Bionicle: A Nuva World, a Nuva Wayby Metroid Tahnok PrimeChaptersIn the Time Before TimeProlougeChapter 1In the Time Before TimeWe are Antidermis. We are what make up the very Essences of the Makuta for without us, the Makuta are nothing. We know things dating back to before the Great Spirit Mata Nui walked these lands. We know what those masters of shadows have forgotten, the things which they were meant to know. But now that Mata Nui has fulfilled his destiny, alongside his brother Teridax, our purpose is fulfilled and we are no longer needed. So as we sit here in our pool, waiting for a time when we shall be needed again, we look back on the events that brought the great journey to an end Suggested Listening 101,000 years ago on the planet Spherus Magna, the people of that world, the Agori, lived in peace, separated by tribes and led by the Element Lords, beings who commanded the forces of nature itself. The Lords themselves, and everything the Agori had ever come to know, came from legendary figures who were called the "Great Beings". This powerful group of men and women created many things that benefited the Agori in so many ways. There was once a time when the Great Beings themselves ruled the Agori, but the beloved rulers all shared a very exploitable and unavoidable flaw: a simple, inexorable urge to create, from which stemmed the multitude and diversity of their creations; as a result, they wanted to spend most of their time making new things rather than to rule a society. So using their inventions the Great Beings selected a member of the warrior class species from each tribe and gave them the power to control the Elements and thus the Element Lords were born. Placing them in charge of each of the seven tribes, the Element Lords orderly rule allowed the Agori to maintain a peaceful and prosperous coexistence. But then one day a discovery was made that would forever change Spherus Magna. They called it Energized Protodermis: a silver sentient substance with the power to transform someone or something for better or for worse, but if you were not destined to transform you would be destroyed. The Element Lords having developed an arrogant and power hungry persona due to their transformation immediately began arguing over control of the powerful liquid, heated arguments turned into fights which then escalated into a full scale planet wide war. At first the Great beings tried to end the fighting through peaceful talks and then through force, but the power lust the Element Lords had overrode all logic and reasoning, and so what would be later be called the Core War raged on. As the conflict ensued, the Great Beings made a terrifying discovery, the Energized Protodermis was slowly but surely corroding the planet from the inside out and would eventually cause a chain reaction that would explode and shatter the planet in the process. Realizing what their negligence had caused, the Great Beings sought to rectify their mistake. Working in secret, they had artificial workers build a 40 million foot tall robot with the intention of repairing the planet when the time came. To maintain the inner workings of the robot, biomechanical nano-tech was created with limited artificial intelligence to keep the robot operational during the time it would be away from the planet. The first type of nanotech was dubbed Matoran which would act as the main driving force; the first Matoran being named Takua, a Matoran of light. Aware that potential problems would arise within the robot the great beings created Toa, a Matoran word which translated to "Hero". The first Toa that came into being was a Toa of Water named Helryx, followed by a Toa of Psionics named Orde. Eventually some Matoran were created with the dormant power to evolve into Toa when the time came. Tech-organic wildlife was created for the robot as well and were dubbed Rahi meaning "Not us", as well as other sapient species to help keep the robot working. While the robot would observe other worlds with intelligent civilizations, a camouflage system was installed to disguise the robot's face with a large island whenever it landed on a planet. To clear the camouflage when the time came to leave the planet, the Great beings created insectoid robots called Bohrok, to clean the face of any non-sapient wildlife or vegetation so the robot would not kill any sentient lifeforms that may have settled on the fake island. In order to drive the Bohrok, Krana were conceived to help with the cleansing. They were organic creatures that would act as the brains for the swarms as well as giving them additional powers, while two Bohrok Queens called Gahdok and Cahdok would act as rulers. The creation of the Matoran and Krana however, had a unexpected side effect. From the aftermath of their birth new creatures called Zyglak, came into being alongside the Krana. They were feral, reptilian monstrosities that envied the Matoran as the Zyglak themselves were not one of the chosen races of the Great Beings. At first Toa Orde was sent to calm them down, but his temper got the best of him and the use of his powers caused the Zyglak to become even more feral. As a result of that incident, all Matoran and Toa of Psionics from then on were created as females. Finally at long last the Robot was complete with a giant city called Metru Nui acting as the brain of the robot, while an endless energy storm within a massive cave called Karda Nui acted as the beating heart. The Great Beings named their creation "Mata Nui" meaning Great Spirit, so named because the giant would carry the Great Spirit of the once Beautiful Spherus Magna during its 100,000 year journey. In order to preserve its finite resources, the giant robot had an interstellar space station created that would function as a repair hub for any damaged nano-tech from Mata Nui's body. This satellite also served as a rocket booster for the robot to break free of a planet's gravity pull. This engine was called the "Red Star" for it looked like a glowing crimson sun from space. Then the time came when the event that would forever be known as “The Shattering” occurred. Energized Protodermis made its way to the surface of the planet, causing a chain reaction that exploded the planet into three pieces, the largest piece becoming a desert that began to encompass the rest of what remained of the world. Around the same time, the robot Mata Nui launched into space, aided by the Red Star and began its journey throughout the galaxy, observing the sapient life of other worlds for the next 100,000 years until it was time for it to return home and complete its mission. During its time in space, Mata Nui followed other instructions left by the Great Beings and created other species inside himself to help maintain order, one of those species was the Makuta, the first one to come into being was called Teridax, who developed a brotherly bond with the Great Spirit. For a time, the Makuta, led by Miserix, created more Rahi to populate the robot and maintained order. They ended conflicts as well as overthrew warlords who sought to conquer the universe. Despite this, it was the Toa who received praise and admiration for their heroic deeds while the Matoran only respected the Makuta out of fear. But then fate took a different course. For Makuta Teridax had grown ambitious as well as envious of his "Brother in Arms" and planned to overthrow Mata Nui with the intention of ruling the universe for himself. With knowledge provided by Makuta Mutran, he infected the Great Spirit with a virus 300 years prior to the time Mata Nui was due to return to Spherus Magna which would cause Mata Nui to fall into a deep sleep. Just as Mata Nui was about to fulfill his destiny, the virus struck and his body crashed into the ocean moon of Aqua Magna. With his camouflage system damaged, a fake island was created while a massive Energized Protodermis leak filled the island with life. No sooner had the Matoran and Teridax made their home on the island as Mata Nui slept for 1,000 years. Eventually the time came when Six Toa heroes whose spirit represented the six main elements were summoned to awaken Mata Nui. These Toa were made by the Great Beings in the event Mata Nui ever went to sleep. These Toa fought Makuta Teridax's minions as well as the prematurely awakened Bohrok swarms, transforming into Toa Nuva in the process. But before they could fulfill their destiny, the damage done by Teridax’s virus had caused Mata Nui to die in his sleep. So Six new Toa were tasked with saving the Great Spirit’s life force with the legendary Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life. These Toa Mahri succeeded when Toa Matoro sacrificed his life in order to revive Mata Nui. A final battle for power took place at multiple locations throughout the universe, from the stormless cave of Karda Nui to the sterling city of Metru Nui, and in the end it was good that prevailed. But this was later to be revealed to part of Teridax’s master plan all along, for when the Toa Nuva succeeded in awakening the Great Spirit Robot, the Makuta took control of the massive machine before Mata Nui's spirit could return to his body, as a result, Mata Nui was sealed inside the Mask of Life and was banished by his brother from the robot where he landed on the largest chunk of Spherus Magna, the desert barren of Bara Magna. Creating a new body, using the mask’s power, the former Great Spirit found and befriended the local Agori and Glatorian, aiding them in defeating their enemies: the Skrall and Bone Hunters. It was during this time that Mata Nui learned more about friendship and family than all his time of being a Godly figure. Eventually Mata Nui found a Prototype Robot which his former body was based off of. Using an unstable power source Mata Nui faced off in a final battle against Teridax who had arrived on the planet to finish what he had started. At first the corrupt Makuta offered Mata Nui to join him in enslaving reality, but Mata Nui refused and instead pleaded with his brother to end this madness, saying that repairing the broken world was also Teridax’s duty and neither could fulfill their destiny unless they worked together. But just like the Element Lords before him, the Makuta wanted to rule, to be respected and admired. No longer would he live in the shadow of his older brother, there could only be one ruler and it was going to be him. To prove a point, the master of shadows tried to destroy the planet with a gravitic blast, but Mata Nui redirected the blasts into space and striking the two moons. Unknown to both of them, this set the lost pieces of Spherus Magna on a collision course to their original places on the world. During this battle, the Makuta unleashed his Rakshi sons onto the battlefield which would make short work of the Toa who fought against them. Toa Tahu, using golden armor made by the Mask of Life, destroyed the creatures of shadow, turning their Kraata to ashes. The death of all his sons was felt by Teridax, who staggered in disbelief; it was this distraction that Mata Nui needed to defeat Teridax. By shoving his head into a meteor fragment of Aqua Magna, killing the tyrant and restoring Spherus Magna, Teridax himself unknowingly fulfilled his destiny to help fix the broken world before perishing. As his final act as a giant robot, Mata Nui used the full extent of the Mask of Life's powers to bring life to the reborn