My Little Pony & Robot Friends: Infiltration

Optimus Prime had his hands on the controls, drumming them as he contemplated Ratchet's recount of recent events. It was obvious to all in the room that Optimus wasn't sure how to immediately handle the situation, what he wanted to say with Prowl, and Pinkie's air headed inquiries for Optimus to explain the "Autobot Secret Police" fell on deaf receptors.

"Optimus..." Ratchet said softly, putting a hand on Optimus' large pauldron to gently remind the Prime that he had people he could turn to if he was lost.

"What do we do!?" Pinkie cried, panic setting in. "Shining Armor asked the Sumdac peoples to hack into Twilight, but then Twilight blew up the lab, so now everything's all tonky-wonky! It's...It's..."

Seeing Pinkie Pie was unable to figure out what this situation was, Optimus decided to clarify for her. "A moral dilemma." Optimus turned his head away, the gears in his head turning. Literally and metaphorically. The intricate systems inside the Autobot leader's head squeaked within his cranial module, not that the ponies could hear the parts suffering under the mental toil as Optimus tried to exercise a passionless, detached judgment on Twilight's actions. She was his friend, but their contradicting attitudes towards humans provided Optimus Prime no shortage of spare headaches lying around, should he need a migraine to get out of jury duty that weekend.

"Should we...attempt to rescue Twilight?" Ratchet meekly asked.

"No." Optimus answered resolutely. "Though Twilight's actions may have been the result of provocation, we cannot simply overlook that the destruction of Sumdac Systems was her own doing."

Another GroundBridge hummed to life in the base, and everypony gathered turn to look at it as Prowl stepped back into the room.

"Optimus Prime, Sir." Prowl stood rigidly and saluted. "Dai Atlas and his council have been in discussions regarding Twilight Sparkle's and Shining Armor's impending trial."

Ratchet turned and closed his optics, unsure of he could face Twilight being tried and hang like a common criminal.

"And?" Optimus asked Prowl, maintaining a serious tone of voice that hid his own internal struggle and doubts.

"Given the variety of factors and species involved, they have come to the conclusion it would be best for Twilight Sparkle's trial to be held on Cybertron using a jury mixed between Cybertronians, humans, and Ponies." Prowl explained.

"Hmm." Optimus lowered his head towards the ground. That made sense. A pony had destroyed a human facility, so it was only logical that both the humans and ponies be brought during the deliberation of a trial, and as the Autobots were well-known to be supporters and protectors of the ponies...

In matter of fact, Optimus had a suspicion sneaking up on him over the last few days that some humans were dissatisfied with how often Optimus went to meet Princess Celestia over how often he went to meet with whatever human nitpicker had been chosen to rip into the Cybertronians' conduct on Earth. Optimus had tried to explain that several of his visits were the Princess were casual in nature, meant for her and him to engage in Equestria's take on mini-golf or similar leisurely activities, rather than discuss new cross-alien legislature. But the American representative wouldn't have any of it.

Prowl pulled out a short Cybertronian glyph and presented to Optimus with all the mirth and vigor of an animatronic in an abandoned amusement park. "As the leader of the Autobots and our current Prime, the council has decided to include you in the jury, Optimus Prime, Sir."

"Their opinion is noted." Optimus said, taking the glyph from Prowl. Prowl gave one last salute, before returning to his Bridge and leaving the base.

Pinkie, Fluttershy and Applejack gathered around as Optimus held up the glyph in his hands, observing and reading its contents. Optimus' optics shifted from one side to the another as he scanned the datatrack for all of its legal doubletalk and nonsensical citations saying, in layman's terms, "You've got jury duty! Yay! It stinks to be you!"

When finished with the disk, a panel on Optimus' arm shifted and popped open, which Optimus deposited the disk into it.

"Y'all...y'all 'ill decide Twilight is innocent, right?" Applejack asked, swinging her hat over her chest like she always did when suffering from heavy emotion.

"She blew up a facility." Ratchet sternly reminded Applejack. "Twilight Sparkle may be our close friend, but let us not forget that she also engaged in the destruction of her own free will."

Applejack pursed her lips. "But Shinin' Armor done tried to get those science guys to cut the Dark Energon outta Twilight!"

"Yes..." Ratchet hissed, irritated by Applejack's insistence on proving Twilight innocent.

"We will wait for the trial." Optimus cut them off coldly, seeking to avoid the difference between Ratchet's and Applejack's point-of-view from escalating into blows. He also wanted to be sure he didn't have Applejack's, Pinkie's or Fluttershy's desperate pleas echoing in his ears in the middle of the trial and affecting his decision of the verdict.

A mixture of beeps came from Ratchet's arm. "Hmm?" Ratchet raised his arms, a panel splitting in two and opening up to reveal the diagnostic screen which Ratchet used to monitor the life signs of Team Prime. "What's this?...it appears that I have a … text from our friends at the Littlest Pet Shop."

"Oh!" Fluttershy squealed. She heard about the incident a few months ago where the Cutie Mark Crusaders went to Earth and got themselves entangled up in some weird robot conspiracy involving the Littlest Pet Shop of Downtown City, and she was thrilled beyond words at the chance to see the talking animals that lived there. "What does it say!?"

"I'm not sure..." Ratchet admitted. "Herd 'bout Twi...blowing SS. Thoth...how do I read this... 'U' could use 'sum' chering...arrow sign. P-P-Pillz send Bridge." Ratchet shook his head, the the shorthand message making even less sense now that he had read it out loud.

"What does the Egyptian god Thoth have in common with this message?" Optimus questioned.

"It's shorthand!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing into the air and flailing her limbs around. "You know! L-three-three-T LEET speak!"

"I do not know!" Ratchet insisted, infuriated at the implication he would ever engage in such simplistic and ridiculous language as this...L-three-three-T speak.

"Blythe's asking to send a GroundBridge!" Pinkie translated the message for him.

"Hmm." Ratchet snorted and rolled his optics, but he turned around and pulled the GroundBridge lever anyways. He wondered what the full message meant when translated, but didn't bother to ask Pinkie to do that.

When the Bridge opened, everypony was greeted by an impressive and annoying display of streamers worthy of Pinkie's own antics, followed by kazoos, trumpets, and loud marching-band belly drums as Blythe and a parade of unusual earth animals marched in from the Bridge. Ratchet's features contorted with barely restrained rage as the self-invited parade came marching in.

"Hey, guys!" Blythe waved, stopping her drum for a second. The brunette sixteen year old girl with a head large enough to compare to Raf's awkward noggin was wearing a marching cap on her head. Around her were a slim gecko, a blue mongoose, and King Charles Cavalier Spaniel dog that Twilight's colors on it. "I heard that Twilight did...something..bad? My source wasn't too clear on specifics, but anyways, I figured you could use some cheering up!"

"What we need right now is not 'cheering up', Miss Baxter, but-" Ratchet ranted, but he stopped short when he noticed Applejack scowling at him. She wanted some cheerin' up to be had, slag it, and she wasn't going to let the cranky medic's lack of sociability get in the way of that. "Uh...proceed, Miss Baxter."

Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy eagerly galloped over to Blythe and her animal friends. It was a strange thing; the pets of Downtown City were multicolored and could talk, just like Equestrian Ponies, but Blythe, for some reason, was the only human known to understand them. The ponies, being animals themselves, understood them just fine. Pinkie Pie liked to postulate, supplying the supposition citing the reason was that the pets of Downtown had suffered a slathering of poisonous pollution was the reason for their similarity to the Ponies. Blythe preferred not to question it too much, or she'd start thinking up scenarios like Pinkie Pie's.

Ratchet sighed. He turned to Optimus, meaning to ask what Optimus intended to do during the trial, but when he saw the furtive look on Optimus' faceplate, his questioned was replaced by an entirely different one. "What's on your mind, Optimus?"

"It is these pets." Optimus answered, cocking a browplate at them. "I have a feeling we will be seeing more of them...I have feeling we will be needing more of them."

Ratchet rubbed the side of his head. He couldn't imagine any possible situation were the Littlest Pet Shop Pets would be needed to do anything for the Autobots that the Ponies couldn't provide by their own. "Are you...certain, Optimus? They lack the Equestrian's magic, and..." Ratchet glanced at the gecko as it tried to perform a dance move for Fluttershy, only to trip over over its tail and roll and tumble into the base of Ratchet's work desk. "Quite a few other things."

