Sombra's re-re-returnby AvariceArtificeChaptersChapter 1: Sombra's latest scheme EDIT 3/12/2020Chapter 2: The First Move EDIT 3/12/20Chapter 3: Cause and EffectChapter 1: Sombra's latest scheme EDIT 3/12/2020The armor clad unicorn of shadows paces, contemplating both of his failures. "I shouldn't have underestimated these equestrians. Their magic is strong, and their friendship even stronger... And what's worse, Discord HUMILIATED me in front of the others!" Sombra growls in frustration. "If only I had a new, or old, army..." Sombra turns his attention to a sizable box in his makeshift icy cave lair. He walks up to the crate, unlatching the rusty metal hinges. Inside, lies a pristine, large golden object. "I didn't want to have to go back crying for help, but I'm out of options..." Sombra's form starts to change, fur receding and armor shifting and stretching to cover most of his body. Small gaps reveal the flesh and bone disintegrating into a green, gaseous substance that stays within the armor. The metal plating seals over, as the helmet, horn, and face start shifting themselves. The face recedes behind the expanding helmet, as Sombra's red horn begins melding with the helmet, turning somewhat fin like in shape. His purple irises begin overtaking the rest of each eye, turning to a glowing, solid shade of purple as the eye sockets change to a quadrilateral shape. Sombra stands on his now chicken like hind legs, while tangible claws and feet begin to form. His barrel turns to a shape fitting of a bipedal being, rather than a quadrupedal one. What once took the form of a pony, is now back to its natural state. Makuta Sombra, is back. He reaches into the crate, lifting the mask of dimensional gates up to his face, placing it over his mask of charisma. He calls upon the mask's power. The mask glows as a portal opens. Suddenly, six makuta fly through, along with a massive burst of energy. The portal closes when the golden mask is knocked off of Sombra's face. He gets up, surveying the other six beings that came through the portal. A dark red and black bat like biped, a dark blue and silver bat like quadruped, a black and silver bat like biped, a black and lime bat like biped, a black and lime mosquito like biped, and a black and yellow beetle like biped. Sombra snickers as they all stand up shakily. "Brothers, sister. I take it you've all just come from a massive battle?" Sombra asks, mildly amused at the condition his siblings are in. "Teridax betrayed us, left us to die in the energy storms." Chirox, the black and silver bat like biped says, only for Gorast, the mosquito like biped, to be at his throat. "I would choose your next words carefully." Gorast says in a warning tone, the needle at the end of her mutated mask close to the neck of her fellow makuta. "I'm just surprised you're alive. After you 'borrowed' Tridax's Kanohi Olmak, and replaced it with one from another dimension, we never expected to see you again. Or in Chirox', Vamprah's, and my own case, hear you again." Antroz, the dark red and black bat like biped says. "I was looking for a world of my own to easily conquer." Sombra begins to explain. "Considering you brought us here, you failed." Bitil, the yellow and black beetle like biped remarks, snickering. "These Equestrians are more powerful than I first thought, deceptively so. I wouldn't have brought you here unless they were a serious threat." Sombra explains, momentarily shooting Bitil a dark look. Mutran, the black and lime bat like biped, begins laughing when he looks into Sombra's mind, seeing the ponies. Mutran displays what they look like to the others with telepathy. They all snicker and laugh. "You had trouble with THOSE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!" Bitil laughs out. "SILENCE!" Sombra bellows out with a power scream. The makuta fall silent. "We need our things if we stand a chance at beating these creatures." Sombra says, mentally relaying Twilight's fight with Tirek to the others, who all look at each-other somewhat surprised. "If this is really how powerful these ponies are, we need a full scale armada of rahkshi and rahi." Antroz says as Sombra picks the Kanohi Olmak back up. "Precisely. I will open the portal. Once I do, grab as much as you can before Teridax notices we're not dead. The energized protodermis is our highest priority, as are any spare Kanohi masks and weapons of power. Do we still have the spear of fusion?" Sombra asks. "No, a mad skakdi named Vezon stole it, and he could be anywhere since he's got an Olmak fused to the back of his head that he can't control." Antroz explains. "How many Olmaks are there in our dimension?" Sombra asks. "Currently, one. One worn by Brutaka, the other is on Vezon's head, the one you brought over for Tridax. Tridax is dead by the way." Antroz explains. "Huh. Speaking of our brothers. What of Miserix, Icarax, Krika, Spiriah, and Kojol?" Sombra asks. "Miserix was imprisoned, Icarax was killed by Vamprah, Gorast, and Mutran, Krika was killed by Gorast, Spiriah was exiled, and Kojol was killed by his own armor eating virus." Antroz relays. "Well then, we must still act quickly. On my command..." Sombra opens a portal into the brotherhood of makuta's main base. "GO!" Sombra yells as he and the rest of the makuta scramble to gather as many things as they can using their teleportation. Black vats of energized protodermis, various melee, energy, and projectile weapons as possible, some loose Kanohi masks, various viruses, rahkshi armors, and Zamor ammunition of various effects. As soon as Sombra feels Teridax start to notice the commotion in the base, he telepathically orders the other makuta to go back through the portal. Sombra quickly returns to the other side, closing their link to the Matoran universe off. The once empty cave now filled with the pilfered items. "Let's expand this cave to fit everything. With a base of operations, we shall be comfortable while bringing destruction to this puny planet." Sombra says, with the others agreeing. /\__/^*^\__/\ Twilight sits alone on her new throne in Canterlot Castle, bored out of her mind. "Ugh, why wasn't I told being the Princess of Equestria would be so booooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing." She complains with a flop on her throne. "You know, you don't have to just sit there." Discord says as he falls up from within the carpet. "I mean, you're THE Princess of Equestria now, you can do whatever you want to..." He says with a grin. "I'm supposed to wait for council with Equestria's citizens though, I can't just shirk my responsibilities like that." Twilight says with a roll of her eyes. "Well, then I'm happy to report that there's been a disturbance in the fabric of our reality, and