The Legend, Rebuilt

Chapters

Too Many Heroes...
... And even more problems!
The Enemy's Gate...!
A Token Gesture, In A Ravaged City
Caldoric's Chaos, With A "Capitol" C
Upon The Olethros (Or, "The Fuck's A Space Hulk?")
Wonder And Might, Horror And Fright: For Sale, Cheap!
Returned, yet Restless: Nothing is Easy
Uchu... Kita? Blood on the Home Turf, and Heroes of Space Team Up?!
Henshin Heroes! Chaos vs Lunacy, and the true virtues of Friendship and Unity!
Henshin Heroes 2: Alchemical Antics! And Don't Split The Party!
What is even going on here?

Too Many Heroes...

Later, back in the Present
The smallish hut, somewhere hot:

"Hey! Tall, dark and scary? You there?"

Ian, having mostly regained his senses, brought his attention back to the present. "H-wha...?" He asked, intelligently.

"He lives! I asked why you--"

"Takua?" Came a loud, somewhat angry voice from outside the structure. "Takua! You better not be in there alone, you koli-head..."

"I'm not alone!" Pony-Takua shouted over his shoulder, turning his head clear around. "And he seems friendly enough!"

"By the Great Beings!" The second voice shouted, it's owner soon sliding to a stop in the doorless entryway. "Takua! Get away from him!"

Ian barely had time to take in the new arrival's appearance before he felt his new combat instincts kicking in. He rolled sideways off the cot, away from Takua and the newcomer, then flipped the cot onto its side as a sad excuse for a barricade. Only then did he get a good look at the second figure: he was about as tall as Takua, but was bipedal in form. He had red armor covering most of his body, except for his mask and feet, which were dandelion yellow. The mask itself was domed and helmet-like, with three slash-like holes in each "cheek."

Oh, and he was also holding what looked to be a shortsword in one hand.

"Away, put the weapon!" Ian pleaded, well aware that all his stuff was missing, short of his armor. "I mean you no harm, Jaller! I'm just a bit lost, and confused!"

"Yeah, he doesn't seem to be the brightest lightstone in Onu-Koro," chimed Takua, "but he might still be able to shed some light on the current situation..."

"I don't care!" Interjected the red-and-yellow figure. "He's dangerous! He nearly killed me and a few other members of the Guard, and he somehow knows my name, mispronounced as it was, even though we've never met him before!"

"Wait, what?" Asked Ian. "D'you mean... Oh, geez, I'm sorry about that! The damn thing went off in my hand. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, and I've just been having the worst day..."

"Tell that to Kapura! He already had a few screws loose, but now, he's--" Jala began, but was cut off by the sound of horns echoing outside the tiny building.

"Tahu, the Toa of Fire, has returned!" A distant voice announced. "And he's brought guests!"

"Ah, great," Jala growled, looking momentarily over his shoulder, then returned his attention to Ian. "You," he commanded, "stay put, and don't cause trouble. Takua? Do me a favor and shift, will you? You can't defend yourself in that form." And without further ado, he left.

"Alright!" Takua called to his friend, then did something that left Ian speechless: he surged up onto his yellow hindlegs, as if he were about to slam his forehooves into Ian's chest, only to hang there for a moment. Just as Ian was wondering if Takua would ever come back down, the Matoran's entire biomechanical makeup shifted, changing him from quadruped to biped. His former forelegs were now full-blown arms, with individual fingers on each hand, and his legs now matched Jala's, although they were red, instead of yellow.

His face had flattened during the transformation, allowing his mask to return to it's "normal" shape. As an added oddity, his head was still at about the same height as it had been before the transformation. It seemed his torso and neck compacted into more appropriate lengths.

"Ta-dah!" Takua said, waving his hands for dramatic effect, but Ian just stared. "What? You look like you've never seen someone Shift before."

"I...ah...you...but...how...what?" Ian stammered. "Wh-wha-what? What? How even... I mean, the fuck?! Like, I don't remember that being a thing!" He gesticulated wildly in the general direction of Takua the Shapeshifter, continuing to make startled noises.

"Oh, this is completely normal," replied Takua, evidently trying to be comforting, "everyone else can do it too, even Toa Tahu. Mata Nui, you should've seen him when he first shifted. He was like a wild Kane-Ra in an ice sculpture field. He almost set the whole Wahi on fire. It was completely terrifying, yet strangely hilarious."

Ian's jaw was practically on the floor at this point. "Wha-- No! No. That is... that is wrong on sooo many levels. I'll just pretend none of that happened." He clapped his hands together, and looked at the slightly concerned Av-Matoran. "Alright, here's my first question: where's my stuff?"

"Uh... I don't know."

"Ok, second question: where are we?"

Takua gave Ian a strange look. "Ta-Koro, of course! Where else?"

Ian nodded. "Alright, good to know. Now, I'm gonna go look for-- YEERGH...!" He'd tried to stand up, only for his legs to give out, leaving him on his back. "Wh-why do I feel... weak?"

"Mata Nui," Takua said, facepalming. "You need your mask... Here, let me help you up." And so, with Takua lending Ian support, they made their way into the main courtyard. Ian could see many Matoran around the place, in both bipedal and quadrupedal forms, most of which were going about their business. There were the odd few, however, that gave him strange looks, either whispering to companions or rushing off somewhere.

"Well..." Ian began, adressing Takua through his lightheadedness, "the place looks ok... What was the last major thing that went down?"

"Uh, what?" The Matoran asked.

"Hm?"

"I don't understand what you mean by 'went down.'" said Takua. "Also, out of curiosity... do you have a name?"

Ian thought for a moment as they progressed through the Koro. "I think... I think I'll stick with Caldoric, for now. As for what I meant... Well, what's the last important event in recent history that you remember? And where are we going if you don't know where my stuff is?"

"I can only guess they'd have them at the Guards' barracks, or the Watch house." Explained Takua. "And with regards to recent history... Ah, the Toa showed up, then they began the search for their masks, and then seven more beings showed up, except they can't shift like we can... We're still not sure who they are, but most of them seem to be stuck in Runner form. I mean, the four-legged form I was in earlier, or like him over there." He waved at an equine Matoran across the way, who hurried off. "Personally, I think they're just really smart Rahi, though strange ones at that."

"Wait, hold up" Ian said, not sure he'd heard right. "Seven other beings? In 'Runner' form? What did the ones who weren't stuck look like?"

"Actually, there's just the one, and he's kinda on the small side. Looks a bit like a Hikaki, but about chest-high on me. He's purple and green, and belches fire occasionally. Oh, and he doesn't have wings."

"...Hikaki?" Ian asked, confused. "Remember, I'm a bit new here."

"Oh, I thought you knew..." Takua admitted. "You seemed to know a fair bit about us, from what Rainbow's told me..."

Ian halted in place, nearly causing them both to fall over near the back end of the village. "Rainbow...?" He growled. "Rainbow, as in--"

"...And then," came a new voice from behind them, "I came up from behind the guy all sneaky-like, since he'd just freakin' teleported, then I chopped him in the back of the neck with one of those disks, but it only seemed to stun him. So, I whacked him one on the side of the head with my hoof, and BAM, he was out like a light!"

Turning around, Ian and Takua saw three figures approaching their position. One was taller than the others, mostly red, biomechanical, and carrying a flame-shaped sword. The second was Jala, having apparently returned from whatever he'd been doing. And the third was a completely organic pegasus, about 4 feet tall, with sky-blue fur and wings, Technicolor hair in their mane and tail, and wearing red-and-silver armor.

"You!" She and Ian exclaimed together, pointing at each other. "What're you doing here?!"

"I thought I told you to stay put!" Jala shouted at Ian, then turned on Takua. "And I told you not to trust this stranger, and make sure he didn't cause trouble!"

"You only told me to shift!" Takua countered.

"Enough!" Demanded a new voice, calm, yet firm. Everyone turned to see a small, elderly figure, who wore an orange mask and carried a staff with a Fire Marble on one end, joining their little confrontation.

"Turaga Vakama." Said the tallest among them, as he stowed his sword and took a knee. Jaller and the blue mare saluted, and Takua joined the speaker in kneeling. "I was not aware that there was to be a seventh Toa."

"As was I, Tahu..." Said the one who had been addressed, looking critically at Ian. "Where's his mask?"

"Oh, we confiscated it, along with--" began Jala.

"Get it, then, Captain." Said Vakama. "You too, miss Rainbow Dash. As a matter of fact, bring all of his possessions, and make sure they are all in one piece." As they left, he turned back to Ian, who had sat down in an attempt to stave off collapsing.

"Where have you come from, stranger?" He finally asked. "And what should we call you?"

"C-Caldoric..." Ian said through a yawn, passing a hand over his bare face. "I'm from... a far-away world. My people call it Earth."

"Great," said Tahu, grumpily, "another trans-whatever being. Just what we needed. At least he's got his own armor."

Ian shivered. "I'm confused... You called me a Toa? I'm not a Toa, this is just a costume... Or, it was." He looked more intently at his arms and lower torso, once again taking in the mechanical components that had merged with his physical being. "Maybe you're right. But even if it's true, I'm not sure what abilities I'd have."

"Isn't it obvious?" Asked Tahu, extending a hand in Ian's direction. "You're a Toa of Earth, like Onua. Though the coloration of your armor is... most unusual."

"Do not jump to such conclusions, Tahu," Vakama admonished him, "in all my time, I have not seen someone with such a design. He may well be something unique."

Tahu scowled. "Wise one, what are we to do with him?" Just then, there was a commotion down the road.

"What now?" Tahu asked, turning to look with everyone else. What they saw was an... interesting sight. A small, organic-looking purple-and-green lizard was being chased by another member of Jinka's species. "No! Spike, get away from that Hikaki!" Tahu shouted, getting up.

"I'm trying!" The little lizard shouted as it changed course and headed right at the trio. "It's too fast!"

"Wait a sec," Ian interjected groggily, "Jinka? Jinka, is that you?"

The robo-lizard, which the locals seemed to be what Tahu had referred to as a "Hikaki," looked up at the sound of his voice, and became very excited. Arrr, arrr! it exclaimed, and rushed forward with new intensity, completely ignoring "Spike." In mere moments, it had dodged past Tahu, who'd taken a swing and missed, before it tackled Ian and began rubbing against him vigorously. Spike, however, just hid behind the Toa of Fire, keeping a wary eye on the creature.

"Jinka!" Ian exclaimed, laughing. "God, am I glad to see you!"

"You... know this Rahi?" Asked Vakama, dubiously.

"Yeah, I saved him from this giant frog thing that was trying to eat him, or something. Big, nasty thing it was, too. Mostly red and yellow, with a long, sticky tongue. Oh, and an infected mask, but I knocked that off."

"That sounds like a Ranama," observed Vakama, "and, while not much of a threat compared to a Nui Rama, or even a Nui Jaga, they're not easy foes to scare off once they've set their sights on a meal."

"Well, I guess an explosive to the back of the throat will cause it to think twice next time..." Ian added, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He yawned again. "Man, I'm tired. What's taking them so long?"

"They should return in a moment," Vakama assured him. "In the meantime, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?"

"Yeah," added Tahu, eagerly, "like what you meant by 'explosive,' among other things."

By now, Jinka had finished reuniting with Ian, and began looking around for something, which turned out to be Spike. With a deft movement, Jinka pounced, capturing the smaller reptile by the tail, and then gently curled himself around his catch in an attempt to "cuddle".

"Help!" Spike cried, a tiny arm outstretched from the embrace in protest. "Last time this happened, he started trying to groom me!"

"Ah, just be glad he's not humping your leg or something," Ian replied dismissively, then turned his attention back to Tahu and Vakama, who were lightly chuckling. Takua had apparently wandered off somewhere, again. "Now, about your question. I had this thing called a Bruteshot, which seems to be like a grenade launcher on steroids. It kind of went off in my hand, the projectile ended up in the frog's mouth, and then boom, goodbye tonsils. Couldn't have done it if I'd actually tried to."

"What is a... I believe you called it a 'grenade launcher,' yes?" Asked Tahu, his head on one side.

Ian sighed, rubbing his bare face again. "It's... it's complicated... a type of weapon... whoo, is everything supposed to be spinning?"

Just then, there was a pattering of metal feet, and Takua came belting around the corner, only to trip at the last second. From his arms spilled five or six glowing yellow crystals, the Bruteshot, and Ian's mask. Ian picked up the latter, as Takua took a moment to readjust his own mask, which had slid askew.

Ian took a moment to look at the mask in his hands, taking in everything about it. It had a certain weight to it, moreso than it had when he'd first made it out of cardstock, hot glue, Bondo, and other things. Over the left eyehole, he'd painted part of Ingress' "Enlightened" symbol in bright green, which clashed nicely with the metallic black backdrop of the mask itself. In fact, he thought he could see something in it's somewhat reflective surface.

"Is... Is that me?" Ian asked, touching a hand to his face. In the clouded mirror that was his mask, he saw his reflection copying his movements, it's hand brushing the mess of mechanical components that served as the front of it's head. "And Matau thought he looked ugly that one time..."

"You would do well not to insult the Turaga of air," Tahu advised quickly, his legendary temper momentarily burning bright.

"Yes, you would." Agreed Vakama, and though both his tone and expression were guarded, they still conveyed a sense of shock. "Your countenance, however, looks to be about normal for a Toa."

"Sorry," Ian said, and put the mask on. He was immediately almost knocked flat on his back by the surge of power he felt, and as his vision cleared, he saw his armor brightening, becoming shinier, it's colors less muted. He felt... stronger, somehow. More powerful. Like he'd just eaten a whole load of sugar, and had a crap-ton of coffee. "Whoah... head rush!"

"Yeah, putting on a mask'll do that to you," commented Takua, who took the opportunity to shift back into equine form. "Sorry about dropping your stuff, I tripped over a loose stone."

"No problem," Ian casually replied, as Jala and Rainbow returned, carrying the remainder of his possessions. "I've had worse spills."

"Help...!" Spike squeaked in Rainbow's direction, still being subjected to Jinka's friendly ministrations.

"Oh, jeeze...!" Breathed the cyan mare, as she moved to extract Spike. "Can't you see what this stupid lizard's doing?"

"Yeah," Ian quipped, as Tahu began taking an unnoticed interest in the Bruteshot, "he's hanging with my friend Jinka."

Rainbow just rolled her eyes, and began trying to shove Jinka off of Spike. The larger of the two reptilian beings merely squawked at her in indignation. "Ugh... New guy? Can you get your pet raptor off my friend?" She demanded at last.

"Ok, fine," Ian conceded, and turned to Jinka. "Alright, buddy, would you... No, wait! Tahu, don't hold it that w--!"

Unobserved by all, except perhaps Vakama, the Toa of Fire had grown a bit bored of the proceedings, and subsequently entertained his curiosity about the alien-looking Bruteshot before him. With one hand, he'd picked it up by the circular "trigger area" on the side, and began turning it this way and that, trying to figure out how it worked. As he did so, he'd squeezed the handle just right, allowing the weapon to rotate around the handle under its own weight. It had come to a stop pointed right at Ian's face, cutting him off mid-sentence as he flinched in fear, and Jala and Rainbow Dash dove for cover.

The only thing that happened, however, was that the Bruteshot began softly clicking repeatedly, only to stop a few seconds later. Tahu tilted the weapon back towards himself, allowing it to turn and whack him in the opposite arm. "It appears to be broken," he observed, and set it with the rest of Ian's stuff.

"...No, I..." Ian had dropped his arms, and took a moment to run an armored hand along the back of his head, idly noting the long mass of wires that seemed to emulate his former hair. "Jegus, no, I think... I think it's just out of ammo, thank God..."

Vakama leaned heavily on his staff, his masked face in his hands. "Perhaps, Tahu," he began, "it would be best not to handle objects with which we are as of yet unfamiliar?"

"Yeah," Ian agreed, "simply put: 'look with your eyes, not with your hands,' as my mom was always telling me."

"Seconded," added Jala from around the corner of a nearby building, shakily clutching a dual-pronged spear-lookin' thing.

"Carried..." Said Rainbow, cautiously peering from the roof of the same structure.

Unexpectedly, Takua leaned forward, and gave a loud gasp. "Caldoric!" He exclaimed. "Your heartlight... it's gone out!"

"Wait, what?" Ian asked blankly, looking at his chest. And, indeed, what the Matoran had said was, in fact, true. "Ah, shit, that's not a problem. It's just a loose wire, happens sometimes." With that, he once again plunged a hand beneath his chestplate, and proceeded to reconnect the wire... again. The light inside his chestplate flickered, went out, flickered again, then settled into a slightly faster than normal rhythm. "See?"

"You should not take things like that so lightly, Caldoric." Tahu admonished. "Right, Turaga...? Turaga?" Vakama didn't answer. Instead, he turned away with a haunted and slightly depressed look, then shapeshifted into his equine Runner form, which was a slightly elderly-looking model.

His armor was mostly burgundy, with undertones of dark grey or black in places. His mask, however, (the shape of which had always put Ian in mind of an Egyptian Pharaoh,) was still that same bright orange color it always was. His mane and tail, while comprised of hair-like wires, and having small Fire Marbles scattered throughout, were the sort of faded orange color that suggested they had once blazed far brighter in his "youth."

Ian thought he heard the Turaga say something about being "too old for this" as he slowly walked away, but he couldn't be sure.

"What's with him?" Rainbow asked, a little insensitively, as she returned to the task of freeing Spike. The poor little dragon was positively dripping with Jinka's saliva by this point, and as a side effect, so was Rainbow.

"He must see to some personal matters," Ian said, hazarding an educated guess. "That probably brought up some painful memories. Folks he's lost..."

"Enough of this sentimentality," Tahu exclaimed, standing up. "I should be out finding my next mask, or fighting off some Rahi. And you, Caldoric, are coming with me."

"Wait, what?" Came the shocked reply. "B-but... I can't fight, or do even half the stuff you can! What--"

He was interrupted by a loud belch from Spike, accompanied by a gout of green flame and the appearance of a scroll from said micro-inferno. This was also enough to scare off Jinka, who had been preparing himself to "fight" Rainbow for his tiny "playmate."

Tahu deftly caught the scroll, as if this was a completely normal occurance, then broke the seal and held it up for Rainbow Dash to read. "I hate not being able to read these things for myself," he groused, to nobody in particular, "what's it say?"

"Twilight and the others will be coming to visit shortly. She says she's got a surprise for all of us..." Summarized the cyan Pegasus. "But it looks like we got one of our own, eh Caldoric?"

"Don't count on it. I'd sooner have all the masks found so the Toa can hurry up and kick Makuta's ass. Them maybe I can go home, and forget any of this happened."

"Wait, how do you know about Makuta?" Takua asked, suspiciously.

"Same way I know about anything else here on Mata Nui." Replied the reluctant Toa. "I'm from another reality, where all of this -- or, most of it, at least -- is part of a story and a matching set of toys, which were originally targeted at a young audience, but garnered the attention of select adults."

"Wait, what do you mean 'most of this'?" Tahu asked, directing a glare at Ian.

"A few variables have changed. For example, the whole shapeshifting thing you guys have is new to me." Ian jerked his head at Rainbow Dash and Spike. "Not to mention, these two and whoever else is present from their little circle of friends shouldn't be here at all. Their world was dreamt up by a rival company to the one that made this one, so I'm surprised this place hasn't imploded from inter-franchise cross-contami--"

There was a loud BAMFFF! and a flash of lavender light from the nearby courtyard, heralding the arrival of several multi-colored beings, and eliciting cries of surprise from nearby Matoran. It was also just loud enough to overpower the startled, slightly higher-than-normal pitched "YEEP!" that passed Ian's lips.

"Ohhhhhhhh..." Groaned the taller of the two green members of the group, clutching his abdomen. "Remind-tell me never to try that again any time quick-soon..."

"Oh, hush, Lewa," a smaller, magenta Alicorn mare admonished him. She was wearing a set of "light" armor, as were the rest of the organic-looking ponies, each with their own style, and seeming to correspond in some way to the color scheme of their biomechanical companions. "The discomfort only happens the first couple times." She turned her attention to her surroundings. "Rainbow? Rainbow Dash, are you around h-- oh, there you are!"

"Hey, Twilight!" The cyan Pegasus replied, walking over. Meanwhile, Ian began gathering his stuff as quickly and quietly as possible, so as to avoid--

"Hey there!" His vision was abruptly and jarringly filled by an overexcited, sideways, cotton-candy pink face, which was grinning from ear to ear.

"Sweet Jegus FUCK!!" Ian exclaimed, caught completely off guard. The sudden appearance of this particular fourth-wall-breaking mare caused him to flinch violently and drop just about everything in his arms. Tahu began to draw his Flame Sword in response, but put it away after he saw who had surprised Ian.

"Ooh, are you new here?" The violently pink mare asked, suddenly becoming far more interested in him, going so far as to clamp his mask between her metal-clad forehooves and try to squish his face. That, and she also began speaking much faster. "Ohmigoshyou'renew! NoponytoldmeweweregettinganewToa! How'reyoudoing? What'syournameandelementandfavoritecolor? Aaah! Wegottathrowyouaparty--!"

"GET THE HELL OUTTA MY FACE!" Ian shouted as he flailed ineffectually at her with one arm, more to get a chance to parse her torrent of words than to be mean or angry. Nonetheless, the mare's impossibly poofy mane and tail flattened visibly as she stepped back and pouted at him.

"Pinkie Pie, darling," interjected a rather refined-sounding voice, coming from a white unicorn mare with heavily styled purple mane and tail, who was wearing armor that seemed more fashionable than functional. "Be a dear and give the poor, strange Toa some space, yes? We don't want a repeat of what happened when you first met our friend Kopaka, do we? After all, it's been nearly a week, and we still keep finding chunks of ice falling out of your mane." Ian could swear that, as he began gathering and re-equipping his stuff again, he saw Kopaka smile ever so slightly at the memory.

"Yeah, well," replied Pinkie, "he didn't have to be so rude about it, Rarity. And this new guy's got no excuse, either, even if he is from yet another new dimension."

"Yeah," agreed the orange, normal-looking pony in the group, adjusting her Stetson, " 's no call fer such harsh language, neither."

"Wait," demanded Twilight, her gaze immediately locking onto Ian's form, "new guy? From yet another dimension? Ohmigosh, I have so many questions to ask you...!"

Ian's eyes widened drastically. "NOPE!" He exclaimed, stuffing the empty Bruteshot under one arm, and using the other to shove the Sylladex and it's accessories into a pocket. "Nope nope nope nope nope...!" He then booked it around the back of a nearby hut, breaking the line of sight between himself and the others, then headed for the front gates as fast as he could without knocking over any Matoran. Unfortunately, this took him back into the other end of the courtyard...

"Hey...! Get back here, you!" Exclaimed Twilight, but her only answer was more cries of "Nope!" and Ian's retreating back. "Ugh, fine. Have it your way..." She disappeared in another flash of lavender light, reappearing both inside the front gate and in Ian's way. Her wings were spread wide, and her horn began glowing ominously as she prepared an unknown spell.

"Nope!" He cried again, and pulled something that looked like a sniper rifle around from where it had hung on his back, and proceeded to hip-fire it at the purple Alicorn.

With a loud KA-CHUNK!!! , the weapon disgorged a large red projectile, which flew fast and true at the base of Twilight's horn, only to bounce off with a faint ba-doink! sound. All it succeeded in doing was startling her enough for the unfinished spell to fizzle out, but that was enough for Ian to make his own move.

He let the weapon fall behind him once more, and with a deft precision that surprised even himself, Ian somersaulted through the air above Twilight, catching the spent projectile as he did so, then came up running on the other side. Praise Mata Nui for Nerf guns and built-in Toa reflexes, he thought, as he ran along the main bridge out of Ta-Koro amidst both magic blasts and bamboo disks.

Once on the other side of the huge lava moat around the village, Ian took refuge behind a rock. OK, he thought to himself, catching his breath as the bridge descended into the magma, that could've gone better. And, seriously, why did I freak out back there? However, no answer was forthcoming, so he decided to take the opportunity to take inventory of his stuff again. It seemed that, for once in this crazy place, luck was actually with him, because he hadn't lost anything during his wild flight.

With a sigh of resignation, Ian began fiddling with the Sylladex and Strife Specibus in an attempt to get them set up for easy usage. It only took a moment's work to do, though, so his mind began to wander as he stored his loose items. What, exactly, had the Toa, Turaga, and out-of-place Equestrians discovered that would warrant a meeting between them? And how had the "big six" themselves gotten to this version of the Bionicle universe, anyways? Ian needed answers, and he'd only be able to find them at that meeting.

As was usual for him, he went straight to acting without thinking, which was his old standby for... well, anything, actually. So, he tried using his Kanohi Mask to warp to the top of the castle-like walls of the village...

~~~~
Ta-Koro courtyard:

Meanwhile, as that was happening, everyone at the village was calming down after having seen the seemingly friendly stranger attack one of their allies, and for no logical reason. Takua and the butter-yellow pegasus, named Fluttershy, were busy trying to calm the upset Hikaki that said stranger had apparently left behind in his rush to escape, while everyone else did their own thing.

"...So," said Princess Twilight, once everybody and -pony present had recovered their cool, "as I was saying--"

"But you haven't told us anything yet, Twilight!" Interrupted Pinkie. "So technically you weren't saying anything." She smiled, producing a sound reminiscent of a dog's chew toy.

There was a round of chuckles from most of those present, with the exception of the five Turaga, who merely rolled their eyes.

"Cousin Pinkamena does have a valid point, Twilight," supplied Onua, the ebon-armored Toa of Earth, in his typical bass rumble.

"This is true," agreed Pohatu, the dusty-brown Toa of Stone, "but I'm eager to hear the good news either way! How 'bout you, Kopaka?" The Ice Toa merely rolled his eyes, lazily.

"Well, then," Twilight huffed, "then as I was about to say... we've just received word from--"

"W--AAUGH!"

All heads turned to the parapets over the main gate, where a familiar black, white, and grey figure overbalanced himself and fell off, only to reappear on top again with a flash of green-tinged light.

"Whoo, that was close..." He said, his words barely audible from their location, before-- "Oh, snap! Jinka! I totally forgot! Hold on, boy! I'll be right there!"

In another flash, he appeared next to Jinka and Fluttershy, and in the next instant, all three vanished.

"Eeep!" Came the shy Pegasus' voice from the wall, followed by Caldoric's exclamation of "Whoops, sorry!" and another flash of light. Once that had faded, the startled mare was left by herself on top of the wall, until the guards showed up to comfort her.

Once she had been reunited with the others in the courtyard, and some semblance of order had been restored, Twilight decided to try one final time.

"Alright, if everyone's settled," she began, "the seven of us have finally received word from home..."

Author's Note

Aaand, here's chapter 2. Gimme a bit to get Caldoric situated, and have him informed of the full situation, then he might be available for crossovers.

Key word, here, is "might," but I do have a couple other stories I'm also working on besides this, so... yeah.

... And even more problems!

On an unobtrusive ledge,
Above the Lava Lake around Ta-Koro:

Ian sat uneasily, idly stroking Jinka's purring form as he contemplated what to do next. He had to hear what was going on at that meeting, but... how?

He glared down at the village stronghold, trying to come up with a plan that wouldn't get him noti-- hey, was that a secondary bridge coming out the side of the Koro? Yeah, that might work... He thought, and if both MNOG 2 and the Mask of Light movie were anything to go by, it led straight to the courtyard...!

Yes, now he had a plan, of sorts. But only two issues remained. First came the part about getting past the guard posted at said rear entrance without being spotted, and second, there was the issue of what to do with Jinka, as energetic and excitable as the Rahi seemed to be.

Wait... in Homestuck, didn't John temporarily store that salamander kid in his Sylladex without any I'll effects? Ian wondered. Yeah, he did do that... and the whole "becoming a necromancer" thing was really Rose's fault anyways. Well, it seems plan "B" is a go!

"Hey, Jinka?" Ian asked, turning to his companion.

Rrrrt? the Hikaki purred, lazily.

"I'm gonna do something real quick, and it might freak you out, but I promise it's gonna be temporary." Ian continued. "In fact, you might not even notice it at all! Call it an experiment."

Jinka seemed excited at the prospect... or maybe he was just picking up on Ian's tone of voice.

"Good boy. Now, hold still...!" And, with a bit of mental effort, he just sort of... reached over and... kinda...

Suddenly, Jinka was on a card in Ian's Sylladex, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice. "Sweet," Ian said, turning his focus to the tunnel, "now to wait for the--" He vanished in a blink of light, reappearing inside the smaller, secondary tunnel into the Koro just after the guard turned away from it.

"--Opportune moment..." He quietly finished, and did his best to sneak forward to the courtyard entrance. Carefully lying on his belly, so as not to make any more sound than necessary, he listened in to the conversation as it unfolded.

"... received information from back home, in Equestria. During the last, oh, week and a half that we've been on this island with you guys -- thanks for taking us in, by the way..." --There were mumbled reassurances at this-- "the Princesses back home have been pouring every spare moment they can into trying to find us a way back, or even opening a gateway between our two worlds..."

~~~~
Inside the courtyard...

"Ah don' know, sugarcube," AJ said, adjusting her Stetson, "that sounds like askin' fer trouble, since we got oursel's a war on both sides. Wouldn' that jes' be another liability?"

"Indeed," added Kopaka, "would not the dark forces of both sides seek to wrest control it from us, and form an alliance of their own?"

"Yes, yes, they've already considered that!" Twilight exclaimed. "In fact, it seems they've had somepony trying to sneak in and sabotage the project! But if we can get even one of the other Princesses onto this side of the mirror, we could take out Makuta in a heartbeat, then we could all hop back over to Equestria and turn the tide!"

There was a burst of whistles, clicks and grunts from one of the shorter white figures who were present, whose name was Nuju. Seconds later, his translator, a Matoran named Matoro, stepped forward to make his Turaga's thoughts clear.

"Um, Nuju says, 'hold on a minute, how do we know it isn't a trap?'"

"Quite right," agreed Onewa, the Turaga of Stone, "how can we tell if we're playing right into their hands or not?"

"Tally-count me in, Twilight-cousin!" Added Lewa, whose attention had begun wandering again, as was normal.

"I agree, Princess." Tahu agreed. "A decisive strike could be the deciding factor in our fight against the Makuta's tyranny. The sooner we do it, the better."

Gali, the blue-armored Toa of Water, shook her head. "I myself am not so sure, brother. Perhaps we should stick to our original plan, and seek our Masks of Power first?" Nokama, the Turaga of Gali's village, nodded her own agreement.

"Or perhaps," Kopaka interjected coldly, "we should ask our uninvited guest." With a flick of his wrist, a beam of ice shot into the shadows of the tunnel to the back exit, eliciting a cry of surprise from its hidden occupant. With a second motion, the Ice Toa created a chute that brought the now-bound Caldoric to the group's feet. As all of them could see, his entire body was covered in fully opaque ice, save for his mouth and nose. "He might have the answers we seek."

"Or I could be freezing my metaphorical balls off in here! Let me out!" Caldoric nearly shouted. Fortunately, he'd had the foresight to inhale as he was frozen, affording himself room to breathe.

"Amazing, brother!" Pohatu exclaimed in admiration. "But... how did you know?"

"Mask powers," Kopaka said simply.

"Oh... right." Came Pohatu's sheepish reply.

"You...!" Rainbow finally spat at the captive eavesdropper, as she began to advance on him.

"Dash, no." Twilight interjected, sticking a foreleg in front of her angry friend. "I'll deal with him."

"Let's not get too hasty," Caldoric said, cautiously, "the thing I hit you with was just a toy, not intended to do any harm. And, in my defense, it was you guys who spazzed me out."

"Oh? I beg to differ." Rainbow countered. "It seemed to me like both of your little 'episodes,' so-called, were completely unprovoked."

"Bull shit!" Caldoric replied, causing the Equestrians to flinch. "I only dropped the Bruteshot because someone hit me with one of those Kanoka disks of yours. It's not my fault that it went off when it hit the ground."

"I've had enough of this," Tahu said, walking off. "Find me when something interes--"

With a loud ker-RACK! the ice around Caldoric shattered, sending fragments everywhere. Caldoric himself gave a heavy gasp, and pushed himself into a sitting position.

"How'd you do that?" Twilight and Kopaka demanded, simultaneously.

"Dunno," Caldoric answered, "I think I tapped into my elemental powers, somehow, though I'm not really sure."

"Great," Kopaka said shortly, massaging the spot between his mask's eyeholes, "he's one of mine."

"No, I'm not Ice. I'm Space."

"What?" Came the unanimous reply. Caldoric sighed.

"Fine... why don't I just tell you my plans, my darkest secrets, and my entire life story?" He snapped, sarcastically. "It'll make things so much easier..."

"Oooh, that sounds fun-pleasant!" Lewa chimed, having finally rejoined the conversation.

"I know, right?" Agreed Pinkie. "Good thing I brought popcorn!"

"I must agree as well," said Vakama as he hobbled over, in his traditional form once more.

"Ah, brother!" Matau, the Turaga of Air, finally exclaimed. "Long time since we last had word-song from you in bright-home Le-Koro, smelt-head! Why the dark-frown earlier?"

Vakama smiled slightly, and rested a hand on Jala's shoulder. "Memories, old friend, of when we were younger... if you still remember, that is." All six Turaga grew a little stern at this, but only momentarily.

"Ok, hate to break up the skull session," Caldoric finally said, breaking the awkward silence, "but can we get back to the original topic of discussion? Like, how you Equestrians got here in the first place? I mean, I may be new here, but I'm pretty sure that whatever message you guys got is somewhat time-sensitive, yes?"

"Yes, but not so much so that we can't hear your side of things first," Twilight countered.

Caldoric deadpanned. "Alright, if that's how you want it... I was at a convention back home, dressed in a homemade costume that looked pretty much like I do now, minus a few details, and then I bought some crap off this one vendor, and then I'm suddenly dropped here on Mata Nui. Next thing I know, I'm being attacked by a giant Ranama, then I encounter Jala and Skittles over here out on patrol, the latter of which knocks me out. And I'm pretty sure I have a concussion, too. Then I'm here in Ta-Koro, and you all show up. The end."

"That..." said Takua, "was rather shorter than I expected." There were murmurs of assent from the group before Twilight spoke up.

"Yeah, I half hoped you'd be more forthcoming with your metaphorical résumé, considering that you're at our mercy."

Ian deadpanned again. "Really? I was just summarizing my own stuff so you all could get the more pressing matter hashed out sooner. If you want more info out of me, it'll have to wait till after your own shit's handled. And don't go skimping on too many details just because I did the same. But, for everyone's sake, just assume I know the identity of anybody you mention by name, or of any important events that cropped up before you arrived. I'll ask, if I need clarification." The rest of their little group shared glances all around before Twilight spoke again.

"... Fine. But I expect your full cooperation afterwards."

"Ehhh, I'll see what I can do."

And so, with this shaky alliance formed, the Equestrian visitors begun to relay their tale.

~~~~
Equestria;
Roughly three months ago.

It had been about a month and a half since Lord Thorax peaceably seized control of Chrysalis' hive, and the political fallout of the whole situation was still settling. Scouting parties had been sent out, in hopes of finding and capturing the errant Queen, but all they had met with were rumors and ghost tales. Then, after a month of fruitless searching, she finally made her presence known, in the heart of the Crystal Kingdom itself.

This time, however, things were different: not only had she located, freed, and allied herself with Sombra in the intervening month, she had also gathered a small contingent of Changeling "sleeper cells" who were still loyal to her. These had been augmented by Sombra's own home-made, mind-controlled forces.

Both forces were devastating and efficient in concert, as evidenced by the successful and highly demoralizing "smash-and-grab" operations they performed within the icebound city. The last of these was by far the most disheartening and detrimental, for it had culminated in the abduction of the Crystal Heart itself, as well as the daughter of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza: Flurry Heart.

Twilight, Shining, and Cadence were the most harshly affected by this, with the former Captain of the Royal Guard swearing a frightening oath of vengeance. But, without the power of the Crystal Heart to protect the ancient city, it was soon abandoned to the onslaught of the Northern ice, with everyone barely making it out in time.

So fell the Crystal Kingdom, as the former citizens sought refuge in the town of Ponyville, the home of their savior: Spike, the dragon.

For the next week, no news was to be had about either the young Flurry's whereabouts or well-being. Almost to add insult to injury, neither hide nor hair of the evil forces had been seen, despite the best efforts of the Night and Day guard, as well as the Wonderbolts. There was, however, one night where the Timberwolves seemed unusually active, making an ungodly racket all throughout the Everfree Forest, with a few even going so far as to tear through nearby townships and villages without rhyme or reason.

The next day, Twilight and the other inhabitants of Ponyville had awoken to find the head of a local friend of theirs, a zebra named Zecora, mounted on a pike in the town square. Attached to it was a declaration of war, written in the unfortunate mare's own blood, and signed by a being calling themselves "Chrystalla."

~~~~
Ta-Koro courtyard
Now

"Whoa whoa whoa, Chrystalla? Who's this douchebag supposed to be?"

Everyone gave Caldoric a dirty look for his interruption.

"What?" He asked, shrugging. "I don't remember there being anyone named 'Chrystalla' running around in your world... Unless they were featured in one of the more cringeworthy episodes that I skipped. Long story. But please, carry on." Twilight glared a little longer, then resumed speaking.

"After that... unfortunate incident was cleaned up, and a copy of the note had been sent to my former mentor, the seven of us went to Zecora's hut to recover her body and give her a proper funeral. But what we saw there..." Twilight shuddered, and looked away. Applejack and pinky moved to comfort her, while Rarity somehow managed to look paler than usual at the reawakened memory. Spike just adopted a horrified expression, staring absently at his claws.

It was here that Rainbow took over. "Yeah, it wasn't pretty. Not even close." She looked Caldoric in the eye, her voice shaking. "See, they didn't just kill her outright. No, they tortured her. There were, like, these black crystal things shot right through her entire body at wierd angles, pinning it to the floor, with these two sword-like ones that were crossed at the point where her neck used to be. Like, they went and executed her. And, get this, not all the crystals were Sombra's!" The Toa and Turaga, as well as what few Matoran had gathered to listen in, looked visibly sick.

"Yeah," added Twilight, still a little vacant, "some of them matched the physical description Thorax and Starlight Glimmer gave of what Chrysalis' hive-throne had been made of."

"Ok, I honestly half expected that," Caldoric added, "so... what else happened there? Was anything else missing, besides her head?"

"That's the worst part. There was something missing: an ancient dark artifact that she'd been allowed to hide and protect after an incident in town a year or two ago. It's called the 'Alicorn Amulet--' "

"MOTHER FUCKERS!" Caldoric shouted, punching the cobbled ground beneath him. "But how would they-- unless... but why would they want it...?" He turned his attention back to the present, and addressed the Equestrians in general. "I've got the beginnings of a theory, but... I need to know what happened next."

"We was ambushed." Applejack said, matter-of-factly. "At first, we thought they was some sorta Changelin's, like the ones what bested us up North. Then it turned out they was somethin' else entirely: 'ling-shaped monsters, but made outta constantly shifting black crystal shards, held t'gether with green gas, like them Timberwolves were. Strange thing was, we hadn't seen a single wolf before then, which was odd, b'cause we'd normally see at least three or four any time we'd gone in before."

"Yeah, they mostly seemed interested in Spike, though," Pinkie added, "but I couldn't have guessed why, even if you asked."

Caldoric steepled his fingers, as the Turaga and Toa shared furtive glances. This was getting... interesting.

~~~~
Equestria;
One month and three weeks ago

Once Twilight and company had fought off the "shardlings," they returned to town with Zecora's body, and a funeral was held for her. However, the proceedings were crashed by Trixie, who'd dragged herself into town, half dead herself, covered in cuts and bruises. Just before she'd collapsed from exhaustion, she'd delivered a grave message: that not only had she and Starlight Glimmer both been abducted by Chrystalla's forces, but that this strange entity was none other than Chrysalis herself, having returned with a vengeance.

After that, Thorax and his people decided to go into hiding, while Trixie was transferred to the nearest hospital, where she remained catatonic for the next two weeks.

The days following Trixie's arrival heralded the first of many attacks from the Shardlings, forcing towns and villages nationwide to fall back to more defensible locations, which grew few and far between. Not much could take down these monstrous beings, and anything that did work was too expensive to recreate on a massive scale. The dwindling threads of communication with neighboring lands and sovereignties indicated them to be in similar situations, until contact was cut off completely.

Eventually, everyone who could make the journey retreated to Canterlot, which was once more encased in a defensive bubble-shield, powered by the strongest and most able magic-wielders available. And then, one week before Twilight and her friends would arrive on Mata Nui, Discord vanished without a trace while on a reconnaissance mission.

Six days later, Twilight and her friends had decided to try and make contact with their counterparts on the other side of the Crystal Mirror, which they'd brought during the evacuation of Ponyville. Their hopes, however, were in vain, for it was at that moment that the Shardling army made their attack on the capitol city, bursting through the shield like it was nothing. Chaos reigned over the next 24 hours as the crystalline enemy rampaged through the streets, blasting innocent citizens with dark magic at every turn. Some were turned to crude, obsidian-like statues, or piles of black crystals. Others, mostly the young or strong, became new Shardlings, and joined the rest in wanton destruction.

In a last-ditch effort, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and the Element Bearers sought out the mirror. However, when they arrived, they found Discord himself waiting for them, wearing a set of Sombra's mind-control armor. The gems on the mirror's outside edge had changed colors as well, though no one yet knew what that had meant. And with naught but an evil cackle and a wave of his hand, Discord tossed Twilight and her friends through the mirror, then turned to face off against the remaining Alicorns.

When the seven Equestrians awoke, they found themselves scattered across the island of Mata Nui, and soon stumbled across the local Matoran population. For the next week, they worked alongside the Toa in defending the villages, all while seeking a way back home.

And then today, Caldoric had arrived, nearly injuring Jala in his own quest to get home...

~~~~
Ta-Koro
Now

"And so, that brings us to... now..." Twilight trailed off, snapping out of lecture mode long enough to notice Caldoric pacing randomly while idly fiddling with something in his hands, his eyes unfocused. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Hmm?" Caldoric asked, his focus immediately shifting back to her. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I've got ADH--"

"No, you weren't listening at all!" She exclaimed, incensed. "You were walking around and playing with that thing in your hand for the last five minutes!"

"Yes, I was too listening!" Caldoric countered, before rattling off an extremely summarized version of her tale. "Now, if you had allowed me to explain, instead of trying to imitate my parents on a bad day, you would've learned that I have trouble sitting still for extended periods of time. When I'm taking in information verbally, I tend to zone out on all my other senses, and occasionally get fidgety as well. Thus, the pacing and vacant look, as well as the thing I was 'playing around with,' as you so rudely put it." He held up the small black-and-green cube for inspection.

"This is called a 'Fidget Cube,' designed to help folks who have problems focusing, like myself. It gives my hands things to do while I'm thinking, or trying to pay attention to someone who's talking." He then began idly fiddling with the device again, taking a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Sounds like something a certain Toa of Air might find useful..." Kopaka quipped, eliciting laughs from all around, and a half-hearted protest from Lewa.

"Yeah," Caldoric continued, "just don't let Le-Koro find out about kazoos, or we'll never sleep again. Anyways, I was rolling a few ideas around in my head while you were getting everyone up to speed. However, we still haven't heard the details about this message you supposedly got from your homeland."

"Yeah, that's the whole reason we're here!" Pinkie added, and Caldoric deadpanned.

"Oh, right, the message..." Twilight began rooting around in the small saddlebags built into her armor. As she did so, Caldoric noted that the Turaga had all moved off to one side, and were apparently entrenched in a heated discussion. Before he could look into it, Twilight finally located the message she had been looking for, which was revealed to be a scroll. Using her magic, she unfurled the ribbon seal and held it up to be read.

Dearest Twilight, and friends,

Luna, Cadence, and I have dealt with Chrystalla's forces, which have retreated beyond the city limits, and a barrier has been erected that now separates them and us. Discord is once again back to normal, and fights alongside those of us that remain in Canterlot.

With his help, and a little luck, we have been able to partially re-create what he did to send you to your current location, allowing us to temporarily re-open the mirror and send this message through. We have had some interference from a few remaining pockets of opposition, which are disturbingly resistant to our efforts to stamp them out. Despite their best efforts, however, we should have a stable, two-way transit working by tomorrow, so make whatever preparations you can to return home.

We anxiously await your arrival, so that we can move forward together in these troubled times.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia

"See?" Asked Twilight, as the other Equestrians began to rejoice. "How's that for an explanation?"

Caldoric carefully took the scroll, and looked it over carefully. "I don't know," he said, after a moment, "it seems... off, somehow."

"Yeah!" Said Pinkie, popping up behind Caldoric. "Doesn't she usually start with 'my dearest and most faithful student,' or something?"

"Well, we've all been under a lot of stress, what with the war and such," replied Twilight, somewhat unconvincingly, "and besides, I technically haven't been her student since I became an Alicorn Princess."

"Nevertheless," Caldoric continued, stubbornly, "one doesn't just drop a term of endearment that they've used for years without very good reason, and wars are the kind of time where you hold tighter to such things, in case it's the last chance to tell them 'I love you', yes? And besides, this whole thing feels wrong... So, if I know the Narrative Imperative Theory as well as I think I do, then this whole thing is probably a--"

"Ah think that's enough a' yer neigh-sayin', mister," Applejack said, placing a hoof on his hip. "You got some explainin' t' do." Caldoric leveled a soft glare at her, and returned to fiddling with his Cube.

"Fine. I come from a world called Earth, where we humans are the dominant species, though we're not the Technicolor menagerie you've come to know and love, Twilight." He turned to the gathered islanders for a moment. "Bipedal beings similar to you Toa, only we're completely organic, and we don't have elemental powers or armor. Also, the average adult is between 5 and 6 feet tall, whereas you all are about 7.2 feet tall on average." After which, he gave everyone present a rundown of what he'd told Tahu and Rainbow Dash about their worlds being mere stories in his home reality, adding details about the popularity of the Bionicle line, and controversial social stigmas surrounding guys his age and the MLP fandom.

"So, you're one of the... 'Bro-knees,' I believe you called them?" Onua asked.

"No! Noooo, no no no." Caldoric stammered. "I merely know -- or, well, knew, I guess, -- a small group of folks who were, though, so I decided to look into the series so that I'd better understand some of the things they said. Research would be the most accurate term here, I believe. And, yes, I did join in on some of their fanfictions, mostly for the heck of it, and it was kinda fun."

"Sounds like someone's in denial," Rainbow commented to Pinkie, who snickered.

"No, I'm not," Caldoric said, matter-of-factly, "I'm here in Ta-Koro, on Mata Nui. The Nile River is in Egypt, back on my home planet, which is in another dimension."

There were a couple of chuckles, but the joke mostly went over everyone's head.

"What I think my brother was saying," Gali eventually said, "is that, because you are familiar with our two worlds, you might have advance knowledge of what's to come, do you not?"

"Nope. As I mentioned earlier, there's been cross-contamination between the two timelines, at rather pivotal moments for each. See, I never really caught much past the season 6 finale, when Thorax did his thing and took over from Chrysalis, so this is all new." Caldoric turned his attention to the Toa and Turaga. "Whereas with you guys... This point is barely past the starting point, so the whole gorram timeline's pretty much humped."

"Then why were you saying something was off about the letter, if you've not seen any of this before, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Forget it..." Ian countered. "It's probably me being overly suspicious after Twilight's story. But we should still help the Toa get as many of the rest of their Kanohi before we try anything."

"We've already gotten almost all of them," Pohatu supplied, "all that's left are two of mine, and one of Tahu's."

"So, what are we waiting for?" The Toa of Fire demanded, impatiently. "Let's go get them!"

"Wait, which one are you missing, Tahu?"

"The Great Mask of Water Breathing." He crossed his arms proudly.

Lewa shuddered slightly, muttering something along the lines of "still getting water-yuck out of my ears."

"And that just so happens to be one of mine, as well," the Toa of Stone added. "The other is the Great Mask of X-Ray Vision."

"Any idea where they all are?"

"Yes, Pinkie told us that she saw the latter of the three in a tree, somewhere in Le-Wahi." Twilight added. "The others are guarded by Rahi. One in Po-Wahi, and the other somewhere in Ko-Wahi."

"Right, it's settled then," Tahu decided, standing up, "Gali, Onua, Caldoric, Pinkamena, and I will journey to Le-Wahi. Pohatu, Lewa, Spike, and Kopaka will go to Po-Wahi, and the rest will take Ko-Wahi. Let's go, Pinkie! Everyone else, meet us back here when you've got your mask!"

"Sounds good, sir," Rainbow Dash agreed, along with most of the Equestrians.

"Yay! Road trip!" The hyper party-mare cried, abruptly dressed in a Hawaiian T-shirt, and carrying a briefcase.

"Brother," Gali began, probably about to argue the wisdom of dividing their forces in such a way, only to have her arm grabbed by Pinkie, whilst Tahu did the same with Caldoric. Seconds later, they were practically being dragged through the front gates of Ta-Koro, with Onua following at a distance and shaking his head in laughter. Then, with a final cry of "help!" from Caldoric, they were gone.

Kopaka scowled, and pinched the bridge of his Mask. "That fool is going to get someone killed one day..." He grumbled.

"Oh, don't worry, Kopaka," Twilight replied, comfortingly, "he's just new to the whole leadership thing. I should probably give him a few pointers later, if he's be willing."

"Personally, I think Gali should be the one in charge," Kopaka quipped, "since she's the least impulsive of us, short of Onua."

"I, um, I agree with you, uh, Kopaka..." Fluttershy stated, shyly. "She's also less, um, imposing. And more gentle, and, ah, better with the less -- *gulp* -- dangerous animals around here, while I have a, uh, hard time establishing a connection with even a tiny... Hoto Bug, I think?"

Kopaka raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were the one who befriended a rampaging Muaka, and those jungle cats are nothing to be trifled with."

"Oh, he just had something stuck in his paw, that was all. They're really just big softies, if you get to know them."

"Or if you've got a Stare that can stun even Discord into submission..." Added Rainbow. "Come on, gals, let's get that Mask! Last one there is a rusty horseshoe!" With that, she took off into the skies. Everyone else rolled their eyes and set off through the gate, after Tahu and his companions, splitting into two groups as they left.

With nothing else to do, Takua wandered off once more, Jala returned to his post, and the Turaga decided to continue their discussion in Vakama's hut. It looked like it was going to take a while.

~~~~
Later,
Somewhere in Le-Wahi:

"... And that's how I saved Ponyville from the Parasprite invasion!" Pinkie Pie declared, carelessly bouncing her way through the jungle.

"I know, Pinkie," Ian replied, with his shoulders hunched and his face set into a semi-permanent glower. "I saw the episode."

"I still find it disturbing that we are all originally just the product of someone else's imagination." Gali mused. "Is this real life, or is this just fantasy?"

"♪Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality!♪" Pinkie sang, causing Ian to facepalm.

"♪Open your eyes, look up to the skies and seeeeeeeeee...!♪" Onua added as he shaded his eyes, his deep voice surprisingly soothing when raised in song.

"Enough!" Ian and Tahu shouted together. Ian swatted at a bug, while Tahu fumed slightly.

"How close are we?" The impatient Toa of Fire finally asked, after another minute.

"Oh, it's right there!" The party mare said, pointing a foreleg almost straight up a nearby tree.

Gali nodded. "It is a Kanohi Akaku," she confirmed, "though it seems stuck in the topmost knot of this tree. Too bad brother Lewa isn't here to play monkey for us."

"This much is true," admitted Onua. "Sister, you possess the Mask of Levitation, yes? Do you think you could make use of it here?"

"I could most definitely try." Gali stared up at the mask, obviously considering her options. "I haven't had much chance to practice with it, though."

"I've got some rock climbing experience, so I'd be more than willing to try climbing this tree," Ian added, perking up, "if you'd let me borrow your hooks, that is."

Tahu let out an explosive sigh of impatience. "Look," he griped, "we don't have all day for this. Why don't we try an easier way?" Intent on following up on his own suggestion, Tahu leveled his blade at the tree.

With numerous cries that amounted to "No!", everyone else surged forward, but they were too late. As the shouts tore through their mouths, a raging inferno shot from the crimson weapon and enveloped the tree. Seconds later, the entirety of the once-green trunk was reduced to a much thinner pillar of charcoal. Only the Mask remained untouched by the flames, falling to the ground with a puff of embers. Several other objects landed nearby, throwing up bigger clouds of cinders.

Onua rushed forward to reclaim the mask, while Ian followed close behind, grabbing the remaining items. What in the ruttin' sphincter of hell was he thinking? The former human thought to himself. He could've flambéed the entire jungle!

Indeed, there were still flames licking away at some of the upper branches of other nearby trees. Then, out of nowhere, a full-on deluge came down, surprising Ian and effectively extinguishing all the runaway fires.

"Many thanks, sister," he heard Tahu say as Onua squinted up at the clouds, "I hadn't thought that the fire would spread."

"Right," Gali snapped, her tone suddenly colder than Ian had ever known. "I suppose you also didn't think about the birds that called that tree their home, or the plants and animals that relied on it for shade. In other words: You. Didn't. Think." The Toa of Water emphasized each of her final three words with a sharp jab to her brother's chest, before turning and stalking off the way they'd come.

"Ooooohh..." Pinkie groaned, wincing. "Looks like I've got a new side project."

"Side project?" Tahu snapped, curtly.

"Yeah," she replied, brow furrowing, "the main one being Caldoric-Mac-Grumpy-Gills."

"Oi!" Ian retorted in a semi-scottish accent, stowing the bundle of weapons he'd picked up, "ah'll gi' ye a face full'a dandruff ye'll nae forget, if ye dinnae stop tha'!"

"Crivens, he speaks Nac Mac Feegle!" Pinkie exclaimed in surprise.

"Let's just leave, before I go stupid or something," Tahu demanded.

"I second that," Onua agreed, "but for different reasons."

"Carried," Ian groaned, running a hand over his rain-wet mask, then set off after Gali.

~~~~
That evening,
Ta-Koro:

Ian was chilling by himself next to the Koro's Suva, which was a sort of shrine dedicated to Tahu, and was supposedly symbolic of his strength and power. It was also where Tahu's "sword" and extra masks were stored when he wasn't using them, and through some unknown means, he was able to summon or swap them out from anywhere on the island. Basically, it was a non-portable version of Ian's own Sylladex. Ian himself had been investigating it as surreptitiously as possible, trying to figure out how it worked, only to quickly give up.

Instead, as he listened to Gali and Tahu verbally duking it out outside the village walls, Ian decided to look into the items he'd picked up after the tree had exploded. With a wave of one hand, he deployed the four weapons on the ground before him. The first item that caught his attention was an almost standard-issue Halo assault rifle, which had what looked like part of an energy sword stuck on the front. And speaking of energy swords...

Ian leaned forward a bit and picked up an object that, to all the world, looked like a bent shake-weight with a spike halfway down the handle, though he knew better. This was an energy sword hilt, and it was beautifully detailed. Gripping the device as he'd seen in Red vs Blue, Ian gave it a sharp shake, and the blade activated with a glorious hiss. What he didn't expect, though, was for a trio of voices so suddenly begin speaking in his mind.

"This is Sebastian of the Dark Angels, and--" Ian suddenly jerked backwards as if he'd been bitten by the sword, inadvertently flinging the weapon into the air. It deactivated mid-flight, and clattered to the cobbles. Okay... That was unexpected. Let's try that again, shall we? Ian chewed his lip, hesitant to get up and go get the dropped hilt himself at the moment, due to his relative exhaustion, so he decided to experiment with his limits.

Reaching towards the hilt, he focused, and willed it to return to his hand as hard as he could. To his surprise, the device leapt into the air like a salmon, and flew right at him. With a solid Smack! sound, it made contact with his palm, and he curled his fingers around it yet again. Giving it another shake, the shimmering translucent blade reappeared, and the voices once again made themselves heard.

"This is Sebastian of the Dark Angels, and Spartans Viktor and Alexandra of the UNSC," said the voices. "For those out there, if you are outnumbered and need help, or if your world and its inhabitants are in danger or you just want to hang out, call upon the protectors of Humanity’s future, from both the 41st Millennium and the 23rd century. Ave Imperator! For the Emperor and the UNSC! For Equestria!"

"Huh..." Ian said, turning the blade this way and that in his hand. "Do all of these do that?" With another wave of his hand, he stowed the energy sword and the bayonetted assault rifle (redubbed as a "bullet launching knife,") in his bladekind-allocated strife deck, then returned his attention to the other weapons.

One had a simple looking design, though the blade was an unusual blue color, and there was what seemed to be a human skull set into the crossbar. The blade was rather wide for it's length, and the hilt was disproportionately long. All in all, a bit macabre for his tastes, but still kinda cool. Ian picked it up, without any accompanying voices, and gave it a few swings and flourishes. Though it wasn't as well balanced as he'd like, it'd do in a pinch. He stowed it, too, and shifted to the next item.

This sword was rather elegant in design, with an emerald-green gem set into either side of the crossbar, and runes carved into the blade's fuller. The blade itself was long and thin, along the lines of a saber or longsword. After running it through the same routine he'd performed with the other sword, Ian determined that it was a very nice sword, and it's owner was probably looking for it. He idly ran his thumb over one of the gems, and was surprised when the blade seemed to separate into several pieces, all connected by a central wire. He thumbed the gem again, and the blade snapped back to it's normal shape.

"Ohhhhhhhh... That's dangerous, that is. And very reminiscent of the chainswords used by the Xenon class in Maplestory..."

Ian carefully swapped it out for the modified assault rifle, and--

"For those who are in need of a scout, a commander, or a friend, I will answer the call. My name is Eliteslayer, but for those who knew me back then as Sebaste, I have returned… and I am ready to serve and protect…"

Ian blinked. He hadn't really been expecting a second message to play in his head, but he was glad he hadn't had his finger on the trigger when it played. So, he put it back in the strife deck, this time deploying the empty Bruteshot. It was high time he got to figuring out how to reload the bloody thing, if that was possible.

Setting it on the ground, Ian straightened up and rested his hands on the back of his hips, as he did from time to time. This particular instance, however, was different. This time, he felt something hanging from where his belt would have been, had he still been wearing one. Ian grabbed whatever it was, yanked it off his hip, and brought it around to get a better look at it.