"Intuition." Optimus answered briskly, crossing his arms and taking an observational post of newfound interest in the Littlest Pets...

Meanwhile, on Equestria, Princess Celestia was just stepping out of a late night shower and would soon be going to bed. Puffs of relaxing steam leftover from the draining hot water wafted through the air and continued to relax Celestia's body even as she left the warm afterglow of the tub. She would've loved to hop back in and take another, even longer, hotter showing, but there needed to be some hot water left for Luna afterward, so she abstained. Instead, Celestia levitated a towel around herself and began drying herself. Being royalty, Celestia's towels weren't purchased by herself, but by servants after they had been shopping around for the best, softest, most soothing brand of towel in all of Equestria.

Which was fortunate, as she was going to need all the soothing she could get.

A white flash appeared in her bathroom, forcing Celestia to close her eyes at the sudden burst of photons. Grimacing as she raised a hoof to block the light, Celestia opened her eyes and saw that it was a Royal Guard brandishing a letter in his magic. He saluted. "Your Royal Highness!"

"Ahh..." Celestia grumbled as her eyes as the pain in her eyeballs started to subside, at least enough she could focus her attention on the Guard who so rudely interrupted her bath time activities. "What is it, Lieutenant?"

"A letter." The Guard answered, bringing the piece of paper closer to Celestia. "Trust me, Princess; I know how much you like your late night showers, and would never interrupt if it were not something of great importance to you."

"Is that so?" Celestia asked, taking the letter into her own magic and unfolded. She had a brief idea that if the letter turned out to not be as important as he claimed, to talk to him in threatening tones and make it seem like she was going to vaporize him, when all she was really going to do was send him out the door...with a well-aimed buck to his Cutie Mark.

Such mischief as the Princess liked to engage in was not to be, however, as the letter was every bit as important as the Guard claimed it to be.

"T-thank you for bringing me this, Lieutenant." Celestia stuttered at the Guard as her eyes painfully narrowed on the letter, hoping that maybe she had misread a part of it. After re-reading it, turning it upside down and sideways and reading it like that, Celestia's lips blubbered as it occurred to her that no, no this was not a prank or cruel joke like she had started hoping. This letter was very much real.

Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor were due for trial as early as tomorrow. Celestia was flabbergasted that the Cybertronian Court had enough free time on their servos to set up and arrange a trial this early. Didn't these Cybertronian understand things, like, a period of investigation before trial? Perhaps Cybertronian justice worked differently than Equestrian.

"Oh, Twilight..." Celestia whispered breathlessly, grabbing the letter with her hoof and crumpling it against her chest. The paper creased and crinkled as she held it until it perfectly hugged every curve of her little pony chest. "What am I going to do with you?"

Twilight Sparkle paced around the Autobot jail cell while Shining Armor laid on the ground, his muzzle drooping and popping out to the sides the way a dog's jowls did when they were at rest. On a dog, though, it was nothing special, just something that happened due to their physiology. On Shining, it made him look pathetic. Which was exactly how he felt right now, so it was a win-win.

Twilight continued pacing, the sounds of her hooves lifting up and clinking on the metal floor keeping Shining Armor from going to sleep. Twilight had forgotten all about being angry with her brother, worried over how badly Celestia was going to take the fact of her rampage. Was she going to be exiled? Was Celestia going to banish her to the moon, or...send her back to Magic Kindergarten!? She would've preferred to be in a, cold, lifeless metal jail cell than in Magic Kindergarten!

Wait a minute, she was in a cold, lifeless metal jail cell.

Twilight stopped, trying to make more coherent thoughts pierce through her panicked thinking so she could assess the situation more logically. She was on the cusp of starting a new train of thought when the small device around her horn activated and gave it her horn a smack.

Twilight snarled in frustration at the device. A small brown collar that fit onto her horn with a small pedal attached to it by a hinge. The Autobots who threw her in the cell explained it was simple device to keep her from using her magic to make an escape attempt. Not an unreasonable precaution, given her vast reserve of magic, but the simple machine worked by detecting movement, so any sudden jostles would give her a most uncalled for bop. Shining Armor had one on, too, but as he was loafing loftily as lazily as lagging ladybugs, it didn't bother him too much.

Twilight resumed pacing, nose pointing to the ground. She raised a hoof and exhaled sharply, clearing her mind so she could formulate a plan. She began conversing with herself. "Okay. There's no getting out of a guilty verdict. Shining Armor saw you at Sumdac Systems after you blew it up. So the best thing to do would be to enter a plea bargain while praying nopony – no human was hurt irreparably. Yeah!" Seeing that was the best her situation was going to get, Twilight gave an eerie gleaming smile into the darkness of the cell. "No problem! Just...plead guilty and try to get off with a reduced sentence!" Her eye subtly twitched in denial.

Ideally, in Twilight's schizophrenic, Compulsive Disorder Obsessive mind, she would get a reduced punishment and have to serve 20 years in Autobot Prison for destruction of property, which would surely be better than whatever Celestia might do. Celestia might revoke her student privileges, or take her from her friends and Ponyville for a refresher course in morality. Or worst or all, the Princess might give her a lecture! Anything but that!

Shining Armor signed and scuffed his hoof across the ground, lifting his head up so his muzzle stopped looking like a pale intimation of a resting boxer pup. "Twiley..."

The sound of Shining Armor's regretful voice snapped Twilight out of her delirium, for now, at least. Twilight blushed, having forgotten she was sharing this cage with somepony, let alone somepony she was so close to. Twilight cleared her throat and turned around. "Yes, B.B.B.F.F?"

"I'm sorry." bled out of Shining Armor's mouth. He got to his hooves shakily while still looking at the ground. "I shouldn't have told Professor Sumdac to experiment on you... I just...I just wanted to stop being a Terrorpony." Shining looked at her, and his cerulean eyes were abnormally wide, and if Twilight wasn't mistaken, at least partially wet. "I wanted to stop...being a freak. Is that a crime?"

Twilight chuckled, much to Shining's confusion. She trotted up to her brother and cupped his chin, bringing it upwards. "No. No it's not." Twilight then slapped Shining so hard across the cheek it made his head turn 60 degrees, away from her. "But signing me up for an experiment without my consent is!"

"Oh, yeah!?" Shining shouted at her, wanting to defend himself and rebuke her for hitting up, but having no real moral ground to stand on. "Well...this is all the Cybertronians' fault!"

"What!? Where did that come from!?"

"You heard me!" Shining snarled, his teeth showing as his lips vibrated. "Ever since the Decepticons came to Equestria, life has been nothing but miserable!" This wasn't he wanted- what he wanted was to get Twilight off his back- but it seemed as good a time as any in the future to air his grievances regarding their bot buddies. "First, I can't defend you when they start loading you full of Energon-"

"Shining, even if you were there, you couldn't have done anything!" Twilight tried to explain to him, but Shining kept ranting.

"And then you go Earth, and come back as undead freak of nature, a sin against all that Celestia represents! Then there was Starscream killing me, you resurrecting me. Oh! And let us not forget when you unleashed Thunderwing on the Crystal Empire with Trixie!"

"That was partly your fault..." Twilight muttered to save face. Shining blamed himself for that incident, but it wasn't entirely Twilight's fault, as the Dark Energon had taken her over at the time. More so than usual, that is.

"What have the Cybertronians given us since they got here, huh!?"

"The Space Bridge." Twilight answered meekly. Honestly, she was frightened by how worked up Shining was. It reminded her far too much of when he was similarly enraged at their wedding.

"Yeah? Recently, we got a shipment of Energon to power that Bridge. It started disappearing over night. One of my Guards admitted he was taking some for an experiment. That 'experiment'? It was selling it to ponies."

"That's a perfectly legitimate business-"

"In syringes." Shining clarified, letting Twilight fill in the blanks. Energon, when injected in sufficient dosage into a pony's bloodstream, had a narcotic effect on them, diluting their memory and putting them into a stoned like high where everything was funny to them. Twilight didn't even have to think to realize the impact seeing one of his trusted Guardsmen selling it off to ponies had on him. Not least because he began to outline it for her.

"This was a Guard. That I trusted. Who was protecting the Princess and was selling Energon to ponies on the street! Look me in the eye and tell me that's not the Autobots' fault."

