My Little Pony & Robot Friends: Infiltration

And the mercy seat is waiting, and I swear my head is burning, and I feel my body yearning...

-Johnny Cash, "The Mercy Seat"

INFILTRATION

Story 2

TERMINATION DAY

(Try to imagine it with a Decepticon Symbol in place of the 'A' In "Day".)

It's an odd feeling. Being so integral, so loyal to something, then casting it all away like it's nothing to you anymore. To make the choice to abandon your cause, to desert your soldiers to the nearest one-eyed computer on legs. To simply shed yourself like a used husk... to no longer be that person...

Or so went Dreadwing's monologue to himself, trailing behind Rainbow Dash, his new captain. It was the strangest thing, how Dreadwing, the bronze-faced, blue-armored Decepticon Seeker, became a Wonderbolt cadet, and thus Rainbow Dash's wingpony. She was a good captain, Dreadwing thought, but he found some of her sudden orders random and questionable. Like trying to clear the clouds in ten seconds flat. To a Cybertronian, clearing clouds was improbable, but really nothing special. To a pegasus pony, it was a test of mettle. Dreadwing had beaten Dash's records of ten seconds flat with a time of 8.47 seconds, but Rainbow Dash insisted it didn't count because he used his trademark Gatling to blast them all.

"All right, Dreadwing!" Dash shouted, straining her voice so he could hear her over the hum of his own turbines. "Dive!"

Dreadwing would've questioned her order to suddenly dive down, grazing his wings against the tips of the Everfree Forest they were flying over, had he not learned quickly not bother trying to get a sensible explanation for her flights of fancy. He dived down, following her orders and her example, flying straight through the forest canopy.

This had the unfortunate side-effect of startling Fluttershy, and her Insecticons, as they were in the forest feeding the animals as Fluttershy loved to do, especially with her Insecticon buddies. They, and the animals they were feeding, scattered and nosedived to avoid being smacked by Rainbow Dash, the living torpedo, or Dreadwing's wings.

After the unlikely duo pulled up and returned to the sky, Fluttershy took in several deep breaths and stood up right, observing the scene of Dash's and Dreadwing's carnage. No one had been hurt, but the poor little animals were shaking for their lives.

"I should probably tell Dreadwing and Rainbow Dash they're flying too close to the ground..."

Fluttershy looked again at all the little animals and big Insecticons around. The squirrels were shivering, the birds were making clusters to defend themselves, and the Insecticons were groaning and rubbing their heads, occasionally looking to each other to make their fellows were in one piece.

"...Then again..." A rare hint of resentment actually formulated in Fluttershy's tone, seeing all the panicked animals. "I'm not sure I can handle talking to them right now."

Fluttershy looked upwards at Dreadwing's fading form and pouted. She started walking towards a rabbit to stroke it and reassure it everything was going to be okay. "It's all right, little one...Dreadwing didn't mean to scare, Rainbow Dash is just a bad influence on him."

Fluttershy looked up again the smoke trail Dreadwing had left behind. She started to wonder about the fact he had defected from the Decepticons, and somehow ended back up on Equestria as a Wonderbolt in training. Then Fluttershy's mind start putting two and together, remembering something that happened to her shortly before Dreadwing joined them...something horrible, something awful.

Simply remembering that awful experience caused to hyperventilate. A horrible realization dawned, a horrible one. One she wanted to deny even more than anything she had ever wanted to deny before.

"They're going to come for Dreadwing."

"You!" Fluttershy pointed her hoof/clamp at one of her Insecticons. "Come here, Johnson. Your Princess has a special assignment for you."

The Insecticon addressed as Johnson turned to one his fellows, who shrugged at him and bade for him to approach. Johnson tromped towards her and got down his knees, crouching down so Fluttershy could whisper into his audio receptor. "How may I serve you, My Lady?"

Fluttershy fluttered upwards and began to whisper into his ear.

Meanwhile, Dreadwing and Rainbow Dash continued to fly on, taking no notice of the animals they had just scared half to death.

"I know better than to ask, but what was the point of that?"

"To show how awesome we are flying!" Rainbow Dash answered her Seeker, rolling over to backpedal through the air. She flew back around and perched herself on Dreadwing's wing to take a break.

"Captain, I am not comfortable with you on my wing like that."

"Hey, after all that awesome flying, even an amazing flier like me needs a break." Dash breathed on her hoof and rubbed it against her chest proudly.

Dreadwing's cockpit hissed as it was opened. "I'd much prefer you ride in the seat."

"What are you, my mother?"

"If you fall off my wing and forget to fly, I will not have your friends hold me responsible for your death."

Dash scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she relented and flew into the pilot's seat, buckling herself in as the cockpit glass lowered down.

Dash put her hoof against her chin, bored already of Dreadwing's interior. She wasn't a fan of technology like Twilight, or distracted by shiny things like Pinkie, so Dreadwing's fancy controls did nothing to stave her boredom. Her eyes rolled from corner to corner, until she saw Ditzy Doo flying nearby, dressed up in her mailmare outfit, cobalt hat on her standing proudly, her mail bags ruffling with each flap of her wings.

"I wonder where she's headed off to..." Dash muttered. Since the formation of the alliance between Cybertron, Earth, and Equestria, Ditzy Doo's business had skyrocketed. She somehow had the means to get a letter and packages (not exceeding a certain weight limit, of course) to get from one planet to the next, seemingly without the use of a Ground or Space Bridge, or even a star ship.

"You know what, Dreadwing?" Rainbow Dash whispered, wrapping her ankles around his control stick. "I wanna know what Ditzy Doo has today, so follow her!" Dash jerked the pilot stick to the right, causing Dreadwing to jerk and spin out. Being a professionally trained Decepticon, Dreadwing recovered quickly, and then used gave Dash's hooves a low-intensity electric shock to 'persuade' her to remove them from his controls.

"I am capable of both following your orders and piloting myself, Rainbow Dash." Dreadwing informed her.

"Hmph." Dash crossed over her hooves. She raised an eyebrow, taking note of Dreadwing's cockpit. "Hey...why do Decepticons and Autobots come with organic-sized cockpits?" It was a good question. All the Cybertronians Dash had ridden, bar Arcee in motorcycle mode, had cockpits large enough to hold a pony or a human, neither of which was exactly a common sight on Cybertron. The smallest recorded creature there was a pest known as a Scraplet, and the cockpits were much too large for them.

"Have you heard of Quintessons?" Dreadwing asked. "In the distant past, they attempted to take over Cybertron. The cockpits present in a Cybertronian- if they're present- are leftovers from that time."

Dash found this to be excellent food for thought. What did these Quintessons look like? Were they big? They had to be, or else they would need some pretty hard brass to try to take over Cybertron.

Following Ditzy Doo led them right to Ponyville, and Twilight's library. Dreadwing let Rainbow Dash, then lowered himself down to the ground enough that him transforming and landing on the ground wouldn't cause too hard a tremor. It was good of him to be mindful, but there was no avoiding some shaking when a Decepticon-sized entity dropped to the ground from a suspended height. Thankfully, while some flower pots shook and some plats swayed, nothing fell over and broke.

Ditzy, not noticing or caring she was being spied on, knocked on Twilight's door. Twilight quickly answered. "Hello? Hi, Ditzy Doo! Do you have something for me?"

"Yes-sir-ee Bob!" Ditzy answered, handing over the envelope in her mouth. Twilight took it with her magic, opening it and unfolding the letter inside, absentmindedly throwing Ditzy her obligatory delivery fee. Ditzy saluted and flew off, while Rainbow Dash and Dreadwing walked up to the library to investigate the mysterious letter.

"Hey, Twilight!" Dash drawled, Dreadwing crouching down so he could overhear. "What do you have there?"

Twilight hesitated to answer, unease showing on her face. "It's...a letter."

"I know that! What kind of letter?"

"It's a human research facility..." Twilight answered. "They want me for their research."

"Awesome!" Dash exclaimed, draping a wing around her friend. "I'm so proud of you! Finally, your genius is recognized!"

"...Perhaps you didn't hear me, Rainbow Dash; a human research facility."

Dash's pride at her friend fell away. "Oh, yeah." Dash maneuvered around to get a glance at the letter over Twilight's shoulder. "What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know." Twilight answered. "I think I'll need to take this to Rung..."

"Who?"

"My therapist."