Seemingly in response to his motion, a panel on top of the Bruteshot slid forward, invitingly. He looked from the item he held, which looked like a chain of lightbulb-shaped objects, to the opening, and shrugged. For better or worse, he carelessly dropped the chain into the hatch, which slid closed with a snap. As he did so, a Halo-esque readout over his mask's right eyehole appeared, displaying the outline of the Bruteshot, with a small "6" next to it.

"Sweet...!" Ian exclaimed softly, taking a closer look at the weapon. The resulting investigation revealed a small switch on the left face of the launcher, currently set to the second of the three available options: "4", "6", and "∞". He raised an eyebrow at the thought of the last setting, and the sheer mayhem it could cause...

Best leave that one be... He thought.

"Caldoric!" Tahu's demanding voice leapt across the courtyard, snagging Ian's attention. "Get over here, we need your input on this thing!"

"If it's about your dispute with Gali, leave me out of it!" Ian countered.

"We've set that aside for now!" Gali shouted. "This is about our plan for tomorrow!"

"Alright, alright, calm your jets!" Absently sticking the Bruteshot over his shoulder and touching it to his back, he stood and made his way over to the group of heroes.

This oughta be good... the former Human thought to himself, sending a silent prayer to any gods who might be listening that this wasn't about to go horribly wrong.

Author's Note

Hey, it's chapter 3! With a bit of exposition, and... Oh, I do believe this is where the "dark" tag may come into play! Feces is about to hit the thresher, methinks.

Will be doing/starting my first crossover next chapter. Hopefully, that is.

In case anyone was wondering, each of the girls "teamed up" with a Toa that they seemed to mesh with, integrating themselves as best they could with the Matoran population. Thus, Rainbow joined the Ta-Koro guard. This will be explained a bit better in a later chapter.

PS: you can find the Fidget Cube here! Have a video of the thing:

Also, here's what I meant about the Xenon character:

The Enemy's Gate...!

Author's Note

Just a warning, this chapter's about twice as long as normal, but that's because it's a crossover! Hooray!

Credit to Company Master Sebaste, who I am crossing over with for this and the next chapter...

Merry Christmas, by the way.

The Enemy's Gate...!

The small group of Toa and Equestrians waited as Caldoric made his way over to them, taking in his now-familiar form: his torso, shoulder and foot armor a midnight black that matched his mask, whilst his arms bore a shade of white rivaling that of Kopaka, his legs sporting a dark shade of gunmetal grey. The overall functional design of it all, while somewhat similar to that of the other Toa, had its differences, which made him stand out ever-so-slightly. His glowing lime-green eyes, while friendly, playful, or even concerned at times, were tinged with a hint of sorrow, more often than not.

"Alright, ladies and gents, what's up?" He asked, thumbs hooked into the unusual pockets built into his hips. "We got a plan of attack yet?"

"That was my plan: attack!" Tahu supplied, his tone implying that the idea had been shot down pretty quickly.

"Perhaps cooler heads should be behind that particular part of the plan," Kopaka suggested, completely deadpan, while Caldoric smirked at the unnoticed pun.

Tahu looked like he was about to retaliate in some way, but Caldoric stepped in first. "I don't know," he said, "I always thought that Tahu was the coolest out of all of you, growing up." Kopaka scowled, and Tahu momentarily inclined his head in Caldoric's direction before he continued. "Tahu here isn't too far off with his idea. There's a saying where I come from that I feel applies here: 'hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.' It's the best of both worlds."

"So," Twilight spoke up, "you're suggesting we return in a... diplomatic manner, but be ready to respond to hostile action?"

Caldoric nodded. "But if worse comes to worst, and fighting becomes the only option, don't fight fair, or aim to maim or incapacitate your foe." There were shocked looks from the Toa Mata and a couple of the Equestrians, but he carried on before anyone present could fully object. "Odds are, whoever's fighting us will be trying their best to capture or even kill us, so we can't hesitate to respond in kind. use any moves that will give you an advantage, though if you do get an opening for a KO shot, take it. We might be able to, I dunno, return anyone who was changed to their original selves."

"Well, that's a shadow-dark thought," Lewa declared from on top of a nearby hut.

"Yes..." Agreed Rarity, looking a little disconcerted.

"I believe we should set that topic aside, for now," Gali said, in an attempt to calm everyone down a bit. "Perhaps we could go over something else instead? Such as where our end of the portal is to appear?"

"I had been wondering about that myself," Onua agreed. "Maybe they'll set it to appear near our location at the time, locating us the same way they did when they sent us their message?"

"Or maybe we'll just have to go find it." Caldoric suggested. "In the meantime, we should head over to Kini-Nui, and get the Toa their golden masks, and roll from there. It was what they would've done anyways, if things hadn't been changed, and it sounds like we'll need the extra advantage. Besides, it's the most centrally located place on the island that isn't either the mountain or the Volcano."

"Wait, golden masks?" Rarity asked, her interest abruptly piqued. "I simply must see that, it sounds de-vine!"

"That's nice and all, but What're we going to do after we've found the way home?" Demanded Twilight, her hair beginning to frizz. "We need a plan to make sure this isn't a waste of time...!"

"Yo, Sparkle," Caldoric interjected, laying a somewhat soothing hand on her head, between her ears. "Not to be rude, but... riddle me this: when have any of you guys' long-term battle plans ever actually worked? If I remember correctly, the heroes of both this world and your own would carefully plan things put, then they'd get wherever they were going, followed by all hell breaking loose."

Pohatu chuckled at this. "Yeah, you do have a point there. We seem to have been getting a lot of practice in the 'improvisation' area lately."

"All in favor of just winging it?" Rainbow asked, raising a hoof as she hovered.

In the end, once they'd gotten Lewa and Pinkie's attention for the vote, the results were as follows: Lewa, Pohatu, Tahu, Pinkie, Rainbow, Spike, and Caldoric were for it, while everyone else was against. A perfect tie.

Almost as if they had been waiting for this moment, the six Turaga came up to the gathered heroes, tailed by Matoro, who was in his quadrupedal Runner mode.

"Ah," Vakama began, "gathered friends. Have you decided on a plan for tomorrow's voyage?"

"Actually, we're at a stalemate, Turaga." Kopaka informed him, almost disinterestedly.

"Yeah," Rainbow added, still hovering, "half of us think we should actually just wing it, and the others think we should try to come up with one."

Vakama gave a look of understanding, then spoke again. "It would be wise to have at least a general idea to work from, but become so focused on perfecting it that you plan yourselves straight into a corner."

Matau, the Turaga of Air, cackled madly for a moment. "Yes, share-take it from us, Toa, we had to learn-find that for ourselves, long ago..."

Nuju gave a few whistles and clicks. "Nuju said, 'If I remember correctly, Matau, you were the one who crashed the boat.'," Matoro translated.

"Hey, star-gazer, I was only order-takin' there, Vakama was the one order-givin'." Matau retorted.

"And yet we still put both of you in charge of your own villages," Onewa pointed out. There were a few snickers all around.

"Alright, brothers," Nokama said, good-naturedly, "let's not dredge up old fights."

"Indeed," agreed the short, ebon-armored Turaga, whose name was Whenua. "Perhaps we should retire for the evening, and decide upon the morrow?"

"I couldn't agree more, brother," Vakama said, wearily. "We could all use the rest. And worry not while you're gone, Toa, we and the Matoran held our own against the Makuta for a millennia before you arrived on our shores. Given what we've learned from our four-legged guests since they themselves arrived, we can surely survive your brief absence."

"Well' try to make it quick nonetheless," Tahu pledged, "I dislike the idea of being gone too long."

"Which brings up another point..." Nokama said, holding up a finger. "There is something we've decided to tell you, once you make it back."

"It better not be what I think you're thinking," Caldoric interjected, which gave the Turaga pause. "Tell me, Vakama... has The Shadowed One sent any more of his Dark Hunters your way recently?"

Vakama tensed momentarily, giving a small gulp, before shaking his head. The other Turaga merely looked at each other uneasily before dropping their gazes to the ground.

"What are... Dark Hunters?" Twilight asked, to muttered agreement. Fluttershy, however, seemed to cower at the evil-sounding name.

"A-as we said," Onewa replied, still a bit shocked, "we'll tell you that after your return. In the meantime, Twilight, would you mind taking us back to our villages?"

"But wait...!" Objected Onua. "When should we gather at Kini-nui?"

"Before noon," Gali suggested, "maybe by a quarter of an hour or so?"

"Sounds alright..." Kopaka shrugged.

"Agreed," Twilight seconded.

"Carried," Caldoric chimed.

"Perhaps, though, Twilight could spend the night in another Koro?" Matoro suggested. "Otherwise, she'll be up till morning again, trying to decipher the Wall of Prophecy. And it's hard to meditate with her occasional... outbursts."

"Well, I've been meaning to take the opportunity to investigate Ga-Koro's Great Telescope, and if Nixie's in a good mood..." Twilight began, tapping a forehoof to her chin.

"No!" Exclaimed most of the folks who were present.

"Trust me," Spike told Matoro, sidelong, "you'll get used to her all-night study sessions soon enough." Matoro groaned with disappointment, while Nuju mask-palmed and Kopaka gave a heavy sigh. There were also a few suppressed chuckles.

"Nevertheless, we would be more than willing to take you in for the night, Twilight," Nokama assured her.

"I think I'll crash there too, if that's OK," Caldoric said, "because as much as I like Ta-Koro, it'd be too hot for me to comfortably fall asleep here."

"Oooh, oooh! Sleepover!" Pinkie exclaimed, immediately excited over the concept of a social gathering.

"No, no sleepover." Caldoric corrected her. "Just sleep."

And so, Twilight ferried everyone back to their village (temporarily adopted, in the Equestrians' case,) via teleportation spell, with Fluttershy joining in on the trip to Ga-Koro. She graciously shared her hut (built for her by the Ga-Matoran,) with Twilight, while Caldoric was given leave to sleep in Toa Gali's hut, since she intended to meditate at Kini-nui overnight.

Caldoric said goodnight to the two Equestrians as they made their way along a bridge to another of Ga-Koro's giant lilly pads, then closed the door to Gali's hut. The floor gave slightly under his feet as he moved over to the bed and carefully grabbed the woven blanket, and the hut rocked a little as he laid down on the floor. He'd never slept on a waterbed, but he imagined that, with the entire structure floating on the very ocean itself, this was closer to the real thing than anything Earth had to offer.

With the warm blanket around himself, and the nighttime waves gently rocking his curled frame, he quickly drifted off to sleep...

~~~~
Ian woke with a start, cold, hungry, and with the grey light of "early" morning (by his standards,) shining in his face. He got up, blanket still around himself, and blearily looked out the window at Ga-Koro. The whole village consisted of domed seaweed huts perched on a network of ginormous lillypads, each connected to its neighbors by curled, half-pipe leaf bridges.

With a shiver, Ian put the blanket back on Gali's bed, and silently cursed his decision to sleep on the floor. Stupid, stupid...! he chided himself, running his hands through his hair, the ocean gets cold at night, and now I'm positively freezing... He stuck his hands under his arms, hoping some body heat would permeate through his shirts and warm the stiff digits... wait...

Ian looked down at himself, shocked to once again see his old, 5-foot-10 human self, wearing his usual arrangement of clothes, instead of... no, he wasn't fully human, there were still some robotic elements, but they were minimal.

OK, what the hell? Ian wondered, looking at his body. I know I was a Toa last night, what happened? Am I, like, some sort of "were-Toa" or something? Almost in response to this, his perspective suddenly shot upwards, and the sensation of "coldness" that permeated the area was severely lessened. He had become a Toa again... somehow. He decided not to pursue the issue any further today, since there were more important things to worry about.

Ian left the hut, closing the door behind himself, and made his way to the main body of the village. After some asking around as to where Twilight and Fluttershy had been sleeping, he was directed to one particular hut, where he found the yellow Pegasus engaged in trying to feed a snow-white rabbit, who wasn't having any of it.

A large, biomechanical, cerulean Unicorn head broke the water outside, startling Ian momentarily before it spoke. "Ah, Caldoric! Good morning!" She said, with Gali's voice. "I was just about to come and wake you."

"Wh-- who are you?" He asked, taking a step back.

"It's me, Gali!" The head said. "Here, give me a second, this should explain..." The head disappeared under the water again, before something huge and vaguely roboric shot into the air over the lillypad. Ian only got a short glimpse of the being, it's front half that of a Unicorn and its rear more akin to a mermaid's tail, before it Shifted. In the blink of an eye, it was Gali who landed gracefully on the pad, and smiled at Ian. "How was that for an explanation?"

Ian just stared. "Y-you're... A Unicorn-Hippocampus?"

"I am capable of Shifting into one, yes," Gali corrected, "though when on land, I merely become a Unicorn. Are we ready to go?"

"Um, Twilight's over at the Telescope..." Fluttershy said, startling Ian again. She had moved so quietly... "She's been there most of the night."

"Well then, let's go and get her." Replied Gali. And so, the trio set off for the beach, and made their way to where the Telescope was situated. There, they found Twilight slumped against the device's base, surrounded by piles of notes. When awoken, she laughed nervously, then gathered her stuff and teleported the four of them to Kini-nui.

Moments later, Twilight had gathered the rest of her friends and the other Toa.

~~~~
Gali looked at the gathered Toa and Equestrians as those present waited for the arrival of the last three members of their group: Tahu, Rainbow, and Spike. Everyone was excitedly checking out the large outdoor temple, save for Kopaka, who merely stood still and threw the occasional curious glance. The greatest point of attention were the six, life-size statues of the six Toa, perfect down to the last detail. Perfect, that is, except for their lack of Kanohi...

Twilight chose that moment to finally appear with their remaining friends, Spike riding on her back, and Tahu stumbling slightly. "Makuta's shadow, I'll never get used to that..." He grumbled.

"Kopaka," Gali said, ignoring her fiery brother, "is something bothering you?"

"It looks just as it did in my vision..." He breathed, "from the Lava Lagoon, just before Lewa saved my hide."

"I too had a vision..." Gali began, but Twilight interrupted her.

"Alright, everypony, we're all here. Caldoric, what next?" She inquired.

"True-right, where are the Golden Masks?" Lewa asked.

The strange Toa looked up from where he'd been investigating the large, domed, suva-like structure in the center of the great Temple. "I think Onua might have the answer, actually," he said. "I want to tell you myself, honest, but there are some things that everyone must figure out on their own."

Onua looked around the temple, his gaze catching on the incomplete statues... He laid a hand on the face of his own statue, deep in thought. "Tahu," he said at last, "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I am, if you're thinking our masks would fit perfectly over these carved faces," Tahu replied, removing his mask of Water Breathing and holding it up to the carved figure of himself.

"Wait!" Kopaka said, holding out an arm. "Let's not throw away our powers so foolishly...!" The visiting Equestrians looked at each other in concern, then looked back to what was going on.

"Who says we're throwing them away?" Tahu challenged him, a frown upon his lips.

Gali placed a hand on Kopaka's shoulder. "It's ok, Brother, perhaps Tahu is on the right track... this time."

"Thanks for the support, sister," Tahu replied, and touched the mask to the statue's face. To the surprise of all, the mask seemed to melt into the stone itself, vanishing from sight, and a bit of color appeared on the statue. Tahu them proceeded to place the rest of his masks onto its face, each one vanishing into the statue and adding color to it, until he had placed his Kanohi Hau, which stayed in place, leaving a near-perfect copy of the Toa of Fire. The other Toa soon followed suit.

Once everyone had finished, they waited. There were some mutters of dissent, as if the heroes were beginning to suspect Caldoric of something nefarious, and then...

"And... here, we, go...!" Caldoric said, making a hand motion. Almost on cue, a great peal of sound, like great bells fused with laughter, rang out around the Temple, and everyone gasped. New masks had appeared on the statues' faces... rich, golden masks, of the finest craftsmanship.

"Oh, darling, they're just glorious!" Rarity exclaimed, eyes shimmering, as the others chattered at this revelation. "I simply must remember to get a better look at them later, when we're not busy."

Each of the Toa Mata took their masks from the statues, and put them on. To a one, the staggered from the waves of sheer power that coursed through them from the new Kanohi. Each mask posessed the powers of the ones that had been previously relinquished, both uniting them and making them stronger by far.

The celebration was cut short, however, as a mighty rumbling erupted from deep within the ground, and the temple began to shake and groan around them.

"What...? A trap?!" Tahu demanded, even as the Suva Kaita began slowly turning upside down. From the now revealed bottom of the structure, three armatures unfolded, each gently arcing towards the center, where what looked like a small radio dish had emerged. A beam of light lanced down from the sky, struck the dish, and rebounded, only to be caught midair between the armatures. The now crackling ball of energy stretched and flattened, becoming a hovering ovoid in shape with a reflective surface, and the rumbling settled. Then, a roll of paper calmly dropped out of it.

"Oooh," Pinkie said, as Twilight ran over and grabbed the scroll and everyone else freaked out a bit, "the good old 'ancient temple is really an alien portal device' trope! Nice!"

"That... wasn't supposed to happen..." Caldoric muttered. "It was supposed to open up and reveal a tunnel..."

"Guys! It's another letter!" Twilight cried. "It's from the princesses, and they say there's trouble brewing, and that we should hurry!" And, without further ado, she plunged herself through the silvery portal. The others soon followed suit, with Caldoric being the last to go through.

He carefully stuck his hand into the portal, noting how the surface around the point of entry seemed to fracture as if he'd broken a mirror, though the cracks seemed to be dragged after his arm as he moved it. It was like when he'd stick a spoon in warm milk that had sat out for a minute, and used the utensil to play with the skin that had formed on top. Caldoric pulled his arm back out, flexed his fingers, then shrugged. "Through the looking-glass it is, then," he muttered, and stepped through. The portal's surface passed over his face with a sort of tingly, crackly feeling, marking a soft spot in the boundaries between worlds.

As soon as he got to the other side, he knew something was wrong. Not only were they all in a very cramped and dark cell, but there were 12 quadrupeds and one biped piled on the floor, when there had been six and seven, respectively, that had gone through before him: it seemed that the Toa had somehow Shifted during transit, and each of them had semi-etherial manes and tails representing their elements, similar to how the Alicorn Princesses' were.

Speaking of which, Discord, Nightmare Moon, and a wildly fiery-maned Celestia were all standing in front of the cell door, each wearing uniform gunmetal grey armor, and smiling almost victoriously. All three of them had green eyes with red irises, with wisps of purple smoke curling off the outside corners as they sneered at the new arrivals. Cadence, for better or worse, was nowhere to be found.

Caldoric turned to leave, almost losing his footing in the tight space, but with a snap of Discord's fingers, the portal winked out of existence in the Toa's face. He was, quite rightfully, scared.

"Whoops," all three of their captors said at once, "looks like we... forgot to mention one little thing..." They stepped aside, as Chrystalla came walking into view.

"It seems that we were the ones who had them send those letters..." She said. Her voice was similar to how it had first been portrayed in the Canterlot Wedding episodes, with the three-level reverb and echo, but there was a slightly deeper undertone to it now, with a whole "voice of the legion" effect to it. "They fell to Discord's power mere minutes after your exile, and we've been in charge ever since."

"C-chrysalis...!" Twilight squeaked, as she extricated herself from the pile-up. "You... monster!"

"It's Chrystalla now, dear, try to keep up," the Shardling Queen snapped. "Now, thanks to you, we have eight new warriors for our army, as well as yourself and your meddlesome friends."

"Eight?" Twilight asked, confused.

"Yes, the dragon, that robot in the back, and the mechanical marvels keeping your friends so nicely pinned for us." Chrystalla explained, pointing at the Toa, Caldoric, and the young dragon.

"You can suck my biomechanical dick, Chrysalis, we aren't gonna fight for you." Caldoric snapped, giving her the bird with both hands.

"Oh-ho! This one has some spirit!" The Hive-Queen said, taken aback. "He'll make an excellent front-line commander... Well, we're off for now. Don't bother trying any magic while you're in there, though. We've warded the entire cell against it." And with that, she and her enslaved posse of the most powerful beings in the land left the captive prisoners.

"Hate to be, y'know, that guy," Caldoric said, after they were out of earshot, leaving the friends alone with the cell's single Shardling guard, "buuuuut... I totally called it." Everyone groaned, and began to untangle themselves from each other.

"What ah don' get is," Applejack said, as she stretched, "why'd y'all Toa Shift when ya came out th' portal?"

"It wasn't intentional, I assure you," Kopaka said, his newly revealed mane and tail a miniature blizzard of ice crystals and snowflakes. He gave his head a shake, and readjusted his pale, fluffy, white and grey wings.

"Is everyone ok?" Gali asked, looking around, her mane and tail flowing and rippling through the air like a babbling brook, her horn taking the appearance of a coral-like structure.

Everyone gave various answers ranging across the "we're ok" spectrum, and Caldoric moved to the bars for a look outside.

~~~~
Ian looked to one side, judging the position of the guard, then stepped back a bit. Summoning a coconut from his Sylladex, which he'd picked up before they left, he made as if to kick the door with one leg, only to vanish and reappear outside the cell, a foot and a half up, with his foot against the far wall.

He pushed off and, before the guard could do anything, caught it a resounding crack! upside its head with the tropical item. It only staggered from the blow, however, so Ian whacked it again in the jaw, then a third time at the back of the skull. The guard slumped to the grown, a soft moan escaping it. He went to check if it was still alive, only for his hand to suddenly lock around it's throat against his will, and green lightning began to arc from the creature's lower jaw to his forearm as it pressed the being against the floor.

"Help! It's doing something, and I can't let go...!" Ian cried. The Shardling made a gasping sound, though it's mouth didn't move, and it's forehooves scrabbled uselessly against his forearm as his fingers maliciously tightened their hold. The crystals in his grip cracked, and the flow of energy sped up, with bigger and bigger arcs making their appearance as Ian's arm lifted the unfortunate 'ling by the neck and pressed it against the wall. He grabbed the rebellious arm by the wrist with his free hand, trying to do something to stop this.

There was a crash as Onua, still Shifted, kicked down the cell door, while both the strange energy's activity and the Shardling's resistance grew feebler. As Twilight rushed to his side, the neon green electrical arcs died and the creature went slack, its head slumping to the side, before a cracking sound was heard. All of a sudden, the crystalline surface fragmented, then exploded, leaving an intact (and suddenly very active,) Unicorn mare with mint green fur and a two-toned mane--

"Lyra!" Twilight exclaimed, as Ian finally released his grip on the few crystals that had still been against Lyra's throat.

The unicorn coughed and retched, raising a hoof to her throat, before she gasped out a few words.

"Where'd you get the humans from?"

"Sorry 'bout that," Ian apologized, looking at his right hand. There were some scorch marks on the armor, but nothing to suggest anything unusual happened. What was going on...?

~~~~
There was the sound of multiple hard objects striking the marble floor, and everyone looked up to see a contingent of 'lings blocking off either end of the corridor. With not so much as a word to warn anyone, Kopaka, now back in humanoid form, flicked his sword down one way to create a wall of ice, while Tahu and Lewa worked together to create a horizontal flame tornado down the other hall. The foes on that end scattered, and once the unconscious Lyra had been situated on Onua's back, they all set off at a run.

"Caldoric, what the heck was that back there?!" Twilight demanded harshly.

"I don't know, and I'd rather it not happen again!" Caldoric replied, summoning both the starry-bladed sword he'd bought back at the convention and the whip-blade he'd recovered in Le-Wahi. He had no real knowledge of swordplay, but he did know a few lightsaber flourishes that could possibly be used offensively.

They came to an abrupt halt upon being deposited into the Canterlot Throne Room from a side entrance. Facing them, and keeping them from the doors or windows, was a large army of Shardlings, headed by Chrystalla herself.

"So, you've discovered a way to remove the blessings we have bestowed upon our subjects..." She remarked, coldly, as the heroes spread out. "But now, we will reclaim our lost daughter! And as an added reward for your unexpected escape, you will join her in our ranks as we march upon the rest of the world...!"

"Ah don' think so, sweetheart," Applejack countered, pawing a forehoof at the ground.

"Yeah, we've faced monsters more fearsome, and come out on top." Rainbow bragged in midair. "We could take your sorry flanks down in a snap."

"Ideas, anyone?" Pohatu asked, a little concerned, as he flexed his fingers. "Tahu? Gali?"

"I might have one," Caldoric answered, then looked at the whip-blade, and appeared to start talking to it. "Guys, I can't remember your names off the top of my head, but if you can hear me or whatever, and it's not too much trouble, could we get some help?" He groaned and shook the sword a little. "How do I bloody activate this... Engage, or something!"

Suddenly, the chain-sword vanished from his hands, and Caldoric lifted his head slightly as if he'd seen something, before a glowing vortex-like portal appeared behind the line of heroes. It unceremoniously deposited multiple beings on the ground and disappeared, and then things got even more interesting.

~~~~
Sebastian grunted as Viktor landed a blow to his midsection before he retaliated with a backhanded strike that sent the Spartan sliding. The two had been training for four hours now and were starting to tire out.

“Nice reversal, now attack while he’s recovering!” Sebaste called out, Alex and Rainblade standing next to him. The Astartes charged and slammed into Viktor, knocking both of them into the ground.

“Alright, that's enough for today. Let’s head back and- FAUST DAMN IT!” Sebaste yelped as a portal opened beneath him and Alex, Rainblade being dragged along for the ride.

“Seb! Hang- WHOA!” Viktor yelled as another portal opened beneath him and Sebastian, the two of them falling through. With a twin hiss, the portals then closed. In seconds, the five were spat out onto floor tiles in a heap and left groaning.

“Ugh… Next time, I’m gonna have a chat with whoever decided portals were a good transport choice….” Sebaste grumbled as he pushed the others off him and looked around, only to freeze as he saw they were not alone. “Guys…? You might want to get up… Now…”

“Wait… where’d they come from?” an unfamiliar voice asked, belonging to a biomechanical figure in brown armor, wearing a bullet-shaped mask.

“They’re my Hail Mary… I hope…” said another, whose armor was mismatched.

The other four stood up and stared in shock. “Okay… Anyone have a clue as to why I’m seeing the Toa Mata and the Mane Six in armor?” Viktor asked. “And what's with the walking crystals?!”

“I’m not so sure myself,” said the figure in black-and-white armor, “but we can explain later. Right now, we gotta fight these ‘Shardlings’ off…”

“Don’t you mean Changelings?” Alex asked as a spiker materialized in her left hand and arcane energy began to charge on her gauntlet, causing her palm to glow. Sebaste and Viktor each summoned a different weapon, with Sebaste opting for a heavy machine gun while Viktor went with dual SMGs. Sebastian settled for two Heresy style lightning claws while Rainblade flew up, her left hoof splitting open with a hiss, and aimed her built-in bolter at the foe. “And I’m guessing you’re the Displaced that summoned us?”

“Wait!” Cried the unfamiliar Toa. “Some of them might still have captive ponies inside them, like the Iron Patriot in Iron Man 3, but we can't tell which are which! And how did y--”

There was a dark chuckle from someone amongst the enemy lines. “Ah, yes, and now you see the beauty of our plan!” They said, their voice both familiar and strange at the same time. “The crystal armor also serves as a walking energy source for our hive, feeding off the very ponies who serve as our hostages! They’re unable to do anything but watch as the black crystals rob them of even their very will, and forces them to destroy their own homes and families, who themselves are loathe to fight back! It’s the ultimate weapon!” The large, crystalline-looking copy of Chrysalis then submitted to a short batch of maniacal laughter, standing momentarily on her back legs as she spread her forehooves to the sky.

“Seriously? You’ve got us practically where you want us, and you chose now to start monologuing?” The outspoken Toa asked, incredulously, as Pinkie tried and failed to stick a lampshade on his head. “I mean, now that we know about it drawing power from the folks trapped inside, all we have to do is overload them or something! Not to mention the fact that you're essentially using baby armor, or whatever you’d call it here, to hold us off...”

“I forgot to mention earlier, but they also regenerate damage really fast!” Supplied the resident Twilight.

“And does anypony wanna tell me why there's a robot version of me flying around?” The resident Rainbow Dash demanded.

“Look,” Tahu growled, “are we going to fight, or not?”

“Oh? Tell me then, stranger…” the crystalline figure said, “how can you 'heroes’ possibly fight me, when you're already so busy fighting yourselves?” With that, one of the Shardlings blasted Lewa in the face, and dark crystals slowly began to poke out of him in odd places. The Toa of Air turned and looked at the others, his eyes now vacant and glowing red.

“Shit… Alex, bind him before he can attack!” Sebaste ordered. She nodded before a burst of magic lanced out from her hand and slammed into Lewa, forming binds on his hands and feet that caused him to topple over. Sebaste then looked over at Chrystalla, and when he spoke, there was a note of steel in his voice. “If there’s one thing that ticks me off… it’s lording it over others and taking away their free will. And you…. just crossed that line.” he growled as he dismissed his machine gun in favor of a pair of CE magnums. He turned to the unknown Toa. “Keep those bugs busy, I’ll deal with Ms. Crystal over there.”

“Actually, I think she might be a fusion between Chrysalis and Sombra,” the seventh Toa remarked, “but I could be wrong. Name’s Caldoric, by the way.”

“Eliteslayer.” Sebaste then activated his suit’s thrusters and charged forward, knocking a good majority of the Shardlings out of the way.

“Rainblade, give us some covering fire!” Viktor yelled as he tossed an energy drain bomb at a group of shardlings. As soon as it activated, the shardlings around it were suddenly weakened as their magic was drained by the alien device faster than it could regenerate.

“Alright,” said Caldoric, who summoned a Bruteshot (of all things,) and stepped forward… only to freeze for a second. “Shit, I don't have a Gunkind abstratus…” he then growled, re-summoning his sword and teleporting after Eliteslayer, with Tahu on his heels. “EULALIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” he cried.

Rainblade meanwhile, was swooping over the shardlings, laying down suppressing fire from her built in bolter. “The heck’s wrong with the rest of you?! Do you guys want to be like greenie there?” She asked the others.

That seemed to snap everyone into action, as Onua and Gali moved over to their fallen brother, along with Fluttershy and Twilight, and tried to bring him back to normalcy. Gali, however, caught Onua muttering something about a “second time,” but filed it away for later. Everyone else from Mata Nui and Equestria charged into the fray, tossing spells, kicks, and elemental blasts as they went.

Sebastian landed two slashing blows with his lightning claws before punching the shardling he had been fighting unconscious. “And I thought the Zerg were bad enough!” He taunted. “But I guess all you guys really do is just bug ponies!”

“Hah!” Exclaimed Pohatu, nearby, as he punted a Shardling into a wall. “Nice one! Kopaka would approve!”

The Astartes gave him a thumbs up before he dismissed a lightning claw for a bolter, and opened fire. “I’d say let’s rock, except that pun’s beneath me... but I’m gonna say it anyways; let’s rock!” he roared as he gunned down a group of Shardlings that were headed towards him.

Pohatu chuckled lightly as he charged towards a group of Shardlings that had begun to recover from their energy drain. “How 'bout we kick this into high gear?” He suggested. Leaping forwards and landing on his hands, he spun on his palms and Shifted into an Earth Pony slightly bigger than Celestia, and delivered a devastating kick with his new back legs, then Shifted back and punched another 'ling in the face. There was an audible crack from the impact.

“What in Holy Terra?!” Sebastian exclaimed, a dumbfounded look hidden behind his helmet, though his body language transcribed it perfectly. “That…. That shouldn't be possible! Since when did the Bionicle universe have that!?”

“Since forever, or so I've heard,” returned the Toa of stone, who abruptly stamped on the ground in the Astartes’ direction. “Heads up,” he added, as a spire of rock shot from the ground near Sebastian and pinned a 'ling that had been sneaking up on him to the far wall. “Maybe you should use that Kanohi Hau built into your helmet more often,” he finished, turning back to the 'lings around him. Sebastian facepalmed at that, muttering something that the Toa didn't catch, but it seemed to annoy the Astartes greatly.

Kopaka just rolled his eyes, and fought on silently.

Meanwhile, Alex and Viktor were fighting back to back, both having resorted to melee weapons. With a flick of her wrist, Alex wrapped her snake blade around a snarling Shardling and slammed it into one of its fellows, knocking them unconscious. “I’m really starting to hate bugs right now!” She growled. She raised her hand and unleashed a massive arcane blast that sent a majority of the Shardlings flying. She noticed Rainblade fighting alongside the resident world’s Rainbow, her wingblades slashing at a ‘ling and her bionic eye glaring at it.

The expresionless 'ling, in desperation, tried charging up a spell, only to be knocked sideways by Rainbow. “Don’t give 'em a chance to fire off a shot!” She chided, jokingly. “Haven't you fought Changelings before?”

“No… I had to fight and sometimes even kill other ponies.” Rainblade replied, as she blasted another Shardling with her sonic shotgun. “It’s not something I like remembering…”

“Oh, man, that sounds--” Rainbow began, only to be tackled by a crystalline Twilight-lookalike, which quickly brought its fangs to bear, ready to tear her throat out.

“RAAAAAAAH!” Rainblade roared before she smashed into the Shardling, her wingblades slicing into it. She kicked it back and flared her wings, both her organic and bionic eye glaring daggers at it. A ray of sunlight glinted on her metal wings as she displayed the built-in blades that gave her her name.

Rainbow took the opportunity to buck the 'ling off of herself and into the air, where Rainblade then grabbed it and it found itself staring down the barrel of the bolter sticking out of her forehoof. “I’m not letting anypony get hurt… Not after what I’ve gone through!” She shouted before she fired and let the Shardling fall, a massive wound showing where the mass reactive bolt had hit. She panted before she flew back down, the bolter retracting back into her hoof. The Shardling, however, merely crumbled into a useless (and distinctly smaller) pile of inert black crystals as it landed on the floor.

“Th-thanks, man,” Rainbow said, as she shakily regained her footing, then took to the air once more.

Alex shook her head as she knocked out another Shardling, Viktor stunning another with a Spartan charge. In a way, both Seb and Rainblade are the same... She thought, but I need to focus on this battle! If what Caldoric said is true… I don't want to risk killing any of the ponies this ‘Chrystalla’ enslaved.

Meanwhile, Pinkie and Rarity were holding their own in the crowd of foes, with the seamstress firing blast after magical blast, and the party-planner following suit with her party cannon. “Rarity,” asked the latter of the two, a bit of concern edging into her voice, “I've been wondering… d’you think Changelings have parties? I mean, I didn't get the chance to ask Thorax before he went into hiding…” She then blasted another group of 'lings.

“Pinkie, darling, I think that’s the least of our concerns at the moment,” Rarity replied, blasting three 'lings with magic and kicking a fourth with her hind legs, “but if I were to guess, they probably didn't do anything of the sort under Chrysalis’ rule.”

Pinkie halted for a moment, firing off one last blast. “Well then,” she stated, her voice going a bit weird as she stowed her cannon in her flattening mane, “let’s show them a party they won’t soon forget!” And, with that, Pinkamena Diane Pie pulled a very strange device from her straight, cascading locks of hair: it looked like a cyborg dolphin, into whose mouth had been shoved the mechanical workings of some form of gattling gun. This was Terraria’s legendary Space Dolphin Machine Gun, and it was equipped with the former rock farmer's favored ammunition.

With a whirring sound, the barrels spun up to optimum velocity, and Pinkamena pulled the trigger, deploying endless waves of tightly-packed, confetti-filled capsules at the horde of Shardlings, each shot exploding on impact with a small cloud of colorful bits of paper. She began to laugh maniacally, and pressed forward into the throng of crystalline bodies, walking on her hind legs as she cut a swath through the foes before her. Rarity, for her part, turned and cast a shield spell about herself and her presently less-than-sane friend, and followed behind the pink tank as she shouted “Waaaaaah! Cry some more, it makes me happy!” at the 'lings in a heavy Slavic accent.

Seeing this, Viktor facepalmed. “Really…. A TF2 reference?” He asked as he delivered a ground pound, the impact sending a few Shardlings flying. “What’s next, Nightmare Moon shows up?! Or a dragon does a song and dance number!?”

Almost in answer to his question a huge blast of wind raced around the room, unbalancing several Shardlings and throwing others on both sides somewhat off-guard while they braced against it.

“Wahoo!” Cried Lewa, getting up, “I'm back in the battle-fight!” he then sent out another bust of wind, blowing a channel of 'lings against the wall. This was followed up with a beam of water from Gali, and several magic blasts from Twilight. Onua, however, seemed to have vanished...

“Kyra, activate music file 9091, keyword: For freedom, we rise.” The Spartan said before a single song began blaring from his external speakers, accompanied by a “Hell yeah!” from Caldoric's general direction. Viktor then paused and concentrated before a single large mech with a heavy machine gun mounted on the left arm appeared next to him. “It’s Cyclops time!” He said, before he leapt in and sealed the cockpit. The walker then stood up and slamming a metal fist into its palm. With a roar, Viktor then opened fire with the heavy machine gun, targeting only the non pony shardlings with help from his scanners and striding forward.

Meanwhile, Caldoric, Tahu, and Eliteslayer were practically fighting for their lives against Chrystalla, the four of them enclosed within a circle of magical, color-changing flames.

Caldoric momentarily took notice of the giant, unfamiliar mech's appearance as he fought, and did his best to speak without breaking his rhythm. “What the hell,” He began, dodging to one side and delivering an upward slice to Chrystalla's abdomen that merely glanced off, “is that thing? It’s not a Mantis, and I’m pretty sure I--” Again, he rolled out of the way, and attempted another attack, “that I’ve never seen one of those before!” He finished, to nobody in particular, then lunged forward alongside Tahu for a double thrust, which failed to do more than scratch her crystalline hide.

Just outside the circle of flames, a black, three-clawed hand shot up from beneath the flagstones and seized a Shardling by the leg, pulling it under before it could blink. The whole was almost immediately backfilled, as another few 'lings were sent flying over their heads from somewhere else in the room.

“Heh, Vik always did like using the Cyclops…” Sebaste replied as he leapt into the air and fired round after round from his pistols, the armor piercing tips easily negating Chrystalla’s crystal armor. “So I’m guessing you bought something from an unknown vendor at a Con, dressed as a character from a video game or some other fandom and got sent to Equestria as said character?” He asked as he landed, his pistols raised and smoking.

“Uh…” Caldoric replied, a little confused, “more of an OC, but…” He ducked a wild kick from the now-enraged Chrystalla. “I’m not exactly sure what I'm capable of! I mean, I'm afraid to find out, really!”

“Most new Displaced are like that. I know, I was like you once…” Sebaste responded as he flipped over a swing and fired at Chrystalla before slamming into her with a Spartan charge.

“Wait, you were human too?” Caldoric asked. “Were you ever familiar with a webcomic called 'Homestuck’?”

“I’ve heard some of my friends mention it back before I was Displaced, but I never really got into it, and to answer your other question, I’m still human, just augmented!” He said as he jumped back, a massive hammer that crackled with energy now in his hands.

“Still human? Oh, you lucky bastard!” Caldoric replied, putting extra stress on the final word as he attempted a drop kick on the Shardling Queen, then rolled out of the way of her retaliatory stomp. “I’ve got some questions for you, assuming we make it out of this…!”

“And I’m assuming my friends might have a few questions for you, judging by Sasha’s startled yell earlier.” Sebaste chuckled before he swung his weapon. As it hit, a massive shockwave sent Chrystalla skidding backwards. “Now then, call off your bugs and release the ponies, or I’m bringing the hammer down!” he growled at the queen.

“I’d be careful with him!” Caldoric added. “He really loves his hammer…!”

“Less talking, more fighting!” Kopaka snapped as he skated by, momentarily leaving a trail of ice on the floor, and a more permanent trail of angry Shardlings hot on his tail.

“Sounds like a pl--!” Caldoric began, only to receive a solid kick to his back from Chrystalla, which sent him out of the flaming ring and slammed him against the nearest wall. He sat there, dazed momentarily…

~~~~
Ian shook his head in an attempt to clear it, and looked at the battlefield around him. Things didn't look good, and there were always more 'lings pouring in from the various entrances, though it did seem to be slowing slightly… He sighed, and looked at his sword. He really shouldn't have allocated his Strife Specibus to Bladekind, as cool as it was… he had nothing that could do more than scratch her.

An idea came to him, then. A stupid, crazy idea, which had no chance of working, but… maybe. Summoning the two lightsaber replicas he'd been wearing at the convention from his Sylladex, he pushed it’s “on” button, and was rewarded with a lime-green blade of light springing from its emitter.