Twilight did exactly as she was told, pressing her nuzzle against his and narrowing her eyes as locked their visions together. "It was not the Autobots' fault. If that Guard was crooked, then he was probably selling other things before the Autobots came along and just used the Energon as a new venue!"

Shining was horrified, too dumbstruck to form any words at Twilight's accusation that one his Guards was corrupt even before the Cybertronians appeared. "You. Take. That. Back."

"Make. Me. Mister. With. Your. Oddly. Punctuated. Speech!"

"YAAH!" Shining Armor charged at his younger sister, the younger sister he had been so close with during their childhood, and locked horns with her. Twilight snarled and pushed back, ready to power up her Dark Energon mutations and used the power from them to lift her brother up and hurl him into the wall with all the superhuman strength afforded to her by the Blood of Unicron they unwillingly shared. Before anything could come of it, however, the little devices on their horns responded to their movement and gave a solid smack to both their horns. They yelped, rubbing their sore horns, and separated from each other.

"Ow!" Shining Armor's lips warbled in the nonexistent wind as he growled at the inanimate device. Seeing that as an inanimate object, it wasn't going to respond, Shining had a realization. He put his hoof down and gave his sister his best apologetic stare. "This is stupid."

"You're stupid!" Twilight spat at him like a filly throwing a tantrum. "This CELL is stupid! These stupid devices on our horns are stupid! Prowl is stupid!" Twilight, continuing her new 'theme' of having a hissy fit, slammed her hoof into the ground several times. "Your face is stupid!" Having resorted to that uncreative, childish remark, Twilight realized she herself was being stupid and sighed, dropped to the ground, and flopped over onto her back. "You're right. We're siblings. We shouldn't be fighting like this. "

"Glad we agree!" Shining Armor perkily announced, trotting over to give Twilight a helping hoof up. "Come on, L.S.B.F.F."

Twilight chuckled at Shining's humorous attempt to take her nickname for him and make into his nickname for her.

"I just...I just want to know everything's going to be all right." Twilight admitted.

"It will." Shining assured her, even though all signs and evidence pointed to everything being anything but all right. "I'll make sure of it. Big Brother's honor."

"Hmph. You shouldn't put something so valuable on the line for a promise you can't keep."

Before they could keep talking and work their out differences in opinion like the mature adults they insisted on being treated as, they heard footsteps. Autobot footsteps. The warden was coming in to check on them. Twilight whimpered and shivered when she heard them. Each echo was a reminder that there was a reason she was in here, trapped in a cell with her horn made useless by a stupid pedal device.

The hexagonal doors to their holding cell shifted, clicked and hissed open.

"You two!" A red and blue Autobot with a faceplate and helmet that made Twilight think of a human astronaut's outfit. From his above-average body frame, muscular build, and ball shoulders, Twilight couldn't help but think he was an Autobot generic. "Sun's come up. Your trial is ready."

"Wha..." Twilight stammered. "It's morning all ready!?"

"We didn't sleep all night!?" Shining Armor exclaimed. He stole Twilight's catchphrase and mannerism for a second, putting his hooves over his head. "Oh, this is terrible! We can't defend ourselves in a trial operating on no sleep!"

"Wait...wait, I don't feel tired." Twilight realized. "The Dark Energon...of course, the Dark Energon! We still have plenty of energy! Um, you know, strictly speaking, we don't actually need to eat or sleep...we just...do it anyway..." Twilight scraped her hoof nervously, avoiding Shining Armor's eyes. "So we can feel normal..."

"Come on, you two." The Autobot guard barked at them gruffly, not noticing they were in the midst of discussing their biological peculiarities. "I don't have all day."

The Guard began escorting them out of the building. Of course, Twilight realized. Why would the courtroom be in the same building as the prisoners who were being courted? That would be silly. The Guard didn't put them in any stasis cuffs, as being four-legged animals who move one set of legs and then the back set of legs, handcuffing them would have rendered them totally immobile, which didn't work out so well when their oppressors decided it was time for them to move.

"Well, well, well!" A dusty green and yellow Autobot fembot chided, gathered in front of a crowd, mixed of Cybertronians and Ponies, and even the odd human here and there, scattered about the crowd. Rather like trying to pick a violet out of a field of dandelions. A really big field of dandelions. They were waiting outside the courtroom building, and the aforementioned fembot, by the name of Glyph, was an enthusiastic reporter eager to get first come, first serve of the trial of Twilight Sparkle. Accompanying her was Photo Finish, a fashion critic on Equestria with an odd accent, in order to provide perspective from the ponies' view of things.

"Glyph – that's me!" Glyph boasted to the cameramech. "Here with Photo Finish, here to cover the impending trial of Twilight Sparkle for the destruction of Sumdac Systems on Earth. As you know, Photo Finish, Twilight has engaged in several large-scale acts of terrorism on Earth before the Autobots' presence was fully revealed, but was never held accountable for any of them. All that is about to change!"

"Yes, yes." Photo Finish nodded her head in agreement, though Glyph wasn't sure if the pony was actually paying attention or just pretending so she could hear the sound of her own, accented voice. "Furthermore, this tryal is of interezt to all species involved in the alliance."

"Mh-hmm!" Glyph nodded. "Pony, human and Cybertronian! Humans because, well, it was their building that got blown up. Ponies because it was one of their most well-known and respected members who did the exploding, and Cybertronians because they had a relationship with the Ponies prior to their revelation to the human populace. This couldn't possibly have anything to do with the suspicions of the humans about the Ponies and Cybertronians working together on projects and leaving the humans out of it."

There was an awkward silence that felt odd, like melted butter, actually, as Glyph and Photo Finish that with the lack of a human news reporter to go with them, they were adding fuel to that fire by providing evidence of a bot and a pony, together without a human.

"Hey, uh, someone write down a note for me to go get a human partner, huh?" Glyph asked her recording crew. "Wait, scrap, is this live!?"

"Yes." The cameramech confirmed, dashing Glyph's hopes that perhaps they could edit that line out.

"Well..." Glyph attempted to salvage her pride and dignity for the camera, for the viewers, for the people! They deserved to see a calm, cool, collected news reporter like herself. "There you have it, folks! Live, off the cuff footage of the trial, no editing or pre-scripting done at all! Right here, right now. Live action- is that Optimus Prime!?"

Glyph turned her head and nearly made a sort of 'squee' noise in delight upon seeing it was, in fact, the crimson form of Optimus Prime striding into the crowd, attempting to squeeze his bulky frame through the narrowest corners of the massive audience while mumbling and muttering apologizes and excuses as he attempted in vain to maneuver through without bumping into anyone.

"Come on, come on!" Glyph beckoned her cameramech, and they were off speeding towards the Last Prime for an exclusive interview. If she got to interview Optimus Prime, her ratings would go through the roof! No news reporter on Cybertron would ever even come close to her level or recognition!

"Optimus? Optimus? Optimus Prime, Sir!"

Hearing his name called, Optimus turned around for whoever was vying for his attention. His optics blinked as he noticed it was the fembot waving her arms and whistling at him. "Hello, Glyph. May I be of service?"

"Yeah, yeah, you may!" Glyph enthusiastically told him, missing the somber timbre of Optimus' always low and stoic voice. "How do you feel about Twilight Sparkle getting a trial? She is one of your friends, after all..." Glyph added coyly, suggestively raising her browplate.

Optimus sighed, the exhaust on his back fidgeting. "I only wish I would have been able to converse with her prior to the trial, outside the courtroom's notice, so as to get her perspective on things. Now, if you will excuse me, I have be in the courtroom." Optimus excused himself and walked off.

"Optimus, wait!" Glyph insisted, determined to get a more thorough interview for her precious ratings. "Can't you answer a few more questions? Optimus?... Optimus?" Glyph's voice became increasingly less hopeful the more she spoke, as soon Optimus adapted and disappeared into the crowd. An impressive feat, given how clumsily and awkwardly he was moving when he arrived.

The Autobot guard stood silently behind the Sparkle family siblings to the courtroom. Sometimes he would step forward and smack away a reporter who decided they could get close for a question.

Twilight and Shining Armor had some trouble climbing up the short step of stairs leading to the courtroom's entrance. It was a tiny staircase, but it was fitted to Cybertronians, not Ponies. Twilight thought about teleporting, before remembering the stupid thing on her horn preventing her from spellcasting.