Dash scratched her head. "I know you don't like humans, but since when do you see a therapist for it?"

Twilight sighed, folding the letter back up. "Since he decided my 'contempt for humanity outweighed the extent of how they wronged me' or something." Twilight looked down at the letter again, reading it again.

Dash pursed her lips as Twilight's attention shifted away from her. "Eh...come on, Dreadwing." Dash jumped and did a back flip into the air. "I think I'm ready to fly on my own again."

Dash turned away and flew straight up. Dreadwing turned around and converted, following after her without any question. At least, none that he would voice.

Twilight watched them go, before closing the door and navigating her library until she found the terminal she had installed to communicate with any Autobots she had the phone number of, in a manner of speaking. She always enjoyed the many uses of different machines. She was even still working on completing her own GroundBridge in her basement.

After tapping the highly decorated machine that looked something like an overly decorated personal computer, it unfolded, showing its hinges and a screen. With a light form her horn, Twilight seized control of the keyboard and made it dial Rung's frequency. Static flashed across the video feed, before clarifying itself and turning into an image's Rung's face, with its chin and humongous browplates.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle! You called at an excellent time. I was just checking my messages. What do you need?"

"Hello, Hung-Up," Twilight responded, showing him the same amount of respect and tolerance towards as she did the humans she loathed by not remembering his name. "I have something...interesting here."

Rung looked annoyed Twilight hadn't called him his actual name. He was starting to suspect she actually could remember it, but choose not to address him with, just to annoy him. "What is it?"

"Some humans running a research facility on Earth want me to help with their studies. I don't know how to respond..." Twilight unconsciously held the letter, folding it nervously in her ankle.

"Oh..." Rung's optics glistened. "Oh, this is perfect!" Twilight could see through the feed Rung clapping his hands together.

Twilight didn't share his enthusiasm. "Uh, what's perfect?"

"Twilight Sparkle, I highly recommend you take up this offer!" Rung exclaimed. "By combining these two things – humans, whom you hate, and research, which you love – you can build a positive association to replace your hatred!"

Twilight looked at the letter again, hesitant, but seeing the truth in Rung's suggestions. "They do seem to have some good equipment and research going on...if I helped, they could probably get something good done..." After a moment of tense silence, during which Rung frowned at her reluctance, she nodded her head firmly. "Okay! I'll do it! I'll take up the research, and I'll learn not to hate the humans...as much! Thank you, Rung."

"Wha- you said my name right!" Twilight shut the computer off before Rung could lash out further. "Hey!" The hinges collapsed, and the screen folded in with a khoo-choo-chee, causing it to appear less like a computer and more like a trash can with an awkwardly slanted square for a lid.

Twilight folded the letter up neatly before pocketing it into her tail hairs. She walked out the door, taking a deep breath of fresh air as she got ready to throw herself at the whim and mercy of the human professors who so interested in having her help them study.

Hmm...maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

She was distracted by that thought when she saw Rainbow Dash and Dreadwing still flying around Ponyville, Rainbow Dash showing off her flight skills, and Dreadwing following her lead, despite that he questioned every turn she made.

Twilight shook her head when she saw how other, less steely Ponyvillians than herself had their daily business interrupted by the sound of Dreadwing's engines.

Rainbow Dash made a loop-de-loop, then flapped her wings in place. She covered her mouth as she yawned. "Okay, Dreadwing...let's head back to the academy. I want to take a nap."

"You're found of that, aren't you?" Dreadwing muttered.

"You say something?"

"Nothing!"

They flew off into the distance, their shadows fading into the breezes as they flew over the mountain range, back to the Wonderbolt Academy where their bizarre partnership had begun. The sky was quickly fading from blue to red as Celestia made her sun adjust position appropriately to the time of day. Perfect time for take a nap, as by the time Rainbow Dash woke up, it would be time for dinner!

Arriving at the Academy's elevated plateau, normally inaccessible to those without flight, Rainbow Dash and Dreadwing, Dash stretching her wings and Dreadwing doing an involuntary- actually, it was more like an automatic salute when he had finished transforming.

"Geez, D.W. What's with the salute? Chillax once in a while." Rainbow told him coolly.

"Chillax?" Dreadwing questioned, crossing his arms to demonstrate his impatience with Rainbow Dash's language. "I do not understand the meaning of such a ridiculous word."

They arrived to the cabin with Rainbow Dash's quarters in it, and Dash continued to talk as she pulled out her room key. "It means to chill out and start relaxing." Dash jerked the door open and stepped inside. "Good night, wingpony!"

"Have pheasant dreams, Captain."

Dash stopped. "Do you mean pleasant dreams, or do you actually want me to dream about pheasant birds?"

Dreadwing stared, almost as confused as she was. He pointed a finger. "The first one...I think."

"Okay. Well, good night- wait..." Dash noticed a silhouette coming through the sky. A ovoid piece as out of place as a cereal oat amongst a jigsaw puzzle against the stars. Dreadwing, thinking the way he was trained to think, his first move was to reach for his Gatling and prepared to fire. As the shadow got closer, Rainbow Dash heard a noise she was struggling to make out with Dreadwing's gun loudly charging right next to her.

Once the figure was close enough for what lights hadn't been turned off on the Academy's edges to make out, Dreadwing and Dash could both see it was an Insecticon. Dreadwing kept his gun raised, not sure if it was one of Fluttershy's group, or Shockwave's army remnants. Once it transformed and approached them with with a sense of familiarity, they felt like pretty good in saying it was Fluttershy's. This was proven right when they could make out a sticker in the shape of Fluttershy's Cutie Mark on its chest.

The Insecticon came close enough to speak without shouting, and knelled at Dreadwing. "Princess Fluttershy has decreed she would like to see you."

"Oh..." Dash noted. "Uh, okay." Dash came out of the door, but the Insecticon stomped its foot in front of her, preventing her from passing Dreadwing's leg.

"Him." The Insection said, pointing at Dreadwing with its long, sharp claw. "Alone."

"Wha..." Dash muttered. She wanted to fly up into the Insecticon's face and punch him for daring to suggest taking her and Dreadwing apart, but she knew better than to think she could dent its tough hide.

"It's all right, Captain." Dreadwing assured her, putting his Gatling back into his holster for it. "I seriously doubt Fluttershy is capable of any unscrupulous dealings."

Dreadwing followed the Insecticon out of the plateau and to the landing bay, used for both landing and taking off, much to Dash's discontent.

Watching the two titans fade away into the night, before the lights of their power sources revealed themselves again as they transformed and rose up, Rainbow Dash had to chide herself for thinking as silly thoughts as she was. This was Fluttershy they were talking about. She would never do something questionable, even to a Decepticon, much less a former Decepticon. This was one of her best friends! How could she have questioned her motives? On top of that, Dreadwing was a highly trained and skilled warrior! If Fluttershy had something a nasty surprise waiting, he could take of himself.

Perhaps it was because she gotten closer to, and more protective of Dreadwing than she fully realized, more than she was comfortable admitting. He was good wingmech -wingman, wingpony, oh forgot it. Point being, he would be hard to replace. It was rare there was somepony who had not only the patience, but also the flight skills to put up and keep up with all the nonsense Rainbow Dash's adrenaline-demanding flight patterns would put her partner through.

She took another glance at Dreadwing's flames trailing behind him. She sighed, not fully grasping why she worrying about him so much, and went into her quarters to take that nap.

Dreadwing flew uncomfortably next to the Insecticon. Not that he was afraid Fluttershy had ordered his head on a pike, or something. But why had she called him at all? What did she have to talk about that couldn't be talked about in front of Rainbow Dash?

"Insecticon..." Dreadwing asked politely. "Why does her majesty Fluttershy wish to see me?"

The Insecticon groaned. "She said she wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

The Insecticon flew onward, focused on maintaining its course. Dreadwing decided to get his answer, he'd have to be a bit more forceful. He tipped over slightly and banged his wing into the Insecticon's hide, doing no damage, but all the same giving it plenty of warning of what would happen if he didn't answer.

"About?"

"She...did not say." The Insecticon rasped.

"Hmph." Dreadwing muttered. Looking at the shape of the ground below, Dreadwing made a conclusion. "This isn't the right path to Fluttershy's log cabin."

"No." The Insecticon admitted, showing no sighs wanting to deceive Dreadwing. "No, it's not."

"Where are you taking me?" Dreadwing demanded, making sure to emphasis the Insecticon would not like what was about to happen in his tone.

