The ground continued to shake violently, crags of earth shooting into the air every which way, deforming the land as magma flowed through the newly opened fissures. Blackened clouds swirled overhead with lightning dancing in the space between air and ground. The cacophony was truly deafening, signifying that the end of the world could very well be at hand.
An orange, humanoid, mechanical frame was brought to his knees, thrusting his sword into the ground to brace himself. “Steel yourself!” He bellowed. “If we fall, Mata Nui falls!”
A rainbow flurry of figures bounced off of the assortment of twisted earth, jumping from rock to rock effortlessly before landing with metallic thuds next to their comrade. The group of warriors numbered six in total. The white one, Kopaka, wielding a blade infused with the power of ice, landed, landed next to their leader. “I am inclined to agree, Tahu,” he said coldly.
“It pains me that this struggle has reached a boiling point,” the feminine voice of Gali muttered. The group turned suddenly from a crashing sound as a stream of magma bored through a cliff side that flanked the group. Gali rose her arms into the air, summoning a stream of water from the ground that collided violently with the magma, cooling it and solidifying it instantly into solid rock.
“Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place!” Lewa said with a chuckle, using his wind powers to create a cushion of air that propelled the team through the air, landing on an upper cliff to avoid the crags and streams of molten rock.
High up in the air, floating above the ruined earth as the lightning flashes propelled his silhouette across the landscape and clouds above, was the one responsible for this calamity. His gunmetal, dark grey body was cracked and caked with dirt from the fight, but he wielded the mighty Staff of Shadows with a fierce and steadfast determination.
“Your pathetic last stand means nothing to me and the Makuta!” The figured bellowed, his voice echoing amidst the bedlam and chaos that surrounded the band of heroes. “Today is the day that Mata Nui falls to the void, and with it, your feeble, inconsequential lives!”
The six turned their attention skyward as Teradix resounded his threats to the heavens and beyond. “He sure is noisy, isn't he?” Pohatu said, his mechanical claws whirring in place and snapping threateningly. “I can hear him over all of this commotion!” As if on queue, chunks of a cliff protrusion collapsed into the mantle not far from them, causing a deafening roar like a freight train.
Onua said nothing. He kept his gaze on Teradix unbroken, cocking his Ghostblaster and loading a canister of ammo into its slot. He was ready to strike at a moment's notice.
“The Staff of Shadows continues to feed off of the destruction and negative energy!” Kopaka cried out. “It's creating a feedback loop and generating infinite shadow energy!”
“Toa Mata! With me!” Tahu yelled. The six of them formed a circle, facing one another as they held their weapons skyward. Rainbow energies began to flow in and around them, swirling through the air as they pooled their powers. As a team, their individual powers were amplified, the sheer might of them growing fuller and brighter.
“Decay into nothingness!” Teradix shrieked as a wave of darkness pulsated from the Staff of Shadows, aimed straight at the band of heroes. The Toa Mata warriors continued to combine their strength, creating a barrier that the negative energy smashed into.. A thunderous explosion of light and energy rocked the region, robbing everyone of their senses temporarily.
“Did... Did it work?” Tahu said, climbing to his feet.
“Look!” Gali said while pointing towards Teradix. Equidistant between the two, a mask was beginning to take shape, born of the collision of light and shadow. It was an unusual mask, deep blue in color with black and white accents. It resembled more of a crescent moon than a proper facial mask.
“What trickery do you play at, Toa Mata worms!?” Teradix cried out, his eyes flaring with crimson rage. The mask glowed as a mechanical torso and limbs began to unfold out from the mask's base, taking the shape of a new Toa Mata warrior.
“Hey, check it out! We got a new buddy to help us fight!” Lewa said smugly.
The newly created warrior unfolded a scythe, its blade shaped like the crescent moon, twirling it about before pointing it straight at Teradix.
“Very well then!” Teradix said with confidence, taking an offensive stance with his staff. Its devilish, twisted look hissed and clicked as gears twisted and turned inside, preparing another wave of attack. “You will be the shortest lived Toa Mata! The Plan will not go unfinished!”
“TERADIX, YOUR REIGN OF DESTRUCTION ENDS NOW!” The warrior screamed, its mechanical, slightly feminine voice carrying across seemingly all of existence. “BORNE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, WE CARRY THE POWERS OF THE MOON TO SEND YOU BACK TO THE PIT YOU CRAWLED FROM!”
With a sudden rush forward, the mysterious ally sliced through the air, careening towards Teradix with blinding speeds. Before Teradix could react, the scythe effortlessly cleaved through the Staff of Shadows. Dark energies crackled between the two halves, trying to reconnect themselves in vain.
A dull, loud thud echoed from somewhere, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.
“Luna! It is three in the morning!” Celestia yelled, her front hoof stretched out and pressed against the door to Luna's bedroom. So grumpy was the sun princess that she didn't even bother with using her magic to open the door.
“Gah!” Luna yelped in surprise, losing focus as her figure of Teradix and the hoof-made custom figure clattered to the floor. A number of other figures, six in total, were strewn about near here, along with chunks of styrofoam being used as set pieces for towering cliffs.
“Everypony in Canterlot can hear you!” Celestia said, stomping into the room. “Why can't you do something quiet at this hour, like playing video games with your headphones, or reading?”
Luna scoffed. “Please, dear sister. I've read through that silly trilogy with the hobbit-ponies and unicorn-horn-ring at least twenty times.”
Celestia sighed, her posture sagging as her eyelids drooped. “Just... Just don't be quite so loud. There’s a very important summit tomorrow with the dragons, and I cannot be falling asleep at the discussion table.”
Luna snorted in protest. “Very well.” She pouted and puffed her cheeks out as she turned away. She started off into space with her pouty face as she idly clacked the two toys together with her magic.
As Celestia turned to leave, Luna quietly spoke. “Hey, sis?”
“Yes, Luna?” Celestia turned back to face her sister.
“Will you still make pancakes at sunrise?”
Celestia's eyelids were still heavy, but she smiled all the same. “Of course.”
“Good night, Celestia.”
“Good night, Luna.”
Celestia smiled, shutting the door behind her, as Luna continued to make her toys dance for her and enact play battles. “Your reign of terror ends tonight, Teradix!” She said, in a hushed whisper, as the hours continued to dwindle into morning.