It took them awhile, but they were successful in clambering up the stairs and standing in front of the courtroom door, where the only step left would be to wait for the door to open and walk into their sentencing.

Looking at the door, Twilight was reminded of a cathedral. The door was triangular in shape, but curved and rounded on the sides. The way parts of formed a circle and popped forward marked it most definitely as a Cybertronian entryway. The circle shifted to the right, then dropped into the floor, tearing away at the door's bottom, while the top of it split in two and drew upwards.

"In." The Guard instructed the two ponies.

They followed the Guard's orders, ignoring their own nervous feelings and jittery hooves. Twilight found that walking into the dark corridor of the hallway, with no choice but to listen to her's and the Guard's footsteps echoing in the hall, it seemed like the aura of the room wasn't just rubbing it in that she had done something wrong. It was practically boasting about it.

The lights on the ceiling were large circles with no coloring to them, shining only a bright white that was somehow gloomy and despairing despite its neutral color. Twilight, in her feverish pitch of mind, imagined it might have been the Sparks of criminals long past warning present and future accused to abandoned hope.

Twilight wished the lights would suffer a short-circuit, just so she wouldn't have to see Shining Armor's face as they were marched into a court they had no hope of leaving without a guilty verdict.

They saw an open entrance with no door up ahead, and they figured it must be the courtroom proper. Twilight and Shining stepped through, but the Guard stayed behind to keep watch in case they got any ideas of escaping.

The courtroom seemed mostly the same as human or pony one, though larger and with a metallic glint in the waxed floor. Twilight could see her reflection sparkling in the floorboards, and even a neat-freak like her thought the janitor must have loved his job just a little much.

"Hmm..." Twilight looked around the room, and noticed that the audience was mostly filled with Cybertronians, all of whom were well-trained and respectable enough not to look at her as she walked down the aisle. As she walked, though, she noticed a dark-skinned human female with red hair done in pigtails waiting by the entrance. She was wearing a yellow suit of some kind.

Twilight stopped to greet her. "Hello. Who are you?"

The woman chuckled. "I'm Sari Sumdac."

Twilight blinked, trying to take in this information. "Wow! Professor Sumdac must be quite the catch, then, to get somepony as young as you!" Sari did not appear to understand Twilight's compliment. Twilight rubbed at the back of her neck shyly. "Uhh...sorry that I blew up your husband's factory."

Sari guffawed. "Hahaha! What!? No, no...I'm his daughter."

"Oh! My bad." Twilight grinned, trying to mask her swelling, though deserved feelings of guiltiness and shame. She had a terrible thought; if Sumdac had a daughter, how many other workers at the facility had children of their own? Children that needed tending. Children that needed their mommies and daddies to teach them the ways of the world...

Twilight felt like she could cry, but she held it in. She knew that didn't fly well with a court, and served no practical purpose.

Steeling herself to meet her fate with dignity, Twilight huffed and threw her nose in the air. Shining Armor didn't understand what she was doing.

The two siblings began their long trek towards the stand where the accused was to make their case and took their seats. The managers of the courtroom had been so kind as to wield booster seats to the bottoms of the robot sized chairs to give the two ponies an easier time getting in and out of it.

Adjusting her rear to sit as comfortably as she could, Twilight took notice of the lone Autobot standing in front of the judge's pedestal. Prowl, looking displeased. Twilight got a hunch he always looked like that. From his posture and position relative to the judge's seat, Twilight figured he was here to play prosecutor, which gave her a realization that really would have helped if she had it earlier.

"Oh my gosh! Shining, we don't have a lawyer!"

Shining took on a blank face that Twilight found laughable, but this was no time to be laughing. "You're right! They can't- they can't prosecute us without a lawyer, can they? Are Cybertronian laws different?"

"I don't know!" Twilight started gnawing at the tips of her hooves.

Both siblings fell quiet, hearing a jet engine whistle silently. Prowl looked upwards, and the auditorium followed his lead. Noticing how they all appeared to be looking at something, Twilight followed suit and saw a small ship flying in from the doorway. Twilight didn't like poking fun at things, but she found there was no other to describe it other than a golden boat with large red wings stuck to the sides. The boat-ship flew over the judge's pedestal and transformed, landing into it. The form appeared to be Autobot in nature, and was quite angular in design. His face was gray, blue optics, and his helmet had so many different ridges on the head and sides Twilight couldn't keep track of them all. His shoulders appeared to comprised of furnaces, and his waist was so thin it was like his chest was just one block attach to the top of a pole with his thighs being two blocks attached to the bottom.

Prowl cleared his throat. "Hm-hm! As Chief Justice Tyrest could not present to today, we shall the honorable Senator Dai Atlas serve in his place."

"Very good, Prowl." Dai Atlas spoke, and his voice was a very deep baritone. It made Twilight think of somepony who was a good bot, but had trouble socializing. "Before we begin the trial, have all deliberations been prepared?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Prowl answered, saluting with the excitement of a wood board.

"The destruction has been the subject of a proper investigation?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"All the witnesses have been sworn in?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"We have a jury?"

"The accused has had their say in choosing a public defender who will accurately represent their interests to the best intent?"

"Er..." Prowl stammered.

Dai Atlas sighed, and Twilight got the feeling this wasn't the first Prowl had let a tiny detail like, say, getting a lawyer for the accused, slip under his radar. "Again, Prowl?"

There was a very, very loud obnoxious chatter, which Twilight and Shining heard as "Wait!" but all the Autobots understood as animal noises.

Everyone in the room craned their necks towards the entrance, and they all saw an orange hedgehog wearing a tuxedo, standing in the entrance, standing on his hind legs and holding his front paws out dramatically. One of Princess Luna's bat-eyed Night Guard was standing with him.

"Russell?" Twilight whispered. What in Celestia's blazing saddle was a Littlest Pet Shop pet doing here in a court of Cybertronians!?

Russell began chattering and squeaking, gesturing with his front paws. Twilight and Shining understood him perfectly, but it was all meaningless noise that distracted the inhabitants of the courtroom to Prowl and Dai Atlas.

Russell eventually stopped squeaking and crossed his arms. Once he stopped talking, the Night Guard next to him cleared his throat.

"Ahem. He says he's here to represent the interest of his clients, Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. I'm here to translate his speech as a neutral party with no stake in the outcome of this trial, to ensure the accused does not misinterpret his speech to serve their own ends."

"That's incredibly well-thought out." Shining Armor reflected.

Twilight felt differently, if the hoof now covering her forehead didn't make that clear enough. "Russell...why?"

Russell and the Night Guard walked up to the accused stand, and the Guard helped Russell onto the table so Dai Atlas could look at them without having to lean over the judge's table.

"Well, hardly an orthodox procedure for a lawyer, but the defendants are in no position to object, and I, for one, do not care so long as he has a license."

Prowl's head began to let out a wisp of smoke.

"Um..." Twilight grew concerned and cleared her throat. "Is the prosecutor in good health?"

Dai Atlas looked to Prowl and didn't seem all that bothered. "He's fine. Just doesn't like the unusual, is all." Twilight didn't know that this was an understatement.

Russell shirked and tugged at the collar of his suit. Thankfully, Dai Atlas didn't ask him to produce his license, so his lack of a proper one was overlooked.

"Now, are all members of the selected jury present, and equally representing the interests of all three species?" Dai Atlas questioned, pulling out a discus and reading it off. "Sari Sumdac ..."

"Here!"

"Acting Decepticon Lord Shockwave."

"Present."

"Agent Dutch..."

"Here."

"Cybertron Elite Guard Magnum..."

"Present and accounted for."

"Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence..."

"Present."

Twilight's jaw dropped, and for the first time, she actually bothered to look at the juror's seating and saw that the all three Princesses were there, wearing stoic masks of detachment that hid whatever emotion they were feeling inside. Twilight supposed she should have felt good about that; that Celestia wouldn't let the obvious disappointment in her student show through, but instead, Twilight felt pained.

Why won't you let me see your feelings, Princess?

Dai Atlas continued reading off juror names, and after the next few went by, Twilight heard was quite possibly the only name that equaled Princess Celesta in the dread she felt when hearing it spoken as a member of a jury.