"Just keep flying. We're almost...correction, we are there." The Insecticon dived, and Dreadwing, though still suspicious, followed. They converted to automaton form, and landed. Dreadwing was graceful, though forceful, bending his knees to blunt the impact. Meanwhile, the Insecticon was entirely forceful with no hint of grace.

"No, no, no." Dreadwing heard Fluttershy's voice chiding. "You're supposed to play the-"

"Fluttershy!" Dreadwing snapped.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed, turning around as she jumped off her hind hooves ten feet into the air. She didn't think to use her wings, so she dropped right back to the ground. "Dreadwing!" Fluttershy huffed, hoof on her heart as she tried to regain lost breath. "You startled me."

"Hmm. My apologies." Dreadwing said curtly, scanning the scene. Before him and Fluttershy was what appeared to be a warehouse with a huge slider door, big enough to fit any of her many Insecticons. Fluttershy herself was sitting at the bottom of the door, while beside her were three Insecticons, each with white bibs and black neckties that had been refitted to fit them. One of them had a cello hung limp in his claws.

Fluttershy righted herself and cleared her throat. "Ahem...shall we go in?"

The two Insecticons without musical instruments shoved their claws under the door and forced it open. Dreadwing was still uncertain, but he didn't see any normal tells of murderous intent, so he followed her inside.

"What the huh!?" Dreadwing shrieked in surprise at what was inside. There was a large table set up. A very large table. Large enough to seat him and a few Autobots. There were two seats, positioned opposite, each Cybertronian sized. Placed at one was plate of gourmet organic food, not that Dreadwing knew, and to the other was an oil can twisted and banged into the shape of goblet. It was also lit with candles.

"Please." Fluttershy asked him, gesturing to the empty seat as she fluttered up and sat in the one with the organic food. "Have a seat."

Dreadwing did so, made too vapid by how simply odd this was, did as she requested. His jaw still half-open in confusion, he glanced down at the goblet and saw it was full of brown oil.

"W-what is this?" Dreadwing pointed at the cup swirling in front of him.

"It's premium." Fluttershy answered like a goblet made out an oil can filled with premium fuel was the most common thing in the world. "Please, drink up!" Fluttershy held up her own cup, a wine glass with purple fluid in, and swirled it around. "Indulge yourself..." She happily sipped from her cup, her eyelids at an uncharacteristic for her low point.

Dreadwing looked down again the goblet, and picked it up. He eyed it curiously, still not sure he should drink it. If Fluttershy was going to kill him, it would probably be with poisoned beverages. She could walk away, and not have to see the horror on her victim's face as they died, while still being sure they were dead. Upon further reflection, he realized she had no motive to kill him, so he cautiously sipped it slowly before putting it back down.

Fluttershy seemed amused by this, giggling. "There's no need to be conservative. I have plenty." Fluttershy clapped her hooves together. The Insecticons that were outside, came inside. The one with the cello took up Fluttershy's side and began to play the instrument. One Insecticon took Dreadwing's goblet and poured into from a filled oil tankard, acting as the water pitcher.

Dreadwing glared at the cup as it was set down for him, then he looked at Fluttershy.

"So, how's life with Dash at the Academy?" Fluttershy asked, making small talk as she cut into her food with a knife and a fork.

"It's fine." Dreadwing answered.

"Good, good...she's not working you too hard, is she?"

"No?"

"Excellent..."

Dreadwing was no conductor, but the music the cello-playing Insecticon sounded more like a funeral dirge, rather than the appropriate dinner music.

That was all he needed to put the puzzle pieces together. His last clue. The final hint.

Dreadwing sighed and put his hands on the table. "How?"

Fluttershy seemed taken aback by this. She dropped her silverware, then picked up a napkin to wipe her face, even though there was nothing on it. "How? How what? What do you mean?"

Dreadwing slammed his fists on the table, making the silverware clatter and both their drinks splash in their cups, though they didn't spill onto the tablecloth. "How do I die?"

"D-die!?" Fluttershy screamed. "Why would-why would you think you're going to die, and how would I know?"

"Your Insecticon is playing a funeral dirge." Dreadwing pointed, pointing at the Insecticon in question. The Insecticon appeared uncertain whether or not that meant he should stop, so he kept playing. "You're being extraordinarily nice to me...even by your standards. You have a set-up, an expensive drink, a waiter to attend my every whim...and given what I know about you and your kindness, my conclusion is that you're trying to soften the blow before you tell me I'm to join the scrapyard in the sky, as you would any of your friends! Am I wrong?"

Fluttershy looked away.

Dreadwing stood up from his seat and slammed his fists again.

"Tell me, Fluttershy! Am I wrong!?"

Fluttershy continued looking away, staying silent.

"Well..." Dreadwing narrowed his optics and grimaced. "The only OTHER reasonable explanation is that you harbor ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR ME!"

Dreadwing got a stark-raving mad grin on his face as he watched Fluttershy be boxed in by his verbal checkmate. "Well?"

Fluttershy sighed, then let loose. "Okay! Yes! You're right! You're going to die! Violently, painfully, and miserably!"

Dreadwing's grin did not falter, and he eased himself back into his seat. "There. Was that so hard?"

"Yes." Fluttershy whispered, though Dreadwing didn't hear her.

Dreadwing grunted. Pushing his seat out, he got up and began to walk around. He covered his face with his hand, not sure what to think about this revelation. Removing his hand from his face, he sighed. "How? How do I die?"

"They're going to come for you." Fluttershy answered, feeling guilty that she was telling him this, as though it was her own fault that Dreadwing was doomed. "And I think you know who I'm talking about."

Dreadwing turned away from the table, from Fluttershy's face. "What would you have me do?"

"Go to Cybertron." Fluttershy answered questioned.

Dreadwing turned back around and raised his brow.

"I..." Fluttershy fiddled with her hooves. "Tricked them into thinking I was dead once already. If they came here to Equestria, and found I was still alive...they would kill me, and this time, they would make absolutely certain I was dead."

Dreadwing stepped back, bewildered, before getting another crazy smile on his face. He was a stalwart solider, and did not fear the eyes of death in battle. Staring at Fluttershy's eyes, and pretending that they were death's was a disjointing experience. He wouldn't recommend trying it to anyone he liked.

"You want me...to return to Cybertron...to die...so you can live!? Fluttershy!" He pointed at her. "I didn't think you capable of such a selfish request!"

The Insecticons growled while Fluttershy flew out of her seat. "Oh, no! It's not selfish at all!"

Fluttershy put her hoof against her chest.

"I am not afraid to die."

Dreadwing glared.

Fluttershy rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "But...on Earth, when Twilight died, Pinkie Pie almost killed herself before we found out Twilight...and if she reacted that way to losing Twilight, how do you think she and the others will react to losing me!?"

Dreadwing gritted his teeth. Her point was illustrated to him perfectly; for Twilight to die was one thing, but losing somepony as sweet, giving and selfless as Fluttershy would be enough to push anypony to their breaking point.

"Very well." Dreadwing said solemnly. "I will do as you ask. I will depart for Cybertron in the morning."

"Thank you..." Fluttershy muttered. "I really appreciate you doing this...it means a lot to me."

Dreadwing snorted, then approached the door. He stopped just short of it, to Fluttershy's curiosity, and turned around, heading back to the table and gulping all the premium that was in the goblet. After putting it down, Dreadwing walked towards the door, before bursting into a dash and transforming into the night.

Fluttershy looked down. She put her hooves over eyes, lowering herself to the ground as she broke down crying.

The morning after, Rainbow Dash awoke and just had a feeling. Just-just a feeling that she got in her bones, that seemed to say today was going to be very unpleasant for her. As she yawned and stretched out of her bed, she tried to ignore it. She got out of bed and her quarters, and was quite startled to see no sigh of Dreadwing's vehicular mode parked anywhere nearby.

"Hey." Dash called for the attention of the nearest cadet, coming out of the quarters next to her. "Have you seen Dreadwing?"

The cadet shook his head no before pulling down his goggles and flying off.

"Hmm..." Dash looked around the area, quiet clonks from her hooves emphasizing her worry about Dreadwing. Dreadwing was a loyal, dependable solider. It wasn't like him to just disappear and go out for fast food or something. It was completely like Dash to do that, but not him.