this time it wasn't even me!" Discord beams, quite literally. "WHAT!? How is that GOOD news!?" Twilight exclaims in a newfound panic. "Well, you did say you were bored. Now you have an excuse to go on another adventure with your friends, just like in the good old days of last week!" Discord gestures, wearing his O&O costume to demonstrate his point. "Spike!" Twilight yells, the dragon already scrawling a message as fast as he can. "On it!" Spike says, sending the first of the messages. "Don't forget to warn Starlight, the School of Friendship needs to be evacuated too!" Twilight finishes. Spike simply nods. The clock is ticking, for both sides. Who will emerge victorious? The remnants of the brotherhood of Makuta, or will it be our beloved cast of multicolored magical ponies (with dragon)? Find out next time! Author's Note In case anyone is interested in reading about the makuta species, here's a link to the page on their species. There are links to the characters as well, at the bottom of the page. There's information on everything bionicle on the site, so anything odd that's mentioned in the story can be easily found on this site should you want to delve deeper. I will try to explain the necessary information as it becomes relevant. https://biosector01.com/wiki/Makuta_(Species) Chapter 2: The First Move EDIT 3/12/20Makuta Mutran, Chirox, and Vamprah are already getting to work. Creating rahi, rahkshi, and a few new matoran-esque rahi to act as eyes for the three blinded makuta. Sombra is already creating a map, and dropping finished rahi to various locations using the Kanohi Olmak. If there's one thing he didn't want, it was for a massive wave of rahi coming from one place giving their location away. "I assume you have a plan then, Sombra?" Antroz says, walking in with a rahi-toran similar in appearance fused onto his back. "I do. I had severely underestimated these ponies when I first arrived here, and when I was re-awakened. I won't be making that mistake again." Sombra says. The rahi-toran on Antroz's back looks at the map carefully. "I see... And where are the others?" Antroz asks. "Creating a few more bases. If there's anything I've learned from Teridax, it's to make as many precautions and work-arounds as possible." Sombra replies, sending a fairly large amount of Nui-Rama into the jungle like areas, and even to the everfree forest. The main purpose the makuta were created for was to populate the matoran universe with rahi, animal like beings meant to create an ecosystem. They can also create kraata, slug like creatures, from their own essence. These kraata can infect the kanohi masks present on the rahi, allowing the makuta full control over the beasts. "This new onslaught of rahi is bound to take every inhabitant of this world by surprise. Once our rahkshi are ready, we'll storm the capitol cities and force the equestrians into submission." Sombra says, confident in his plan. Sombra turns to admire the tubes with rahkshi armor they pilfered from the old base. He reaches into his chest, pulling out a kraata slug, and sets it on the ground. The kraata enters one of the tubes through the green, gelatin like membrane surrounding it. The newly inhabited rahkshi exits the tube through the membrane, leaving the tube intact. The rahkshi's magenta armor glistens in the light produced by the pool of energized protodermis centered in the room. "Go, my rahkshi of rahi control. Command the beasts and draw their attention." With that, Sombra drops the rahkshi into the everfree forest via portal. "Why did you send a rahkshi out so early, brother? Didn't you just say you were going to build an army?" Antroz asks in mild confusion. "I did, and I am. However, this should make for another prominent distraction. Should these ponies be unaware enough, they'll think the rahkshi is the threat bringing the rahi over to destroy them." Sombra elaborates. "Now, time to check up on Bitil, then Gorast." /\__/^*^\__/\ As Twilight's group gallops towards the train station, Pinkie starts jittering again, her direction going in a completely different way than before. "Something BIG is gonna happen over that way!" Pinkie shouts, pointing back in the direction of Ponyville. Turns out, the group had been walking to the train station so they could depart for the crystal empire once Twilight realized that's where they were headed. Without another word, their pace doubles toward the station. Once on the train, the group waits impatiently. Spike burps out a letter from Celestia, which Twilight opens immediately. Her eyes widen, the rest noticing this. "What's it say?" Spike asks. "There's been creatures appearing all over Equestria! They're made of metal, but they're just like savage animals! Apparently reports of attacks are coming from the other kingdoms too!" Twilight yells in panic. "Do any of 'em say where they're coming from?" Applejack asks. "No, just that they showed up and started destroying everything in sight!" Twilight responds. "We can take them, we've defeated worse. Remember when Discord was a problem? Or Tirek? Or the pony of shadows? What are a few beasts compared to them?" Rainbow says, trying to raise morale. "Oh, but they're animals Rainbow. What if they're just misunderstood? I know I couldn't bring myself to fight them..." Fluttershy trails off. "Well, we just have to stop them from breaking things. And that reminds me, we have Fluttershy. If ANYPONY can calm these animals, she can." Rainbow continues. "Right... thanks Rainbow. That helped." Twilight sighs in relief, turning to look out the train car window. /\__/^*^\__/\ Bitil's past selves put the finishing touches on one of the backup bases. Once he's done, his Kanohi Mohtrek, mask of time duplication, deactivates, sending his past selves back to their respective times. He sends a telepathic message to Sombra. "I've finished the first of our new bases. Where to next boss?" Bitil asks. "Go to this location next. I'll send the materials there via portal when you finish the cavern." Sombra relays back to Bitil. Bitil takes note of the location, flying off toward it. On his way, he spots a creature on the ground level. Specifically, a dragon. Bitil halts, descending near the beast. No harm in having a little fun before I get back to work. Bitil thinks as he drops onto the big dragon. The dragon yelps in surprise, turning his head to see the makuta on his back. Bitil leaps up, and uses laser vision on the dragon. The dragon is unaffected, having only been angered. He takes a swipe at Bitil with sharp claws, only for the makuta to teleport behind the dragon. Bitil unleashes a power scream, exerting enough force to launch the dragon forward a couple dozen meters. Bitil swiftly assaults the downed dragon with