"Optimus Prime..."

There was no answer.

Dai Atlas looked around the room. "Optimus Prime?"

Everyone in the audience began murmuring and passing speculations from one audio receptor to another. It was extremely unlike Optimus Prime to be late for anything. Metal hands covered the gaps between faceplates and audio receptors. Shadows subtly shifted from the all the crowd's hushed whisperings cowing against the very nature of the courtroom, which was to seek out fact and expose truth, not meet up and swap gossip. Dai Atlas noticed the hustling of the surprised court audience. "Silence! Cease your rumor mongering! I am sure there is a perfectly valid excuse as to why our good Optimus is late!"

"Present and accounted for, Senator." Optimus announced, entering the room from the entrance. "My apologies for my being late. I was unsure if I would be able to set aside my personal feelings for the case..." Optimus' optics glinted in Twilight's directions, and Twilight hung her head, knowing he was referring to her and their strained friendship.

Twilight kept her eyes trained on him every step he took towards the jury booth. For a moment, Optimus spared her a glance in return, and Twilight was sure his optics would be full of rage, screaming with indigenous fury, "Why would you do that!?" … but instead, they were as stoic and detached as ever, perhaps with just a tiny little hint of – was that concern?

By Primus, Twilight swore in her head, I know you're my friend, Optimus, and that you're one of the most caring beings available on call, but I blew up an entire complex! I don't deserve your concern! … As much as it makes me feel better.

Optimus continued on and took his seat on the bench, his crimson form seemingly duller under the shadowed, dim lightning of the room.

"Now, shall the trial begin?" Dai Atlas questioned. In turn, Prowl gave a nod of the head. "Excellent! All parties in the matter of the State Vs Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor are accounted for!" Dai Atlas brought out a gavel and slammed it. "Prowl, make your case."

Prowl swept his hand through the air, trying to be fancy, but his inherent attitude that constrained him from sociability prevented him from doing anything too elaborate or flashy. "Thank you, Your Honor." Prowl then paced back and forth in front of the pedestal of the judge, going into detail of what the Sparkle family siblings had done, and why – in his oh-so-humble opinion- that they should be hit with the hammer of justice with such a fierce brutality that shan't walk for weeks.

"Twilight Sparkle has been on record, multiple times, as having a contempt and hatred for humanity, which by itself makes her dangerous." Prowl recounted. "In addition to that, she has previously attempted to destroy and or take over human settlements, and was never held accountable for any of the destruction she caused. It would be remiss if this court failed their opportunity to correct this oversight and find Twilight guilty of super massive destruction."

Prowl was using so many unnecessary, excessively sized wordage that even the studious scholar was having trouble keeping up with the majority of his pontificating. What she could make out, though, suggested to her he was bitter that she had been granted amnesty for her crimes on Earth during her first voyage there.

"As for Shining Armor, his crime is that he authorized the experiment on Twilight Sparkle that led to her rampaging to begin with." Prowl continued. "While I do not believe he set out with hostile intent, it should still be noted it was the direct result of his actions the destruction of Sumdac Systems occurred."

"Noted." Dai Atlas nodded his head to show he understood. Dai Atlas turned his gaze downwards at Russell. "Your defense, porcupine?"

Russell chattered angrily, shaking his paw at Dai Atlas.

The Night Guard cleared his throat. "He's a hedgehog, not a porcupine, and his name is Russell Ferguson. "

Russell began squawking, arguing a defense that secretly, he and Shining had worked while Prowl made his argument. As the Night Guard had to translate, Twilight found herself lulled quickly into the lure of being bored to sleep as her makeshift lawyer's defense was repeated by the translator.

"Shining Armor had authorized the experiment with the hopes it would enable him and his sister to remove their Dark Energon infusions. Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, is unwilling to engage in any attempts to purge her Dark Energon infusions because she is afraid it won't work and therefore kill her. In this regard, it can be argued that, from Twilight's perspective, the Sumdac Systems' scientists were going to kill her in the name of science."

"And it is such a crime that Shining Armor wants to be normal again?" Russell questioned. "Is wrong to desire that he could live among his fellow equines as an equal, without the stench of undeath sneaking over every corridor? Is that so wrong!?" Russell shook his fists into the air.

Dai Atlas chuckled when the Night Guard finished translating Russell's heartfelt, warmth defense. "Cute, Mister Ferguson, and not entirely inaccurate, either. No..." Dai Atlas rubbed his chin in contemplation, and Prowl became alarmed, thinking that perhaps Russell's impromptu defense was enough to persuade Dai Atlas to turn the other cheek.

Dai Atlas slammed his gavel down. "However, this court operates on the letter and spirit of the law. Emotions, though they do matter significantly, are far from the sole cause of determining guilt of the condemned. Prowl. Your response?"

Prowl sneered. "Let us not forget the several instances where Twilight Sparkle used her connection with Princess Celestia to avoid several potential causes of disciplinary action."

"What!?" Twilight lost her temper and slammed her hooves. "Objection! I would never do anything like that!"

"Sustained." Dai Atlas said with a hint of irritability. "On what occasion was Twilight's relation ship the Princess used specifically to avoid a charge?"

"The Want It Need It Spell incident a year ago, not to mention Thunderwing's unleashing on the poor folk of the Crystal Empire." Prowl answered.

"The Want It Feed It- The need-want - the thing with the spell does not involve Cybertronians or humans, so it outside the purvey of this court. As for Thunderwing, I'm given to understand that Twilight was not entirely under her own control during that time...?" Dai Atlas put his hands together under his chin and leaned forward, curious what other mudslinging tactics Prowl was going to resort to.

Prowl grunted and narrowed his visor at Russell, communicating without words that the police-bot was not going to stand for Russell's attempts to have Dai Atlas look at this more from Twilight's point of view. "Sir, if I may be so bold, I'd like a recess."

To Twilight's surprise, rather than the audience, it was the jury who muttered. The jury that included her mentor, her foalsitter, and her Prime.

"Why is that, Prowl?"

"I believe I may be able to gather sufficient evidence from the crime scene to prove, without a doubt, that Twilight Sparkle is guilty as charged."

"And Shining Armor?" Dai Atlas questioned.

Prowl looked taken aback, and Twilight thought back to how she thought Prowl wanted to make her answer for the crimes she had been granted amnesty for during her first trip to Earth. Now, she was absolutely sure that was his motivation; justice could go take a slagging. "Erm, Yes, Your Honor. Him as well."

"Granted." Dai Atlas slammed the gavel down. "2 Megacycles so that the jury may deliberate preemptively, Prowl may reexamine the crime scene, and the defendants may discuss their strategy."

Dai Atlas slammed his gavel. "This court is now in recess! Parties may leave the courtroom, but don't go too far."

Twilight stepped up out of her chair and landed on the floor. She looked over her shoulder area to see the jury – the Princesses and Optimus among them- get up and walked to a door she hadn't seen when they came in to deliberate. Twilight didn't quite get the purpose, but she supposed there was something to be said of having two deliberations of the same trial at different times, for comparison before the final rendering of the verdict.

"What do you want to do, Twiley?" Shining asked, putting a hoof on her for comfort.

"I don't know." Twilight answered, shaking her head. "I just...don't know anymore. I want to go for a walk...you know, fresh air."

"Of course." Shining Armor nodded his head. "We'll be right here when you get back...not that we have a choice."

Twilight chuckled and trotted weakly towards the door. The Guard stationed at the door looked down at her, as if to say "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'd like to take a walk." Twilight informed him, not liking the filthy glare reflected in his optics.

"It's all right, Solider."

Twilight whipped around, seeing to her surprise and disbelief Princess Celestia.

"She won't go anywhere." Celestia assured the Guard.

"Mm." The Guard nodded and stepped to the side.

"Thank you, Prin-" Twilight attempted to thank her Princess, but when she turned back around, her Princess was gone as mysteriously and suddenly as she appeared. "Oh!" Twilight groaned and ran out the door, tears welling up in her eyes. "How could I be so stupid!?"

Twilight ran and ran, and ran, and then for good measure, she ran some more. She turned into a lavender bolt too quick for the crowd gathered outside the courtroom to see, catch, or in some cases, ask questions. The highly trained unicorn had no problems ducking and swerving around every corner she came across until she was somewhere far away from the courtroom and all the judging ponies within.