“Oh, now we’re cooking with uranium…!” He exclaimed softly, as he ignited the other, blood-orange blade, eager to return the fight.

~~~~
“Y’know, you’re really vexing me!” Sebaste growled as he dodged another swing from Chrystalla. “But I bet you can't tell which is the real me!” He said as two duplicates of himself appeared on either side,each armed with the same weapon.

With an unfamiliar battle cry, the three combatants who remained in the circle turned to see Caldoric, back in action, swinging two glowing and humming blades around himself in a simple yet mesmerizing “X” pattern, carving a bloodless path towards the circle. Any Shardling near him backes off, unsure what to make of these strange weapons…

With a triumphant yell, he leapt over the Technicolor flames and performed a scissor-cut with the two blades in empty air. “C’mon!” He challenged. Tahu raised an eyebrow.

“Oooookay… Moving on…” Sebaste said just as he received a blow from Chystalla, sending him skidding on the floor, and knocking his helmet off in the process. He turned his head to reveal a mop of short reddish brown hair, green eyes and most distinctively, a face that had two slash scars over his left eye. Locking onto Chrystalla, Sebaste’s eyes narrowed into angry slits and with a growl, he summoned a pair of energy swords and charged forward.

Caldoric followed his lead, with Tahu not far behind, his Flame Sword ablaze. Soon, the three of them were landing flurries of blows upon her that bit deeper into her crystal-built body than anything had before. No blood came from the wounds, but they still pained her nonetheless.

“Time for you to pay for your crimes, Chrysalis…” Sebaste snarled as he stalked forward to land another blow.

“No… no!!” she cried, creating a thaumic shockwave that pressed all three of her foes nearly to the edge of the circle. “I will not be bested by the likes of you… you… you alien freaks! I will see this world fall to my whim! And you have no chance of stopping me!”

“I’ve heard that so many times, it’s gotten old! I’ve fought Chaos Marines, Covenant, even a Daemon Princess version of Twilight and won! I’m a defender of Equestria, and I don't give in, no matter what!” Sebaste roared before his thrusters activated and he slammed into her, sending her skidding and disrupting her spell.

Tahu tried to take the opportunity to attack her from behind, only for his blade to rebound off of her hastily-cast shield spell, which sent him flying backwards. Meanwhile, Caldoric was circling the errant Queen, with small green electrical arcs beginning to cascade up and down his frame, as he shook slightly with… was it anger? Fear? Suddenly, he stopped his pacing.

“Do you know what your sins are… Chrysalis?” He asked, slowly, calmly. “Pride. Envy. Wrath, and Greed. And now, you feel that sensation on your spine? That tingling feeling creeping up beneath the hair on your scalp?” He settled into an aggressive crouch as the small lightnings seemed to intensity. “Those are your sins, crawling up your back. Chrysalis, you have failed this world, and have forgotten the face of your father. For this, and the harming of innocents across nations, you're gonna have a bad time.”

Sebaste jumped back and summoned what looked like a massive closed missile launcher, but as he pulled the trigger, the front of the weapon opened up, and a whine was heard as a small laser locked onto Chrystalla, and energy began to build in the barrel.

“It’s a terrible day.” Caldoric stated, with that strange calm. “Birds are starving, flowers are wilting… on days like these, bitches like you…” purple smoke began to filter through his mask's eyeholes as the electricity around him began trying to discharge to the ground around him, playing a familiar tune, and small bits of debris began rising. He held his hands off to one side in a pose anyone familiar with Dragon Ball Z would recognize, as his deactivated lightsabers hung in midair.

“Ş̕͡HO̴U͏̷̵L̷͡D ͝BĘ B̧UŔ̢N͟IN͝҉G̛̕ ͏Ì̷͏N͞ ̕H͢͠E̴̕Ĺ̢Ļ̶!” He exclaimed, his voice going wierd. “̕ KA͘M̶҉̧É.͢.̶.͏ ̴̵̵R̕͠AS͜E̴̡͟N̢͠.̸̀͝.́̕.̧͏ ҉Ḩ̸͡A͘M̀E̵̛,̀ ͏G͝AN̸͠,҉ ́̕H̴A-DǪ͢͏ƯK̕E̴̶̛N ̡͟F̸U̢C̵̨K͘Y̴͟O̸U̕̕͠Y͠O̴̧U̶M̧̨O͡͡T͏HÉRF͘͏UC̨̕͏K̨͡IN͜͠G̛͘B̸ÍT͝Ć̴̢H̴͡͞!҉͢!͢”͢

At that moment, both Caldoric and Sebaste released their pent-up attacks, which shattered Chrystalla's shield and sent her flying through a wall. The smoking hole she’d left allowed a bit more of the grey daylight to enter the room, but it didn't do much else.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to see what had just happened, with Onua popping his masked head up from beneath the floor to join in.

Caldoric, bent over and panting from the apparent exertion of the combined attack, held up a hand, in which appeared a swirling ball of energy, the color of which matched his eyes and heartlight. “Y̶o͟u Sh̵a͏rdlin͝gs h͜ave ͞ti͢ll thȩ ̧c҉óuņt ͏of ͟te͞n t̕o̕ ̵g̕e̕t ̢y̸ou҉r̢ lousy,̀ ly͢ing,̶ ̢n͡o͜-gòod̴ cąrcàsses͜ ͘ou͏t ̷o̵f̢ ̵t̢hi͜s c̛as͡t̸l͢e̡,̢ ͡b͢e̕fo̡r̴e ͜Ì p̧u̷m͡p̷ ́your g͘u͞t̕s ful͢la p̨l҉a̵sma̸.” He stated,the lightning dying down, though the song it had produced was still going.

“O̧ne̢.̛” he said, and the Shardlings began to scatter, going any way they could before Caldoric could--

“̷́T̨ẁo̴͘.͏.̶̛̛.͞” There was an increased intensity in his voice, which the everyone present seemed to pick up on.

“̛T̵E̸̷̵N̶̨!́͟͏!̷!͘͢” He cried, and slammed the ball into the ground. Immediately, more green electricity lanced out from the point of impact, skittering across the stonework and leaping through the air, striking each and every Shardling in the room, with other tendrils snaking off into the rest of the castle. The arcs of energy totally ignored the Toa, ponies, and former humans, instead latching onto every Shardling present, encasing them in an electrical prison, and they began shaking, some more than others.

“Caldoric, stop! You're hurting--!” Gali began, as Twilight charged up a spell and Tahu made ready to hit him with the pommel of his sword, but then everything changed. The crystal of the Shardlings began to crack and fall off, some of them revealing different colors underneath, while others merely began to crumble from the inside. Soon, the trapped ponies (and a couple of captured Changelings,) were taking in gasps of air and retching, as Lyra had done, while the fully-crystallized Shardlings merely disintegrated.

The floating debris around Caldoric dropped to the ground again, as did his lightsabers. “Keep the change, ya filthy animals,” he spat sarcastically, then joined his lightsabers in a heap on the ground. The electricity that had danced across his armor moments before was gone, and the colors thereof seemed almost... faded.

“Holy Tartarus, the hell was that?!” Sebaste asked, having grabbed his helmet after spotting it lying nearby. Rainblade then flew up to him.

“I don’t know, but his power levels spiked to over 10,000.” She remarked, earning a facepalm in response.

“Of course you would have the equipment to make that particular meme….” the Spartan muttered, earning a confused look from the Cyberpegasus.

♪Mmmm, whatcha saa-ay...?♪ Pinkie intoned, sitting next to Caldoric's prone form, a forehoof resting next to his unblinking heartlight. ♪Oooh, that you only meant well? Well, of course you did...♪

Caldoric, for his part, suddenly sat up, jabbed a finger in her face, and said three words: “Too. Fucking. Soon.” His hand then delved into his chestplate, where it fiddled about a bit, before the heartlight finally flickered to life once more.

“Faulty wire?” Viktor asked as he walked up, with Alex and Sebastian behind him, the Cyclops having vanished. “Those can be a real pain. I’ve had to fix Alex’s arm more than once because of those!”

“Well, it’s more loose than faulty, but yeah,” Caldoric said, retrieving his hand from his armor, “though it’s been doing this since I put the costume together. Could've gone with a steady blinking light, but nooooo, I decided to have it so it actually picked up on my heartrate for the added realism. Stupid me.” he looked over at the Toa Mata and the Mane Six, who were gathering and comforting the former Shardling captives.

There were a few blasts of green magic that flew in through the Chrystalla-shaped hole in the wall, though they missed anything important by a mile.

“Now that Chyssie got sent flying Team Rocket style, those Shardlings can't hit the broadside of a barn!” Sebaste chuckled as Alex face palmed with her right hand, servos whirring.

“Come out and face me, you cowards!” Chrystalla’s voice commanded, from outside the castle walls.

“Yeah. I thought she might still be alive…” Caldoric complained, coughing slightly and attempting to get to his feet, his armor still paler than normal. “The bad guys have a nasty habit of doing that. But hey, that’s the Narrative Imperative for ya… what’s it look like out there?”

Alex quickly teleported to where the hole was, and peeked out. “We’ve got more Shardlings, along with Chrysalis and… what the….” She sounded confused.

Caldoric staggered over to the hole, and his eyes widened.

“What… what are those?” She asked.

“Shale imps,” he said, as if in explanation. “Basically cannon fodder, they’re from Homestuck, though they can be potentially problematic if there are too many ganging up on you unawares… I'm more concerned about how they got here… I only hope she doesn't have anything worse.”

“That's another thing about Displaced… you get enemies from the series you dressed up as in the same world.” Alex said grimly as she unsheathed her sword, before reconsidering and resheathing it and pulling out her sniper rifle.

“Hey, how d’you keep doing that, by the way?” Caldoric asked, looking askance at her. His armor seemed a bit less faded, but it was still faded nonetheless...

“Our weapon summoning? It’s my only power, besides being able to use magic. I can also use different armor abilities, but that's the extent of what I can do. Seb and the other two are able to summon different vehicles from their respective game universes.” She explained. “Honestly, I don't know how it works, but from what I can guess, whenever we think of a certain weapon, it appears in our hands.”

“Hmmm…” Caldoric said, gazing off into the distance. A second later he held out a hand as he leaned against the wall, and a simple-looking ring with four pearl-white orbs on it appeared in his palm. “Nice, but what about…” the ring disappeared, and was replaced by a strange, somewhat cylindrical object, half black and half silver.

“Yeah, that’s cool. I can pull from both realities…!” He began, before Chrystalla's voice cut through the silence again.

“Answer me, or I will bring that blasted castle down around your ears!” She demanded.

“Kiss this, Chrysalis!” Alex shouted back before a sniper round grazed the Shardlings Queen's side. “Next shot I fire will be in your skull!”

“Not if I can help it…” Caldoric muttered, as the large object vanished, and was replaced with a slightly smaller and stockier six-barreled apparatus. “Eat Cordak missiles, assmunch!” He exclaimed, and fired off six shots. Six missile-like objects flew from the barrels, but none flew straight at the intended target. Instead, the projectiles slammed into random sectors of the amassed army in the streets, leaving behind craters, dead 'lings, and… large Gusher-looking objects.

“Oh I forgot, those were torpedoes. But hey, they drop grist!” Caldoric noted, before the army responded with a barrage of their own. “Pohatu, seal this hole!”

Alex quickly ducked behind the wall as it hit before peeking back out and sniping a few shardlings from their perches. Sebaste and the other three quickly ran to some of the holes punched by the blasts and returned fire with their weapons.

A second later, the hole in the wall seemed to melt and seal itself, and Pohatu gave a grunt of satisfaction.

“Toa and Elements, I have an idea!” Caldoric said, remembering something. “To the door!” Everyone minus the Spartans, the Cyberpegasus and the dark green Hulkbuster-lookalike made their way to the door, where Caldoric revealed his idea.

“Alright, you ponies put a forehoof against the doorframe. Good, now…” he turned to the Toa. “Do the same with your weapons.”

“Why?” Asked Onua. “What will this accomplish?”

“Just do it and see, it’ll be aweso--” Caldoric was cut off as the castle shook, raining dust on their heads. “Do it! Do it now!”

As one, the Toa Mata placed the ends of their weapons against the doorframe, (with Pohatu merely placing his foot against it,) and it glowed momentarily with energy. Soon, so too did the whole room, as did the entire castle, presumably.

“Caldoric, you’d better hurry! I'm not sure how long we can keep this up- AAH!” Alex cried out as a lucky shot from a shardling hit her right arm, the pain sensors built into it alerting her of the hit. She fell to the ground, grasping her now damaged arm. Sparks spat from where the shot hit.

“Blast…!” Tahu cried, and hurried to her side, as the glow from whatever had happened faded. He saw, through the few remaining holes in the walls, that beams of energy were now shooting off from somewhere else in the castle, bathing the enemy army in swathes of fire, or ice, or having small chasms open beneath them. What in Mata Nui's name is going on? he wondered.

“Alex!” Viktor yelled as he ran over to her. He skidded to a halt and stared at the damage the blast had done. “Kyra, I need you, now!” He said before a small blue glowing humanoid figure armed with a high tech laser rifle and flakk armor appeared in his hand. “I need you to scan her arm and tell me the damage report.” He ordered.

“Right away!” The AI said before she vanished.When she came back, her tone was grim. “She’s lost part of her motor functions in her arm, the blast somehow hit a major power line. I recommend fully replacing the entire thing, and fast.” Viktor slammed a fist into the wall, leaving an impression of his fist in the stonework.

“Damn it! Alex… I need you to stay here for now. I’ll be back to fix your arm as soon as I can. Will you be okay until then?” He asked, getting a nod from her.

Caldoric came rushing over too, and tried to slide to a stop, only for him to trip over a bit of rubble and slide the rest of the way there on his mask. “I may have a solution or two, if there’s a problem,” he groaned, his voice slightly muffled by the floor as he held up a finger. Tahu got up and joined his fellow Toa in providing defense through the holes in the wall.

“Unless you know how to fix a prosthetic arm, and a custom one at that, I don't think we can really do anything.” Viktor snapped. Sebastian put a hand on the Spartan’s shoulder.

“Let's hear him out, he might be able to get this done faster.” He said.

Caldoric sat up, and looked at the damaged prosthetic. “Oh dang, that's some damage. There’s a Mask for that, though, if I remember correctly.” He then held up his right arm, indicating the plate of slotted silvery metal on the forearm. “And if that fails… I could always try to simulate Alchemy from FMA!” He then held his hands in front of himself, and a Kanohi Mask appeared between them. He then put it on, and his armor immediately brightened back to its original luster as he nearly fell over.

“Whoah, head rush,” he muttered, as he then held his hands over the damaged arm. “Alright… fix!” the new mask began to glow with an inner light, and then, with a slight grinding of metal and a few sparks, the arm glowed too, beginning to stitch itself back together. In seconds, it was done. Caldoric was ecstatic.

Alex flexed the arm a few times before she stood up. “Thanks.” She said, giving the Toa a nod of appreciation.

“No problem,” the Human-turned-Toa replied. “So, an actual prosthetic, eh? What’s it based off of? I mean, assuming it's not a custom… design… that is.” He finished awkwardly, and switched to his original mask. “Probably a sore subject, I shouldn't've mentioned it… bad Ian, bad!”

“It's okay. I had it based off of Ivy Valentine's right arm armor, I’ve always been a bit of a Soul Calibur fan, so after I lost my arm in a car accident, we saved up enough money to have a company make it.” Alex replied. “But… it was really hard for us during that time.”

Caldoric gave her a half-smile. “Never heard of either the character or the game, but they sound fun. I personally would've gone for an Automail replica, but that’s just me. Heck, there was this one time I heard that a kid got an Iron Man prosthetic, and Robert Downey himself was involved in making it happen… but that was a few years ago, before Trump got elected, and the war started…” He sat up a little straighter, oblivious to the others’ confused looks, and pressed on. “But enough about the past, we need to focus on the now. How’re we gonna take back the city?”

Author's Second Note:
That was definitely fun! Can't wait to do the second part, which'll be even more fun! For those of you who may have had a hard time visualizing what I wrote about the lightsaber motions, here are a couple demonstrations:

•X-Twirl:

•Scissor-cut:

A Token Gesture, In A Ravaged City

Caldoric looked at his silent visitors, who were in turn looking at each other, as if in confusion. “What, did I say something wrong?” He asked. “Or were you all in the middle of something important when I summoned you?”

“You said take back Canterlot. Just what exactly happened here in this Equestria?” Sebaste asked. “The last time I had to take back Canterlot was in a different Equestria… and it was in a war.” He then sighed, pinching the bridge of his helmet, and said, “All I know right now is that we have Chrysalis in what appears to be crystal like armor, Changelings I've never seen before and from what Sasha told me, Toa that turn into ponies. Just… what exactly is going on here?” The other four murmured agreement, the three other humans having taken their helmets off and were now holding them in the crooks of their arms.

“Long story short,” Caldoric replied, “shit’s kinda fucked. Apparently things here kicked off after the season 6 finale, when Thorax took control of the hive from Chrysalis, reforming it in the process. After she went off in a rage, she apparently teamed up with Sombra, and they took both the Crystal Heart and young Flurry Heart, about three months ago. Then, she abducted Trixie and Starlight Glimmer, learned a few things about Zecora from them, and killed the poor zebra. She also stole the Alicorn Amulet. Then she and her newly-formed Shardling army took over the entire country, and it seemed like some of the neighboring nations also were suffering attacks, according to reports received before communication was cut off. Then the Elements got themselves tossed through the mirror to Mata Nui by Discord, who apparently scrambled its destination settings, while Canterlot finally fell.” Caldoric paused to take a breath.

“Also, Discord, Celestia, and Luna are under Chrystalla's control, and Cadence and Shining are nowhere to be found. I have no idea about how the Toa Mata and the rest of Mata Nui are capable of ‘Shifting,’ as they call it, though.”

“So Sombra's somehow still alive even though he was completely destroyed by the Heart?” Sebastian asked. “That's impossible.”

“Unless he was just banished… again. I mean, he could've left a part of himself somewhere outside the heart’s radius in case of failure, like a Horcrux.” Caldoric shrugged. “Or maybe some sympathetic local freed him, maybe even allowing him to take them over. Poison goes where poison’s welcome, ya know?”

“So what exactly is your story? How do you fit into this?” Viktor asked.

“I was dropped on Mata Nui about a day ago, somewhere on the lava fields near Ta-Koro, after buying a few cool-looking things from this vendor dude at Comic-Con San Diego, who was dressed like Slenderman. Of course, my sister and I only went to the con because, about a week before I was supposed to report to the local Draft Office, a bomb got dropped on it. Fortunately, this meant that I could go ahead and wear the costume I'd been putting together since late 2018. It was, uh, supposed to be a sort of self-insert Toa OC. Completely overpowered, too, since it was based off the 'Knight of Space’ classpect, but I figured I might as well get the itch to do that out of the way for my first con.”

“Yeah… that vendor is known by many Displaced as the Merchant. He’s responsible for the majority of the Displaced in the Multiverse.” Sebaste explained before he realized something. “Wait, did you say it was 2018 back where you came from?”

“No, I said I started my costume late that year. It’s currently 2020, which is kinda funny because, in hindsight, we never should've allowed Trump or Hillary to run for President in 2016, or allowed the former to keep office after Russia tipped the elections in Trump’s favor. Not with that war they started.” Caldoric said. “Er… it is 2020, right? Or, was? Oh, he better not be yanking people from multiple points in the timeline… that never ends well in stories.”

“It was 2013 when I was Displaced…” Sebaste said. “Obama was still president.”

“2015 for us.” Sebastian put in. “Trump was still running in our timeline. Wait, what do you mean Trump and Hillary started a war in your time?” He asked.

“Maybe we can discuss this when there isn't a legion of Shardlings outside the castle?” Viktor spoke up, looking towards the nearly shattered window, where everyone could see Shardlings patrolling the streets, trying to find a way in.

They were quite obviously staying well out of range of the castle’s newly-acquired defenses, occasionally tossing a spell toward the structure. The crowd of recently freed ponies were doing their best to try and help take out what few Shardlings came too close, but there was little else to do.

“I have to agree,” Caldoric said, rising from his crouched position, “but what can we do? They have us surrounded, as far as I can tell. I doubt we could get out through the crystal caverns below, since Chrystalla probably remembers those from last time she was here. Actually, we should probably seal those off, if possible. And without some sort of “deus ex machina” type of superweapon squirreled away in the castle somewhere that can target a specific entity’s signature or whatever, I'm not liking the odds of facing her full force head-on. Yes, even with the assembled Element Bearers, the Toa Mata, and ourselves.”

Sebaste smirked under his helmet. “You seem to forget what my team and I are capable of. Vik, Sasha and I can summon different vehicles, be it land or… air support.” He said. “Sasha has access to tanks that put the Scorpion to shame, while Vik and I can switch between UNSC or Covenant vehicles. I believe you got a glimpse of that during that warm up fight in here when Vik summoned that Cyclops. But Sasha recently unlocked a new ability that allows him to actually turn into a type of vehicle.”

Caldoric cocked his head to one side. “Whaa--? No, nevermind,” he said, almost to himself, then shook his head to regain focus. “Alright, improbable as that sounds, it might be useful. I’m just… I'm not sure I'm ready to go to war. Like, if I'm psychologically able to. Killing other living things, risking my life, potentially failing to save someone in danger… not to mention I’m not sure of my own powers, among other things…”

With a blur of green, Lewa was abruptly amongst the circle of former humans. “Do not worry-fret too much, brother,” he said, placing a hand on Caldoric's shoulder, “the answers will be reveal-shown in time.”

Caldoric smiled gratefully, then abruptly seized the Toa of Air in a tight hug. Lewa, surprised, gingerly returned the gesture.

Sebaste chuckled as he and the others watched. “Alright… Let's teach those bugs not to mess with a Displaced and his home turf.” He said as Sebastian’s form began to glow brightly and he began to shift into his Contemptor Dreadnought form. In seconds, a massive walker armed with a massive rotary cannon and a fist that had twin gun barrels poking out of its palm. A single helmet could be seen in the head opening.

“Mata Nui!” Lewa exclaimed, backing off a few steps as Caldoric released him, and turned around.

“I totally second that…” Caldoric muttered, as the ponies and other Toa in the room noticed it too. “That… holy fucking Gadunka, that thing’s huge as fuck. Couldn't we have done this at the front door though? I’m not sure it’ll fit through the halls… unless you're just going to bust through that wall again.”

++ Erm…++ Sebastian's voice had gotten deeper as a result of his vox unit. ++Well, I was thinking of keeping them occupied while you guys snuck out and flanked them.++

“Whatever you think-say,” Lewa said, holding his hands up placatingly, “just don't step on us.”

“Agreed,” said Rarity, coming over with the rest of the heroes.

There was a snort from Sebastian. ++ Trust me, there are walkers called Titans that are way bigger than me. In fact… Just one Titan would be as big as the mountain. ++

With a faint “eep!” Fluttershy fell over, unconscious.

“Wow,” commented Caldoric, “Attack on Titan, much?”

“Ah’m not sure whatcha mean by that,” Applejack supplied, “but it seems like it’d be a darn good distraction, if’n we e'er needed one.” Tahu merely eyed the giant mech with envy.

Sebaste chuckled. “There’s a reason the Imperium call Titans ‘God Machines’. They have enough firepower to wipe out entire armies.” He said. “Sasha is one of the smaller walkers called a Contemptor Dreadnought, a devastating force in its own right. They’re piloted by injured Adeptus Astartes-”

There was a large explosive sound that shook the castle, followed by a loud groan, an unusually deep silence, then a huge crash as something hit the ground outside.

“I think they knocked off a tower…” Rainbow said, a trace of worry touching her normally confident voice.

“Yeah, how about we get out there while there’s still a city to save?” Asked Pohatu.

“Yeah,” added Pinkie, “the readers are probably getting a bit restless with all this Blood Gulching…”

Caldoric looked at her questioningly. “Wait, we’re being chronicled?” He asked, but got no further with his inquiry.

“Can we just go and save this city already?” Demanded Tahu.

++ Right, I’ll go and draw their attention, you guys go and flank them! ++ Sebastian yelled before he smashed through the wall, the barrels on his weapon spinning to life.

“Right, front door’s this way, everypony!” Twilight exclaimed, leading the way.

“And another thing, I think that term needs to--” Caldoric began.

“No time!” Several others interjected. Soon, they were at the front doors, where they paused.

“So, what’s the plan?” Kopaka asked.

“Seriously?” Caldoric asked. “When have any of the plans we put together ever worked? We plan, we get there, everything goes to hell. I say we just say 'fuck it,’ and attack stuff.”

“Vik and I can provide armored support. And if we get into a spot where we can switch to aircraft, you’ll have some air support.” Sebaste said. “Alex, you and Rainblade are with Caldoric and his gang.” The two nodded in response.

“Alright,” Caldoric replied, his voice taking on a steely quality, “but we’re essentially gonna just wing it. Don't go looking to me for strategies. I want this over with so I can go home...” And with that, he slipped out the doors and charged into the fray, lightsabers drawn and humming.

“Vik, Scorpion Tanks on three.” Sebaste said, “1…2...3!” The two Spartans slammed the doors open and charged out before two tanks materialized next to them and, after the two had jumped in, the group then advanced, with the two tanks leading the way.

Caldoric turned momentarily, after dealing with a few stray Shardlings, and made a mental comment to himself about the viability of picking up chicks in the metal monstrosities, before snapping out of it.

Spotting what looked to be a small group of imps nearby that seemed in a hurry to be somewhere, he followed their trail. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that it was actually part of a rather large group of the Stygian menaces, which quickly had him surrounded. It was also only then that Caldoric realized that the small objects they had been carrying were large-bore flintlock style pistols and rifles.

“Oh, quiznak,” he said, and prepared to fight.

++ FOR THE LION! ++ A hail of Adamantium-tipped bullets tore through the group, catching the Imps off guard. A few seconds later, Sebastian came charging in from the left side, the massive gun that served as his right arm spewing bullets at an incredible rate. ++ What are you waiting for, Naming Day?! Get a move on! ++

“I thought you were supposed to keep the main force busy so we could flank 'em!” Caldoric shot back, going to town on the imps. “Yet here you are, leading it right at us! Did things really go to hell that quickly?!” He then did his best to gather the intangible “grist” the imps dropped on death, (they were game constructs, after all,) as well as picking up and storing a few green-edged Strife cards. To his satisfaction, they’d already been allocated to various Gunkind settings.

++ Well someone had to save your ass from becoming a strainer, and besides, you’re a bit far from the others to help flank them! ++ the Astartes retorted. ++ Besides, if I know Seb, he already has a battle plan. ++

With a smile that would've set anyone on edge, Caldoric swapped out his lightsabers for his bruteshot, flipped its switch to “∞,” and opened fire on the now very worried imps. ♪Boom, boom, boom!♪ He sang, barely to be heard, ♪I can't stop singin’ this bloody tune, tune tune! It’s gonna make my brain go boom, boom, boom! I can't stop singin’ this bloody tune, tune, tune! I’m the volatilest sort! What a violent force, that’ll frighten Spartans! Hark and hear Leonidas talk when he sees me: Tonight, we dine indoors!♪

“It’s official, a ballistic missile couldn't get this ‘rizzle’! I blow through 'lings like a seven-foot chisel! Think you better shiver when you hear that sizzle, fo’ ‘shizzle!’ Caldoric continued his mad rant as he ran off in search of more foes, oblivious to anything else at this point. “Take a listen! It’s a premonition of my mission: death by demolition! If I don't come home, there’s a sign in my kitchen to describe why I'm missin’: gone fission!”

Meanwhile, the Toa Mata had split ways with the Elements, with each group taking a tank as they sought out strategic positions, from which to flank their foe.

*Vik, what's your situation?* Sebaste radioed as he and the Elements, along with Alex, sat on a small hill overlooking the battle going on below.

*The Toa and I are in position to engage. Sasha and Caldoric are in the thick of it at the moment. * Viktor replied from where he, Rainblade and the Toa were. *Awaiting orders to engage.*

*Not sure how I'm able to hear you guys’ radio transmissions,* Caldoric's voice suddenly cut in, amongst distant explosions, *but I say strike while the iron’s hot! Fill our quarry’s souls with dread, and their bodies with lead! Hyaaaaaaa--!* His voice then cut off mid yell.

*You hear him, let’s engage!* Vik said. Sebaste sighed before he said to the Element bearers, “Alright ladies, let’s kick some bad guy butt!” With a roar, the engine gunned to life and the Scorpion rumbled forward. Its turret turned to target a large mixed group of Shardlings and Imps before a massive BOOM emanated from the single 108 mm cannon, and a sizable chunk was instantly vaporized by the blast. There was a clang as the shell casing ejected from the back of the turret and clattered onto the ground behind it.

“Hey, watch it with that thing!” Rainbow said, as she hovered over to the cockpit. “Some of them are still ponies, remember? I mean, we could do with a few less of the snobby nobles, but that’s no way to go about it!”

“I have my scanners set to target the Shardlings that aren't ponies, so don't get your tail in a twist!” Sebaste retorted. There was a second boom in the distance as Viktor’s tank advanced with the Toa. A second later, more Imps were vaporized by the blast caused by the tank shell.

*Bullseye!* Viktor shouted. *Alright guys, pick your targets with ‘Imp’unity!* There were groans heard on Vik’s end as a few of the Toa caught the pun.

Sebaste chuckled before the built in machine gun next to the main cannon opened fire and mowed down a few more imps. “Okay guys… CHARGE!” He roared before the tank vanished and a Mantis Walker replaced it. But what caught the eyes of the mares was the glow coming from the barrel of the weapon on its left arm and the orange and blue color scheme.

Twilight charged up her horn for a particularly powerful blast, ready to support him, with Rarity not far behind.

“For the Emperor and the UNSC! FOR EQUESTRIA!” The Spartan yelled as the Gauss Repeater opened fire, the slugs flying at hypersonic speeds. Alex summoned a Missile Launcher that had a red and white color scheme and when she pulled the trigger, a single Missile fired before four more shot out of the projectile, and caused untold mayhem among the enemy ranks.

*Now that's what I call a High Five!* Viktor radioed. Alex groaned at the pun.

*Really Vik? You had to make a joke about the weapon?* She asked.

*Cut the chatter, you two. We still need to deal with these mooks.* Sebaste said as he caused the Mantis to stomp its foot and sending a few Shardlings flying from the shockwave. The cockpit then swiveled and from the weapon on the right arm, six missiles screamed out before the warheads spat out multiple munitions before they impacted, saturating the area in a massive conflagration of ordinance that wiped out a good majority of the enemy forces. Alex smirked at the dumbfounded looks on the six mares faces.

Just then, as they began to close in on the Shardling army, a heavily-armored silver and black figure came stomping across their field of view. It had its left arm raised, and a device mounted on it was firing what appeared to be 12-inch wide balls of light back the way it came. The four-meter-tall being, who they soon recognized to be Caldoric in some form of mechatronic armor, was soon followed by several mutant Shardlings of various shapes and sizes.

“Fucking die already, Makuta-spawn!” He cried. With a brief flash, the armor’s lower left arm and the device mounted on it glowed and changed into a long, blunt-nosed device, which fired off some form of rocket at his pursuers. The resulting explosion took out two or three of the monstrosities, and damaged a few more, but there were still others coming his way.

++ Oy, get back here you blasted scions of Slannesh! ++ Sebastian's voice yelled behind the creatures before a Shardling was incinerated by a blast of heat. Two more suffered the same fate before the Astartes-turned-Dreadnought charged in, his Assault Cannon having switched to a twin barreled gun that fired a blast of heat hot enough to melt metal.

Caldoric, for his part, turned to face another mutant 'ling that had tried to sneak around and flank him, and thrust his right arm forward with a punching motion. The forearm of the suit seemed to fragment, revealing a complex extension mechanism that landed the attempted punch directly between the eyes of the monster… from more than 20 feet away. The heavily stunned abomination was thusly sent flying over a nearby roof, disappearing from sight.

Returning his attention to the main crowd, which had been thinned slightly through the combined efforts of the other heroes, the right arm of Caldoric's armor glowed. Seconds later, it had switched to a normal-looking hand, holding a giant sword that looked like an explosion of lightning and flattened crystals that had been frozen in time, and subsequently plated in gold. He gave it a swing, embedding the tip in the ground, and a storm of lightning-laced fire swept down the road, engulfing the crystalline calamities.

++ I cast FIST! ++ Sebastian growled before he smashed his power fist into another Shardling and blasting another with a gout of flame from the heavy flamer that had replaced the Combi-Bolter inside his palm. ++ Burn in hell! ++

“What do you think this is?” Caldoric demanded, momentarily turning to look at his fellow armored behemoth. “D&D or something? C’mon, let’s get some real trash-talk going!” He was then pounced on by another of the monsters, which sent the two rolling down the street. Caldoric came out on top, his right arm having returned to the clawed punching configuration and raised to strike.

“Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, GO TO SLEEP…!” Caldoric told the monster as he hammered its face several times in quick succession. Unfortunately, the creature's face had become too concave to successfully comply by the time he stopped.

++ Hey, not my fault I heard that Text to Speech meme so many times! Besides, if you want to talk trash, tell it to these guys! ++ Sebastian retorted as he tossed an Imp into a nearby trash bin, which spontaneously caught fire.

“Gah, why did I have to be so careless with those Kanoka disks?” Caldoric roared at no-one in particular, as a final mutant latched onto his back. “Note to self, never go slinging 'Reconstitute at Random’ disks around without proper foresight!” He then reached over his shoulder with his left arm, and fired off another rocket in his aggressor’s face.

“No, Spike!” Twilight suddenly cried, catching everyone's attention. As they turned to look, they found that the brute Caldoric had punched over the rooftops not a minute before had shown up again, and was holding the young Drake by three of his spines.

«If you don’t surrender immediately,» it said, it’s mouths moving unsettlingly as it related Chrystalla's voice from wherever she was, «then this little lizard will be the first to die! Meet me in the city center in five minutes, or…!» The creature didn't get much farther, because Spike managed to turn his head just right, and spat a massive gout of emerald flame that left behind little more than a charred pile of crystals. Twilight gently caught him with her magic as he fell, easing his descent before clutching him tightly to her barrel.

“So she wants us to meet her in the city center… that has the word ‘trap’ written all over it.” Alex said as Viktor ran up to them.

“Shiny! Then let’s spring the trap,” Caldoric said simply, dismissing the armor and landing heavily on his feet as the Toa Mata rounded the corner behind their Spartan chaperone.

“I simply must agree,” Rarity said, trying to comfort the shell-shocked Spike, “nopony threatens my little Spikey-wikey and gets away with it!” There was a noticeable smile of appreciation from the young dragon as she said this.

“Yeah, 's time somepony put that overgrown salt lick down fer good!” Agreed Applejack, stamping her hoof.

Sebastian stomped over, but as he did so, his form began to shift back to his power armored form. As he completed his shifting, he suddenly stumbled, falling to one knee. “Gah… forgot how much of a drain becoming a Dreadnought has on me…” He said in an exhausted tone. He grunted as he slowly stood up. “Seb, I think we can pull off a ‘Flight of the Valkyrie’ attack now.” Sebaste nodded before turning to the others.

“Hope none of you guys are prone to airsickness, because we're about to take to the skies.” He said as a single massive aircraft armed to the teeth appeared next to Sebastian, with missiles everywhere, two gun turrets on both the front and the wings, two wing-mounted laser cannons, and a single cannon on the back. It was also the same color as the Astartes and on either side of the vehicle was a symbol of a winged sword.

“I’m so sorry,” Caldoric said, chuckling a little, “but, not to offend, that looks like a brick with wings. Can it actually fly, or does it just… fall with style?”

“I hate to agree,” Pohatu added, “but even the bulkiest of statues made by Hafu, a master carver in my village of Po-Koro, would be more aerodynamic than this… transport.”

“Hey, don't disrespect the Thunderhawk! This is one of the most heavily armored dropships in the Space Marine arsenal, hell, it’s a tough nut to crack! And for your information, it does fly.” Sebastian said in a offended tone. He then smirked under his helmet. “And it's capable of carrying up to 30 passengers. So imagine 30 of me charging out from this, guns blazing.”

“Thirty robo-Hulks, eh? Sounds like something you wouldn't see everyday…” Caldoric snarked. “Shotgun, by the way. Now, let’s go.”

“Astartes, not the bloody Hulkbuster!” Sebastian muttered as the front troop bay door opened with a hiss of hydraulics. “Seriously, how no one in the multiverse besides Ahriman and his gang knows about Warhammer 40,000 is beyond me…” With a shake of his head, he walked into the Thunderhawk, muttering under his breath.

Caldoric smacked his fist into his open palm as he made to sit in the co-pilot’s seat in the cockpit. “Warhammer 40K! That’s what it was called! I could never remember the name of that particular game… I was more into D&D, myself, though I never played either of them.”

“Glad you’ve heard of it, I used to play it a lot back before I got Displaced. Now I'm stuck as an actual Adeptus Astartes, or as they were called, Space Marines.” Sebastian said. “It's… kinda hard to get used to having the secondary heart and the other stuff that these guys had.” Looking out the cockpit window, he saw that both Sebaste and Viktor had gone with Hornet gunships and were already in the air, the VTOL engines keeping both aircraft in the air.

“Oh, you think having two hearts is weird, mister Timelord?” Caldoric asked, leaning back in the chair. “Imagine trying to sleep, but every time you move, you’re jolted back to wakefulness by the motors and servos in your own body. Last night wasn't a fun first experience, let me tell you. And then, when I woke up this morning, I found myself as a human again… for about ten seconds. Well, mostly human. Freaked me the hell out.”

“Wait, you mean you turned back into your original human body before changing back into a Toa? Huh…. That is odd.” The Astartes then flipped a few switches before the whine of the engines could be heard. “Alright, everyone strap in, and brace yourselves…” He warned. “We’re taking off in 10…” He began to count down.

Caldoric did his best to figure out how the various belts and buckles of the seat were supposed to work, before giving up entirely and just tying them together.

“3...2...1…” The countdown finished, Sebastian threw the throttle forward and the Thunderhawk blasted into the sky, engines (and Caldoric) screaming. He then heard startled yelps from the others in the troop bay at the sudden acceleration. He pressed a single button and activated the comlink. “Everyone alright?” The Astartes asked as he slowed the gunship so that Sebaste and Viktor could catch up and escort the massive aircraft to their destination. As he did so, he readied the weapon systems, and a rattle was heard as the autoloaders on the heavy bolters loaded mass reactive shells and a clang as the massive cannon on the back of the Thunderhawk primed a single massive shell.

There were various exclamations along the lines of “sweet Celestia!” and “Mata Nui!” but everyone seemed to be ok. Caldoric, though, was sunk several inches into the chair he was occupying.

“You alright there Caldoric?” Sebastian asked, looking at the Human-turned-Toa.

“I…” Caldoric's expression somehow managed to convey just how startled and unsettled he had been by the sudden motion. “I wasn't expecting to jump halfway to lightspeed just then…” He finished.

Sebastian snorted. “This thing's capable of going into space, so it needs those powerful engines to punch through the atmosphere. And you’ll get a taste of how much firepower this thing packs soon.” He said, an amused look hidden under his helmet. “There's a reason why the Astartes had better weaponry than say, an Imperial Guard. They're literally genetically enhanced super soldiers.”

“Well, if those weapons are half as loud as this tub is fast,” Caldoric said, eye twitching as he looked out the front windshield, “then I'm about to go deaf in two seconds, because we got company!” He then pointed toward the large swarm of Shardlings that were coming up towards them in midair.

“Pfft, target practice..” Sebastian chuckled before the four twin linked heavy bolters opened fire with a muffled roar, 8 streams of mass reactive death smashing into the swarm, assisted by machine gun fire from the two Hornets. Two lances of light then streaked from the sides of the Thunderhawk and cut a line through the swarm, their bodies cauterized by the searing beams.

Once the carnage was complete, and the few remaining survivors had fled the way they'd come, Caldoric spoke up. “Remind me not to make you guys mad,” he said. “Though I’m pretty sure we’re gonna find more than a few dead ponies when we get through this… or if. If is good.”

“The only ones that would tick us off would be those that would harm innocent lives. So you don't have anything to fear from us.” the Astartes replied. “But I’ve seen Seb get angry before… and the last guy who got him mad was lucky he didn't kill him outright.”

“Are we going to hover here all day, or are we going to take out this Chrystalla character?” Tahu demanded, from the cargo hold.

“Hey, chill, hot head. We’re arriving right now.” Sebastian retorted as he brought the gunship to land, Sebaste and Viktor staying in the air. With a soft thump, the Thunderhawk landed, the landing gear taking the impact. Getting up, Sebastian summoned a weapon that Caldoric had never seen before: it was a bolter that had what looked like an energy coil on the top and two barrels, the bottom one glowing with energy. “Right, let's see what Chrystalla has to say, but don't attack unless she engages first. So for the love of Dorn, please tell Tahu to keep a lid on his temper.”

“I heard that!” Came the reply. “You left the voice boxy thing on!”

The Astartes facepalmed before switching the comlink off. “I'm never gonna get used to meeting actual characters from other series, and the only other Bionicle Displaced I’ve encountered was a Makuta Teridax…” he muttered.

“Dear Lord,” Caldoric said, as he struggled with getting the straps untied. “He can hop dimensions? That sure as fuck complicates things… and I don't think I'm ever getting out of this chair either.”

“What? No,no,no,no! Different Makuta! He’s not the one from the Bionicle universe!” Sebastian said, as he pulled out a combat knife. “Hold still for a sec…”

“Eep!” Said Caldoric, pulling away slightly. With a precise slash, Sebastian cut through the knot, barely scratching the Toa's armor in the process. “You know…” Caldoric began, shakily, as he stood up from the chair, “in hindsight, I probably could've just used my mask… sorry about the seat. Let’s go.”

“Hey, power to summon any Space Marine vehicle remember? That seat will be good as new the next time I summon this bad boy.” Sebastian chuckled as the two of them climbed down to meet with the others at the troop bay door. Both Alex and Rainblade were standing to the side, waiting for Sebastian.

“Alright,” Caldoric nervously addressed the 14 other heroes in the bay, “los gehts, and all that, I guess.”

The ramp lowered with a hiss, and the group walked out, weapons relaxed, but at the ready.

“Ah,” came Chrystalla's voice as they came into her line of view, “so you actually did come to surrender. We didn't think you had it in you. And you’ve brought us such mighty ships to swell our forces, too… how quaint.”

“Actually, we came for your surrender.” Sebastian retorted. “This isn't a battle you can win, Chrysalis.”

“Yeah, and that’s not the only point you got wrong,” Caldoric added, as the giant Thunderhawk vanished, “we have a saying back on Earth: ‘beware of Spartans Bearing gifts,’ right?”

Sebastian nodded before he looked at the Queen. “You've already had a taste of what my friends and I are capable of. And that was just us going easy on you. We have more powerful weapons and vehicles that can reduce your entire army to ashes in just seconds.” He growled.

“I ain't even touched the Homestuck stuff yet, either,” Caldoric added, holding up the ring with four alabaster orbs from before, “because I theoretically could level at least this city with just this ring, assuming it works.”

“An’ Ah’ll say ya got yersel’ a beatin’ comin’ yer way,” Applejack added.

Chrystalla just laughed. “Oh, we almost hoped you’d say that. Of course, we also planned for you to come and start making threats, it’s so typical of you hero types. Which is why we aren't really here at all…!” And with that, she vanished in a flash of green light as Caldoric lunged forward to try and stop her. “Enjoy this in our stead, however,” her voice echoed, as the lone Toa backed off and two other Equestrian figures appeared in Crystalla’s place: Nightmare Moon, and her fiery-maned sister.

“Oh bugger me with a plasma gun….” Sebastian groaned. “Seb… we need some backup here!” He voxed.

*On it, Vik, light em up!* Both Hornets opened fire with both weapon systems, a storm of bullets and missiles streaking towards the two princesses. With barely a glimmer of energy on each of their respective horns, the twin Alicorn nightmares erected reactive partial bubble shields, which appeared only where they were needed to intercept an incoming projectile and annihilate it.

“Such control, such power…!” Twilight remarked, fearfully. “Even Celestia couldn't normally do that on her best day! What…?”

“Then allow me to introduce you to her dark side: Solar Flare, or Nightmare Star, as she dubbed by the fans on my world…” Caldoric replied, gesturing at the fallen Celestia.

*Okay, that didn't work… Vik, desummon your Hornet, we’re engaging on foot!* Both Hornets suddenly vanished, causing both Spartans to fall, only for the thrusters on their armor to arrest their flight. They both executed a combat roll as they landed, assault rifles in hand.

“Gali, Kopaka! Remember your visions! You’ll know what to do!” Caldoric cried, readying himself to face the threat. “Together we stand, but united we soar! Three shall become Wairuha, and walk the path of wisdom! Three shall become Akamai, and walk the path of the warrior! Only by uniting will the Toa find the strength to triumph!”

“Meanwhile, the Spartans play tag with Solar Flare and Nightmare Moon!” Sebaste yelled as he dodged a blast from Nightmare Moon. “Gah, next time I see whoever came up with the Nightmare version of Celestia, I'm gonna send them through a wall!”

“Ooh, ooh! I love tag!” Pinkie exclaimed, effortlessly keeping away from the thaumic bursts and beams of the dark duo. Seconds later, she popped up next to Nightmare Moon and booped her on the nose with a forehoof. “Tag, you’re it!”

“I thought it was supposed to be a semi-canon idea, with everyone having a Nightmare side!” Caldoric retorted to Sebaste, as he vainly tried to get close enough to land a blow. “So blame Faust for that!”

“Hey Nightmare, what has wings, a horn and is black and blue?” Viktor's voice asked from behind Nightmare Moon, but he was nowhere to be seen.

There were two flashes of light from where the Toa Mata were standing, and suddenly a new voice cut through the chatter.

“Ah, it’s good to be back!” One of the two new giant biomechanical figures exclaimed. “How 'bout you, Wairuha?”

The other figure shrugged and chuckled. “I’m not so sure I'd define it as 'good’ that we were needed again so soon, Akamai…”

“Dear Celestia!” Rarity exclaimed, momentarily distracted.

“Vik, whatever you have planned, now's a good time!” Sebastian grunted as he ducked a blast from Solar Flare. Nightmare Moon suddenly flew into the side of a building while Solar Flare was sent sliding as Viktor appeared from thin air, a Gravity Hammer in his hands. “Sorry, didn't see you there!” The Spartan snarked.

“Hold, little ones,” Wairuha said, “my brother and I can take it from here. The rest of you should worry about the mass of foes around us.”

“Though the largest of you warriors and the golden-domed one are welcome to stay.” Akamai suggested.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d rather have my whole team with me.” Sebaste said. “Rainblade, help the girls!”

“You got it Seb!” Rainblade saluted and flew off to where the Mane Six were fighting. Alex walked up, her sword drawn and a magnum in her left hand, while Sebastian had summoned the pair of lightning claws he had fought with in the castle. Viktor appeared next to them after having used his active Camo to retreat, his Gravity Hammer in his hands while Sebaste had gone for dual energy swords.

“Hey, toss me one of those, will ya?” Caldoric asked of Sebaste. “I’ve always wanted to use one with a Lightsaber…”

“Don't you already have one?” Viktor asked.

“Everything vanished when I summoned you!”

Rolling his eyes, Sebaste tossed one of the energy swords to Caldoric, summoning a Spiker to replace it. As he did so, a single song began blaring from Viktor's external speakers.

Caldoric caught the blade, its energy turning from bluish-purple to a lime green as he drew a lightsaber. “Thanks man, and good luck. Shit’s 'bout to get real with those two around!” He said, before he rushed off to help the Elements.

Sebaste chuckled before he looked at the two princesses-turned-Nightmares. “Okay, Caldoric said they're being controlled by that armor they're wearing. Remove that, they go back to normal.” His eyes narrowed, as the two Toa Kaita engaged the fallen sovereign sisters. “I'm so gonna make Chrysalis and Sombra regret doing this to the ponies…..” With a roar, the four charged, their battle cry ringing through the air: “For the Emperor and the UNSC! FOR EQUESTRIA!”

“Blood for the blood god!” they heard Caldoric's distant voice answer, unhelpfully.

The two Kaita, aided by the Spartans and Astartes, were a worthy match for the two dark Alicorns, and this time, the battle raged on more furiously than ever. Nothing less than victory would satisfy these proud warriors.

Dodging between the two Kaita, Sebaste fired a burst from his Spiker, the iron spikes smashing into Solar Flare’s armor, causing her to turn and leave herself open to a strike from Viktor's hammer, sending her flying towards Akamai. The armored titan, for his part, delivered an airborne roundhouse kick that sent her flying through a building.

“What, you scurry away like a tiny Hoto bug?” He taunted her, shaking his sword in her direction and then mimicked the delivery of several powerful blows with his fists.

“Do not taunt them, Akamai,” Wairuha warned his brother, as he dueled the younger of the two sisters. “Remember, that they are unwilling servants of darkness. We should finish this quickly.”

“Agreed.” Sebastian said as he blindsided Nightmare Moon, delivering powerful slashes with his weapons, before his backpack changed into a jump pack, and he leapt into the air as a blast of arcane energy from Alex smashed into the moon goddess, sending her skidding before Sebastian slammed into her as his jump arc intercepted her.

Showing a remarkable dexterity for a being of her general build, Nightmare Moon quickly recovered, and then leapt an impressive distance straight at the foe she deemed most dangerous: Wairuha. She delivered a mighty flying kick with her hind legs.

Despite his immense strength, the strike sent Wairuha staggering back a few steps as she enclosed him in her telekinetic grip. Using all his might, he barely managed to rip through the thaumic envelope, and then sent her flying into a wall with a blow from his shield.

“Get ready, they're gonna be very ticked off…” Sebaste warned. No sooner had the words left his mouth, than Nightmare Star blasted apart the building she's been knocked through, and slammed into Akamai, sending them both back several meters along the square as she summoned multiple spectral halberds to strike him with. Nightmare Moon, however, slowly began advancing on Wairuha once more, several stellar swords appearing around her, which then entered into a hypnotic weaving dance.

“I don't know why you have chosen to oppose us, ancient ones,” the fallen guardian of the night said, “but for your treachery, you shall pay.”

Turning towards her once more, and raising an eyebrow, Wairuha sucked in a deep breath, feeling his powers -- of ice, water, and wind -- expand and merge within him. A moment later, he let it out in her direction, and a raging blizzard exploded around them all, encompassing the square, then the city, and finally the mountain itself.

“Brrrr, who turned on the cold?!” Viktor asked. Alex gasped as the abysmal temperatures started to freeze the gears in her prosthetic arm.

“Shit! Wairuha, you big idiot, your blizzard just handicapped Alex! The gears in her arm can't withstand the freezing temperatures!” Sebaste snapped as he used his thrusters to slam into Nightmare Moon and sending her tumbling into a rock wall.

“Then allow me to turn up the heat! Head’s up!” Akamai said, as the ground beneath them began to rumble: he, too, had begun to use his combined powers. A giant crater exploded where the fountain had once stood, spraying stone, earth, and lava in every direction. Soon, another appeared elsewhere in the square, and another, more and more of them erupting into existence throughout the area and driving the two sisters together, finally encircling them in a moat of lava. They couldn't safely take to the air, for fear of being hit with chunks of flaming stone: they were trapped.

Wairuha focused his energy into the blizzard, bending it to his will, controlling it. He concentrated with every fiber of his being, everything he had -- logic, instinct, and impulse, guiding him all at once. Soon, he had managed to compress the might of the massive storm into a single, narrow beam of pure, cold energy.

He turned it towards the two sisters, who in turn fired their own beams of energy, meeting his just shy of the moat. The very air around the longer beam crackled with frost, as the sister's power was slowly pushed back. With a flash, Solar Flare vanished, leaving her sister to fend for herself, as the beam washed over her, freezing the younger sister in a huge chunk of ice. The elder sister reappeared elsewhere in the square, only to be tackled by Akamai.

“Well that's one way of getting your enemies to chill…” Viktor joked.

Suddenly, Nightmare Star blasted a gout of fire from her mouth, straight into her aggressor’s golden-masked face. It did little more than annoy him, however, as he tightened his grip on her windpipe ever so slightly. “She’s wiley, this one.” He stated.

“Hold her still, brother!” Wairuha cried, as he slowly, laboriously turned the beam in the fallen Alicorn's direction. Akamai moved just in time to avoid being frozen in place with her, and soon, an uneasy peace had settled over the courtyard. Fighting could still be heard throughout the city as the blizzard slowly dissipated, indicating the rescued ponies from the castle had joined in the fight as best they could.

“Well, that was a fun warm-up, what’s next?” Asked Akamai, stretching his shoulder.

“I’ll get the armor off Luna. Sasha, you get Celestia’s armor off.” Sebaste ordered as he leapt over the moat and landed in front of Nightmare Moon's frozen form. Using his energy sword, he carved an opening large enough to remove the armor from Luna.

Being adapted to the cold of space, she put up a little bit of a fight as they tried to remove the armor, but eventually they got it off. Celestia proved far less troublesome, even with her fiery mane starting to melt the ice ever-so-slightly. She mostly just held still and shivered, her coat having taken on a slight blue tint from being in the ice.

Once they had freed both princesses, Wairuha held out his massive hand for the armor. “Give them here,” he said, calmly and politely.

Both the Spartan and Astartes tossed the armor to Wairuha, before heading over to Celestia and Luna.

Wairuha carefully pried the largest crystal from the chestplate of both sets of armor, and handed them to Akamai. He then crushed both sets of armor into one solid lump of metal, and dropped it into the lava moat. Akamai, however, looked at the gems in his hand: one flaming crimson as the desert sun, the other the midnight black of a solar eclipse. “Strange,” he commented, “that something so small could be infused with such evil… some other dark force is at work here.” And with that, he, too, crushed the gems, and scattered their dust into the lava moat.

“Well, it seems that takes care of that,” Wairuha said, brushing off his hands.

“Not quite, brother,” Akamai disagreed, before he bent down and laid a hand against the ground. With a much softer rumble than before, the edges of the lava moat and the various other magma-filled holes that had appeared throughout the city shrunk and closed, like scars healing over. “There,” he said at last.

For now, the square looked normal once again, if you didn't count the shattered fountain, mounds of ice, and occasional snowdrift.

Sebaste meanwhile had stopped in front of the princesses, a symbol appearing on his left shoulder pad. “Are you two okay?” He asked gently.

“Ungh… whaa?” Celestia asked, groggily, her mane now back to its normal pastel-rainbow appearance.

“Did anypony get the number of that haycart?” Luna asked, sitting up and rubbing an eye with a fetlock.

There was a sudden clanking and grinding of gears, almost on a level with the sound effects of a Michael Bay Transformers movie, which drew everyone's attention. Where the two massive Toa Kaita had once stood, there were now two multicolored, biomechanical Dragons, each looking eerily similar to Wairuha and Akamai.

“Princesses, it has been a long time…” the green, blue and white one began, with Wairuha’s voice.

“Yes, perhaps a millennia, if not more,” agreed the red, black, and brown one, sounding like Akamai.

Sebaste gaped under his helmet. “What in Tartarus?! That… that's not even possible!!!” Alex, Viktor and Rainblade also had shocked expressions, while Sebastian chuckled quietly.

“It is good to see you, old friends,” Celestia said, standing up awkwardly, “we thought you and your constituents lost aeons ago, before we found the Elements and went to challenge Discord. What happened?”

“Wait, hold it for a sec!” Viktor interjected. “You mean you encountered the Toa… before they even arrived on Mata Nui?!”

“We are not sure what you mean by 'Toa,’ but if you are referring to the six Elemental Guardians,” Luna said, “then perhaps there has been a misunderstanding. We did not meet them…”

“We created them, as an insurance policy against Discord.” Celestia finished. “But, when we needed them most, they vanished, and we had to find something else.”

“Whoah, wait, what’s going on here?” Caldoric asked, arriving with the Element Bearers, Spike, and a disheveled-looking Lyra. “I thought that they came into being under the eye of the Order of-- um, nevermind…!”

Sebaste chuckled as Rainblade landed next to him. “That would be wise. But it does bring up a question… just how exactly are they able to… shift?” He asked, looking at the two princesses.

“Shift?” Both Princesses asked, looking at each other.

“Perhaps we should show them?” Akamai suggested. His brother nodded.

“They would find out sooner or later,” Wairuha replied. Then, with the same clanking of metal as before, and some Michael Bay-worthy mechanical transforming effects, there they both stood, humanoid once more.

Both princesses backed up several steps with startled sounds escaping them, as Caldoric stood there slack-jawed.

“H-how?” Celestia asked. “We never designed that to happen!”

“Agreed, and I'm sure I saw at least five pieces moving through each other as they did that…” Luna added.

“It’s because they're from an alternate universe.” Sebastian spoke up, the clank of his heavy boots heard as he walked up.

“Uhhhhhh… not exactly,” Akamai said, holding up a finger. “We’ll have to keep this brief, we don't have much time.”

“Indeed, I too feel the Toa within me beginning to seek individuality once more.” Wairuha said. “From our scattered memories, we can tell you this. Both stories are true. You two created these Elemental Guardians ages ago, in this world, and the Toa were created by the Order around the same time, in their world. Something happened, however, when they were finally deployed in that other reality…”

“Yes, perhaps when Teridax caused the Great Cataclysm,” Akamai continued, “or perhaps not. But whatever it was, your Guardians were yanked from this world, and their discorporeal forms latched onto their then-unconscious alternate selves. Or, so we surmise…” Suddenly he began glowing, as did his brother, and they both vanished, replaced by the Toa Mata, who staggered momentarily.

“Wh… what was that?” Tahu asked.

“That was the six of you becoming what we called you back on earth, the 'Toa Kaita’.” Sebaste replied. “Your most powerful form ever.”

“Well, there's always the possibility of a Toa Nui, but that's only hypothetical.” Caldoric added. “Nonetheless, these are the Toa Mata, heroes of the tropical island of Mata Nui.”

“And… who might you be?” Celestia asked. “You look so like them, but… so unlike them at the same time. And these others, they are wholly unfamiliar to us.”

“I am called Caldoric, for the time being.” Caldoric replied. “I kinda summoned these other guys a while back, though I'm not sure how… the smaller ones are Spartans and the big dude is an Asta… Astra…” he struggled to remember the word. “A Space Marine. Sorry.”

“Astartes…” Sebastian corrected. “It's alright. It’s not exactly the easiest thing to pronounce.”

“Yeah, especially since his author has never actually heard it pronounced,” said Pinkie as she bounced by them, her frazzled mane a little scorched, and still bearing a few bouldering embers. “He’s only ever seen it in writing…”

“Oh, come on, enough fourth-wall breaking.” Caldoric demanded. “As much as I hate to play this trope, we’re not fictional characters in some story, as much as I wish that were true right now. Sure, someone somewhere in some backwater reality may be chronicling us, but stop implying we’re not real.”

“Anyways… You mentioned that you had questions for my team and I?” Sebaste asked Caldoric.

“Now’s the best time, ah reckon,” Applejack said, pointing at the skies as cheers rang out through the city. Clouds of Shardlings were seen fleeing the city, retreating for the time being.

“Well, that's convenient…” Twilight said.

Caldoric narrowed his eyes. “I’m a bit suspicious about their sudden retreat, but I'll let it go… for now.” He then turned back to the four visitors he’d called upon back in the castle. “Perhaps we all have a few questions for you guys. My first, however, is this… have you four considered trying to replicate that Halo Forge weapons glitch? The one that makes a weapon have the attributes of something else?” The Toa, princesses, and Elements looked at each other in confusion.

“Not exactly… I have been toying with the idea of doing that, but with the war back home going on… I haven't really been able to test it out.” Sebaste replied.

“Ah. Well, you’re welcome to try here, for as long as you’re willing to stay.” Caldoric said, then paused. “If… it’s ok with the Princesses, I guess…”

“I need to get back to our Equestria… I don’t exactly like leaving it unguarded, and right now, Ponyville is under threat from rebel forces.” Sebaste said. “But I guess I can linger for a bit. Unless… Alex, mind opening a portal?” She nodded before her gauntlet glowed and a vortex opened up in front of the two. Sebaste seemed to concentrate before a hardlight version of himself appeared next to him. “Tell Twilight that me and the others are gonna be awhile.” He said. The hologram nodded before walking through the portal, which closed with a hiss.

“What was that, a Shadow Clone?” Caldoric asked, sitting down and stowing the green energy sword. He had a feeling it was about to be a long story. He was also tired.

“Hardlight copy. It's an ability I’ve had since I was first Displaced, but I didn't use it until…” His tone darkened. “You see, I’ve been Displaced not once, but twice. The first time I had been Displaced, a friend of mine and I fought a group called the New Black Legion, lead by a Displaced named Ahriman. The Equestria we had been living on… was devastated, and we lost both princesses and Applejack. Rainblade was kidnapped by Ahriman's version of Rainbow Dash and became what she looks like now. A few years later, I was sent the Equestria I live in now by a being called a Displacer. But my past is not something I like remembering.” The Spartan sighed. “Next question?”

Caldoric sat there for a moment, taking it all in as Rarity came up to the Spartan and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. Caldoric was about to speak, but Lyra beat him to it.

“What’s ‘Displaced’? And where are you five from, exactly?” She asked, eagerly.

“A Displaced, or Dimensionally Misplaced, is a human that's been sent to Equestria as a character from a game, movie, comic book, or any fandom, by either a being called a Void Dweller, or as the four of us found out, a being called the Merchant. You're familiar with the Multiverse theory, right?” He asked Caldoric.

“Pretty much…” The Toa started, before Lyra made a 'Squeee’-ing noise, and fell over from excitement. “So, we’ve been shunted to different versions of Equestria to aid in their defense against various evils, and if we mess up bad enough, we get 're-displaced,’ yes?”

Sebaste sighed. “I was a special case, but yes, there are multiple versions of Equestria, each with its own Displaced. And each Displaced is different, you have some good, and some… I personally wish I could teach them a lesson. We come from one such Equestria. But the way we contact each other is through objects called tokens. That's how you called us over. You basically choose something that relates to you or the character you’ve become, and after saying a phrase, you send it into the Void, or the space between universes.” He explained.

Caldoric nodded. “Sounds… simple enough. Unfortunately, the items that I found kinda, y’know, vanished before you arrived. I think I mentioned that… so, if I need to contact you again, how would I get in contact?”

Sebaste chuckled, before the assault rifle that served as his token appeared in his hands and he tossed it to Caldoric. “Nice thing about this power, you can summon your token at any time. And don't worry about it disappearing on you the next time you call on me or the others.” He said as he took his helmet off, revealing his scarred face.

“It better not,” Caldoric said with a playful smile, “though I was wondering if I could get another one of that whip-blade? There was a type of character in a game I used to play, called 'Maplestory,’ that used a similar type of weapon, and I wanted to see if I could try and… recreate some of the skills they used.”

Alex stepped up and drew her sword, but then a copy of her weapon appeared in her gauntlet. She then embedded the blade into the ground. “It's actually called a snake sword. But I guess a whip-blade is also accurate.” She said as she stepped back. She also took her helmet off, allowing her raven colored hair to whip in the wind.

“I’ll make sure to remember that…” Caldoric said, stepping forward and carefully pulling the sword from the ground.
“Although I've also heard of this type of blade being called a ‘chain sword.’ The more you know…”

Luna finally broke the silence that she and Celestia had been sharing. “Where are you from, exactly? And… how did you come to be here, in our land?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain… the short of it is that we come from a entirely different universe, from a planet called Earth. It's very different from Equestria, being we don't have magic and rely on technology, and that the human race is known for one thing only… war.” Sebaste said, a note of steel in his tone.

“Yup,” Caldoric agreed. “We humans can be rather violent, although I think that’s mostly to do with our genetics. We’re descended from primates, like gorillas and other large Simians. We kinda get it from them. As to how I got here… I came through the mirror, kinda, after it was 're-dialed’ to the Toa’s universe. I can explain later. But we’re all from different points on our home timeline, and from different places on Earth.”

“Anyways, any other questions for me and my team?” Sebaste asked, as Rainblade stood next to him. The Princesses shook their heads, a slight look of worry touching their regal faces. Twilight seemed interested, but refrained from asking anything just yet. Lyra, on the other hand…

“Tell me everything about your history!” She demanded. Caldoric facepalmed.

“Geez, and I thought Twilight was the egghead…” Rainblade remarked with a smirk, shifting her metal wings.

“Oh, she still is,” Rainbow replied, “but she’s toned it down a smidge since everything went down the drain. Especially after her niece, Flurry Heart, was kidnapped…” She looked away awkwardly.

“Believe me, I intend to have Chrystalla and Sombra pay for what they've done. But that's for another time…” Sebaste growled, his eyes turning hard. “Do any of you have anymore questions about the Displaced?” He then asked.

“Um… any jerks I should be wary of, or just avoid in general?” Caldoric asked. “Like, any particular tokens I should or shouldn't use?”

“I would advise caution if you encounter Ahriman. He’s an Astartes like Sasha, but more… corrupted. He usually has a reunite of three, a Khorne Berserker named Khârn, his version of Rainbow, who is a more heavily augmented version of Rainblade, and a Dæmon Princess version of Twilight.” Sebaste warned. “And he’s also a Void Dweller, after he and I had a little… spat in my old Equestria.

“Oh, joy,” Caldoric said, sarcastically. “Got a picture so I know what this Horrorterror-wannabe looks like?”

Sebaste activated the hologram projector on his helmet, and played the most recent encounter with Ahriman. A massive figure with blue and gold armor appeared in front of him, equipped with a staff that carried a gemlike eye between its twin prongs, and a helmet like Sebastian's, though with a different design that bore multiple horns, before it shifted to the same figure, but in much bulkier armor, with both a massive mace and a claw that had what looked to be a twin-barreled gun mounted on top of it. “This is Ahriman, leader of the New Black Legion.”

Lewa gave a low whistle from behind Sebaste, startling him with how silently he’d moved, then spoke. “That’s one nasty-ugly guy. Not even Makuta could love-cherish a face like that.”

“Looks sorta Egyptian in design…” Caldoric muttered, gesturing to the armor. “Though that could just be the color scheme.”

“In a way, it actually is. The Thousand Sons were actually made to look Egyptian in the 40K lore.” Sebastian explained.

“Anyways, some Displaced I do recommend you meet are an Anubis Cruger Displaced, a Spiderman OC of sorts, and a mother/nephew duo that got Displaced as the two main characters from SAO.”

“Ooh, I like that last one.” Caldoric exclaimed, his body language showing that he was starting to fanboy ever so slightly over the idea. “But yeah, that about sums it up for me… any news on if your world’s in danger? I’d hate to keep you too long, cool as you are.”

“One of us can head back. Besides, I need to report to my Celestia and Luna and give them an update.” Sebaste chuckled, before he remembered something. “Oh yes, if you're interested, a guy who got Displaced as Sun Wukong is opening up a school for Displaced to help train them to better control their powers. I'm actually one of the combat trainers there, but there are other classes.”

“Sounds fun, I might just swing by sometime.” Caldoric admitted. “Maybe I'll bring the Toa Mata with, if they're willing… how would I get there?”

“Talk to Sun, he might be able to admit you.” He tossed what looked like a gold coin to him. “This is his Token. Just… be prepared to see a ton of RWBY Displaced there.”

“Well, if that’s all,” Pinkie interjected, “I think it’s time for a 'we-just-kicked-Chrystalla's-flank,-retook-Canterlot,-and-survived’ party! Yeah!”

“Oonnn second thought…!” Caldoric responded, clapping his hands together and looking at his new allies with a nervous smile, “why don't we see if we can find the Crystal Mirror and get it up and running again? Then I can give you lot a tour of Mata Nui--!”

“Ohhhhhhhh, no you don't,” Pinkie said, tackling him, “you’re not getting out of one of my parties, mister grumpy-gills.”

“Help.” Caldoric groaned from the cobbles.

The four humans and Rainblade roared with laughter at what had just happened, soon followed by the others in the small crowd. “Sorry, but once Pinkie starts a party, there's no getting out of it.” Sebaste said as he caught his breath. He then looked at Alex. “Alex, open the portal. I'm heading back.” She nodded and a portal opened up.

Meanwhile, Caldoric used his Mask power and vanished from underneath Pinkie’s friendly pin, reappearing on a nearby roof. “Can’t stop what you can't catch!” He called, and vanished again.

“And you can't outrun what’s already here! It is on!” The party-planner replied, before she, too, disappeared in a blur of pink and a cloud of dust.

Sebaste chuckled before he gave a salute to the remaining Elements, Toa and the Princesses. “It was an honour meeting you all. I hope we see each other soon, and may Faust and Mata Nui protect you all.” He said.

“I agree,” said Celestia, as Luna nodded along, “though I hope our next encounter would be under less… pressing circumstances. Perhaps young Pinkie is right, though: a small party would do wonders to raise everypony’s spirits, and provide some relaxation. You are all welcome to join us, if you wish.”

“I would, but a soldier's work is never done. Especially one that's the leader of the Royal Guard reserves back in my Equestria.” Sebaste chuckled before he gave a nod to his companions. “You four have fun, you honestly deserve it.” He then walked through the portal and vanished, the portal closing after him with a hiss.

Seconds later, Caldoric reappeared in the courtyard, said “Catch!” and tossed several identical items at the three before vanishing again, with Pinkie appearing hot on his trail. As they caught the small trinkets, they each heard his voice as if he was speaking right in front of them.

”I am Toa Caldoric, Knight of Space. If you need a mountain moved, or an island lifted, then I'm your guy. Merely solve this small logic puzzle and I'll be there… or, if you're in a hurry, chuck it on the ground and call my name. Either way, I'll be there in a flash.”

Taking a closer look at the items they had received, they were revealed to each consist of a bronze Möbius loop bearing several long bumps along it’s length and a tiny cut near one side, and a silvery coin with a cut most of the way through it that allowed it to move somewhat freely around the loop itself.

Soon, everyone had made their way back to the castle, where a party was already in full swing, with Caldoric trussed up and hung from the ceiling like a piñata.

“I have no idea how this happened, honestly,” he said, as the Toa, Elements, Princesses, Rainblade, Spartans and the single Astartes entered the Throne room.

“It's Pinkie, you don't question it.” Viktor and Rainblade said at the same time in a deadpan tone.

“I question everything. How do you think I'm still alive?” Caldoric retorted.

Just then, four small figures burst into the room, three of them panting and scared. The fourth, while mostly composed, gave off a slight air of concern as she adjusted her yellow propeller beanie atop her purple hair.

“Oh no…” Alex whispered.

The three scared young fillies turned to her, gave a shout of shock, and zipped off to hide behind a pillar.

“Well, there goes the CMC, the brave leaders of the Canterlot rebellion,” remarked the fourth filly with a facehoof, whose flank bore an image of a large screw alongside a baseball.

“And that's the second Screwball I’ve met…” Viktor muttered as Alex knelt down near where the CMC were hiding.

“Hey, it’s alright.” She said gently, “There aren't anymore Shardlings to hurt you three.”

“Ah’m more concerned about you…” Applebloom said, her voice shaky as she backed away a bit.

“Applebloom!” Came Applejack's excited and relieved voice.

“Sweetie!”

“Scoots!”

In a flash, Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack were there, comforting their respective charges and holding them so tight it looked like they’d never let go again.

Alex gave a sad smile as she remembered doing the same thing with her parents whenever she had gotten scared. A stray tear streaked her left cheek as she watched.

The party lasted long into the night, with the Displaced humans occasionally offering up music to the DJ, Vinyl Scratch, who had also survived the fight. Caldoric’s “music privileges” were revoked by Pinkie, however, after the third or fourth time he tried to use it as an opportunity to escape. Didn't stop him from continuing to try, though.

The next morning, after everyone had gotten caught up and the visiting Displaced had almost finished saying their goodbyes, they were approached by a five-foot-two human wearing grey cargo pants and a white long-sleeved T-shirt under a short-sleeved black one. His long, dirty-blonde hair was tied back in a single braid, and he had a single piercing in his right ear. He also had some robotic elements to him, but otherwise looked normal.

“Caldoric?! Dang, you weren't kidding!” Sebastian said, his own armor having vanished thanks to the spell that the Twilight of his Equestria had put on it, revealing the shirt and jeans underneath. The other two were also out of their armor and, like Sebastian, were in the clothes that they had worn underneath the armor.

“Yeah, but it gets cold when I'm like this…” replied Caldoric. “At least, it’s been cold the last two mornings, so that's nothing to go on… and I'm rambling. I wanted to give you something.” He then held out four identical cubes, each one having something different sticking out of each side.

“They're called ‘Fidget Cubes,’ I thought you might find them useful if you get bored or whatever… or need to contact me without summoning me with my Token. They’re the ‘gamer’ color scheme.” He then took one and fiddled with it a bit, demonstrating his next point. “Just enter that old cheat code: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, A, B, start.” He mimicked the sequence on the cube, using first the joystick, then two of five buttons on one side, then clicking the lone ball bearing on a third. He then passed them to the others.

Sebastian nodded as he took his, before he summoned the single sword that served as his token, Viktor doing the same. “We never got to hand you the last two tokens that’ll summon us. If you ever need our help or Seb’s, don't be afraid to call us. And as a bonus…” He pulled out what looked like a floating blue crystal. “Seb forgot to mention the two that have this token. They’re old friends of mine that got sent to their Equestria as characters from a game called Brave Frontier. But don't underestimate them, they’re quite nasty when their friends get threatened.”They're known as the Blade Queen and Thunder Phoenix.” He tossed the crystal to Caldoric. “Who knows, you guys might encounter each other sometime soon.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, then. But, one last thing...” said Caldoric, catching it. He then held out his hands, and four silvery metal rods appeared in his grasp, one of them thicker and longer than the others. “You might have need of these. They’re lightsabers, except for the big one, which is technically a light club, and they should adopt a hilt design, blade style, and blade color that suits you upon the first activation… I had Twilight's help on making them last night, so use them well. Now… group photo, for the memories?”

The four nodded, Alex giving the Toa a small grin.

And so, Caldoric pulled out his phone and took a selfie-style picture of the five of them, four mostly-humans and a cyber-pegasus, then took another with everyone in their armor.

“It’s been fun having you guys,” Caldoric said, “and I hope you can visit soon. Just remember…” He then slipped into a song from “The Road to El Dorado” for a moment.

♪Friends never say goodbye… never say, goodbye…!♪

“...that, and if that ‘hairy-man’ guy shows up again, you’ve got a potential God-Tier Space player on your side.” Caldoric then hitched a thumb at himself.

Sebastian smirked. “We’ll see. Hope to see you at Beacon!” He said as Alex opened a portal. With a wave, he walked through the portal.

“See ya then!” Caldoric called. “Also, if you run across a young woman dressed like someone from Ranger’s Apprentice and calling herself ‘Lucid’ or ‘the Mage of Breath,’ tell her that her brother’s looking for her! I don't know if she was Displaced or not, so keep an eye out for me!”

Alex frowned as Viktor and Rainblade walked through the portal. “Seb mentioned that Displaced that are family or friends are usually sent to the same Equestria… so she may be in this universe. But we’ll keep an eye out all the same.” She gave a small wave. “See you guys then!” She then walked through and with a hiss, the portal closed.

Caldoric gave a wan smile and crossed his arms as he stared at where the portal had been. He had a feeling it was going to be a long and hard time before things started looking up for him, but it was easier to bear now he knew he wasn't alone in being Displaced. Now, to find that mirror, and see if he couldn't get it up and running again…

~~~~
Meanwhile,
With the Spartans...

The four burst out of the portal, only to be confronted by a scene of chaos. Rainbow and Rarity were lying on the floor unconscious, and what looked like electricity arced through their armor. Nearby, Pinkie and Applejack were in a similar state. Fluttershy was the only one that had managed to survive unscathed, while Twilight laid next to her, blade slashes scoring her armor and a few deep wounds on her unarmored parts. She shakily looked up as the four ran up. “Twilight, what the hell happened?!” Sebastian asked, looking around. “And where’s Nyx?”