chain lightning, causing it to spasm uncontrollably. Bitil contemplates teleporting the dragon to Sombra for study and use of new rahi creation, deciding it best to just kill it and not let Sombra know he took a detour from his mission. Bitil walks up to the still twitching dragon. He grips a nearby tree, lightening its density and ripping it out of the ground. Bitil holds it just above the poor dragon, and increases the tree's density dramatically, crushing the dragon, and putting a fissure in the ground. Bitil sighs, it wasn't even a challenge. He takes back to the sky. /\__/^*^\__/\ As Twilight has Ponyville under evacuation, the beasts start to show up. The first kind to emerge look like giant insects of some kind, with green and orange varieties. The beasts immediately start to grab stray ponies that hadn't been evacuated yet, lifting them up in the air and heading back towards the forest where they emerged. Following the first wave of returning creatures, a different kind start showing up. Four legged things, with faces of serpents, and a tail with a glowing end on it. They form a blockade, as the insectoid beasts return for more ponies. Twilight starts to fire off magic bursts at the insectoid creatures, drawing their attention and angering them further. "Twilight, wait!" Fluttershy yells, running in front of her friend. "Fluttershy! What are you doing!?" Twilight yells in a re-invigorated panic. "Don't you remember what we talked about on the train!?" Fluttershy yells back in what would appear to be mild frustration. Twilight casts a shield to keep the creatures away from the remaining ponies. "Are you crazy!? Look at those, those... things!" Twilight says in disbelief. "You need to trust me on this." Fluttershy says calmly, gesturing for Twilight to let her through the shield. Twilight sighs, reluctantly letting Fluttershy through. "I hope you know what you're doing..." Twilight says. This wasn't like getting a manticore or a dragon to comply, these things were just too... angry. One of the beasts flies down towards Fluttershy, ready to grab her. That is, until Fluttershy used her trademark stare. The beast stops, looking at her curiously. Fluttershy clears her throat. "WHAT do you think you're doing mister!? Taking innocent ponies like this! You should be ASHAMED of yourself!" Fluttershy yells at the beast. It eerily stares back at her, odd, glowing eyes unblinking. That's when she notices the black, green, and brown swirling... yuck, on the creature's eyes. It just turns and flies back toward the forest, with the rest of the similar creatures in tow, save for the barricade of four legged creatures. Fluttershy returns to Twilight, who has lowered the shield. "W-wow. I didn't think that would work, but... it did!" Twilight pulls Fluttershy into a hug. "They're gonna bring everypony back! You're amazing Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaims in glee. "I don't think so Twilight... I don't think I got through to them. It's eyes were all... yucky and clouded. The poor thing looked... sick." Fluttershy says wearily. "Then why did they all stop grabbing ponies and leave? They've got to be bringing our friends back! What else could they be doing... right?" Twilight asks, looking back to the tree line with caution. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. A magenta clad creature emerges from the tree line, somehow floating through the air despite being wingless. It extends its lower legs to land, and holds its arms symmetrical to one another, a handle forming between them, and connecting the two smaller blade like pieces held in either hand. It's extremely tall, about 9 feet in height, hunched over, with a head reminiscent of a snake, identical in shape to the heads of the barricading creatures. It stares down the ponies that are present, intimidating them greatly. Its faceplates open, as a slug like creature inside lets out an eerie screech. It points its staff at the barricaded creatures, then towards the ponies. The creatures let out their own roars, charging forward with some kind of energy being shot from their tail ends. Twilight quickly throws the shield back up, the energy being deflected randomly. The magenta clad being roars again, as the insectoid beasts return, swooping down and attacking the shield with their claws. Twilight starts sending her own bolts of magic through the shield in retaliation, managing to drive the flying beasts away from it. The tall creature points its staff at the flying creatures, then to the empty buildings. The beasts' claws tear through the structures with ease, ruining homes and businesses without remorse. Twilight starts concentrating fire on the biped, causing it to stagger with each hit. Twilight has to take a break from attacking, panting for breath while trying to keep the shield up. The magenta being screeches in rage, far louder than its previous shrieks, and charges at the shield. For a tall, metal monstrosity, it closes the distance quickly, and bashes at the shield with the ends of its staff. Twilight is visibly straining to keep it up as cracks spiderweb on the shield. That is, until a cyan colored shield forms around Twilight's. Starlight has arrived, as have the remaining students, for evacuation. Starlight slips in with the students she's with. "Looks like you could use a hoof." Starlight remarks. The magenta biped lets out another screech, bashing at the shielded ponies again, causing even Starlight to stumble in shock at the sudden force put upon the shield. The shield begins to crack like Twilight's before it. Starlight's eyes turn to pinpricks as the creature slams its staff into the shield, causing more fractures to spread along the shield's surface. Twilight throws up a new shield just as Starlight's fails. They leap into the train, which takes off at a break-neck pace. The creature screeches even louder, seething with pure, unadulterated rage. Author's Note Well then, it seems they've just up and abandoned Ponyville to the makutas' forces And having lost their hometown, what will become of their fighting spirit? Find out next time. Chapter 3: Cause and EffectMedics and doctors aboard the train see to Starlight's condition, as well as any other ponies caught in the crossfire before the shield went up. "What in tartarus was that... that THING!?" Rainbow shouts, only to immediately be shushed. Rainbow crosses her forelegs with a pout. "There's no need to make everypony panic for no reason Rainbow." Twilight scolds, icing her horn. "Did anypony else notice how it was controllin' the other varmints? Do you think it's the one responsible for these things acting out all of a sudden?" Applejack asks, hoof on her chin with eyes squinted in thought. All other thoughts