Finding herself in a Cybertronian alleyway, the kind of alley no respectable pony wanted to be caught in late at night, Twilight curled up into a ball amidst a pile of scrap metal and continued to cry, sniffing as she let her tears flow.

"The Princess must hate me now..." Twilight muttered, rubbing her puffy eyes. "She'll never forgive me for this. I'm going to be sent to-to Autobot Jail for the rest of my undead life! WHAAAAN!" Twilight let out a distressing wail which, to a passing or nearby mugger, would've been a honey-sweet, irresistible siren's song. She realized this and quickly covered her mouth before she attracted any unwanted company.

She sat there, still as a cat, waiting for any signs of signals that she drew in a bad crowd with her noise making. For a brief, hopeful moment it seemed like maybe she was lucky enough to have not, but that changed when she heard a Decepticon's footsteps coming nearby.

"Scrap." Twilight cursed under her breath. She wasn't sure what that bot was going to want, but she began charging up a spell just in case. A real big, nice, destructive one at that.

Twilight was incredulous it was not a Decepticon, but an Autobot that was approaching her. She maintained an intimidating pose and bared her teeth, whinnying to let him that she meant business.

"Whoa, whoa!" The Autobot held his hands up at her. "Cool off the throttle, will ya?"

He didn't seem that odd for an Autobot. His paint job was mostly blue and white, with a green visor and white faceplate. That was a bit weird, though. Twilight's understanding of it was that most Autobots had blue optics. His shoulderpads were large and went over his head, while his limbs were all long, yet blocky.

"There's no need to be so violent, as much as we all love violence. I mean, who doesn't, right?"

"Celestia." Twilight answered automatically. "Optimus. Ratchet. Magnum. Fluttershy. Cheerilee."

"Okay, okay, yeesh!" The blue Autobot waved his hands. "I didn't mean to be so literally! It was an expression!"

"All right..." Twilight turned her head away, motioning for him to speak, before remembering where she was. She aimed her horn at him again. "What do you want?"

"You!" The Autobot answered, pointing to her with his index finger like she was a gold doubloon inside a oyster shell. "Or rather, The Institute wants you."

The sky turned black behind the Autobot, and a crack of white thunder flashed behind him. Then the sky went right back to normal. Twilight stared confusedly.

"Yeah...that always happens, for some reason." The Autobot sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Every time I say the name."

"The Institute?" Twilight questioned. The same thing happened; the sky behind her turned black, and white thunder tore through the black before the sky turned back to normal. "Huh."

"Anyways, I know you, but you don't know me. Name's Toxin. I'm what's called a mnemosurgeon."

Twilight raised her eyebrow. "Mnemosurgeon?" Being such a book nerd, Twilight understood a few words of Latin here and there and recognized the affix and its meaning; 'memory'. "Wouldn't...wouldn't that mean you...perform surgery on memories?"

"Yes." Toxin answered, putting his hands together amicably. "But we're not here about me. We're here about you."

"M-m-me?" Twilight stammered, pointing a hoof at herself. She looked down to the ground. Perhaps it was her modesty. Maybe she was humble. Or perhaps she was feeling guilty over having blown up Sumdac Systems, but she couldn't help but think the same sentence she soon voiced to Toxin. "I'm nothing special..."

Toxin laughed. It was a merry laugh, full of mirth and warm, but somehow it still sent chills up Twilight's spinal cord. "What are you talking about? If you were nothing special, The Institute wouldn't be interested in having you come help with their research!"

Twilight looked up at him, wondering if maybe Toxin's eccentricities were because he lived far away from anywhere a sane, normal Cybertronian would consider hospitable, and as a result, he never learned what was and was not socially tolerated. "You do know I blew up the last research facility I worked in, don't you?"

Twilight had underestimated how fraggin' nuts Toxin was. Most ponies would cue this a red flag and then not want anything to do with her after hearing that, but Toxin just laughed again and even gave her a thumbs-up. "That's just the kind of attitude we're looking for!"

Twilight blanched. "You...look for ponies who blow up research facilities they work at?"

"Eh...not in those exact terms, but more or less." Toxin tapped his fingers together. "You see, Madame Sparkle, The Institute is a research facility active on Cybertron before the War. It shut down as the conflict became too great to ignore. But now that Shockwave has re-energized Cybertron with the Changeling Batteries, its starting back up again. We've observed your scientific pursuits, Twilight Sparkle, both before you went to Earth and after. We have come to the conclusion that you would be a perfect fit for our restart. Whadda ya say?"

"I would love to!" Twilight happily exclaimed. Working with humans was one thing, but this Institute...sounded fantastic to her ears, somehow. She wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps it was the fact they didn't care for her explosive tendencies, or maybe Toxin just seemed really friendly, despite his mannerisms. She frowned when she remembered she had a trial she needed get to back to soon. "Oh, but I can't...I'm being tried for the facility I blew up, and I'm pretty sure my verdict will be guilty."

"Whaaat?" Toxin screeched. "Oh, well, now that just won't do!" Toxin rubbed his chin. "I know!" He snapped his fingers, and Twilight could tell from the look on his face...plate that he had an idea. "How about you hire me as your lawyer?"

Twilight shook her head, not sure she heard that right. "Um, well, I already have a lawyer...a hedgehog."

Toxin attempted to scoff derisively, but his lack of lips prevented him. "Well...no offense to your hedgehog friend, but if you replaced him with me, you would have the whole resources of The Institute backing you. There's no way you could lose!"

Twilight furrowed her brow, wanting to accept Toxin's offer- he seemed so friendly. "Mm...I'm not sure the Princess would approve me taking this mech I found on the street in as my lawyer."

"What if..." Toxin hesitated. Twilight was sure there he was holding a card he had yet to play that he didn't want her to know, but might just persuade her to do as he asked. "I told you I knew exactly what was in your laboratory? Both of them, and we still want you?"

Twilight was baffled. She was the only one who knew about her second laboratory- the one where she kept the remnants of a variety of ill-fated experiments involving Cybertronian tech. Toxin knew what was in it, and still wanted her into this Institute.

"Tell you what." Toxin snapped his fingers. "How about I get you clear of this trial, and then you can decide whether or not you want to come work with us?"

"You can do that?" Twilight asked, rightfully skeptical. While hopeful that maybe, she could atone somehow, the more she had a minute to think about it, the more she realized there was very little chance Toxin could actually succeed at getting her off.

"Can and will!" Toxin bombastically pointed his fingers at her. A click of the teeth gesture would not have been remiss, had Toxin teeth.

"I still don't know..." Twilight murmured, scraping at the general direction of the ground.

"Twilight Sparkle...The Institute is very interested in having you there."

Twilight Sparkle raised her head at him, still with a confused look. She took a deep breath and thought over the situation carefully.

Twilight activated her comm.

"Shining Armor? Tell Russell he's fired. Nothing personal, I've just found someone better."

Thanks to Toxin transforming into his vehicular mode – a Cybertronian racing car- Twilight quickly returned to the courtroom before the recess was up, where Russell was much distraught over being replaced.

"You can't replace me!" Russell protested when Twilight arrived, prancing through the entrance to the courtroom with a renewed spring in her step. Toxin walked into the room behind while Russell continued chattering and squeaking, making arguments as to why he should be allowed to stay on as Twilight's defense attorney.

"Are all parties returned?" Dai Atlas questioned, taking another scan around the room. There were affirmative nods all around. Prowl remained deathly silent, glaring at Toxin with contempt. Dai Atlas raised up a discus. "I'm given to understand that the party of Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor have replaced by their lawyer with a new one?"

"Yes, Sir, Your Honor!" Toxin confirmed, sauntering to the side of Twilight's and Shining's chair. "Toxin of The Institute, here to represent the best interests of my clientele."

Twilight didn't notice, too absorbed in trying to think of what miracle Toxin would pull out of thin air, Optimus' furtive biting of his lips at the mention of The Institute.

Dai Atlas tilted his head. "The Institute, you say? This should be interesting! We last left off at an unsubstantiated claim by Prowl of Twilight Sparkle using her royal connections to go scot-free. Let us continue, shall we?" Dai Atlas leered at Prowl knowingly.

"Right, then." Toxin mumbled, walking to the middle of the room and beginning to grandstand. "Friends, Cybertronians, Ponies, lend my your ears!"

