When Legends Rise

Just as the three of us were about to head below deck a clatter rose on deck, followed by panicked shouting for Reinesfell.

“Keisarin! Keisarin!” the voice of a mare called, sounding absolutely frantic. Making my way back to the deck just in time to see Reinesfell walking towards a panicked pegasus I made a beeline for them.

“Calm yourself, mare” Reinesfell said, gently holding the pegasus in her magic and talking in a firm but soft tone “Deep breaths, I will not have my ponies so easily shaken” she then began personally helping the mare regain control of her breath “now, tell me what happened”

“Those things who attacked us” she started, her accent one I didn’t fully recognise, but definitely not German “We followed them, hoping to capture...but it was a trap. They killed the others and let me go-”

“Why? They could have simply killed you and called it done” I said, startling the two of them.

“I gave you permission to leave, why are you still here?” Reinesfell asked.

“I know what those spiders are, I might be able to shed light on why they were here” I stated matter of factly, making the Empress huff irritably though she refrained from arguing with me further.

“One of them wanted me to pass on a message…” the pegasus said, pausing in thought before adding “he said they were the Hand of Makuta…” if she said anything else I didn’t hear it, I was too busy starting to panic,stumbling back as if I'd been struck. I might have bumped into someone, though I wasn’t sure. I scarcely even registered the blinding flash accompanying the violent lurch which signified teleportation, but I definitely felt the jet of water to my face, making me splutter and cough. When I came to my senses the five of us were now in a small windowless room, Alee was pointing one of her blade's directly at my face.

"Sorry about that" Reinesfell said "I would rather not have the crew in a panic"

"Good gods, something really got you rattled" Alee said, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost, love" Tarn said.

"That fucking name" I muttered, pinching the brow of my nose "Makuta should not be in the vocabulary of anyone on this world"

"What does it mean to you?" Reinesfell asked, studying me intently.

"You remember Lesovikk? Big green guy, about a foot taller than me, kind of grumpy" I got three nods in response "And I assume you guys also have a cultural personification of death and darkness as well"

"We-well yes, of course, what culture doesn't?" Tarn asked, rhetorically.

"Well, Makuta was more or less a real life demon, complete master of the dark arts, Tirek? Discord? They are mere footnotes in history compared to him, this guy would probably curbstomp them purely to ensure he didn't have competition" I said "last I was aware he kicked the bucket after taking a planet to the head…" I was met with a sea of gormless looks.

"are you being serious or just bullshitting?" Alee asked "cause I honestly cannot tell"

"It's a very long and complicated story, but the fact is that he should be dead, and his name should be long forgotten" I said.

"How do you know it isn't just someone else using his name?" Reinesfell asked.

"Because it's been longer than most people have been alive since he died, and I very much doubt that the people he came from would freely state it" I explained "No, if there's a group going around casually dropping his name then that means he is at the very least connected to them"

"H-how bad are we talking, here?" Tarn asked.

"About as bad as it could be, then times that by ten" Reinesfell didn't seem convinced.

"Eh…I think you are overreacting, human" she said with a shrug "does your own kind not have a nation that shares my mother tongue? And another sharing that of Prance? There could be any number of reasons why a being known as Makuta has surfaced, it's probably some necromancer minotaur who stumbled upon some half rotted scrolls in the depths of the world detailing this daemon's exploits and decided to try and follow in his footsteps"

"But Reinesfell-" I tried to protest, but she cut me off

"If this being were to rise, then they shall be swiftly defeated, either by Equestria's Elements of Harmony, or by the superior might of my own military" she said "Understand that I have the wellbeing of an entire nation to consider, I do not take the possibility of a threat lightly, but I am sceptical as to their true power; any dark mage worth their magic could assemble a few Changelings and storm a ship" I wanted to scream, to try and show her just how much of a threat Makuta was, but I sensed that she would not willingly back down, and frankly I didn't have the energy to enter a verbal tennis match. I let out a tired sigh, signifying my defeat on the matter.

"Very well, I will take my leave" I said, making my way to the door with Tarn and Alee following close behind.