world. A wave of life energy swept the planet; deserts turned into fertile grasslands, rivers that were dry for as long as anyone remembered flowed once more, mountains that had been leveled stood tall again and for the first time in hundreds of thousands of years ......it rained on Bara Magna. His power spent, Mata Nui went dormant within the Mask of Life leaving the Matoran and Agori to their own future without the restrictions and mistakes that a ruler would make, but promising to return someday. Now some would say that the journey ended here, but we sense a new one is about to come, a journey that one of our creators has in store for us. We are the Antidermis, and these are the Nuva legends of the Bionicle /color] ProlougeSpherus Magna, present day The Great Being, Velika, was pondering many questions as he walked through the new, fertile lands of Spherus Magna. His home planet was restored. The Great Spirit Robot had fulfilled its purpose and joined the three parts of his home world once more, and thanks to the Mask of Life it was also restored to its former glory. He knew what would happen next. The Agori would rebuild their lost civilization, the Matoran and anyone else who had operated the robot, would seek to find a new home now that their old one was no longer functioning. Yet one question remained unanswered…..who would lead them? “They need a strong ruler, one that would not repeat the mistakes of his siblings," he said to himself. There was a time when the Great Being had once felt very proud of himself. It was a marvel what he and his brothers had done to make this world grow and flourish, yet their negligence had also been the cause of its near destruction. He knew that many of their creations possessed power that could rival even Gods and thus could potentially cause more problems, just like the Element Lords. Velika had came to the conclusion long ago that he and his fellow Great Beings had done more harm than good. They had a duty to this world and its people, but their unavoidable urge to create had cost the Agori so much. He could not let that happen again. If Spherus Magna was to avoid another potential disaster, a new order would need to be established, one that insured the peace and prosperity of the planet. Of course, he knew that the political pillars that would make this rule would be met with opposition, mainly from those who once lived inside the Great Spirit Robot. However, he could easily just get rid of any potential threats, namely creations such as Artakha, Karzahni or Tren Krom. But did he really want to do that? Taking a life was something he had never done before, it went against his code, and, to be honest, destroying something he and his brethren had put so much work into would be a waste of good power and potential. Even though he had made those beings to maintain a universe, such a task was done and as a result their service was no longer needed. But then again, they were living beings and had a right to live their lives, even if their task was completed, but if left to roam free and unrestricted they would no doubt begin to cause problems. Problems caused unrest, unrest caused outbreaks, which ultimately led to chaos. Velika despised chaos. Was there truly no other way to help the Agori without sacrificing his creations? Could he find a way to spare them while ensuring his effective and unmatched orderly rule? If the robot was still intact he could send them away to live on another planet where they could make a new home while keeping out of the affairs of Spherus Magna, but with both the prototype and Great Robot destroyed that option was out, and he doubted he had the time or materials to build a new one. "If only I had the power to move an entire population to an entirely new world..." He thought out loud. Velika rattled his infinite mind for an answer. But then he remembered one person who did have the power, and more. Matoran/Agori campsite Toa Thorak walked along the sand plains of the Great Barren, or, as the natives called it, Bara Magna, wondering how he had gotten this far. He remembered that as a Toa of Iron his powers were a threat to the Makuta and as a result his kind had been hunted to near extinction. But whether it was the Great Beings or Mata Nui, he had survived to see the reign of the Makuta brought to a horrible end. Now he was free from the burden of having to fight a one sided war. Granted, the remaining Toa would still guard the Agori and Matoran, as was their Duty, but the Toa of Iron had spent most of his free time exploring the new world. His Kanohi Kakama, a Great Mask of Speed, made him one of the fastest beings on the planet, so getting to distant places was not a problem to him. He then turned his thoughts to the current situation since the aftermath of the war. So far, things had been going smoothly since Mata Nui had restored Spherus Magna. The Matoran had slowly begun to integrate with the Agori, while the Toa and Glatorian had done a sizable job of maintaining the peace between the two cultures. For the most part things were fine. Arriving back at the camp, he put his weapon inside a makeshift hut that he had constructed with his powers. "Thorak. Off exploring again were you?" a female voice said. Standing next to his hut was a Matoran. She sported blue and gold armor, which identified her as a Ce-Matoran, the mask on her head was Noble Kanohi Miru, the Mask of Levitation. "One of these days you’re gonna leave and someone might not notice," she said. Her name was Emrit. The sonic Matoran was one of his oldest friends from his time as a Matoran, but him being a Toa meant they did not see each other often. "This new world has many beautiful sights to be seen, and I can think of no better way to honor Mata Nui's sacrifice than admire them all, don't you agree?" he asked. "I suppose, but then Mata Nui is still alive. Albeit sleeping. Again." Emrit was like most Matoran. She thought highly of Mata Nui, but found that there was more to life than working and often wanted to spend time with her friends when possible. Needless to say this meant her work ethic was not the greatest, but she did her job nevertheless. "Still Emrit, he left this world for us, now that we no longer have to work to keep a giant robot functioning. We can do whatever we please, whenever we please." "I wouldn't say whatever and whenever just yet my Iron friend." Both then turned to the sound of a third voice. "While free we may be, there is still the job of building a new society." Entering the area was a Matoran whose armor bore a mostly green and blue color scheme, on his head he wore Noble Kualsi, the Mask of Quick Travel. "Botnac, nice of you to join us." Botnac was the type of Matoran who did his job, not just because he served Mata Nui with vigilance, but because he wanted to help people. As a result, he stood out from the crowd. His following Bo-Matoran villagers made up a joke that he would one day become a Toa, but such a day, if possible, was yet to come. "Out trying to help with the new Agori/Matoran integration?" Emrit said casually. "Hey, you never know. Just because those old timers know a lot doesn't mean they can't use the extra help every now and then." "True, but I prefer to leave the talking to the professionals as well as the experienced ones. Has anyone seen Arkis?" Thorak asked. "He said he went with a bunch of Ta- Matoran to find a new spot for lava surfing" Emrit said. Botnac let out a sigh, "We have been here for two months and he’s already looking for places to show off?!" "Hey, two months is a long time of peace. I think he at least deserves some time to himself" "Of course you would say that, Thorak. I thought part of being a Toa was to be a good role model for Matoran." "True. But I say that just because you're a hero doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself once in a while. What is life if all we do is work all that time?" "What would life be if we just horsed around all the time?" Thorak pondered for an answer before swinging his pack over his shoulder. "Well until we live in a world of horse Rahi I'm gonna live how I please." And with that The Toa of Iron activated his Kakama and zoomed out of sight. The two Matoran stood there for a moment before Botnac broke the silence. "You know what, I actually wish he lived in a world of horse Rahi. Maybe it will scare him into taking things more seriously.” The Coast of Aqua Magna. In a fortress that could hold an entire city, a being whose skin shined a golden glow stood at the gate that separated the Skakdi who lived inside from the rest of the world. Velika approached the fortress, walking up to the golden creature, never slowing down. His mind focused on one thought. While this entity did have the power, the only problem would be convincing him to help. "Hello little one, what brings you to our Fortress of Solitude?" "I have come seeking your presence as well as use of your power.” “We see, but first tell us, who are you?” “I am a simple Po-Matoran who merely seeks your council.” “So you say… But that small form is not your true self, so who are you really?" "Don't play dumb, I know you can easily read my mind and see. So why don't you?” "Because we already have, we just want to hear you say it. You are one of the Great beings, aren’t you?” "Yes and it is because I created the ones who make up your being that you live today. It is truly because of me that you exist now." "So it seems, but what business does a creator want with his creation?" "First of all I would like to thank you for ridding Spherus Magna of that miserable pile of waste, Annona. She was an annoyance that would have become a disastrous problem if left to roam free." "That abomination wanted to devour dreams for her meals. Dreams give us power. She would have destroyed all we stand for, but the one you should be thanking is Sahmad, it was his dreaming that whisked the glowing mass to her inevitable doom." "I suppose his poor Iron tribe was decimated because of her, another oversight of our failures, but the reason I am here is to seek use of your power." "You would want to use our power but doing so is only done by your dreaming. Just wish for what you want and it shall be made real." "I shall in time, but first answer me this. Do you really care what I make reality even if I dream you out of existence?" ".....Not really. While some things in this world may be horrifying, I bare no care to whatever I bring into existence. Even If you wanted to dream me out of existence, you would have done so already. I sense you want something more world changing?" "Indeed, my dream is for a world under my order, but first I must send the nanotech of the Great Robot as well as any potential agents of chaos to a new world where they may not interfere while still being able to live their lives.” "You want to rid this world of all who are from the Matoran Universe, which would include me? Just for the sake of order?" "Yes, chaos has no place in my vision for the future. I must ensure that future comes to pass even if it means ridding the planet of you and all who stand in my way, but I cannot bring myself to destroy mine and my brothers creations, they have grown on me. For 101,001 years they were my company and companions. To thank them by destroying them is not who I am." "Understandable, your love for them as well as your ambition for an orderly world is conflicting