"Maybe Twilight or somepony will know where she is..." Rainbow Dash galloped towards the edge of the cliff, waving goodbye to her commander Spitfire as she passed. "My wingpony's missing, so I'm gonna go find him! See ya later, coach!"

Spitfire showed no displeasure at this.

Rainbow Dash jumped off the cliff edge, wings naturally flaring out as the ground beneath her hooves ran out. Wasting no time, she made a beeline for Ponyville, flying as fast as she could – which as anypony would attest, was pretty freaking fast. She made no notice of the clouds or how they moved so slowly it was like they were in a different time to her, focused only on getting home and finding out where her wingpony went.

Some ponies waved at Rainbow as her signature bolt of rainbow colors curved into view, but like the clouds moments ago, she ignored them. Unlike the clouds, which couldn't feel, the ponies wondered what was causing Rainbow Dash to ignore everything around her even more than usual.

Determined to find out what happened, Rainbow Dash charged into Pinkie's residence which was also partially partially her restaurant as well. Everypony who was usually there at this time was there on time.

Unlike her partner, today.

There was Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy, with Pinkie Pie on the other edge of the counter, doling out coffees, sweet drinks and morning pastries as customers ordered them.

"Hey." Dash approached the table where Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy were seating, causing whatever conversation they were in previously to cut short. Dash didn't pick up on Fluttershy's nervous expression. "Dreadwing's disappeared on me. Does anypony know where he went?"

Rarity and Twilight looked to each other while Fluttershy started shrinking into her seat.

"No." Twilight answered.

"How bizarre. I understood that Dreadwing was actually quite punctual." Rarity added.

"Think, Rainbow Dash." Twilight pointed her hoof. "Did Dreadwing say or do anything to indicate where he might have gone?"

"No...although, now that I think about it." Rainbow Dash turned a suspicious eye on Fluttershy. "One of Fluttershy's Insecticons came over in the evening and said she wanted to see him." Rainbow Dash put her hooves on the table forcefully, while Fluttershy shifted her eyes. Rainbow Dash recaptured her attention by slamming her hooves on the table. "Do you know where he went, Fluttershy?" Dash snarled in a tone she didn't normally like using with Fluttershy.

Fluttershy shifted her eyes one more time, before cracking in the face of pressure. "Yes! Yes, I do! I-I asked him to go Cybertron so that I-so that I could live, and none of you would have to deal with the grief of me dying."

Rarity and Twilight looked to each other.

"Fluttershy, darling, whatever do you mean?"

Fluttershy ducked into the table. "Do...any of you know the Decepticon Justice Division?"

Rarity and Rainbow didn't, but Twilight did, and this was clear from the blush on her face.

"They tried to kill me once for that time I pretended to be loyal to the Decepticon Cause, you know, when they took over Canterlot." Fluttershy explained. "I managed to fool them into thinking I was dead, but yesterday, I realized they were going to come for Dreadwing sooner or later, so I asked him to leave so the Division wouldn't discover I was still alive."

Rarity and Rainbow struggled to process this, while Twilight thought about what she had done involving the D.J.D.

Rainbow Dash leaped over the table and grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders. "YOU ASKED MY WINGPONY TO DIE ALONE!?"

Everypony in the restaurant noticed Rainbow Dash's outburst. It was hard to miss. Twilight and Rarity got out of their seats and put themselves in front of Rainbow and Fluttershy before rumors of Rainbow mistreating Fluttershy could spark.

"Nothing to see here, everpony! Just a light- well, actually a very large misunderstanding between friends." Rarity assured the crowd, waving a hoof. "Rainbow, darling, you're making a scene." Rarity whispered to Dash. Dash rolled her eyes and let go of Fluttershy, but it was clear she was still furious.

"Why don't we go outside?" Fluttershy meekly suggested, amber eyes trained on Pinkie. The four of them got up and began to shuffle towards the door, Rarity and Twilight smiling extra at everypony extra forcefully to protect Rainbow's reputation.

Once inside, Rainbow Dash raised her hoof to punch Fluttershy in the cheek, but managed to stop herself. "Explain this to me again, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash demanded. "You asked Dreadwing to go to Cybertron, so these...Decepticon Justice guys could kill him!?"

"Pardon me, but I find the idea of Decepticon justice somewhat...contradictory." Rarity interjected.

"It's less like justice and more like single-minded fanaticism that punishes deserters of all shapes and sizes." Twilight added. "Actually, I take that back. Pardon my pun, but 'Fanaticism' doesn't really do them justice."

"You didn't see them, Dash." Fluttershy reminded her, speaking fearfully. "They were...unnatural. There's no way you could have stopped them. We would all try to fight them, and then we would all get killed. At least this way, some of us survive..."

"There's nothing that I can't stop!" Dash snapped at her, but Twilight held out her hoof to Dash's chest.

"No, Rainbow Dash. She's right. I-I met their leader." Twilight admitted.

"And you survived?" Fluttershy whispered.

"If we tried to fight him, I'm pretty sure he would obliterate us, our friends, families, and everything in the area, just for good measure." Twilight explained, ignoring Fluttershy's question. "At least with their new target on Cybertron, we could probably fight them with better chances there."

"On their home turf!?"

"Actually, their 'home turf' is a far-off planet called Messatine." Twilight corrected her.

"How do you know so much about them, Twilight?" Rarity questioned. Again, their questions to Twilight were ignored.

"There's five of them...Tarn, Kaon, Tesarus, Vos, and Helex." Twilight rattled off, listing all her mysteriously acquired information for all of them to hear, to better prepare for the fool's task of fighting them on Cybetron.

"I think it was Helex and Vos who came to my house..." Fluttershy muttered.

"They all have their own unique powers, alternate modes are almost entirely composed of torture devices. Armor is coated with unknown materials that makes them more or less invincible..." Twilight let out a deep breath. "We may need to get Optimus Prime's help."

"May?" Rarity repeated.

"I'm going to get Spike to write a letter to Celestia so we can use the Space Bridge in Canterlot."

The four of them started walking towards Twilight's library, but then they stopped and turned around to Fluttershy.

"What do you think you're doing!? You can't come with us! Then there will have been no point in you asking Dreadwing to leave!"

"I-I want to help." Fluttershy stuttered. "This is all my fault, after all."

"Darling." Rarity put her hooves on Fluttershy's shoulders. "None of this is your fault at all. You were merely trying to protect your life, and by extension, our sanity." Rarity pulled her close and nuzzled cheeks. "There is no need to apologize for looking out for us."

"Okay.."

"Maybe you can gather a troop of Insecticons." Twilight suggested helpfully. "Uh..just make sure they leave your name of their war cry."

Fluttershy nodded, and then they were on their way. Within minutes of arriving at the library and sending the letter, there was a Space Bridge opened up for them to jump into and find themselves in the Autobots' base, going from one end of the solar system to the other within a matter of minutes.

As they tumbled through the Bridge, landing on a platform, Twilight was too eager to ask for help to realize they were interrupting something. "Optimus! We need-"

"Autobots, I cannot overemphasize the importance of your task." said Optimus' stoic voice, as he gestured at the computer.

"Oh..." Twilight realized she had spoken out of turn and backed away. In front of them, separated the safety railing were three Autobots whom Twilight guessed were who Optimus was talking to. Ultra Magnus, Optimus' more laid back brother and leader of the Wreckers. (By "laid back" that meant "Reckless, violent, and everything a Wrecker hopes to be.") Recently returned Grimlock, leader of the Dinobots and – as Rarity eloquently put it - "The Autobot's Decepticon," as Grimlock was somehow more violent than Magnus, yet remained firmly on the side of good. Grimlock was pretty much the biggest jerk one could be while still (barely) being an Autobot. He looked a little uncomfortable, having to crouch to fit inside the base.

There was a third one they didn't recognize, who seemed to have Magnus' colors, but a model of Optimus' body as his framework. Steel bars were visible in his proudly protruding chest, and he was adorned with the power lines found in Cybertronians every so often. Twilight could easily sense the friction between him and the two loose cannons he was standing in between.

"It is paramount that these Decepticon uprisings on the expanse of outer space be immediately quelled, or at the very least, contained to the planets they are stationed on. Lest the Decepticons under Shockwave's Neutrality Agreement hear of it and decide they'd rather follow the lead of these warlords and their blood lust, rather than Shockwave's logic."

"'Kay." Magnus said.

