minutes of generally making conversation a waiter came over and after explaining what was on the menu ans what was okay for me to eat, I ordered my food. Once the waiter had gone i turned to Bour. "Bour?" i asked "what are all the different species here?" he chuckled slightly. "You had to ask that one" he said "let me think for a moment" he then began to scan the crowd. "You see the tall, snake looking one over there?" he asked, pointing at a slender, 15 hoof tall biped that was talking to the bar tender. I nodded "That's a Vortixx" he said "they're usually found on Moutere Xia, an island near the south-eastern tip of the continent, you're most likely to come across a female. Just try and keep out of their way as they're know for their...promiscuousness" "...Right.." I said. he then pointed out another 15 hoof tall sat at a table in the corner, this one was more bulky compared to the Vortixx. . That's a Higher Steltian" he said "again, stay out of their way" he then pointed out a 7 hoof tall troll like creature with a huge grin and an organic spine running down its back. "That's a Skakdi" he said "Again, stay out of their way..." "is every species here like this?" i asked, he laughed. "You'd think it, wouldn't you?" he said "but no, not every species is like that" at that moment a 10 ft tall dragon-esc looking being with red armour walked into the restaurant and took a seat at the bar, his predatory eyes momentarily lingered on me before he gestured to the bartender and promptly received a whisky glass containing a golden liquid "W-Who is that?" I asked nervously. "He's a Makuta" Bour said quietly, leaning in "from what i've heard, he used to be a pony like you, 'till Teridax turned him" I shuddered, Teridax was one...thing I'd rather not hear about. "If he was with Teridax then why is he able to walk in here without getting jumped?" I asked in a hushed voice. "He switched sides at the first chance he got, helped Equestria to win the war" Bour said. "Then what's he doing here, getting himself pissed on whiskey?" I asked, noting that the Makuta had just finished his third glass and was about to down the forth. "He isn't exactly happy with his current physical state" Bour said, shaking his head sadly. The waiter eventually brought my food over and I promptly began eating, by the time I'd finished a female, bipedal griffin had walked into the restaurant and quickly spoke with the now drunk Makuta before helping him out. Once again his eyes lingered on me before looking where he was going.
Chapter 3I was walking through the Bo-Altero Market, Bour was checking with his employers that our plans were okay, so I was taking the time to explore the entire city for the day on my own. Bo and Le-Altero was where they tested out new vehicles and inventions, it was also where the network of chutes began, meaning the sky was almost constantly blocked by chutes. Oh well, at least the sun wasn't constantly beating down upon you like in Po-Altero. I caught sight of a stall where a Minotaur was creating things out of leather and trotted over and he greeted me warmly. "Hello there, stranger" he said, his accent very apparent as he leant on the counter "what can I do for a young master like you then?" I levitated the knife out of my bag. "Think you can create a holder for this?" I asked, he picked the knife out of my aura and examined it briefly. "I'll see what I can do" he said "Where do you want the holder? I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Legs, flank, shoulder, side, front or back?" he asked, I thought for a moment before answering. "um, side please" i said. "Left or right?" he asked. "Surprise me" I said "How much will it be?" "Bits, widgets or bunnoedd?" he asked. "Bits" I replied. "That'll be..." he paused for a moment, as if working out the cost "how does...20 bits sound?" I thought for a moment before conceding. "Alright" i said "am I okay to pay when when it's done" he nodded. "Sure, it'll be ready in a few hours" he said, i nodded before turning away. "Cheers" I called back as I began walking down the street once again. I spied an alleyway with a few stalls down it and decided to check it out, I was just walking over to one of the stalls when i noticed the stall when I noticed his eyes widen in fear. Before I could react I felt a set of large, metal talons grab around my chest and lift me up about 10 or so feet above the ground, bringing me face to face with a large helmet that had three spikes on