as it is, but while we see no cons, what is in it for us?" "Well first of all, the world I plan to send you all to has been visited by me before. Its natives will most likely welcome my creations with open arms. Sure it will take some time to adjust, but think about it, a whole new world with entirely new beings. Beings who dream, dreams to feed off of and make real. I know this must sound pleasing to you." For a split second the golden creature showed a grin, the prospect of new dreams to power him would be a very good thing for his powers. Plus since the population of the world was so small, despite their continued efforts to rebuild, it would be a while before the new beings were to be born into it. "Very well, you tell me the name of this world and we shall take whoever you need rid of. After all we will not want to lose the followers we already have.” "That is why I propose this. You sent Annona to another world, if you do the same for everyone except the Agori and Glatorian I will leave you be.” "Such use of our power would be great, but how would you keep them from coming back to this world if they found a means?" "Leave that up to me, I created the powers they wield, so I can easily shut them off or alter them as I please." "The people of this new world, their reactions to what I am about to do will be expected but I could care less, do you have anything else to say?" "I have observed this world for quite some time and others like it, I have even witnessed a God do the same thing for similar reasons and motives, although it remains to be seen if it will pay off in the end (if you ask me things may go downhill fast if fate willing), but I digress, if you do this you will be doing me a favor while you get to find more dreams to wield and empower, its a win-win proposal, so do you accept?" ".............." Canterlot Castle, Equestria Princess Luna of the Night stood on her room balcony, gazing down at the streets of the city below. Currently most of her subjects were tucked safely away in their beds, the only ponies awake at this time of night were the few who liked to party and her bat pony guards. Ever since her return as an equal ruler alongside her sister, her status and reception as a leader had greatly improved. It seemed everyday more and more ponies began to see the royal sisters as equals and not the older and younger alicorns as some of them did, as of now most ponies in Equestria even began to cite their Lunar Princess as their favorite Princess. Key word being most. I suppose this should not come as a surprise to me, not many knew I even existed until my return. It was sad to think about it, but if she were to put it bluntly, during the 1,000 years she was exiled generations upon generations of ponies lived and died without even knowing her real name. They only knew her as the Nightmare, and even that name was reduced to a fairy tail from a child's book, nothing but an old mare's tale. But her sister Celestia was known by everyone for those generations she was away, for 10 centuries they loved and revered her as their great ruler, and nopony else. Before her exile ponies never liked Luna, even before her transformation, and she knew that long after her imprisonment she had done nothing but justify their fears and suspicions. Until her redemption; that was the legacy she had left behind, that was the last way the ponies of that time had seen her. "And yet sister has never faulted or done wrong, and I doubt she ever will." Luna hated to think like this, but a small part of her deep down still envied her sister’s accomplishments, Celestia was revered and loved by all, she had raised a student who saved Equestria multiple times, yet what had Luna done? The only major event that everypony knew was of her betrayal, that was basically the one thing everyone knew about her, and she was sick of it. If only an opportunity would arise in which I could prove myself, to show my ponies I am just as much a hero to them as the others! "Mother...?" Luna reared her head to the door, and a smile slowly crept on her face. "Yes, Nidra?" "May I come in?" "....Of course." The door to the bedroom opened and in walked a bat pony alicorn. Her coat was grey and she had her mother’s blue non-magical hair and on her flank she bore a “Zzz” stamped cutie mark. "Can I ask you something?" Luna was the least to say a bit surprised, her daughter these days didn't usually come straight to her to talk about something. Luna knew this to be the work of the dreaded teenage years, but nevertheless she would not squander this moment. "Yes dear, you can ask me anything." The young princess sat beside her mother and nuzzled into her chest. ".......Do you know what it’s like to love somepony knowing that they are already taken?" "....No, why?" Nidra paused for a moment, "Nothing, it was stupid." The younger alicorn got up to leave only to be stopped by a large blue wing. "Nidra please tell me, is there an unrequited love that has taken residence in your heart?" "Uh....no its actually a friend of mine." Luna raised an eyebrow, "And who would this friend be?” "Uhh....it’s......Cotton Candy!" ".....Pinkie Pie’s daughter? She has an unrequited love?" "Yes." "Well then Nidra you wouldn't mind if the next time I visit your friend in her dreams that I try to help her deal with this unrequited love?” "Sure, go ahead. After all, you do seem to have a way with little foals." Nidra tried to suppress a smirk but failed. Luna put on genuine smile, foals these days did seem to adore their Princess of Night. "That is true, is there anything else you need to talk about?" "Not at the moment, no." "Well, Nidra, I am glad we had this talk. I am also proud that you are thinking of others for once." "Yes...others...good night mom." And with that she got up and exited the room. Then Luna was once again alone with her thoughts. No one ever said it out loud, but her daughter was somewhat known for being a little selfish if not a bit proud. There were even some servants who at one time used the word "jerk" to label her, but since some of them were her sisters maids, she was in no real position to ridicule them. Plus, every pony was entitled to their own opinion. Nevertheless there were those who saw her as a dear friend, and Luna loved her child regardless of her faults. The Princess of Dreams cast a sleep spell to help put her mind at ease, but as she entered to dream world, one last thought entered her head. "Maybe I should ask Tia to help give me some advice for teenagers.” As Luna closed her eyes, she made a mental note to seek counsel with her sister. Skrall River, former sight of Atero "This river runs like a normal one but instead of water it’s sand. Kinda like the Falls of Karzahni." Thorak stood among the remains of the once spectacular city where the yearly Glatorian matches were held. From what he heard, a Skrall army used the last Great Tournament to send a message to announce their campaign to rule Bara Magna. Said message involved senselessly killing Agori and Glatorian while destroying the city, which included sending half of it down the waterfall. "Gotta admit, they definitely got their point across." Turning his thoughts away from the former city, the Toa of Iron looked down the sandfall; the way an Agori from the jungle tribe described it was one of the most breathtaking sights he had ever seen. But the Toa of Iron had seen greater things than a sandfall. Can't blame the little guy though, not many good places to take in a good view around here. Feeling like he had seen enough, he began the long walk(or short Kakama enhanced run) back to the camp. "I wonder what the others might be doing right now. I just hope that things can go smoothly from now on." Suddenly Thorak felt himself being pulled through a narrow space, as if he was fading from this plane of existence. "What is this!?! I don't even-” But before the Toa could think, his mind put his thoughts, along with his body, to sleep. Luna gave an ethereal sigh. While it had been a long night the ponies whose dreams she had visited expressed their gratitude for helping them with their inner problems and turmoils. Now if only I could deal with my own. As Luna was about to move on to the next dream when she felt an overwhelming source of power wash over the dream world, almost at once a golden light ignited throughout the Dream realm and dissipated just as fast as it came. "What was that?" Luna was stunned. She floated in space for a long time, wondering what force could have performed such a feat, especially in the dream world, but her scans brought up nothing, for it seemed nothing changed in the ethereal plane. Whatever the light was, it was apparently not harmful in any form. "But something or someone caused that light, and since the dream world is my domain, I shall make it my duty to find out who." And with that in mind, Luna went on to the next troubled dreaming pony. Chapter 1Ponyville, Equestria The day was young in the small village of ponies. The town had grown over the last twenty years since the last major conflict came to an end. Many new buildings were built, such as a Royal Guard station, as well as a rather large mansion for the House of the Royal Family that lived there, as the old library was no longer suited to serve as a home for a growing family. In Sweet Apple Acres, another new barn had been built in order to help store more equipment as the Apple Family had just acquired a new plot of land. This also meant, however, that more labor had to be put in to harvest the necessary apples. But this was not a problem as the help had already made it a habit to attend to the trees everyday….. As Starburst bucked a tree, the apples that hung from its branches fell into the waiting baskets. Satisfied, Star moved onto the next tree. For the young Princess, it was a daily routine coming to Sweet Apple acres. But working herself out by bucking trees in order to build up muscle and sweat sometimes eventually led to her passing out from exhaustion. Some of her friends, including her parents, were not overly fond of her passing out almost everyday at the farm, as they feared for her well being. Only a few ponies enjoyed seeing her break into a sweat, Golden and Starfall being those few. Star’s thoughts focused on the unicorn for a while. It had been a day since she had last heard from her coltfriend. The last time they saw each other, he said he was going to be refitting his Fortress of “Starfallitude” which according to him was going to take a while. Still, she could not help but think about him whenever he was away for awhile. Realizing what she was thinking about caused a blush of minor embarrassment to adorn her face. Returning her thoughts to the task at hand, or rather at hoof, Star then attempted to buck the next tree and fill another basket. Only to be interrupted by a very loud voice. "STAR!!" Shocked, the yellow Pegasus lost her balance and fell flat on her belly. Suppressing the minor pain, Starburst brought her eyes to the owner of the voice. “What is it Candy?” The blue grey Earth pony smiled back down at her. “Why are you lying down on the grass?” “....I don’t know, maybe I was feeling lazy and wanted to take a nap?” “Silly, we both know that lazy is the last word we would use to describe you” Grumbling while doing so, Starburst got to her hooves and bucked the tree again. “Seriously, what do you want Candy?” “I