are stopped when a loud screech bellows out, sounding awfully close to the train. Pinkie sticks her head out of a window, looking at the thing floating fast towards the train, with the large green and orange bug things all buzzing behind it. "Girls! We have company!" Pinkie shouts in alarm. The rest, barring Twilight, look out the windows at the approaching horde of monsters. Rainbow Dash flies out, landing on the roof of the train much to the dismay of the rest of the group. "What are you doing!?" Twilight yells from inside the train. "Getting rid of our bug problem." Rainbow says in as badass a tone as she can, steeling herself for the incoming enemies. The magenta-clad creature lands on the caboose, making its way forward at a deliberately slow pace. By the time it reaches the next train car, the caboose is ripped off the train by the bug monsters. The few ponies within screaming as they're dragged out of the caboose and flown back towards Ponyville, and the Everfree. The discarded train car careens into the nearby rocks and boulders, scattering rubble everywhere. Rainbow begins moving towards the biped quickly, galloping valiantly forward. The biped moves faster now, the next train car being dislodged and emptied. When Rainbow closes the distance, she hits the biped with her forehooves directly to center mass. They're both launched off of the speeding train. Rainbow's friends all scream in panic at losing their friend from the train, meanwhile the bugs have stopped tearing off train cars. Instead, they begin converging on Rainbow and the biped's position. The creature gets up, without any scratches. It leers at Rainbow Dash, who is reeling from the shock put into her forelegs and upper torso from her attack. One of the orange bugs grips her in its claws, following the now floating biped back towards Ponyville. /\__/^*^\__/\ Gorast teleports back to the base cave, reporting her inspection results to Sombra and Antroz. "The town has been completely destroyed by the Gafna, and the Nui-Rama brought back plenty of Equestrians for our use. They've also collected some specimens of other creatures prowling around that forest. Chirox is already running experiments on some of the forest dwelling beasts." "Excellent Gorast. My rahkshi here has brought us one of the six problematic ones. With even one of them in our custody, they can't hope to use their full power against us." Sombra says, the rahkshi bowing to him. "Where IS our prisoner? Shouldn't we dispose of it as soon as possible?" Antroz asks, the rahi-toran on his back looking around. "No, I have Vamprah guarding her. I have some experiments of my own I'd like to run. After all, she IS one of the only six capable of using a highly dangerous form of magic, which has proven time and again capable of obliterating all of the inner darkness from most beings. I barely survived both times, from a piece of myself I left behind for that very reason." He turns to the map, moving one of the six colorful stones far away from the others, then turning back to his siblings. "Alone, she cannot use that power, and neither can the rest. But the capability still exists within her." Sombra gestures to a small pile of transparent vermilion spheres. "I have Mutran working on some shadow leeches. Soon, we will capture the rest of them, and turn them into shadow versions of themselves, their powers at our command. However, there is another source of their power we need to secure." He points to a miniature carving of a heart, which is sitting in the center of the Crystal Empire's location on the map. "The crystal heart must be destroyed, so that it cannot be used against us either. Without either of those means of defense, Equestria will be ours! And then, we can move on to the next world to conquer." Sombra elaborates, turning his focus back to the map, staring at the remaining five colored stones. /\__/^*^\__/\ Rainbow slowly comes to, only to be met with near darkness, and a cold, metallic feeling of chains and braces around her limbs and torso. "W-what the!?" She says in a raised tone as she tugs at her bonds, to no avail. She notices that she feels weaker than normal, less energetic. And then, she notices a pair of glowing reddish-orange eyes in the dimly lit room, along with its owner's dark blue, silver, and black armor glinting in the faint light. "Hey! Who the hay do you think you are!? Get me out of this, or I'll... I'll..." Rainbow falls silent, those eyes unblinking, unmoving, as if they're staring into her soul. Upon further inspection, the creature looks... bat like. Whatever this thing is, it's not making a sound, or moving. Just then, a door opens, as a green and black figure with similar bat wings enters the room. The metallic footsteps echoing in the no longer silent room. "Thank you, Vamprah. That will be all for now. I've been given the task of equine experimentation." The new figure says as the silent one crawls out of the room. Wait, did he just say experimentation!? Rainbow begins struggling again, only to be reminded of her weakened state. The being chuckles at her. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be experimenting on you... yet... After all, I can't risk you dying from anything. No, first I'm going to use one of these expendable ones. THEN I'll get to you~." The sick minded weirdo cackles, as a bound pegasus is brought into the room. "You won't get away with this, whatever you are!" Rainbow yells with defiance. "Oooh, how bold. And for your information, I'm Mutran. Now where was I..." Rainbow begins to interject, only to discover she can't even talk anymore. Her mouth moves, but nothing comes out. "Ah, yes. Shadow leeches. Thank you for letting me finish my thought." Mutran half-mocks as he pulls the orange orb in his chest out. Carefully, he reaches into it, pulling out a single blue, ugly looking thing. He tosses it onto the pegasus, watching as it begins to drain away her inner light. The writhes around, silently screaming as she begins to mutate from the creature's effects. Her wings become membranous, like those of a bat. Fangs protrude from her jaw. Her irises turning cat-like. Her fur color seems to drain away, becoming a much darker shade than normal. Once the transformation is complete, the pegasus breaks her chains, standing up with a far more sinister look than before. All Rainbow can do is stare into the pegasus' malice filled eyes. Mutran cackles again, removing his mask's effect on the former pegasus. She joins in with chortles of her own, walking out of the room with a newfound purpose in her hoofsteps. Rainbow glares at Mutran so harshly, even Fluttershy would be proud of it. Mutran looks at her with smug satisfaction. "Your turn! I hope you like bats!" Author's Note Well then, this seems to be quite the pickle... Stay tuned for more to come!