“She's -nnng- in her room. As for what happened… while you guys were gone, a new human suddenly appeared in the castle, and it had armor like yours, but instead of shoulder pads, it had rings on its arms and its helmet was more ornate. When Sebaste asked who it was, it suddenly pulled out a gun and opened fire on us… it also shot lightning and used what looked like claws for close combat. All I know now is that Sebaste went after it, but he’s badly wounded after the two clashed while they were in here.” Twilight winced as Fluttershy wrapped a bandage around one of her wounds.

Sebastian frowned. “Did this human look like he or she was panicking?”

Twilight blinked. “Yes, actually… it did look like it was trying to get away.”

“And whoever that was just got away.” Sebaste's voice came from the doorway. “It's like he or she vanished…” The Spartan limped in, and Rainblade gasped. He had ruptures on his armor that looked like claw marks, and blood leaked out from them. There were also scorch marks that showed where he had been hit by lightning. He took a single step and collapsed. Rainblade quickly flew over to him while Alex ran over and began healing him.

'Whoever just showed up managed to rupture a high tech armor system… just who is this guy?’ Viktor thought.

Meanwhile, in a secluded corner of Ponyville, an armored figure landed gracefully behind a building and looked around, before removing its helmet to reveal a feminine face. 'Great, trapped in some sort of whacko pony world and nearly got killed by a Spartan… At least those martial art moves came in handy…’ she thought. 'But… how exactly did I even get here? All I remember was picking up those Venka claws from that Merchant at Tennocon, and next thing I know, I'm in some kind of room! I just hope that Alex and Vik are okay…’ Teresa thought, her thoughts going to her two younger siblings. '...and I need to figure out what exactly is happening here…’

Author's Note

Caldoric: Holy crap, that was fun! Massive thanks to Company Master Sebaste for agreeing to cross stories with me! I definitely hope to do it again some time. And now, the protagonist has a functioning Token out in the Æther for folks to find. Or, sorry, the Void. Same diff. Leave a PM if you wish to leave a mark on my tale, or have me leave a mark on yours, and go check out Sebaste's story, it's actually pretty good!

Sebaste: And that is the end of this crossover!

I had a great time with Caldoric with writing this chapter, and I look forward to working with him again in the future.

And we have a new character, and a female Tenno at that!

Up next: To be announced

Caldoric's Chaos, With A "Capitol" C

Ian gave a wan smile and crossed his arms as he stared at where the portal had been. He had a feeling it was going to be a long and hard time before things started looking up for him, but it was easier to bear now he knew he wasn't alone in being Displaced. Now, to find that mirror, and see if he couldn't get it up and running again…

Abruptly, his face clouded with frustration as he remembered something, and he slammed a hand against its respective hip in anger with a clank. "Dammit!" He muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his mask. "I was going to ask what happened to the guy that that Eliteslayer dude was Displaced with... nothing good, I'd wager, given his tone when he mentioned his re-displacement. Argh."

Looking into his Strife Specibus, (the newly-acquired Gunkind abstratus, to be specific,) he summoned the Orbital Spartan's Token, the modified Assault Rifle, then paused. Would it really be worth it to summon him again, less than a minute after they'd left for home? No, Ian decided, he would be better off leaving his new allies to their own devices for now, and allow them to summon him first, should they need his assistance.

Ian then dropped his hands to his sides and turned his face to the skies, de-summoning the AR as his eyes screwed shut. "And I was going to ask for a sniper rifle... I knew it was too early for me not to forget something like that. Oh well, there's bound to be other Spartans out there who can summon weapons. There is a whole Multiverse out there, after all. Now, what was I doing?" He stood there for a moment, tapping his foot and mentally reviewing his train of thought since the others had left--

He snapped his fingers. "The mirror, that's right," he said, "time for me to go a-splorin' through this castle." He put a bit of a Southern twang on the word, an eccentric habit he'd picked up from his dad. Turning, he began to head through one of the Throne room's many exits, when another person's voice caught his ear.

"Caldoric! Wazzup, my human broski?"

Lyra. Of course it'd be her. She'd barely let Ian out of her sight since the previous night's party had started, and the human-obsessed mare was actually a major part of why he'd been so unsuccessful at trying to sneak away from it. Only Celestia's firm stance on the matter had kept Lyra from spending the night in the same room as him, where she probably would've stayed up watching him sleep.

"Yo, Equestria to the mythical alien dude!" Lyra suddenly said, standing on her hindlegs in front of Ian and waving her forehooves as close to his face as she could. So, he took the opportunity to firmly poke her in the soft underbelly, which caused her to double over with a snort and thusly faceplanted against his lower chestplate.

"Smooth," Ian commented, as he sidestepped around the mare and left her massaging her muzzle. "Wish I could stay and chat, but I've got a mirror to find, and an entire castle to turn upside-down in doing so."

"That's ok," she said, as she trotted over to his side and fell more-or-less in step with him as he walked. "We can walk and talk together! I'm sure you have nearly as many questions about us as I do about you, so why don't we alternate? Y'know, you go, then me, then you, then--"

"I know!" Ian shouted, stopping to turn and stare down into her startled face. "You know. I know... You know. I get the concept." He then took a deep breath, and continued walking, looking into the first room he came to. It didn't have anything resembling what he remembered the Mirror from the show to look like, so it was obviously not the "right" room. He closed the door, and moved on.

"Sooooooo... What's your first question?" Lyra asked, sticking her head in the door of the second room as he opened it, so he had to wait a few seconds before closing it again, lest he do so on her face.

"What's wrong with your head, that you're so obsessed with a fictional species that had literally no chance or premise for existing in your world?" Ian asked, sharply, as he peeked into another room, and quickly shut the door as something monstrous rushed it, and scrabbled to get out. "And what are they thinking, keeping something like that in the castle?"

When he looked back at the mint-green Unicorn, he saw her looking back with anger and a bit of hurt in her eyes. "Because," she said, ears pinning back, "there's something about you that we here in this world don't have: unity. Sure, everypony here is special, and has a talent for something or other, and everything here is just so magical and fantastic, and I'm sick of it. I want something a bit more... normal, with only a small hint of variety, where everypony's not so in-your-face different all the time." She then pointed at Ian's hands, as he opened yet another door.

"Also, I want something like those. They seem pretty handy."

"Har har," Ian replied, looking into another room, then continuing down the hall. "That joke is older than my grandmother."

"Anyways," Lyra continued, rolling her amber eyes as her ears drooped sideways, "I never said that it was possible for humans to have a chance of surviving here under normal circumstances. You just assumed it was possible. Your kind has never existed in this universe, but I was pretty sure that you existed in another universe somewhere. At least, according to Pinkie Pie..."

Ian scoffed, though whether it was directed at the locked door he'd just found, or at Lyra's statement, was hard to tell. There were some muffled sounds from the other side, but nothing immediately recognizable. "Mind unlocking this?" Ian asked, hitching a thumb at the door.

"Ah, ah, ah! That's another question!" Lyra admonished, wagging a forehoof. "And it's not your turn, because I haven't asked my first question yet."

"Oh, screw this, I'm drilling the lock," Ian said, throwing his hands in the air. He then summoned the Assault Rifle again, and held the end of the barrel about an inch from the door's keyhole.

"What, can't your robo-eyes just see through it with, like, X-Ray Vision or something?" Lyra asked, a bit concerned. Ian just gave her a flat look.

"Of course not, I'm a Toa, not freaking Superman," he said, as if that were an obvious fact. He then paused, and a thoughtful look crept over his face as he stowed the weapon again. "I can, however, summon a mask of X-Ray Vision. This is gonna take some getting used to..." He then held his hands out as if holding an open book, concentrated, and a silvery Kanohi Mask with three lenses on the right side appeared in his grasp. "Sweet." He held it up to his face, and--

"How'd you do that?"

Ian looked at Lyra, whose head was cocked to the side, her eyes wide in curiosity. "That's another question," he replied, and placed the mask over his face. He recoiled slightly as it's power rushed through him, and then continued speaking. "And you said we only get one per 'turn,' if I remember."

"You asked two on your turn. Technically three, if you wanna split hairs." She replied, skeptical. "So there."

"Actually, the first two were technically rhetorical, with the second being more for my own benefit, whilst the third was a request." Ian said, looking at the door, "so there-- Jegus!" He turned his attention away from the room he'd just been facing, closing his eyes and covering the mask's optics for good measure.

"Ohgodohgodohgod, I did not need to see that...! Seriously, they need to put a sock on the doorknob next time..."

"What?" Lyra demanded, looking between him and the door, concern evident in her voice. "What'd you see?"

"The less you know..." Ian said, vaguely, as he walked stiffly and purposefully away from the door. "New objective: find Brain Bleach..."

A slow smile slunk across Lyra's snout, then mutated into a superior smirk. "Oh, I can probably guess. Got an eyeful, did we, Caldoric?"

"More than I ever wanted." Ian said flatly. "But seriously: Brain Bleach, now, before it leaves a scar."

"Before what leaves a scar?" Kopaka asked, stepping around the intersection before them. "And how did you get that mask?"

~~~~
Caldoric deadpanned as he switched back to his Kualsi, the mask of Quick Travel. "What mask? This mask? I made it at home, before I ended--"

"No." Said Kopaka, drawing his sword and pointing it at Caldoric's chest. Even through his armor, the monochrome Toa could feel the sheer cold radiating from the split blade. "The other mask... The Akaku. It looks like the one I'm wearing."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." Caldoric said, holding his hands up slowly. "And even if I did have one, which I don't, why would that be an issue? All I'd be using it for is finding that Mirror we came through, and--"

"We came through a portal, not a mirror, if I remember correctly." Kopaka countered, calm, cool, and pointed as a freshly-sharpened icicle. "Unless you 'remember' something else that no one else does... something important." It better not have something to do with what's behind that door..." He leaned to one side, and the optics on his mask adjusted themselves, focusing in and out like camera lenses.

Caldoric pushed the point of Kopaka's sword to one side with one hand, and clamped the other over the right side of Kopaka's Kanohi as Lyra watched nervously. "Don't... look. It's not polite..." Caldoric pleaded.

"Neither is it polite to have your hand on my mask." the Toa of Ice retorted, shoving Caldoric aside and glaring at the door. Half a second later, he squinted and craned his head forward as one lens zoomed in as far as it would go. "What are they doing?!" He asked thoroughly confused enough to let his guard down.

It was all Caldoric needed to surge forward, seize Kopaka's Golden Mask by the lenses, and yank it off his face. Doing so, however, he found the freezing sword's point directly under his own chin.

"Give. That. Back." Kopaka demanded, his face now bare, and very angry. Caldoric was worried for a moment, seeing as being at swordpoint was a new experience, until he remembered something. He smiled.

"You wouldn't kill me." Caldoric stated, relaxing slightly. "I mean, not to sound like a villain or anything, but it'd go against everything the Toa stand for. Against the Toa Code itself. You can't kill me, not over something as simple as a Kanohi, or over me keeping you from seeing something you don't nee--"

The mask was abruptly ripped from his hands, enveloped in a golden-yellow aura that pulled it towards Lyra, whose horn was glowing the same color. "Seriously," she said, "can you two not fight? If Caldoric here says whatever he saw was bad enough that he needs Brain Bleach, and that you shouldn't have looked, then he's probably right."

Kopaka Shifted abruptly into his Runner form, his fluffy-feathered wings spread wide and threateningly from his biomechanical body, his mane and tail once more seemingly made of icicles and slices of blizzard. Without his mask, his now-equine face looked almost skeletal, and more than a little scary. "Give me... that mask..." He said, breathing heavily, "or you'll... regret it..."

Caldoric blinked forward with his own mask powers, grabbed Kopaka's Golden Kanohi, and hopped once in place as he looked over Kopaka's wings. With a flash, he was at the other end of the hall, and off running. So, too, was Lyra, hot on his trail, followed at length by a much slower, yet far angrier, Kopaka. As the raging Pegasus trailed his quarry, the area's ambient temperature dropped fast. Ice began forming on the stone and marble floors, and frost collected on the walls and windows. He might have been weakened without his mask, but he still had some form of control over his element deep in his Protosteel bones.

He would get his mask back, and find out what Caldoric was up to. No force in the universe would stop him, come Karzahni or high water.

~~~~
A floor above,
Canterlot Castle

Ian was seriously starting to have some regrets. Like, more than what had become "normal" over the past 48 hours or so. This issue with the Mask was just the icing on the cake. He ran, and ran, and ran, trying to outstrip Lyra's magic and equine speed with his own untested Toa power and augmented endurance, as well as a healthy dash of pure DETERMINATION.

He swung around a corner, using a handy pillar to swing his momentum the necessary amount, almost collided with Fluttershy and Gali (also in Runner form,) then sprinted past them as they tried to ask what was going on. Hearing a rush of water approaching from behind, Ian quickly teleported left at the next intersection, then warp-spammed up a flight of stairs to the next floor. There, he nearly bowled over Lewa (also in Runner form,) and Pinkie.

"What's the hurry-rush, brother?" The Pegasus-Toa of Air asked as he adjusted his wings, a few pine needles and other bits of plant matter falling from between his leaflike feathers. His mane and tail were like thin, wispy contrails, moving under their own wind, with the occasional bit of leaf or other skyborn debris fluttering through it and coming to rest on the floor. They moved like he was standing in a wind tunnel, but with everything in slow motion.

"Yeah, where's the fire?" Pinkie added, bouncing excitedly. "I wanna roast some marshmallows!"

"We're playing keep-away with Kopaka!" Ian said, bullshitting on the fly. "We gotta keep his mask away from him, the one with the longest running time wins and if he gets you, then you're out. You're it!" He then shoved the Kanohi in her hopefully more-than-capable hooves and booked it. As he barely registered their calls of confusion, Ian realized he was jittering all over from the adrenaline. So, he shifted from his normal running speed to the bounding, ground-eating strides he occasionally used if he was in a hurry. Like, a real hurry.

He then took a left at the next hallway intersection, and kept up with his combination running/teleportation method of flight.

~~~~
"What was that about?" Lewa asked, turning to his fellow prankster, and honorary Le-Matoran party-er, Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, he nabbed old Icy-Pants' mask off his face, and ran with it, and now Kopaka's angry. C'mon, let's show that stick-in-the-mud how to have some fun!" She replied, continuing to bounce with excitement, Kopaka's mask placed squarely on her own face.

"I'm not sure that's very wise-smart," Lewa admitted, scuffing a metal hoof against the flagstone flooring, knocking a small chip out of it.

"Oh, pshaw, who cares about smart? We do fun, remember?" She then tapped her forehoof to Lewa's nose, said "Boop!" and vanished down the hall in a cloud of pink-ish smoke.

Lewa smirked, adjusted the mask on his own face, then spread his wings and took off after his friend, just as Gali and Fluttershy crested the top of the stairs. "Lewa, have you--" Gali began, as he zoomed off. "Lewa! Come back here!"

"Nope!" He replied, and chuckled maddeningly as he activated his own Golden Mask's power of Speed, and promptly almost smashed into a wall.

"Oh, where's Pohatu when you need him?" The Unicorn-Toa of Water asked, shaking her head.

~~~~
Pohatu, walking next to Tahu through the castle, suddenly sneezed. Bringing a forehoof up to his face, he paused to rub his nose a bit, then shook his head to clear it. This caused his mane and tail, made of pebbles and small rocks held together by a mesh of interconnected coppery wires, to rattle against his dirt-brown Protosteel armor.

"Bless you," Tahu said, turning to look at his brother, his own fiery mane flowing gently with the motion. Where Celestia's mane and tail the previous day had been more akin to a raging inferno, throwing off light like a quasar having a fit, Tahu's were presently softer, more under control, almost like a candle's flame in comparison. Also like a candle, they gave off a soft, flickering light that was only outshone by the blueish-white flame-shaped light source on Tahu's long, glassy black horn, which looked almost like it was made from obsidian.

"Bless you," echoed Rarity and Rainbow, who had been walking alongside the two Toa, deep in discussion up to this point.

"Many thanks, brother, cousins," replied the large earth-stallion of Stone, adjusting his Mask of Speed. "What were you asking about again?"

"Oh, nothing much," Rarity said, waving a forehoof, "just wondering if you wanted help rebuilding a few of the houses out in the city later... or maybe a few creative pointers for your armor?" She tapped a hoof to her chin. "I mean, there's not much to work with, fashion-wise, but we could possibly add a piece or two to fancy you up a tad..."

"Ah, generous as always, cousin Rarity," Pohatu replied, touching a forehoof to his barrel, "I am touched. And your creative influence is always welcome. I'm proud to have gotten to know someone so artistic as you over the past week... I just wish Hafu would get along better with you."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and mimed a gagging motion, whilst Tahu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his blazing mane and tail momentarily blazing a bit brighter with his impatience.

Suddenly, Caldoric came barreling around the corner and pulled off a spectacular and unexpected two-handed vault over Tahu's head, passing nary more than an inch above the latter's horn, before landing and rolling under Pohatu. If the situation had occurred in a y form of cartoon, it definitely would have happened in a slo-mo, multi-shot scene, with extra focus on just how close the vault had been.

"I regret nothing!" The newest Toa exclaimed as he rounded a far corner and disappeared from sight. Seconds later, Lewa passed through the hallway, gliding above the heads of everyone present with a whoosh, and vanished down the hall Caldoric hadn't taken.

There was a distinctive missing element in the area's general illumination now that the two of them had just passed, which Tahu was quick to notice.

"Whoah, is my mane out?" He asked, swiftly bringing a hoof to the back of his neck, which was indeed devoid of flame. With a woomph! the flames returned, and he directed a glare in the direction that the two troublemakers had gone. Rarity and Pohatu chuckled softly, and Rainbow took off after Caldoric in a blur of Technicolor light to figure out what was up.

~~~~
Ian continued his flight through the castle, though he had slowed down a fair bit from exhaustion, and a feeling that he had gained some definite ground. So, he took a moment to pause by a bust of some theoretically important or prominent member of pony society, or perhaps a major historical figure. He was tempted to push it off its plinth, but decided against it.

Out of the blue, Ian was tackled from out of left field by none other than Rainbow Dash, and they ended up in a heap a little ways down the hall.

"So, what's the rush, big guy?" Rainbow asked, casually, from where she was laying on his back.

"Prank gone wrong," he said getting up and causing her the Pegasus to slide off of him, "Kopaka's mad. Like, really mad. At me, too. Think you can get him off my tail?"

Rainbow snorted. "Please. I've had more pranks go wrong than anypony else has pulled off pranks, combined. So, yeah, I can get him to... chill..."

Ian smirked. "That's the spirit. Now, up and at 'em! Bye!" With that, he was off again, with Rainbow going back the way she'd come in order to head off Kopaka... or maybe prank him in her own way. Anything to see that cold, emotionless face do more than give the barest hint of a smirk, or frown slightly at something he disapproved of.

This was gonna be so worth it.

~~~~
Kopaka was furious. Livid. Raging. He ran through a mental list of every word he could think of that was synonymous with "angry," and unfortunately for Caldoric, that spawn of a Brakas Monkey, it was a very long list.

"Hey Kopaka!"

He looked up from where he had been staring at the floor , eyes unfocused, as he had stalked through the castle halls. Before him stood that annoying pink mare, currently waving at him, who had made him flip his lid on her first day--

She had it. She had his mask. And she had the gall to be wearing it?! ON HER ACTUAL FACE?!?!

His expression contorted into a new mask of its own, one of an anger so pure, a fury so righteous, that it could possibly freeze its way straight through the very fabric of reality itself and into a new universe, fresh for the loathing. He let out an almost feral growl.

"Uh-oh," Pinkie said, eyes shrinking to pinpricks, before she zipped off in a blur of pink that left the mask spinning comically in the air for a moment. Just as it began to fall, though, she zipped back, grabbed it, and visually dopplered back down her chosen hallway.

The scream of rage that tore from his throat at that moment, which would probably leave him hoarse for a few days, echoed throughout the castle, signifying one thing, and one thing only: his calm demeanor had gone out the window. He had snapped, flipped his shit, officially done an acrobatic fucking pirouette off the handle and into the goddamn deep end of the highest member of the Noble Circle of Horrorterrors' backyard pool.

He. Was. Beyond. Mad.

Pure adrenaline flooded his system, and his eyes went from a blue glow that had nearly matched those of the unfortunate party-mare to a solid white, with wisps of super-cold steam beginning to curl away from his joints, in addition to his mouth and nose as he huffed and puffed. Then, without further ado, he surged forward, chasing after Pinkie, his rage lending him the strength and power needed to stay practically on her tail, slowly closing on her.

Less than a minute later, after zooming throughout the castle, Kopaka finally cornered Pinkie in a dead end. He breathing was quick, yet laborious, like a steam train trying to take a steep grade in the wrong gear. There were sheets of frost forming and sloughing off his armor with every breath, leaving a mess of ice beneath his intensely intimidating form. His mane and tail, however were... were...

Ok, let's put it like this: imagine that the mother of all blizzards had the unholiest of offspring with the father of all supernovas, alright? Now, take that, multiply it by about 1,000, and the result would be... approximately half of a melting snowflake in Hell compared to the hot, hot mess Kopaka's mane and tail had become, and that's being generous. Also, read "hot" as "so cold that Absolute Zero looked like the core of the Mangai Volcano back on Mata Nui."

"Kanohi... Mask..." he growled, barely coherent, "mine... all mine... give it... give it to me...! Now...!"

"Hey, back off!" Rainbow Dash said behind him, hovering in midair as she was often wont to do. Kopaka merely turned and looked at her for a moment, which shut her up and filled her with dread.

"Rainbow, catch!" Pinkie yelled, "it's keep-away!" Kopaka's head snapped around to his quarry in time to see her recovering from tossing--

He whipped around again, fury once more coming to a head as he saw the cyan Pegasus catch his mask. He growled, and her eyes, too, turned to pinpricks.

"Wh-- Ohhhhhhhh..." Rainbow said, and her heart seemed to freeze in her barrel-chested torso as the irate Pegasus-Toa of Ice reared up on his hind legs and spread his massive wings almost to the walls and ceiling. Fortunately, her auto-stampede instincts kicked in, causing her to nearly hit Sonic Rainboom speed as she vanished up the hallway, leaving behind an unusual rainbow trail in her wake. It was unusual in the fact that it had a streak of gold at the top, just above the red band, and that there was also a second, independent band of transparent yellow just below the indigo level.

Kopaka dropped from his rearing position and slammed his forehooves into the flagstones as hard as he could, simultaneously snapping both wings forward at the retreating form of Rainbow Dash with a shout of blistering rage. The motion sent a sub-arctic blast down the hall, freezing everything in its way, including her rainbow trail. Fortuitously, her instincts kicked in just in time, directing her to turn down a handy perpendicular hallway mere moments before the rush of cold energy would've frozen her solid. The frozen Technicolor trail lost all color as the captured photons slowly escaped, save for the secondary yellow streak, which fell to the ground and shattered. It was followed by the formerly gold-and-rainbow wake half a tick later.

With another roar of rage, Kopaka was off, and Pinkie was left alone, severely concerned for her friends, and no longer entirely sure this whole thing had been a game. On the off chance that it actually wasn't, however, she figured she ought to tell somepony. Probably good ol' Celestia, since she always knew what to do. So, hair flat, (due entirely to the ambient temperature, and having nothing to do with Kopaka's startling display of rage-fueled cryo-kinesis, regardless of anypony's claims to the contrary, no-sirree-bob,) Pinkie scurried off to find Celestia... and maybe a warm coat or twelve.

~~~~
Elsewhere in the castle:

Ian took note of Kopaka's latest rage-roar, and commented on it to himself as he made his way into one of the tower attics in this section of the castle. "Did you feel that?" He asked himself, only to immediately reply in a (marginally) different voice: "I could taste that...!"

Then he shook his head to clear it, and took a look around. "Verdammt," he swore, seeing no trace of the Crystal Mirror, "and I was so sure it'd be here..."

His ears, or whatever biomechanical equivalent he now had as a Toa, suddenly picked up the sounds of someone large coming up the stairs to the attic. So, he hid behind a sofa or something (he wasn't sure, what with the dim lighting, and his less-than-stellar knowledge of furniture terminology--)

"I can see you over there, behind that loveseat," came Onua's bass rumble of a voice. "You may not know this, but even as well-lit as the Onu-Koro plaza is lit, it's still much darker than this attic, and I can see in the darkness of the deepest mines just fine."

Ian relaxed. "Oh it's just you," he said, stepping out from behind the furniture. "What's up? What brings you up to my office?"

"I heard that our icy friend was on a rampage, and I was wondering if you perhaps knew anything about it." Onua shrugged, gesturing with a foreleg as he stepped fully into view. "Especially seeing as young Pinkamena told me something about a game of 'keep-away' involving his Kanohi, and how you're seemingly hiding up here, in one of the most unobtrusive locations of the castle."

Ian chuckled and shrugged in return. "Ok, I'll admit, it seems suspicious when you put it like that. But really, I'm just looking for the Mirror so we can go back to Mata Nui."

He would have said more, if there hadn't been a series of disturbances somewhere below. It kicked off with a crash, followed by Rainbow's voice giving a startled shout and Kopaka's now slightly hoarse voice yelling in anger, and ending in another crash that sounded like breaking glass.

Ian and Onua rushed over to a nearby roof-access hatch, and they shoved it open in time to see their Technicolor mutual friend hovering between their tower and another, holding Kopaka's mask between her forehooves, her body bearing several bruises and scratches, and there was a piece or two of glass stuck to her frame as well. She jerked to one side, and the two ebon-armored Toa were privileged with watching their alabaster ally crash through the already broken window a few floors below, streaking through the spot where Rainbow had just been.

He wasn't able to maintain his glide, however, and he fell several stories, leaving him to crash through a second window in the nearby tower.

Ian looked around as Onua muttered sympathetically about the rough landing Kopaka must have just experienced. The Human-turned-Toa spotted a series of windows that looked familiar, grabbed his Bruteshot, and jumped out the window into open air.

"Caldoric!" Onua cried, holding out a foreleg as he watched his friend leap, seemingly, to his own death. Ian, however, had other plans.

Aiming carefully, he fired off a single shot, which arced through the air and landed roughly on top of one of the normal windows, leaving the stained glass ones on either side untouched by the explosion. The afflicted one, however, was shattered, leaving a clear, unobstructed view into the hall beyond. With a flash, Ian was no longer falling in open air, instead landing on a hard floor covered in broken glass.

"Note to self," he groaned as he got up, glass crunching beneath his weight, "don't do that again."

He got up, scattering shards of glass as he did so, only to stop when he felt something small and blocky beneath his foot. Further investigation revealed it to be some sort of small circuit-breaker-like switch, made almost entirely out of the same brass-like material as Ian's own Token, only... cleaner-looking. The head of the switch itself was scooped, like a spoiler on a sports car, or the front blade on a bulldozer. It also had a blue-ish square of paint on the "front" of the device's main body, just beneath a small red arrow, the former of the two spots of color bearing a white "2" in its center.

As Ian held it in his hand, he heard a new voice speak in his mind: "If you need aid, call on the stars and Switch On!" It said.

"Well, that sure was a short message..." Ian muttered, eyeing the small device. Against his better judgement, he wrapped the fingers of his right hand around the device, and gave the scooped lever an experimental toggle with his thumb.

And oh, what a glorious toggle it was. There was just the right amount of resistance and stiffness behind the switch, up until it hit that magical point in the center where the internal spring took over and moved it the rest of the way... and the slight rattle of the click itself, that ambrosial ca-chk! sound it made, it was music to his ears. He gave it another flip... And another... Soon he was rocking it back and forth with wild abandon.

Click, click, click, click, click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click-click-click-click-click Oh, sweet Jegus, he just couldn't stop. That is, until he remembered that this was a Token, and not some toy, which meant that someone should be showing up shortly. Right?

No, apparently not, as his short-term memory kicked in and reminded him that the device had said to "call upon the stars and Switch On" in order to summon the speaker... which meant he was fine playing with it to his heart's content until such time as he needed it to work. So, he resumed clicking.

Ian smiled contentedly, slowing his switch-clicking to a more manageable rate, and began to take stock of his situation...

"Caldoric!" He heard Onua calling from the tower attic he's just left. Oh, right, forgot about that, Ian thought, and leaned out the window he'd just blown out.

"Yo!" He called, giving a single wave to get the Toa of Earth's attention. "I'm over here! I'm fine!"

"Mata Nui!" Onua called back half a second later, after Ian's own echo had come back to him. "Don't do that without warning someone first next time! If that had gone wrong, you'd be gravity-bones right now!"

"Could've been, but I'm not!" Ian replied, then sidestepped as Rainbow came up to the window at speed. She airbraked with her wings in mid flight, coming to a hovering stop just before she would've smashed through the opposite window.

"Hey, just thought I'd give this back to you..." She told Ian breathlessly. "It's more trouble than it's worth, both taking care of this fouled prank or whatever and keeping that mask out of Kopaka's range... So I gotta drop one or the other. I mean, I could totally handle it for, like, another few hours, but I still gotta take a breather some time. Don't wanna... pull a muscle, yeah. That's it." She reared back and mimicked a few punches with her forelegs, using her wings to keep herself upright, then settled back down on all fours. "Gotta keep in tip-top fighting shape and all that. Can't let those Shardlings get any ideas about getting the drop on old Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer around. As if it's ever happen anyways... 'KThanksBye!" And with that, she zipped off the way she'd come, out into the open mountain air...

Maybe that's why it's so cold here... Ian thought to himself as he clutched the mask, looking out the window again. We're up on a mountain around cloud level, in what's almost literally a cloud city. Nice to finally figure that out.

"CALDORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!!!!" Ian heard Kopaka's normally quiet voice shout, as he looked down a tad and saw the Toa of Ice glaring at him from an open window. His teeth were bared, his ears pinned back, his stance was aggressive, and his wings were spread wide. "Give me that mask right now, or else! You've gone too far with this!"

"I don't know, I'd rather not toss it and risk having it fall and break on the ground far below." Ian said. "You're just going to have to come and get it."

"No, I know you can teleport, so get over here right now and give me that mask!" Kopaka demanded, stamping a hoof against the windowsill.

"Yeah, when Hell freezes over," Ian replied, realizing his accidental pun, "you're just anxious to beat me to a pulp first!"

"Trust me, this Hell of yours will be in an ice age by the time I'm done with you, whatever the Karzahni 'Hell' is..."

"Later, popsicle-breath!" Ian called, rolling his eyes. "You know where to find me." With that, he walked away from the window, and headed towards an elaborate-looking door at the closer end of the suddenly familiar hallway. The stained glass windows... they depicted the various times that the Elements of Harmony had been successfully utilized against some of Equestria's greatest foes, as well as some of the events leading up to their use.

Which meant that the door before him, with three large pale gems on either side of it, and a giant eight-pointed starburst in its center, was... oh, what had it been called? The Vault? Eh, it didn't matter. If he remember correctly, it was (or, it had been,) protected by an enchantment that only Celestia and Discord could break. So, Ian decided to give it a shot.

Summoning the strange sword he'd bought from the Merchant, he unsheathed it, only to stop and look at the blade for a moment. It looked, at first glance, like a simple saber, though with a blade made of Specular Hematite. However, when one actually looked at the blade, they would find it to be quite unusual indeed: it appeared to be made of some form of crystal containing a field of stars... only upon moving it was its true nature hinted at. The "stars" appeared to stay in place as the blade moved, with the sword seeming to provide a window into the void of space beyond the planet's atmosphere, even catching a glimpse of the Sun itself if you held it in the right place.

Ian, having already experimented with it the previous night before sleeping, found this to be nothing new, and chose to stick the blade up to its hilt into the single cylindrical hole in the door's otherwise flat surface, then turn it 90° clockwise. Nothing happened, short of a grating sound as the sword's blade scratched the inside of the "lock." He tried the other direction, with the same result.

Ian frowned at the door, leaving the sword in its place, and thought for a second. With a half-formed idea that was more instinct than any real form of a plan, he reverently grasped the sword's handle with both hands, closed his eyes, and then...

He just kind of... reached out with his mind, and... imagined exerting his will through the blade, using it as a focus for his very essence--

"Alohamora," he whispered, half subconsciously.

With a glow, the door split into six sharpened wedges, which retracted into the rectangular frame with a heavy grinding sound, unsettled dust cascading to the ground. The sword tip dropped to the floor, held loosely in Ian's hands. He removed one from the hilt and stared at it for a moment. Had he really just bested a super-powerful sealing spell by himself in one go? Or was somebody else playing him for a fool, setting him up to fall from a distance?

"Probably the latter," he muttered darkly, stowing the sword once more and setting Kopaka's mask against the wall just outside the doorframe. Looking beyond the entryway, as magical torches ignited themselves after years of darkness, he raised an eyebrow. Yep, this was simply one hell of a vault, all right. Probably bigger on the inside, too... Though there wasn't much in it. Mostly objects that looked to be mere trinkets...

The occasional pendant or necklace, a few weapons (both broken and whole,) some coins and gems, clothing and accessories, etc. And all of it was from Earth, no doubt about it.

"What is this?" Ian asked himself, before noticing a flash of light from deeper within the Vault. Sidestepping the first pedestal just inside the door, which had once housed the Elements themselves, he scurried over to the source of the flash, before tipping his head in confusion. Why was there a bronze Möbius loop, which was identical to the logic puzzle Ian had used for his Token, sitting on a pedestal of its own, with the slotted coin removed and set to one side?

Sudden realization dawned. All these nick-nacks, these trinkets... "These are all tokens, aren't they? Cool..." Ian breathed, before noting a few empty pedestals down the line. Some had plaques bearing descriptions of the items that were meant to be there, including their messages, whilst others had no such distinction. These last were obviously set aside for new arrivals...

And at the back of the room was the Crystal Mirror, leaned against the wall, each of the eleven gems along its outer rim bearing a different and unique color. The little mirror set at the arched mirror's apex bore a silhouetted image... But not of a rearing pony.

No, it bore the Bionicle logo itself, the one that had later come to symbolize the shattered world of Spherus Magna... Ian decided to take a moment to snap a photo with his phone, just in case, and then put it in his pocket.

"Wow, looks like you've caused some real chaos..." Someone said from behind him, near the door. Ian turned and saw, silhouetted in the doorway, the form of a filly wearing a propeller beanie, her hair curled and poofy. "My dad'd be impressed, if he were still himself." She then walked farther into the room, winding between some of the pedestals, while giving others an obviously wide berth.

"You..." Ian said, looking at her as she walked by his leg, where she paused for a moment. The filly tilted her head back, looking him straight in the eye, with a manic smile on her face. "You're Discord's daughter... Screwball, I think Sebaste's friends called you." He made sure to avoid looking directly at her spiralling irises, on the off chance hypnotism was a thing that could happen with her.

Screwball then resumed her previous trajectory, walking up to the Crystal Mirror and laying a foreleg on the lavender horseshoe-shaped frame, stroking it gently. "Yeesh, daddy sure did a number on this old thing... I'm not sure it'll ever be the same." She said, then continued talking in a bit of a sing-song voice: "I sure feel sorry for you now..."

"Wait, what? Why?" Ian asked, a bit confused. Screwball then turned and fixed him with a creepy stare, complimented by a totally unnerving smile. As a song by Celldweller that Ian recognized spontaneously began playing from his phone, Discord's daughter opened her mouth and began singing along:

♪Your luck is sliding like a bat out of hell;
♪You're empty-handed at your life's show and tell,
♪And you've no idea what's coming now...!♪
Screwball intoned, beginning to pace around Ian's legs. He was unsure what to make of this new, vaguely menacing behavior, unsure if it was usual or not for her.
♪One million voices call from the other side,
♪If you could hear them then you'd be terrified!
♪Good luck... you're f_cked.
♪Yeah, I'd hate to see you go, man, but anyone knows you're screwed.
♪Good luck... you're f_cked.
♪It's like a losing game of hangman, the letter we need is U
♪U, U, U!♪

Just then, as she finally came to a stop and sat by one of his feet with a chuckle, the doors at the far end of the hall burst open, allowing Ian an unprecedented view of Kopaka's full, cold fury. The Toa of Ice was now so angry that he had descended into a stare of deadly calm, though he was still blowing cold steam from his nose as he pawed the ground.

"Good luck!" Screwball said with a smile, before dissolving into a cloud of lavender smoke that quickly dissipated.

"Give me my mask..." Kopaka demanded once again, moving forward into the hall. This allowed everyone behind him, from Spike, the CMC, and the Toa Mata, to Lyra, the Element Bearers, and the Princesses, to fan out.

"Um, it's right there..." Ian said, gesturing back to the doorframe. Kopaka then proceeded to pounce on his mask, quickly smashing it onto his face, then stood up straight. There was a new intensity in his eyes, one that Ian wasn't sure he liked.

"Well, looks like the trail's gone cold, Caldoric." Kopaka said, advancing slowly. "Time for you to cool your heels in the cells downstairs."

"Chill out, Kopaka," Ian replied, holding his hands up placatingly, "I have a perfectly reasonable explanation..."

"Indeed," added Celestia, "I believe that the decision to do that is up to myself and my sister, with the guard temporarily out of commission."

"Princess!" Twilight interjected, "Discord's still under Chrystalla's control, and Caldoric was just talking with Screwball immediately after causing a series of events that generated chaos throughout the castle. Shouldn't we be at least a little pragmatic about this?"

Ian raised a hand, about to reply, when he felt a sudden pull in his lower abdomen... a sort of jerk, like someone had attached a hook to the backside of his navel...

~~~~
As everyone watched, Caldoric abruptly doubled over, clutching his midriff, before the space he was occupying flashed black, then white, and then finally seemed to become a Caldoric-shaped hole in space and time that opened onto intense green fire and yellow lightning, all in the space of a fraction of a second. It then seemed to expand to fill their entire field of vision over the next half second as everything else that wasn't part of the "hole" became a solid, matching shade of green.

Just as suddenly, everything was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. One thing had changed, however: Caldoric was gone, with no chance of tracing where (or when) he had disappeared to, though several of the more lightweight objects in the room rocked slightly, as if his disappearance had caused a minor spot of air displacement.

Kopaka blinked momentarily, then rubbed his eyes. "Where'd he go? Where is he? I have unfinished business with him!" And, with that, he charged from the room, Shifting back to his bipedal form, his expression making it clear he was prepared to turn the whole of Canterlot upside down to find his target.

Author's Note

Well, things just got interesting. I honestly wasn't intending for the chapter to go in this direction, but... hey, it worked, and it got Caldoric where I wanted him: with the Mirror. so I guess it worked. Not to mention, it's set up some stuff for future chapters. The only question that remains is: Where, oh where, has our protagonist gone? You'll have to wait till the next chapter to find out, I'm afraid.

An image to help you visualize the general idea of what that last teleportation effect was supposed to look like...

Oh, hey, I finally figured out how to link images... from the computer, at least.
Woot.

Upon The Olethros (Or, "The Fuck's A Space Hulk?")

Author's Note 1:

OK, bear with me for a bit. Things are gonna get a bit wierd in this chapter, but there are reasons as to why that is so. So... enjoy!

Hakann groaned, his eyes slowly opening, before adapting to the darkness of the hallway. Massive pipes moved across the hall, mixed with stone walls and metal walkways. A dim blue glow from below was the only source of light in the hallway, and the Crimson Piraka heard the dripping of water nearby.

“Where in Mata Nui…..?” He groaned, getting up from the uncomfortable floor. Glancing around, he found the rest of the Piraka laying on the ground as well, only just beginning to stir from their slumber.

“Hey, you idiots, wake up!” Hakann growled groggily, kicking the closest one, Vezok. “We ain't in the base anymore.”

3 Minutes Later

“So where the hell are we?” Zaktan asked, once everyone had gotten up.

“Hell if I know. This place looks like some sort of industrialized castle catacomb or something.” Hakann replied, looking around again.

As he did so, the world seemed to freeze in place for a moment. As they watched, what could only be described as the three-dimensional outline of a humanoid clutching their lower abdomen seemed to shrink into existence from everywhere at once in a fraction of a second. As it did this, everything "outside" of it became obscured by a wash of emerald green light, though everything directly on the other side of it from the viewer seemed completely normal.

This lasted until the inverse silhouette had reached the size of a Piraka, at which point it immediately ceased shrinking and turned a completely opaque black. This new darkness quickly faded into the form of a new Toa, who was indeed clutching his abdomen, whilst the wash of green light turned white for an instant, then faded.

All of this had taken place in less than the blink of an eye.

This new stranger, whose armor's color scheme matched no element recognized by those present, was similar in build to the old Toa Mata, though there were some noticeable differences. His torso, mask, feet, hands, and left shoulder were midnight black, with his Mask of Quick Travel bearing a stylized green image of an eye over the left eyehole. His legs,
hips, and fingers were a dark gunmetal grey, while his arms were a stark white below shoulder level. The only things that broke the aesthetic were the silvery plate seemingly bolted to his outer right forearm, and the silver plates on the same arm's shoulder.

His eyes and heartlight were a pleasant lime green, which closely matched the color of the symbol emblazoned upon his mask.

The newcomer blinked and looked around a little. "Ohhh..." He groaned, facepalming, "what now?" His gaze finally settled on the six other occupants of the unfamiliar hallway, and his glowing eyes filled with fear and… was that recognition?

“Gyaaah!” He cried, skipping backwards a few steps before he finally managed to trip over his own feet and fall on his back. “P-Piraka…!”

“Oh great. Like we didn't just get done with a bunch of Dark Toa.” Reidak groaned, rolling his eyes. “So, who in Mata Nui’s name are you?” The other Piraka aimed their respective weapons at the newcomer.

“Um…!” He said. “I-I’m Caldoric… I'm familiar with you guys, though; you’re a bit famous amongst a certain crowd where I come from…” 'Caldoric’ then clamped a hand over his own mouth.

“Oh, he's another one of those ‘Displaced’.” Avak sighed, and lowered his weapon. The others did the same.

“So, you're familiar with us former humans running around the Multiverse?” The Toa asked, hands held in a sort of “I surrender” gesture.

“Well yeah, we are also Displaced.” Hakann replied, examining Caldoric. “Though I thought we were supposed to ‘summon’ you for you to appear.”

“You mean… you didn't summon me?” Caldoric asked. “That might explain the lack of a portal appearing under me back in the vault… but why am I here, then?”

Before the Piraka could reply, a sudden burst of light appeared between the Piraka and Caldoric, illuminating the dark corridor and temporarily blinding the group. When the light faded, there was a tall and heavily armored humanoid standing there. His armor was black and bulky, likely strong enough to take a tank shell with little more than a dent. His head sat in a little sort of box area, while a amber eye was engraved in the chestplate area. He was also bald, his eyes white, with an odd ripple pattern around the pupils. He was taller than anyone else there, maybe two meters tall. His left hand was encased in a massive claw, with a large gun-like box on top, while in his other he held a massive mace, with a light energy field surrounding it.

When he spoke, his voice was deep and seemed to carry the weight of age with it.

“Greetings, Piraka.” The being said, before turning to Caldoric. “And greetings to you, Toa Caldoric. I am Ahriman, Warmaster of the New Black Legion, and the reason you are here.”

Caldoric made a choking sound as what seemed to be a Bruteshot from Halo appeared in his hands, before he disappeared in a flash of light. Seconds later, he reappeared behind Reidak, using him as cover while he half-heartedly pointed his unusual weapon at the newcomer.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Reidak growled, glaring at the Toa behind him.

“That’s Ahriman…” Caldoric said, crouching. “He’s bad news, or so I've been told. Not to mention, I'm getting some massive bad vibes off this guy, and he’s bigger than I expected.”

“That's not the point.” Reidak growled, grabbing the Toa and placing him in front of him. “I'm asking why you are using me as a meat shield!”

“You looked like the friendliest of the bunch, and I seem to remember that you’re impossibly strong. And you adapt to anything that’s thrown your way, correct?”

“Only if it defeats me! And I'd rather not test if I can survive a Void Dweller!” The black Piraka growled.

“Oh.” Said Caldoric, as the weapon in his hands disappeared again. “I forgot about that. We’re screwed.”

“Worry not, I'm not here to fight you.” Ahriman interrupted, waving his power claw-encased hand. “I'm here to give you a little….mission, of sorts.”

“What sort of mission?” Caldoric squeaked, his voice cracking a bit.

“It's sort of a recovery mission, though it's also helping another group save an entire system. But that last part isn't important.” Ahriman explained, walking around the group, though his armor made the hall slightly cramped. “Right now, you are on the Sanctum Imperator, a ship that belonged to a group known as the Black Templars in this galaxy. This ship is currently part of a Space Hulk, which is a large combination of lost ships within the Warp-”

“Get to the point.” Zaktan groaned.

“...Anyways, there is a relic somewhere aboard this vessel. I want you to find it.” Ahriman finished, giving a slight glare towards the emerald Piraka leader. The vessel shook for a moment, then went still again.

“Ok… two questions…” Caldoric said, hesitantly. “What are we most likely to run into on this… Space Hulk, or whatever? I mean, I've seen enough movies where there turns out to be some sort of freaky alien genotype running amok on board the long-abandoned ship, and fate likes it’s tropes…”

“Well, besides the constant swarms of Genestealers running amok in this Space Hulk, not much. Though there is the chance of running into the Deathwing Terminator squadron….” Ahriman replied, waving his claw dismissively.

”Well, there goes the old neighborhood…” remarked the lone Toa. “Second question: if you're one of these mystical void dwellers, why can't you get this unidentified relic by yourself? Purely out of curiosity, that is.”

“Hmmm. I have two answer for that one.” Ahriman replied. “For one, where's the fun in that? And secondly, I want to see how well beings from one reality battle against creatures from my own origin.” He smiled. “I have an interest in experimenting on these things.”

“Alright…” Caldoric gulped. “Though it would be nice to know what it is, exactly, that we’re looking for. Unless any old ‘relic’ will do…?”

“Hmmm….” Ahriman was silent for a moment. “I believe the Relic in particular is a Warhammer of sorts, with a odd power inside. Of course, any other relics you find along the way are yours to keep.”

“And what do you want with this Warhammer, whatever it is?” Caldoric asked.

“That, unfortunately, is not required information.” Ahriman replied, before three spherical objects appeared around him, floating over to Caldoric, Thok, and Avak. “These contain maps of the Sanctum Imperator section you are currently in. Use them to navigate the ship. It also has a motion sensor, so you can identify where enemies are coming from.”

Caldoric hesitantly took hold of the grapefruit-sized sphere, while the other two did the same. The Toa began turning the device in his hands, trying to figure out how it functioned.

“Press the bright red, and obvious button.” Ahriman said, as a red button popped out of the top. Caldoric did so, and the device opened up, revealing a holographic map of the area they were in, which sprung upwards. Up ahead was a large, cylindrical room, with odd cylinders all around the center. Pings popped up all around the area, which Caldoric guessed was movement.

“Shiny…” he muttered, distractedly. “Let’s be bad guys…”

“Well, if that is all, I shall be on my way.” Ahriman said, a vortex appearing behind him. “Word of warning though, if you encounter anyone somewhat similar in armor to myself, do run. They will kill you, and I doubt you want to be a corpse riddled with bullets.” With that, Ahriman vanished.

Caldoric visibly relaxed, though was still a bit tense, since he was in the presence of six of the most devious non-Makuta beings the Bionicle universe had to offer, short of Roodaka, the Barraki, or the Shadowed One. The fact that they used to be human only served to make things worse.

“All right then, let's get a move on!” Reidak said, moving towards the door at the end of the hall. He found a button on the side that said ‘open’, and the metal door slid up, revealing the area beyond.

However, Reidak instead got a close-up look at a creature not even a Makuta could dream up, though they’d certainly appreciate it greatly.

It's head was somewhat like an egg, if that egg was rotten and fleshy. Four tiny, yellow eyes glared at the Piraka, as four arms waved in the air, appendages with razor sharp claws at each end. A mouth covered in teeth hissed angrily, a tongue hidden behind them. The creature was hunched over, a large, armored carapace on its back. It's skin was a grey-blue color. Reidak closed the door suddenly, looking back at the group with wide eyes.

“What in Mata Nui’s name was that?” The black Piraka asked, backing away from the door. Suddenly, the door was sliced into bits as the creature lunged at Reidak, only to be split in half by the black Piraka’s buzzsaw, the opposite sides falling behind Reidak, smashing the split halves of its head against the wall with an audible squish of flesh meeting solid metal.

Caldoric had stood, silently frozen in place, eyes wide, through the whole encounter. Seconds later, he blinked and turned his head away, looking almost as if he was about to test whether or not Toa could puke. “Good thing I'm not still human at the moment,” he muttered, “otherwise, I would've just shit myself…”

“Okay….” Reidak growled. “I don't know what the fuck that was, but I think there are a hell of a lot more coming. Put on your big boy pants, grab a weapon, and beat the shit out of everything that isn't us!” With that said, the Black Piraka launched a series of explosive Zamor spheres out the door, before rushing in with his buzzsaw screeching through whatever was outside.

The other Piraka glanced at each other.

“I don't think we’ve seen him like that before….” Vezok said, prepping his Harpoon.

“Most definitely not. But hey, he can handle himself pretty well, but let's give him some help, eh?” Hakann replied, his Magma Launcher at the ready. The Piraka rushed outside to find Reidak burying his Buzzsaw in the chest of another of the creatures, raising it in the air before throwing the corpse at an oncoming group of enemies, it’s blood dripping off of the black Piraka’s weapon as it smashed into its brethren. Hakann launched a ball of magma at the fallen creatures, melting them even as their screeches of pain echoed through the chamber. Thok took notice of their surroundings.

Walkways lined the sides of the chamber, while massive, bullet-like cylinders sat in the center, going down into the abyss below.

“Must be some sort of Missile launch silo…” the white Piraka muttered, freezing an incoming Creature, which he guessed was one of the ‘Genestealers’ Ahriman had warned them about.

He noticed more of the creatures crawling down from tubes leading up to the ceiling.

“Of course they can climb…” he groaned, switching his Freeze Gun for the Ice Pick to block a Genestealer from digging it’s claws into his head. He then blasted it with spell-binding vision, before kicking it into the abyss below.

“Caldoric! Hurry up or else we will leave you behind!” Avak yelled, using his Seismic Pickaxe to fire into the Genestealers coming from the right side of the room. Energy blasts shot into the creatures, ripping them apart. “Mata Nui, why couldn't Avak have had better eye powers!”

“No,” Caldoric muttered to himself, trying to fight the overwhelming fear, “this is not my fucking ending. I have the blood of Vikings in my veins, I’m not just going to let these Xenomorph wannabes take me out.” With that, his fear was replaced with determination and righteous fury, and two narrow metal cylinders appeared in his hands. “Twelfth Legion, Fulminata!EULALIAAAA!!!” he cried at last, charging full-on into the fray as a blade of pure plasma erupted from each of the rods he was holding: one was an almost eye-watering, radioactive lime green, whilst the other was an orange so deep it was almost red.

He surged forward into the chamber, wounding a couple Genestealers with a few careless swipes as he ran, before he jumped up and used Hakann’s shoulders to springboard into a good-sized cluster of the monstrosities. He rolled upon landing, only to pop back up and seemingly blossom into a flurry of seizure-inducing strikes as his blades sought flesh all around him, then began cutting a path through the morass, following a random catwalk. Said catwalk quickly dead-ended against a wall.

“Well that's one way of doing it.” Vezok said, looking at the carnage indifferently. “Not sure why you needed the speech, or the DBZ style scream though.” He shrugged, walking through the door.

The other Piraka followed, Thok examining the map, which happened to show them their location, as well as movement pings in a 15 meter radius. So far, there was none in the vicinity.

Caldoric rejoined the group seconds later, covered in alien gore, and looking like he had something uncomfortable weighing on his mind. “I really hope there’s a working locker room somewhere around here, because I need a shower.” He muttered.

“Might be, might not.” Reidak shrugged. “I'm guessing that the relic would likely be in that massive room beyond the one up ahead. It's a hunch, anyway.” He shrugged, before narrowing his eyes. “Something's….not right.”

Before anyone could say anything, a loud shriek erupted from in between the group members. A spot of the air shimmered, and a genestealer appeared, slashing one of its claws at Zaktan. The claws simply passed through Zaktan’s body, his protodites shifting out of the way, before his triblade was rammed into the creature’s gut. He lifted it up into the air, staring at it as it struggled against his weapon.

“Next time, pick a better target.” Zaktan growled, his eyes glowing. Twin beams of energy launched out, piercing the genestealer’s head, killing it. Zaktan dropped the now dead corpse to the ground, staring at it.

“Well, guess some of them can turn invisible.” Thok groaned, ripping off one of it’s arms. “I'm guessing some sort of gel substance that reflects light. Keep your guards up.” The white Piraka guessed, tossing the limb aside as the group continued.

After another encounter with a Genestealer swarm, which was just barely fought off, Avak glanced around the door, examining the cathedral-like room.

“Looks like some Genestealers managed to arm themselves with some weapons.” He stated, noticing some shorter-looking versions, with some sort of robes around their bodies, with four arms clutching some sort of heavy assault rifle, while others held obvious missile launchers.

“My turn…” Caldoric sighed, and a Bruteshot once again appeared in his hands. As he twisted the firing mechanism, he closed his eyes and turned his head away slightly. An unusually long streak of explosive projectiles spewed forth, peppering the area with detonations and forcing the alien freaks to fall back a bit.

“That was…” the Toa said, “not as effective as I had hoped.”

“Well, let's try clearing it out.” Hakann sighed, readying his magma launcher. As he rushed out, the creatures poked out and let loose a large torrent of bullets, their weapons similar to machine guns. Multiple bullets smashed into Hakann, knocking him off his intended course and into the side of a pillar, the crimson Piraka groaning.

The other Piraka sighed, dispersing through the room and into cover. Then the firefight began, the Piraka taking potshots at the creatures, and even managing to take down a few, but the constant stream of bullets, and the occasional missile, kept them pinned. Zaktan had the most luck, dispersing into a cloud of protodites and reforming behind the Genestealers, cutting into them from behind, before dispersing again. Eventually, however, the Genestealers all fell to the ground, dead.

Caldoric looked around the doorframe, which he’d used for cover whilst providing occasional support with the Bruteshot. “Y’know, I'm kinda surprised how effectively you guys work together as Piraka, given the original group's lack of unity.” He said as he rejoined the group. He then stiffened briefly, before turning around and thrusting the bladed end of his current weapon back the way he'd come.

With a slick squelching sound, it pierced something unseen, which quickly turned out to be another one of those invisible Genestealers. “...How did I know you were there?” Caldoric muttered to himself, his gaze focused far behind the monster as the light died in its eyes. He removed the blade from its throat, letting the corpse fall to the floor and faintly flicker in and out of visibility.

Taking a few steps back, he fired off a round at the dead alien, removing the top half of its body, and hopefully any chance of it recovering and biting them in the ass.

“Well, we know just how badly the Piraka worked separately.” Zaktan said, stabbing a dead Genestealer to make sure it was dead. “And we don't want to end up dead or captured because we can't work as a team.”

Before any more conversation could be made, an ear splitting roar split the silence of the cathedral. A massive Genestealer beast marched towards the group, and a fresh wave of Genestealers crawled down from the pillars supporting the room. This new beast was hunched over, it's massive scythe arms tucked in as it walked. Before anyone could move, it changed pace, roaring as it ran straight towards Avak, extending it’s scythe arms and swinging them into the brown Piraka’s side, sending Avak flying into a wall. The beast roared again.

“Avak!” Hakann roared, launching flames from his claws, burning the other Genestealers to a crisp. He focused a mental blast on the larger Genestealer, distracting it with a splitting pain in it’s mind. Thok rushed forward, swinging his Ice Pick to jump over the Genestealer, latching the Pick onto it’s head. He pulled, struggling as the Genestealer thrashed and tried to knock him off of it. The Ice Pick slipped into the beast’s mouth as it roared. He pulled again, hearing the sound of the monster’s flesh tearing. The top of it’s head flew off, and the monster dropped to the floor, dead.

Once the rest of the Genestealers were dealt with, the group reconvened, Hakann supporting a limping Avak.

“I'll be fine in a bit. I think that thing broke an arm and maybe the leg.” Avak growled beneath gritted teeth.

“You’re lucky to be alive.” Hakann replied.

“This is the room. Where is the relic?” Zaktan asked. Reidak glanced to the other end of the room. There was a massive statue of what looked like a man in bulky armor, holding a sword. A blue-green energy field glowed behind it.

“Probably back there.” Reidak pointed. The others sighed.

Thok’s map began beeping, and an image of Ahriman’s face appeared, looking at the group.

“It appears that the relic is behind the energy field. I detect three Power Generators within the area currently active. I'm guessing these are what is powering the energy field. Deactivate the generators and retrieve the relic. I must warn you that our scanners have detected a squadron of Deathwing Terminators aboard the Sanctum Imperator. You are in fact helping their cause here, but they do not know you exist. And they kill anything not human without hesitation, so avoid them at all costs.” The image faded, and three new blips appeared on the map, noting the three generators.

“Huh. Wonder what the Deathwing are.” Hakann shrugged, accidentally dropping Avak on the ground. The brown Piraka groaned in pain. Caldoric jogged over to him, sliding the last few feet on his knees.

“Eagle Scout, coming through.” The Toa said, slowing to a stop by Avak’s side. “Alright, I'm gonna try something stupid here, since we’re in a hurry. And if those ‘Deathwing Terminators’ are anything like what Viktor turned into yesterday, then I'd say they’re not fun to be around.” Then, before anyone could ask what he meant, Caldoric closed his eyes and bowed his head in concentration, holding his hands in front of himself, about a foot and a half apart. His brow furrowed and his jaw set itself into a teeth-grinding snarl as he focused harder, the electricity of his determination becoming almost tangible in the air around him. In fact, this was literally true of the space between his hands, as sparks of energy leapt to and fro in the gap betwixt his palms.

Suddenly, with a decently-loud BAMF!!, a Kanohi that none of those present had seen before appeared in Caldoric's hands. “Behold, the Mask of Healing,” he proclaimed, placing it over his own face, “I hope.” With that, he rocked backwards on his knees as the power flooded through his frame, then returned to the task at hand. He closed his eyes again, running his hand through the air a few inches above Avak's leg as the Mask began glowing gently. After a moment, his hand stopped over a portion of the Piraka's shin.

“A minor fracture, thankfully nothing serious. It’s fixable, but it’ll smart a bit.” The Toa said, before the mask glowed more intensely, and a beam of golden light surged forth from his palm, bathing the afflicted area and causing Avak to tense for a moment. The beam faded, and both Avak and Caldoric relaxed.