"Any excuse to bust some heads." Grimlock muttered, pounding his fists together.

The 'bot they didn't recognize saluted, apparently taking the situation more seriously than Grimlock of Magnus. "I will do my best to quash these uprisings, and any thoughts of rebellion, sir." His voice was extremely stern. Quite possibly sterner, and definitely less warm than Optimus'

Optimus nodded to let them all know he heard what they said. "Autobots-"

"Who's the new guy?"

Every Autobot in the room turned to the ponies.

Optimus cleared his throat and stepped forward. He gestured an open hand at the new arrival. "May I present, commander of the Cybertron Elite Guard, Magnum."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Magnum." Rarity said sweetly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Magnum, sir." Magnum tersely corrected her, hands on his hips.

"Uhp uhp uhp!" Ultra Magnus objected. "She's a Wrecker, Magnum. She answers to me."

Magnum was appalled by this. "This organic is a member of your Wreckers? Why am I not surprised?" He pointed a finger at Magnus, who rolled his optics back. "Putting an organic in harm's way is one of the most sacred Autobot codes, so it's no surprise to see why you would put this pony in the line of fire!"

"At ease, Magnum." Optimus said coolly, attempting to defuse the situation before it escalated into blows. That was bad enough itself, but with Grimlock here, he would no doubt be eager to encourage a brawl. "These ponies have demonstrated not only a willingness to throw themselves into the fray, but an aptitude for it as well."

Magnum seemed placated by this, but he still looked displeased.

"Well, on the bright side," Ratchet interjected, glaring at Magnus, Grimlock, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight all in turn. "It's nice to have someone here who actually respects proper procedure for a change."

Twilight was shocked that Ratchet had included her in that group. "Wha- since when do I not follow proper procedure!? I always follow proper procedure!"

Ratchet raised a finger of his own. "Raising undead Terrorcons with which to terrorize a human populace is not proper procedure!"

Magnum looked to Ratchet, then to Optimus, then to Twilight. "Is this true? Have you been dabbling in the forbidden art of Dark Energon?"

Twilight was wondering what Optimus meant when he mentioned Decepticon uprisings, so she decided now was good time to ask. Hopeful that would diverge the conversation enough that Magnum wouldn't be able to mount an investigation into her recreational activities. "You said something about Decepticon uprisings, Optimus?"

"Yes." Optimus answered, turning back to the screen. "As you know, when our home world of Cybertron went dark, our kind scattered across the galaxy, spreading our war to countless other worlds. Now that news of Megatron's demises has reached these outposts, ambitious warlords are escalating their actions."

"Precisely to what end, we don't know." Ratchet chimed in. "All we can speculate is that either without Megatron's orders, they're free to cause carnage as they please, or that they hope to convince the Decepticons to flock to them and carry on the war."

"I have contacted various Autobot commanders to dispatch squadrons to attempt to control the situation." Optimus concluded.

"How about it, Rarity?" Ultra Magnus said, pointing at her approvingly, which made her blush. "You wanna go into space to wreck and rule?" Magnum scoffed. Magnus noticed, but didn't say anything.

"Well..."

"Take your time." Magnus assured. "I have some prep to do if the Wreckers are gonna go into space. Mostly, it's just figuring out where in the Pony Hell Wheeljack went."

Magnum didn't hold his breath this time. "Ultra Magnus, these are guests in our base of operations, and we should be polite to them." This time, Magnus scoffed.

"That's enough." Optimus warned them.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Anyway, the reason we came here is that we need help to fight the Decepticon Justice Division."

For all their seriousness, or in some cases, reckless bravado, every Autobot in the room was aghast at this.

"Fight the Justice Division!?" Magnus exclaimed. "Have you gone mad!? You can't fight the Justice Divison! It's- it's suicide! With more letters! It's suicide, with more letters." He pounded his fist into his head to emphasize his point. "It's certain death with delusions of survival!"

"Please!" Twilight pleaded. "They're going to come for Dreadwing! Rainbow Dash's wingpony!"

"Dreadwing? The Decepticon Seeker captain?" Magnum questioned, not up to speed on Dreadwing's status.

"While the Decepticon Justice Division is feared, and rightfully so," Optimus said. "I cannot let them punish Dreadwing for the simple crime of not wanting to fight anymore. Ratchet, contact the Rescue Bots, and have them prepare the Space Bridge."

"Optimus, are you sure you want go down this path?" Ratchet objected. "Tarn will certainly make every effort to extinguish your Spark, if given the opportunity."

"Rest assured, old friend..." Optimus spoke comfortingly at first, but his tone turned darker as he continued on. "I have no intention of giving him that opportunity."

Twilight cleared her throat. "Um, Optimus? I...I met Tarn before."

This seemed to quickly catch Optimus and Ratchet's attention.

"I...really don't want to risk seeing him again." Twilight admitted. "And I've...accepted an offer to come work at a human facility for scientific research. So...I'd hate to abandon my friends, but I really don't want to see Tarn, so could I do that instead?"

Optimus gave a rare smile, no doubt pleased Twilight had developed past her contempt for humanity enough to accept a work offer. "Of course, Twilight Sparkle. Tell Ratchet the coordinates, and he will prepare the GroundBridge."

Twilight smiled back, happy Optimus understood. "Oh! Rarity, Rainbow Dash! Make sure you go get Shining Armor's help! His Dark Energon infusion should provide a substitute for me!"

Twilight dashed down the stairs, ran to Ratchet's feet, and quietly whispered the coordinates. Ratchet pulled the Bridge, and Twilight was gone a moment after.

"Are we...sure Shining Armor will be so pleased as to provide such a tactical advantage?" Rarity questioned. "I've noticed he's not nearly as enthusiastic as our dear Twilight during symbiosis."

"Either way, Dreadwing is in danger and needs our help." Dash retorted, concerns about Dreadwing's survival being more important to her than Shining Armor's comfort or discomfort.

Elsewhere, several miles away, Twilight stepped out of the GroundBridge to be treated a sight she found most welcoming- a laboratory. A nice, big, laboratory to boot. There were multiple buildings, one in the center that was larger than any of the others, but they all shared a white color scheme and glossed over azure windows.

Surely, there was a plethora of interesting human scientific devices inside for her to use!

Speaking of humans, there was one at the door. She was around middle-age, about average attractiveness with long black hair. She was dressed in the typical (or stereotypical, if Ratchet was asked) white lab coat over a magenta shirt and black pants.

"Hello!" Twilight waved to her. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. I was sent an invitation asking if I wanted to come work here?"

"Ah, so that's what a pony is doing out at my humble laboratory!" The human said, coming closer for to her to talk. "I was wondering what an alien like yourself might be interested at my simple work office."

Twilight chortled, taking a look up at the building complex. "If that's humble, I don't even want to know what you call great."

Both Twilight and human shared a good laugh at her jab. The human offered Twilight her hand nd introduced herself. "I'm Professor Lucy Suzuki. I work for the pharmaceutical division of Sumdac Systems."

"Sumdac Systems?"

"That's the name of the laboratory! Named after our founder, Issac Sumdac!"

Twilight smiled, feeling oddly like she and this human could get along with each other. Even if she reminded her of Ditzy Doo on her more directionally-challenged days. "I...like it?"

"So, what's a fancy-schmancy alien like you doing, coming to help our primitive tech?" Lucy asked.

"Well, hahaha," Twilight chuckled nervously as she followed behind Lucy to the gate. "I kind of hate humans, so I was hoping that if I worked here, I could get over it through positive association. I hate humans, but I love science."

Lucy frowned. "Aww, that's a shame. Come on!" Twilight was surprised when Lucy offered her hand without any concern for Twilight's contempt. "I'll take you in for a tour, and maybe you can see we're not so bad after all!"

Twilight smiled anxiously, before giving her hoof. "I think I'd like that."

Lucy, with a surprising amount of strength Twilight was surprised by, Lucy excitedly ran into the facility, dragging Twilight with her. Twilight was amazed by everything she saw. There were geraniums that were quite large and healthy – a far cry from the pollution and poor plant care she had taken all humans to engage in. She saw briefly caught glimpses into the various buildings, where lights and sounds of all sorts of scientific experiments were being done, much to her increasing excitement.