Chapter 1: Sombra's latest scheme EDIT 3/12/2020The armor clad unicorn of shadows paces, contemplating both of his failures. "I shouldn't have underestimated these equestrians. Their magic is strong, and their friendship even stronger... And what's worse, Discord HUMILIATED me in front of the others!" Sombra growls in frustration. "If only I had a new, or old, army..." Sombra turns his attention to a sizable box in his makeshift icy cave lair. He walks up to the crate, unlatching the rusty metal hinges. Inside, lies a pristine, large golden object. "I didn't want to have to go back crying for help, but I'm out of options..." Sombra's form starts to change, fur receding and armor shifting and stretching to cover most of his body. Small gaps reveal the flesh and bone disintegrating into a green, gaseous substance that stays within the armor. The metal plating seals over, as the helmet, horn, and face start shifting themselves. The face recedes behind the expanding helmet, as Sombra's red horn begins melding with the helmet, turning somewhat fin like in shape. His purple irises begin overtaking the rest of each eye, turning to a glowing, solid shade of purple as the eye sockets change to a quadrilateral shape. Sombra stands on his now chicken like hind legs, while tangible claws and feet begin to form. His barrel turns to a shape fitting of a bipedal being, rather than a quadrupedal one. What once took the form of a pony, is now back to its natural state. Makuta Sombra, is back. He reaches into the crate, lifting the mask of dimensional gates up to his face, placing it over his mask of charisma. He calls upon the mask's power. The mask glows as a portal opens. Suddenly, six makuta fly through, along with a massive burst of energy. The portal closes when the golden mask is knocked off of Sombra's face. He gets up, surveying the other six beings that came through the portal. A dark red and black bat like biped, a dark blue and silver bat like quadruped, a black and silver bat like biped, a black and lime bat like biped, a black and lime mosquito like biped, and a black and yellow beetle like biped. Sombra snickers as they all stand up shakily. "Brothers, sister. I take it you've all just come from a massive battle?" Sombra asks, mildly amused at the condition his siblings are in. "Teridax betrayed us, left us to die in the energy storms." Chirox, the black and silver bat like biped says, only for Gorast, the mosquito like biped, to be at his throat. "I would choose your next words carefully." Gorast says in a warning tone, the needle at the end of her mutated mask close to the neck of her fellow makuta. "I'm just surprised you're alive. After you 'borrowed' Tridax's Kanohi Olmak, and replaced it with one from another dimension, we never expected to see you again. Or in Chirox', Vamprah's, and my own case, hear you again." Antroz, the dark red and black bat like biped says. "I was looking for a world of my own to easily conquer." Sombra begins to explain. "Considering you brought us here, you failed." Bitil, the yellow and black beetle like biped remarks, snickering. "These Equestrians are more powerful than I first thought, deceptively so. I wouldn't have brought you here unless they were a serious threat." Sombra explains, momentarily shooting Bitil a dark look. Mutran, the black and lime bat like biped, begins laughing when he looks into Sombra's mind, seeing the ponies. Mutran displays what they look like to the others with telepathy. They all snicker and laugh. "You had trouble with THOSE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!" Bitil laughs out. "SILENCE!" Sombra bellows out with a power scream. The makuta fall silent. "We need our things if we stand a chance at beating these creatures." Sombra says, mentally relaying Twilight's fight with Tirek to the others, who all look at each-other somewhat surprised. "If this is really how powerful these ponies are, we need a full scale armada of rahkshi and rahi." Antroz says as Sombra picks the Kanohi Olmak back up. "Precisely. I will open the portal. Once I do, grab as much as you can before Teridax notices we're not dead. The energized protodermis is our highest priority, as are any spare Kanohi masks and weapons of power. Do we still have the spear of fusion?" Sombra asks. "No, a mad skakdi named Vezon stole it, and he could be anywhere since he's got an Olmak fused to the back of his head that he can't control." Antroz explains. "How many Olmaks are there in our dimension?" Sombra asks. "Currently, one. One worn by Brutaka, the other is on Vezon's head, the one you brought over for Tridax. Tridax is dead by the way." Antroz explains. "Huh. Speaking of our brothers. What of Miserix, Icarax, Krika, Spiriah, and Kojol?" Sombra asks. "Miserix was imprisoned, Icarax was killed by Vamprah, Gorast, and Mutran, Krika was killed by Gorast, Spiriah was exiled, and Kojol was killed by his own armor eating virus." Antroz relays. "Well then, we must still act quickly. On my command..." Sombra opens a portal into the brotherhood of makuta's main base. "GO!" Sombra yells as he and the rest of the makuta scramble to gather as many things as they can using their teleportation. Black vats of energized protodermis, various melee, energy, and projectile weapons as possible, some loose Kanohi masks, various viruses, rahkshi armors, and Zamor ammunition of various effects. As soon as Sombra feels Teridax start to notice the commotion in the base, he telepathically orders the other makuta to go back through the portal. Sombra quickly returns to the other side, closing their link to the Matoran universe off. The once empty cave now filled with the pilfered items. "Let's expand this cave to fit everything. With a base of operations, we shall be comfortable while bringing destruction to this puny planet." Sombra says, with the others agreeing. /\__/^*^\__/\ Twilight sits alone on her new throne in Canterlot Castle, bored out of her mind. "Ugh, why wasn't I told being the Princess of Equestria would be so booooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing." She complains with a flop on her throne. "You know, you don't have to just sit there." Discord says as he falls up from within the carpet. "I mean, you're THE Princess of Equestria now, you can do whatever you want to..." He says with a grin. "I'm supposed to wait for council with Equestria's citizens though, I can't just shirk my responsibilities like that." Twilight says with a roll of her eyes. "Well, then I'm happy to report that there's been a disturbance in the fabric of our reality, and this time it wasn't even me!" Discord beams, quite literally. "WHAT!? How is that