“Now, for your arm.” Caldoric remarked, and turned to the other five human-turned-Skakdi, who made up the remainder of the Piraka. “This is the point where shit hits the fan, and something shows up while I'm trying to heal Avak here. Protect us as best you can… uh, please?” He then turned back to Avak and resumed his ministrations, Mask glowing gently, hands seeking the break in the Piraka's arm. “So, Avak, two questions: first, what're you guys’ real names? Second, d’you guys really trust this Ahriman guy?”

“Of course not.” Zaktan replied, examining the architecture. “I'm quite certain he contracted us before, but I cannot seem to remember. But he is definitely someone you should never trust.”

“Huh? I thought he looked familiar, but I don't remember him contracting us.” Hakann said, turning to the emerald Piraka.

“That must’ve been when you guys fought for him in the War of Shadows or whatever, if what Sebaste and his crew told me is accurate.” Caldoric suggested, taking the opportunity to set the break in Avak's arm whilst said Piraka was distracted. “If I live to see them again after this, I'll tell 'em y’all said hi. I’ll probably omit the fact that our meeting was arranged by a certain crazy, sociopathic, hopped-up space-wizard from the future with a God Complex and an Egyptian iconography fetish… OK, Avak, you’re all set.” Caldoric stood up, helping the Piraka to his feet, then turned to the energy field and statue.

“Now, how’re we gonna get through that…?” He muttered to himself, walking across the room. He reached out to touch the field, only to jerk his hand back as an arc of electricity discharged from the field, momentarily grounding itself in his arm. “Ok, not fun.”

“Egyptian Iconography..?” Vezok asked, scratching his head. “Anyway, Ahriman did tell us that there were some generators that needed to be deactivated to disable the field. Why don't we just go do that?” He snatched the map from Avak, examining it. “Oooh, there's some sort of armory nearby.” The other Piraka grinned. “I think we ought to make a detour…”

Heading over to the the specified area, Hakann kicked the metal door open, his feet busting through with surprising ease. Inside, rows upon rows of large, assault rifle-looking weapons lined the small room. Up ahead there were storage racks full of ammunition, likely for these weapons. Ammo boxes were scattered throughout the place, too big for the Piraka to carry. Grinning, Hakann grabbed one of the assault rifles and some ammunition for it. Inserting the ammo clip into the gun, he took aim, and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

“The hell?” Hakann asked, looking at the gun curiously. Avak snatched the gun from the crimson Piraka, examining it in detail. His eyes widened.

“Wow, this gun has a device in the grip that only allows people with a certain genetic signature to use it. That's some impressive technology. I'll have to study this for later, try to reconfigure the guns genetic signature to us.” He grabbed a couple more of the rifles, as well as some clips, and stored them away. Checking the map again, he shrugged. “Well, we would have had to go through here to get to the generators, so let us continue!”

When they returned to the chamber where they’d left Caldoric, they found him hunkered down, investigating one of the three field generators Ahriman had mentioned… from inside the semi-transparent field itself. “Hey guys!” He said, as he noticed them returning. His voice was slightly distorted by the field as he spoke. “Turns out this Mask lets me teleport through anything I can at least see through, like windows and stuff. Going off of what limited technical knowledge I possess, it seems these generators appear to run on some form of electricity. Good news is, I can have 'em offline in half a tick. Nice guns, by the way.”

And with that, as well as a smile, he touched the generator before him, which vanished. He then used his Mask power to teleport to both of the remaining generators in quick succession, each of which disappeared as he placed his palm upon them. No sooner had the third one vanished, then the field itself cracked and shattered into thousands of small, glowing shards of floating energy, which soon dissipated. “Best part is, I now have three functional forcefield generators for Twilight to look at once I get back h-- to Canterlot.” Caldoric said, pulling a strange brown-edged card with what looked to be a missing corner seemingly out of nowhere. On its face, the Piraka could just barely see an image of the three missing generators. A second later, the card itself seemed to vanish back into thin air.

“Huh. Well, all right then.” The Piraka walked over, looking around the statue to find a large warhammer. The handle was gold, with red cloth in the middle, while the hammer part itself was grey with an outline of gold. In the center of it, the image of a skull, with wings waving out from the skull’s sides, was carved proudly, daring all who would oppose the wielder of the hammer to come and die. The group could almost feel the power contained in that Warhammer, energies emanating from it.

“Well done.” Ahriman said, appearing behind them. “I'm surprised you found the relic so quickly, or that you lowered the field in so quick a time.” Glancing up, his eyes narrowed. He snapped his fingers, and the energy field came back to life as a group of humanoids in marble white armor entered the room. “The generators should keep them busy for now. We don't need them shooting us to pieces.” He turned back to the group. “I shall take the relic, now, and you will all be able to return to your home universes.” He held out his hand. As the Piraka turned to remove the glorious weapon from its resting place, Caldoric sprung into action.

Utilizing his Mask power, he warped himself right up next to the ancient hammer and seized it. The Toa then began spinning it somewhat awkwardly, ending the gesture by extending his left arm forward, now holding a single fearsome spear instead of the now-absent hammer; the new weapon’s tip bore a sharp, wickedly curved blade that the Piraka (especially Vezok,) immediately recognized as the Spear of Fusion. Caldoric held it with his grip choked up near the blade, his thumb hovering over a few controls built into the shaft.

In his other hand, however, he now carried what seemed to be a strange, swoopy fusion between a sniper rifle and a harpoon gun. The main part of the gun's body was a deep, slightly purplish blue, whilst the harpoon-shaped “barrel” itself was a translucent, brilliantly-glowing magenta. This weapon was known as Ahab’s Crosshairs, a legendary rifle capable of punching a hole in theoretically anything, in addition to being able to take down an angel (given a full minute of sustained fire, that is.)

“It seems you’ve mistaken me for a simple pawn in your little chess game, Ahriman.” Caldoric challenged, a sort of three-part mouthguard sliding into placr on his Mask as the ivory-armored Terminator Astartes began trying to break their way through the field around them all. “Or have you forgotten that I'm a Knight of Space? Either way, I'm not letting you have that hammer.” His focus was directed almost entirely towards the Void dweller before him, with the remainder dedicated to the six Piraka nearby in case something crazy happened.

“Heroes.” Ahriman sighed, a Rahkshi spear with arrowhead-shaped caps on each end appearing in his hand. “I have done my research on the universe of Bionicle. Hell, I'm good friends with a Makuta Teridax Displaced. So I am guessing you know what this is.” Ahriman pointed the spear at Caldoric, rings of pure hatred flowing from it and into the Toa. “Do you think that someone who once served the Architect of Fate himself would not learn to anticipate or predict any possible event? In fact, even before then, as a Legionary of the Thousand Sons, it was my job to read the Great Ocean to learn of potential futures. Do not test me.”

Caldoric took a single step backwards during Ahriman's brief monologue, head momentarily dipping as he looked at the floor. “Please, sir, may I have some more?” He sarcastically asked as he looked up again, a slightly crazed look in his eyes, both of which now had an orange tint at their core. “I would like to rage…” And with that, he fired off an anti-fusion blast from the spear and took a pot-shot at Ahriman with Ahab's Crosshairs. As the Void Dweller dodged both attacks, (the Spear’s beam nearly clipping Vezok,) Caldoric switched the rifle to its widest beam setting and swung it around in an arc behind himself annihilating the three new field generators in what he would've called “one swell foop,” allowing the small crowd of elite alabaster Space Marines to mob the previously safe area.

This proved to be a bad idea on their part, for Caldoric then dismissed the Crosshairs and made a sweeping gesture towards Ahriman, after which the Terminator-Armored Astartes found themselves literally falling towards the crazed demigod: the anger-fuelled Toa had changed the personal gravity for each and every one of them in less than a second. That done, he made his escape towards the door, taking impossibly large leaps and bounds as he crossed the room. On an unrelated note, the various weapons that the Piraka had left in the armory vanished in a brief flash of orange-tinted green light. The Terminators, meanwhile, suddenly vanished, teleported away by Ahriman.

Several cards appeared in his hand, the staff vanishing. “I sacrifice my three monster cards to summon Obelisk the Tormentor.” Dark energies spiraled out of the cards in his hand, three of them vanishing entirely. A glowing white figure appeared between Ahriman and Caldoric, before the white light broke into pieces, and a massive blue monster rose, red eyes glaring at Caldoric. A red gem sat in it’s forehead, while the rest of it’s body was a dark blue. It was massive and bulky, it's blue body rippling in muscles.

“Surrender now, or be crushed.” Ahriman growled, his patience gone.

Caldoric stopped, one hand on the doorway, and turned around. His eyes, now completely orange, widened at the sight of the cerulean monstrosity. “Really?” He asked, incredulity momentarily setting his rage aside as he subconsciously sized it up. For a brief moment, he found himself longing for his own deck of Yu-Gi-Oh cards back home. “An Egyptian God card? I mean, you could’ve at least used the Winged Dragon of Ra, but I guess that's the luck of the draw… nevertheless, if we’re playing games of chance, be warned: I make my own luck.” And thus, he held out one hand, in which appeared eight identical cerulean d8s. He dropped them on the ground, using his newfound control over his abilities to ensure they all landed on “8”.

The words “Ancestral Awakening” appeared over his head, and he was momentarily surrounded in flashing lights. Once the seizure-inducing display had abated, the Toa stood physically unchanged for all present to see, save for the form-fitting Pirate-style outfit he now sported, including a rather splendid tricorn hat on the top of his mask and an impressive-looking saber at his side. “Sir Francis Drake: Vice Admiral, sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician, at your service.” Caldoric then bowed deeply, and drew the saber as he straightened. “How may I fuck your shit up today?”

“Obelisk, destroy him.” Ahriman growled, pulling up another card. “I activate the Spell Card: Mist Body. I equip it to Obelisk, making him unable to be destroyed by battle.” The massive creature raised it’s fists, smashing them down where Caldoric was, destroying the door. As Caldoric jumped out of the way, he felt the presence of an intense heat. Flipping over, he narrowly dodged the flaming Greatsword swinging towards him, and he got a look at the person holding it. The being was encased in charcoal black armor, with black and gold limbs stretching from his back, blazing with wings of fire. His hair flowed like the flames that coated his massive Greatsword, which he held with one hand. A red cape flowed beneath his wings, seemingly immune to the flames around it. His red eyes glared underneath a helm piece protecting his forehead, and he hefted his Greatsword once again, ready to strike.

He hovered above the ground as Ahriman chuckled. “Caldoric, meet Vargas, the Hero of the Agni Empire, and the one I have chosen as my Champion.” The flaming warrior bowed slightly. “Vargas, use Dandelga and destroy this warrior!” Vargas nodded, shifting into a combat-ready stance, his flaming sword poised for an attack. He launched forward, his blazing wings speeding him along as he brought his greatsword low, scraping against the ground as he grew closer to Caldoric.

The Toa, for his part, tried something desperate. Readying his saber, and drawing a second blade that, at first, seemed to be made of Specular Hematite, he entered into another flourish, spinning at the last second and bringing both blades forward in a scissor-cut, aimed low. With a clang, both of his blades met Vargas' Greatsword near the hilt, effectively stopping it. “Nobody ever considers leverage,” Caldoric sighed, and then nutted Vargas squarely in the nose, sending him staggering back in mid air a couple of yards.

Shards of blue crystal had earlier burst from the point where their blades met, before floating into Vargas, vanishing as they were absorbed.

“Vargas.” Ahriman said, a small grin on his face, “Ragna Break.”

Vargas quickly recovered, lunging forward once again, though this time his entire body was covered in flames. He brought his sword down again, slashing upward before he ran into Caldoric. The flames rushed forward, enveloping Caldoric in flames before he could react, and while he was distracted by the flames scorching him, Vargas rushed down, his sword seeking Caldoric’s head.

The Toa, his new clothes little more than charred tatters at this point, his shiny Tricorn hat still ablaze, vanished from the inferno just as Vargas was about to make contact. “Alright,” Caldoric said, from outside the ring of fire, “you’re annoying me, flameboy.” With that, as Vargas turned to face his target, Caldoric swapped out the pirate saber for a thinner, longer sword and unleashed a new series of attacks.

“Gravity pillar,” he muttered, making a motion similar to an uppercut, as Vargas was suddenly thrust upwards into the air. “Diagonal chase.” Caldoric shot forward and upward, the new blade in his hand seeming to fragment into a chain of sharpened pieces just before he took several slashing strikes at the airborne foe, who blocked most of them. “Combat switch,” Caldoric declared, green energy arcing along the whip-blade as he entered a near-blinding flurry of swirling strikes before he backed off for a moment.

Setting both swords aside for the briefest of moments, the dark-armored Toa cupped both hands together in a sort of cage, then slowly began drawing them apart. Bands of distorted air arced between his fingers, forming an oblong sphere that stretched with his hand motions. A similar ethereal-looking construct had appeared around Vargas, who began visibly gasping as the air pressure radically dropped inside the cage. Even as his flames began flickering, trying to keep from dying out from lack of oxygen, Vargas raised his sword to try and somehow disrupt what Caldoric was doing.

“Nope!” Caldoric admonished, brow furrowing, and both of Vargas’ arms dropped to his sides, held by orangeish-green energy. “I admire your determination, but the only place you’re going is dreamland. Nice sword, by the way, though I think I'll take it for safekeeping.” With that, Vargas’ Greatsword was ripped from his failing grasp and flew to Caldoric's side, where it vanished.

The Toa then waited a few seconds for the blazing youth before him to stop moving, then dispelled the energy cage that held him. “Telekinetic Anchor,” Caldoric remarked coldly gazing at Vargas as he fell to the floor, probably unconscious, before the human-turned-Toa made a seemingly ineffectual palm-heel strike in the direction of his own feet. “Now, Ahriman, stop this madness. I’m not letting you have the hammer, and if you kill me, you’ll never find it again, immortal though you may be.” He then glared at Obelisk the Tormentor, as if concerned about something.

When he looked back at Ahriman, he barely got out of the way of the massive Lightning Claws rushing down to skewer him alive. Ahriman rose, lifting the claws out of the metal floor with ease. Caldoric met Ahriman’s eyes, which had an odd ripple pattern to them, before suddenly the world went black. Immediately after, sight returned to him, and he found himself and Ahriman in a different location, with an empty sky, and a white, blocky floor, with some blocks rising above others.

“Do you think I would allow a pathetic hero defy me?” Ahriman growled, his mouth morphed into a sinister grin. “I have already sent the Piraka back to their universe, with a copy of your token.” He rose to his full height. “But really, did you think I wouldn't be able to find it? It will be simple enough to do. But now, I am going to settle this, by crushing you.”

“You can try, but hear you me; there will be a Reckoning.” Caldoric said, as a white scepter appeared in his hands, bearing a strange, glowing orb at its top that seemed to hold a world of clouds. As he held it up to the sky, he said, “So you read up on the Bionicle universe, yes? Then let me tell you about Homestuck…”

“There has been enough talk.” Ahriman growled. He blinked, sighing. He lowered his hand. “What am I doing? I don't need to fight so pathetic an ant.” Before Caldoric could say anything, Ahriman suddenly appeared in front of him, smashing his clawed hand into the Toa’s chest, before opening fire with the Combi-Bolter built into it, the explosive bullets pounding Caldoric and sending him flying back. Ahriman’s grin was almost maniacal. “But it's been too long since I've done anything entertaining! He reappeared above Caldoric mid-flight, smashing his the Toa with his Lightning Claws, which had been curled up into a fist. The blow sent Caldoric right back into the ground, leaving a decent-sized impact crater.

“I'm going to enjoy this.” Ahriman grinned. His armor vanished, and as his skin slowly turned bleach-white, eight black orbs formed around him, lazily circling behind him. He remained floating as the transformation completed itself, and he waited patiently for Caldoric to get back up. “Come on, Toa. Give me a good fight.”

Caldoric awkwardly and slowly climbed out of the small crater, coughing, with a small trickle of silvery-red “blood” dripping from his mouth. His eyes had reverted to their original radioactive green glow. “There is no good or evil…” he muttered, “only beings with power: those who use it for the benefit of those around them, and those who abuse it for their own ends. Obviously, we’ve both got power coming out the wazoo, but… what’s the point of using it like this?” Caldoric shook his head, and stood up shakily as he raised his voice to a more audible level. “Let’s end this peacefully. I’m no real hero, I'm just a guy who bought the wrong stuff in the wrong place at the wrong time while dressed as an overpowered OC. Despite the stories I'd heard of folks vanishing at Conventions, I never asked to be Displaced, and I'm pretty sure you’re in the same boat.”

The Toa staggered slightly, even though Ahriman could clearly see with his Rinnegan that Caldoric was slowly recharging his elemental energies. Nonetheless, after a few coughs, Caldoric carried on. “But, if you’re just going to allow the character you were dressed up as to control who you are, whispering in your ear and driving you to destroy the Multiverse or whatever, then who the fuck am I to stop you?” He asked, his guard completely down. “As far as I'm concerned, you can have your damn hammer, on one easy condition: I’d like to have your assurance that you’ll let me go back, and that you’ll leave the particular corner I've been ‘assigned’ to ‘protect’ alone until after I've found a way back home… back to 21st-Century Earth, that is. Scout’s Honor.”

As he finished this request, Caldoric held up his right arm, elbow bent at a crisp 90°, his index, middle, and ring fingers extended in line with his vertical forearm, whilst his thumb and pinkie formed a loop over his palm, facing Ahriman. It was a textbook Scout sign, usually used when reciting the Scout Oath and/or Law, in addition to making a promise.

“And here I thought I could actually find a real challenge beyond Sebastian….” Ahriman sighed, lowering to the ground. “Though you have clearly misunderstood a few things regarding me.” He grinned. “Right from the moment I was displaced, my memories of whatever life I lived were gone, replaced by the memories of Ahzek Ahriman.” He sighed again. “But one thing I don't understand is why you would wish to return to Earth.” He stepped forward. “You are no longer human, and are likely presumed dead by your family. You have no ties left, and I doubt humanity will welcome you back with open arms.” At this point, he was stood face to face with Caldoric. “So, I ask, why would you wish to go back?”

“Let’s just say I'm somewhat hopelessly optimistic.” Caldoric said, nervous at being so close to such a powerful being. “From what I've been told, time flows weirdly between dimensions, and I've only been Displaced for less than a week, so if I find a way back before too long, perhaps I can return before I even left, and can help end the war back home. However, if you're looking for a fight, I'd probably be happy to oblige at a later date, once I've fully figured out how to actually use my powers, instead of relying purely on raw emotion like I was doing before you hit me just now. In the meantime, have you considered fighting the Merchant? After all, he did drop us here, and I think that perhaps it’s high time someone dumped a can of whoopass on that asshole's pretty little head.”

Caldoric then sat down abruptly, his head spinning. “That said, your last attack would've killed an ordinary man, and I myself barely survived it at my current power level or whatever. Hell, I probably need a hospital as is. Not to mention the fact that I'm not normally a fighter, but hitting me with that Kurahk staff flipped some sort of switch in my head, shoving my mind into the back seat and allowing something else to take control…” He looked up into Ahriman's disapproving gaze. “I don't want that thing in control ever again, lest it do something I'd regret later. If we do fight, one-on-one, it’ll be me behind the wheel. After all, you want a real fight, don't you? Then let me go, let me get stronger, and I'll make it more than worth your time.”

Ahriman was silent for a while, glaring at the Toa. After a full minute had passed, he sighed. “Very well, I agree to the terms of this contract. It wouldn't do for me to have what could be a good fighter slaughtered long before he reached his full potential.” Ahriman looked up to the empty sky. “But I suggest you give up your hopes to fight the Merchant. As I have stated, a normal Displaced such as you couldn't hope to defeat a Void Dweller. I know not his power, but I know better than to start fights with Void Dwellers I know little about.” He sighed. “Keep the Daemonhammer. I can get it from other places. Perhaps God Splitter will do well in the hands of a hero.” Caldoric’s vision faded, and they once again were in the Space Hulk, though it seemed much more quiet.

“I have lifted the dimensional barrier keeping you and the Piraka here.” Ahriman said, a vortex appearing behind him. “I will be keeping an eye on you. But for now, I have a war to end, and a Chaos Warlord to defeat.”

Caldoric raised an eyebrow, head slightly cocked to one side. “Really?” He asked, deadpan to the world, but incredulous on the inside. “Heh. Well, you certainly are a strange one. Nonetheless, good sir, I thank you for your generosity. Best of luck, safe travels, and, uh… watch out for stairs, they can strike at the worst of times. Also, be wary of involving pumpkins in any of your plans, because they have a nasty habit of vanishing at strange moments.”

Ahriman raised an eyebrow at his odd advice, but still left through his vortex. The vortex vanished soon after.

Caldoric was left standing, alone, in the room where he’d first made off with the warhammer and caused so much trouble for himself. Obelisk the Tormentor had vanished, in addition to Vargas, though the dented and scorched deckplates from earlier were, alas, still dented and scorched. The Toa gulped, and wrapped his arms around his midriff, taking in the environment. “Looks like a good place for a horror game,” he idly remarked, before being interrupted by a familiar jerking sensation behind where his navel had once been.

For a microsecond, the space he was occupying abruptly flashed a shade of black so deep, one would swear he had just become a Toa-shaped hole in reality itself. The next, his silhouette flashed a brilliant white, then became a window to a raging field of neon green plasma and yellow electricity, and everything outside his silhouette was bathed in a brilliant emerald light. His physical outline seemed to swiftly grow, and had anyone been there to witness the occurance, they would have noted that everything seemed to return to normal once Caldoric's outline had expanded beyond their field of vision… except that there was no longer anyone in the room.

All of this happened in less than half a second.

A few moments later, during which time one could hear the sound of dripping liquids and the creaking of the massive ship, a grating in the floor popped up, revealing the head of a Genestealer, which swiftly crawled up and into the room, where it looked around furtively. Seeing that it was alone, it uses one of its four hands to reach behind its back, and pulled out what looked like a saxophone. Placing the reed to its lips, it began to play a short, not-very-well-practiced bit of music that was, nonetheless, a bit catchy.

As it finished, the heads of hundreds of Genestealers suddenly popped out of numerous unlikely places, all of them exclaiming “Hey!” and startling the one with the sax. Moments later, they were all on the ground, dancing, as the tune the musically inclined Genestealer had played began to ring out from nowhere, only more refined, and in an almost orchestral style. A few seconds later, they all exclaimed “We are number one!” and proceeded with dancing in their weird manner.

Meanwhile, a few Terminator Astartes stood by the doorway into the room, cautiously peeking in on the impromptu party. “Brother,” said one over the Comms to his squad leader, “What in the Emperor’s name is this?”

“I know not, Brother Barachiel. All I know is that they are filthy Xenos, and must be purged.” The Librarian growled, and the Terminators began purging the filthy xenos from the room.

Author's Note

Yeah, like I said. Things got hella OP there for a bit, and I'll make sure to elaborate on the issue in the next few chapters.

This is a crossover with Chaos Lord Reiuji Kirito's Piraka Don't Play Fair, a fellow Bionicle-themed Displaced tale, so go check him out! Ahriman is also one of Kirito's characters, who has previously ascended to the level of Void Dweller in the Displaced Multiverse. Basically, what I'm saying is "go check out Kirito's stories if you're curious where the hell they came from," because I kinda to that myself ever once in a while.

Wonder And Might, Horror And Fright: For Sale, Cheap!

With an imploding wash of green light, Ian rematerialized, almost immediately slumping against what he was pretty sure was a lamppost. He let out a shuddering sigh and clutched his bruised side, his armored back scraped against the metal pole as he allowed himself to slowly descend into a sitting position. Once he'd taken a moment to readjust his mask, the Toa of Space looked around. He definitely did not recognize his location from personal experience.

He appeared to have shown up on the kind of abandoned side-street one would find in the average city slums back on Earth. If asked to give his first impression as to where on Earth it was, however, he would've been hard-pressed to say. Something about the general architecture around him (and the harsh, sulphurous-yellow light from the streetlamp above) made Ian almost want to say it was far East-Asian, probably Japanese, save for the fact that what few words he could see were in English.

It was also raining.

"Where the hell am I now?" Ian idly wondered aloud, then succumbed to a minor bout of coughing. As he ran a hand over his mouth, beneath the mask, he felt a small spattering of warmth smear against his fingers, and when he pulled them back to look, he found his digits adorned with silvery-red 'blood.' "Shit..." was all Ian said to that. Looking up, he saw a bit of blue, flickering light coming from under a closed door just across the street. Figuring that it was probably someone's TV, Ian decided he'd get up and try knocking on the door.

Easier said than done, though, seeing that his entire body felt like one big bruise. Yes, even the mechanical bits. He would've even sworn that his mask ached, but that would've sounded stupid. Not that there was anyone else nearby to care. And, speaking of Masks...

Ian leaned his head back against the pole as, with a bit of concentration, his mask began glowing, and then seemed to melt and reform into another, familiar shape: the Mask of Regeneration. Using its powers, he was able to fix the better part of his armor, and other inorganic parts of his body. It was a patch job, to be sure, but at least he was able to breathe a bit easier, and the headache had faded once he'd pulled a bit of stone shrapnel from between two plates on the back of his head.

Ian got up, slowly and unsteadily, leaning against the lamppost for support, then paused. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath, "why'd I have to go and piss off what amounts to a physical god like that? Not to mention, I missed the opportunity for a perfect one-liner. 'Sebaste and co. send their regards...' Yeah, that would've been brilliant. Suicidal, admittedly, but still brilliant." He looked both ways up and down the street before he crossed.

As he did, he idly noticed a bit of graffiti on a nearby wall, and faintly recognized it as having come from the second instalment of the "watchdogs" game series. It's amazing how popular that got after Trump took office... he thought. Wait a sec, if that's here, then that means... more humans are around! Great! Maybe I'm even back on Earth! With that, he found himself standing before the curtain-backed, mostly-glass door of the storefront, his eye drawn to four symbols hung on a sign at about chest-height on a human: a triangle, a circle, an "X," and a square. They seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't remember why, and they definitely seemed out of place amongst the various posters and flyers and such that were plastered up and down the alley and all over the darkened window to the left of the door.

Ian knocked, politely, and waited a few seconds. There was the sound of something shuffling around inside, and whatever was casting the blue light beneath the door shifted locations.

"Come on in... it's unlocked..." Said whoever was inside. Ian did his best to shake off what rain he could in the small shelter the doorway provided before opening the door. As it creaked open, allowing him to duck under the lintel, (he was slightly more than seven feet tall, being a Toa,) he was treated to the sight of a man of mid-to-far Eastern descent, who was about 5'6" and standing behind a counter of sorts. Behind the man were a couple of nice shelves, made of a beautiful dark-brown wood and bearing several interesting items. The person himself was holding open what seemed to be a ledger or large tome on the counter with his left hand, and idly toying with a radiant sphere of blue, gas-like energy in the other. The latter subject, which seemed to be the source of the flickering light Ian had seen under the door, seemed to hold more of the man's attention than the tome, as he appeared to be regarding this strange creation rather fondly, smiling gently as it slowly turned above his uplifted hand.

In fact, in Ian's opinion, the man looked not too dissimilar to the character in Iron Man III that had been "hired" to portray the "Mandarin" for Extremis' various schemes.

The man snapped the fingers of his left hand, and the glowing sphere collapsed into nonexistence with a piff! as he turned his smiling gaze upon Ian, seemingly about to say something. The smile quickly faltered, however, as a look of startled recognition took its place and the words died on his lips. "You..." He muttered, before raising his voice to more audible levels. The man's words carried an accent that was strange and unfamiliar to Ian's ears, but it seemed fitting somehow. "You...! You're not supposed to be here! How did you find this place?" With that, he snapped his fingers at something on the other side of the door from Ian.

The injured Toa, for his part, stepped around the door, closing it as he attempted to see what was going on. All he saw was a revolving panel in the wall, bearing an extended coatrack on the side that was swiftly being concealed from the room at large. There had been a number of outfits or costumes on the various hooks, though the two that caught his eye were: a heavily-used medieval-style cloak, with many pockets bearing untold wares, and...

A very realistic Slenderman outfit.

The panel finished its rotation, leaving the wall looking as innocent as any wall could, and completely devoid of a coatrack. Ian looked back at the man behind the counter, raising an eyebrow. "Ok... that was interesting..." he said. "Where am I? I mean, I'm pretty sure that this isn't Earth, since we don't have magic there. Also, no offense, but even though you seem to recognize me, I don't remember you."

The man inhaled deeply and opened his mouth, his face a mask of anger, only to pause momentarily. "Of course you wouldn't remember me, I'm a man of many faces. But that doesn't answer my question of how you found your way to my... humble abode."

Ian sighed, then winced and clutched a hand to his abdomen. "Y-yeah, I really don't know. I was supposed to be on my way back to... well, to the place I've basically been strong-armed into protecting, after nearly getting pancaked. It's complicated, and I'm not sure how much your civilization knows about trans-dimensional--"

"I know everything about trans-dimensional travel, and Multiverse Theory." The shopkeeper interjected. "After all, I was the one who thought it would be mutually beneficial for you and that specific pair of worlds to be... introduced, shall we say?"

The Toa blinked at the shorter being for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind. "But then... You know who The Merchant is? The guy that I saw dressed in the Slender... man..." His head snapped to the right again, looking at the revolving wall panel as something in his mind went click. "...Costume. He's here somewhere, isn't he? The Merchant?" He asked, looking back at the presumed salesman, who merely facepalmed in response.

"Ugh. You're a bit dense, aren't you?" The man behind the counter asked, rhetorically, as he slid his hand down his face. "I'm actually starting to think you may not have been the best choice..."

"In my defense, I did just barely survive getting bitch-slapped into the ground at mach-'fuck' by a Void Dweller a few minutes ago, so I probably have a concussion..."

"Touché," the man replied with a sigh, "though that does bring up the fact that you tried to convince said Void Dweller to try and come after myself not a moment afterwards. I'm glad he refused the idea, because I hate having to kill previous customers. Gives me a bad-- or, well, worse,-- reputation than I already seem to have amongst you 'Displaced,' as you call yourselves."

"Wait... You're the-- ohhhhhhh, shit..."

"Yes, 'Oh shit' indeed." Said The Merchant, his presence suddenly oppressive to the much taller Toa. "Try to get anyone to kill me again, and I might just put out a recall on every item and power you acquired at that convention, then dump you in the most unpleasant location that I can think of in either of your two worlds. Naked."

Ian was about to hopefully suggest Artakha, the Matoran equivalent of "Heaven on Earth," but then thought better of it: it could be a dangerous place, if the island's ruler wanted it to be.

"Good man." The Merchant stated. "Now, about your particular situation..."

"I honestly have no idea how I got here." Ian reaffirmed, holding his hands up placatingly. "I was supposed to be sent straight back, as far as I know."

"Yes, quite..." Replied The Merchant, tilting his head back and giving the ceiling a "what am I going to do with this one?" look.

"Sooo... You're the Merchant, yes?" Ian asked, drawing a look from the Merchant, which threatened to become an angry glare. "I mean, not just 'hey, it's the dude that sells people one-way tickets to Equestria,' or 'oh, it's the shady guy from that one Resident Evil game.' No, it's more than that. I'm talking, like... merchant with a capital 'M', top-of-the-line, best of the best, better than all other merchants, end-all/be-all, THE Merchant. The guy whose stock makes all other vendors look tame in comparison, y'know? So, what I'm wondering is... when you're not at conventions, what do you do? What do you sell?"

The Merchant cocked his head slightly to the side, giving the taller figure a strange look. "You're trying to flatter me: trying, and failing. But you do have an interesting question there. If there's one thing about myself that might be considered a flaw, it's that I appreciate curious minds like yours." With that, the Merchant turned to a door set into the wall behind him, giving Ian a look and jerking his head towards it as he did.

"So... 'What do I sell?' you ask?" The Merchant asked rhetorically, opening the door. As he and his 'guest' entered the high-ceilinged room beyond, several harsh blueish-white overhead lights snapped on, one by one, illuminating the space below and revealing it to be populated with glass-sided display cases, each containing several items. Ian recognized some of them from recent pop culture back home, (and not-so-recent, given the pockmarked, carbon-scored Packer's helmet and its matching raygun,) but most of them remained a mystery. It was hard to pin down exactly how much stuff was around, because the sheer quantity and diversity was sending his ADHD into overdrive. "What I sell... is glorious pandemonium. A glimmer of Oblivion." The Merchant continued as he gestured idly towards something mounted on the far left wall, then turned to the right-hand corner nearest the door and began climbing the wooden spiral staircase to the second floor.

The mounted object seemed, to the Toa, like it was a cross between some alien space-gun thingy and a robotic head. As he glanced at it, he saw two red lights flicker to life on one side of a silvery orb near the "face" of... whatever it was, and said orb swiveled slightly to track his progress across the room.

"Mastery over Time and Space," the Merchant stated, prompting Ian to hurry along and catch up with him. As the displaced human reached the top of the staircase, he saw his host gesture at what seemed to be an old card-filing cabinet, like the kind you'd find in a pre-internet library. Several of the drawers were partially open, revealing some sort of enticing golden light spilling from their depths. "Instant immortality," commented the Merchant, and the drawers all snapped closed, rattling an elaborately-colored, faintly glowing glass ball that was set on top of the wooden construct, and nearly dislodging a nearby coppery sphere that seemed to have been carved with a similar level of intricacy. In fact, Ian could've sworn he recognized the latter object.

"Hey, is this... the map from Treasure Planet?" He asked, carefully picking it up. As he did, he noticed a nearby typewriter, which began typing all on its own, though it appeared to be out of ink. On a whim, he typed "Hello?" on the keyboard, and was surprised to find that, this time, there was ink on the letterheads. But only for a moment, as the typewriter began typing a short message on its own again, once more without ink.

"I'd rather you not touch that," the Merchant suggested, turning from the railing he was leaning on, "it's connected to an old friend of mine, though I'm sure you can guess who he might be. But yes, that orb in your hands is the very same map made by Captain Flint."

"Cool," Ian replied, looking excitedly at the alien treasure map. He nearly dropped it when he returned his gaze to the Merchant, though. Or, rather, at what was behind him, floating gently in midair in the alcove beyond the railing he'd been leaning on. Slack-jawed, Ian crossed the few meters separating himself and the railing, still holding the map. Behind the railing, hovering above a drop into endless space and spinning oh-so-slowly, was what looked like the distant cousin of Star Wars' iconic X-Wing. A very distant cousin, at that.

"Th-that's... that's one of those fighter thingies from Battlestar Galactica...!" Ian said in amazement. "I went and saw one of these things at an exhibit they had at the Science Fiction Museum back in Seattle one year... I remember that the supposed 'Cylon scanner' that they had set up was broken that day; kept going off every five seconds..." He trailed off at the memory, staring at the slightly grungy starfighter as the Merchant hummed in understanding behind him.

"As a matter of fact, the 'fighter thingy' has a name: it's called a Viper Mark II, and it's from the 2004 reboot series." The Merchant said. "And it's not the only one-man fighter I possess. Though, before we possibly continue, I'd like you to put that map back. I'd rather you not break it."

"Is it... available for purchase, perchance?" Ian asked, perking up suddenly. "And d'you have a Wraith dart, or a Puddlejumper? Or even an F-302?"

The Merchant was momentarily taken aback, raising an eyebrow at the Toa's question. "It... might be available, but it depends. As for your other questions: yes, I have some of each of them." Ian very nearly squee'd at the thought.

The Merchant, for his part, merely rolled his eyes, then turned and walked down a hallway to the left of the railing, gestured to the void beneath the Viper, and began speaking again. "As I was saying: I sell a peek at the abyss," he began, with his 'guest' soon hurrying to catch up. A moment later, Ian found him opening a door that led off their current hallway.

The now-open doorway revealed yet another hall, the walls covered in many weapon-laden pegboards. Off to one side, there was some sort of flaming, short-handled warhammer floating above a table, whilst further down the hall there was a Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts. Hanging next to it were the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor from SAO, along with some razor-swords from Attack on Titan and a bigass Buster Sword. On the opposite wall, there was a selection of "blades" that might've made any Power Randers fan happy, though there was something off about them. There were also other melee weapons, most of which were unfamiliar to the Toa, in addition to countless guns and such.

There was also a door partway along the hall, which was slightly ajar. There was a noticeable growling coming from it, as if some monster hid within the adjacent room. There was also a faint "Zuuuuul..." if one listened closely.

"A catalogue of quests..." the Merchant said absently, gesturing to the hall in general as he bustled over to the door, then closed and locked it. "And the occasional nightmare." He then turned to his visitor, pocketing the door's key and giving him an expectant look.

Ian, for his part, had found some that he definitively recognized: a small, "S"-shaped, snake-like device, which gave a few beeps and sprang to life with the touch of a button on its side. "Cool, a Zat gun." He said, pretending to fire it off down the hall with a childish smile. "Pew, pew...!"

"Yes, that's a Zat'nik'tel, please be careful with it." The Merchant cautioned the taller figure. "I'd prefer it if you didn't actually fire that in here, because it can and will fry any electronics it hits. Remember; you break it, you buy it."

"Oh, believe me, I'd be more than willing to buy it. And the map." Ian smiled at his host, who merely sighed and resumed walking. Moments later, they passed through the door at the far end of the hall, which opened onto an enclosed space behind a suspiciously familiar spiral staircase...

Hang on, Ian thought to himself, looking about at the room beyond the stairs, this looks like... yeah, it is! Damn, trust someone like the Merchant to have a home that refuses to conform to standard fourth-dimensional Euclidian geometry...

"What I sell," the Merchant declared, in a tone that suggested some sort of finality, "is Life, and Death, itself." Standing in the middle of the first room that Ian had been shown, his host spread his arms wide, gesturing at just about everything in the vicinity. Off in the opposite corner of the room, Ian noticed a tan robotic suit moved to following the Merchant's movements. If he remembered correctly, which he probably wasn't, that suit was from Titanfall or something similar.

As Ian's attention was drawn by whatever the thing was, the Merchant stepped towards a nearby display case and began rifling through a drawer. He pulled out several items, including what Ian recognized to be a Ghost from the Unity franchise, which was set to hang in midair momentarily. At last, the Merchant seemed to find what he was looking for: a knife with three holes spread somewhat equidistantly along its length. The Merchant began idly contact juggling with it in one hand, as he put everything back with the other hand.

"Thus, the real question is: what are you looking for?" He then spun the blade on his fingers and launched it towards another corner of the room. Whilst in midair, it caught fire, and then became embedded blade-first in a hitherto unseen door, right above another occurance of the four symbols from the front door. "That door will take you back to the universe you were summoned from, once our business here is done." The Merchant said, leaving the still-burning blade in the door.

"Um, the knife's still burning..."

"It's fine; I designed this place to be almost completely fireproof." Came the reply, the Merchant waving his hand dismissively at the perceived danger as he leaned against a nearby display case. "So, you wished to purchase the map and the Zat'nik'tel, yes?"

"Wh-- ah, yeah, I did." Ian confirmed, beginning to pat himself down as he searched for his wallet. "I was also considering the possibility of getting one of those ships I mentioned... but I can't seem to find my wallet. Damn..."

"Have you tried the Sylladex I gave you? Or the pickets on your hips?" The Merchant asked, his voice deadpan as he raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah... stupid me. Just a sec... yeah, here it is!" Ian said triumphantly, pulling out the battered wallet he'd had on him at the convention. He suddenly realized just how long ago that felt, despite it having been merely two days prior.

"I'm not sure why you're pulling it out, though," the Merchant commented, smirking ever-so-slightly, "I still have your information from when I sold you the last batch of 'souvenirs,' if you'll remember. You'll be charged as soon as you walk out that door."

That's a scary idea... I wonder if I have enough to pay for everything, The Toa thought to himself as he put his wallet away again. What he said, though, was: "Ok... how much for the map, the Zat, and... the Dart, I guess?"

"About $950," answered the Merchant. Ian sucked in a breath through what passed for his teeth in response.

"Well... I could probably do that. And if I were to get the Puddle Jumper as well?"

"Seventeen hundred, flat." The Merchant supplied, and Ian winced. "I'm pretty sure that'll clean you out, too."

"Yep. Yep, that'll about do it. Not like I need or can even use Earth currency anywhere anymore, but still..." Ian rubbed the back of his head, and took a slow, deep breath. At long last, he spoke again. "Yeah, it's a deal, I guess," he said, extending his hand towards the Merchant, who merely smirked.

"Alright," came the reply, and they shook hands. A moment later, the Merchant reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small keychain bearing two exotic-looking key fobs.

The first was a sort of zig-zag shape, made almost entirely out of what seemed to be a clear plastic. Through its outer shell, one could easily see a strange circuit board that perfectly matched the shape of the mini remote. It had three buttons arranged somewhat vertically along its length, each one labelled in an unfamiliar pixelated script.

The second device was, by contrast, entirely organic in origin, looking like a small diseased scale from an unknown reptile. It had a purplish-maroon color that was so dark, it was nearly grey, and bore several blisters on its upper surface. The two largest were an unpleasant pus-like color, whilst the other, much smaller ones were more of a sickly green hue. Around the two large blisters were a few painted designs, presumedly in the Wraith dialect from Stargate Atlantis. It had been a while since he'd last watched the show, after all...

The Merchant tossed the keychain to his guest, who almost dropped them in surprise. "The top buttons on each of those will activate or deactivate the cloak on their respective ships, and the second buttons will open and close the vehicle's primary access point."

"And the third button?" Ian asked, holding up the relevant remote.

"That locks the door, like on a car." The Merchant stated, simply. "Make sure not to lose those, however: I won't be giving you new ones if you do."

"Noted..." Ian replied, chewing what passed for his lips. "So, is that it? Should I just... go now?"

The Merchant nodded and crossed his arms. "Indeed. All you need to do is walk through that door, and you'll be sent on your merry way."

"Back to the version of Equestria that I was summoned from, you mean?"

"Yes, that's basically what I said." The Merchant supplied, less-than-helpfully. "It'll take you where you need to be."

Ian gave him a suspicious look. "I find your sudden lack of specificity disturbing... what aren't you telling me?"

"The knowing will come. Besides, knowledge is something that's best appreciated when it's hard-earned." The Merchant shrugged and grinned. "So, live a little! After all, when Wisdom and Valor fail us..."

Ian's shoulders slumped. "...All that remains is Faith."

"And...?"

"And... Faith can overcome all." Ian conceded, shoulders slumping as he completed the mantra.

"Attaboy! Now, get going, whilst the going's still good." The Merchant encouraged. And, with that, Ian gave a somewhat polite little nod in his direction, then turned and made his way over to the door with the flaming dagger still embedded in its unmarred surface. When he opened it, however, it swung out into an infinite source of pale blue light, which was almost blindingly bright.

"I swear," he said, squinting and shading his eyes with a hand, "if this drops me in the land of the Teletubbies, or somehow turns me into a girl, I'mma fuckin' murder-ise somebody. A lot of somebodies." And thus, without further ado, he stepped through the doorway and vanished into the light.

A few seconds passed, in which time the door closed and the flaming blade extinguished itself, before the sound of a typewriter was heard typing by itself from upstairs.

Tik tik-tik-tik tik, tik tik tik DING!

"Yeah, that was him." The Merchant sighed, reluctantly, seemingly speaking to no-one and nothing. "Sorry he got involved earlier."

Tikkita takkita takkita tik, tak-tak-tik-takkata DING!

"Of course he will! Everyone I send through is a problem, in some way or another." The Merchant replied sharply, glaring in the general direction of the typewriter. "And they mostly resolve themselves with a bit of guidance. This one'll be a bit of a challenge, to be sure, but it should work itself out."

Tak-tak-tak, tikkita-tikkita tak-tak-tik--

"Yes, I know you're the self-proclaimed 'perfect host,' I've heard that line umpteen times before. And you know what? I don't care. I played my part perfectly: I'm the perfect salesman! I have whatever someone wants or needs, whenever they want or need it, and at a price they're capable of, and usually amicable about, paying. The important part is that the transaction occurs, and the merchandise is given its new ownership promptly." The Merchant sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, let's just get back to running that thing again, shall we? We were so close before he came barging in..."

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait, guys. Had some life issues crop up, mostly with working retail, but I've been pushing as best I can. There should be another chapter out soon. And I mean soon like, possibly today. Been holding onto this one for a while, TBH.

Returned, yet Restless: Nothing is Easy

Pohatu fidgeted on his chosen bundle of cushions, idly toying with a small bit of masonry and using his powers to make it float between his hands. His brother Kopaka sat to one side of him, with his sister, Gali, on the other. Across the relatively short table sat Twilight, Princess Celestia, (Pohatu was still trying to wrestle the concept of royalty into his mental image of social order,) Spike the dragon (who was taking notes,) and an unfamiliar stallion sitting stiff and upright in what seemed to be decorative, (if somewhat dusty,) golden armor. The latter figure had a pure white coat, the hair in his mane and tail was a pleasant, if militant, navy blue, bearing a streak of cyan each. On each hip was the image of a shield, the same navy color as his mane, bearing a pink-ish six-pointed starburst, and above the shield were a trio of light grey five-pointed stars: his "Cutie Mark," if Pohatu remembered the term correctly.

"Why have we been summoned?" Kopaka asked, shifting his position amongst his cushions.

"Because there are some things we need to discuss," Celestia replied, calmly, a cup of tea held in her magical grasp as she lay on her side. "Mostly, I am curious as to your thoughts about our present circumstances, and any ideas you may have when it comes to fighting Chrystalla."

"But, why just us, and not the whole team?" Gali asked.

"Yeah," Pohatu added, "I mean, if you wanted the full package of strategists, you could've grabbed Onua, instead. He and Gali are the wisest among us, with Kopaka providing the remaining intellectual support. Tahu's more of the type to charge in, swinging his sword, while Lewa is... well, he's Lewa, you know, in the same way that Pinkie is just Pinkie, and like her, he never stays focused on anything very long. As for me? I'm fast, I control rocks, and I kick things."

"But, from what I've seen, you're honest and loyal." Twilight interjected, sitting up a bit from her position. "You provide your team with support when and where they need it most, like a pillar. That's why I chose you, instead."

Pohatu nodded in acknowledgement, giving her a warm, sheepish smile as he leaned back on his hands a bit. "What can I say? Stone doesn't lie, it just is, and it'll do what it needs to until it crumbles to dust. Thanks, Twilight."

"If you're done flirting with my sister," said the armored stallion, earning surprised looks from the Toa, "can we get down to business?"

The Toa were silent for a moment, before Gali spoke up. "Mata Nui... You sound just like Jala back in Ta-Koro. What's your name?"

"It's... Shining Armor. I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard here in Canterlot, and former Prince of the Crystal Kingdom. Who's this 'Jala' you mentioned?"

The gathered Toa shared a glance, with Gali and Pohatu smiling faintly. "He's one of the Matoran villagers on the island we originally came from," Gali supplied. "I only really know who he is because I sometimes find him talking things over with Hali, one of the Matoran in my village. If I remember correctly, Jala's also the Captain of the Guard in Ta-Koro, Tahu's village. The similarities between you two are remarkable...!"

"In any case," Celestia said, before things could get further off track, "we're here to talk about recent events. If you 'Toa' are anything like the warriors that our Elemental Guardians were supposed to be, then I'm sure you would have at least some idea for facing our foe..."

"To be honest," Kopaka said softly, "I'm more concerned with how we're going to get back home, to Mata Nui. Our Duty is to the Matoran, and we've left them to face Makuta's forces on their own for nearly two days now. As such, I say we should find that Discord character Twilight mentioned, and make him reopen the portal."

"The Matoran should be fine, Brother," Gali replied, giving him a concerned glance, "I'm just as anxious as you about this, but they've faced his dark forces without our aid for a millennia: a few days on their own couldn't be much harm. And to be honest, our Duty is to help those in need, whether they're Matoran, ponies, or something new entirely."

"I disagree," Kopaka remarked, shaking his head. "Makuta only became more ambitious after we arrived, determined to completely annihilate us at every turn. Now that we're gone, who's to say he won't take advantage of our absence and seize control of the island?"

"This is true," Pohatu supplied, "he may well have launched an all-out assault on the various Koros... oooor, he could be waiting to spring a trap of his own on our return. After all, what better way would there be to crush the Matoran's spirit than for him to capture and destroy us before their very eyes, and then conquer the very world we had just returned from assisting?"

The ponies present at the table shared a momentary look of concern, before Celestia spoke again. "So, the die is cast... it appears to be in everypony's best interest to find Discord, bring him back to our side, and then attempt to stabilize both sides of the Crystal Mirror as soon as reasonably possible."

"Um, sorry to interrupt," Spike said, raising a claw, "but, there's just one problem: the portal's only open for three days at a time, and then it closes for 30 moons."

Twilight's eyes went wide. "Oh, no..." She breathed, her forehooves going to her temples as she stared at the table, "we were only able to go through when we did -- or, rather, Discord was only able to toss us in at that time -- because it was during that three-day period! And now, since the device I rigged up to open it artificially is back in my castle in Ponyville...!"

"Then we go and get it!" Kopaka stated, as if the answer was obvious.

"You don't understand..." Shining Armor said, leveling a glare at him. "Ponyville was overrun by the Shardlings a while back, which is why we're here now. We barely managed to get the Mirror out in time; we lost seven Pegasi Guards trying to get it out! And, given the size and complexity of Twily's 'device,' a mana cake would've stood a better chance in Tirek's cell than we would have if we'd tried extracting both simultaneously...!"

Celestia decided to step in. "Calm yourself, Prince Shini--"

"Captain." Shining Armor cut across her, giving the Princess a hurt look. "Just... just 'Captain' Shining: I'm no prince, not without my wife. Not without Cadence... Mi Amore Cadenza, Flurry Heart, I'm so sorry..." He turned his head away, and a faint sniff was heard.

"Oh, Shining..." Twilight hopped to her hooves, trotted around her mentor to her brother, then laid down next to him and put a wing over his withers. Celestia leaned over and wrapped a wing around the both of them as well. "Don't worry, Shiny, we'll find her. I swear, even if we have to go through Tartarus and back to get her, we'll do it. Not just 'cause you're my BBBFF, or because she's your wife: because she's my FS/BSIL/OBFF."

Shining Armor chuckled a bit at that point, giving his sister a confused look. "W-what was that last one?"

Twilight grinned and rubbed her head against his neck. "Foalsitter/Big Sister-In-Law/Other Best Friend Forever, of course! What else would it be?"

Shining merely smiled sadly and sighed, lowering his head a bit as he shook it from side to side. "You and your acronyms, LSBFF. Love you."

"Love you, too."

"I'm confused..." Pohatu said, being as unfamiliar with most of the tableau that had just unfolded before him as his fellow Toa were. "What was that about? Is, uh... is Shining Armor alright?"

"Worry not, my lit-- erm, Toa Pohatu, Gali, Kopaka." Celestia said, doing her best to ignore Gali's unconcealed interest in the touchy-feely display before them. "Everything is going to be fine, I promise."

It was at this moment that a there was a sharp hiss in the air above the table, causing everyone present to jump in surprise, and they looked up in time to see a glowing blue door-shaped hole in time and space had appeared. For half a second, it simply hung there, before--

"...fffFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU--HRKK!!”

With a resounding crash, a dark, Toa-shaped and -sized figure fell out of the glowing quadrangular rift in space-time, landing squarely on the table, which was unceremoniously destroyed by his impact. The glowing rectangular portal contracted into a line, then a dot, then returned to nothingness once more. The figure himself was battered, bruised, covered in scratches and some unidentified, foul-smelling, partially dried substance, and generally looking to be in a sorry state of affairs.

However, he himself was not unidentifiable, partially due to the color of his armor, or the large green symbol on his mask, but mostly because of his long rant of wheezing swears, curses, promises of vengeance, and other such nonsense.

"That's about the fastest something's ever gone sideways after I've let that phrase across my tongue..." Celestia muttered to herself, then raised her voice to normal levels so that the new arrival could better hear her: "Ah, Caldoric, glad you could join us at last. There are some things we've been meaning to speak with you about..."

"What, no 'hello,' no 'how you doing,' no 'welcome back'?" Caldoric asked, for it was indeed him that was lying on what remained of the table. "Just an offhand 'Oh, hey, we need to talk?' Celly, I'm hurt by your lack of obvious concern!"

Celestia rolled her eyes and said, in her 'I'm being polite because the situation demands it' voice, "Hello, Caldoric, welcome back to Equestria. How are you doing?"

"I was actually joking about that part, but I really am hurt." Caldoric said, still lying there. "Like, 'going into shock due to possible internal bleeding or something' kind of hurt: I'm lucky not to be a Protodermis pancake right now, man, and I feel like Tony Stark at the end of Avengers 1. I repaired my armor as best I could, but I just can't seem to fix up the carbon scoring on my right arm..."

Everyone's eyes went wide at that, save for Kopaka, who suddenly seemed somewhat aloof. "And we should worry... why? I've had worse, and walked away unscathed."

Caldoric blinked and gave him a confused stare. "I basically just got bitch-slapped by a physical god a little bit ago." He said, with Celestia and her ponies flinching a bit at his choice of words. "I doubt you could say you've ever had the same pleasure."

Kopaka raised an eyebrow. "Touché," was all he said, then activated his Mask of X-Ray Vision as Celestia lit up her horn and applied her magic to Caldoric's abdomen. "I'm recalcitrant to assist in this, however, after you absconded with my mask earlier." Kopaka then pointed out areas that needed attention.

"Wait, is that what the racket was about?" Pohatu asked, curious.

"So it would seem," Gali said, spreading her hands about a foot and a half apart as a sphere of slightly-radiant water formed between them. "But why would you take Kopaka's mask in the first place?"

"Should... should I be writing all this down?" Spike asked, concerned, as Gali applied the glowing liquid to Caldoric's side.

"No, he can still answer questions while we're patching him up," Twilight said, nervously massaging her lower lip with her teeth nonetheless.

"Agreed," seconded Kopaka, "now, why'd you take my mask?"

"You were kinda being a perv, that's why." Caldoric accused. That got everyone's attention, with various iterations of "wait, what?" or "what did you say?"

"Caldoric, that is a heavy accusation," Celestia said at last, her radiant thaumaturgical aura flickering momentarily with her surprise, "and you would do best to choose your next words carefully."

"Alright, alright, but I gotta explain something first." Caldoric replied hurriedly, raising his hands defensively. "See, the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe, while biomechanical, have no concept of... well, the birds and the bees, to be polite: Like, they don't reproduce. At all."

The ponies present were taken aback at the incredulity of the statement, whilst the Toa were merely confused, Pohatu in particular. "Hate to bring the bad news, Caldoric, but reproducing things is what Po-Matoran crafters do."

"Princess, he's prevaricating in an attempt to get himself out of trouble," Kopaka said, and the expression on his mask was one of displeasure.

"No, you don't understand what I'm saying." Caldoric continued, sitting upright, "Any physical gender characteristics the Toa, Matoran, and Turaga possess are strictly functional, like feminine agility and flexibility, or masculine strength and endurance: beyond that, everything's cosmetic, meaning they have no genitalia. They think of the word 'sex' as an adjective, a synonym for 'gender,' not as a verb."

"That's enough...!" Kopaka growled, reaching for his sword, though Gali grabbed his forearm in an attempt to stop him, her control over the silvery fluid wavering. Twilight and Shining charged their horns, with Celestia joining them in preparing to react in one way or another.

"They can't even feel love the same way as you can, Celestia, or the citizens of Equestria, or even myself." Caldoric rambled on with wild abandon, desperate to make himself understood even as half the healing energies focused on him faded. "The closest 'relationship' they can ever possibly have in their world would basically equate to 'friends with benefits' in this world, but without the actual benefits themselves."

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kopaka roared as he shoved Gali aside and breaking her concentration completely, then drew his sword to freeze her, Pohatu, Shining, and Twilight in place, finally sticking its tip under Caldoric's chin.

"Kopaka, stand down."

Celestia's voice was colder and harder than anything Caldoric had ever heard before, and had it been directed at himself, he would probably have stopped his own heart to comply with that order. As is was, Kopaka was the one on the receiving end, and it only caused him to hesitate for a moment.

Was there a sudden glimmer of green in what was visible of Kopaka's left eye? Could there have been a wisp of lavender smoke curling from under the back of his mask? In the flickering candlelight, and what illumination could be gleaned from the fireplace elsewhere in the room, it was hard to tell...

"Well, excuse me, Princess," Kopaka retorted, shifting into his equine Pegasus-like build and staring her down, "But I don't answer to you."

"When you're on my world, you will!" Celestia declared, about to let loose whatever spell she'd had charged. However, this brief exchange was more than enough for someone else to take action first.

BZAKKT!!

A flickering sinusoid line of blue energy lanced across the distance between the two unrestrained Toa, from Space to Ice, before it began dancing wildly across Kopaka's quadrupedal form, arcing and spitting however it pleased. As it did, Kopaka stiffened for half a second, then collapsed to the floor as the energy dissipated, his body shifting back to its standard bipedal form.

There was a small chirruping sound, and all free eyes turned to Caldoric as he slid something small and vaguely serpentine into the pocket on his leg, then got up and walked over to Kopaka's prone body with a look of concern (and mild pain) on his face. Without warning, he jerked forward and stamped the flagstones near Kopaka's head, then bent down with his hand extended. When he straightened up, he held the Toa of Ice's own sword in his hand as Kopaka occasionally twitched softly.

"Caldoric," Celestia said carefully, as if speaking to a madman, "what was that? And what are you--" With a crackle and a dramatic drop in ambient temperature, a ¾-inch-thick sheet of ice formed over most of Kopaka's body, covering everything below the neck. Caldoric then turned back to face the Princess.

"He's fine, for now, but he needs to rest... Hashtag: HanShotFirst." Caldoric said, tapping Kopaka's sword on the ice-boulder containing Twilight and Shining, which cracked and began crumbling. Soon, all that was left was a very cold pair of pony siblings, holding each other for warmth.

Two more taps on the two remaining ice blocks, and Gali and Pohatu were free as well. With that, Caldoric stuck Kopaka's sword, point first, between two flagstones near the Ice Toa's frozen form.

The Toa of Space sighed then, and turned to Celestia, blinking owlishly. "Sorry, I... Kopaka's fine, and should hopefully be back to normal shortly." He said. "In the meantime, I'm really feeling the need for a shower, so..." He then turned, as if to leave.