the back and was a mixture of dark and light green. "Whero me te poniponi pango" he said in what sounded like old Matoran, if I remember what Bour told me correctly. I heard the flapping of wings below me and looked down to see a green pegasus mare with a white mane and tail, she appeared to be roughly the same age as me, in her late teen or early twenties. I couldn't make out her cutie mark as it was obscured by a set of crude and tattered saddlebags. "Da'alrega!" she exclaimed in a Trottingham accent "Maka ia ia ki raro, i teie nei!" the being that was holding me whined quietly like a dog, the pegasus stomped the ground with a forehoof and looked the being dead in the eyes. "Puni Eke. Oneone. Na!" she said, the being slowly began to lower me down until I was once again on the ground. I looked up at the being to get a better look at him, he was tall, about 10 ft or more, with digitigrade legs, his left arm had a set of large, silver talons, whilst his right arm had a large, green blade growing out of it. The pegasus walked over to me "Are you alright?" she asked. "Nothing broken" I said, giving myself the once over. "I'm really sorry about that" she said "Da'alrega seems to forget the meaning of personal space at times" the last bit seemed to be directed more at the tall, green being, who dipped his head slightly and whined. "Um...thanks" I said, slightly stunned that a pegasus mare could command such a large being "say, what's a pegasus filly from Scoltland doing here, with a spherus magnan like that thing no less?" "I could say the same about you" she said. "I needed to escape from normality for a while" I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. she sighed and her ears drooped "When I was younger my parents were explorers" she said "they decided to take me on one of their expeditions to the far south, we came across a pack of bonehunters,...my parents didn't make it out" "I'm sorry" I said. "Don't be" she said "you didn't cause it. Da'alrega took me in, looked after me, taught me how to survive in the forests of Hordika Valley" "So, what's your name?" I asked. "Thunderclap" she said "yours?" "Surefire" I replied. "So" she said "where're you headed?" "down south, but other than that I'm not really sure" I said "I need to talk to Bour about it" "Who?" she asked. "Po-Matoran" I said "he's my guide" she burst out laughing. "A Matoran acting as a guide?" she asked, wiping away a tear "don't make me laugh" "aha ngā mea e ia?" Da'alrega asked. "Ta ia mahi o te Matoran rite tona aratohu mō te haere ki raro, ki te tonga" Thunderclap said, he promptly burst out laughing, it sounded animalistic, like a monkey's laugh. "Is that supposed to be funny?" I asked. "It's tragic, more than anything" Thunderclap said "with a Matoran, you won't last 2 weeks" "Why?" I asked. "Their weak, small, not to mention they don't have any powers other than very basic elemental powers" she said. "Well then, why don't you two act as our guides?" I asked, she snorted. "Sorry kid" she said "We just got back to civilization, i'm not gonna go blindly exploring around nowhere just so a stallion and a Matoran don't kill themselves" she then got really close and kissed me on the cheek. "Though for the record, I think you're cute, try not to get pounced by Vortixx's" she giggled as she turning away and whipped my snout with her tail before she walked off in the direction of one of the stalls. I stood there with a growing redness in my cheeks, I heard a chuckle "Watch it, kid" Da'alrega said in Equestrian, through with a heavy accent "you've taken her interest, I'll see if I can sway her opinion about coming with you" I looked at him in surprise. "You speak Equestrian?" I asked. "I can speak it, I just have trouble understanding it from fluent speakers at times" he said, leaning on his blade like it was a walking stick "I also prefer to speak in my mothertongue" "Why try and change her mind?" I asked "you barely know me" "Like she said, you won't last 2 weeks in the wild" he said, pointing at me "it would be a waste of life if you just wet rushing in blindly" he then walked down the alleyway after Thunderclap. With nothing better to do I walked into one of the larger stalls and began looking at the different items for sale to see if anything took my fancy. I quickly decided that i wasn't interested in what was on offer and was just leaving when I bumped into a certain Rock tribe Agori from yesterday. "I believe you have something that