Twilight stumbled when Lucy suddenly stopped and let go of her hoof. Twilight turned to see another human, male, short, overweight and with a skin a shade lighter than Agent Fowler's. His black hair pointed upwards with a white stripe in it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Professor Sumdac!" Lucy apologized, clasping her cheeks with her hands. "I was just so excited to show Twilight here around the facility and-"

"It's all right, Doctor Suzuki." Sumdac assured her, waving a gloved hand. "Did you say Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight caught the mention of her name and grinned to show she was paying attention. "That's me."

"Oh, how splendid!" Sumdac jumped up and down like an excited child, clapping his hands. "I heard about your scientific experience, and was hoping you would lend your valuable skills to my facility, but I knew about your issues with...my kind. So it is good to hear you've accepted my proposal!" Sumdac gave her a thumbs up.

"Well, I'm ready to get to work, Professor!" Twilight saluted.

"Glad to hear it, Miss Sparkle. I believe the botanical division is trying to splice some Oriental plants together." Sumdac pointed at the direction which Twilight assumed was the botanical house. "Why don't you see if you can help them out a little?"

"I'll do my best."

Sumdac walked off, excusing himself as he had more business to deal with, being the head of a huge company that didn't limit itself to just one branch of science.

Twilight whispered into Lucy's ear after Sumdac had left. "Is wrong of me to think he looks like a pineapple with banana slugs for arms?"

Lucy giggled. "No. I think that, too."

"You know what, Doctor Suzuki? For a human, you don't seem that bad."

Twilight took another look around, and heard a very reassuring sound. The sound of an electric power surge as something, somewhere went horribly wrong, as science is wont to do, that would inevitably have to be contained by saner individuals in specialized suits.

"I think I might like it here."

On Equestria, Applejack charged into the Guard's quarters, startling Shining Armor, causing him to flail around and fall back from the table he was discussing important matters on with his guards, whom he had just embarrassed himself in front of.

"Shining!" Applejack snapped. "The gals and Ah are gunna go fight these rowdy Decepticons on Cybertron, and Twilight's not available. We're drafting you in to fill in for anything that may need some Dark Energon, or doesn't need it, but she gives anyway."

Shining looked around his guards. He lifted his pink helmet off his head and held in front of him. "I'm sorry, guys, we'll have to finish this later." The guards all muttered words of sympathy and understanding. Shining turned to Applejack, putting his helmet back on. "You know I don't like using the Dark Energon in my blood!"

"Well, tough." Applejack spat at him. "Me and the girls are down a Terrorpony, an Insectipony, and a nest of Insecticons, so we need yer help."

Shining sighed, and resigned himself to oblige. His natural sense of chivalry, combined with the fact his parents raised him to be courteous to mares, meant he could not say no, not with a clear conscious, at least. "Fine...let's go. Soldiers, tell Celestia to fire up the Space Bridge."

Shining walked besides Applejack to the Space Bridge platform, high on a platform in Canterlot where it was visible for all the ponies below to see so they would know where to go in the event they should decide they would like to go and see Cybertron or Earth up close with their own eyes. Shining noticed that Rarity didn't seem to be too in love with the mission they were going on. He found this alarming, as usually, Rarity would adopt the mask of destructive-loving attitude of a Wrecker when Cybertron was involved. Rainbow Dash also looked extremely disgruntled and bitter.

"Uh...you okay there, Rainbow Dash?" Shining asked.

"No." Rainbow answered forcefully.

"Okay! I'm...loving this mission already." Shining said sarcastically as he let the magic disguise fade and reveal his mutations.

They stepped into the Space Bridge and stepped out onto a suspended metal bridge on Cybertron, somewhat like a Cybertronian version of a freeway. Shining hadn't been there before, so the splendor of seeing the planet of metal for the first time appeared to him for the first time. That was quickly soured, however, by him noticing the presence of Changelings strapped to metal grids that electrocuted them with they fidgeted too much, drawing on their magic to power the planet itself. Dreadwing was on the bridge, overlooking the streets below where Autobot with ground-based vehicular modes were stuck traveling.

"Dreadwing!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, running up to her wingpony.

"Rainbow Dash?" Dreadwing questioned, confusedly turning around. "What are you doing here?"

Rainbow Dash beat her hoof against her chest. "I'm here to keep Tarn from sending you to the scrapheap!"

Judging from his expression, Dreadwing didn't what to think about this at first, but he figured it out. He stomped towards her, shook his first, and growled. "There is a reason Fluttershy asked me to leave Equestria and come here, Rainbow Dash! Tarn does not care how many other that will have to fall, or what he will have to destroy to get to me!"

"I know!" Dash growled back, stomping forward at him in response. "But I won't let him get you! You're my wingpony – my partner – and that means I have to look out for you!"

Dreadwing's optic twitched. "Ever since last morning, I have been having doubts of my change in allegiance, and this is my answer! Do you not realize you are walking straight into the jaws of death!?"

"Yeah, I know! DO YOU!?"

"NAAAHH!" Dreadwing raised his fists into the air and stomped on the ground. "A Seeker faces death with dignity!"

"Yeah?" Dash countered.

"Should we do something?" Shining whispered to Applejack.

"You know wut, Shining? Ah reckon yer right." Applejack answered. She walked up and put a hoof on Rainbow Dash's wing. "Maybe Dreadwing's right, R.D. Maybe we should just fall back and let him do what he's gotta do."

Dash's jaw dropped, offended at the notion. "I didn't come here all the way to Cybertron to help Dreadwing just to leave him to die!"

"I DID NOT ASK YOU TO COME HERE!" Dreadwing bellowed at them. "All you had to do to GET here was step through a Space Bridge." Dreadwing pointed in the direction of Kaon, where Shockwave's Tower and his own Space Bridge resided. "And that is all you have to do to leave!"

"I..." Dash snarled. "Am...not...going...to leave...you...alone."

Dreadwing raised his finger to say something, but he was cut off by a piercing scream from a voice that pierced their souls.

"DREEAADWIIIING!" The unmistakeable deep voice of Tarn screamed so loudly that it was audible for miles. It was as deep as an organ being played in low timbres to mourn someone's passing. The voice rattled their bones and stopped their hearts. "We know you're here! Come out and face us, traitor!"

Rainbow Dash was surprised that the 'Justice' Division was here already, but she regained her composure and started barking orders. She pointed quite emphatically at Dreadwing. "You. You will stay here. That is an order from your captain. Shining Armor, Applejack, Rarity and me will go and deal with Tarn and his goons." Dash turned to her friends. "All right, ladies, let's roll out!"

They galloped across the bridge, tails waving in the wind, before Dreadwing could even articulate his protests against this. Dreadwing gritted his teeth and turned with his arms crossed, unable to bring himself to disobey a direct order from somepony who was technically his commanding officer...even if he disagreed with it.

Rainbow Dash took the lead of the group. It was her wingpony on the line, and therefore her mission , after all. After some galloping, they swerved around to look over the edge of the bridge to see the Decepticon Justice Division looking around the town square, scaring the various crowds of Autobots and Decepticons who up until now were just minding their business. Little Pony and human tourists, visiting to see Cybertron, followed their lead and got out of there.

"There they are..." Dash growled to herself quietly. Each one in turn. Vos, black and silver with a faceplate, who appeared to made out of things a pony would find in a torture dungeon reconstructed into a robot. Kaon,named after the city, who, mostly beige, with little pink grooves on his, a pale, long face, and two electric generators pumping in and out of his back like pistons. Helex, extremely dark green almost to the point of being black with a window in his chest. Tesarus, whose face was covered by a red 'X' shape, a gnashing pit in his chest, and two huge claws coming out from his back like cords. Then there was Tarn himself. Purple and white, his shoulders were made entirely of treads, he had two cannons on one arm, one atop the other, and the Decepticon symbol etched into his face.

"Dreadwing!" Tarn aimed his cannon and blasted an unfortunate wall whose only crime was being a wall. "Come out here, NOW! You are one of the worst traitors Kaon has ever found! You were loyal once to the Cause! What possessed to join with these ponies instead?"

Rainbow Dash snarled, but being so high up on the bridge, Tarn thankfully didn't hear her.

Tarn took a look around and made a frustrated noise. "Bah! Decepticons! Spread out and see if you can find him!"

The other members of the Division nodded, and they spread out, marching in four different directions to find the Seeker who had abandoned the cause.

"I will find you..." Tarn growled.

"Oh, this is perfect!" Dash said, thinking she was talking to herself. She rubbed her hooves together in anticipation.

"What's perfect?" Shining Armor asked.