"You never explained how their physiology had anything to do with why you removed Kopaka's mask." Celestia expectantly interjected as she dropped her spell, which caused Caldoric to stop in place.

"Oh..." He said, with a grimace, "Yeah. About that... see, after seeing off those guys I summoned -- what was it, yesterday? -- anyways, I saw them off back 'home,' then decided to go looking for that Crystal Mirror and hopefully try to figure it out. Unfortunately, Lyra showed up and started following me: you know how obsessed she is with the concept of Humanity as a whole, and it seems she's become somewhat enamored with me. Anywho, I decided to go looking, room by room if I had to, and when the first door I came across was locked, I summoned a copy of the Mask of X-Ray Vision to see inside. Needless to say, I almost instantly regretted the decision."

"Why was that?" Gali asked, finally speaking up.

"Well... hold on a sec, I need to check something before I continue." Caldoric replied, switching his Kualsi for an Akaku and scanning the room, before settling his gaze on a tapestry hanging on one wall. "Uh huh, like I thought. Girls, get out from behind that tapestry."

"Who...?" Pohatu began, before the CMC and Screwball tumbled out from their hiding spot with a few shouts of surprise.

"But... but..." Scootaloo could be heard saying, amongst the grumbler of the four fillies getting themselves untangled, "how'd he know we were hiding?"

"Indeed," Celestia agreed, suspiciously. "Even I didn't detect them, and I personally scanned the room before we all got here!"

"Call it a hunch," Caldoric said, with a shrug. "The CMC tend to have a habit of finding themselves in places where they shouldn't be at the absolute worst of times, so I decided to take some precautions. Treat everything like it's a trap, and you'll never be surprised when you're right, yeah? As for Screwball... she's a wild card: an unknown, as far as I'm concerned."

"What I'm concerned with," Twilight began, "is how much of our conversation they overheard...!"

"Most of it, I think." All heads turned to Kopaka, who had finally regained control of his senses, and he seemed a tad miffed at being unable to fully view the people he was speaking to. "They arrived shortly before Caldoric did."

"He speaks...!" Caldoric said, raising an eyebrow. "Feeling better? Less angsty?"

"Brother!" Gali added, excitedly. "Are you alright?"

"I believe..." Kopaka began, "yes, I believe the answer to those questions is a definitive 'yes,' with a few addendums we can address later..." Caldoric nodded at this, then turned to the four fillies who were trying to slink off whilst everyone else's attention was elsewhere.

"And you three should probably be elsewhere, as long as it's not here or near a library for the time being," he said, gesturing to the Crusaders. "Screwball's probably exempt, being the spawn of Discord, but still: you're a bit young to be hearing what I have to say next. In fact, it's probably best if the Crusaders stay away from any libraries for the next month, and anything similar to a dictionary for the next three."

"Uh..." Came a voice from behind Celestia, which turned out to belong to Spike: the young dragon had hidden in the lee of the Princess once Kopaka had shown signs of aggression. "Why do they have to leave? We're all friends, here... right?"

Rather than answer him, or most of the questioning looks Caldoric was getting, the Toa of Space turned his attention to Twilight. "Has he had the, um... The Talk, yet? 'Cause it has to do with that." The other Toa present in the room exchanged confused glances, to no avail.

"O-Oh...!" The lavender Alicorn stammered, blushing slightly. "Y-yeah, we, uh... we had that chat after..."

"After I went greed-crazy a while back, and nearly destroyed Ponyville trying to build a hoard..." Spike supplied, awkwardly. "So... yeah, I see what you're saying there."

"...As do I, regretfully," Celestia admitted, her expression tense.

"So, all in favor of my proposition about the Crusaders leaving and being kept away from dictionaries and suchlike for the time being?" Caldoric asked, raising a hand.

"Yeah, definitely...!" Spike said quickly.

"Agreed...!" Added Twilight, followed swiftly by a "Seconded!" from Shining, and a hasty "Motion carried, by way of unanimous decision," from Celestia.

"Objection!" Shouted the Crusaders.

"Overruled...!" Came the unanimous cry of Spike, Screwball, and the adults.

"Sorry, young ones," Celestia added, softly, despite the disappointed looks the Crusaders were throwing her way, "but it's not up to me as to when you learn of... that particular topic: you'll each have to ask your individual guardians to tell you about it, but as of this moment, I feel you are still too young. So, for now, young fillies, I must ask that you leave this room."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaawwww...!" Pouted the Crusaders, to no avail.

"Spike," Caldoric said, suddenly brightening, "if you look after them for a bit, only until I'm given leave to take a good shower, I'll let you take a look at some of the early Bionicle comics. Only up to what's current, mind you, but there'll be more to come...!"

There was much grumbling and complaining, but the CMC left the room regardless, with Spike watching after them, the promise of new comics too tempting to resist. Once they'd gone, the door to the room was shut, Kopaka was released from the sheet of ice he's been under, and the chamber was, for the moment, soundproofed.

"Alright, Caldoric," Shining started, once the spell was complete, "what were you going to say?"

"Well, after I looked into the chamber," the Toa of Space began, "I caught a glimpse of two ponies... well, they were goin' at it, really. I couldn't make out too much detail, because there wasn't much light, but I think it might've been Blueblood -- yes, I know who he is, don't be so shocked -- and some other pony. I couldn't make out the second one's gender or identity, but there were definitely some sort of bindings in play, so I can't say for sure if it was entirely consensual..."

Celestia and Shining's eyes hardened, while Twilight grimaced. "I'll talk to him later about that," Celestia said at last. "Continue."

"Well, I looked away pretty quickly," Caldoric complied, "because I'd already seen more than anyone in their right mind would want to see -- I mean, there were some folks back home who'd be interested in watching, but that's beside the point -- and I turned to leave, only to run into Kopaka."

"And you were still wearing that Akaku," Kopaka commented.

"Yeah, that," Caldoric continued, "and you got confrontational about me having it, and looked into the room with your own mask."

"Yes, I did." Replied the Toa of Ice. "I didn't understand what they were doing, so I tried to get a better look, but you decided to clamp your hand over the lenses of my mask. They're very delicate, and you nearly damaged them irreparably! I had to spend an hour readjusting them!"

"In my defense, I told you not to look because it was impolite, but you didn't listen, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I'm sorry that I had to do it, but I wasn't about to explain the birds and bees to one of my childhood heroes while he watched two ponies getting knocked up...!" Caldoric stood up then. "And then there was a chase, and I wound up in the vault, then you guys showed up--"

"And we found you talking to her," Twilight said, turning on Screwball, who smiled amicably and waved.

"Not a crime to ask a fighter to rescue my Daddy, is it?" The enigmatic filly asked, innocently. "After all, there's no fun trying to cause chaos with the situation all stirred up like this: Daddy and I need folks to be around and available to appreciate our talents...!"

"So we rescue him, and get him to re-open the portal, or whatever," Caldoric finished. "Great idea! Then we have the Toa Mata return to Mata Nui, and he resets the mirror to your version of the human world, and you grab your human counterparts for help...! Bingo, everyone wins!"

"Kopaka already said something similar to the first half of that plan, and I definitely agree with him..." Pohatu chimed in, "but it's the second part I'm not so keen on. We could definitely do some good by helping out on both sides."

"And that's the sign that I'm no longer needed...!" Caldoric replied, making for the door.

"Wait..." Shining interjected, "we have some other questions we need to ask, about the fight in the city yesterday."

"And what exactly were you all being so cagy about with that locked door?" Gali asked.

"Yep, I'm leaving now!" Caldoric blurted, scurrying to the door. "I'll talk to you about your stuff after I get cleaned up, and maybe get a bite to eat... I leave these three Toa in your capable hands, Celestia, so teach them well. Bu-bye!" And with that, he was gone... For half a second.

"Also," he said, sticking his head back in, "could you consider drafting up a restraining order against Lyra for me? I'd rather not have her shadowing me all over the place... 'k thanks, bye...!" And he was gone again.

Screwball was nowhere to be found, either.

"I'm... gonna go check on my tower, maybe reorganize my books..." Twilight said, and vanished in a flash of lavender light.

"And I'll... be around," Shining said with a nod, "seeing how many other members of the guard we have available, and such. Should I send the other 'Toa' in as well...?"

Celestia squeezed her eyes shut momentarily, and briefly massaged her forehead with a hoof. "Yes, sure, might as well. They'll all find out sooner or later, and I'd rather they learn it the right way, rather than as a garbled version."

"Learn what?" Gali asked, reservedly, as Shining Armor left the room.

"Probably what those two ponies were doing behind that locked door..." Kopaka guessed. "This ought to be interesting."

~~~~
Ian walked through the castle corridors, trying to find the nearest room with a shower, or at least a bathtub, so he could clean off his armor to some extent. He wasn't having much luck, and he was reluctant to use the Akaku again, just in case.

His attention snapped back to the present when a small white blur came streaking around the corner at the end of the hallway at about floor level, with the sound of barking somewhere close behind. The blur quickly streaked up Ian's leg and chest with a faint clatter of claws on metal, then came to rest across his shoulders.

The startled Toa barely had time to identify the creature as a rather chubby (and spoiled-looking) housecat before an excited-looking dog barreled around the corner, barking its head off and having a jolly old time. Soon, it too was getting in Ian's personal space, having jumped up and leaned its forepaws against his upper thighs as it stared at the cat.

"...Winona?" Ian asked nobody in particular, and got a bark in response, Winona smiling and letting her tongue hang carelessly to the side. The cat merely hissed in response. "And you must be... the one that belongs to Rarity. Sorry, I can't remember your name, little kitty."

The cat merely stuck her nose in the air, and Ian could've sworn she huffed indignantly. Winona barked again.

"Winona? That you?" AJ's voice came around the corner. "Where'd ya git to, ya rascal?"

"Over here, AJ," Ian called to her, and reached up to try and pet the cat on his shoulders. She wasn't having any of it, though, even trying to bite his hand.

"Oh, hey Caldoric!" AJ called back, coming round the corner. "Ah see ya managed t' calm Opal down a bit."

"Trust me, I think she's only on my shoulders to get away from Winona here," Ian replied, as the countrymare came closer to him. "Otherwise, she'd probably rather roll in mud than be near me."

AJ nodded and took a step back covering her snout with a hoof. "Ah'd hafta agree there, Caldoric. Ya kinda smell, 'n yer covered in... what in Tartarus is that gunk, anyway?"

"Bits of dead aliens that were trying to kill me. And believe me when I say it feels worse to be the one wearing it than to be the one lookin' at it."

AJ took another step back, looking wary. "Right... Uh, not ta be nosey or anythin', but... yer telling me ya killed somepony? Several someponies, even?"

"No, not somepony," Ian corrected, "in addition to the fact that that term is completely racist, I was referring to a bunch of mindless freakazoids called 'genestealers,' whose only obvious intent was to kill (and possibly eat,) me and the other Displaced that I was summoned to help. Now, if you'd kindly direct me to the nearest place where I could take a bath, or possibly even a shower, that'd be great. Amazing even."

AJ chewed her lip for a moment before replying. "Well.. Ah certainly believe yer tellin' the truth about that... or, part of it at least."

"I also got into a fight with a Void Dweller over some ancient warhammer thingy, and nearly died as a result. Celestia and Gali patched me up a bit, though, so nothing to worry about there..."

"Uh... that... unbelievable as that sounds, Ah'm not pickin' up any signs that yer lyin'." AJ then turned her head and nodded back the way she came. "Nearest spot ya can wash yersel' up at's 'round that corner, up the stairs, 'n it'll be the third door on the left. Meantime, Ah'll take Opal off yer hoov-- hands."

"Sure, if you can get Winona to back off a bit, I can bend over a bit." Ian replied, smiling. "And thanks for the directions."

And so, once Opal the cat had been transferred into the custody of Applejack, she and Ian went their separate ways. The Toa of Space soon found the bathing chamber that he'd been told about, and was glad to find that it contained a sort of bathtub/shower combination that would suit his purposes quite nicely. Being that he was used to having to remove whatever clothes he was wearing before bathing back on Earth, he felt wierd stepping straight into the shower without the normal "transition" period. Well, he did pause momentarily to remove the modified Bluetooth he'd discovered to be stuck to his left ear the previous night, and stored it in his Sylladex.

Guess that's one benefit of a society where clothing's considered optional, Ian thought to himself as he turned on the water, then shook his head. No, don't think about that, especially right now. Down that road lies only madness, and I'm not planning on going native anytime soon... A few seconds later, he nearly jumped out of the tub in shock.

"Why the hell is the cold set to the left side of the control knob?!? What the hell, world?" He exclaimed, then turned the water to a more manageable temperature. Everything's gotta be weirdly ass-backwards with these ponies... from their schizo-tech, to their lack of effective methods for controlling bad folks, to the way they set their water mains. Not to mention that they have paved roads in the cities, but nowhere else. I wonder why that is...

Once the water was reasonably warm, Ian grabbed the handheld showerhead thingy and positioned it so the flowing water could reach his entire frame. It admittedly felt wierd for the water to flow both over and under his armor, making its way through areas populated with muscle and machinery with wild abandon, though having no real effect thereon. It seemed to carry away most of the alien gore pretty quickly, save for some lightly dried bits, but he wasn't too worried.

In fact, he was actually quite content to stand there and let the water carry away most of his worries as well. It was the first time he'd really let himself actually relax since arriving. Mmmh... I should probably see if I can find that one library again... he thought, as he set the showerhead in its cradle and absentmindedly began dispensing shampoo out of a random nearby bottle into one hand. I need to make sure that Twilight hasn't tampered with the Alchemiter while I was gone... at least, not too much. God knows what she's try to "upgrade" it with while unsupervised. I really need to move it and the Crystal Mirror thingy to a more secure place so I can get to work on the portal... wait, hold up. What am I doing right now?

Ian took a moment to figure out where his hands were, and what they were doing: without his direct command, they'd gone into the usual routine of hair-washing he'd fallen into over the last few years, once again reminding him of the wires and cables that made up his new "hairdo." What the hell...? I mean, it's not even hair! Why do I even have that stuff back there, anyways? No other sapient species in Bionicle had "hair" like this, especially not Toa. The only ones that came close were Roodaka's species, the, um... the Vortixx, I think... And even then, it was all part of a headdress-type thingy.

Ian sighed to himself, and stuck his "hair" under the running water to clear it of the soap. Who knew what Equestrian soap would do to protodermis if left to its own devices...

"Fuck it," he muttered, shoulders drooping, "what am I even doing right now... who am I trying to fool? I'm no hero." He sat down under the shower's deluge and removed his mask, turning it so he could look at its front. A second later, he scoffed and dropped it at his feet with a clatter, shaking his head. "Useless: that's what I am. A fraud. 'A Matoran in Toa's armor,' as Makuta would say. I mean, I'm not even a proper Toa. I can't consciously control my powers, whatever those're supposed to be. I'm just a hodgepodge of ideas, now, something that was never meant to exist. Heh, talk about a handicap..."

One never know unless they try...

Ian looked up and glanced about, but saw no one else nearby. No visible source for the words that'd just... well, just dropped into his head. "What...?"

Different worlds run on different rules, yes...? So, find the rules of this one, then decide which to follow, which to exploit, and which to re-write. That's what a Knight does, yes?

"Ok, piss off, whoever you are," Ian said, glaring at the wall in front of him for lack of a more suitable focus. "It's not polite to go poking about in someone's head without invitation or permission, and you have neither."

One is glad to be of service, little flame...

"Out...!"

...

Silence reigned once again in the bathroom, save for the sound of the water falling from the showerhead, and, once he was sure that he was alone once more, Ian crossed his arms over his knees, rested his forehead on them, and just let the warm water cascade over his form once more, his mind idly wandering wherever it saw fit. This only lasted a few minutes, however, before the water ran cold, signaling that he should probably get up and face the world once more.

When Ian opened the bathroom door to leave, however, he was greeted by the sight of two royal guards standing on either side of the door, both of whom were unicorns.
"Ah, Caldoric," said the one to his right, "we've been looking for you, and miss Applejack was kind enough to tell us where you were. We have a few questions to ask you..."

"Namely," the other one said, pulling something from one of his saddlebags, "does this rag smell like chlorofo--"

He never finished the sentence, as Ian had quickly swatted the rag in question out of the air, simultaneously bringing his own knee up under the stallion's jaw, which made a distinct click on contact. Ian then shot the same leg backwards into the first stallion's face, and was rewarded with the solid crrrack! of metal meeting stone...

Wait, Ian thought, turning to look at the guard he'd just kicked, stone? What the...?

Instead of the mess of pulped flesh and shattered bone Ian had half-expected to see, he was instead treated to a view of how the area of "skin" he'd kicked had shattered and flaked off of the guard's face, revealing black crystals and a glowing green eye beneath. It was not a happy face, in other words. "Ugh, mother's breath,” the so-called guard exclaimed, glaring at Ian, "a blow like that would've sent most anypony to the hospital... Now I know why she wants you so bad." With that, the guard "shells" exploded off the two Shardlings in twin bursts of green flame.

"Now," said the second one, massaging its jaw, "come with us, and there'll be no problems, eh?" Ian looked between the two, and tried to formulate a response.

At long last, he finally spoke. "I'm... disinclined, shall we say, to acquiesce to your request, but I have a counter-proposal for Chrystalla." Ian spread his arms to the sides, palms up. "Tell her that she and the rest of your band of merry 'lings are welcome to acquire a few shovels, and use them to indulge yourselves in copious amounts of self-procreation, blunt end first." The Shardlings looked confused for half a second, before snarling at him.

"Fine then," the first speaker spat, "have it your way. But know this: once we're done with you, you'll wish we had killed you."

"Bring it on, bug-nuts," Ian countered, then used his mask power to teleport off down the hall. Once again, the chase was--!

He had barely turned the corner before he was tackled by seven or eight other Shardlings, which had been lying in wait for him, and were quick to relieve him of his mask.

Shit, Ian thought as one of them pressed a hoof to his throat, and others began using magic to hold down his arms and legs, this is bad...

Author's Note

Hey, another chapter. Hope it wasn't too unusual...

Uchu... Kita? Blood on the Home Turf, and Heroes of Space Team Up?!

A quick warning here, folks... This chapter's gonna be a bit graphic for a short bit. It's no slasher-fic level of detail, (in fact, it's practically tame,) but therecs always some extremely squeamish folks who might get triggered, so... I'll leave a warning before it starts, and a note for when it ends, so you can kinda skip over the worst of it. Hopefully, this is the greatest portion of the dark and/or gore tag...

Ian wasn't sure what to do, given his current position. Held captive by a group of Chrystalla's Shardlings, with no clue how to control his powers, his mask taken from him, and no one else in the castle knew he was even in trouble.

Oh, and he couldn't seem to summon anything from his Sylladex or Strife Deck. Maybe this was the end, for him...

"Wow, no wonder you metal monstrosities wear masks; your faces are a mess!" Exclaimed the Shardling holding Ian's mask. If he remembered correctly, they were one of the two who had first ambushed him... Yes, it seemed the group holding him down were all of the host-held-hostage variety, led by the two who had disguised themselves as guards.

"Yeah, they sure are," the other free-minded 'ling said, agreeing with their compatriot, "but not as much of a mess as his is gonna be shortly."

"Heh, yeah, good point." The first 'ling frowned then. "It's weird, though... He didn't put up that much of a fight. You sure this is the same guy that sucked the power out of all our forces in the castle yesterday?"

"Yup, the resonance tracking spell led us right to the room he was in, and he matches the description she gave us." The second 'ling replied, then stabbed a foreleg at Ian's right forearm. "Yeah, see? The energy's already making its mark on him..."

"Mmh-mmmmph?" Ian gurgled next to them.

"Jeeze, isn't he unconscious yet?" Asked the first of the two speaking Shardlings, (which Ian decided to call "Commanders,") and the non-speaking 'ling who had a hoof to Ian's throat merely shrugged in response. Ian decided that, assuming he survived, he'd start calling those ones "Shells".

"Huh," the second Commander said, thoughtfully, "normally that works... Ah, forget about it, we can just warp back to the hive, with him in this condition. Let him breathe."

The Shell that had been half-trying to throttle Ian finally relented, removing its foreleg from his neck as it chose to sit on his chest instead. This allowed him to speak at last.

"W-what d'you want with me...?" He gasped, though he was pretty sure of the answer he'd receive.

"Well, for one," said the second Commander, off-handedly, "you messed her up a bit more than she'd ever like to admit, so she wants revenge for that, and she'd like to do it personal-like, ya know?"

"Also," added the first Commander, "nopony's ever been able to remove the shardling influence once it had been bestowed upon somepony. As such, we're all pretty curious how you, of all folks, were able to do it. And none are more curious than Lord Somn--hrrk!"

The Commander's throat suddenly convulsed as his jaw snapped shut, and his already huge eyes bugged out from his face. "No..." he choked out, as his companion's expression went from worried to pained and fearful, "I didn't mean -- I wasn't -- please...! Don't kill--!" His cries, whomever they were directed at, apparently fell short of sympathetic ears, as his crystalline horn suddenly became engulfed in a green aura, and then shot backwards through the Shardling's head with a crunch, and a splash of green fluid. His companion suffered the same fate not half a second later, and both their "bodies" collapsed into twin piles of black crystalline shards and green goo.

Ian was stunned. What the heck had just happened? One second be was being threatened by those two, and suddenly they were pleading for their lives before virtually exploding. Was he somehow responsible, or was there another party involved? Were they being watched, even now...? His musings were cut short as he realized that the Shells around him were now acting quite frantic, and as his attention returned to them, things began to take a turn for the worse.

This is where the worst of it starts...

As Ian looked on, one of the panicking Shells stumbled sideways a few steps, then began pawing at its face with its forelegs, apparently trying to remove the crystals there. It didn't gain much progress, however, before it's entire torso suddenly imploded, collapsing in a violent spray of blood and bits of viscera as the rest of it began thrashing. Shortly afterwards, a second, less fortunate Shell had its entire head crushed in an instant, like a submarine that had dived too far below the ocean's surface, followed by a shower of blood, bone shards, and bits of grey matter.

The Shell sitting on Ian's chest took this opportunity to roll sideways off of him, and joined the others in attempting to paw uselessly at their crystalline bodies. This one, however, started off by slamming it's head against the floor a few times, until a small chunk fell off its face. Ian, meanwhile, had scrabbled over to his discarded mask as soon as he was free of them, but once he'd donned the Kanohi and looked back at his former captor, he was shocked at what he saw.

The mare, (for a mare she definitely was,) who had locked her one now-free eye with him, was highly reminiscent of Rainbow Dash, in that her coat was the same baby-blue hue, and the iris of the lone visible eye was that same iridescent magenta. What little of her mane hung out from beneath the crystals on her head was an orange-ish shade of salmon, with streaks of peach peeking through here and there, all of it cut straight and almost boyishly short. Her expression was one of desperate pleading, asking for Ian to help her remove the crystals from her body.

Ian was spurred into action by the death of a third Shell, whose head suddenly spun a full 360° on their neck, sending them into spasms as they collapsed. Ian, for his part, darted forward and began to cautiously (yet still frantically,) pull at the crystals on the mare's head and shoulders. Unfortunately, they would not come off easily; in addition to the almost magnetic attraction that held the crystals together, they also seemed to have partially fused themselves with patches of her fur, making it that much harder to remove them without causing some discomfort to the unwitting "host".

"Please..." The mare gasped, once her mouth was free of obstructing crystals, "do hurry... I'd rather not end up like--" Her soft plea was interrupted by one of the nearby shells suddenly being brutally vivisected, its short-lived cries of anguish greatly muted by the crystals covering its face.

"Like that...?" Ian asked, shaken, and the mare before him nodded, obviously reluctant to speak, lest she lose her lunch as soon as she opened her mouth. Ian couldn't blame her: he was half-feeling the same urge himself. Nonetheless, he decided that things weren't going fast enough, and that some other method needed to be employed for this situation. Closing his eyes, he thought back to the previous day, trying to remember what sensations he'd been experiencing shortly after arrival, when his arm had seemingly acted on its own to release Lyra, absorbing that weird green energy in the process.

That, paired with what he could remember of the conversation he'd had with Twilight about basic spellcasting after Pinkie's party, was apparently enough to get things working. This time, however, his arm itched and burned under the armor, though he tried not to let it bother him, for the mare's sake. "What's your name?" Ian asked her, a slight grimace flitting over his face as he raised his now-glowing hand to her clavicle. The crystals, thankfully, began to fall off of her of their own accord, the energy that otherwise bound them together now being absorbed. He'd have to figure out what was going on with that sooner or later...

"W-windy..." The mare stuttered, rubbing at one slightly bloodied nostril before she returned to scraping crystals off herself. "Windy Whistle. I-I'm from... What used to be Cloudsdale, I guess, before they trashed it. Oh, one of those rock thingies went up my nose about an hour ago, by the way: might wanna take a look at that later..." The two of them winced as another Shell became a short-lived hybrid between Swiss cheese and a pincushion.

Ian tried to push himself harder, and accellerate the separation, but anything beyond the level of effort he was currently putting into the situation caused the painful sensations in his arm to skyrocket almost beyond his tolerance level. "Must go faster..." He muttered to himself, trying to keep calm and push through the pain. "Must go faster...!" As if to emphasize the point, the last remaining Shell (aside from the mare in front of Ian,) had its legs slowly and painfully crushed, one by one, before its head suddenly rolled free of its neck amidst a fountain of crimson blood. "Not to worry, miss Windy: this may look dire, but million-to-one odds like this crop up nine times outta ten, and things always pull through just as they look bleakest."

Windy smiled faintly. "Oh, you..." She said with a short chuckle, placing a hoof on his arm, "you know, you remind me of my daughter, to an extent. From what I've seen, you share the same drive, the same determination to make things happen once you've set your mind to it. And, just like with my Rainbow, I have the utmost faith in yo--" A sharp popping sound interrupted whatever Windy was going to say next, right as her head suddenly turned about an inch to her left. In that moment, her left eye had gone wall-eyed and heavily bloodshot, whilst her right had rolled back slightly, and was already starting to cloud over as her hoof slid off his arm.

Ok, the graphic stuff's over. For those who read it, I'm sorry. For those who didn't, in sorry as well... Read on, and you'll come to understand why.

A faint trickle of crimson was now visible making its way out of the bloodied nostril that Windy'd been rubbing, and the flow of energy between the two of them was almost forcibly severed. As Ian took this in, her body now sagged, lifelessly, and he barely was able to catch her before she hit the ground. Her frame, already small by nature of being a Pony, somehow seemed even smaller now, as he held her in his arms.

"No..." Ian breathed to himself, not wanting to believe what he was already sure had happened. He pressed two fingers to Windy's throat, quickly finding her already faltering pulse. Within seconds, it had entirely faded into nonexistence. "No... No, no, no...!" His arms dropped to his sides in despair, letting Windy's body rest on his knees as his head rolled back.

"FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!"

~~~~
Elsewhere in the castle...

Celestia sighed, and dragged a forehoof down one side of her face. "Alright, now that that's over, do any of you have anything more to ask or say on the subject...?" She asked tiredly, looking Fluttershy, Pinkie, and each of the Toa Mata in the eye. The two Elements had been helpful in educating the Toa in the intricacies of intimacy, allowing for multiple viewpoints on the topic. "I mean, I highly doubt anyone could possibly come up with something that would be worse than anything you all have in the last three quarters of an hour..."

"Oh, silly Princess," Pinkie replied with a chuckle, waving a hoof in her direction, "there's always something that can be taken to eleven, especially when you say something like that...!"

As if to emphasize her point, a lone, drawn-out curse was carried to the ears of everyone present from somewhere else in the castle: "FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!"

"Well, if they say-command it, who am I to resist-fight?" Lewa quipped from on top of a dresser, earning a few nervous chuckles from the other Toa.

"...I stand corrected, then," Celestia sighed, as the head of a now semi-familiar biomechanical reptile pushed itself out from under the table. It was soon followed by the form of a medium-sized bird with flame-colored plumage, and the two shared a glance. "Oh, Philomena, there you are. I see you've made friends with young Caldoric's compan-- where are you two going?" The Phoenix and the Hikaki had rushed through the door and into the hall while Celestia was talking, and the two were soon gone from sight.

"Well, that was unexpected..." Pohatu said, only for Pinkie to suddenly gasp and clasp a hoof to her barrel, just above her heart, then begin shaking and shuddering from head to toe like she was having a seizure. It was over just as quickly as it had started, however, allowing the party planner to collapses to the ground before anyone had a chance to get to their feet.

"Pinkie, are you alright?" Celestia asked as everyone began to gather around her, but Pinkie ignored her. Instead, she leapt up and grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders and stared into her eyes.

"F-fluttershy...!" She gasped. "My Pinkie-senses are going off the deep end again, and it's worse than that time when Twilight finally decided to stop investigating my Pinkie-sense!"

"Uh, what's going on here?" Onua asked, hand raised in the air.

"I dunno!" Pinkie replied, her head flipping almost completely backwards to face him. "But whatever it is, it's a doozy, it has something to do with that swear a few seconds ago, and it's about to happen right now!" With that, she zipped out of the room, followed by the Toa Mata (using their Masks of Speed,) then by Celestia and Fluttershy.

As they ran, there was a faint BAMF of displaced air, and suddenly Luna was traveling in her elder sibling's wake as well. "Sister!" Celestia exclaimed, glad to have her sister by her side. "Any any idea what's going on? Do you know who yelled a minute ago?"

"Nay, sister," Luna replied, shaking her head. "I know not who, and must assume we both know equally little of the situation, save for this: I feel a familiar darkness growing, even now, and we are presently moving towards it."

"D-darkness...?" Fluttershy squeaked, nearly freezing mid-flight.

"Indeed. It is one I myself have succumbed to twice before, but never have I ever felt it in another pony... not until Celestia and I were overpowered 'ere a week ago."

"You can't mean...?" Celestia gasped, the sentence dieing in her throat as everyone came to a stop at a hallway intersection, shocked into stillness by the storm of darkness filling the passage before them all.

"I'm afraid it is as you think, Celestia." Luna said, a touch of sorrow in her voice. "Somepony else has gone... Grimdark."

~~~~
A few minutes ago...

Ian knelt in the hallway, clutching the lifeless body of Windy Whistles to his chest, slowly rocking back and forth on his knees. Why...? he thought to himself. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't I save her? All his self-doubts from when he arrived on Mata Nui to now began to coalesce, pressing down on his spirit with a greater intensity than ever.

Who did he think he was, anyways? He was only a Toa in name, and nothing more. Not even as threatening as a Matoran masquerading in Toa armor; he was but a young man, playing at war and trying to imitate his childhood heroes. The "powers" that he was "supposed" to have rarely worked properly, assuming they even worked at all! Yes, he'd been able to hold his own in melee combat during the previous day's fight in the streets of Canterlot, but only barely, and not through much of his own skill. For all intents and purposes, Ian had been practically useless, except when he'd done that stupid energy-sucking thing... And then there was that whole thing with the Piraka, and the fight against Ahriman--

Hold on, that's not me thinking those things...! Ian realised, lifting his masked face from where he'd buried it in the dead mare's fuzzy shoulder. As he looked up, he became cognizant of a deep, resonating laughter permeating the hall around him. The various crystals attached to the dead Equestrians around him finally parted company with the corpses, shattering into a fine powder that quickly gathered into a small cloud of darkness with glowing green eyes. Each eye had a red iris, and a trail of purple smoke emanating from their outer edge.

a deep, unfamiliar voice said in Ian's mind, seeming to bypass his ears and implant itself directly in his immediate memory. <I could kill you right now, interloper, but I think I'll offer you a choice instead. Come over to our side, willingly; join our forces, and we can give you power like you've never dreamed of. We could show you... eternity...>

"And if I don't?" Ian asked, glaring at the strange cloud. He could swear, from the way the eyes changed shape right then, that the controlling force behind the cloud would've been smiling if it had a mouth.

The voice asked, before the cloud of crystal dust abruptly surged forward and enveloped Ian completely. In seconds, everything around him seemed to fall away, and he found himself in a dark expanse that was somehow also well lit, for a given value of "lit." He could just make out something beyond his current range of vision, but nothing beyond the fact that there was something out there to be noticed.

"Where the hell...?" He muttered, looking around, but his attention was soon drawn back to his immediate vicinity as now-familiar cloud of darkness swirled into existence nearby. It quickly condensed, solidifying itself into a crystalline figure that Ian only partially recognized.

The newcomer was definitely a pony, with almost Alicorn-like attributes to its frame, though unlike all other Alicorns that Ian had seen before, this one was thicker-built, indicating to him that it was masculine. It wore a brilliant red cape with ermine lining over its back, accompanied by a spiked metallic circlet on its head. Its mane and tail consisted of slow-moving black flames, which nicely offset the purple smoke leaking from its emerald-green eyes, whose crimson pupils were locked hungrily on Ian.

"S-sombra...!" Ian exclaimed, a bit confused. "But... I thought you and Chrysalis-- I mean, Chrystalla, had, like, fused or something!"

"Two things, whelp." 'Sombra' snarled. "First, what made you thing we'd fuse? As if she could stand me permanently inside her head, or I her. Second, call me 'Sombra' again, and it'll be the last thing you do. He died in the Northern wastes... And I was reborn. I am... Lord Somnus. Chrystalla and I share control over our glorious, nigh-perfect army, and we are here to usher in an age of prosperity for our new Empire."

"Your new Empire?" Ian asked, half sarcastically, as they both began to circle each other. "Please. Empires rise and fall at the drop of a hat, and yours is no exception."

"And who's to say that it's not time for Celestia's little hoof-built society to finally come crashing down around her? She and her blasted sister should've just laid down and let me claim what was mine by right."

"Who the hell do you think you are, that you can just declare Equestria's current age of peace to be over?" Ian demanded. "I mean, I may not be fond of this world's normally over-cheerful setting, but at least it was better than what I had..."

"Enough!" Somnus dispersed in a burst of crystal fragments, and reformed about a foot in front of Ian half a moment later. "You have a choice to make. Join us, or die, and allow other innocents to die with you."

"No matter how the wind blows, the mountain does not bow." Ian stated simply, crossing his arms as he took a step back. "My will is as strong as yours, my kingdom as great: you have no power over me."

~~~~
Somnus was shocked. That this... this strange creature had the audacity to not only refuse his goodwill, but to then treat Somnus as an equal, or even an inferior, was nigh unthinkable. So much so, that Somnus actually stepped back a few yards from the sheer shock. "Y-you can't be serious..." He muttered, only for the strange being before him to smile faintly.

"Yes I can," it said cockily, "I just choose not to. Well, usually."

"You fool!" Sombra exclaimed, still slightly off-balance. There was something... off about the mental landscape which Somnus had found himself after invading Caldoric's mind. "You would choose to test yourself against Chrystalla and I? You, who know nothing about war?"

The figure standing before Somnus, the one that called itself "Caldoric" in the outside world, gave a single snort of laughter and allowed its head to drop to its chest, their form shimmering and changing for the umpteenth time since Somnus had arrived. Each time, Caldoric's form had retained a bipedal nature, though the form itself had ranged between organic and synthetic, armored and unarmored, child-like to young adult. But there had always been some level of concealment to Caldoric's shape, as if it were hiding something about itself.

"Heh, typical Disney villain lingo... I don't need to know anything about war on a personal level. My species has perfected war, and turned it into something of an art form. Equine species, like yourself, are descended from prey animals, and lack the natural urge, the primal instinct to kill for your food. But humans, like me? Our ancient ancestors were primates. Apes. We, too, had some of that prey instinct, but we were also predators in our own right. Ponies like you are creatures of light: you merely adopted the darkness of war. But humans?"

Caldoric's head snapped up at this, his eyes now blazing orange instead of the green they had previously been. "We've been living in the shadows between light and dark practically since day one. We've had generations of practice to refine our hand at war. I am personally descended from the Vikings of old, who would plunder and raid costal villages and inland cities alike." His form shimmered and changed again, and this time, something about it seemed more truthful than all the others. He now looked something like a Minotaur in upper body shape, but not as stocky. His legs were straight, his face between the simplistic nature of a wild ape and the more refined, intelligent nature that Somnus had come to see in modern ponies (though it was distinctly flat-ish by comparison). And he was still talking.

"Ponies may have better speed and strength than humans, -- hell, you guys even have magic, -- but can you hope to match our intellect, our durability, our endurance, our drive, or our determination? After all, we can do just about anything we put our minds to, given the right motivation. And given that you and/or Chrystalla killed someone I was trying to save while they were in my arms, I'd say that I'm pretty motivated to kick your collective asses!"

Somnus could see something forming out of the subconscious materia behind Caldoric, and it was large. "Now," it said, as "Caldoric" vanished into nothingness, "get out of my head, you bastard, before I dot your eyes and cross your fucking teeth...!"

~~~~
Canterlot hallway, right now.

"Grimdark?!" Several voices demanded at once, Celestia's being quite prevalent among them.

"Yes," Luna admitted, "a seed of darkness has found root in some poor pony. A seed that, if left to fester without guidance or oversight, could give a new Nightmare the chance to awaken."

"A n-n-new n-nightmare?!" Fluttershy repeated fearfully, then stiffened and fell over with a faint "eeep!"

"Yes, but it should be fine for now. It should, with all probability, never develop into a fully-fledged Nightmare. Not unless the negative emotions that give it life are given an external target upon which to focus, and then driven to conflict with said focus..."

Just then, the storm of shadows and dark particles before them abruptly collapsed in on its center, then seemed to divide into two parts that began fighting each other: one side was compromised of tiny crystalline shards mixed with black smoke and a faint reddish energy at its core, while the other consisted of both shadowy clouds and strangely-shaped "holes" in reality that offered a shifting view of an unfamiliar starscape. In response, everyone backed off several paces, and Rainbow Dash gave Luna a look that practically screamed "you mean, like that?"

"I'll go get the others..." RD said in a hurry, and zipped off, with Pohatu hot on her tail. The other Toa followed suit shortly after.

"Sister, what is--"Celestia began, only for Luna to cut her off.

"This-- this isn't right... There's two sources now, but they're both fighting over something...?"

"What?!" Nothing more could be said, however, because the two warring energies suddenly increased the ferocity of their attacks upon each other, taking on new forms in their intensity. The smoke and grit formed into a large wolf's head, while the shadows and stars gathered themselves into the shape of a distinctively reptilian head bearing draconic accents in places.

There was a brief flurry of blows between them before the wolf's head backed off, momentarily dispersing into its original cloud-like shape and reforming further down the hall as an extremely familiar, and rather unwelcome, figure.

"Fine then!" The Sombra-shaped entity shouted at the remaining cloud of energy in the hall. "You may have gained the upper hand in the subconscious realm this once, but your luck won't hold. If you want your revenge so much, you'll come to Ponyville and face me there!"

"And if I beat you again, Somnus...?" Asked the star-clad cloud of darkness, in a voice like a mausoleum door slamming shut and trapping a living occupant inside.

"Somnus" chuckled darkly. "If you win, I'll surrender, no strings attached. But when you lose... I'll have you as the latest member of my army, fighting for our Empire of Shadows. But know this: if you don't come alone, or if you fail to show up, I'll consider it a forfeit, and collect my winnings myself."

"You can certainly try," the larger entity replied. "Alright, then, it's a date, you fucking murderer. Loser goes home with Destiny." With that, the entity calling itself Somnus dissipated again, moving towards a shattered window, only for the dragon-headed portal to the stars abruptly lunged forward and snapped up the cloud in its jaws. Only a small portion of the dust remained free, floating off in the wind, whilst the rest merely dripped from the remaining creature's jaws.

It, too, began to dissipate a few seconds later, the field of stars and tendrils of darkness shrinking and compacting into the silhouette of a familiar biomechanical figure before going "poof". The figure now standing there in the hall sagged to their knees, hunched over, before slowly allowing themselves to fall over onto their side.

"C-caldoric...!" Celestia exclaimed, as the Toa's pet robo-lizard scurried up to him and began nuzzling him worriedly. Celestia and Luna took this opportunity to look around at the carnage that was now visible in the wake of... whatever had just happened.

"What... is the meaning of all this, Toa?" Luna asked, her words slow and deliberate. "What transpired within these halls?"

"It wasn't me, if that's what you're asking." Caldoric responded. His gaze was directed at the Hikaki by his side, hands idly stroking its neck, though his eyes were unfocused, making it seem as if he were looking through the reptile. "It was a failed kidnapping attempt that, I think, turned into a show of power. These... people, I guess I could say... they were collateral, caught in the line of fire, as it were. After one of the Shardlings commanders almost said Sombra-- I mean, Somnus'-- name, they all started dying. The captive ones seemed to regain their free will, and began trying to get the crystals off themselves... and that's when the crystals started acting on their own, doing what you see here. I t-tried to help one, but... b-but..."

Caldoric turned away from the princesses, taking a few steps towards the closest body to him before falling to his knees and gently lifting its head. "I f-failed her... She d-died in my arms... Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair..." He then bowed his head over the mare's body and began muttering something that neither Princess was able to make out.

"Caldoric, what did you--" Celestia began, only for Caldoric to throw up a warding hand in her direction and continue muttering. Seconds later, he lowered the hand, closed the fallen mare's eyes, and laid a single golden Bit over each eye. He then followed these strange actions with an unfamiliar gesture from his hand: he held the index and middle fingers straight up, in front of his face, then moved the hand and fingers in front of his sternum, followed by his left and right shoulders.

"Perhaps it's some sort of death ritual, where he's from?" Luna suggested softly, leaning towards her sister. Celestia merely shrugged, then turned her attention back to Caldoric as he carefully laid the mare's head back on the ground. The Toa had barely finished standing up, however, when he was abruptly rammed into by a streak of blue with a Technicolor trail. There was a loud CLANNNG! upon contact, after which Caldoric was slumped against the far wall of the distant T-intersection at the end of the hall, while a very angry-looking Rainbow Dash was now crouching where he had just been.

~~~~
Rainbow Dash zoomed through the halls of Canterlot Castle as fast as she dared, desperate to get back to where she'd left Fluttershy and the Princesses to gather her friends. She knew Celestia and Luna could handle themselves, but she still had this awful feeling that something bad was about to happen...

Of course, her fears seemed to have realised themselves while she was gone: as she rounded the corner to the hallway, her eyes were treated to one of the more graphic sights she had seen in her life: there were close to ten bodies strewn across the hall in various states of desecration, and there were splashes of blood in several places. Her friend, Fluttershy, was just rousing herself next to the Princesses, who had both taken rather guarded stances. Caldoric was also there amidst the bodies, carefully lowering one to the ground and accompanied by his Hikaki. She wasn't sure why her attention suddenly snapped to the Pegasus mare's body, but when Rainbow saw her face, her vision became momentarily tinged with red, and her mind cleared of all but a single thought.

Mom...!

Suddenly, she found herself hunched over her mother's limp frame, hugging Windy Whistles' face to her chest and slowly shedding a few tears. Seconds later, the fastest flier in the nation was immobilized inside a familiar golden aura, warm and comforting, but also gently confining her as her mother slipped from her grasp.

"N-no, no...! Mom!!!" Rainbow cried, trying vainly to reach her mother once more as she was lifted away.

"Rainbow Dash, please restrain yourself," Celestia's calm voice asked, as the Pegasus was gently enveloped under one of the Princess' wings. "She's gone, Rainbow. As much as it pains me to say it, there's nothing more to be done for her now."

"Indeed," Luna added, stepping closer and leaning against the two of them. "Not even 'Tia and I, with all our power, could return somepony from the great beyond. Death waits for no mare, and doth not return that which she hath claimed."

"Yeah? Well, what about him?" Rainbow demanded, jerking her head in the general direction of Caldoric, who was just now staggering to his feet and blinking heavily.

"Augh..." He groaned. "Sorry... I do Space, not Life. Besides, as a Knight, I'm a fighter class, not a healer like Sylphs would be. Even then, you'd heed a Hope player on hand to even think of pulling it off with any degree of success..."

Luna and Celestia looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. "I'll take care of him for now," Luna stated, "you comfort her, and get her caught up." With that, she enveloped Caldoric and Jinka in her thaumic grip, and the trio teleported away before Rainbow could begin to object.

"U-um... Your h-highness, what happened here...? I-if you don't mind, that is..." Fluttershy squeaked out at last, visibly at the verge of tears at the sight of so much apparent pain and suffering. Only the Phoenix at her side kept her from turning into a fountain of tears.

"Hey, if anypony needs to be asking that question right now, it should be me!" Rainbow nearly shouted. "Not to step on your tail, Flutters, but I'm the one who just found their mom's corpse on the floor with somepony I thought we were supposed to be able to trust standing over her, and I'm just a little bit ever-so-slightly completely livid!"

At the word "livid," Fluttershy went "eeep...!" and fainted again, whilst the Toa Mata and the rest of the element bearers finally joined the present clusterfuck that the hallway had become. As they all gave their exclamations of shock and subsequent denouncement of whoever had caused the relative massacre, Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long day...

~~~~
Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location...

Darkness. That was all that was visible to the naked eye, for those whose vision was suited to sunlight. For those with nocturnal vision, however, it was an entirely different story: shadowy figures moved slowly throughout a network of tunnels and caverns. In a smaller cave, about the size of the average living room, a figure that had previously been motionless chose this time to move once more.

His head lifted from where he'd let it droop in concentration. His eyes snapped open, revealing his sclera to be a brilliant emerald green, with irises of crimson red. Indigo smoke began to leak from the outermost corners of these eyes as a smile split is otherwise stone-like complexion.

"Well, well, well..." Said Somnus, slowly chapping his forehooves together as he sent a ping through the hive's mental network. "I can see why you like him, my Queen. He may just be the last piece of the puzzle, and be the key to our victory in this war."

«This harebrained little mission of yours cost us several good drones, my "King." Dispensable though they technically were, you didn't need to kill any of them. We're spread thin enough as is right now...»

"Oh, just wait till you hear what I've learned straight from the source, Chrystalla. This will more than make up the loss..."

Silence. And then...

«Well...? I'm waiting...»

Somnus chuckled and smiled, then began relaying everything he'd found to his partner in darkness. As he did, he could sense her beginning to smile as well. Today had just taken a turn for the better...

~~~~
Canterlot Castle

Ian found himself and Jinka cocooned within a field of Luna's magical power, and had one last look at the distraught figure of Rainbow under Celestia's wing before everything went white and fell away...

With the clatter of metal on stonework, Ian was thrust forwards onto his elbows and knees by an unseen force, with Jinka arriving at his side. He gasped and sucked in a long, slow breath as a sudden chill embraced his form, then slowly faded. His vision was foggy, yet was definitely clearing up as time passed.

"Princess...!" Two voices called out, and there was the sound of armored forms moving to stand at attention.

"At ease, you two." Luna said, from somewhere nearby. "I have business beyond: Caldoric and I must-- Caldoric, get ye up to thine feet."

"Sorry, I've never been subjected to side-along teleportation before," Ian countered, shakily standing up. Jinka's hazy form struggled to its own feet, momentarily looking around before leaning against Ian's hip. "You could at least warn someone before you drop them through a wormhole like that. And, judging by how rough my ride was, your mass calculations or something need some re-working before our next trip." He got a sharp whack on the top of his head for his troubles, though. "Ow...!"

"You will speak with respect when addressing one of the Princesses, you impudent--" one of the guards began, brandishing a long pole-like weapon in a field of orange magic, only for Luna to cut him off.

"True though your intentions are in this matter, Final Sight, his words had a point: in a bit out of practice with multi-entity teleportation." She said. "Also, he is technically an ambassador of his species, seeing as he is one of the only members of his kind we have yet met. Yes, he looks similar to the ones known as the Toa Mata, but he comes from a separate reality than theirs. As such, I would advise you not to strike him again unless circumstances truly require it. Now, please step aside."

"Uh, not to disrespect you, m'lady," said the second guard, "but your sister said nopony was to open the vault unless it was her or under her authority--"

"I am her sister, and fellow diarch...!" Luna cut him off. "As such, I have equal authority to her, and I will be entering the vault. Now stand... aside."

Ian sighed. "It's no use, Princess. Lemme try." With that, he pulled out his Zat gun and zapped both guards. "Fortunately, I'm no pony: I'm human."

"Caldoric, what are you--?" Ian cut her off as he equipped his sword, gave it a couple flourishing swings, and then inserted it for the second time into the hole in the vault's door.

"Alohamora..." he muttered as he twisted the blade, and a faint surge of green energy splashed across the door, leaving behind a few arcs of lime electricity. Just like last time, the door split into six wedges and retracted into the doorframe as he removed the blade. With another flourish, he stowed the blade against his back, where it vanished into wherever it went when not in use, then turned around to smile at Luna. "Just call me the doorman... Wait, what's with the weird look?"

"How came you by that blade...?" Luna asked, her face a mix of many subtle emotions. "And what else aren't you telling us?"

"Um, I bought this from the Merchant, shortly before being dropped on Mata Nui. As for the second question... do you really expect me to just stop and tell you my entire life's story right here and now? I mean, there's a lot of things you all dont know about me or my world. Entire libraries' worth, in fact."

"Caldoric, I'm trying to have a serious conversation here. The very least you could do is try to do the same."

"Oh, believe me, I'd more than love to, but you see, I've got a couple problems." Ian replied off-handedly. "First, I'm firmly situated somewhere on the AD/HD spectrum, so my attention varies wildly in any given circumstance. Second, my life has been flipped upside-down repeatedly over the last, what, day and a half? I dunno, but in that time, I've nearly died at least once, and had to see some serious shit that most normal folks shouldn't have to experience even over several lifetimes. I'm just a civvie, I'm not cut out for this shit! Yes, I wanted magic and adventure and stuff instead of the same boring old shit I had to deal with back home, but I didn't ask to be pulled from the fringes of one war and then dropped into the center of an even worse one as a major player! Which reminds me, why the hell are we up here again?"

Luna stood there with her ears pinned back, slightly shocked at the minor tirade, whilst trying to parse the information contained therein. "Erm... I... My sister and I had decided that, perhaps, it might be prudent if thou werest to attempt to, say, figure out what has been changed about the mirror portal, and return it to a viable condition of operation."

Ian had been already walking into the vault, his eyes on the device in question, but he stopped at the mention of possibly fixing the mirror. "Psssh, who the hell do you think I am? Twilight, or maybe your precious Starswirl?" He asked, hands on his hips. "No. I'm neither of them. Yes, I have working theoretical knowledge of a similar device to this, (which, I'll admit, only existed as an occasional plot device in a work of fiction that I followed,) as well as a decent enough idea of Multiverse Theory and alternate timelines (which probably has more holes than the plot of the average work of fanfiction). Yes, I want to get the hell outta Dodge, despite how nice it's been to hang around here. Yes, reality-manipulation and control over physics are powers I'm supposed to have, if I'm not wrong about how classpects work.

"But I haven't got a single clue as to how things work here in this magical world of yours. Magic isn't a thing where I come from, as I believe I told you all last night. Your best bet would be for you lot to have Twilight get on this, since she apparently got it to work beforehand with nothing more than what she had lying about in her fancy-schmancy crystal-castle-tree thing, in a backwater town no less. This is Canterlot City, the Capitol of the nation, with some of the best materials that money could make and buy just waiting to be salvaged from the wreckage outside, and currently the residence of choice for not just one, but three of the most powerful magic users in the entire nation! I mean, seriously, couldn't you just bamf into Ponyville and grab whatever you left behind when you brought the mirror here?"

"Caldoric..." Luna began, her voice low and steady as she took and aggressive stance and tone, causing Jinka to whimper momentarily. "Get thee into yon vault of thine own volition, forthwith and with haste, 'ere we art made to utilize force, so as to lay restraint to thee and place thee there within."

"I-it's probably best if you just do as she says, man," said one guard, shakily getting to his hooves. "I heard that, last time she got this prolific with Olde Equuish, she nearly tore a while regiment in half, pony by pony. Or, was it, 'tore nearly a whole regiment in half'? I can never remember."

"I heard it was nearly three, and they were completely decimated." Supplied the other. Final Sight, most likely, seeing as he was the only unicorn of the two stallions.

"Wait, we talkin' the old-style definition here, or the more modern one?" Ian asked, only to get blank looks from the guards. "Old-style meant 'to brutally reduce by one tenth,' usually in reference to the ancient punishment for mutinous legions, where they'd kill one in every ten soldiers as an example... Modern dictionaries define it as 'the destruction of a large portion of something'."

"Caldoric! Get. Into. The vault...!" Luna demanded. "Now!"

"No...!" Ian said as he walked around her and away from the vault, to everyone's shock. "I have to go to Ponyville to fight Somnus as soon as possible, or he and Chrystalla will take over everything."

"Thou impudent, ungrateful whelp!" She replied, seizing him in her magic. "Thou willst do as we request like the rest of our little ponies, or thou willst suffer the consequences for thine actions. I am Princess Luna Selena Nocturnes Stellarum, and I command thy respect!"

"No, you demand my attention." Ian said flatly, and the guards swiftly backed into the vault, trying to hide behind various things within. "I am neither yours, nor little, nor a pony. I am also not neither native to, nor a resident of, any of the nations of this world/plane of existence, nor do I hail from any of the adjacent planes or demiplanes thereof. As such, my state of origin falls under the description of "free peoples," meaning that I am allowed to roam wherever I see fit and do as I wish, without being subject to any set of laws belonging to the land(s) I am in at any given time. I've only been cooperative thus far because I'm not genocidal, and said cooperation has been mutually beneficial."

"Aaaaaaauuugh! Enough of thy bile, Knave! Get in the gods-damned vault!" Luna yelled in frustration, before hurling him bodily into the chamber, followed more gently by Jinka as the guards extricated themselves and the vault door began to close. "It's for the best of all that thou remain'st there 'til further notice, mark my words! We will take care of that shadowy bastard and that chitinous witch! And then, there are things we must discuss upon our return!" With that, the vault had finished closing, and Ian was left in semi-darkness. In a flash, he was back on his feet and banging on the flat, featureless inner surface of the vault door, Jinka hot on his trail.

"Oh, yeah?!" Ian shouted. "D'you not like what I said? Or do you just not like me?!?" At this point, faint yet familiar music began to play in the enclosed space, and Ian broke into his first situationally triggered song since his arrival (the songs played at the previous night's party didn't count). It was one he'd heard before, back on Earth, and would occasionally listen to on loop when he was upset with someone: "I'm Just Your Problem" from Adventure Time, as sung by Marceline, the vampire queen. Of course, he decided to change some of the lyrics to fit the situation, and accommodate for the lines he'd forgotten.

♪Well, I'm sorry I don't treat you both like goddesses,
♪Is that what you want me to do?
♪I'm sorry I don't treat you like you're perfect,
♪Like all your little loyal subjects do.
♪Yeah, I know I'm not made of sugar,
♪So of course I ain't sweet-e-nough for you!
♪Is that why your ponies avoid me?
♪It must be so damn inconvenient to all of you.♪

Ian paused his singing, and dropped to his knees with his arms by his sides. Jinka's head butted under his arm, trying to comfort the former human, and the Hikaki started to drool tiny streams of lava as Ian pulled him closer and began idly petting him.

♪But I'm just your pro~blem,
♪No, I'm just "a pro~blem"
♪You've shown that I'm... Not even a person, in your eyes.
♪Because... I'm just "your pro~blem"...♪

Ian paused again, searching fruitlessly for the next line. He nearly gave up, only to decide that he might as well wing the next verse, and work with the moment. Not like anyone else was listening, anyways...

♪Well, I~ don't have to be who you want me to,
♪And I~ ain't gonna just blindly bow to you.
♪I'm forgin' myself from pure nothing,
♪Tryin' so hard to be something,
♪And I~ shouldn't have to do anything for you...♪

Ian stood up and walked over to the defunct Mirror Portal as he finished the hastily improvised lines. If anyone were to be in the room, watching him, they would've seen his entire posture droop as his head came to rest on the upper edge of the mirror's ornate lavender frame.

♪But... why do I want~ to...?
♪Why feel the need to...
♪Seek vengeance for her... mother...
♪But should I try to...?♪

Ian could feel his conflicting emotions shredding the underpinning structure behind the song, bringing something that might've been halfway good to an early close. He placed a hand on the Mirror's flat surface and tried to squeeze out a few more bits of ad-lib music, for better or worse.

♪Ba-dum dum da-dum...
♪Just wanna go back home...
♪Ba-dum dum da-dum...
♪Should leave y'all to your o-o-own...
♪If I could fix this thing, I'd be on my merry way,
♪If I... If...♪

"Fuck... No, no, that's it: it's dead. The moment's passed." He said at last, stumbling to a halt on the musical front. "Seriously, how do these Ponies do it? How do they just ad-lib entire songs at the drop of a proverbial hat? Let alone have it turn into an unscripted Thanksgiving Day parade through the middle of town...!"

Jinka looked up at Ian in confusion, and let out a concerned burble.

"No, no, you're right, Jinka. I need to try and get this piece of shit running again, seeing as it's probably my -- er, our -- only way outta here... No inner lock on the door, no windows or vents to speak of, and no way of forcing myself to be 'summoned' elsewhere. And I'd rather not add additional counts property damage to the probably already growing list of grievances against me..."

Ian glared down at the mirror intently, as if willing it to give up its secrets. When nothing of the sort happened, and Jinka had apparently become distracted by something somewhere else in the vault, Ian started muttering to himself in frustration. For the most part, it consisted of lamentations about: A), his lack of pertinent magical knowledge (or any magical knowledge whatsoever,) B), his additional lack of knowledge about both theoretical and quantum physics, beyond what he'd gleaned from the internet and works of science fiction or fantasy (most of which was probably bullshit, to be fair,) and C) pretty much everything in general.

As was usual for him, he started talking to himself as he looked around, thinking aloud as he tried to piece together some sort of solution.

"Like, seriously, how the fuck am I expected to deal with this shit... Assuming this even functions the same way as the Quantum Mirror, which it probably doesn't, knowing my usual luck, there should be some sort of absurdly hard-to-use remote to change which reality it connects to... If anything, Twilight should be the one dealing with this, since she got it to work outside the normal schedule..." He ran a hand through the wires, cables, and chains that comprised his "hair," and idly wished he had something to tie the stuff back with. "Damnit, I even said as much to Luna just now... I'm going in mental circles here, and it's pissing me off."