"this has clearly got you rattled" Alee began once we were out of earshot "So why did you let it drop?"

"If someone isn't willing to budge on a matter, then it's easier to just let it go and move on" I said "I'm certainly familiar with the frustration of dealing with those sorts of people, and I doubt she'll be the last"

"And if you are right?" Tarn asked.

"then god help us all…"

Some time later I was sat in the shared quarters of Octavia and myself, I was sat at the writing desk with the laptop opened to a document full of information about Teridax, or at least information that was relevant when Bionicle had packed up the first time around. I heard the door open and shut, followed by hoofsteps making their way over. Hooves draping over my shoulders followed by a kiss on the cheek told me it was Octavia and I let out a little hum of satisfaction as I cupped my hand over her cheek, as much as I sucked at showing affection I very much enjoyed moments like this.

"What are you working on?" she asked, glancing over the reference art "I trust you aren't taking ideas for new armour…you're supposed to inspire hope in ponies, not scare the everloving shit out of them" I chuckled and shook my head.

"No, I'll make use of what I've got. I have a few ideas, you'll see" I said "if you must know I'm brushing up on knowledge of the southern lands, if earlier today is any indication, we might be having a fight on our hands sometime in the future… the dragon looking mug casually name dropped this magnificent bastard" there was a pause as Octavia took the time to actually study the document.

"zyeesus…" she drawled, butchering the pronunciation of the slur I would typically use.

"Taking after me, are we?" I remarked.

"Technically I own you" she said in a teasing, sing song voice "So I am free to say whatever you say as and when I please" she paused once more, before asking.

"You don't actually think we'll be fighting that thing at some point, do you?"

"I would hope not, but it pays to be prepared" I said "Tarn and Alee know already, but it's probably best not to trouble the others yet, we don't even have a single full team, I still need two more" I saw Octavia blink in the corner of my vision.

"How can you be certain?" she asked.

"Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Ice, Stone" I rattled off "It's like the de facto line up of elements, and only once that team is fully formed can we make tracks towards getting along as a team, as for your team… Who knows? Fantasia said twelve people, so you need three more, it's anyone's guess what elements they will control" I felt Octavia squeeze my uninjured shoulder reassuringly.

"You must have patience, dear, and faith in Fantasia" she said "we both heard her, now she knows something is attempting to work against her, as fickle as she can be she will absolutely be trying to move two steps ahead of her rivals" I couldn't help but agree with her assertion, from personal experience I knew full well that if that psychotic bitch of a god really wanted something she would get it one way or another. I was pulled from my musings by Octavia nuzzling against my cheek and humming in thought.

"Speaking of working as a team," she began "I have a proposal"

"Go on" I prompted.

"Would you know anything about soul-bonding?" she asked, almost casually. I stopped and physically turned to take a long hard look at her.

"Isn't that what Fantasia did to me?" I asked, more than a little wary of the direction this was taking, to call my being turned into a magic sugar baby against my will a personal sore spot was a massive understatement. I was less than happy that Fantasia could essentially hijack my body at any given moment, even when taking into account the fact that I could now theoretically go toe to toe with the likes of Celestia (my own lack of magical vocabulary notwithstanding).

"not even close" she said, waving a hoof dismissively "That was soul-binding, soul-bonding works differently and in both directions. Think of it as a bit like a changeling hive mind; an isolated telepathic and empathic link, we would be able to read each other's thoughts and make sense of how we are feeling, and to a lesser degree feel what the other physically feels"

"Why?" I asked "What brought this on?" at this Octavia moved, dropping down from being draped over my shoulders to stand next to me, so that we could be face to face.

"I'll admit I have been contemplating this for some time" she said "It is true that you'll never truly have a quiet mind, you'll always get the occasional thoughts and feelings drifting your way which can be jarring at times, but at the same time it can be a much needed remedy for loneliness. You've said yourself that you struggle to read people, even among your own kind, and I felt given the nature of our relationship that it would be a benefit for you to at least be able to read me, to better understand how I'm feeling. In turn it would allow me to better understand how you think, you've mentioned in passing that you have your own problems that you deal with, and I want to be there to help you" Naturally I was more than a little hesitant.