GOOD news!?" Twilight exclaims in a newfound panic. "Well, you did say you were bored. Now you have an excuse to go on another adventure with your friends, just like in the good old days of last week!" Discord gestures, wearing his O&O costume to demonstrate his point. "Spike!" Twilight yells, the dragon already scrawling a message as fast as he can. "On it!" Spike says, sending the first of the messages. "Don't forget to warn Starlight, the School of Friendship needs to be evacuated too!" Twilight finishes. Spike simply nods. The clock is ticking, for both sides. Who will emerge victorious? The remnants of the brotherhood of Makuta, or will it be our beloved cast of multicolored magical ponies (with dragon)? Find out next time! Author's Note In case anyone is interested in reading about the makuta species, here's a link to the page on their species. There are links to the characters as well, at the bottom of the page. There's information on everything bionicle on the site, so anything odd that's mentioned in the story can be easily found on this site should you want to delve deeper. I will try to explain the necessary information as it becomes relevant. https://biosector01.com/wiki/Makuta_(Species)
Chapter 2: The First Move EDIT 3/12/20Makuta Mutran, Chirox, and Vamprah are already getting to work. Creating rahi, rahkshi, and a few new matoran-esque rahi to act as eyes for the three blinded makuta. Sombra is already creating a map, and dropping finished rahi to various locations using the Kanohi Olmak. If there's one thing he didn't want, it was for a massive wave of rahi coming from one place giving their location away. "I assume you have a plan then, Sombra?" Antroz says, walking in with a rahi-toran similar in appearance fused onto his back. "I do. I had severely underestimated these ponies when I first arrived here, and when I was re-awakened. I won't be making that mistake again." Sombra says. The rahi-toran on Antroz's back looks at the map carefully. "I see... And where are the others?" Antroz asks. "Creating a few more bases. If there's anything I've learned from Teridax, it's to make as many precautions and work-arounds as possible." Sombra replies, sending a fairly large amount of Nui-Rama into the jungle like areas, and even to the everfree forest. The main purpose the makuta were created for was to populate the matoran universe with rahi, animal like beings meant to create an ecosystem. They can also create kraata, slug like creatures, from their own essence. These kraata can infect the kanohi masks present on the rahi, allowing the makuta full control over the beasts. "This new onslaught of rahi is bound to take every inhabitant of this world by surprise. Once our rahkshi are ready, we'll storm the capitol cities and force the equestrians into submission." Sombra says, confident in his plan. Sombra turns to admire the tubes with rahkshi armor they pilfered from the old base. He reaches into his chest, pulling out a kraata slug, and sets it on the ground. The kraata enters one of the tubes through the green, gelatin like membrane surrounding it. The newly inhabited rahkshi exits the tube through the membrane, leaving the tube intact. The rahkshi's magenta armor glistens in the light produced by the pool of energized protodermis centered in the room. "Go, my rahkshi of rahi control. Command the beasts and draw their attention." With that, Sombra drops the rahkshi into the everfree forest via portal. "Why did you send a rahkshi out so early, brother? Didn't you just say you were going to build an army?" Antroz asks in mild confusion. "I did, and I am. However, this should make for another prominent distraction. Should these ponies be unaware enough, they'll think the rahkshi is the threat bringing the rahi over to destroy them." Sombra elaborates. "Now, time to check up on Bitil, then Gorast." /\__/^*^\__/\ As Twilight's group gallops towards the train station, Pinkie starts jittering again, her direction going in a completely different way than before. "Something BIG is gonna happen over that way!" Pinkie shouts, pointing back in the direction of Ponyville. Turns out, the group had been walking to the train station so they could depart for the crystal empire once Twilight realized that's where they were headed. Without another word, their pace doubles toward the station. Once on the train, the group waits impatiently. Spike burps out a letter from Celestia, which Twilight opens immediately. Her eyes widen, the rest noticing this. "What's it say?" Spike asks. "There's been creatures appearing all over Equestria! They're made of metal, but they're just like savage animals! Apparently reports of attacks are coming from the other kingdoms too!" Twilight yells in panic. "Do any of 'em say where they're coming from?" Applejack asks. "No, just that they showed up and started destroying everything in sight!" Twilight responds. "We can take them, we've defeated worse. Remember when Discord was a problem? Or Tirek? Or the pony of shadows? What are a few beasts compared to them?" Rainbow says, trying to raise morale. "Oh, but they're animals Rainbow. What if they're just misunderstood? I know I couldn't bring myself to fight them..." Fluttershy trails off. "Well, we just have to stop them from breaking things. And that reminds me, we have Fluttershy. If ANYPONY can calm these animals, she can." Rainbow continues. "Right... thanks Rainbow. That helped." Twilight sighs in relief, turning to look out the train car window. /\__/^*^\__/\ Bitil's past selves put the finishing touches on one of the backup bases. Once he's done, his Kanohi Mohtrek, mask of time duplication, deactivates, sending his past selves back to their respective times. He sends a telepathic message to Sombra. "I've finished the first of our new bases. Where to next boss?" Bitil asks. "Go to this location next. I'll send the materials there via portal when you finish the cavern." Sombra relays back to Bitil. Bitil takes note of the location, flying off toward it. On his way, he spots a creature on the ground level. Specifically, a dragon. Bitil halts, descending near the beast. No harm in having a little fun before I get back to work. Bitil thinks as he drops onto the big dragon. The dragon yelps in surprise, turning his head to see the makuta on his back. Bitil leaps up, and uses laser vision on the dragon. The dragon is unaffected, having only been angered. He takes a swipe at Bitil with sharp claws, only for the makuta to teleport behind the dragon. Bitil unleashes a power scream, exerting enough force to launch the dragon forward a couple dozen meters. Bitil swiftly assaults the downed dragon with chain lightning, causing it to spasm uncontrollably. Bitil contemplates teleporting