Ian shifted his glare to the window-like apparatus mounted above the portal. He found it unsettling how often he was reminded of his new height by everyday situations now: even at around 7.2 feet tall, (which was the average height of a Toa, if he remembered correctly,) the ornamental extrusion was slightly above eye level for him.

The mirror itself was one of those slightly-bigger-than-full-length kinds, just tall and wide enough to squeeze the average person through, or even a pony if they were so inclined. Add to that the two-tiered circular base, with untold quantities of horseshoe icons plastered all over it, the whole thing came off as gaudy and excessive, and if it weren't his only possible way home, Ian would have given some serious thought to just smashing the damn thing out of frustration and spite.

Oh, and despite being an inanimate object, it had this strange air of smugness about it that definitely wasn't there the last time he had visited.

"Damn useless piece of junk, this is..." He grumbled, stowing his hands in his armor pockets as he settled for giving the base a good, solid kick. "...Just like I am, I'd reckon." He stopped his complaining immediately, however, when his eyes caught sight of the almost cartoonishly slow quiver spreading out from where he'd kicked the mirror's base, before it began traveling at a more modest clip up the mirror itself.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me..."

The quaking of the mirror finally reached the peak, before it caused the window-like thing at the top (and the short bar connecting it to the mirror,) to start vibrating right up out of the socket it had probably been placed into when the whole ensemble was crafted. It's a shame they didn't manage to weld it on or something, so this wouldn't happen... some part of Ian's mind thought, as the rest of his attention became focused on catching the small part before it could make a break for... well, breakage, one might say.

After almost comically bobbling it about for several seconds whilst trying to keep it from smashing on the flagstones, Ian finally managed to get a safe hold on the... thingy. I can't just keep thinking of this as a window, He thought to himself, as he noted the Bionicle symbol fading from its surface, in fact, it looks kind of like a hand mirror now, with this little bar thing attached. Yeah, that could be the handle, and the rest is like a mini version of the larger mirror... Gods, this thing is so tacky. Wait, what's this at the base here...?

Turning the mirror part over, he noted something oddly familiar, though he couldn't quite place where he'd seen it before for a second. It's like... like a rectangle overlayed with a block-text letter "X", if the silhouette's anything to judge by... But these odd grooves all up and down the side are just so-- wait. Ian suddenly dove his left hand into the corresponding hip pocket in his armor, bending over so that his arm went in well past the elbow as he reached into the deepest recesses of his "inventory". Seconds later, he pulled something out of his pocket with a cry of triumph that startled Jinka.

Ian had pulled out the brassy switch from --oh, what was it, yesterday? Earlier today? Eh, questions for later -- from whenever he'd found it, and compared it to the other item he was holding. It was a complete match.

Rrrrr? Jinka inquired, suddenly at ian's side, almost startling the Toa into dropping what he was holding.

"Oh, hey there boy..." He said, reaching down and giving the Hikaki a scratch or two on the back of the head. "Nevermind that moping I was doing a bit ago, we're back in business! I may have found something to get us out of here. Or, someone, more like. All I gotta do is just plonk this switch thingy in the hole, flip it, and we should hopefully have company... I think."

"Kraaaaa!" A small voice cried from off to one side. Ian turned to find an airborne Imp headed right towards his face, snarling and primed to attack on contact. A quick dodge and two shots from the Zat gun later, and all that was left was a pile of multicolored gem-like game constructs that Ian knew as "grist", which Jinka was more than enthusiastic enough to pick up.

"Damn Imps..." Ian muttered, as several others stepped out from behind the mirror. "Sucks that Homestuck never covered how and where they spawn..."

A few seconds later, and they, too, had been reduced to grist and collected. There was also a small surprise for Ian.

"Huh, it looks like one of them tried to weaponize a frying pan..." He said, picking up the item in question, along with the corresponding strife card, which read "pankind". "Really? Pankind? I didn't think that one was canon... or, at least, I assumed that frying pans would fall under club- or jokerkind... meh, questions for later. Right now, I should get back to sticking the thing in the other thing, and... stuff. Gods, I'm tired. But, no rest for the wicked, as they say." With that, he reached over and carefully inserted the switch into the slot on top of the mirror.

"Und now, ve flip ze svitch." Ian said with a faux German accent, more to himself than anything, and toggled the lever with a click! But nothing happened. "Oh, vat? Vell, perhaps it must go ze ozzer vey... Nein, es ist not verking in eizzer direction. Vat am I doing wrong?" Ian then tried toggling it back and forth multiple times, in increasingly rapid succession. When next he spoke, he'd dropped the horrible accent.

"Seriously, what am I doing wrong here... I'm sure I'm missing something, but what is it? A power source? Hidden on/off switch? Blood sacrifice to some heathen god? Maybe a secret code word? I dunno..." He scratched the back of his head for the umpteenth time. "Alakazam...! Abracadabra...! Open Sesame. Alohamora? Swordfish! No, wait, that one's too obvious, everyone uses 'swordfish' as the secret password... By the power of Greyskull! To infinity and beyond! Augh, I'm getting nowhere..."

"If you need aid, call on the stars and Switch On!" Said a voice in Ian's head, delivering a familiar message.

"Call upon the stars...?" Ian muttered, confused. "I wonder... Does it mean, like, space stars, or celebrity stars, or something else entirely? Doesn't hurt to try, I guess... Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Sirius, Polaris, Ursa Major and Canis Minor, and anything else along the way that may be listening: I beseech thee, open yon portal, that I might be aided in righting what hath been made wrong!"

Nothing happened. And it continued to not happen for several seconds.

"Gods damn it! Work, blasted thing!" Ian commanded. "By the Green Sun and the Red Star, I demand that you function!" With that, he attempted to swat the gilded switch that seemed to mock him so, only to inadvertently toggle the lever at its top with a more-audible-than-normal click.

Ian barely had time for a hurried thought of Oh, shit...! before the mirror portal suddenly began emitting the sort of rapid-paced, multi-tone beeping sounds one would hear in cartoons shortly before a given device was about to comedically explode in someone's face. As this happened, each of the eleven gems set into the mirror's frame began flickering through an untold number of color combinations. Ian continued to stand there, stunned, like an idiot.

There was a snap-WHIRRR! followed by the two gems at the bottom-left-most corner (at about the 7:00 & 8:00 positions,) locking onto a deep navy color. This was immediately followed by a slightly higher-pitched snap-WHIRRR! as the two gems at 10:00 & 11:00 caught and lingered on a bright orange. There was a pause, succeeded by an even higher-pitched snap-WHIRRR! as the gems at 1:00 & 2:00 settled on a deep obsidian color, closely tailed by the ones at 4:00 & 5:00 becoming bright yellow to the tune of the highest-pitched snap-WHIRRR! yet.

Arcs of electrical energy had begun crackling all over the mirror by now, and still Ian stood in front of it, dumbstruck. It occurred to him, now, that he should probably take a few steps back... Or even sideways...

THREE...! a deep, sourceless voice proclaimed in a horrible Japanese accent, accompanied by a horn-like sound, while the gem at 9:00 glowed orange, then silver, and finished with a brilliant white.

TWO...! the voice said again, with a deeper horn, as the 3:00 gem mimicked its predecessor.

ONE...! the voice concluded, though it was followed up with a double klaxon sound Ian was all too familiar with from watching Stargate. As such, he instinctively dove to the left, and was soon glad he did. As the gem at 12:00 glowed orange, then silver, and then white, a ball of energy comprised of every color imaginable (and a few unimaginable ones,) formed in front of the . mirror, only to suddenly lance out almost to the door.

For half a second it stayed like that, before falling back to its point of origin, and then the whole thing "splashed" outwards along a vertical plane that ran parallel to the mirror: there was now what appeared to be an active, swirling Technicolor vortex larger than a car hovering in midair, and Ian had no idea what was to happen next.

He certainly didn't expect a giant yellow... thing, which vaguely looked like a cross between heavy construction machinery and the Batmobile from The Dark Knight to come barreling out of it, only to smash into the vault door and break it into countless pieces across the hall outside.

The machine quickly rolled to a stop, and Ian was keenly aware of the faint plink-plink-plink sound of cooling metal that came from its general direction as he and Jinka tried to extricate themselves from the other's grip. As they did, some part of the machine's topmost armor finally opened, and out stepped... Well, to be honest, Ian wasn't sure what it was, but it was definitely humanoid, and human-sized. It also looked like a Power Ranger that'd barely survived wandering through the wrong side of space camp.

Ian turned to Jinka and knelt in front of the smaller Rahi, carefully cradling its head between his hands. "Alright, boy," he said softly, "I need you to stay here for the time being. I'll be heading into danger and I don't want you hurt, 'kay?" The Hikaki emitted a faint rumbling in its chest, then nosed once at Ian's mask and sat down. Ian patted him on the head, then turned back to the new arrival, who was looking around dazedly, and hurried over to them.

"Oi, you. Power Ranger guy." Ian said to the stranger. "Not to be rude, but let's get going. They'll've heard that, most likely, and will probably be on their way here. I've got a dictator to kill, and I can't do that if I'm in a cell for imagined slights against the crown..."

The figure perked up at his words, then turned its teardrop-shaped head to face him, revealing two bug-eyed, fluorescent orange lenses on its dark face. "Ok," the stranger said, it's voice that of a young man somewhere in his 20's, "before we go any further: I'm not a Power Ranger, I'm a Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider Fourze, to be exact!" He then put his fists on his hips and struck a dramatic pose.

"...'Common' rider?" Ian asked with a faint smile, slightly confused. "What, are there 'uncommon' or even 'rare' riders I should look out for too?" Fourze merely sighed and facepalmed, shaking his head at what he could only presume was a terrible joke.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter, folks. Enjoy! Next chapter will be... another crossover! Woo! It'll take a bit to start, though, because I'm working on moving at the moment, but it will be done! See y'all next time!

Henshin Heroes! Chaos vs Lunacy, and the true virtues of Friendship and Unity!

Celestia sighed, ears folded back, and massaged her temples. "So, let me get this straight," she said, "you left Caldoric -- alone -- in the Tower of Elements, with our last method of escape and a large supply of potentially destructive devices, because he spoke 'harshly' to you. Is that correct?"

Luna nodded sharply, her normally serene face distorted slightly by an uncharacteristic scowl. "Tis the most secure locale within all of Equestria. Nothing less than the thaumic power level of an Alicorn, such as you or I, could hope to try and enter that vault. As I hear, you designed it to withstand even the greatest of breaching attempts, be they magical or physical in nature. Nothing could penetrate your enchantments upon that chamber--"

"From the outside, Luna!" Celestia interjected hastily, her ears pinning back. "It was designed to store and contain artifacts, not a living being of unknown capabilities such as him...! You yourself told me that Caldoric breached my security with a sword, and to make matters worse, you're implying quite heavily that it was one of those blades...! If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd gone mad for thinking one of them still existed after all we did so long ago! He could still get--"

Celestia's words were cut off, however, by a spike of phantom pain that shot through her horn and the various thaumic nodes throughout her frame. Her sister obviously felt it as well: somewhere, there had just been a massive, nigh-instantaneous buildup and release of powerful magic. The kind that could only be achieved through infusion into (and storage within) an arcane object of power, such as a precious gem, a staff, a cloak, or...

"The Mirror...!" Luna and Celestia shouted simultaneously as they locked eyes. Not a second later, there was a loud, rumbling crash somewhere else in the castle that could be felt even from this far away. It sounded almost like they had just taken a hit from a long-range siege engine, such as a ballista. This coincided with a sensation that Celestia had come to both recognize and dread over the years, as one of her more powerful wards suddenly failed under enormous strain.

"The Tower's been compromised...!" Celestia gasped, "He's broken out! Luna, we need to move, now." Her tone in that moment brooked no argument from her sister. And with that, the Solar Princess utilized a brief blast of magic to blow out the nearest window (a plain glass affair, thankfully,) and they both leapt out into the courtyard beyond, in search of the errant Toa.

~~~~
Elsewhere in the castle...

Jack sighed and removed his hand from in front of his helmet, and took a good hard look at the... person, to put it lightly, that stood looking back at him. The stranger was rather tall: at least seven feet, by the looks of him. Well, Jack had assumed it was male, if the voice and masculine body shape were anything to go by. The figure seemed more machine than organic, with gears and pistons barely visible underneath his black, white, and gunmetal armor wherever there was a lack of the strange dusty-grey muscle-like tissue. And that was to say nothing about his eyes or... was that his face, or a mask?

After all, it looked to be made of the same metallic substance as his armor, though it seemed to flex and shift in places, almost as if it were flesh and blood. And the eyes, they were internally aglow, almost like old sci-fi representations of robots used to have, though these had a line brighter spot in each one that appeared to serve the same function as human irises, indicating to the outside world where their owner was looking. And then there was the strange symbol emblazoned over and around his left eye...

"Alright, 'Kamen Rider,' enough staring." The stranger said, breaking Jack out of his observational reverie as he walked past. "Name's Caldoric, by the way, in case you're wondering. At least, it is while I'm stuck here. And yes, I'm a Displaced just like you. Now, can you fly or teleport? We'll have to do one or the other if we're gonna get down from this tower..."

“Yeah, flight’s an option,” Jack replied, before pressing a button on his belt.

Rocket On!

Caldoric stared as a large orange rocket manifested on Jack’s right arm, an eyebrow-like ridge on his face raising as he looked on.

“What… the heck.” He said, spreading his arms and dropping them. “I literally can’t… no, no, let’s just get on with this. What d'you want done with this thing?” He then rapped a knuckle on the Powerdizer, absentmindedly.

“It’ll be fine for now,” Jack replied before igniting the rocket and hovering a few feet in the air, “you got wings, or do you need a lift?”

“Oh, I can teleport.” Caldoric replied, then looked back at the massive vehicle beside him. “But really, if you need I can bring this with. It’s just a matter of…” He waved a hand in the general direction of the Powerdizer, and it vanished, to be replaced by a brown-edged card bearing its image that dropped into his hand.

“See?” He asked, holding it up, then turning it for Jack to see the opposite side. There was what looked like some sort of anti-spambot code on the back. “I can 'captchalogue’ just about anything, and deploy it again wherever it needs to be. So, shall we?”

“See ya at the bottom,” Jack said before flying out of a large window down to the ground. But, to his surprise, Caldoric was already there, briefly touching two fingers to his brow in a casual salute as the Kamen Rider approached.

“Hey, man, what took ya so long?” He joked, as Jack landed.

“Hey, put the two of us on bikes, and we’ll see who’s choking on who’s dust,” Jack replied before dismissing his Rocket.

Caldoric smiled and nodded. “True, but I took the cycling merit badge when I was in scouts, which included a 50-mile ride, so… can’t stop what ya can't catch, and ya can't outrun what's already here. Unless you mean motorbikes, in which case…” He rubbed the back of his head. “I’ve never ridden one.”

“If we find one for ya, I’ll give you a few pointers,” Jack replied.

“Finding a bike won't be much of a problem,” Caldoric replied, “I can sorta summon stuff from the fandoms that my current state of being was based off of… finding time will be more of an issue: we gotta get down-mountain before I'm discovered to be loose, and we ain't got time for the train.”

“CALDORIIIIIC!” cried a voice that was strangely familiar to Jack, though he'd never heard it raised in anger quite like this before. “Stop right there! And you there with him, I'm sorry he’s dragged you into this.”

They both turned to see Celestia and Luna landing nearby, both looking less than pleased.

Jack turned to Caldoric while pointing at the princesses, “Did you do something?”

Caldoric shrugged, looking a bit off-put. “Not… not that I remember. It’s been a hectic couple of days since I got my ass kicked off Earth. Lotta shit’s gone down.”

“You caused a decent-sized public disturbance earlier,” Celestia corrected, “when you were running around with Kopaka's mask? We’ll admit it was… somewhat necessary, but rather out of line. Also, we told you we can't just have you going off alone to fight -- what is he calling himself again?”

“Somnus, I think,” Luna replied, shuffling her wings. “Honestly, I think it’s a bit showy. You, there, newcomer. Who might you be, and what has our tentative ally here requested of you?” The Princess of the Night gestured at him with a wing.

“Jack Princeton, AKA Kamen Rider Fourze, good to see the local you, Luna,” Jack said, holding out his fist like he was hoping for it to be bumped.

Luna tentatively touched one of her forehooves to his fist, just as taken aback as her sister. “Thou must forgive us, we’ve not had many… pleasant exchanges, shall we say, with Caldoric to date. He’s been less than cheerful around us, or anyone else here in Equestria, if Twilight's reports are to be believed.”

“Not a fan of Equestria,” Caldoric interjected shortly, crossing his arms. “I like Mata Nui better. It’s a cooler place than the war-torn lot you’ve got here. And, by the way, we’re leaving.” With a wave of one hand and a snap of the other’s fingers, the Powerdizer reappeared on the ground nearby, next to another large vehicle, looking like a red, four-tracked tank, the latter of which he climbed on. “Let’s hit the road, Jack!”

“And don’t ya come back no more no more no more no more,” Jack chuckled as he climbed into the Powerdizer’s cockpit, “I’m in the mood for something decadent, race ya to Sugarcube Corner?”

“Sure,” came Caldoric's voice from the tank-thing, amplified over hidden speakers. “Just don't say it too loud, or the resident comedian will want to join in.”

“You’re not going anywhere, you two.” Celestia stated, as her golden magic engulfed both vehicles. Powerful as she was, it seemed like she was putting more effort into holding them than was necessary for the time being.

“Sister, are you alright?” Luna quietly asked.

“Yeah, I just haven't done this close-range of a telekinesis spell on such large objects in a while…” Celestia muttered in reply. Unfortunately, her moment of distraction offered Caldoric and Jack the chance they needed

“I’ve got the chase music covered,” said Jack as he turned on the Powerdizer’s radio.

“And I'll cut the anchor…” Caldoric added drawing a sword from his back, preparing to slash it at something. To Jack, it looked like the blade was sword-shaped a hole in reality to the stars beyond, but to the two Alicorns, it seemed to be something of importance.

With a brief arc through the air, Caldoric's sword seemed to release a wave of transparent force that shattered Celestia's hold on both vehicles and knock her back onto her rump, before both humans sped off. They left behind naught but a cloud of dust, the fading tune of the Benny Hills theme, and an exuberant cry of “follow me…!” from Caldoric.

“Luna…?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, sister dear?”

“...I think that was one of the blades you were talking about.”

~~~~
Caldoric and Jack sped along the roads of the war-ravaged city of Canterlot, which was definitely looking worse for wear.

“We’ll be going straight off the edge, by the way,” Caldoric called back to his companion. “How good's the suspension on that thing?”

“It’s a moon rover,” replied Jack.

“Fair enough,” Caldoric acknowledged, “now get ready to catch some unreal air…!” And with that, they were smashing through a guardrail and into nothingness. There was a brief sense of weightlessness, before they began to fall like stones to the harsh, unforgiving stone face below. Both vehicles landed with mighty crashes and the jangling of metal, but soldiered on without even a scratch.

“That was fun, any more coming up?” Jack asked cheerfully.

“I don't know!” Caldoric called over, his voice terse as he tried to weather the rough terrain: it seemed that his vehicle had virtually no suspension whatsoever, judging by how it rattled around. In stark contrast, the Powerdizer’s 6 wheels were mounted on large arms, allowing it to ignore smaller obstructions and easily traverse larger ones.

There was a moment of silence, before Caldoric looked back from where he was mounted on the tank-like vehicle. “Um, Jack, it looks like we have company…!” He called over to his compatriot, and pointed. Behind them, doing their best to avoid the massive clouds of dust and debris being kicked up, were Celestia and Luna, charging up a spell each. Once again, Caldoric's rattling voice drifted across the distance to Jack. “Evasive action, maybe?”

“Why do you think I’m playing Benny Hill?” Jack replied before powersliding the Powerdizer into a small copse of trees to avoid Luna's blast, “race is still on, loser buys the first round.” Luna followed after him.

“I ain't got cash here!” Caldoric shouted at Jack and Luna’s vanishing forms, before yanking on a set of hidden handles on his vehicle. This caused it to partially open underneath him, enveloping him in the vehicle's armor as the face-like “decoration” at the machine’s front lifted up and began moving like a real head. The treads began moving as four separate units now, almost like folded legs, as the whole thing abruptly swerved and ramped off an outcropping in time to dodge Celestia's spell. It spun 180° midair and continued moving backwards as a device rose from its back.

“Don't make me use this, Celestia!” Caldoric boomed at the Alicorn, as the newly-revealed turret formed a green, spiky ball of fire at one end. “I’m just out to right a wrong done to one of your people!”

“And I'm not going to let you make a mistake you’ll regret!” Celestia replied, charging up for another attack. Soon, the both of them were firing back and forth, neither giving up as they waited for the other to falter.

~~~~
Meanwhile, with Jack and Luna…
Jack whooped as he dodged another of Luna’s blasts, “This is great, I should do this with my Luna sometime.”

“Thou thinketh this to be sport, interloper?” Luna demanded of him, loosing another stun-spell. “And what mean you by the words 'my Luna'?”

“Every Equestria’s got a Luna, and since I live on the moon I happen to be good friends with the one on mine,” as he popped up on his two left wheels to avoid the shot. “Besides, you have to admit you’re enjoying this too.”

“Whilst 'tis true that I've not had a challenge like this for some time, I seek not to harm somepony who could be an ally.” She responded, settling into a glide and holding back a little more on her spellwork. “Or, rather, to one who art one already, if thy implied knowledge of Multiverse Theory holds truth within it. Frankly, thou seem'st like a more reasonable… being, than Caldoric has been.”

“Yeah, I’ve got some work to do with that one,” Jack cryptically replied. “By the way, fun fact about Kamen Riders,” Jack said before hitting the brakes to pull up beside Luna, opening the cockpit, and doing and odd multi-stage handshake with her, “we’re demons behind a wheel.” As soon as the words left his hidden mouth, the Powerdizer went over a cliff that Luna hadn’t noticed. Before she could attempt a rescue, it transformed into a bipedal robot and slid down safely before launching itself off and landing back in vehicle mode.

Shocked at the unexpected development, Luna came to an abrupt stop midair, pulling back and hovering in place for a moment. She looked at her hoof, then at the retreating form of Jack and the Powerdizer, and made a decision. Mayhaps, she thought, mayhaps they can handle this, and mayhaps their race aren't as bad as we’ve thought…

With that, she peeled off from her former quarry, and headed off to intercept her sister. Besides, if somepony else can manage to survive upon the harsh face of my Moon long enough to call it home, like myself, and befriend someone such as myself in these harsh times… I believe they can be trusted. May luck be with you, Jack Princeton: I pray you fall to no ill will in this.

~~~~
Elsewhere, somewhere on the slopes of Canterlot Mountain…

Ian, currently known to most everyone as “Caldoric,” had long ago given up firing at the eldest Alicorn that Equestria currently possessed. Instead, he had chosen to switch the vehicle on which he rode (known to some as a Skopio XV-1,) into its quadrupedal Walker form, and made it “gallop” clumsily down the mountain. It had been a move that he’d not thought possible, and had definitely thrown Celestia off guard for a few semi-vital seconds. He’d gained just enough time to get back out of nearly point-blank range, and could only hope that what few panels weren't blasted off would hold up.

He risked switching back to tank mode long enough to glance backwards at his pursuer, only to see that he now had both princesses on his tail. However, it appeared (to his eyes, at least,) that Luna was trying to talk to her sister, as if to convince her to do something.

Please just leave me alone, he prayed, to no particular deity, just let me do this, and it’ll make your problem so much easier to deal with…

As if in reply, Celestia slowed, looking long and hard at her younger sibling, then seemed to sag slightly as they both hovered in place. A moment later, as Ian dodged his ride around a cluster of rocks, almost at the bottom of the mountain, both sisters turned and flew back towards their city.

What was that about? Ah, well, as they say: don't look a gift horse in the -- damnit. Stupid horse puns are ruined now… Ian then revved the accelerator, and sped off into the developing forest, looking to find Jack as soon as possible.

~~~~
Soon, the two had managed to run across each other once more, and joined back up into their little convoy. They took a moment to reorient themselves, then took off: Caldoric not hesitating to blast trees out of their way, and occasionally crashing through a smaller one, while jack preferred to dodge around them if possible.

“So,” Caldoric said, skirting a tree, “I'm going to go on a limb and ask: is ‘your’ Equestria at war or something, too? I’m just curious.”

“Not exactly, more like a conspiracy to overthrow the diarchs and recruit an army of monsters from disgruntled ponies.”

“Oh, so a more cloak-and-dagger thing, eh?” Caldoric replied, blasting another tree. “Lemme guess, one of the previous big bads have returned, and are secretly behind it all? Man, that’s an old trope…”

“I have no clue who the ringleaders are,” Jack replied, “at least you know who you’re fighting.”

“Yeah, at least there’s that. But I’ll be the first to admit, it’s been no picnic here.” He sighed, barely audible through the ambient sound of high-speed travel through wooded areas. “Long story short, we’re post Season Six here. Once Thorax dethroned Chrysalis and took over the remainder of the hive, she apparently brought back Sombra, and they teamed up. Used some weird black-magic crystals they both can control to make a new army of mind-controlled crystal-armored slaves. Shit really want south after that.” Caldoric paused then, and looked over at Jack.

“How familiar are you with the lore of this place, by the way?” He asked, suddenly. “And what year were you Displaced? Me, I'm from 2020, and it’s not fun there.”

“To be honest, I’ve got no prior knowledge of MLP,” Jack replied.

“Heh, I almost wish I could claim that…” Caldoric added, barely audible.

“Hey, lighten up,” said Jack, “you need to inject yourself with some positive thinking bud.”

“Oh, I thought positive, once upon a time.” Caldoric replied, then looked around a bit. “Then war happened. After that, I got dumped on Mata Nui and had to help the Elements get back to Equestria, and then it turns out that Equestria's at war too. Long story short, having someone die in your lap as you're trying to save them doesn't exactly do wonders for one’s optimism.” He then began to slow his vehicle down a fair bit, slightly distracted.

“Woah, that’s some heavy duty stuff,” said Jack, “can’t say I can empathize, but you do have my sympathies.”

“Thanks for that, friend,” Caldoric replied, bringing his vehicle to a near stop. “Hey, stupid question, but does any of this seem familiar to you? The forest, I mean?”

Jack looked around, “Looks like it might be the Everfree.” He then pulled up next to a patch of blue flowers, “Yep, the Everfree, don’t touch those by the way.”

Caldoric hopped off his vehicle, and looked over at the indicated patch of local flora. “Oh, yeah, Poison Joke. I’m well aware of the less-than-favorable effects they can have. And, with Zecora gone, I'm not sure if anyone else has the recipe for the cure…” he trailed off, and looked at the trees around them. “...But Poison Joke is a play on poison oak, and a pun at that… and I'm pretty sure we’ve been here before… ah, shit, I think I know what’s going on here.”

“What is it, is it a problem?”

“Quite possibly. You ever hear of the Everglades in Florida?” Caldoric asked. “Well, in this one series I read, which was set in a place filled with more puns than Equestria could shake a hoof at, there was a similar place called the 'Foreverglades’ or something, which had some sort of magic-based, spatial-distortion effect on it. Basically, anyone who got into it ended up stuck in a repeating loop of terrain. You hit one edge of the bubble, and you reappear at the opposite end, and run in circles. I only hope this isn't like that… no, see, there are blast marks on that tree over there, and fallen debris over there...” He placed a fist over his mouth, eyes unfocused and looking back and forth as he tried to think.

“I’m not sure how they got out, to be honest, though I know they did. Somehow.” He added. “I… I think it had something to do with closing their eyes, and traveling like that? I dunno, you got any ideas?”

“Yes I do actually,” said Jack.

Radar On!

Jack popped open the Powerdizer, revealing a radar dish on his left arm. After scanning for a few seconds, he started rolling in a different direction than the one they were going, “Follow me, and don’t trust the landmarks.”

And so, they both began following Jack’s Radar heading. They rolled on for several minutes, before Jack’s Radar suddenly went on a momentary fritz. They had just hit, and passed through, the edge of the looping field, and been transported to its other side… however far a way that was.

“Alright, so, we found an edge. You got any ideas to get past this?” Caldoric said, dismounting. “Because I have one, but I'm not sure if it’ll work.”

“Yeah, I don’t have a Switch for this situation, let’s hear it.”

Caldoric opened his mouth to speak, then paused. “Switch? What d’you mean by 'having a switch' for something? You mean the thing on your, uh… the belt thing?”

“Yep,” Jack said before pulling out his Radar Switch and replacing it with with another that looked like the trigger for a camera, “I can do some analysis with my Camera Switch, but let’s hear what you’re thinking.”

“Alright,” Caldoric said, hesitantly, as he pulled the sword from his back once more. Something Jack noticed about it was the fact that it only seemed to be there when Caldoric was looking to grab it, but vanished otherwise. “I was thinking… y'know back in the city, when I slashed at Celestia's spell, and it broke? Well, I'm starting to wonder if this is more than just a way to channel the powers I'm supposed to have at my disposal -- long story -- and if it also has magic-cancelling abilities of its own… Let’s see what this Camera Switch can do, then. Maybe you’ll find a weak point?”

“Sure thing,” said Jack as he climbed out of the Powerdizer. He also had a metallic briefcase in hand, which he handed to Caldoric. “The output will be routed to this, so mind keeping an eye on it?”

“Alright, will do.” Caldoric looked at the screen built into the lid, trying not to be distracted by the buttons and lights to one side of it. “Gods, this is eerily like Myst IV: Revelations... Ready when you are, Jack!”

Camera On!

A large video camera appeared on Jack’s left arm, which he pointed at the barrier, “See anything interesting?”

“Um, not at the moment,” Caldoric answered, turning the screen so they both could see it. “You got any extra lenses or filters you can switch through on that thing? Maybe we’ll see something that way…”

“Use the buttons on the Astrocase,” said Jack. Caldoric nodded, and slowly began tapping buttons, one by one, until he stopped at one configuration that seemed, to him, indistinguishable from the rest. The screen, however, had gone from the same image they’d seen previously, to one depicting a faint area of shimmer in the otherwise empty air. It was tinted slightly orange, as opposed to the usual bluish-green the field generated on-screen.

“There. I think that’s something important.” Caldoric said. He then carefully began trying to poke his sword at it while looking at the screen for guidance. Seconds later, he felt it “catch” on something midair, and he looked up. “Oh, we got something…!” He gave the blade a sharp twist, and the air before them seemed to shatter in a fifteen-foot radius around the blade, revealing a different forestscape beyond. It was a bit darker, creepier, and generally rather more like the Everfree Forest they were used to.

Caldoric stowed his sword, turning the screen to Jack. “You may want to remember whatever setting this is; it seems to see weakness in magic. At least, if my uninformed opinion is correct…”

Jack just pulled out a labeler and printed out a label for ‘Magic’ that he stuck beside the button before packing up and getting back in the Powerdizer, “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Caldoric agreed, “hopefully before this closes up again or something. Los gehts, and all that!” And without much further ado, they took off through the broken field.

Some time after they had left, unbeknownst to anyone, the field began regrowing to its former state with the sound of a million tiny spiders. The Foreverglades were not happy, but they could allow these two to escape. They’d be back, it hoped.

~~~~
“So,” Caldoric began, after a bit of silent travel, “that happened. What do you think we’ll see next? Your guess is as good as mine, since I haven't gone outside the city since I got here two days ago.”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” said Jack. A few seconds later, they rolled out of the forest and into visual range of Ponyville, “Gotta admit, not expecting that”

What they saw before them was complete chaos. And not just your regular, garden-variety chaos, it was full-blown Chaos, bad enough it deserved its own capital letter. Houses (and their foundations, sometimes,) had been lifted into the air, and were floating at various angles, some of them with stuff falling out in unexpected, non-groundward directions. Other houses were just upside-down in the dirt, or had some weird modification made to their color scheme. The grass was blue, the ponds were tropical-ocean green, and the sky framing the small township’s skyline was plaid, with oddly familiar pink clouds hovering about. Some of them were raining a brown substance that Caldoric was pretty sure was chocolate milk.

“Ok, so Discord’s out and about as well.” Caldoric remarked. “See those black specks flitting about, Jack? I’m preeeeeeetty sure those are members of Chrysalis and Sonum-- Som-- gah.” He paused, shaking his head with a metallic blubbering sound, then continued speaking. “Words: can't talk today. Chrysalis and Sombra’s army of Shardlings, jeeze. There are two types that we know of: one set are ponies encased in Crystal and forced to move against their will, and-- what, why are you laughing?”

“Sorry, it’s just that I kinda feel like I’m in an episode of Animaniacs,”Jack chuckled.

As if on cue, Caldoric placed a hand to his mouth, then drew it away with a “mwah” sound, and said “g’night everybody!” Then his face became more serious. “In all actuality, I'm only passingly familiar with that show, but I know what you mean. To use the common vernacular, 'shit be whack, yo.’ Discord’s presence changes everything.” Then, something that caught Jack slightly off-guard happened.

As Caldoric looked at the afflicted town, his mask glowed, and changed shape. Instead of the swoopy-yet-angular shape it had been previously, with two almost tusk-like protrusions coming off the cheeks, it looked entirely different. Now, it was almost spherical, with an array of three lenses on the right-hand side, each of which glowed as green as the lone eyehole on the left side.

“Yeah…” Caldoric said, as a couple lenses adjusted themselves without him touching them. “Discord's there, all right, but no sign of Sombra. I suspect a trap.” He turned to Jack, then seemed to realize something. “Oh, shit, you probably wanna look. Um… here, use this.” Jack was then handed a telescope that he was sure Caldoric hadn't had in his possession previously.

“In any case,” Caldoric continued, laying down on his chest, “I was telling you about the Shardlings. Two types: first are basically puppeteered ponies, usually innocent civilians, while the second are converted Changelings, made entirely of crystals animated by a central intelligence made of greenish gas. Those ones tend to be like generals in comparison, and tend to order squads and whatnot around.”

“Oh, hey,” Caldoric interrupted himself, and pointed. “Discord is coming into view, down over there.” And indeed, the self-proclaimed God of Chaos was rolling down the street, somersaulting without a care as a handful of Shardlings marched doubletime to keep up.

Jack handed back the telescope, “If you can keep him off my back, I think I know how disable the Shardlings.”

“Right, will do. Some reason, I'm tempted to ask myself how good his hearing is. You know, since we’re spying on him from way out here, sorta like that one scene in Lilo and Stitch…?”

“My hearing's pretty good, to be honest.” Caldoric looked over at Discord, who was lying next to him with a pair of binoculars to his crazed eyes.

“Well, that’s good to-- AAH, SHIT!” Caldoric shouted, rolling away from the Dragonequus as realization hit him. All around the trio, reality began to melt, like a painting splashed with water, before they all found themselves in the town square of Ponyville.

“You two,” Discord said as he pulled a comically overlarge pocketwatch out of one ear, “are late. For a very, very important date. Well, this one is.” He then floated over and ran his hand along the side of Caldoric's mask, before tapping the crown and pendant of pure black crystal on his own serpentine form as Caldoric pulled away. “I’ve got orders to trash this poor, poor fool who calls himself a Toa. I’m afraid you’re just collateral, Jack, unless you step aside.” Discord frowned, then snapped his talons and reappeared in the remains of the broken fountain at the center of the square.

Jack chuckled, “You certainly know how to put on a good show.”

Discord nodded slightly. “I thank you for your compliments, hero. However, you still have not made your choice: Advance, or Abscond? Which will you take?” He then smiled wickedly, his eyes flickering green for a moment.

“I choose advance, with style,” said Jack as he swapped out a Switch.

Beat, On!

A large speaker appeared on his right leg, which began emitting sound waves that hit the Shardlings like actual punches. This caused Discord to raise a bushy eyebrow at the Kamen Rider.

“Oh, I see,” he commented slyly, “using the resonance properties of crystals to make them shatter… almost brilliant, my friend. But how will you counter… this?” He snapped the fingers of his paw, and a shimmer seemed to run over the nearby Shardlings, and they seemed to become somewhat resistant to the soundwaves. Well, as resistant as one can be when when being pummeled by literal waves of eardrum-straining sonic power, but still.

“Change the crystalline structure, and it affects the frequency,” Discord remarked. “They’re set to auto-cycle between various random formations now, so that probably won't work for long. And now, for my next trick…” He snapped the talons of his left hand, and everything below where his wings sprouted from his back began to split and unfold. Mechanical components revealed themselves beneath, and began to expand and snap together, until Discord's upper half was now mounted on a gimbal above a giant pair of treads flanking a large box-like structure.

“Ah, shiiiiit…” Caldoric remarked, backing away, “he’s doing something from Toontown. You familiar with that, Jack?”

“Think I might have heard of it, but either way I need to pin down the pattern he’s using,” Jack said as he swapped another Switch, “so I’m counting on you to deal with him as best you can.”

Radar, On!

“Oh, you’ll both be too busy for that,” Discord remarked, as the front of the box fell open to reveal a crowd of… to be honest, Jack wasn't sure what they were at first, but they looked humanoid. They shambled out of the enclosure robotically, each with a different head and body shape: some were short and stout, others tall and well-built. Some had what looked like greenish cheese wedges for heads, others looked like sharks, and still others were pointed like pencils.

“Cogs,” groaned Caldoric, “why’d it have to be Cogs? As if we have any Gags to deal with this…”

“Go, my businessbots!” Discord cackled, as his treads roared into reverse, backing him away from the impending conflict. “Bring order and boringness to this world! Mwahahahahaaaaaa!”

Caldoric drew two small cylinders from his hips, holding them almost like they should be attached to swords. “You ready, Jack? We may have to take this guy out first, and deal with the Shardlings after.”

“Man, I hate having to stop something halfway,” said Jack as he turned off his two active Switches and swapped out a third, “luckily I have just the thing for dealing with robots.”

Elec, On!

Instead of merely granting him a new piece of equipment, instead Jack’s entire suit changed to black and gold, as well as giving him a sword in his right hand. “What say we check these bots’ voltage rating?” Caldoric was silent for a second, and then…

“Wow, man… I'm shocked that you would suggest such a thing!” He then grinned like an idiot as several of the Cogs groaned and facepalmed, and flicked a switch on each of the rods in his hands. A blade of light sprang forth from each one with a sharp hiss; one lime, one a deep, reddish shade of orange. “Now, let’s kick some bot, shall we? Jokes are their weakness.”

“You’ve got lightsabers? Sweet,” Jack said, before inserting a plug that hung off the sword into the first of three outlets that rested just above the hilt, causing the blade to crackle with electricity.

With that, an unknown voice said “Fight!” in an overdramatic fashion as the word itself appeared over their heads, appropriate fighting music began to play, and all hell broke loose. Caldoric and Jack charged towards the Cogs, who in turn began spreading out to surround them as Discord kept pumping them out. Heroes met robots in righteous and glorious battle, and--

“Hey, narrator, get on with it!” Discord shouted at the heavens, then cackled madly.

Ahem.

Caldoric began slashing at the robots before him with a passion, seemingly eager (in Jack's eyes,) for the fight. Jack, for his part, was fighting in a way that was somehow both methodical and random, switching the plug between the three outlets to change from electrically charged strikes, flying slashes of electrical energy, and electrical rings that paralyzed their targets. Partway through he swapped out another Switch to give himself a shield on his left arm that looked like the nose of a space shuttle.

“Oh, nice one!” He heard Caldoric call from nearby, as a three-tiered birthday cake went sailing over his head and smacking a Cog in the face. The afflicted machine staggered backwards, then began shaking as its upper body began revolving rapidly with a faint whooping sound before it exploded. Just then, there was a mighty quaking in the ground beneath them all, causing Jack and Caldoric to fall on their backsides. “Damnit! Stupid Ambulance Chasers, they always do that!” Caldoric raged, before another Cog was violently destroyed.

Shortly, various sizes of cake (even mere slices, and pie-tins full of greenish slime,) began flying every which way, usually hitting a Cog somewhere on its body. Soon, through their combined efforts, Jack and Caldoric had managed to rout the Cogs, and what few were left sprouted helicopter blades from their heads and flew off.

Jack rolled his neck around, “Didn’t even need a Limit Break there, I’m ready for the next round, you?”

“I think the next round is taking out him.” Caldoric supplied, jerking his head at the currently fuming Discord as his mask switched to its original form. “Maybe that 'Limit Break' thing will snap him outta it? I’ll let you lead, if I'm able to help!”

“We’ll have to see, luckily he doesn’t seem too interested in dodging,” said Jack. In truth, Discord was now wearing an oversized tie with a bullseye on it. Jack removed the Elec Switch from his belt and placed it in the butt of his sword, causing an alarm to blare.

Limit Break!

“Rider 10,000,000,000 Volt Shoot!” Jack said before swinging his sword at Discord, launching a massive flying slash of pure electrical power, the edge trailing the ground leaving a jagged crevice as it passed.

At the same time, Caldoric stowed his lightsabers and summoned two items: on his left hand appeared a silver shield with flamelike designs etched into it, while in his right appeared a purple scepter of sorts that bore three jagged lightning bolts at its functional end. “Thunder on my left hand, lightning on my right,” he said, then thrust both items forward in Discord’s direction, causing large arcs of energy to connect the two beings.

Both sets of attacks connected with Discord simultaneously, blasting him clear across the square and into what remained of the Town Hall. The dust settled, and the two heroes waited with baited breath until they could see Discord's prone form.

“Ssssssssooo…” the Dragonequus said, his voice carrying oddly across the distance between them, his head hanging low as he shakily got to his feet. “You thought to challenge me? Me, the masssster of all disssssharmony?! For your impudence, you sssshall pay, puny mortalssss! Your lives are as of nothing in the shadow of my power…!” With that, his head snapped up, revealing that the crown of shadowy crystals from before had grown to wrap around his entire head, encasing half his face and making him look far more dangerous. His eyes were now fully green with blood-red pupils, and they both leaked purple smoke. He was also becoming surrounded in an ominous, smoky-black aura.

Jack dragged his hand down the front of his helmet, “I’m gonna have to use that, aren’t I?”

“Depends,” Caldoric replied, attention focused on Discord as the nearby Shardlings beat a hasty retreat, “you ever use whatever it is on someone who’s gone Grimdark?”

“I never used it outside of testing,” Jack replied, “it’ll give me a similar moveset to him, but it’s got a few side-effects that’ll kick in when I shut it off that are a grade-A pain to deal with, so I decided to not use it unless I really, really need to.”

Just then, Discord's form shot straight up through the last of the Town Hall, reducing it to little more than a pile of rubble, and then things started getting crazy. “You fools have dared to lay a hand upon me,” Discord said, his voice dripping with anger, “so now I shall reward you: you will be the first -- and last -- to see a fragment of my true form!” He curled up into a ball momentarily, before he went spread-eagled in midair, and his entire body began to change. Limbs of various crearures and organs and other masses of pure flesh began to extrude from his form, until he'd become a veritable abomination as tall as a five-story building, still wreathed in darkness. “S̠̲͓̰o͘҉̜̭̼͖,” it said from its many mouths, it's voice like nails on a chalkboard, but a thousand times worse. “y̮̩͜ǫ҉̰̞ų̫̠̤̹̬͈͡ ͠͠͏̥h̸̭̭̟̼͝a̫̭̟̝͇͜v̛͍̜͓e̡͏̗̲̘̲͇̞̗͙́ ͝͏͍̹̦̤͍̤m̡̝̼͇̞͕͡ḁ̵͟ņ̤̝̀͠ͅa̹͇̳̘̩̕g̴̳̘̥͚̯̦͟é̸͓͉d̳̜̖͉̤̟ ̗̼͍͞t̰̺̤̱̱̰̺o̥͖̖̲̩̕ ̮̝͡n̦͠o̸̠̰̯͜t̲̜̳͙̗̙̤́ͅ ̴͚̠̬̻̠ͅģ̲͓̪̝͉͜o͏̸͖̲̝̰̝̜͕ ҉̫͈͖̺͘i̛̛̻͔͓̫͉ṇ̛̥̞̳̭͓̠͍ṣ̮a͞҉̮͚̥̮̳̬̹̪n҉̣͕̝̯̪̩̖̥́͞e̟̪̦͓̳̳̙̘ ̮͕͙͖f̠̟̥ŗ̨͔̖̱̹o̟̤̠̮̯̙̗̝m͖̜̟͝ ͇̣̠t҉̛̱̱̼̘h͍̪̲͇̜͖̺̬e̞͈̱͖̦̫ ҉͚̱͇̩́͝ḿ̨̥͍͍̲̙̜̱̳̥e͔̝̯̗̳͘͟͞r͖͔̹̲̜̹̙̙è̲̞̘ ͈͚̩̪̯͕͎͚̦s̗̫̻̦i͘͏̶̘̣̲̘͙̦͇g̡̨̳̗͙h͕͕̻̳͓̳̫ͅt͍̫̳̘͝ ̨̛͕̖̤̯̱̫ͅǫ̘̪̮̳̻̪͈͟ͅf̶̘͈͕̞̕ ͖̀͞m͏̟͍͔̭̼͘ͅę̴̻̩̘͓̖̰͉͡.̧͈̤͎̗͙̥̀.̸̶̠͔̜̰̬̙.̛̲̳͜ ̵̖̰͙̻I̘̝͓̹͉'̡̦̭̦ͅl̵̻̳̭͉̫͖͢l͔̫̦ ̶͉͙̫̼͖̭͘h̶̤͍̣̫̩̩̬́a̲̰͡v̩̠̜͈̦̳̺́͟e̢͍̲͙̣̖͔̗̣͠ ̶̷̩͚̙͎̼̲́ͅt̡̞͚̫̣̳͔͚̬̫o̢̗͚̭͇̖̣͘͠ ͓͇̘͕̹̕͢͞g͏̝̦͔͎i̷҉̗̹̳̱͕̝̼v͇̰͎͓̬͜͡ͅȩ̬̙̟͇̮͞ ͉y̯̗̤͎̲͘o̗̥̗̘̘̣͉̞͡u̴̵̬͕͍ ͏̵̱̙̳̱̮̳c̸̻͕͇̟͘͝r̥͓̘̬͓ͅe҉͕̯̣̬̳̺d̶͎͔̮̹̻̣ḭ̷̖̫̲̯̺̞͞t̛͝͏͖̤͕̬̖̣̤ ̤͖̥f͉̯̜̻̖o̡͏̮̩r̶̗̰ ̵̶͉̺̼̘t̜̬͕̺̰̣̟͔̝͜h̖̤̪à̱̗̞̟̮̘̦͜͠t̢͚͚̞͎́:̶̠ ̨͡҉̹͎͍̱̯y̸̱̳̟͙͉̹̦͘o҉̶̗u̡͚r̶̟̟̬̩͖̮͔͝ ͙̻̺͚͉̝̳̀͟s̴̥̜̯̻̤͇̠̳͟͞p͕͙̩̻̥̯ͅȩ̦̝c̷̴̶͕̟̼͉͉ͅi̯̹͕̟̕ẹ̴͘͜s̲̘̪̦͔͓̗̪ ̸͏͙̣̯i̙͚͍̝̟̲̖͉͜͞͠s̛͓͓͎̥̫͢͝ ̛͇̳͖̺̕̕ͅͅa̭̣̭̖̝͟͡l̮̦͟͠͠r̨̝͓͔̦̫e͙̻͚̞͢͡͠a͔͔͉̘̦̠͈̭d̞͖̥̳̤̠̺̮̩͢ỳ̺̥̝͢ ̰͕̟̭̮̥̭n̗̩͢e̴̷̝̮̙̝̙̗̗̫a̢̟̫͔ͅͅr̭̲̳̣ ͍͖a͙̩͙̗̮̺͟ṣ̟̟͖͇͓̣͠ͅ ̧̻͙̲̫̤̹̕c̱͔͓r҉̶̳̜͞a҉͕̹̘z̻͙̯̻̣͎̩͡ý̲̠͠ ͈̩̘̰̝̗͢ạ̵̝͖͉͇s͔͙͈̰͢͡ ̬̯͈̞͘͜m̻̳i̱̞͠n̸̵͚͓͉̝̖̠̺ȩ̶̯̲̠̹͖̫̦ͅ.͏̸̮͓͇̫ ҉̫̤̭̥̀B̭̟ṵ̥̠͕̤̤̖̜t҉̱͙̼͖̜̟̕,͚̣̕͟͞ ҉̡̭̳̦̼̝c̣a͏̝͈̮̫̣͈͔͉͡n̠̫͚ ̴̭̞͔̮̦y̧͍̗͕̠̱̲͚̹͞ơ̸̬̲̫̰̕ú̻̪̱ ̸̱̻͘s͎̟̙̞͔͚̣̺͝u͏͚ͅr̢̞̖͍̥̕v̢̨̭̯̬̘̜̗̬i̶̝͔̕v̵̢̪̝̰̪͡e͇̦̮̯ ̬͕̠̙̜̕ͅṯ͙͕̼͚̖̖͔͠ͅh̜̠̥̗̰͞͠i̹͉̲͙͎̟̣ͅs҉͔̮̥̻̼̱̗?̭̥̪͍͚̳̦̕͘”̹

Jack sighed as he pulled out a Switch that resembled a key in a lock, except that instead of a key was a green wooden mask, “Guess it’s time for Toon State’s official debut, is this ever gonna suck in the morning.” He swapped out for it and turned the mask around, revealing that on the other side was a cartoony lime green face with a massive toothy grin.

Mask, On!

A mask identical to the off side of the Switch, except bigger, appeared on his right forearm, which he then removed and placed on his face. It then turned liquid and spread over his entire helmet, before he suddenly spun around in a tornado as a fanfare played out of nowhere. When he stopped spinning, he was completely different. He was much lankier, was wearing a green suit, black dress shoes, and white gloves, and instead of a helmet was a cartoony, cone-shaped head, complete with actual orange eyes and a mouth. “Well then,” Jack said as he straightened his lapels, “shall we begin this picture?”

Discord looked at Jack with some amusement. “Ş̫͇̣̦̭̮̕o̵̯̤͚͙̩͘͞ͅͅ,͏̢ͅ ̠͎̥̀͘ỳ̹̥͚̺̥̬̝̩͝o̸̷̡̺̯̼̜̮̪͍̰u̢̘͇̝̺̼͉ ̵̢̛̖̠̟̩̩̦ţ̱̱̗̼̳͞r̵̢̧̦͉̙̬̹̙͚̦͇u͏̡͈̞l̢͉̙̞ỳ̨̙̹͚̘̱ ҉̥̼̲̳̙̙͡͝ͅa̹̪͢͟͝r̢̥̻e͏̢͙̙̮ ͉͓͚͠m͉͉͚̰͟ą͖͔̠̺̫̙̲ḍ̛̦,̵͈̜͙̳̰ ̧̩̩̱̞̘̰̰̩͕͟a̗̙͞͠r̴̤̪̀̕e̢̟̳̼̘͙͈̩͝ͅn̷̼̫̬̪͓͜'̛̜̹̺̭͉͟t̴̡҉̗̙̤̣̭̼͇ ҉̻̲̪͓̟̫͔y̴̜̠̰͍͔̱̭̜̥o̸̡͓̙͕u̧̼͖̱̪̜͜?̢̩̖ͅ ̣̦̪͓͔̗̕Í̩͖̙̯̭ǹ̤͜ͅt͉͇e͕̠̳̘̬r̴͈͢e̛̞̪͕̱͟ş̤͍́̕ͅt͖̹̪̙͇̙̙̘̲i̸̤̹̭̪̹̖͞ǹ̷̜͔̭̦̗͓̖̪́g̳͔͚̻̀͞.̨̱͝ͅ.̧͏̖̙̺̙̲̹.̶͉̮͔̪̝͝” The abomination declared, as Caldoric slowly drew the sword he’d used before. This drew Discord’s attention like a magnet. “W̻͎͙̝a͏̶̭͈̫͈i̮̞̙̟t͇̭̦̜̪,҉̷̜̮̣͉̜̞̬ ̲̣̰̞ͅẉ̷̱̘̰͟ͅh̢̨̬̻̱͙̙e̴̗͇̩r̰̱͍̰̦̹͞e̹̺̺͎͖̜̱̕ ̵̭̪͈̲̼̗ḑ̙͖̟̩̟͔̩̠ͅi̳̹ḏ͎͉͈̼͟ ̴̗͎̟͙̠̞͡y̷̻͕͕̝̖͡͠o̶͖̼̺̮͚̻͙̝͓͘u̻̬͍̖͎͇͖̖̥ ̵̣̣̤̯̖͍͡g̞e̴͉t̖̻̖̥͈̜ ͝҉̩̮̦͈̠t͉̙̮̰̰͠h̰a̶̟͔̫̣͙t̷̺̱̞.̸̨͓͉.̙͕̤̭̬͇̙.̫̣̤͍̬̀͘?̘̰̀͠ ̳͔͖͡I̴͚̟̩̝̦̰̺̗ ̜̘̜̩t̤̼̲̪̝ͅh̴̸̹͙̗̯͍̖͍͞ò̮̟̙͎ú̵̠̳̪̯͠g̮͇͔͔̝͇̜h̙̙͈͎͍̙̰̘̀̕͢ͅṯ̞̫̭͈͟ ̷̗̖̤̬͈̣͇͕t̖̣̗͇̥͉̱̝͟h͏̶̡͚͖͔͎͕̯̺̭e͏̫͓̱̀͘ ͖͇̺̜̩̮̯͜s̢̨͓̣̪̻͜i̶͔͕s̼t̡̺̟ͅè̥̗͎r͖̻͖̮̮̬͔͟s̡̢̬̗̦̝̫͙ ̬͇̖̳̲͙̳͠d̢̹i҉̠̟͉͎͢d̶̛͓͉̙ ̪͉à̫̳̤̱͚͡w̷̬͢a̧̯͓̗̝̼̺̟̠͕͟͞y̧͚̞̻̦̼̕ ̻̹̠͖́͠ẉ̯i̸͚̲̱̭͕̳t̫̬̗̠͕͖͉̰͎h̢̝͎͙͙͈̺ ̶̼͡͞t̻̫̳͡͡h̤͇͚̰̗̪͕̭̹ę̸̼m͕̟͎ ͘͏̪̗̫͙̹͇̻̰ͅa̠͔͟l͔̺l̫̝̩̙.̷̷͈̯̯͍̲̙͜.̣̪̻̫͢.̘ ̰̼̣͇N̢̻̙͖̥͚̙̣̟̕͜e̶̡͏̞̲̭̝͇̗̖v̵̷̧̪e̛̪̻̟̰̕͞ͅr̸̩̦̣͖̮̼͕͞m͕̫̤̣̜͇͘ͅí̹̠̦̖ǹ̷̡̞d̷̢͚̻,̮̜̼̗̝͉̭͇ ̞͖̞͘ì̛̬̪͙͖͓͜t͏҉̴̤̦͇͉͉͈̺̳̦'̸̜s̨̞̞̘̰̣̗̗ ̡̗̟͍̹͉̼͓̼͙͘o̦͇̜̭̙͉̩̕͜f̘͙͜ ͕̪̞̤͉̪n̸̙̣͕̦̠o̵̞̜̬̖͎͉̻̼͟ ̛̖͖͓̼̙̳̜͝m̸͚̯̟̘̗̥͕̺͟͝a̶҉̭͕̲̲̘̲t͕̠̞̝̝̣t̨̥̦̣̺ḛ̞̹̪͖͈ŕ̛͓̥̻̫:͏̰̼̘̬̫̖̙̝ ̴̻̫̟̲̠̤͈̪̗͟y̡̧͎̯̼͍̩͈̙͢o҉̮̥͈̱̞̻̗̮u͓̩̟̪̦͙̮'̨̟̳̞̥͡ḻ̠́́͝l͏̲͚̟̣̯̀͞ͅͅ ̕͝҉̟͚̮̱̺̥b̡͙̹͇ͅo̵̵͈͕͓͎̩̩̻̳̲ț̛͘h̟̰̕ ̨̛̪̮̼͉̭̯b̶̡̥͍͇̣̞̻̖͟e҉̳̻̩̬͓̘͠ ͉̖̬̻̪̱̩͚͢d҉̺̰ḙ̴̩͉͚̞̬͖̱̯͢a̲̜̳͙̜d͍͈̥̗͚̦͎̥͝ ̴̡̬͓̻͝ṣ̮͙͎̥̼̳̕͞ǫ̫̼͖̀o͉̼̖͜ͅn̫̮̭̻̱͎̺̹ ̻̖̠̮a̶̧̞͎̰̩͠n̡͓̩͈͍̺̝̜y͎̫̳͙̹̮̼̦͝w̶͝҉͇̜̲̬͔̱͎̖a̡͜͏̖̖y͉͚͔͖̜̤s̤͔.̮̩̟̭͈̕.̟̪̲̹͉̀.̲͎̦”

“I was not expecting to be facing a Horrorterror alongside The Mask today, so excuse me if I'm a bit nervous,” Caldoric said, taking a tentative stance. At that moment, Discord lashed out at both heroes with tentacles and energy beams from various locations. Caldoric dodged and rolled, while Jack… well, Jack was bouncing around on a pogo stick.

“Mad? I will have you know, good sir, that I am loony, not mad,” said Jack in an obviously fake british accent before bouncing up super high and coming down on Discord’s main head, but not before swapping the pogo stick for a jackhammer.

It was a very effective attack, the jackhammer quickly cutting through the flesh and into somewhat important internal fleshy bits. Meanwhile, Caldoric hacked away with his sword, the areas around where he cut turning dark and drying out.

“Ya know, this is getting a bit personal…!” Caldoric said, as a stray tentacle suddenly grabbed him around the ankle and hoisted him into the air, near an opening beak. “I ain't gonna be digested today, Discord!” With a slash, the tentacle was severed and most of the beak disintegrated.

Jack frowned as he worked on the crystaline growth around the mad god's head, wearing a construction worker’s outfit for some reason. “She aint givin’, gonna have to bring out the boomsticks.” He then pulled a large bundle of dynamite out of nowhere, which he duct-taped to the crystal, and jumped down to where a plunger style detonator was waiting, hooked up and ready to go. “Fire in the hole!” He shouted, before pushing down on the plunger, causing Discord’s head to explode. The crystal however, didn’t budge, causing Jack to throw his helmet down on the ground in frustration.

“You’re supposed to lubricate it first!” Caldoric cried, tossing a small, hexagonal device to Jack. When he caught it, he saw that it bore alternating black-and-white stripes and the word “Barbasol” written on it in big bold letters, accompanied by the Betty Crocker logo in one corner. “Turn the knob and chuck it! It’ll go boom rather nice!”