"Oh, please." Prowl muttered. "I've read better paraphrases off the back of-"

"Shut up, Prowl." Dai Atlas snapped. "Continue, Defense."

Toxin went in for the cheap shot. "As I was saying, before Prowl so rudely interrupted me... do we not all understand the mental taxes placed upon us by our siblings? By not wanting to fail our relatives and mentors?"

"Objection! Relevance!?"

"I'm going somewhere with this. Don't worry your pretty light-bar head." Toxin mocked. "Anyways, where was I? Oh yes! There is plenty of historical precedent as to how, when Shining Armor is involved, Twilight Sparkle's judgment is in doubt. His wedding, for instance, not mentioned the Dark Energon infusions that are the very root of this mess!"

Dai Atlas shook his head, and the jury whispered among itself.

Toxin raised a finger. "Twilight Sparkle is a very kind, caring, and generous pony." Twilight blushed profusely, but she got over it quickly be recalling the reason she was here. "And even the best of us sometimes have a bad day, and that is what I would to express to the court here; that Twilight Sparkle simply...had a bad day."

Dai Atlas tucked his lips in, as if expecting more from Toxin. Toxin got the message and hastily stammered to buy some time.

"Uh uh uh and, um...I'm sure she would do anything to make up for it!" Toxin added, turning to Twilight Sparkle. "Isn't that right, Twilight Sparkle?"

"Anything." Twilight squealed out. "I would go back in time and stop myself from doing it. I would go to a human school, study human biological, and perform surgeries on each and every employee of Sumdac Systems so they wouldn't live with any permanent damage. I would study law and get them all the full extent of their life insurance, if I knew it meant they could forgive me."

The audience murmured, while Celestia looked downwards. Dai Atlas pursed his lips.

"A heartwarming sentiment, Miss Sparkle, and perhaps the humans would accept a quid pro quo...but as I told your brother before our recess, this is a court of the letter of the law." Dai Atlas crossed his arms and drew himself up to an impressive height that quashed all thoughts of atonement and hope from Twilight's mind. "Does the defense have any last tricks up its sleeve before I deem it time for the jury to deliberate?"

"Yes, actually." Toxin answered. "You remember when you said this would get interesting? Here is where it gets interesting, Your Honor." Toxin walked up the Dai Atlas's chair and handed the acting judge a discus. Twilight noticed what appeared to be a black Autobot symbol on the disk.

Dai Atlas took the disc and scanned it over. Whatever was on it seemed to frighten him. His fingers started shaking, his teeth began to chatter, and he brought his hand up his mouth and nearly bit his finger off.

"Um...in light of the shocking evidence on this disc, I find I have no choice but to declare a mistrial." Dai Atlas announced. He banged his gavel. "This trial and its sentencing are hereby postponed indefinitely."

The jury suppressed surprised whispers. The audience started exchanging rumors again, although this time, they wised up and left the courtroom while Prowl was outraged.

"Senator! You can't really let Twilight Sparkle off that easily-!"

"Silence!" Dai Atlas ordered him. "That is my ruling, and it is final!" Dai Atlas jumped out of his seat and transformed into his flying boat mode, rocketing out of the courtroom with the haste of the March Hare.

Twilight should have elated; she should have been overjoyed. She should be leaping into the air and hugging her brother, exchanging relieves with Shining Armor about how they just barely got off the hook...and yet...she couldn't. Something was going on. Something scary was on that disc.

"Did we win?" Shining confusedly questioned thin air as the courtroom continued to thin out.

"I don't know..." Twilight admitted. "I honestly don't know."

Meanwhile, Toxin was rubbing his chin. "Mmm...time travel...now there's a thought."

"You won't get away with this!" Prowl shouted at Toxin, pointing his finger angrily. "I'll see to it Twilight Sparkle AND you are both found guilty!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Toxin ignored him and walked towards Twilight.

The jury began leaving, and Sari Sumdac stopped for a minute to look at Twilight before she headed out the door. Twilight looked back, and saw the sincerity in Sari's dim blue eyes.

"I meant every word." Twilight told her. "Whatever it takes to fix it, I'll do it, no matter what."

This seemed to be good enough for Sari, who chuckled and smiled lightly. "I'm glad to hear that, Twilight Sparkle...you really are just a walking catastrophe waiting to happen, aren't you?"

"Yeah...well..." Twilight rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Oh, and...my dad checked out of the hospital today." Sari informed them as she walked off. "He'll need some fresh air for awhile, but he and every one of his employees are going to be fine. Looks you're really off the hook this time."

Twilight sighed and wiped her forehead. "Whew! I can forgive myself for a little, teeny-tiny complete and utter annihilation of a building, but I'd never be able to live with myself if I hurt somepony."

"Twilight Sparkle..."

Twilight, Sari, and Shining Armor whipped their heads up to see Optimus addressing them.

"Could I talk-"

"Ah, ah ah!" Toxin had the gall to interrupt Optimus Prime. "That'll have to wait, Optimus." Toxin scooped Twilight into his palm. "Right now, there's a room in The Institute with this Little Pony's name on it!" Toxin transformed, a chute opening up as he did so that Twilight fell in that brought right into his vehicular mode's driver seat, and drove out the door.

Celestia walked up to Optimus Prime. "Is...something wrong, Optimus?"

Optimus didn't cut any corners in his answer.

"Yes."

Toxin was soon driving out on the streets, quickly passing the audience outside the courtroom of outraged executives demanding Twilight's head, curious, but unaffected Autobots wondering the outcome of the trial, and eager reporters seeking to ask questions well outside their right.

Inside the car, Twilight started fiddling with Toxin's buttons. "Could you lower the window? I want to feel the wind on my face."

"Of course." Toxin's right-side door window slid down, allowing the breeze to whip Twilight's mane as Toxin continued driving. There was nothing quite like the feeling of the wind on her face in a car going 80 Mph or more to reassure her she was a free mare. She knew where Toxin was taking her; the location of The Institute and its grand designs. Thoughts of guilt about she had gotten away with so much without even getting a slap on wrist were buried in the back of Twilight's mind beneath piles of other clutter. The unicorn was so excited at what new inventions The Institute might have she could hardly think of anything else.

"Oooh! Do you guys have a particle collider synchrotron?" Twilight asked.

"No...uh, yes...uh, maybe. I don't know." Toxin answered. "Ah! We're here."

"All ready?"

"Eh, you tend to get places when you ignore the speed limit like I do."

Following that remark, Twilight uncomfortably opened Toxin's door and stepped out to at last hold her gaze on The Institute's building, while Toxin converted to robot mode behind her.

It wasn't an impressive building. It was little more than a large, beige square with a glass door in front. Twilight was underwhelmed by is unassuming appearance. The only thing assuring this was The Institute were the large black letters mounted above the door spelling as such. Underneath the sign was a motto, also done in black letters, with a black Autobot insignia with white trim next to it.

The Institute

We Do What We Must, Because, We Can.

"Doesn't look like much..." Twilight muttered.

"Trust me. It's bigger on the inside. Come on." Toxin gestured for her to follow him as he entered the establishment, flicking the glass doors open with a wave of his hand without even touching them. Twilight did as instructed and followed him inside.

The inside was more along the lines of what Twilight was expecting. Tables huge to her, but normal to Cybertronians were everywhere, and on every one of them was a piece of technology, if not a collection of scrap metal and spare parts meant to be assembled into technology.

Twilight oohed at all the various piece of machinery, which was split between things she could recognize and things she couldn't, as well as a few things she were sure were the result of a scientist taking some parts and just smashing them together until they vaguely resembled something with a purpose.

There were two scientists out, working on one table with blowtorches drawn and fire safety mask worn. One of them looked like Toxin, but orange in place of white, and white in place of Toxin's blue, while the other mostly white one appeared to have wings on his long, detached arms. Twilight presumed he was an Aerialbot, a special type of Seeker that defected to the Autobots, even though she knew not all flying Autobots were Aerialbots, and the Aerialbots were far from being scientists.

Toxin cleared his throat and waved his hand for his colleagues' attention. "Ahem. Hey! Hey, everybody! Guys! … PHARMA! CHROMEDOME!"