the dragon to Sombra for study and use of new rahi creation, deciding it best to just kill it and not let Sombra know he took a detour from his mission. Bitil walks up to the still twitching dragon. He grips a nearby tree, lightening its density and ripping it out of the ground. Bitil holds it just above the poor dragon, and increases the tree's density dramatically, crushing the dragon, and putting a fissure in the ground. Bitil sighs, it wasn't even a challenge. He takes back to the sky. /\__/^*^\__/\ As Twilight has Ponyville under evacuation, the beasts start to show up. The first kind to emerge look like giant insects of some kind, with green and orange varieties. The beasts immediately start to grab stray ponies that hadn't been evacuated yet, lifting them up in the air and heading back towards the forest where they emerged. Following the first wave of returning creatures, a different kind start showing up. Four legged things, with faces of serpents, and a tail with a glowing end on it. They form a blockade, as the insectoid beasts return for more ponies. Twilight starts to fire off magic bursts at the insectoid creatures, drawing their attention and angering them further. "Twilight, wait!" Fluttershy yells, running in front of her friend. "Fluttershy! What are you doing!?" Twilight yells in a re-invigorated panic. "Don't you remember what we talked about on the train!?" Fluttershy yells back in what would appear to be mild frustration. Twilight casts a shield to keep the creatures away from the remaining ponies. "Are you crazy!? Look at those, those... things!" Twilight says in disbelief. "You need to trust me on this." Fluttershy says calmly, gesturing for Twilight to let her through the shield. Twilight sighs, reluctantly letting Fluttershy through. "I hope you know what you're doing..." Twilight says. This wasn't like getting a manticore or a dragon to comply, these things were just too... angry. One of the beasts flies down towards Fluttershy, ready to grab her. That is, until Fluttershy used her trademark stare. The beast stops, looking at her curiously. Fluttershy clears her throat. "WHAT do you think you're doing mister!? Taking innocent ponies like this! You should be ASHAMED of yourself!" Fluttershy yells at the beast. It eerily stares back at her, odd, glowing eyes unblinking. That's when she notices the black, green, and brown swirling... yuck, on the creature's eyes. It just turns and flies back toward the forest, with the rest of the similar creatures in tow, save for the barricade of four legged creatures. Fluttershy returns to Twilight, who has lowered the shield. "W-wow. I didn't think that would work, but... it did!" Twilight pulls Fluttershy into a hug. "They're gonna bring everypony back! You're amazing Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaims in glee. "I don't think so Twilight... I don't think I got through to them. It's eyes were all... yucky and clouded. The poor thing looked... sick." Fluttershy says wearily. "Then why did they all stop grabbing ponies and leave? They've got to be bringing our friends back! What else could they be doing... right?" Twilight asks, looking back to the tree line with caution. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. A magenta clad creature emerges from the tree line, somehow floating through the air despite being wingless. It extends its lower legs to land, and holds its arms symmetrical to one another, a handle forming between them, and connecting the two smaller blade like pieces held in either hand. It's extremely tall, about 9 feet in height, hunched over, with a head reminiscent of a snake, identical in shape to the heads of the barricading creatures. It stares down the ponies that are present, intimidating them greatly. Its faceplates open, as a slug like creature inside lets out an eerie screech. It points its staff at the barricaded creatures, then towards the ponies. The creatures let out their own roars, charging forward with some kind of energy being shot from their tail ends. Twilight quickly throws the shield back up, the energy being deflected randomly. The magenta clad being roars again, as the insectoid beasts return, swooping down and attacking the shield with their claws. Twilight starts sending her own bolts of magic through the shield in retaliation, managing to drive the flying beasts away from it. The tall creature points its staff at the flying creatures, then to the empty buildings. The beasts' claws tear through the structures with ease, ruining homes and businesses without remorse. Twilight starts concentrating fire on the biped, causing it to stagger with each hit. Twilight has to take a break from attacking, panting for breath while trying to keep the shield up. The magenta being screeches in rage, far louder than its previous shrieks, and charges at the shield. For a tall, metal monstrosity, it closes the distance quickly, and bashes at the shield with the ends of its staff. Twilight is visibly straining to keep it up as cracks spiderweb on the shield. That is, until a cyan colored shield forms around Twilight's. Starlight has arrived, as have the remaining students, for evacuation. Starlight slips in with the students she's with. "Looks like you could use a hoof." Starlight remarks. The magenta biped lets out another screech, bashing at the shielded ponies again, causing even Starlight to stumble in shock at the sudden force put upon the shield. The shield begins to crack like Twilight's before it. Starlight's eyes turn to pinpricks as the creature slams its staff into the shield, causing more fractures to spread along the shield's surface. Twilight throws up a new shield just as Starlight's fails. They leap into the train, which takes off at a break-neck pace. The creature screeches even louder, seething with pure, unadulterated rage. Author's Note Well then, it seems they've just up and abandoned Ponyville to the makutas' forces And having lost their hometown, what will become of their fighting spirit? Find out next time.