just wanted to tell you about my Doozy dream.” Star looked at her friend in confusion. “Your Doozy Dream?” “Yeah! You know how my mom has a Doozy from time to time?” “How can I not?" Pinkie Pie, Cotton Candy’s mom was practically legendary for her random body language that apparently foretold a coming unknown event, and since Cotton was Pinkie’s child many had suspected that her daughter had inherited the unexplained “Pinkie sense.” “Well last night I had one while I was sleeping!” “Wait.. you mean you dreamed you had a doozy or your body had one while you sleeping?” “The first.” “Okay…” Deciding to humor her friend for a little longer, Starburst let her friend continue her story. “Okay, so I dreamed I was living in Equestria when our parents were younger, but there were these strange creatures all over the place, and there was a really alien looking thing talking to your mom, a yellow mouse with a red hat talking to my mom, and a unicorn with a big blue horn having a picnic with Misses Rarity.” “Okay...” “But that’s not the weirdest part! In the sky I saw seven giants with typewriters talking to each other!” "Giants with typewriters?" "Yeah, except four of them were ponies and two looked like those human things your mom talks about and the last was a pink midget with venus fly traps for hair.” "........Ooooookaaaayy, I suppose THAT was the weirdest part?" "Nope, before I could make any sense of that nonsense everything faded until I was floating in a weird black void, then all of a sudden I had the DOOZY! When it was over a bright light filled the entire place and THEN........" ".......and then what?" "I woke up." "So you had a dream about giants, aliens, bright lights and a Doozy?" "Yeah, that about sums it up..........so......has Starfall reached second base yet?" Completely caught off guard with the end response, Starburst proceeded to chase her soon to be "wall mount" around the farm, albeit with a much redder face. 200 feet away... Thorak stirred as his organic muscles responded to the commands of the artificial intelligence that drove them. "Mata Nui, I gotta lay off that Thornax.” The Toa of Iron slowly got to his feet, his optics finally adjusting to the light. When he opened them he took a look at his surroundings. Thorak was in a ‘forest’ of some kind, expect there was no fauna and the grass was not overgrown, the trees of said ‘forest’ where filled with nothing but some red fruit he had never come across. "I'm definitely nowhere near the desert anymore." From what he was told by the natives, Spherus Magna was far larger than your average planet, giving it the potential to sustain multiple lifeforms, so it was possible he had woken up on some unexplored region of the world. "If that is true, then how did I get here?" The last thing he remembered was looking at the sand falls before passing out, did someone put him to sleep and teleport him here? If so, why? "Guess I'd better take a look around, maybe find some answers." Golden Delicious, or "Del" as his friends called him, trotted along the path that led back to to the barn house, humming a tune he had composed for himself. He kicked a pebble into a small puddle and watched as the ripples it made dissipated. "I'm bored." Make no mistake, Del loved bucking apples and working on the farm, but, since all of his chores were done, he had the rest of the day off, except he did not know how to spend it on his way back to the house. Seeking to keep his mind busy, Del began to think back to the times when his mom used to tell him amazing stories about when she and her friends went on many adventures from when they were his age. Whether it was saving Equestria or fighting parasprites, he always found their stories fun to listen to. In a way, his mom was his hero and generally she and her friends where the only heroes Equestria had ever known. But now times had changed, the Elements of harmony were rendered inert, and there was no longer a need for protectors as evil no longer plagued Equestria. It seemed that for two decades peace was all there had ever been, not that anyone was complaining. "Must have been something back then, saving a kingdom. I wonder if there are any other heroes in this world." To his knowledge the Elemental bearers were the most "recent" saviors in history, today the only heroes you could find where in either in comic books or movies. "Guess the world no longer needs heroes, oh well." As Del was halfway to the house his head turned to the attention of the empty trees. "Wait, what is that?" Narrowing his eyes, he saw the sun reflecting off something. Getting a closer look he spotted a tall figure walking through the trees in the distance. "Strange, wonder what that is?" Setting down the wagon of apples, Golden walked over the fence and towards the strange being. Hiding behind a tree, he managed to get a good look at it. The figure was mostly grey and burnt orange. At first he thought it was his skin but then realized it was actually armor (which seemed to cover him from head to toe) but what really made his eyes widen was that he appeared to be carrying some sort of weapon on his back. A sword unlike any he had ever seen. "Maybe I should go get Star first, she might know what to do," Golden said as he turned around and silently trotted back to the barn. Thorak's curiosity got the best of him and he decided to pick a fruit off of a tree. Concentrating, his hand absorbed the energy and nutrients from the fruit, which then withered when all the life left the apple. Thorak’s body, however, began to register the energy from the fruit. It tasted unlike anything he had ever ‘eaten’, which said much since Toa and Matoran generally don't ‘eat’ much. It was different but sweet, and all in all it was one of the best things he had ever ‘tasted’. "I wonder who grew this?" Thorak looked around him, there appeared to be no visible structures or buildings nearby (at least that he could see over the number of trees) and it appeared that no one lived here. "Um, hello?" "Scratch that," he said to himself. The sound of a female voice spun him around. And he came face to face with a small pink horse like Rahi. "Who are you?" The "Rahi" in question could talk and walked on all fours. It appeared to be fully organic in nature, with no mechanical indications whatsoever. Its fur was pink while its tail and mane were green, but one odd thing was that the female’s eyes were faded as if they were damaged. (A mishap during her creation perhaps?) "Uh.....my name is Thorak, a Toa of Iron." The Rahi looked at him quizzically. "What’s a Toa? I've never heard of that before." Now it was Thorak’s turn to look puzzled. Okay either I'm on some part of Spherus Magna that didn't get the memo or I'm dreaming, hopefully it’s the latter. "I'll explain it to you later, but first tell me where I am. I seem to be lost with no way of knowing how I can find my home." "Well sir, my name is Athena, but all my friends call me Annie, and you're at Sweet Apple Acres," she said with an innocent smile "Okay... where in Spherus Magna is that?" Now Athena was even more confused, "What's Spherus Magna?" At this point the Toa of Iron was really starting to worry. "Spherus Magna, is that not the name of this planet?" "No, you are in the kingdom of Equestria on the planet Equus." Thorak’s mind went blank. Okay, DEFINITELY not on the right world anymore “Okay then... Just to be clear, what species are you, Athena?" "I am a pony. A unicorn to be more precise. Which is one of the three pony races that live in this kingdom.” "Well then, unicorn Athena, it would appear that this planet is not where I am suppose to be, and it would be very helpful if you could take me to someone who can help me understand where I am... and possibly a place to stay in the meantime." "Oh, sure mister Thorak, just follow me. My friends and I can help you out." The pink unicorn then started walking away, with a very confused Toa of Iron in pursuit. Soon the unicorn asked another question. "Are you an alien?" Thorak glanced at her. "Alien?" he asked. "Someone who is not from this world or who is from outer space. You said you are from a world called Spherus Magna, correct? And since you are on the planet Equus that must make you an alien." "I know what an alien is, it’s just that....." Thorak pondered this for a bit. From what he knew, he had spent the last 101,001 years inside a giant robot flying through space after having emerged from the Well of Matoran. Some had always pondered the existence of aliens or other worlds. Since he was probably no longer on Spherus Magna, however, and since this creature knew nothing about Mata Nui yet, he would have to play along until he could explain. "I guess I am an alien then." "WOW! That makes you the first extra-terrestrial being to visit this planet. I'm sure that Miss Twilight Sparkle will have a lot of questions for you. She never lets her curiosity go unsatisfied, so prepare to answer a LOT of questions." This Twilight Sparkle sounds like Chiara. "But in all seriousness welcome to Equus! I assure you the ponies that live here are very friendly." Then, suddenly, his audio receptors picked up a faint whistling sound, one that was getting louder with every second. He turned his head towards the source. He only had a split second to react as a red blur dove right at him. Her prey cornered in a barn, the predator stood silent as its adversary attempted to make one last plea for its life. "Come on Star, it was just a joke," Candy tried to explain. "You understand right?!" "Said joke was number 54 of yours and Annie's merciless little "Burstfall" jokes, and when I say 54, I mean the 54th this WEEK!" Starburst retorted. "Yeah, but we both know you won't really make good on all those death threats you made," Candy said with a genuine smile on her face. She was right. As much as those two still liked to tease her relationship 24/7 Starburst knew that it was something that came with her new coltfriend. Still worth trying to scare them. "Fine, but seriously Candy just please no more dirty jokes. I don't need another Annie around here." "Okay, but seriously, has he reached second base?" Before Starburst could reply an orange hoof rested on her shoulder. "I hate to interrupt your latest chase, Star," Golden said, "but I need your help with something." "What is it?" "Well...it’s just I saw someone or something while I was in the acres." Starburst tilted her head. "Something?" "Yup, It walked on two legs with arms and hands." Sounds like those humans that mom used to talk about "Is that all? Why come to me?" "Because It also was covered from top to bottom in some kind of armor, and had a sword on its back." "...........Okay, Candy see if you can get my dad, since my mom is in Canterlot. He might know what to do in this situation." "Okie Dokie Loki!" Candy said. The daughter of Pinkie Pie then bounced off towards Starburst's family mansion. "Okay Del, show me where this guy is and let’s find out what he wants.” "Alright." Golden then proceeded to lead the pegasus to where he saw the stranger last. "You thinks it’s dangerous?" "Hope not, Equestria has had almost 30 years without a nationwide threat and I’d prefer it to stay that way." "Let’s just hope this thing shares your view, Star." The new arrival glared at Thorak with a look of determination and anger. Whoever he was, he did not seem to like Thorak one bit. "Who are you?" Hot Head demanded, "And what are doing with Annie?!"