belongs to me" he said. I noticed he had a dent on his helmet. "Heh heh" I chuckled nervously as I began backing up "h-hey mate, no hard feelings, right?" he chuckled sinisterly before pulling out an even larger knife than before, this one was more like a shortsword. "You're lucky I have a spare" he said as he began to walk towards me with the knife held down low. I felt my flank bump against the wall "Hey!" I heard Thunderclap yell, we both looked over to see her running towards us "fi rẹ nikan!" the Agori chuckled. "Eleyi rẹ omokunrin?" he asked, she shook her head, he chuckled "Daradara, i amoro o yoo ko lokan ti o ba ti i ṣe eyi!" her eyes widened and I felt something sharp go into my chest. I looked down in shock to see the blade sticking out my chest and I fell to the ground when he pulled it out before running, I barely registered Da'alrega running after him. Thunderclap ran over and gasped. "Oh pōhēhē" she turned to the crowd that was gathering "Me ahau a Toa!" my vision began to go dark. "No-no, stay with me" she said as my eyes began to close. I heard a loud thud just before my eyes closed and my mind went blank... ...I felt myself returning to consciousness and I could begin to hear voices "Sur...re...can...me?" I opened my eyes saw white lights and multiple dark blobs. "Surefire?" a voice asked, I shook my head to clear my thoughts and my vision cleared to reveal Thunderclap, along with Da'alrega and Bour. There was also a tall female with blue and gunmetal armour. I tried to sit up but she placed a hand on my shoulder and gently-but-firmly held me down. "Take it easy, young one" she said, her voice had a motherly quality to it "you still need rest" "*urgh* What happened?" I asked "Where are we?" "You're in Ga-Altero" she said "you're incredibly lucky to have survived the stab wound, a few more moments and you would have been beyond my help" I looked down my chest and, to my surprise, there was a mere scar "Th-thank you" I said in amazement, before remembering something "How the heck am I gonna pay the minotaur for the holder now?" "You mean this one?" Thunderclap asked, before chucking over a leather knife holder, complete with knife. I stared at it with a stunned expression on my face. "W-what?" I said dumbly, Thunderclap giggled before saying. "As they were taking you away to be healed the Minotaur called me over and asked if I knew you, I explained what happened and he finished it free of charge, he even rebalanced the knife for you, he said to 'consider it a get-well gift'" I was left speechless. "Will everything be okay from now on?" the female asked. Thunderclap nodded. "Thank you, Toa Gali" she said, Gali nodded before walking out the room, once she was gone I turned to the others. "How long was I out?" I asked. "A few weeks" Bour said, before smirking "Thunderclap hardly left your side the whole time" said pegasus blushed. "Bour!" she exclaimed "I felt responsible to look after him whilst he was unconscious" "Sure" Bour said, rolling his eyes before walking out the room as Thunderclap stared daggers into the back of his head. "I really hate that kohli head sometimes" she said. *a few days later* I was sat in a restaurant along with my friends. Da'alrega had managed to convince Thunderclap to come with us, so as a group we had planned where to go, whilst they advised me and Bour on what locations were okay or not, so we now had a basic route planned out and we were just working out the finer details. "Right" Thunderclap said through the pencil held between her teeth "personally i'd suggest taking the route to Hordika Valley, stopping in Zebrabwe along the way" she went to say something else but was interrupted by a low boom. "The heck was that?" I asked, the others simply shrugged. My question was answered in the shape of large, metallic, purple pyramid which quickly descended before jets appeared underneath it, rapidly slowing its descent before it touched down with a soft thud. A random Glatorian cautiously walked over, and tapped on the side as everyone looked on curiously. This quickly turned to horror as the side opened up and a two pronged, glowing sword was plunged into the Glatorians chest by an 8ft tall reptile in purple armour. The reptile regarded the Glatorian with curiosity before chucking him to one side and stepping onto the ground. The creature turned back to the object before raising up his sword and shouting out in a language that I didn't understand. "WORT WORT WORT!!!"