Jack, now wearing a military uniform, turned the knob and stuffed it in a mortar, firing it at Discord’s head. It blew up in an even more impressive fashion, actually causing a few crystal shards to fall. As they did, they were accompanied by drifting wads of fluffy, flaming foam.

“Oh, god…!” Caldoric cried, sarcastically, as several nearby houses caught fire, “who knew shaving cream could be so flammable? And why’re you focusing on that crystal, Jack?!” He was then sent flying by an explosive laser blast from Discord.

“It’s quite simple,” said Jack, now wearing a mad-scientist’s outfit and accompanied by a whiteboard with several pictures on it, “Discord’s aggression is directly proportional to the size of the crystal on his head, therefore one could assume that removal of the crystal could result in a corresponding reduction in aggression.”

“That seems fair, but…!” Caldoric supplied, barely dodging the repeated attacks of another tentacle by rolling side-to-side, “what about his chestplate thingy?! He absorbed that, and there’s no telling how big that is! The only science I know for this situation is that giant robots kick abomination ass! Be right back!” With that, he vanished in a faint flash of light, only to return seconds later on the Skopio tank. He also had the Powerdizer in tow.

“C’mon, Hyde, let’s kick some monster ass!” He said, as he transformed the tank into its walker form, and sank the blades on its front legs deep within Discord’s flesh.

“There is only one appropriate musical selection!” said Jack before hopping in the Powerdizer, switching it to robot mode, and turning on the radio.

“I would’ve gone with Sabaton's Primo Victoria, myself,” came Caldoric's rebuttal over the Skopio's loudspeakers, “but this works! Take this, Discord!” He then let loose with as much firepower as he could from the turret, focusing it all on one spot: the remains of the Crystal embedded within Discord’s frontside. Chunks came off slowly, and flesh peeled back to reveal a larger anchor within the monstrosity.

“S͙̜̮͚̼ͅt̯͜o͚͇̦p̩̞̲ ̢͕ṭ̸̮̭̼͓h̤̣̭̜̫̳ͅaț̡!̹” Discord rumbled. “͙̳͉̬͎͈̻S͉̲̣̤͟u͈b̻͜m͓̪̲̫i̲̥̫͚̳͉͢t͖́ ͕͙to̹͍̪̜̕ ͔͞m̬̥̠ỳ͎̰̗̖ w̗̘͕̬͝i̠͓̝l̶̘l̶̮͕̝̠̤,̬̫̀ ̳̹͚̤̭̜͉a̘͓͖͔͎̖͖n̺̮d̦ ͖̝͎̼̘̖́ͅI͓̻̥̮͓ ͏̪͚s̠̼͉͍h͚̳̝̥͍̬͝a̲͓ll̮̭̣̝̦ ͕̝̪̘g̬̲͇̭̜̙r̘̱̘͍̀a̖͘n͍̱̗̪ͅt̻͉ ҉y̭̜͎̬̰̘ǫ̹͖͇̩u̸͈̩̲͖̼͖͇ ̢a̜ ̬̹̜p̛͉͕̰̞͙̻͓a͢i̗̱̥̖̘̱n̶̘͔̮̼͉̲l͡e̯͖̪̖s̥̮͉̭̘͡s͈̭̥̰̣ ͉͙̯̠d̡ḛ̤̙͍̯͕a̧̯̜͇̪̜̣th̬̳̭͖̭̰̳!̦̥̹́” He then cut loose with his own flurry of attacks, knocking Caldoric back, and leaving himself open for attack.

“Oy, I haven’t cured him of his grumpiness yet,” said Jack before setting his mech into a boxer’s stance and delivering a flurry of powerful yet precise punches to Discord's midsection, cracking off a single large chunk. Caldoric blasted the chunk to smithereens before it hit the ground.

“I wouldn't be grumpy if I wasn't stuck in Equestria!” The Toa added, rejoining the melee. “Especially all alone, without any other humans to hang with!” With that, he jettisoned himself from the tank, allowing it to ram into the monstrosity that currently was Discord, while he sank his sword deep into the flesh near the crystal. In his other hand, he held a long, bluish-purple rifle-like weapon with a large glowy crystal at the end of the barrel.

“Let’s see how you like Ahab’s Crosshairs, ya calamari mutant!” There was a flash of light, and a beam of energy pierced most of the way through Discord's distorted form, the large crystal inside, and knock Caldoric back onto the ground again. The latter of the two then began firing multiple times at a lower power setting, riddling the abomination with holes, almost like Swiss cheese. “Yeah, that’s what you get for letting a low-level player have an end-game level item! Woo, Eridan, eat your heart out!”

As he continued firing, Discord's distorted body began to shrink and reform into something more recognizable.

“No… No! How could you?!” Discord demanded, as the two-pronged onslaught continued. Seconds later, the entirety of the fleshy blob exploded, leaving behind a mess and a half-organic, half-crystal Discord behind. Despite his new look, he appeared somehow… weaker. As if to prove the point, he fled down a side street.

“Ack…!” Caldoric said, sitting up, “that wath dithguthting.” He then spat out a bit of goo, and dry-heaved for a second.

“You should really invest in an enclosed cockpit,” said Jack as he flicked off some of the goop, “shall we chase?”

Caldoric nodded, then shakily got to his feet. “Yeah, but be wary; this is starting to feel like some sort of boss battle, and they usually come in stages. This feels like it’s start to wrap up, so it’s probably gonna get difficult.” He then turned to Jack as he walked. “You gonna turn that mask thing off, or d'you feel you still need it? It’s creeping me the math out.”

“We need it, plus I’m gonna be useless for a good hour when I turn it off,” said Jack as he exited the Powerdizer, “besides, I haven’t had a chance to try out the Limit Break.”

“Well, whatever that ends up being, I imagine it’d be pretty crazy.” Caldoric looked up at the skyline in the direction they were going, then groaned. “Ahhhhh, nooooo… Twilight's castle. That place is a maze, or so I've heard. Let’s hurry and catch him before he gets inside…”

So they both picked up their pace, exchanging some idle chitchat along the way, and soon arrived at the large Crystalline structure. Where there had been a pair of large doors in the doorway, there was now a basketball-sized jar of pears.

“...I get it.” Caldoric said, facepalming, before turning to Jack. “D’you?”

Jack just shrugged.

Caldoric sighed. “It a pun. A pair of doors, which he probably left ajar… became a jar of pears.” Caldoric shook his head. “He’s leaking chaos magic or something; we gotta stop him, and soon.”

And so, they both moved into the castle, with Caldoric picking up and storing the jar for later, and quickly came to a large library, where Discord was poring over several times of magic. Some of them floated in the air, pages turning on their own, while others flapped like birds. Nonetheless, he was evidently reading them all at once.

“I knew you’d come…” He said, his tone one of defeat. “I knew, and yet I hoped you'd just let me be. But, you're heroes, so it doesn't make sense that you’d do that, so…”

“Doesn't make sense?” Caldoric asked, deadpan. “You're the one who once asked where the fun was in making sense; what’s gotten into you?”

“Somnus.” Discord said with a sigh. “Trying to fight him off even now, but his hold on me only grows stronger the closer I am to defeat. The crystals embedded within me? The smooth-cut faces were too orderly, and allowed me to be more of myself even under his orders. But now, the rough broken edges that they have are chaotic enough that they’re melding with my essence, allowing me a last moment of lucidity before he completely takes me over.”

“Tell us where he is, then.” Caldoric offered, trying a reasonable approach.

Discord merely smirked and shook his head. “Sorry, little flame, can't do that…!” He said, his voice not exactly his own. “You waited too long, and now Sombra has set me loose.”

Dͅi̛͍͍͔͙̘̞̗s̰̬̬͕̭po̗͍̳̥̕s̺̮̩e͖͉̭̺͎̥̲ ̞̞̻͕͕̘o͎̖̤͇͍̱f͚͇̠̗̜ ͎̩̜͔̣ţh̯͎̝̻̗ę̭̘̳̻ṃ̙̮̳̻͓͉.̯.͎̺͈̻ͅ.!̯ came a dark, evil voice through the air, one who Caldoric seemed familiar with. ͍ͅD̵̥̪̩͇̞is̛̱͈̖̝̝p̢̯o͓̭͈s̴͎̪͎̘̩̱̬e͔̣̳ ͇̺̺̬͜o̡f̱̬̘̮͘ ̝t͙̲̯͚h̴e͏̖͚̳͕̠̟̝m͕͓̖̺̜̲̹ ̵͚͔n͓̮̳͖̭̗o͖w̻̱̮͢!̳̟̖̘̯̜ͅ

“Gladly, my master…” Discord replied, his expression going vacant.

Jack cracked his knuckles. “Looks like I’m going to have to escalate from Bugs to Conker. Hope you don’t feel inadequate.” With that, he pulled out a pair of what could only be described as belt-fed rotary shotguns with undermounted every-other-kind-of gun-you-can-think-of.

“That’s overkill…” Caldoric said, reaching over his shoulder. However, instead of the sword he'd used before, he pulled out a large-bore weapon of his own, bearing a swooping blade on the back, and a side-mounted twist-knob firing mechanism. “Then again, with an infinite ammo setting, so’s this Bruteshot. Bought it off the Merchant back at Comic-Con, of course.”

“Rule 37: There is no overkill, there is only ‘open fire’ and ‘I need to reload’,” Jack said sagely, before proceeding to dump the average amount of ammunition used by the US Army in a year into the crystalline growths surrounding Discord.

“Uh, rule three!” Caldoric shouted before taking aim. “Go for the Gronk-nuts!” He then fired off a large projectile that hit Discord squarely between the legs and exploded, before Caldoric began firing off more shots in quick succession.

Discord screamed with rage, and snapped his fingers sharply in the hero’s direction. The bullets from Jack’s barrage swiftly began rebounding against an invisible field of force, along with Caldoric's grenades, and cut a swath of death towards their points of origin. Grenades exploded at their feet whilst Caldoric tried to dodge the lead-filled air itself. Jack kinda just stood there, amused, while Caldoric and Discord looked at him with concern and confusion for a moment.

“Don’t worry, I think he missed,” said Jack before pulling out a bottle of lemonade out of nowhere, “thirsty?”

Discord and Caldoric looked at each other, then back to Jack, and shook their heads simultaneously. Caldoric, however, began to worry. He was familiar with the premise of the Mask, whose powers Jack was borrowing at the moment, and was pretty sure something wacky was about to happen.

“Suit yourself,” said Jack before downing it. However, instead of staying inside him, the lemonade leaked out from various bullet holes that were previously unnoticed. “Huh, guess he’s a better shot than I thought.”

Discord’s eyebrows went up so far, they briefly departed from his face before he could slap them back down. Caldoric, for his part, gave a horrified gasp and placed a hand to his mouth. “I-I know that that’s cartoon logic, but… I have some concerns…!”

“Nah, he’s good…” Discord said, absentmindedly, before shaking his head sharply. “No matter: you pests have been a thorn in my side long enough--”

“Ninety-two…” Caldoric murmured.

“And now,” Discord continued, ignoring him, “it’s time I finished you off for good.”

“Sixty-three…” Caldoric muttered.

“And-- ok, what are you doing?” Discord asked, looking at Caldoric, who was staring off into the distance behind Jack.

“N-nothing, carry on.” The Toa said, still shell-shocked.

“Well then… it’s time I sent you two to meet your maker!” Discord declared menacingly, though the effect was somewhat ruined by the interruption.

“Wow, 612,” Caldoric remarked, actually looking at Discord this time.

“Ok, seriously, what’s with the numbers?” Discord demanded, folding his arms in front of his chest and floating up in front of Caldoric's face as he leaned back.

“Oh, I read a lot,” replied Caldoric, off-handedly, “and I've skimmed through so many heroic and villainous speeches and monologues that I started counting how often certain lines popped up.”

“Y-you…” Discord floated away from him, taken aback. “You crazy bastard! And that’s saying something, coming from me…”

“413 and seventy-two, respectively.” Caldoric quipped, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh good, I thought you were counting down to something,” said Jack, “I don’t think we’re at the point where you need to blow yourself up in a heroic sacrifice.”

Discord’s eye twitched. “That’s it!” He shouted, suddenly angry. “Everyone dies, starting with you two!” He then teleported a short distance away, summoned an unstable-looking ball of energy in his talon, then chucked it underhand at them both. As it arced through the air, it went from white-hot to yellow, then a fierce orange, followed by an angry red, all while making an ascending series of “vworp”ing sounds that grew in frequency over time.

Jack quickly went over to it and picked it up. “Looks slightly bigger than my head, Overlord list says I shouldn’t do this but…” Jack then promptly ate it. And by ate it, what happened was that his whole face stretched to comedic proportions as he shoved it down his gullet and into his stomach.

Caldoric sucked in a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed as he shook his head. Meanwhile, Discord just looked on in disbelief as it disappeared from view.

“Did he just…”

“Yuuuuuup.” Caldoric replied, almost sounding disappointed, then looked at Jack with weary anticipation.

“Not bad, although I was expecting a bit more h…” Jack was interrupted as the sphere exploded in his stomach causing it to balloon outwards. After a bit of panting, he belched a small stream of flame before proclaiming, in the most over the top fake italian accent you’ve ever heard, “That’s-a a spicy meat-a-ball.”

Discord facepalmed, hard, whilst Caldoric pinched the bridge of his nose again, head bent over, and started making sounds that could have been either sobs or small bursts of laughter.

“This is it…” Caldoric said, his tone one of someone who was either laughing at everything, or had just given up all hope. Again, it was hard to tell which. “This is my life now. Hahhhhh, fuck my life…”

“Believe me, it won't last much longer!” Discord declared, snapping a paw that was now wearing a white glove with red embroidering on the back. A reddish-gold spark of energy leapt from his claws and to the space between Caldoric and Jack, setting off an explosion that sent them both flying, books burning, and knocking Jack’s Mask switch clean out of its socket.

“Now, I'm going to kill you both slowly.” Stated Discord, hovering over to them in an agonizingly glacial manner. “Believe me, I hate having to put down great toys like you, but I've got orders to put you two troublemakers down. After all, there’s no funny business involved when it comes to funny business, and I run that business.”

“J-jack…!” Caldoric called, using his arms to elevate his head and shoulders. “You ok?”

Jack just sat up like nothing was wrong. “Well, someone’s been into the dark stuff.”

Caldoric nodded. “I’ve got an idea, if you’re up for it…” He reached into the neck of his chest armor with one hand and pulled out a small chain necklace from underneath, which bore a single, beautifully-cut piece of Specular Hematite: a dark purpleish crystal, filled with glittery flecks that reflected the light. He closed one hand around it and concentrated for a moment, before a faint glow was seen between his fingertips. He then yanked the chain until it popped off around his neck, and tossed the crystal at Jack, who caught it.

“Try using the Toa Energy from that,” Caldoric suggested, drawing his sword as he got to his feet and faced Discord, who was mere yards away now. “I'll hold him back.”

Jack just looked at it before pulling a plain white Switch out of… somewhere. He then squeezed the crystal so that a glowing fluid fell from it and onto the Switch, causing it to change so that it was now the same shade of black as Caldoric’s Kanohi, and the button was the same shape. He then popped the rest of it into his mouth. “That should give enough juice for a Limit Break,” he said as he put it away, “unfortunately we need to make sure he can’t counter it.”

Just then, Caldoric came sliding over on his ass, having been decked by Discord. “...Ow,” he said at length, “has it worked yet? Because I'm gonna want it back when you're done…”

“If we can hit him with a stun debuff, I think I can beat him,” said Jack, “of course… we still have to hit him with the stun so…”

Without a further word, Caldoric reached into a pocket in his hip armor, pulled out a slightly corroded-looking snake-like object, then fired off several blue beams of energy at Discord. Five to six of them hit, causing the mad god to fall to his knees, groaning.

“I think he’s stunned.” Caldoric deadpanned. “Can we try a Kaita now?”

“Wassa Kaita?” asked Jack.

“Unity thing. Temporary melding of souls and minds, usually with three Toa, but it’s just us now so… shall we?”

“Let’s give a try, begin Fusion Dance!”

“Nah, nothing so complicated.” Caldoric said, reaching out a hand. “Just needs a mental surrender to something greater than oneself, and willingness to unite. Wanna try?”

“Hey, I’m Kamen Rider Fourze, the man who’ll befriend the entire Multiverse,” said Jack, “that sounds right up my alley.”

“Alright, let's do this!” Caldoric said, as Discord edged closer, and then took Jack by the hand.

“Just let me sinq us up,” said Jack before swapping out for his new Switch.

Kanohi, On!

A copy of Caldoric’s mask appeared on his left arm, cycling between a few different ones before returning. “Got it, looks like the new Switch I made based on you works well enough.”

“Right! Now, focus…!” Caldoric said, and they both turned their minds towards the idea of unity. Caldoric felt everything fall away, felt himself taking a back seat as something else stepped up to take contr--

Everything started turning inside-out and upside-down as images and visions from Jack’s memory began trying to mesh with his, except something was wrong. They were too chaotic, too raw, too… unreal, perhaps, is the world. There was pain, nausea, vertigo, a deep burning sensation in his gut: it was too much.

Caldoric felt himself slam back into his body, propelled by an explosive force away from Jack, just as the Kamen Rider was forced away from him in kind. Discord, who had been just about to reach down and grab them both by the neck, was blasted to the other side of the room.

“That… was an unexpected move,” Discord said. “I’ve never seen unity like that before, especially not one that failed so explosively. But that reminds me of a phrase…”

Caldoric groaned and looked back up at Discord. “N-no, you don't… gah…” He looked over at Jack, hoping he was alright. Jack was currently holding his head like he was trying to weather a grade-A hangover, and failing miserably.

“It goes a little something like 'divide and conquer,’ if I remember,” Discord finished, then stepped apart: he stepped to the left, yet also stepped to the right at the same time, so that there were now two of him.

“Now,” they both said in stereo, turning to each other and placing their palms on their opposite's hand-equivalents, “cool off!”

Both Discords slid their hands forward along an imaginary plane that divided the room between Caldoric and Jack, and a giant wall of opaque, pinkish-red ice popped into existence along that plane.

Jack’s view of Caldoric was cut off by this, though guessing by how menacingly the copy of Discord on his own side was advancing on him quickly, Caldoric was going to be in for some hurt pretty soon.

“I gave you a chance, whelp,” this Discord said, grabbing him around the neck, just under the chin, and lifted him bodily into the air before slamming his head against a wall with enough force to crack his helmet. “You made the mistake of choosing to fight. You chose to be a hero, like Caldoric over there. Oh, don't worry, my other half’s taking extra care of him.

“Do you know what a hero is? What a hero really, truly is? A hero is someone who gets other people killed, all for their petty ideals!” Discord slammed him against the wall again. “Do you want to be a hero, fool? Do you want to be brave? Or do you want to live? There’s no shame in surrender, trust me: I gave in to madness and chaos long before this reality was even conceived of, or the one that conceived of it had, itself, been conceived of!”

Jack just chuckled, “You want to know the thing about being mad?”

“It’s fun?” Discord asked.

“All the best people are,” Jack replied, before pulling out a massive hammer and slamming it in his face. Discord reeled back half a step, then growled and yanked the hammer from Jack’s grasp and threw it.

“That’s the last straw, maggot,” he hissed, then slammed jack against the wall one last time as he grabbed Jack’s Driver belt and yanked it clean off and dropped the Kamen Rider. Jack’s form shimmered for a brief second as he hit the floor, before his Fourze armor, which had been protecting him since his entry into this iteration of Equestria, evaporated. “See, there’s nothing special about you: all your power lies in this clunky little belt buckle. So intricate, so complicated, so…”

Discord cruelly yanked the newly-minted Kanohi Switch out of its socket, then wrapped his free talon around it. “Fragile…!” Discord crushed the Switch, causing it to emit sparks as it cracked and broke, before tossing the remains over his shoulder and turning his attention to the Driver once more.

Jack looked up, weak and dizzy, but with defiance in his eyes. “A Driver isn’t a Rider’s greatest weapon,” said Jack, as what looked like cosmic dust shot from his hand to knock the Driver away from Discord. “That would be their bonds and tenacity.”

Discord’s eyes snapped to Jack's face, full of rage. “Still, you defy my will…! I’ll beat the defiance out of you, even if it kills you!” Discord then shot forward, lifting Jack up by his throat again, this time with a grip meant to strangle his victim, more than to support his weight. “How did it go again…? Oh, I remember…” He smiled evilly and drew back a clawed talon for a strike, before sinking it deep into Jack’s lower abdomen.

“Kidney shot!” He said, then did it again, and again. “Kidney shot, kidney shot, kidney shot! And pause… stomach punch!” Discord sank his fist into the slot just below Jack’s sternum, causing the human to cough up a spurt of blood, and the crystal Caldoric had tossed to Jack earlier.

Discord caught that midair, and snarled at it. “Specular Hematite, a derivative of iron… you humans do love your iron, don't you? Think it'll ward off the Fae folk, and keep away the bad things. You and your superstitions, they’re one of your worst qualities.” He then squeezed the crystal, too, such that it began to crack, but not break.

Jack glanced at the window, before turning back towards Discord. “You wanna know one last thing we Kamen Riders have going for us?” Discord merely snarled in reply, but seemed to wait for Jack’s answer nonetheless.

“What... is it…?” Discord demanded at length. In answer, he heard the shattering of glass and stone as, bursting in through the window at Mach Fuck-You and dragging debris along in her wake, Screwball came out of nowhere and sank her hindlegs into her father’s head so far, it protruded out the other side. He was then sent spinning across the room and into the ice wall, which began to crack and break.

“When the chips are down, we tend to get really lucky,” said Jack as he wobbled towards his Driver. “Thanks for the save by the way.”

“No prob, still gotta go save my dad,” said the tiny ball of chaos, her eyes actually focused for once. Jack wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing, either. Fortunately, she was focused on Discord, and not Jack. She took of with enough force to crack the floor beneath her, then socked the rising Discord clone in the face and sent him through the ice.

Several things happened next. The ice wall shattered entirely from the shockwave of the impact; Jack managed to grab his driver and slap it on his waist once more; the two Discords collided; and, there was a flash of light that filled the room. When it ebbed, screwball was cradling her father’s head as it lolled around groggily.

Meanwhile, Caldoric was nowhere to be seen on the other side of the room, though there was a battered human curled up in a corner, covered head to toe in Green, raspberry-lime pudding. Actually, so was half that side of the room, centered on the human.

“Looks like we both got de-henshin’d, huh?” said Jack, before collapsing on one knee. The human on the other side of the room didn't seem to hear him, merely shivering slightly and continuing his now barely-audible muttering. Meanwhile, Screwball was experimentally shaking discord’s head, which now had little pegasi flying in circles above it, and then pressing her ear to his eye.

She rattled him again, and then listened. “Yep, yep, I can hear 'em in there… yo, Kamen Rider, mind coming over here? I’mma need somepony to supervise while I get what’s left of these crystals outta my dad, just in case.”

“Just let me get dressed,” said Jack, before flipping the toggles on his Driver.

“Henshin!” In a burst of steam and light, Jack was back in his Rider suit.

Screwball rolled her eyes. “Screw it…” She muttered, then turned back to her dad. With great care, she lifted his still-loopy head, leaned in close, and then…

”WAKE THE FUCK UP, DISCORD, IT’S ALREADY PAST NOON! GET YOUR LIFE TOGETHER!” She shouted, then slapped him with a glowing hoof so hard, it knocked all the dark crystals outta his body and caused them to disintegrate, leaving naught behind but an echo of an ethereal scream that quickly dissipated.

Discord shot up into a sitting position, looking around wildly. “Who-- Wha-- Where--?” He babbled, a talon to his head.

“Daddy!” Screwball cried with glee, then glomped him around the neck in the vicelike grip only aligators and small, clingy children can achieve.

“Ah, hey Screwy,” Discord cooed, gently prying her off. “I missed you! How’ve you been since I got brainwashed?”

“Worried sick!” She supplied. “But still looking better than Caldoric over there…”

Discord looked over at the now-shivering human in the corner, and pulled a face. “Yeesh, don't tell me that I… oh, sweet Celestia, I hope he doesn't remember that.”

“Only time will tell, daddy,” Screwball said, wisely. “Only time. And no time-traveling to fix it, either: it might mess with the local Alpha timeline.”

“Not that I'd be up to it right now, I'm nearly wiped!” Said Discord, as he found himself barely escaping total erasure by a giant chalkboard eraser.

Just then, the room became swarmed with Shardlings, some of them moving robotically, while others were more fluid.

“Damn it, we’ve got incoming!” said Jack. Discord, for his part, dropped the shenanigans and snapped his fingers in the general direction of Caldoric, who flinched slightly, but kept muttering incessantly.

The Shardlings advanced, coming closer and closer, each charging their horn for a spell. “You have failed us,” they all droned, with a single low voice. “You have betrayed and dishonored the hive.”

“Looks like it’s up to the Kamen Rider on his last legs to save the day,” said Jack as he swapped Switches, “as per usual.”

Beat, On!
Radar, On!
Beat, Radar, Limit, Break!

Jack raised his right leg into the air, “Rider Resonant Cascade!” Bringing his leg down in a mighty stomp, a visible red-tinted soundwave burst from the speakers in all directions. When it hit a Shardling, they started vibrating rapidly before the crystals shattered, releasing the captive ponies.

The more fluid-moving Shardlings, however, merely shattered, releasing several clouds of greenish gas-like energy. “I got this,” Screwball said, and flicked one of her forehooves at the clouds, which each coalesced into individual Changelings from Chrysalis’ old hive. They were immediately put into devices that wrapped around their heads, and presumably kept them from connecting to any sort of hive-mind.

Meanwhile, the normal ponies (and a couple of Thorax’s more colorful new hivemates,) began sneezing out small clouds of black dust, though this abated quickly.

“Nice move, Jack!” Discord said, raising his paw for a high-five, which the Rider returned. “And, a sorta-decent assist from you, too,” he continued, booping Screwball on her muzzle.

However, right after that, Jack collapsed to the ground, transformation undone. “That’s all I had left, mind taking it from here?”

“I dunno,” Discord said, standing up as Screwball slid down his sinuous form, “I just finished getting beat up, I'm gonna need, like, five minutes to rechar--”

There was a faint *ding* from somewhere in his general area.

“Nevermind, we’re back in business!” He said cheerfully. “Now, let’s see to Caldoric, shall we?”

“I’m currently about as useful as a bag of goop right now,” said Jack, “mind if we continue this in the Canterlot medical wing?”

“Oh, sure,” said Discord. “Lemme just go grab him, and we’ll be on our way.” Thus, with a wave of his paw and a snap of his fingers, Discord dispelled the shield he’d placed around Caldoric, as well as most of the confectionery covering his form. This revealed a young man in his mid-twenties with dirty-blond hair, a white long-sleeve shirt under a black short-sleeve one, and grey pants, though there seemed to be a few burn marks in his right sleeve, exposing a few ashen pockmarks in his skin.

As soon as the shield and goop had gone, he hurriedly dodged under Discord’s outstretched arm, hopped over Screwball, and scurried over to Jack before hiding behind his fellow human. Only now could they make out what he was saying, however.

“...we’re all going to be forgotten…” he murmured, his unfocused eyes still managing to fixate themselves unerringly on Discord. “I wasn't alone. We’re all going to be forgotten: I wasn't alone. I wasn't alone…!”

“I’d ask what you did to him, but I’m afraid to,” said Jack.

“Trust me, you don't want to know,” supplied Screwball with a shudder, before she began casually no-clipping across the floor towards the exit. Discord, for his part, nodded emphatically at his offspring's statement.

“To be fair, though, he was unusually receptive to the somewhat mind-breaky side effects of…” Discord trailed off. “You have to understand, I wasn't in control there: Somnus was. I mean, I had the idea of how to screw with his head the best, but before I could stifle it, Somnus had seen it and struck out. That, combined with some of the bleedover during you guys’ fusion--”

“I remember!” Caldoric suddenly shouted, grasping Jack's face and turning him so they were locking eyes. A moment passed, and then Caldoric suddenly surged forward, his forehead colliding with Jack’s as he shouted “Hail Denmark!” He then staggered off out the door at high speed doing a decent impression of Zoidberg’s escape-whooping.

“Yeah… there’s a reason Toon States alters my brain chemistry,” said Jack, “I don’t think I need to tell you what your full range of sensory inputs would do to a regular organic brain.”

“He wasn't organic at the time, though: he was biomechanical, which means not even I know what effect it had on him.” Discord countered. “Besides… you only made a crack, by comparison. I broke his mind wide open, and… played a little. Or, Somnus did.”

“Hey daaaaaad?” Screwball called out, cautiously, from beyond the castle walls. It was the tone one used to keep someone not involved in the calling from going berserk.

“Coming!” Discord replied quickly, then grabbed jack by the shoulder and teleported them both out by the front doorway, which was still devoid of doors. The duo was quick to see why Screwball had called them out here: the entire castle was surrounded by a sea of shardlings on the ground, with even more in the air forming a sort of wall.

Oh, and Caldoric had apparently faceplanted on his way out, and was despondently repeating the words “...Hail...Denmark…” over and over into the dirt.

At this point, a figure as tall as an Alicorn wreathed in shadows was moving through the crowd towards them. Naught was visible, save for his red-irised green eyes, framed in purple smoke. As he stepped free from the crowd, the shadows surrounding him dispersed, revealing a much taller, and more elfen-looking, King Sombra. Except he was now made of flowing, shifting crystals, and his mane and tail were composed of liquid darkness that .shifted and moved like sails on a sunken ship.

“Greetings…” he said at last. “Come to bow before your new king at last? Or are you here to die?”

“How many guys are gonna show up,” said Jack before pulling a Switch from his pocket and handing it to Discord, “think you can use this? I would but…”

Discord smiled, put the non-functional end of the switch gently between his teeth, then performed a few Naruto-style handsigns. “I can certainly try… Bullshit Improvisation no Jutsu!” He said, then toggled the rocker-style Switch to its on position.

Flash On!

“Wait, what are you…?” Somnus asked, taking half a step back.

A long, thin pillar with a floodlight bulb on the end protruded from Discord's chest as he threw his arms out wide, gathering energy. “Final… Flash!” The dragonequus shouted, then brought his cupped hands together, each full of energy, around the bulb. Half a second later, a beam of pure light and power shot forth, blasting Somnus full on in the face, and nearly blinding everyone nearby.

“Oh gods, I'm coming dooowwnnnnnnnnn!” Caldoric was heard to say, as everything went white.

“Whoa, is my hair out?” Sombra said, after everyone’s vision had returned, and those present snickered as they briefly watched him run a hoof through where his mane of smoke used to be. “Alright, kill them all!” He demanded at last, and pointed at the four heroes.

“How bout not?” Discord replied around the Switch in his mouth, his tone serious, and his expression even more so. With a snap of his talons, everything went white again, only for everyone to suddenly rematerialize within the ballroom of Canterlot Castle.

Well, everything except for Somnus, and the crystalline prison-armor the Shardlings had been trapped in. There were also several of Thorax’s second-generation hivemates among their number, along with a few old-style black-and-blue changelings that were bound in chains.

There was also the notable presence of Celestia and Luna in the room, in amongst the crowd of ponies. They had seemingly been in the middle of having tea when everyone arrived, and were greatly surprised at the interruption. They were looking around like tourists that had just been greeted by an unexpectedly great spectacle. At long last, Luna opened her mouth to speak above the minor hubbub.

“Humans!”

Lyra’s excited squeal took everyone present by surprise. There was a sudden blur of mint and white, and the two humans swiftly found themselves sliding across the floor with the crazed anthropologist temporarily using them as impromptu skis. “Hi there!” She said, waving casually as she looked down into their surprised faces.

“Lyra, get off them please…” came Luna’s voice, laced with faint undertones of exhaustion. “They still need to breathe, do they not?”

“Oh, uh, sorry Princess…” Lyra replied, awkwardly hopping off of them before letting out a faint *squee* of excitement.

“If you don’t mind,” Jack said, “I wouldn’t mind being in a medical bed under the influence of your finest healing magic and enough painkillers to let me attain Toon States without the brain alterations.”

Luna turned to her sister and raised an expectant eyebrow, only to receive a confused and concerned shrug from her.

“I… I'm not entirely sure who you are, stranger, though your voice does sound familiar.” Said Celestia. “Nor are we acquainted with your companion. However, given that you have arrived here unannounced, with a healthy supply of ponies and-- Discord? Is that you?”

“Eeeeeyes, ma’am, it is.” He replied. “I, along with these ponies and Changelings, have been rescued by these two. Suffice it to say, I'm back within my right mind once more -- or, rather, as close to it as I've ever been, really -- and am now ready to fight alongside you once more.” He then tossed Jack the Flash Switch.

“And have you any idea of whom these two… humans, might be?” Celestia asked, rolling a hoof. “It seems that, in light of their efforts, they should at least be acknowledged for their efforts.”

Discord nodded, while Lyra hopped in circles around Caldoric and Jack. “Well, that one over there, with the dark hair, that’s Jack.”

“I’d say hello, but I think I’ll wait until the room stops spinning.” Said Jack.

“And that other one over there, well…” Discord looked a little embarrassed. “He’s not in his normal mental state, possibly as a result of some of my prior actions--”

Celebrated her throat, subtly urging him to get on with things.

“Ah, well… That’s Caldoric.” Discord scratched at the back of his neck with his paw, while his talon lunged into an ear and fished around for a moment.

“What?!” Both Alicorns focused on Caldoric's form in shock.

“But, he looks nothing like… well, like himself: how can you be sure?” Celestia asked. Discord merely shrugged.

Just then, several folks came into the room, momentarily distracting Luna, who took a moment to send off a scroll to who-knew-where.

“Oh, great,” said one of the newcomers, a tall biomechanical biped that, while physically similar to what Caldoric had previously looked like, was clad almost entirely in white armor, and wearing another of the three-lensed masks. “More newcomers.”

“Kopaka, be nice…” said a blue robotic Equine, who was nearly as tall as Celestia, and with a flowing water-like mane and tail to match.

“Yeah!” Chimed the local Pinkie Pie, cartwheeling between the two, “besides, I haven't met the new guy over there yet, with the black hair! Time for a ‘welcome-back-from-a-dangerous-mission’ party!”

“Think it can wait for a bit?” asked Jack, “I need some time in sick-bay.”

“Ooh, yeah,” Pinkie answered, tapping a hoof to her chin, “we’ll have to get you there ASAP, then maybe we can have a mini-party while you’re resting! How ‘bout that?”

“Give me two hours to sleep off this headache,” said Jack eagerly.

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie agreed, striking a triumphant pose.

“In the meantime, we’ll need to speak with Caldoric,” Celestia interjected at last, as her sister nodded. “We have some most pressing questions for him, especially about that sword…” Celestia then leveled a semi-dangerous look at Discord, who then held up his mismatched forelimbs defensively.

“Don't look at me, I thought you got rid of them all!” He protested.

“We did,” Celestia replied, pointedly. Just then, there was a groan from Caldoric as he sat up, a hand over his eyes.

“Argh… did anyone get the number of that donkey cart?” He asked. “I’d like to file a hit-and-run.” He then removed his hand and blinked at everyone for a second, before things seemed to click in his head. “Ah, crap, I'm still here. Why do I feel like shit…?”

After that, introductions were made between the Toa Mata, Jack, and the Main Six as he was carefully transported to the closest impromptu med ward, and put under care. Jack was a bit startled to see that the Toa could transform from bipedal to Equine seemingly at will, and that they each were all about as tall as the alicorn sisters, despite each of them clearly belonging only to one race. Gali, the blue Toa of Water from before, and Tahu, the Red-armored Toa of Fire, were Unicorns, while Kopaka and Lewa, a green Toa of Air, were Pegasi. Onua, the black-armored Toa of Earth with a slight hunch to his back, and Pohatu, the brown Toa of Stone, were both Earth Ponies, rounding out the demographic representation.

As that was happening, Luna took some time to try and talk with Caldoric, and Celestia delegated the task of checking and finding housing for the new ponies to Twilight. Unfortunately, even after Celestia joined her sister in speaking with their guest, they were only left with more questions, because he was severely rattled by the events that had taken place in Ponyville, and refused to talk about any of it. In his words, the memories were “still too new and weird,” and “needed to be reconciled with.”

There was also the fact that he nearly ran out of the room when Discord stuck his head in at one point. After that, they just let him go. His first stop was to visit Jack at his place in the med ward, after getting lost in the castle a few times. By then, a few hours had passed, and Jack was at least sitting up, though still looking a bit out of things.

~~~~
Impromptu Medbay, Canterlot Castle:

Caldoric poked his head inside the room, carefully noting the ever-present smell of antiseptic as he looked for Jack. He was easy to find, given he was the only other human in the hall, so Caldoric quickly made his way over to Jack, and carefully sat down.

“Hey Cal, you’re looking better than when I left ya,” said Jack with a grin.

“Yeah, well, I'm still fully human right now, which is slightly disconcerting.” Caldoric replied. “Previously, I’ve only been pure Toa, or half-and-half. In any case, I just remembered I might be able to summon something that can help with the healing and stuff, so I came over to try it. You up for some cookies?”

Jack just stared at him with a deadpan expression that just screamed ‘did you seriously just ask that question?’. Caldoric, for his part, blinked for a moment before continuing.

“Alright, I'll take that as a yes. One plate of magic healing cookies, coming up!” Caldoric then held out his hands, scrunched his eyes a bit, and a decent-sized platter of slightly-crazy transparent, light blue chocolate-chip cookies appeared in his grasp, and he then set it where they could both get to it. Noting Jack's sceptical look, Caldoric tried to explain.

“See, the ghost of the grandma of Homestuck’s main character ended up coming to life at one point, by way of shenanigans, and was frequently found making these special healing cookies, and apparently they taste delicious.” He paused, and popped one into his mouth. “Well, probably better than a senzu bean…”

Jack just shrugged before grabbing one. “It’ll probably taste better than that exploding ball of magic. Decima’s still yelling at me for doing that.”

Caldoric looked around, confused. “Decima? Who’s that?” He asked. “Alt personality, voice in your head, intangible companion…?”

“Closer to that third one,” said Jack as he stuck the cookie in his mouth to free up his only unbandaged arm and pull out a Switch, chomping it down before continuing. “See, not a bad cookie, in my Equestria, each of the various celestial bodies have their own spirit that can communicate with their respective guardian. Celestia has Furnis, spirit of the sun, Luna has Noctia, spirit of the moon, and I got saddled with the spirits of every single one of the constellations, who bond with my Switches as they come online.”

”It’s a little more complicated than that, don’t sell us short,” said a female voice from the Switch.

Caldoric stiffened somewhat, and his eyes shifted their focus out towards one of the nearby walls. “Was that… one of your switches? Just trying to make sure I didn't suffer some other side effect…” He said, to no-one in particular.

“Technically that was Decima, spirit of the constellation of the Scholar, using the Switch as a walkie-talkie,” Jack replied.

“Oh, well then…” Caldoric gave the switch another of his two-fingered salutes, and nodded to it with respect. “Greetings and salutations, Decima. Nice to make your acquaintance.”

”Pleasure; at least some people can be gentlemen."

“Can we please not do this right now? I’m still recovering from going Toon,” said Jack.

”Speaking of, what were you thinking shoving a highly explosive sphere of unstable magic, in your mouth!?!?!”

“Can’t talk, still got a headache,” said Jack as he shoved the Switch back in his pocket before she could protest.

Caldoric managed to recover from a short case of snickering by this point, and looked at Jack with a grin. “Hey, man, count yourself lucky. At least you got tools that can talk to you. Me, I'm having trouble connecting with just the Toa Mata, let alone the folks here in Equestria. Not to mention that my sword is apparently some sort of dark weapon of old…? Anywho, do you only get spirits from stars around Earth, or are there ones from other starscapes as well?”

“No, my spirits are based on Equestrian constellations, my enemies are based on Earth ones,” said Jack. “But enough about that for a while, I think I may know how to solve your little Toa problem.”

Caldoric raised an eyebrow, interested. “If you can make Kopaka forget about the mask incident, that might fix one or two things… but they kind of don't trust me on principle, because the legends say there’s only supposed to be six Toa. Oh, and they’re aware I know how their future was originally supposed to go, and that I'm not telling them to minimize negative reflections on the timeline, so there’s that issue as well. But I'm listening.”

“Can’t do it on my own though,” said Jack, “gonna need the help of a specialist.”

“DO I SMELL UNAUTHORIZED HAPPINESS COOKIES IN HERE?!” Demanded a voice that immediately had Caldoric on edge, also causing several other conscious patients to jump in surprise. In walked Pinkie Pie, party-planner extraordinare, eyes closed and following her nose. At the foot of Jack’s little bed, she stopped, opened her eyes, and looked directly at the platter of confectionary goodness. “Uh, why are those blue? They’re not supposed to be blue.”

“Yeah they are, they’re the magic healing type.” Caldoric protested. “Made by the revivified ghost of a dude’s grandma.” Pinkie looked at him suspiciously.

“Gimme.” She ordered, making a short grabby motion with one hoof. “Also, hi jack!”

“Hey,” said Jack, “I was just wondering if you ever threw a welcome party for the Toa?”

Pinkie wagged a hoof at him as Caldoric passed her a blue cookie. “Well, duh! Of course I did! What kind of a party host would I be if I didn't?” She paused, and began munching on the cookie. “Of course, it was also kind of a 'we just rescued the Princesses and most of Canterlot today' party too, so… Maybe they didn't all get the right vibe? From what I could tell, the only folks on Mata Nui who know how to party are the ones in Le-Koro, so…” She then gained an expression of contemplation on her face as she considered the flavor of the cookie.

“Hmmm… Ectoplasm, phoenix tears, dash of salt… interesting, I'll have to look at these in detail later.” Pinkie then grabbed three or four more and stuffed them in her mane. “Sorry bout that, Jackie-boy; you were saying?”

“Well, Cal here’s been having some trouble with the Toa, apparently they’re being kind of stand-offish,” said Jack, “I’ve got a few ideas that might do the trick, but I’m gonna need a party guru of the highest order in order to pull it off.”

“Stand-offish?” She asked, tilting her head. “Well, I can kinda understand how they feel, what with him being a super-weird alien from another dimension that seems to know everything about us despite never having been here before while we’re in the middle of fighting off super-sneaky shapeshifty shardlings, but--” she sucked in a breath, “--I’m more able to set that aside than most other ponies, so hit me with your best shot!”

Jack grinned, “We’ll start with a standard type 2, modified for any dietary concerns of course. Once we get in full swing we’ll get them with a Dr Mirror, then when it starts to wind down Cal and I will hit them with an Anime Bonding method #21.”

Pinkie made a face. “Yeah, that'd definitely work, but a wombo-combo like that wouldn't exactly be the easiest to pull off, even for me. I almost wish I had Cheese Sandwich here to help, but I guess we’ll have to improvise. When should we start?”

“Uh, hello, I'm right here you two…” Caldoric interjected. “Besides, I'm not sure we have time for that right now. Two days in an awfully long time to be gone from Mata Nui; Terid-- I mean, Makuta’s probably taken the opportunity to forward his plans while we’ve been gone.”

Pinkie waggled a hoof at him. “Pshaw, they’ve survived there for a millennia without the Toa’s help, they can stand a couple days. They’re not defenseless!”

“Either way, we should get started immediately,” said Jack as three small robots that looked kind of like a hamburger, a pack of fries, and a large cup of soda jumped up from behind his pillow. “Let the festivites, BEGIN!”

“You’re not beginning anything just yet, young… male.” Said Nurse Redheart, cantering up. “You’re still injured. Whatever you lot are planning, I'm afraid you’ll have to sit it out for now.”

“Oh,” Pinkie sighed, her mane deflating a bit. “I didn't think of that.”

“But... I had the Senzu cookie,” said Jack.

“Only just one,” Caldoric replied, somewhat exasperated, “you gotta eat more than one for the full effect to work. After all, there’s no such thing as having just one cookie… besides, you could probably convince Lewa to help; he seems chill, and likes parties too.”

Jack ‘hmm’ed for a few seconds before pulling the plate of cookies over to him, “Pinkie! I require milk!”

“Righty-O!” Pinkie said, suddenly full of energy, before zipping off and returning with a glass of milk in less than a second.

“And then,” Jack declared as he dunked one of the cookies with enough force to cause some of it to splash out, “we Party!” Caldoric and Nurse Redheart facepalmed and facehooved, respectively.

Author's Note

Greetings and salutations once more, folks! Double-chapter update this time round, now that Cyberlord and I have finished the crossover. Figured I'd launch both chapters today because (surprise!) it's my birthday today, and I felt like sharing!

Though, in hindsight, not the happiest of things to be posting for my "big 23rd"...

That said, if I missed any editorial stuff, lemme know and I'll fix it as best I can (as always...!)

Henshin Heroes 2: Alchemical Antics! And Don't Split The Party!

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

What is even going on here?

Slowly, the sleeping being awoke on the too-small cot with a low groan. Whilst the low lighting in the room wasn't overtaxing on one's eyes, even at the best of times, there was still a certain intensity to the ambient red-orange glow which kept his eyelids screwed shut. That, and the localized heat wave which necessitated a certain lack of bedsheets, had made for a slightly unrestful slumber.

The dark figure sat up slowly, bringing a hand up to rub the sleep from his eyes. Palm met cheek with a light clunk, confusing him. "Wait, wha...?" He began, finally opening his eyes.

"Oh, hey!" Said a cheerful voice nearby. "He's awake! Jala, the new guy's awake! C'mere!" The stranger's head snapped around in time to see a small, four-legged, biomechanical being jump up and place it's red forehooves on his leg. "Hi!" It said excitedly, cerulean "tail" wagging, the deep blue mask on its elongated head clearly telegraphing it's facial expression. "Hey, why aren't you wearing your mask, stranger?"

How did I get here, and why does this... pony... look and sound like Takua? The nameless being asked himself silently. Slowly, memories of the previous day filtered back into his mind, bringing both answers to questions he'd yet to ask, and new questions whose possible answers he was loath to consider...

~~~~
Many hours ago.
Another world, another dimension:

Ian was walking around at ComiCon San Diego, and he was excited. Aside from the meager handful of visits to his local BrickCon a few years ago, he'd never been to any kind of Convention. He'd been working hard on his costume, which was a set of armor for a Toa OC he'd come up with a couple years prior. The power set his OC had was, predictably, potentially overpowered, but it was for good reason.

The way he saw it, everyone who made OC's had to have at least one that was OP, usually some sort of self-insert or author avatar, so he figured he might as well get it out of the way while he could, then set it aside for something different next time.

As he maneuvered around a particularly rowdy gaggle of Bronies (mostly dressed in one-man equine "fursuits" or two-man horse costumes,) he looked about to see if he could find his sister, but the leaf-green cloak of her Ranger's outfit was nowhere to be seen. Ian could only hope she hadn't left the two Lightsaber hilts he'd gotten her a few years ago back at the hotel. Who knew if some idiot would get the bright idea to break into their room and start taking shit...

Focusing back on the present, he bobbed his head to his music, and scanned the nearby booths for anything interesting. He found one, which was selling old Bionicle sets, but he already had at least one of each thing the guy was selling. It was a shame there weren't any Bohrok or Visorak, but oh well.

As he left the booth, he checked the heartlight on his chest, only to find it'd stopped blinking. "Damn thing," he muttered, reaching a gloved hand down through the neck of his chestplate, "I really need to get a more permanent fix for that loose wire... Or maybe just get a new one entirely. A longer one." Reconnecting the offending bit of hardware, he considered switching to one of those wrist-mounted pedometer/heart rate monitor thingies, and maybe getting it hooked up wirelessly to the heartlight itself. Obviously, the current gel-coated contact on his chest just wasn't cutting it.

"There," he said at last, as the light behind the frosted green plexiglass flickered to life, fading on and off in time with his heartbeat. Adjusting his homemade mask of Quick Travel, he set off again, only to catch a glimpse of a petite figure in a green cloak. She was just leaving another booth, and merging with the crowd. Ian hurried to catch up with her, but soon lost her amongst the mass of jostling bodies.

"You look lost."

Ian looked to his left, finding himself holding the attention of a strange-looking booth owner, who was dressed like Slenderman and seemed to be selling.... just about everything, actually. There were weapons, artefacts, and other knick-knacks from various fandoms, some of which he recognized. So many cool things...!

"Are you lost, hero?" The vendor asked, genuinely curious. Ian shook his head.

"Nah, man, just looking for my sister." He replied. "She was wearing a green Ranger cloak and gear, like from the Ranger's Apprentice series, by John Flanagan."

"Ah," exclaimed the vendor, leaning back in his chair, "I thought as much. It was a rather nice design, though it seemed a shame that she was missing the appropriate knives..."

"Yeah, I know..." Ian agreed, the 'now serving' sign hanging behind the vendor momentarily catching his eye. "Anywho, we just got separated a few minutes ago, and I was hoping to catch up. Say, you wouldn't happen to actually have a set of knives and suchlike in stock, would you?"

The vendor sighed. "Unfortunately, no. What you see here before you is all I have, Toa."

"Yeah, I can dig that, I got the same problem at work." Ian complained. "So, you know Bionicle, too? Nice."

"Yes, and I am also aware of Homestuck, so don't think your unique color scheme escapes my eye, hero." Stated the vendor. "Now, would you perchance like to purchase something?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," stuttered Ian. He focused on the menagerie of items available, and had a hard time making a decision. "Um... let's see, how about... the starry-looking sword, the Assassin's Creed wristblades, the diamond pickaxe, the bladed grenade launcher thingy--"

"Bruteshot," corrected the vendor.

"Bruteshot," agreed Ian, "aaand... the Sylladex."

The vendor nodded, and brought forth the items. "Alright, a nice selection. And since you're getting all these items at once, I'll throw in a couple things, on the house."

"Really? Which items?" Ian asked, slightly suspicious.

"A Wallet modus and some cards for the Sylladex, a Strife Specibus, and the forearm plate from Edward Elric's Automail. The Briggs model."

"Oooh, nice, thanks! How much?"

The vendor tapped his chin for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind. "$750," he said, simply. "I take plastic, if it helps."

In response, Ian drew in a sharp breath and winced. "Oh... Eh, screw it. I'll take the lot." With that, he pulled out his own wallet and swiped his debit card. Putting it and his wallet away again, he began gathering up his new items and sticking them on his person in the appropriate places.

"Ah, you may want to grab the Sylladex first," the vendor said, concern evident on his face even through the Slenderman covering.

Ian, who had been about to grab the Bruteshot, paused. "Ok...?" Grabbing the Sylladex instead, as well as the cards and Strife Specibus, he stuck them in an available pocket, then reached for the gun again. Just as his fingers brushed it, however, he was enveloped in a brief flash of light and an even longer burst of pain. Beneath him, a tear in space-time yawned momentarily, and he fell through, dragging the surprisingly heavy Bruteshot with him.

The vendor leaned over the table, gazing at the innocent-looking floor. "Oh, dear, looks like he's going to have some fun with that world, if I'm not mistaken. And- oh, for shame! He's left his Wallet modus behind..." With a snap of his long, bony fingers, the modus vanished in another flare of light.

The Merchant leaned back in his chair once more, and upped the value on his 'now serving' counter. "Next...!" He said, with a hint of a smile.

~~~~
Elsewhere...

"...Ohhhhhhhh, my head...!" Ian complained, sitting up and looking around. For some reason, he was in the middle of a lava field, and it was rather warm, in a slightly unpleasant way. He quickly noted that this field led off into the distance, and up the side of a volcano.

Above him, there was a glimmer of light, and he looked up in time to see the Wallet Modus he'd left behind getting all up in his grill. Of course, it never made full contact with his face, clattering instead off of his mask and onto his lap.

"What?" He asked, stupidly. "Oh... Ah, man, how the hell did I get here?" He raised a hand up under his mask, intending to rub some ash out of one eye, only to catch the faint whirring of servos coming from his entire arm. "Oh god, what?!" He exclaimed, frantically beginning to look himself over.

What he found wasn't very reassuring.

"Oh god oh god oh god..." Ian panted, running his hands over his body, feeling out the various servos, pistons, and other mechanical bits now seamlessly interlaced with his body.

Bwaaarp-erp!

Ian whipped around to see a giant, biomechanical, red-and-yellow frog come bounding into view, chasing a large bipedal lizard. He also saw the bruteshot, the blade of which had almost completely been buried in the hardened lava near where his head had been.

Thank God for small miracles... he thought as he stood, yanking the device out of the ground like the proverbial sword from the stone. It was only after he was holding it as he'd seen in Red vs Blue, and the strange reptile had scurried around behind him, that he realized something important. Wait, how the hell do I fire this thing?!?!

The giant frog paused in its tracks, looking Ian up and down, trying to decide if he was prey. Without warning, it shot out its tongue directly at his face!

Ian, who was already on a hair trigger, flinched involuntarily and briefly twisted the knob on the bruteshot's side as a result. With a FWUMP! a small projectile rocketed out of the device, catching the edge of the large, sticky tongue, it's flight terminating with a BANG in the back of the giant amphibian's throat.

There was a squeak of surprise from the lizard behind him as the explosion rocked the frog's body. It began coughing and spitting as best it could, giving Ian the evil eye. And, now that he had a moment to think, he thought he recognized the beast: it was oddly similar to something he'd seen long ago, in his childhood. In addition to that, he'd caught a glimpse of a corroded-looking bit of metal on its lower back...

The frog gave a loud, angry croak, and prepared itself to spring at its new target. Alright, Frogger, Ian thought, you want some more? Then come and get it...!

He twisted the knob again as the creature leapt into the air, knocking it onto its back, then twisted it a third time and held the knob in the firing position for a moment. Fa-fa-fwump! went the bruteshot, unleashing three more projectiles at the creature in quick succession. The combined explosions sent the amphibian flying backwards, dislodging the corroded plating in the process.

As it shakily got back to its feet, Ian advanced, weapon ready to finish it off. "I'm not sure how many rounds this thing has left," he began, murder in his eyes, "so you gotta ask yourself: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" The frog looked up at him, it's countenance a mask of fear, before it hurriedly hopped off with a wailing croak.

"Yeah, don't try that again, buddy." Ian muttered, then looked at what the beast had left behind. When he saw what it was, however, he began to feel sorry for the creature: what he had taken to be mere corroded metal was, in fact, a rusted, pitted mask. And not just any mask, at that. It was a corrupted Kanohi Pakari. "Ohhhhhhhh... Right." Ian remarked with a grimace. "It was being controlled by Makuta. Dammit."

Rrrrrrrt?

Ian was startled by the sound, but quickly identified it as having come from the lizard thing. It was gazing at him inquisitively, head moving side to side in short, bird-like jerks. Before he could react, the winged raptor stepped in close to him and began rubbing it's face against his side.

I... I think it likes me... Ian thought to himself, as he freed one hand to rub the back of the critter's neck. It stiffened momentarily, before leaning into the gesture and making chirrupy purring sounds. "Alright, you," Ian said, smiling, "if you want, you can stick with me. Lemme just grab my stuff, though, ok?"

The little robo-lizard looked up at Ian questioningly, it's form eerily familiar to him, then glanced at where the Sylladex, cards, Strife Specibus, and Fetch Modus lay on the ground.

Rrrrk? it purred.

"Yeah, you're actually kinda cute, little guy." Dragging the bruteshot by the top-mounted handle, Ian collected the scattered items. Coming to a decision, he turned to the reptile beside him.

"You, my friend, need a name." He took a moment, giving the creature a good hard look, then made his choice. "How about... Jinka? It matches your silvery-grey metallic bits..."

Arrr! exclaimed the newly-dubbed Jinka, excitedly. Arrr, arrr-arrr! A little too excitedly, now that he thought about it... He looked in the same general direction as Jinka, and quickly identified what it was getting at: the spot where Ian's bruteshot had impaled the ground was now beginning to splinter and crumble, and a thick, viscous orange substance had begun leaking out at speed. And the cracks were spreading, just as fast.

"Ohhhhhhhhshit!" Ian exclaimed, then grabbed both Jinka and the bruteshot, and booked it towards the not-so-distant coastline. It didn't hurt to be overcautious with lava. ♪Ian and Jinka, running through the lava field, hoppin' breaks, dodgin' rocks, and tryin' to get away...!♪ he sang in his mind, ignoring Jinka's protesting squawks. ♪Birds are singin', flowers bloomin', gonna have a bad time! Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, what a flipping day!♪

He would have kept running, too, if he hadn't suddenly been beaned by a flying bamboo disk out of left field. The impact sent him tumbling to the ground, where he dropped Jinka and the bruteshot, the latter of which discharging yet another blazing explosive.

A nearby array of small boulders disintegrated under the resulting detonation, sending chips of stone and a few flame-colored figures flying.

"No, the Captain! You'll pay for that, stupid Rahi!" Came an unfamiliar voice. "Take that thing down! Aim for it's mask, and mind the Hikaki!" With that, a barrage of wooden disks the size of soup plates came flying towards him.

Wait, "Captain?" Ian thought to himself, as both he and Jinka dodged. Rahi? No way... "Hey, wait, hold up!" He exclaimed, as Jinka chomped on an incoming disk. "Will you-- whoah there!-- will you lot stop chucking those things at me for a sec?! Ow!!"

"We don't negotiate with agents of Makuta!" Came the reply.

"Oh yeah?! Then how am I talking, if I'm supposedly being mind controlled by that idiot?" His only answer was a disk to the face. "Ok, that's it!!! Matoran or not, you asked for it!" Ian began grabbing fallen disks and chucking them, frisbee-style, back at the figures, who were darting back and forth between the boulders.

He didn't hit a single one, however, because they were moving so fast. As he became angrier and angrier with each missed throw, his mask began to glow, until finally everything around him suddenly twisted. As soon as everything cleared up, Ian found himself on the other side of the boulders, looking right at his very confused aggressors, some of which had two legs, while others seemed to have four. Without stopping to think, he prepared to throw a disk hammer-style, but got no further than that. Instead, he was struck in the back of the neck by another disk, followed by a hard, blunt object colliding with his temple, and then he knew no more.

Author's Note

Just a new idea I had, inspired by a Displaced fic I found, written by Company Master Sebaste, who changes his name on occasion. He is currently: Angelic Blades Sebaste

Thought I'd get in on the action.