In the Time Before TimeWe are Antidermis. We are what make up the very Essences of the Makuta for without us, the Makuta are nothing. We know things dating back to before the Great Spirit Mata Nui walked these lands. We know what those masters of shadows have forgotten, the things which they were meant to know. But now that Mata Nui has fulfilled his destiny, alongside his brother Teridax, our purpose is fulfilled and we are no longer needed. So as we sit here in our pool, waiting for a time when we shall be needed again, we look back on the events that brought the great journey to an end Suggested Listening 101,000 years ago on the planet Spherus Magna, the people of that world, the Agori, lived in peace, separated by tribes and led by the Element Lords, beings who commanded the forces of nature itself. The Lords themselves, and everything the Agori had ever come to know, came from legendary figures who were called the "Great Beings". This powerful group of men and women created many things that benefited the Agori in so many ways. There was once a time when the Great Beings themselves ruled the Agori, but the beloved rulers all shared a very exploitable and unavoidable flaw: a simple, inexorable urge to create, from which stemmed the multitude and diversity of their creations; as a result, they wanted to spend most of their time making new things rather than to rule a society. So using their inventions the Great Beings selected a member of the warrior class species from each tribe and gave them the power to control the Elements and thus the Element Lords were born. Placing them in charge of each of the seven tribes, the Element Lords orderly rule allowed the Agori to maintain a peaceful and prosperous coexistence. But then one day a discovery was made that would forever change Spherus Magna. They called it Energized Protodermis: a silver sentient substance with the power to transform someone or something for better or for worse, but if you were not destined to transform you would be destroyed. The Element Lords having developed an arrogant and power hungry persona due to their transformation immediately began arguing over control of the powerful liquid, heated arguments turned into fights which then escalated into a full scale planet wide war. At first the Great beings tried to end the fighting through peaceful talks and then through force, but the power lust the Element Lords had overrode all logic and reasoning, and so what would be later be called the Core War raged on. As the conflict ensued, the Great Beings made a terrifying discovery, the Energized Protodermis was slowly but surely corroding the planet from the inside out and would eventually cause a chain reaction that would explode and shatter the planet in the process. Realizing what their negligence had caused, the Great Beings sought to rectify their mistake. Working in secret, they had artificial workers build a 40 million foot tall robot with the intention of repairing the planet when the time came. To maintain the inner workings of the robot, biomechanical nano-tech was created with limited artificial intelligence to keep the robot operational during the time it would be away from the planet. The first type of nanotech was dubbed Matoran which would act as the main driving force; the first Matoran being named Takua, a Matoran of light. Aware that potential problems would arise within the robot the great beings created Toa, a Matoran word which translated to "Hero". The first Toa that came into being was a Toa of Water named Helryx, followed by a Toa of Psionics named Orde. Eventually some Matoran were created with the dormant power to evolve into Toa when the time came. Tech-organic wildlife was created for the robot as well and were dubbed Rahi meaning "Not us", as well as other sapient species to help keep the robot working. While the robot would observe other worlds with intelligent civilizations, a camouflage system was installed to disguise the robot's face with a large island whenever it landed on a planet. To clear the camouflage when the time came to leave the planet, the Great beings created insectoid robots called Bohrok, to clean the face of any non-sapient wildlife or vegetation so the robot would not kill any sentient lifeforms that may have settled on the fake island. In order to drive the Bohrok, Krana were conceived to help with the cleansing. They were organic creatures that would act as the brains for the swarms as well as giving them additional powers, while two Bohrok Queens called Gahdok and Cahdok would act as rulers. The creation of the Matoran and Krana however, had a unexpected side effect. From the aftermath of their birth new creatures called Zyglak, came into being alongside the Krana. They were feral, reptilian monstrosities that envied the Matoran as the Zyglak themselves were not one of the chosen races of the Great Beings. At first Toa Orde was sent to calm them down, but his temper got the best of him and the use of his powers caused the Zyglak to become even more feral. As a result of that incident, all Matoran and Toa of Psionics from then on were created as females. Finally at long last the Robot was complete with a giant city called Metru Nui acting as the brain of the robot, while an endless energy storm within a massive cave called Karda Nui acted as the beating heart. The Great Beings named their creation "Mata Nui" meaning Great Spirit, so named because the giant would carry the Great Spirit of the once Beautiful Spherus Magna during its 100,000 year journey. In order to preserve its finite resources, the giant robot had an interstellar space station created that would function as a repair hub for any damaged nano-tech from Mata Nui's body. This satellite also served as a rocket booster for the robot to break free of a planet's gravity pull. This engine was called the "Red Star" for it looked like a glowing crimson sun from space. Then the time came when the event that would forever be known as “The Shattering” occurred. Energized Protodermis made its way to the surface of the planet, causing a chain reaction that exploded the planet into three pieces, the largest piece becoming a desert that began to encompass the rest of what remained of the world. Around the same time, the robot Mata Nui launched into space, aided by the Red Star and began its journey throughout the galaxy, observing the sapient life of other worlds for the next 100,000 years until it was time for it to return home and complete its mission. During its time in space, Mata Nui followed other instructions left by the Great Beings and created other species inside himself to help maintain order, one of those species was the Makuta, the first one to come into being was called Teridax, who developed a brotherly bond with the Great Spirit. For a time, the Makuta, led by Miserix, created more Rahi to populate the robot and maintained order. They ended conflicts as well as overthrew warlords who sought to conquer the universe. Despite this, it was the Toa who received praise and admiration for their heroic deeds while the Matoran only respected the Makuta out of fear. But then fate took a different course. For Makuta Teridax had grown ambitious as well as envious of his "Brother in Arms" and planned to overthrow Mata Nui with the intention of ruling the universe for himself. With knowledge provided by Makuta Mutran, he infected the Great Spirit with a virus 300 years prior to the time Mata Nui was due to return to Spherus Magna which would cause Mata Nui to fall into a deep sleep. Just as Mata Nui was about to fulfill his destiny, the virus struck and his body crashed into the ocean moon of Aqua Magna. With his camouflage system damaged, a fake island was created while a massive Energized Protodermis leak filled the island with life. No sooner had the Matoran and Teridax made their home on the island as Mata Nui slept for 1,000 years. Eventually the time came when Six Toa heroes whose spirit represented the six main elements were summoned to awaken Mata Nui. These Toa were made by the Great Beings in the event Mata Nui ever went to sleep. These Toa fought Makuta Teridax's minions as well as the prematurely awakened Bohrok swarms, transforming into Toa Nuva in the process. But before they could fulfill their destiny, the damage done by Teridax’s virus had caused Mata Nui to die in his sleep. So Six new Toa were tasked with saving the Great Spirit’s life force with the legendary Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life. These Toa Mahri succeeded when Toa Matoro sacrificed his life in order to revive Mata Nui. A final battle for power took place at multiple locations throughout the universe, from the stormless cave of Karda Nui to the sterling city of Metru Nui, and in the end it was good that prevailed. But this was later to be revealed to part of Teridax’s master plan all along, for when the Toa Nuva succeeded in awakening the Great Spirit Robot, the Makuta took control of the massive machine before Mata Nui's spirit could return to his body, as a result, Mata Nui was sealed inside the Mask of Life and was banished by his brother from the robot where he landed on the largest chunk of Spherus Magna, the desert barren of Bara Magna. Creating a new body, using the mask’s power, the former Great Spirit found and befriended the local Agori and Glatorian, aiding them in defeating their enemies: the Skrall and Bone Hunters. It was during this time that Mata Nui learned more about friendship and family than all his time of being a Godly figure. Eventually Mata Nui found a Prototype Robot which his former body was based off of. Using an unstable power source Mata Nui faced off in a final battle against Teridax who had arrived on the planet to finish what he had started. At first the corrupt Makuta offered Mata Nui to join him in enslaving reality, but Mata Nui refused and instead pleaded with his brother to end this madness, saying that repairing the broken world was also Teridax’s duty and neither could fulfill their destiny unless they worked together. But just like the Element Lords before him, the Makuta wanted to rule, to be respected and admired. No longer would he live in the shadow of his older brother, there could only be one ruler and it was going to be him. To prove a point, the master of shadows tried to destroy the planet with a gravitic blast, but Mata Nui redirected the blasts into space and striking the two moons. Unknown to both of them, this set the lost pieces of Spherus Magna on a collision course to their original places on the world. During this battle, the Makuta unleashed his Rakshi sons onto the battlefield which would make short work of the Toa who fought against them. Toa Tahu, using golden armor made by the Mask of Life, destroyed the creatures of shadow, turning their Kraata to ashes. The death of all his sons was felt by Teridax, who staggered in disbelief; it was this distraction that Mata Nui needed to defeat Teridax. By shoving his head into a meteor fragment of Aqua Magna, killing the tyrant and restoring Spherus Magna, Teridax himself unknowingly fulfilled his destiny to help fix the broken world before perishing. As his final act as a giant robot, Mata Nui used the full extent of the Mask of Life's powers to bring life to the reborn world. A wave of life energy swept the planet; deserts turned into fertile grasslands, rivers that were dry for as long as anyone remembered flowed once more, mountains that had been leveled stood tall again and for the first time in hundreds of thousands of years ......it rained on Bara Magna. His power spent, Mata Nui went dormant within the Mask of Life leaving the Matoran and Agori to their own future without the restrictions and mistakes that a ruler would make, but promising to return someday. Now some would say that the journey ended here, but we sense a new one is about to come, a journey that one of our creators has in store for us. We are the Antidermis, and these are the Nuva legends of the Bionicle /color]