The two of them stopped working on what they working on – to Twilight, it seemed to be a mechanical armadillo made of water canteens fused together, but...Cybertron...doesn't have armadillos. They adjusted their safety visors, revealing their faces; the orange one had an identical face to Toxin's, but with orange plating and a yellow visor. The other had a red helmet that curved at the top and white face- an actual face.

"Pharma," Toxin gestured to the winged Autobot, which made his identical copy Chromedome by elimination, "Chromedome, meet Twilight Sparkle." Toxin gestured to the horse at his feet.

"Oh! Is she the one the bosses have been raving about-?" Pharma questioned, but Chromedome silenced by placing a hand over his mouth.

"Eh-heh, she can't know about that." Chromedome hissed. "Apologies, Miss Sparkle, but you understand how these bureaucracies work, don't you?"

"I do." Twilight nodded her head. She kept watching Chromedome and Pharma with interest piqued.

Chromedome removed his hand from Pharma's mouth, and Pharma cleared his throat.

"Ahem...anyways, Toxin's been telling us about how you are on the fence about joining our lovely Institution!" Pharma declared, raising his hands up. He pointed to the corner of the room, where, a keyboard, a double bass and a musical triangle and bar sized to Autobot scale were at rest.

"So we decided to prepare a little musical number to help you convince you!" Pharma declared, clapping his hands together and rubbing them excitedly.

Pharma, Chromedome, and Toxin, after placing Twilight gently on a table's vacant corner for a better view, walked over and each took an instrument; Toxin, the triangle, Chromedome, the keyboard, and Pharma, the bass.

Chromedome began the composition, his fingers trawling along the keyboard, making a somber, Blues musical tone that made Twilight feel inexplicably sad. Her lips started to pout, and her shoulders sagged.

Chromedome noticed, stopped playing, and snapped his fingers.

"Got you, didn't we?"

Chromedome began playing a much more lively, faster score that made Twilight's hooves want to dance of their own accord. Pharma began strumming the base, and Toxin carefully timed when he clanged the triangle to give the best contrast against the other instruments. They started breaking out into song to go with their music.

Welcome, Twilight, dear, to the Institute!

We'll have such a jolly good time,

If you would just this here dotted line.

Welcome to The Institute! The Institute!

Pharma took over the singing.

If you ever get a cold,

You'll see why they call Mister Pharma Ceutical!

There's nothing I can fix

With my patented polyon stitches!

Something fantastic which

I couldn't have made without this establishment's riches!

And if during testing, you accidentally got shot

You can be sure I'll patch you back up

Before your wires start to rot!

Pharma stopped singing, then he and Chromedome clasped hands, swung each other around and began playing the others' instrument while Chromedome picked up the lyrics.

Don't mind if there's a corpse that starts talking;

Just keep it bolted or it's a dead mech walking.

We never use an unwillingly donated body

Though for some reason, not a lot of people donate, oddly.

Maybe it's got something do with the fact

You stroll out the trade market and just buy bodies in the afternoon

Oh well, but I digress

There are other ways to safely run your tests

Our practices are fair and safe;

With science, we are masters of our fate

There's no need to worry about morality;

We've all sighed the-

Toxin, Chromedome and Pharma sung the next line together.

NECESSARY foooooorm-aaaaaalities!

Toxin then took over;

If all this talk of bodies is giving you a scare;

Then we're sorry dear, we just mean you have free reign here!

Though we sometimes have our bad days where something pink turns brown,

Always we help each other out of the grooound...

Do you ever wish you could fall up

Instead of always falling down? (Down-down-downedy-down-now)

Well, at The Institute, The Institute, you can!

Are you a victim of gravity?

Well, working together, we can stop it, you and me!

Twilight frowned. "Well, I'm starting to be convinced, but...what if I don't meet your boss's requirements?"

The three Autobots laughed. They whipped out hats, tuxedos and canes from nowhere and sung to a different tune and dancing. It was like a barbershop quartet, but with three members instead of four, so...barbershop triplet?

Oh, Twilight, Dear, you have absolutely nothing to fear;

Truth is at one point or another, we've all been there.

Maybe you tore open a portal far from home;

Maybe you just gave our boss a scare;

But the fact of the matter is, when you're here, you're not alone.

We have each others' backs,

We're tight-knits as stones!

If all this talks of experiments gone awry,

Begin to give you a scare,

Well, that's not what we meant;

We just mean you have free reign here!

"What about reindeer?"

"What? No, nothing about...uh...scrap, I forgot the rest of the lyrics."

To recover from the mishap, the three bots began swapping instruments and rhythms, leading to such interesting variations as; Chromedome playing the keyboard with his feet, doing an Irish jig, Pharma playing the bass with using Toxin's triangle as a guitar pick, and Toxin playing his triangle by grabbing the back of Chromedome's head and banging it on the triangle. Chromedome didn't seem to mind; in fact, Twilight thought she heard him mutter "Why didn't I think of something like that?"

There's no need to be droll;

Just spice things up with a few charged electrodes!

We got a whole variety from turbo boosters, spare accelerators, cogs and gears, copper wires, Robo-rooters, axles and oil tears, turbofoxes breathing fire, AAANDD some wet wipes, just in case you make a mess while you're playing mad science with us alien robots from outer space!

We'll so much fun at The Institute,

At The Institute, The Institute,

Come and study with us!

Toxin dinged his triangle one last time. Twilight fell onto her rump, bouncing like a baby's cradle as her weight shifted on the table, but that didn't stop her from clapping! "Whoo! Yay! Brave! Encore!"

"I'd rather not." Toxin politely declined, sounding exhausted enough from his first song.

Twilight righted and composed herself. "Anyways...yes! Yes, I'll join The Institute's research!"

"Vunderbar!" Toxin exclaimed, throwing his comrades away from him as he brought his arms in elation. "Let's get started right away! Um- unless you had something you needed to do today?"

"Not that I can recall...I'm sure Optimus will tell my friends what happened..." Twilight looked sadly away, remembering the trial and how Toxin had saved her from a condemnation sentencing.

"Hey, cheer up!" Toxin encouraged. "Live in the now, Twilight, not in the past."

Twilight closed her eyes. "You're right, Toxin. You're right."

In short order, Twilight Sparkle was back on the ground, with her own little play set of arc wielders and scrapmetal to create whatever she could imagine on the little table that was sized to her species.

"Mmmm..." She picked up what she made so far – a steel sphere rusted brown- and examined it before tossing it aside, deeming it as useless as the scrap she had used to make it. "Gotta think bigger..."

She was so wrapped in her work, she hadn't thought about Sumdac Systems or Sair or Issac or Lucy, or noticed when Shining Armor came galloping into the building, looking for her, until he shouted her name.

"Twiley!"

"Shining?" Twilight turned just in time to see a blur of white fur crash into her and lock into a bonecrushing bearhug. "What...are..." Twiight strained her words, her windpipe being choked by her brother's strong muscles. "You doing here?"

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Shining explained. "No one knows where you went since you disappeared Sumdac Systems is fine!"

"Disappeared? Shining, I understand if you want to pretend I'm innocent, being your little sister and all, but I burned that place to the ground!"

Shining drew back and gave her a confused glare. "Twiley, what are you talking about? The place is fine."

"But-but-" Twilight stuttered, before having a moment of brilliance. "Toxin! Did you use your freaky mnemnosurgery on my brother?"

"Twilight Sparkle," Toxin appeared in an instant at her call. "I swear to you, I did not tamper with your brother's memories. Cross my Spark and hope to fly...tic, stick a cupcake in my optic."

"Hmm." Twilight grunted, but she was sure Toxin was aware of the kind of havoc Pinkie Pie wreaked when a Pinkie Promise was disabused.

"The timestream, on the other hand..." Toxin mysteriously slipped out. "Why, I didn't take your suggestion of going back in time to prevent you from destroying the facility to begin with to Spark, and then carry out that out while using specially modulate gear to make so only you remembered what happened. No, I did not!" Toxin spoke in a mocking tone that made it clear that was exactly what he had done.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. Toxin had gone out and undid her crime, without informing or asking for her permission to do so. She had to wonder what the legal area was for this sort of thing.

She wondered if she really realized what she was getting into, signing up for...

The Institute.

"Shining...I think I may have signed a deal with the draconequus, and the draconequus was clever enough to keep me from realizing it until my name was already on the dotted line."

"Huh?"