Meet the mini-con

Chapter 27

Starblast's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he saw was a snake. Wait, a snake?! Starblast yelled and fell off the bed. He looked around and realized this wasn't his house! But then remembered that he wasn't at his house, he was at his sister's. He shook his head and tried to gather his thoughts. He was originally going to stay at the hotel, but Fluttershy had offered to let him stay at her cottage, it had taken some persuasion but he finally agreed.

Starblast noticed how bright the room was and realized it was later in the day, like 9:30 or so (Starblast never was an early riser like his twin) and figured he'd better get down stairs (the snake also helped persuade him). He stood up from his sitting (human style) position and went out the bedroom door, careful to keep clear of the snake.

Starblast entered the living room and saw dozens of animals eating in little bowls, there were bunnies, birds, butterflies, mice, some cats and dogs, a few bears, two or three chinchillas, and one very large bull. Starblast could never understand how his shy, nervous, easily scared older sister (by two minutes), could be so comfortable around such large beasts (namely the bears and bull, not to mention the snake). Fluttershy was hovering around them, like she was looking for something. She soon saw her brother and moved closer to him. "Good morning Starblast, did everything go Ok last night?"

"Yeah, thanks for letting me stay here sis."

"Oh it's no trouble, I'm glad you're here. Um," She paused, and then asked, "You haven't seen Slither around have you? Its breakfast time and I need to feed him."

"Oh Slither, so that's who woke me up."

"Oh he woke you up? I'm sorry about that, I-"

"Don't worry about it, I needed to get up anyway, I wanted to see if I could help you out while I'm here."

"Oh Starblast you don't have to help me, you're my guest."

"Maybe, but I'd still like to help."

Fluttershy knew her brother loved to help ponies; in fact he worked at an orphanage in Horeston, which made her curious as to why he wasn't there. "All right, if you could help me with making their lunch in a little while I would appreciate that."

"No prob Flutter, I'll make these guys a meal they'll tell their grand kids about." Fluttershy smiled at her brother's enthusiasm and then told him. "It's good to see you again."

"You too Flutter," Starblast told her calling her by her nickname, "You too."

Autobot Base…

"So have you figured out, uh, whatever you're trying to figure out?" Twilight asked the Autobots' chief medical officer. Ratchet, First Aid, and Prowl had all been working on the Mini-con. Ratchet stopped his work, again, and told her, "No, we have not figured out what we were trying to figure out and we will not find out until you LEAVE US ALONE!"

Twilight flinched at the volume of the medic's voice. 'He's just under a lot of stress, Twilight,' she tried to convince herself,'Don't take it personally. He's just under a lot of stress.'

Electric Storm then limped in, her left stabilizing servo dragging across the floor, while she cradled her right arm in her left. She gave a weak smile and murmured, "Hey guys."

"What happened?!" First aid asked, rushing over to her, instantly getting worried. Ratchet and Prowl? Not so much. "Eh, the twins, Streaker and Sides, got me to pull a prank on Cliffjumper." She grimaced. "Didn't go so well. I may have just made an enemy that's really considered an ally for life."

She then noticed what Prowl and Ratchet were working on. A sour look appeared on her face as she stalked over to them. "You guys are still working on that? I don't see what the big deal is!" Unconsciously, Electric Storm lowered a servo onto the Mini-con. "I mean, it's not like we could actually use them or anything. They melt our-" Electric Storm never finished because she noticed the bright light flashing from the Mini-con. She looked at it, then noticed her servo was touching it. She jerked away as if she had been bitten.

The Autobots (and Twilight) watched as the Mini-con materialized, forming into the shape of a small robot. The robot was basically grey and formless, because he hadn't scanned anything for an alternate mode yet. There was a loud clank and all of them turned to see Electric Storm on the ground, writhing in agony. "I'm melting!" She yelled, "I'm melting! I'm melting! I'm-hey. Wait, why aren't I melting? I'm alive!" She jumped for joy, right before noticing the Mini-con glaring at her.

"Uh…hi?" She asked, giving it an uncertain wave. The Mini-con responded in electronic beeps, his lip components forming the words of the Mini-con language. Electric Storm just stared at him for a moment. "Sorry," She finally said, "I don't speak gibberish."

Prowl vented before grabbing the femme's arm and leading her out to his office. "C'mon, Electric Storm. You've got to learn the Mini-con's language."

"Awww," She groaned, "But I just learned English an ano-cycle ago!"