Chapter 3: Cause and EffectMedics and doctors aboard the train see to Starlight's condition, as well as any other ponies caught in the crossfire before the shield went up. "What in tartarus was that... that THING!?" Rainbow shouts, only to immediately be shushed. Rainbow crosses her forelegs with a pout. "There's no need to make everypony panic for no reason Rainbow." Twilight scolds, icing her horn. "Did anypony else notice how it was controllin' the other varmints? Do you think it's the one responsible for these things acting out all of a sudden?" Applejack asks, hoof on her chin with eyes squinted in thought. All other thoughts are stopped when a loud screech bellows out, sounding awfully close to the train. Pinkie sticks her head out of a window, looking at the thing floating fast towards the train, with the large green and orange bug things all buzzing behind it. "Girls! We have company!" Pinkie shouts in alarm. The rest, barring Twilight, look out the windows at the approaching horde of monsters. Rainbow Dash flies out, landing on the roof of the train much to the dismay of the rest of the group. "What are you doing!?" Twilight yells from inside the train. "Getting rid of our bug problem." Rainbow says in as badass a tone as she can, steeling herself for the incoming enemies. The magenta-clad creature lands on the caboose, making its way forward at a deliberately slow pace. By the time it reaches the next train car, the caboose is ripped off the train by the bug monsters. The few ponies within screaming as they're dragged out of the caboose and flown back towards Ponyville, and the Everfree. The discarded train car careens into the nearby rocks and boulders, scattering rubble everywhere. Rainbow begins moving towards the biped quickly, galloping valiantly forward. The biped moves faster now, the next train car being dislodged and emptied. When Rainbow closes the distance, she hits the biped with her forehooves directly to center mass. They're both launched off of the speeding train. Rainbow's friends all scream in panic at losing their friend from the train, meanwhile the bugs have stopped tearing off train cars. Instead, they begin converging on Rainbow and the biped's position. The creature gets up, without any scratches. It leers at Rainbow Dash, who is reeling from the shock put into her forelegs and upper torso from her attack. One of the orange bugs grips her in its claws, following the now floating biped back towards Ponyville. /\__/^*^\__/\ Gorast teleports back to the base cave, reporting her inspection results to Sombra and Antroz. "The town has been completely destroyed by the Gafna, and the Nui-Rama brought back plenty of Equestrians for our use. They've also collected some specimens of other creatures prowling around that forest. Chirox is already running experiments on some of the forest dwelling beasts." "Excellent Gorast. My rahkshi here has brought us one of the six problematic ones. With even one of them in our custody, they can't hope to use their full power against us." Sombra says, the rahkshi bowing to him. "Where IS our prisoner? Shouldn't we dispose of it as soon as possible?" Antroz asks, the rahi-toran on his back looking around. "No, I have Vamprah guarding her. I have some experiments of my own I'd like to run. After all, she IS one of the only six capable of using a highly dangerous form of magic, which has proven time and again capable of obliterating all of the inner darkness from most beings. I barely survived both times, from a piece of myself I left behind for that very reason." He turns to the map, moving one of the six colorful stones far away from the others, then turning back to his siblings. "Alone, she cannot use that power, and neither can the rest. But the capability still exists within her." Sombra gestures to a small pile of transparent vermilion spheres. "I have Mutran working on some shadow leeches. Soon, we will capture the rest of them, and turn them into shadow versions of themselves, their powers at our command. However, there is another source of their power we need to secure." He points to a miniature carving of a heart, which is sitting in the center of the Crystal Empire's location on the map. "The crystal heart must be destroyed, so that it cannot be used against us either. Without either of those means of defense, Equestria will be ours! And then, we can move on to the next world to conquer." Sombra elaborates, turning his focus back to the map, staring at the remaining five colored stones. /\__/^*^\__/\ Rainbow slowly comes to, only to be met with near darkness, and a cold, metallic feeling of chains and braces around her limbs and torso. "W-what the!?" She says in a raised tone as she tugs at her bonds, to no avail. She notices that she feels weaker than normal, less energetic. And then, she notices a pair of glowing reddish-orange eyes in the dimly lit room, along with its owner's dark blue, silver, and black armor glinting in the faint light. "Hey! Who the hay do you think you are!? Get me out of this, or I'll... I'll..." Rainbow falls silent, those eyes unblinking, unmoving, as if they're staring into her soul. Upon further inspection, the creature looks... bat like. Whatever this thing is, it's not making a sound, or moving. Just then, a door opens, as a green and black figure with similar bat wings enters the room. The metallic footsteps echoing in the no longer silent room. "Thank you, Vamprah. That will be all for now. I've been given the task of equine experimentation." The new figure says as the silent one crawls out of the room. Wait, did he just say experimentation!? Rainbow begins struggling again, only to be reminded of her weakened state. The being chuckles at her. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be experimenting on you... yet... After all, I can't risk you dying from anything. No, first I'm going to use one of these expendable ones. THEN I'll get to you~." The sick minded weirdo cackles, as a bound pegasus is brought into the room. "You won't get away with this, whatever you are!" Rainbow yells with defiance. "Oooh, how bold. And for your information, I'm Mutran. Now where was I..." Rainbow begins to interject, only to discover she can't even talk anymore. Her mouth moves, but nothing comes out. "Ah, yes. Shadow leeches. Thank you for letting me finish my thought." Mutran half-mocks as he pulls the orange orb in his chest out. Carefully, he reaches into it, pulling out a single blue, ugly looking thing. He tosses it onto the pegasus, watching as it begins to drain away her inner light. The writhes around, silently screaming as she begins to mutate from the creature's effects. Her wings become membranous, like those of a bat. Fangs protrude from her jaw. Her irises turning cat-like. Her fur color seems to drain away, becoming a much darker shade than normal. Once the transformation is complete, the pegasus breaks her chains, standing up with a far more sinister look than before. All Rainbow can do is stare into the pegasus' malice filled eyes. Mutran cackles again, removing his mask's effect on the former pegasus. She joins in with chortles of her own, walking out of the room with a newfound purpose in her hoofsteps. Rainbow glares at Mutran so harshly, even Fluttershy would be proud of it. Mutran looks at her with smug satisfaction. "Your turn! I hope you like bats!" Author's Note Well then, this seems to be quite the pickle... Stay tuned for more to come!