ProlougeSpherus Magna, present day The Great Being, Velika, was pondering many questions as he walked through the new, fertile lands of Spherus Magna. His home planet was restored. The Great Spirit Robot had fulfilled its purpose and joined the three parts of his home world once more, and thanks to the Mask of Life it was also restored to its former glory. He knew what would happen next. The Agori would rebuild their lost civilization, the Matoran and anyone else who had operated the robot, would seek to find a new home now that their old one was no longer functioning. Yet one question remained unanswered…..who would lead them? “They need a strong ruler, one that would not repeat the mistakes of his siblings," he said to himself. There was a time when the Great Being had once felt very proud of himself. It was a marvel what he and his brothers had done to make this world grow and flourish, yet their negligence had also been the cause of its near destruction. He knew that many of their creations possessed power that could rival even Gods and thus could potentially cause more problems, just like the Element Lords. Velika had came to the conclusion long ago that he and his fellow Great Beings had done more harm than good. They had a duty to this world and its people, but their unavoidable urge to create had cost the Agori so much. He could not let that happen again. If Spherus Magna was to avoid another potential disaster, a new order would need to be established, one that insured the peace and prosperity of the planet. Of course, he knew that the political pillars that would make this rule would be met with opposition, mainly from those who once lived inside the Great Spirit Robot. However, he could easily just get rid of any potential threats, namely creations such as Artakha, Karzahni or Tren Krom. But did he really want to do that? Taking a life was something he had never done before, it went against his code, and, to be honest, destroying something he and his brethren had put so much work into would be a waste of good power and potential. Even though he had made those beings to maintain a universe, such a task was done and as a result their service was no longer needed. But then again, they were living beings and had a right to live their lives, even if their task was completed, but if left to roam free and unrestricted they would no doubt begin to cause problems. Problems caused unrest, unrest caused outbreaks, which ultimately led to chaos. Velika despised chaos. Was there truly no other way to help the Agori without sacrificing his creations? Could he find a way to spare them while ensuring his effective and unmatched orderly rule? If the robot was still intact he could send them away to live on another planet where they could make a new home while keeping out of the affairs of Spherus Magna, but with both the prototype and Great Robot destroyed that option was out, and he doubted he had the time or materials to build a new one. "If only I had the power to move an entire population to an entirely new world..." He thought out loud. Velika rattled his infinite mind for an answer. But then he remembered one person who did have the power, and more. Matoran/Agori campsite Toa Thorak walked along the sand plains of the Great Barren, or, as the natives called it, Bara Magna, wondering how he had gotten this far. He remembered that as a Toa of Iron his powers were a threat to the Makuta and as a result his kind had been hunted to near extinction. But whether it was the Great Beings or Mata Nui, he had survived to see the reign of the Makuta brought to a horrible end. Now he was free from the burden of having to fight a one sided war. Granted, the remaining Toa would still guard the Agori and Matoran, as was their Duty, but the Toa of Iron had spent most of his free time exploring the new world. His Kanohi Kakama, a Great Mask of Speed, made him one of the fastest beings on the planet, so getting to distant places was not a problem to him. He then turned his thoughts to the current situation since the aftermath of the war. So far, things had been going smoothly since Mata Nui had restored Spherus Magna. The Matoran had slowly begun to integrate with the Agori, while the Toa and Glatorian had done a sizable job of maintaining the peace between the two cultures. For the most part things were fine. Arriving back at the camp, he put his weapon inside a makeshift hut that he had constructed with his powers. "Thorak. Off exploring again were you?" a female voice said. Standing next to his hut was a Matoran. She sported blue and gold armor, which identified her as a Ce-Matoran, the mask on her head was Noble Kanohi Miru, the Mask of Levitation. "One of these days you’re gonna leave and someone might not notice," she said. Her name was Emrit. The sonic Matoran was one of his oldest friends from his time as a Matoran, but him being a Toa meant they did not see each other often. "This new world has many beautiful sights to be seen, and I can think of no better way to honor Mata Nui's sacrifice than admire them all, don't you agree?" he asked. "I suppose, but then Mata Nui is still alive. Albeit sleeping. Again." Emrit was like most Matoran. She thought highly of Mata Nui, but found that there was more to life than working and often wanted to spend time with her friends when possible. Needless to say this meant her work ethic was not the greatest, but she did her job nevertheless. "Still Emrit, he left this world for us, now that we no longer have to work to keep a giant robot functioning. We can do whatever we please, whenever we please." "I wouldn't say whatever and whenever just yet my Iron friend." Both then turned to the sound of a third voice. "While free we may be, there is still the job of building a new society." Entering the area was a Matoran whose armor bore a mostly green and blue color scheme, on his head he wore Noble Kualsi, the Mask of Quick Travel. "Botnac, nice of you to join us." Botnac was the type of Matoran who did his job, not just because he served Mata Nui with vigilance, but because he wanted to help people. As a result, he stood out from the crowd. His following Bo-Matoran villagers made up a joke that he would one day become a Toa, but such a day, if possible, was yet to come. "Out trying to help with the new Agori/Matoran integration?" Emrit said casually. "Hey, you never know. Just because those old timers know a lot doesn't mean they can't use the extra help every now and then." "True, but I prefer to leave the talking to the professionals as well as the experienced ones. Has anyone seen Arkis?" Thorak asked. "He said he went with a bunch of Ta- Matoran to find a new spot for lava surfing" Emrit said. Botnac let out a sigh, "We have been here for two months and he’s already looking for places to show off?!" "Hey, two months is a long time of peace. I think he at least deserves some time to himself" "Of course you would say that, Thorak. I thought part of being a Toa was to be a good role model for Matoran." "True. But I say that just because you're a hero doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself once in a while. What is life if all we do is work all that time?" "What would life be if we just horsed around all the time?" Thorak pondered for an answer before swinging his pack over his shoulder. "Well until we live in a world of horse Rahi I'm gonna live how I please." And with that The Toa of Iron activated his Kakama and zoomed out of sight. The two Matoran stood there for a moment before Botnac broke the silence. "You know what, I actually wish he lived in a world of horse Rahi. Maybe it will scare him into taking things more seriously.” The Coast of Aqua Magna. In a fortress that could hold an entire city, a being whose skin shined a golden glow stood at the gate that separated the Skakdi who lived inside from the rest of the world. Velika approached the fortress, walking up to the golden creature, never slowing down. His mind focused on one thought. While this entity did have the power, the only problem would be convincing him to help. "Hello little one, what brings you to our Fortress of Solitude?" "I have come seeking your presence as well as use of your power.” “We see, but first tell us, who are you?” “I am a simple Po-Matoran who merely seeks your council.” “So you say… But that small form is not your true self, so who are you really?" "Don't play dumb, I know you can easily read my mind and see. So why don't you?” "Because we already have, we just want to hear you say it. You are one of the Great beings, aren’t you?” "Yes and it is because I created the ones who make up your being that you live today. It is truly because of me that you exist now." "So it seems, but what business does a creator want with his creation?" "First of all I would like to thank you for ridding Spherus Magna of that miserable pile of waste, Annona. She was an annoyance that would have become a disastrous problem if left to roam free." "That abomination wanted to devour dreams for her meals. Dreams give us power. She would have destroyed all we stand for, but the one you should be thanking is Sahmad, it was his dreaming that whisked the glowing mass to her inevitable doom." "I suppose his poor Iron tribe was decimated because of her, another oversight of our failures, but the reason I am here is to seek use of your power." "You would want to use our power but doing so is only done by your dreaming. Just wish for what you want and it shall be made real." "I shall in time, but first answer me this. Do you really care what I make reality even if I dream you out of existence?" ".....Not really. While some things in this world may be horrifying, I bare no care to whatever I bring into existence. Even If you wanted to dream me out of existence, you would have done so already. I sense you want something more world changing?" "Indeed, my dream is for a world under my order, but first I must send the nanotech of the Great Robot as well as any potential agents of chaos to a new world where they may not interfere while still being able to live their lives.” "You want to rid this world of all who are from the Matoran Universe, which would include me? Just for the sake of order?" "Yes, chaos has no place in my vision for the future. I must ensure that future comes to pass even if it means ridding the planet of you and all who stand in my way, but I cannot bring myself to destroy mine and my brothers creations, they have grown on me. For 101,001 years they were my company and companions. To thank them by destroying them is not who I am." "Understandable, your love for them as well as your ambition for an orderly world is conflicting as it is, but while we see no cons, what is in it