Family reunion(s)

Chapter 18

The two ponies cowered in fear while Nitro-x staggered over to Shockwave. "Oh yeah?!" he challenged, readying his attached arm for a hit, "Well take THIS!" Shockwave's armor made a small, dull clinking sound as Nitro-x's fist collided with it. His fist stayed there for a second, before he jerked his fist back, yelping, "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" He shook his fist a few times to get rid of the pain, grimacing the whole while.

"Is that the best you have, Autobot?" Shockwave demanded, tramping forward, making Nitro-x stumble backwards and fall to the ground. The one-opticed Decepticon glowered at the three on the ground, towering over them. "Give up now, weaklings, for you are now all mine!" He then broke out into evil, mad scientist, there-is-no-escape-and-you-are-forever-my-test subjects laughter. Then suddenly, out of the blue he stopped, his single red optic grew in horror, then he fell on to the ground, causing what felt like a small earthquake for the ponies.

Right before he collapsed to the ground. Ratchet stood behind him, blaster still smoking. "Now that's what I call shock therapy!" Ratchet exclaimed, a hint of a smile on his lip components.

"Ratchet?!" Twilight and Nitro-x asked in shock.

"Who's Ratchet?" Asked little Nightwatch.

"You can shoot?!" Nitro-x inquired, getting up from off the ground. Ratchet's usual frown reappeared and he growled. "I suggest you shut your trap before I shoot you!"

"Twilight? Twilight!" Shining Armor made an appearance as he searched the cell for his younger sibling. "Over here!" Twilight shouted, waving her hooves frantically.

As Shining Armor embraced his little sister, Ratchet went over to Nitro-x. "Your arm is detached, you need medical attention," Ratchet observed.

"You don't say?" Snipped Nitro-x, "Yeah, well I'm fine. You can leave me alone."

"You are not 'fine'. Your appendage is detached and leaking energon."

"I don't want or need you to fix my arm!"

"What you want is not of my concern. What you need is what I say you need and I say you need medical attention!"

Nitro-x groaned as he let the medical officer to do whatever medical officers do.

Shining Amor smiled down at his sister. "Hay, Twily." Twilight grinned up at her big brother also. "It's good to see you again, big brother." Shining Armor put a hoof around Twilight. She rested her head on his shoulder, Shining then softly told her, "I missed you."

"Um, Shining?" Twilight began but then stopped, biting her lip and backing away from him.

"What is it, Twily?"

"Well, I, um, just." Hot tears pricked at Twilight's eyes. "Please don't ever leave me again!" She cried, throwing herself at her big brother, burying herself in him with tears trickling down her cheeks. Shining was stunned at first, but soon smiled, embracing his sister also. "Don't worry, Twily, I never will." Twilight lifted up her head and smiled at him through the tears, giving a small sniff.

"Excuse me but if the sappy family reunion is over, can we please get going?" The two ponies looked up to see Nitro-x impatiently tapping his stabilizing-servo. Shining Armor cleared his throat and replied an official tone, "Err, yes, let's get going."

Meanwhile outside…

Fluttershy's eyes darted around, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of her friends in the crowd of fleeing ponies. Suddenly she saw a flash of white and indigo: Rarity. She rushed forward and called out. "Rarity! Over here!" Rarity heard her friend and ran over with a black stallion in tow. "Fluttershy! I was wondering where you were. Why weren't you captured like the rest of us?"

"I was at home when it happened, then when Spike told me I-" She stopped, the black pegasus next to Rarity was somepony Fluttershy knew. "Starblast?" The black pony looked up at the mention of his name. "Fluttershy?" The two then embraced each other in a hug, to Rarity's confusion and slight worry. "Fluttershy? You know this stallion?"

"Of course," Fluttershy answered happily, "he's my little twin brother."

"Little? Only by two minutes!" The two siblings laughed and Rarity breathed a small sigh of relief.

Where Electric Storm was kept…

The small red Autobot lay on an operating table. Body still and half-offline. "Aww," Nitro-x murmured, "She looks so cute. Where's my air horn?" Ratchet stopped him. "No. She's in stasis lock. You can't wake her up merely by producing loud noises. I will have to unlock her from stasis."

Ratchet went to the femme and began overriding the stasis lock.

Electric Storm's optics flickered and she let out a small groan before her vision became clear. She shrieked when she saw Ratchet. "Why is Ratchet in the Well of Allsparks?!" She yelped.

"You are not in the Well of Allsparks." Was Ratchet's calm reply.

"Oh." Her face relaxed before it scrunched up in horror. "I'm in the other place?!"

"Electric Storm, you are not offline," He growled.

"But Shockwave was interrogating me, then he pulled out this big needle, it all turned black and then I saw a white light…"

"Nice ta know you're still alive, sis."

Electric Storm screamed at the unanticipated voice and jumped backwards…falling off the operating table. She landed with a thud and an "oof!" She raised an arm and assured them, "I'm okay! No need to worry!" Ratchet shook his helm and began to walk off. "Ratchet?" Optimus called on the medic's comm. "Here Prime."

"Are there any Decepticons in your vicinity?"

"There's Shockwave but he-" When Ratched glanced to where the Decepticon cyclops had been lying, he saw only a Decepticon shaped crater. "That's odd…where did he go?"