"Tarn's all alone!" Dash answered as she raised her rifle and charged it. "We'll just kill him, and that will convince the others to back off!"

"Ah'm not so shore that will work..." Applejack muttered. Rainbow didn't hear her and let off her shot, sending a red laser directly down from their position, straight into Tarn's face. There was an impressive display of smoke and fire.

"Nice!" Shining complimented. "I didn't think that would really..."

Once the smoke cleared, they could Tarn's face was completely intact.

"...Work." Shining finished.

"Who did that?" Tarn looked left and right, before looking up to see Rainbow Dash and her team staring down at him. "Ah! Now there's something you don't see everyday." Tarn converted into his vehicular mode – a tank with gunner chairs for the other members of the Division to ride in- and angled his barrel up at the bridge. "A bright, cute Little Pony with a death wish!"

Tarn fired. A metal sphere launched out of his cannon, its shape masking its nature as an explosive shell. It hit the bottom of the bridge, causing it to collapse. Rainbow Dash flew off before the rubble could clip her on the wing, and Shining conjured his force field spell to protect himself, Applejack and Rarity. Rarity chose a more direct approach and just levitated herself and them to another bridge. The rubble from the bridge landed on Tarn himself, burying him in the bridge's ruins. Dash smirked, confident Tarn had just terminated himself by crushing his body under the weight, but Tarn burst out of the rubble in his robot mode, screaming bloody murder and promising to take his anger out on them. He converted to his tank mode again and fired at Rainbow Dash, who causally moved out of the way, leaving the shell to explode in the air harmlessly.

Tarn converted again and began to march towards Shining Armor, Applejack and Rarity. Dash pounded at him with her rifle, but each shot did little more than produce a cute 'Pa-ding!' sound as it hit against Tarn's seemingly-invincible armor.

Rarity charged her magic and joined in on firing on Tarn, but her magic did as much good as Rainbow's gun.

"Watch..." Shining said to Rarity. "Twiley told me that Dark Energon has at least one use for it that I can use."

"An' that would be?" Applejack questioned.

Shining's horn began, well, shining intensely, a sphere of purple light forming around it. A six-pointed star flew out from the sphere and hit Tarn in his chest, causing a cluster of Dark Energon to spontaneously sprout from his armor plating. The light on Shining's horn remained, attempting to use symbiosis to bring Tarn under his heel.

"Rrraagh!" Tarn screamed and ripped out the cluster with his bare hands, before tossing it to the ground and blasting it with his cannon, causing the shards to scatter bomb the area around him.

Shining's jaw dropped. Twiley had been insistent that even Shining could utilize the Dark Energon for this purpose, and this had been the Dark Energon's chance to prove to him it wasn't completely horrible, and for it to fail so badly, at now of all times made his stomach lurch badly with the sting that came with failure.

Shining saluted at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, ma'am, you're leading the mission. My purpose being here – to provide Dark Energon- has failed. Permission to make a tactical withdrawal?"

"Denied!" Dash shouted at him. "However, I will grant you permission to 'run away like the little pansy you are'." She added coldly.

Shining bit his lips, but after creating a few force fields here and there for Applejack's and Rarity's retreats, he silently galloped along the bridge, fleeing from the fight, a new objective now dominating his mind. Applejack muttered something about him being easily discouraged, and looked down to see Tarn was still approaching their position.

There were some more powerful blasts coming from another overlook which made him stagger, but the zealot continued his march. After being made to stagger several times in a row, Tarn lost his temper. "Rraagh! Who's shooting at me now?"

Tarn turned around to see Optimus Prime and Bulkhead standing on the edge of the bridge Tarn had destroyed. Optimus and Bulkhead leaped off the edge, on the ground where the battle was proper.

Bulkhead put his fingers to his head and waved Rarity. "Sorry I'm late, my little Wrecker!"

"I forgive you!" Rarity shouted back at him playfully.

"Optimus...Prime." Tarn snarled. "It is fitting, then, that at last, I can punish the Decepticon's largest traitor- the friend of Megatron who abandoned him when the war broke out." He was referring, of course, to Optimus' former friendship with the deceased Megatron before Megatron fell into insanity.

"It was Megatron who caused the war." Optimus reminded him, pointing a finger at Tarn. He converted his arms into their blasters. "And I was friends...with D-16."

D-16 was the name Megatron was assigned by his superiors before Megatron took a new name for himself. The mention of Megatron's pre-Decepticon name, the flag of the rampant slavery that incited Megatron's rebellion. Tarn, of course, knowing all the history of the Decepticons and their upbringings, knew the meaning of D-16, and being reminded of glorious Megatron origins as a measly working-class slave miner, made him fly into a rage.

"AAAAAARRAAGH!" Tarn screamed, firing his cannon at Optimus without any of his normal precise aim. "I was here for the traitor Dreadwing, but you I will terminate with extreme gratification, Optimus Prime!"

"I look forward to it!" Optimus answered, defiant to the end, running around to avoid Tarn's blasts. Bulkhead fired what shots he could, but even consider how much more powerful his Autobot blasters were compared to Dash's human-made rifle, it didn't seem to faze Tarn in the slightest.

"Optimus, blasters aren't working!" Bulkhead rather exclaimed rather panicky.

"Maintain fire!" Optimus ordered, shooting his blasters at Tarn and strafing the Decepticon. A shot from Tarn's hit Optimus square in the gut, and sent him flying. He seemed to tumble backward in the air in a phenomenon known as bullet time, doing a full flip before landing on his back, dust from the ground coming up in puff as his weight displaced.

Bulkhead was temporarily distracted by the defeat of his leader. "You're gonna pay for that!" The ex-Wrecker converted his arms to melee configuration and rushed Tarn, smacking him in the face and making him stagger backwards before Tarn realized what happened. Tarn froze...and then slowly turned to Bulkhead, who realized he may have made a mistake. Tarn proceed to slam his fist into Bulkhead's cheek, knocking his lights out. Bulkhead collapsed unconscious to the ground. Tarn looked at him almost pitifully, wondering if it was even worth it to bother killing this measly Autobot. But then Tarn looked ahead, and saw Optimus on his hands and knees, trying to push himself up. Tarn causally strode towards the Last Prime, then slammed his foot into Optimus' back, pushing him back down.

"So here we are, Orion Pax." Tarn hissed. "You, beneath my foot, which you are not even worthy to give a message to, let alone be crushed under it." Tarn emphasized the word by pressing hard into Optimus' back.

Dreadwing, gazing out into the distance, sighed. He heard the plonk of hooves behind him, and turned to see Shining Armor coming to join him.

"Hello, Captain." Dreadwing spat at him, meaning no ill will towards Shining, but letting his resentment at Rainbow telling him to stay show through. "Have you news of how the battle goes?"

"Not really..." Shining admitted. "I tried to use Dark Energon on Tarn, and it didn't work out so well, so I withdrew."

Dreadwing gave him a hard glare. "You abandoned your comrades in the middle of a skirmish!?"

"Well, when you put it that way..." Shining scraped his hoof. "But look at this way; they wanted me for Dark Energon, I gave Dark Energon, and it didn't do anything. So I asked to be excused, and I was."

"Hrrrm..." Dreadwing turned away, obviously still upset, but unsure what to say to express his dissatisfaction with Shining's answer.

Shining trotted up to the ledge and threw his front hooves over it. "Don't get me wrong, though, I hear what you're saying, big guy."

"Mmm...do you now?" Arms resting on another ledge higher up than Shining's, Dreadwing was skeptical.

"Yeah. I never would have left if Dash told me to stay and fight for my friends..." Shining said. He rested his head in his hoof. "I'm just...a little shaken up right now. Dark Energon. Need I say more?"

"No." Dreadwing answered irritably, hearing an explosion from the fight echo off in the distance.

"It's all about loyalty, man." Shining harped, going into full-on hippie mode. "If you need to leave, and your friends are okay with that, then you can leave."

Dreadwing raised a browplate, intrigued by Shining Armor's notion. "Is that so? … It must be nice to have friends."

"Not nearly as nice as having a wife..." Shining muttered dreamily. His eyes popped as he realized he was going off-topic. "Ahem...anyways, it's nice to know your friends will support your decisions, no matter what."

"Yes..." Dreadwing answered quietly, looking down. He pulled his arms off the ledge and turned away, walking away from the ledge and towards the destroyed bridge.