for us?" "Well first of all, the world I plan to send you all to has been visited by me before. Its natives will most likely welcome my creations with open arms. Sure it will take some time to adjust, but think about it, a whole new world with entirely new beings. Beings who dream, dreams to feed off of and make real. I know this must sound pleasing to you." For a split second the golden creature showed a grin, the prospect of new dreams to power him would be a very good thing for his powers. Plus since the population of the world was so small, despite their continued efforts to rebuild, it would be a while before the new beings were to be born into it. "Very well, you tell me the name of this world and we shall take whoever you need rid of. After all we will not want to lose the followers we already have.” "That is why I propose this. You sent Annona to another world, if you do the same for everyone except the Agori and Glatorian I will leave you be.” "Such use of our power would be great, but how would you keep them from coming back to this world if they found a means?" "Leave that up to me, I created the powers they wield, so I can easily shut them off or alter them as I please." "The people of this new world, their reactions to what I am about to do will be expected but I could care less, do you have anything else to say?" "I have observed this world for quite some time and others like it, I have even witnessed a God do the same thing for similar reasons and motives, although it remains to be seen if it will pay off in the end (if you ask me things may go downhill fast if fate willing), but I digress, if you do this you will be doing me a favor while you get to find more dreams to wield and empower, its a win-win proposal, so do you accept?" ".............." Canterlot Castle, Equestria Princess Luna of the Night stood on her room balcony, gazing down at the streets of the city below. Currently most of her subjects were tucked safely away in their beds, the only ponies awake at this time of night were the few who liked to party and her bat pony guards. Ever since her return as an equal ruler alongside her sister, her status and reception as a leader had greatly improved. It seemed everyday more and more ponies began to see the royal sisters as equals and not the older and younger alicorns as some of them did, as of now most ponies in Equestria even began to cite their Lunar Princess as their favorite Princess. Key word being most. I suppose this should not come as a surprise to me, not many knew I even existed until my return. It was sad to think about it, but if she were to put it bluntly, during the 1,000 years she was exiled generations upon generations of ponies lived and died without even knowing her real name. They only knew her as the Nightmare, and even that name was reduced to a fairy tail from a child's book, nothing but an old mare's tale. But her sister Celestia was known by everyone for those generations she was away, for 10 centuries they loved and revered her as their great ruler, and nopony else. Before her exile ponies never liked Luna, even before her transformation, and she knew that long after her imprisonment she had done nothing but justify their fears and suspicions. Until her redemption; that was the legacy she had left behind, that was the last way the ponies of that time had seen her. "And yet sister has never faulted or done wrong, and I doubt she ever will." Luna hated to think like this, but a small part of her deep down still envied her sister’s accomplishments, Celestia was revered and loved by all, she had raised a student who saved Equestria multiple times, yet what had Luna done? The only major event that everypony knew was of her betrayal, that was basically the one thing everyone knew about her, and she was sick of it. If only an opportunity would arise in which I could prove myself, to show my ponies I am just as much a hero to them as the others! "Mother...?" Luna reared her head to the door, and a smile slowly crept on her face. "Yes, Nidra?" "May I come in?" "....Of course." The door to the bedroom opened and in walked a bat pony alicorn. Her coat was grey and she had her mother’s blue non-magical hair and on her flank she bore a “Zzz” stamped cutie mark. "Can I ask you something?" Luna was the least to say a bit surprised, her daughter these days didn't usually come straight to her to talk about something. Luna knew this to be the work of the dreaded teenage years, but nevertheless she would not squander this moment. "Yes dear, you can ask me anything." The young princess sat beside her mother and nuzzled into her chest. ".......Do you know what it’s like to love somepony knowing that they are already taken?" "....No, why?" Nidra paused for a moment, "Nothing, it was stupid." The younger alicorn got up to leave only to be stopped by a large blue wing. "Nidra please tell me, is there an unrequited love that has taken residence in your heart?" "Uh....no its actually a friend of mine." Luna raised an eyebrow, "And who would this friend be?” "Uhh....it’s......Cotton Candy!" ".....Pinkie Pie’s daughter? She has an unrequited love?" "Yes." "Well then Nidra you wouldn't mind if the next time I visit your friend in her dreams that I try to help her deal with this unrequited love?” "Sure, go ahead. After all, you do seem to have a way with little foals." Nidra tried to suppress a smirk but failed. Luna put on genuine smile, foals these days did seem to adore their Princess of Night. "That is true, is there anything else you need to talk about?" "Not at the moment, no." "Well, Nidra, I am glad we had this talk. I am also proud that you are thinking of others for once." "Yes...others...good night mom." And with that she got up and exited the room. Then Luna was once again alone with her thoughts. No one ever said it out loud, but her daughter was somewhat known for being a little selfish if not a bit proud. There were even some servants who at one time used the word "jerk" to label her, but since some of them were her sisters maids, she was in no real position to ridicule them. Plus, every pony was entitled to their own opinion. Nevertheless there were those who saw her as a dear friend, and Luna loved her child regardless of her faults. The Princess of Dreams cast a sleep spell to help put her mind at ease, but as she entered to dream world, one last thought entered her head. "Maybe I should ask Tia to help give me some advice for teenagers.” As Luna closed her eyes, she made a mental note to seek counsel with her sister. Skrall River, former sight of Atero "This river runs like a normal one but instead of water it’s sand. Kinda like the Falls of Karzahni." Thorak stood among the remains of the once spectacular city where the yearly Glatorian matches were held. From what he heard, a Skrall army used the last Great Tournament to send a message to announce their campaign to rule Bara Magna. Said message involved senselessly killing Agori and Glatorian while destroying the city, which included sending half of it down the waterfall. "Gotta admit, they definitely got their point across." Turning his thoughts away from the former city, the Toa of Iron looked down the sandfall; the way an Agori from the jungle tribe described it was one of the most breathtaking sights he had ever seen. But the Toa of Iron had seen greater things than a sandfall. Can't blame the little guy though, not many good places to take in a good view around here. Feeling like he had seen enough, he began the long walk(or short Kakama enhanced run) back to the camp. "I wonder what the others might be doing right now. I just hope that things can go smoothly from now on." Suddenly Thorak felt himself being pulled through a narrow space, as if he was fading from this plane of existence. "What is this!?! I don't even-” But before the Toa could think, his mind put his thoughts, along with his body, to sleep. Luna gave an ethereal sigh. While it had been a long night the ponies whose dreams she had visited expressed their gratitude for helping them with their inner problems and turmoils. Now if only I could deal with my own. As Luna was about to move on to the next dream when she felt an overwhelming source of power wash over the dream world, almost at once a golden light ignited throughout the Dream realm and dissipated just as fast as it came. "What was that?" Luna was stunned. She floated in space for a long time, wondering what force could have performed such a feat, especially in the dream world, but her scans brought up nothing, for it seemed nothing changed in the ethereal plane. Whatever the light was, it was apparently not harmful in any form. "But something or someone caused that light, and since the dream world is my domain, I shall make it my duty to find out who." And with that in mind, Luna went on to the next troubled dreaming pony.
Chapter 1Ponyville, Equestria The day was young in the small village of ponies. The town had grown over the last twenty years since the last major conflict came to an end. Many new buildings were built, such as a Royal Guard station, as well as a rather large mansion for the House of the Royal Family that lived there, as the old library was no longer suited to serve as a home for a growing family. In Sweet Apple Acres, another new barn had been built in order to help store more equipment as the Apple Family had just acquired a new plot of land. This also meant, however, that more labor had to be put in to harvest the necessary apples. But this was not a problem as the help had already made it a habit to attend to the trees everyday….. As Starburst bucked a tree, the apples that hung from its branches fell into the waiting baskets. Satisfied, Star moved onto the next tree. For the young Princess, it was a daily routine coming to Sweet Apple acres. But working herself out by bucking trees in order to build up muscle and sweat sometimes eventually led to her passing out from exhaustion. Some of her friends, including her parents, were not overly fond of her passing out almost everyday at the farm, as they feared for her well being. Only a few ponies enjoyed seeing her break into a sweat, Golden and Starfall being those few. Star’s thoughts focused on the unicorn for a while. It had been a day since she had last heard from her coltfriend. The last time they saw each other, he said he was going to be refitting his Fortress of “Starfallitude” which according to him was going to take a while. Still, she could not help but think about him whenever he was away for awhile. Realizing what she was thinking about caused a blush of minor embarrassment to adorn her face. Returning her thoughts to the task at hand, or rather at hoof, Star then attempted to buck the next tree and fill another basket. Only to be interrupted by a very loud voice. "STAR!!" Shocked, the yellow Pegasus lost her balance and fell flat on her belly. Suppressing the minor pain, Starburst brought her eyes to the owner of the voice. “What is it Candy?” The blue grey Earth pony smiled back down at her. “Why are you lying down on the grass?” “....I don’t know, maybe I was feeling lazy and wanted to take a nap?” “Silly, we both know that lazy is the last word we would use to describe you” Grumbling while doing so, Starburst got to her hooves and bucked the tree again. “Seriously, what do you want Candy?” “I just wanted to tell you about my Doozy dream.” Star