"I… I don't know" I said "Magic is still such an unknown for me, how do I know that this won't backfire?"

"This sort of magic is a sign of complete trust between two individuals" Octavia said "and I trust you enough to be willing to grant you access to my own mind…I won't judge your own thoughts, if that's what you're thinking cause you'd be getting all sorts of subconscious thoughts drifting your way too" I mentally debated the situation for a solid minute before sighing.

"I suppose the term 'Penny for your thoughts' will be right out from now on" I muttered dryly, in response Octavia pulled me into a hug before stepping back and gesturing for me to stand up. She then set about scribing out some sort of shape on the floor of the cabin, not a circle, more like a rectangle with rounded edges containing a smaller circle at each end and runes in between.

"That ain't permanent, is it?" I asked. She put the finishing touches into the circle before spitting out the drawing implement .

"It gets erased in the process" she said, before standing directly opposite of me, just outside of the shape "Now, for the final time, are you absolutely sure about this? It's not permanent persee, but it is tricky to undo, so I need to be sure that you are certain you want to go through with this" I thought long and hard for a few moments, taking the time to word my response correctly before answering.

"Whilst I can't say I'm totally certain, because magic is still very strange to me, I trust you enough to know that you wouldn't deliberately do anything to hurt me" Octavia was apparently satisfied with this answer and gave a curt nod.

"Then as one, we step into the box…you'll get in influx of foreign memories as the spell begins to take effect, just to warn you" she said, before mentally psyching herself up and letting out a final exhalation "Three… Two… One" as one we stepped onto the shape and the lines began to glow, looking to Octavia I could see a purple aura beginning to manifest around her and looking down I could see a similar orange-red aura manifest around myself. Then quite suddenly I felt an influx of thoughts and memories which I had no prior recollection of come pouring into my mind.

~~Glimpses of a childhood spent in an orphanage, and after that the Palace in Trottingham.~~

~~A music recital in front of a large audience.~~

~~An argument between Octavia and her adoptive royal parents, and Octavia walking away from the Palace.~~

~~Arriving in Ponyville for the first time, and meeting Vinyl amongst other ponies.~~

~~Nights of heated passion spent with Vinyl…~~

"Terra to Onælan" Octavia's voice cut through the onslaught of memories, bringing me back to the present, looking in her direction I could see a knowing smirk on her face. "I can tell if you're looking at my memories, dear" as she said this I felt a feeling of amusement, distinctly seperated from my own mood.

"Not my fault" I muttered "I couldn't control what memories I saw…I don't suppose you saw anything of my past" at this her face fell and I felt a hint of concern trickle into my mind.

"glimpses, flashes, only very generic memories, certainly nothing that could give any hard clues as to your life before" she said, rubbing the back of her neck, before a look of confusion crossed her face "Side note: you're country's government is odd… You have a monarchy and a parliament of commoners?"

"It's…complicated" I muttered. All the additional input entering my mind was actually overwhelming me, and I had to sit down on the bed as I tried to reign in my own thoughts. Feeling hints of concern mixed with sympathy I looked to see Octavia jump up on the bed to rest her head on my right shoulder.

"it'll take some adjustment, but I think this will be for the better" she said reassuringly.

"You don't seem to be having an issue" I said.

"That's because I already soul-bonded with Vinyl, so I'm used to it" she said, she must have sensed my trepidation as she quickly added "She can listen in, but only if I let her, I decide what she can and can't read from you"

"But if she was soulbonded to you then shouldn't she have already known that you were royalty?" I asked, only to receive an eyeroll in response.

"Oh, she knew, she simply bullshits about things like that a lot" she said, before her eyes became lidded and she grabbed the chair to make me face her, rearing up to placing a hoof on my chest "now, we can either sit here chatting, or we can spend the night really getting to know each other"

Too stunned by the turn in her behaviour coupled with the influx of thoughts and emotions, I wasn't in a position to argue as she all but dragged me to the bed.