"Wha-where are you going!?" Shining exclaimed.

"My Captain, my friend, Rainbow Dash, did not support my decision to face Tarn alone." Dreadwing snarled at him, pulling out his sword to Shining's alarm. "The mercy seat is waiting for me, Captain."

Dreadwing turned, sprinted forward, and converted into his Lightning mode. He flew over the edge and towards the bridge where Rarity and Applejack had gone to after the first bridge was destroyed, transforming and landing on the now-vacant bridge with a thump, and crouched to observe the battle.

Applejack charged at Tarn's foot and bucked it, putting in all the force her hind legs could muster, but Tarn punted her aside before doing the same thing to Rarity. Tarn stomped Optimus' back again and raised his cannon-arm. Borrowing a trick from Megatron's own book, Tarn's cannon lifted up slightly, and a blade unfurled from underneath the barrel. It was a long, black blade with white rim, with a tip that curved like a scimitar. The blade was raised, Prime was pinned. Everything was set for Tarn to deal the killing blow.

Dreadwing reached to his hip and whipped out his pistol, but one of his many weapons, and fired at Tarn's head. The bullet bounced off harmlessly, but it caught Tarn's attention. "Who's shooting at me NOW!? Tarn shrieked, but he was elated to see it was his original target, Dreadwing. "So, Dreadwing! You finally show yourself!"

"What!?" Dash screamed. She flew to the bridge and landed by Dreadwing's feet. "Dreadwing, what are you doing? As my wingpony, I ordered you to stand down!"

Dreadwing looked at her and grunted. "I was a Seeker." Dreadwing crisscrossed his arms and ripped the Wonderbolts' logo off his wings, revealing the Decepticon symbols underneath. Dreadwing literally toss them both into Dash's face, where the stickers stuck to her cheeks. Rainbow Dash peeled them off, and cried, looking at the discarded stickers in her hoof. She looked up at Dreadwing, wanting, but unable to say "How could you?"

"And as of this moment, I am no longer your wingpony, but a Seeker again."

Dash tossed the stickers to the ground. "No! I'm not going to let you do – this!" Dash's voice turned stained, as she felt cold metal pressing against the back of her neck. The tip of Dreadwing's curved sword.

"I will not have my loyalty or honor disgraced by having you and your friends die for me." Dreadwing informed, speaking without a trace of sadness or fear in his tone. He removed the sword from Dash's neck and turned towards Tarn. "TARN! I know you have come for me! Come to the elevated platform due northwest of here, and I will meet my fate with dignity."

"Excellent..." Tarn was so pleased Dreadwing had given himself up, he forgot all about executing Optimus.

"I won't let you do this!" Rainbow Dash yelled at Dreadwing. Dreadwing turned to her and punted her off the bridge to the ground below. Dash grunted when she hit the ground, too surprised to spread her wings.

To ensure none of them would follow him and as a result, get themselves killed by Tarn and his cronies, Dreadwing pulled a plated bomb and threw at the ground. The blast was fairly tame, compared to what his bombs usually did, but the resulting shockwave was enough to knock Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and the briefly conscious-again Autobots out.

Tarn was close to the epicenter of the blast, and when the smoke cleared, not only was he uninjured, but he hadn't even been moved from the bomb's pressure wave, even though he was right next to it.

Dreadwing, his challenge to Tarn issued, and his former Wonderbolt captain unable to stop what had been set in motion, Dreadwing turned, transformed, and flew off the platform where the Decepticon Justice Division would spend all day waiting for him. So even though he specified sunset for the time, the Division would be there all day from this point onward, waiting for him...and they would rampage again in search of Dreadwing if the Seeker didn'tturn up. That was fine, as Dreadwing was a mech of his word. He would be there.

Dreadwing flew to the platform he specified, northwest. The platform didn't much to note about it, aside from the fact it was dark green with a grid pattern. The time neared sunset as he approached, and as predicted, the entire Decepticon Justice Division was gathered, waiting impatiently for him and ready to slag this traitor and move on to their next target.

Dreadwing transformed and landed on the rim of the platform and stood to face them.

Tarn pointed to Kaon, who converted into his alternate mode. Calling it a 'vehicle mode' would be misleading, as he turned into a Cybertronian-sized electric chair. "Into the chair."

Dreadwing regard Kaon's for a minute, as if in contemplation. Then he whipped out his pistol and shot out the generator on Kaon's chair-back. Kaon short-circuited, electric sparks flying from, and automatically transformed back to robot mode. He staggered, trying to stay on his feet, but was overwhelmed by his overload and fell.

The other Division members looked on in shock, then turned to Dreadwing with anger written on their faces.

"You want to kill me?" Dreadwing screamed at them. "You want to slaughter me like a pig in a barn!? No! You do not have the right to kill me!"

Dreadwing drew his blades, one thin and silver, the other broad and blue, shaped like a thunderbolt, and crossed them in a 'X', making a echoing clang at the Division.

"Come hither...and earn it."

The Division members that still stood shook their fists, then charged at Dreadwing. Helex came at him first and knocked the swords out of Dreadwing's hands, but Dreadwing countered by slapping a bomb to Helex's face. Helex flailed backwards as he attempted to pry the bomb off his face. Next was Tesarus, who launched his corded claws at Dreadwing. Dreadwing grabbed the cables before the claws could grip him, and swung Tesarus by them, throwing the surprised fanatic off his heel struts. Tarn came at Dreadwing and got a good slap in, making Dreadwing stumble, but before Tarn could press his advangtage, Dreadwing recovered and gave Tarn a boot to the stomach, throwing him backwards. Vos leaped on Dreadwing and wrapped his arms around Dreadwing's neck and tried to choke him. Which didn't make much sense, as Dreadwing was a Decepticon and therefore did not need to breath. Dreadwing bent over and threw Vos off his back to the ground and stomped the leathery 'bot in his stomach, but Tesarus got up and launched a claw from behind, seizing Dreadwing by the midsection. Dreadwing struggled against the bind, then with some difficulty, reached for his sword on the ground, grabbed it, and used it to slice Tesarus' claw off.

He fought long.

He fought hard, against the beat of the setting Cybertronian sun.

He fought nobly, even as he fought for his life.

Every time their armor and his blades would graze,

He'd make sure they could see his face.

He fought long.

He fought hard, refusing to fall until the fight was done.

He fought honorably, to the bitter end...but ultimately...

It was a fight he could not win.

Dreadwing batted Vos away again, and prepared to strike a killing blow, but Tarn came behind him and stabbed through the back with his arm-blade, impaling Dreadwing through his chest. Tarn jerked his sword and watched with masked glee as Dreadwing gasped and fell. Tarn raised his hand to signal their work here was done. Helex picked up the unconscious Kaon, and they left, to go wherever they went when they weren't hunting Decepticons or Autobots down.

Rainbow Dash woke up around the same time as Applejack, Rarity, Optimus, and Bulkhead did. Dash rubbed her head. "Oooh...what happened?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes popped, and she looked around, remember exactly what happened before she blacked out. Dreadwing. Dreadwing renouncing his allegiance to the Wonderbolts and renewing his commitment to the Seekers by throwing the Wonderbolt stickers into her face, just after... just after he challeged Tarn.

"No!" Dash screamed to herself, taking to the skies and blazing through skyscrapers. "No, no, no, no!"

After some manevering, she passed by a building, but as she passed it, she caught a glimpse of a claw that could only belong to Dreadwing, she backed up and headed straight for it.

"No! NO!"

Rainbow Dash crash-landed, skidding to a halt on the platform, looking on in denial at Dreadwing's broken form. His left leg had been severed below the knee, several parts on him were sparking, and his expression was an expression of pain that was only half-finished before he offlined, causing him to look really stupid.

Optimus' fingers reached over the platform, and he lifted Rarity and Applejack up as Bulkhead crawled beside him. "Rainbow Dash, are you all right-?"

"Oh my..." Rarity murmured, seeing Dreadwing's body.

Applejack put her hat over her chest, as she always did when she wanted to be sure everypony knew she meant was saying. "Ah'm so sorry, R.D...Ah guess there are some things you just can't fix..."

"No!" Rainbow swore, in denial that there were things that just couldn't be fixed. In denial her newest and best wingpony was dead before her eyes. She began pounding on his still-attached leg, her hoof making thumps against the navy blue metal.

"No! NOOOOOO!"