looked at her friend in confusion. “Your Doozy Dream?” “Yeah! You know how my mom has a Doozy from time to time?” “How can I not?" Pinkie Pie, Cotton Candy’s mom was practically legendary for her random body language that apparently foretold a coming unknown event, and since Cotton was Pinkie’s child many had suspected that her daughter had inherited the unexplained “Pinkie sense.” “Well last night I had one while I was sleeping!” “Wait.. you mean you dreamed you had a doozy or your body had one while you sleeping?” “The first.” “Okay…” Deciding to humor her friend for a little longer, Starburst let her friend continue her story. “Okay, so I dreamed I was living in Equestria when our parents were younger, but there were these strange creatures all over the place, and there was a really alien looking thing talking to your mom, a yellow mouse with a red hat talking to my mom, and a unicorn with a big blue horn having a picnic with Misses Rarity.” “Okay...” “But that’s not the weirdest part! In the sky I saw seven giants with typewriters talking to each other!” "Giants with typewriters?" "Yeah, except four of them were ponies and two looked like those human things your mom talks about and the last was a pink midget with venus fly traps for hair.” "........Ooooookaaaayy, I suppose THAT was the weirdest part?" "Nope, before I could make any sense of that nonsense everything faded until I was floating in a weird black void, then all of a sudden I had the DOOZY! When it was over a bright light filled the entire place and THEN........" ".......and then what?" "I woke up." "So you had a dream about giants, aliens, bright lights and a Doozy?" "Yeah, that about sums it up..........so......has Starfall reached second base yet?" Completely caught off guard with the end response, Starburst proceeded to chase her soon to be "wall mount" around the farm, albeit with a much redder face. 200 feet away... Thorak stirred as his organic muscles responded to the commands of the artificial intelligence that drove them. "Mata Nui, I gotta lay off that Thornax.” The Toa of Iron slowly got to his feet, his optics finally adjusting to the light. When he opened them he took a look at his surroundings. Thorak was in a ‘forest’ of some kind, expect there was no fauna and the grass was not overgrown, the trees of said ‘forest’ where filled with nothing but some red fruit he had never come across. "I'm definitely nowhere near the desert anymore." From what he was told by the natives, Spherus Magna was far larger than your average planet, giving it the potential to sustain multiple lifeforms, so it was possible he had woken up on some unexplored region of the world. "If that is true, then how did I get here?" The last thing he remembered was looking at the sand falls before passing out, did someone put him to sleep and teleport him here? If so, why? "Guess I'd better take a look around, maybe find some answers." Golden Delicious, or "Del" as his friends called him, trotted along the path that led back to to the barn house, humming a tune he had composed for himself. He kicked a pebble into a small puddle and watched as the ripples it made dissipated. "I'm bored." Make no mistake, Del loved bucking apples and working on the farm, but, since all of his chores were done, he had the rest of the day off, except he did not know how to spend it on his way back to the house. Seeking to keep his mind busy, Del began to think back to the times when his mom used to tell him amazing stories about when she and her friends went on many adventures from when they were his age. Whether it was saving Equestria or fighting parasprites, he always found their stories fun to listen to. In a way, his mom was his hero and generally she and her friends where the only heroes Equestria had ever known. But now times had changed, the Elements of harmony were rendered inert, and there was no longer a need for protectors as evil no longer plagued Equestria. It seemed that for two decades peace was all there had ever been, not that anyone was complaining. "Must have been something back then, saving a kingdom. I wonder if there are any other heroes in this world." To his knowledge the Elemental bearers were the most "recent" saviors in history, today the only heroes you could find where in either in comic books or movies. "Guess the world no longer needs heroes, oh well." As Del was halfway to the house his head turned to the attention of the empty trees. "Wait, what is that?" Narrowing his eyes, he saw the sun reflecting off something. Getting a closer look he spotted a tall figure walking through the trees in the distance. "Strange, wonder what that is?" Setting down the wagon of apples, Golden walked over the fence and towards the strange being. Hiding behind a tree, he managed to get a good look at it. The figure was mostly grey and burnt orange. At first he thought it was his skin but then realized it was actually armor (which seemed to cover him from head to toe) but what really made his eyes widen was that he appeared to be carrying some sort of weapon on his back. A sword unlike any he had ever seen. "Maybe I should go get Star first, she might know what to do," Golden said as he turned around and silently trotted back to the barn. Thorak's curiosity got the best of him and he decided to pick a fruit off of a tree. Concentrating, his hand absorbed the energy and nutrients from the fruit, which then withered when all the life left the apple. Thorak’s body, however, began to register the energy from the fruit. It tasted unlike anything he had ever ‘eaten’, which said much since Toa and Matoran generally don't ‘eat’ much. It was different but sweet, and all in all it was one of the best things he had ever ‘tasted’. "I wonder who grew this?" Thorak looked around him, there appeared to be no visible structures or buildings nearby (at least that he could see over the number of trees) and it appeared that no one lived here. "Um, hello?" "Scratch that," he said to himself. The sound of a female voice spun him around. And he came face to face with a small pink horse like Rahi. "Who are you?" The "Rahi" in question could talk and walked on all fours. It appeared to be fully organic in nature, with no mechanical indications whatsoever. Its fur was pink while its tail and mane were green, but one odd thing was that the female’s eyes were faded as if they were damaged. (A mishap during her creation perhaps?) "Uh.....my name is Thorak, a Toa of Iron." The Rahi looked at him quizzically. "What’s a Toa? I've never heard of that before." Now it was Thorak’s turn to look puzzled. Okay either I'm on some part of Spherus Magna that didn't get the memo or I'm dreaming, hopefully it’s the latter. "I'll explain it to you later, but first tell me where I am. I seem to be lost with no way of knowing how I can find my home." "Well sir, my name is Athena, but all my friends call me Annie, and you're at Sweet Apple Acres," she said with an innocent smile "Okay... where in Spherus Magna is that?" Now Athena was even more confused, "What's Spherus Magna?" At this point the Toa of Iron was really starting to worry. "Spherus Magna, is that not the name of this planet?" "No, you are in the kingdom of Equestria on the planet Equus." Thorak’s mind went blank. Okay, DEFINITELY not on the right world anymore “Okay then... Just to be clear, what species are you, Athena?" "I am a pony. A unicorn to be more precise. Which is one of the three pony races that live in this kingdom.” "Well then, unicorn Athena, it would appear that this planet is not where I am suppose to be, and it would be very helpful if you could take me to someone who can help me understand where I am... and possibly a place to stay in the meantime." "Oh, sure mister Thorak, just follow me. My friends and I can help you out." The pink unicorn then started walking away, with a very confused Toa of Iron in pursuit. Soon the unicorn asked another question. "Are you an alien?" Thorak glanced at her. "Alien?" he asked. "Someone who is not from this world or who is from outer space. You said you are from a world called Spherus Magna, correct? And since you are on the planet Equus that must make you an alien." "I know what an alien is, it’s just that....." Thorak pondered this for a bit. From what he knew, he had spent the last 101,001 years inside a giant robot flying through space after having emerged from the Well of Matoran. Some had always pondered the existence of aliens or other worlds. Since he was probably no longer on Spherus Magna, however, and since this creature knew nothing about Mata Nui yet, he would have to play along until he could explain. "I guess I am an alien then." "WOW! That makes you the first extra-terrestrial being to visit this planet. I'm sure that Miss Twilight Sparkle will have a lot of questions for you. She never lets her curiosity go unsatisfied, so prepare to answer a LOT of questions." This Twilight Sparkle sounds like Chiara. "But in all seriousness welcome to Equus! I assure you the ponies that live here are very friendly." Then, suddenly, his audio receptors picked up a faint whistling sound, one that was getting louder with every second. He turned his head towards the source. He only had a split second to react as a red blur dove right at him. Her prey cornered in a barn, the predator stood silent as its adversary attempted to make one last plea for its life. "Come on Star, it was just a joke," Candy tried to explain. "You understand right?!" "Said joke was number 54 of yours and Annie's merciless little "Burstfall" jokes, and when I say 54, I mean the 54th this WEEK!" Starburst retorted. "Yeah, but we both know you won't really make good on all those death threats you made," Candy said with a genuine smile on her face. She was right. As much as those two still liked to tease her relationship 24/7 Starburst knew that it was something that came with her new coltfriend. Still worth trying to scare them. "Fine, but seriously Candy just please no more dirty jokes. I don't need another Annie around here." "Okay, but seriously, has he reached second base?" Before Starburst could reply an orange hoof rested on her shoulder. "I hate to interrupt your latest chase, Star," Golden said, "but I need your help with something." "What is it?" "Well...it’s just I saw someone or something while I was in the acres." Starburst tilted her head. "Something?" "Yup, It walked on two legs with arms and hands." Sounds like those humans that mom used to talk about "Is that all? Why come to me?" "Because It also was covered from top to bottom in some kind of armor, and had a sword on its back." "...........Okay, Candy see if you can get my dad, since my mom is in Canterlot. He might know what to do in this situation." "Okie Dokie Loki!" Candy said. The daughter of Pinkie Pie then bounced off towards Starburst's family mansion. "Okay Del, show me where this guy is and let’s find out what he wants.” "Alright." Golden then proceeded to lead the pegasus to where he saw the stranger last. "You thinks it’s dangerous?" "Hope not, Equestria has had almost 30 years without a nationwide threat and I’d prefer it to stay that way." "Let’s just hope this thing shares your view, Star." The new arrival glared at Thorak with a look of determination and anger. Whoever he was, he did not seem to like Thorak one bit. "Who are you?" Hot Head demanded, "And what are doing with Annie?!"
