"Toothbrush."
"Check."
"Change of sleeping clothing and day clothing."
"Check and check."
"Extra snacks for the trip."
Several gemstones floated into the overnight bag and Spike made a few more checks. "All checked. That's everything, Twilight, and we're good."
"I don't know, Spike, I feel like we're missing something very important," muttered the alicorn princess, her feathers fluttering in thought. "Something important. Oh, did you bring your cell phone?"
"Check. That was the first thing on the list." Spike shook his head. "Twilight, it's just an overnight trip. We'll be fine, I'm with supervision too!"
"I still don't know. Fillydelphia is a long way away for a little dragon..."
"Twilight, yooooooo!" The door kicked in as Lyra stood there with a wide grin and dressed in... well, Twilight didn't quite figure out what she was dressed as. Some kind of school filly? The skirt was there but then she was wearing... was that Princess Luna's enchanted T-shirt? How did...? As if on cue, the T-shirt changed to read "I'm the pony everypony's mom warns about."
"How's my favorite princess that won't send me into the sun?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, Lyra," said Twilight, eyerolling as Lyra mucked with her horse bust on the table in the middle of the room. "Wait, are you ahead of schedule? We've still got stuff to do!"
"Uh, duh, we're early. Big Mac wants to show Spike the sights too. Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
"Yep," replied Big Mac, poking his head into the tree library. Big Mac was missing his harness, a weird thing to see, since he was rarely seen without it, but he was also wearing a T-shirt and overalls. The T-shirt shifted slogans as well, making Twilight realize that Luna must have trademarked the shirt. His read, "Rogues Do It From Behind." She hadn't realized Mac was such a pony. And then she belatedly realized he was friends with Shiny. "Howdy, Twilight."
"Hi Big Mac. Where are you ponies going anyhow?" asked Twilight. "I thought you wanted to go to the Fillydelphia Jazz Festival and come straight back?"
"Puleeze. We usually hit up a few places in between going there. That's why we're starting in early," scoffed Lyra. "Don't worry, Spike's well-protected, and the ride is smooth."
"Aw c'mon, Twilight, I promise we'll stay out of trouble. Right, Big Mac?"
"Eyup." To Twilight's relief, Mac's slogan T-shirt hadn't changed in the interim, and she realized that it was the name of a famous Gryphon Hard Rock Band.
"Who's driving you guys there? Bulkhead?" In the short time that Twilight knew the Autobots, she heard that Bulkhead preferred metal over classical, and yet Lyra shook her head. "It isn't Arcee, is it?"
"Naw. Bee. Bee's a big fan of jazz, and he likes the easy listening. We'll be riding with him all the way there." said Lyra. Twilight blinked, confused.
"How in Equestria are you going to get him through traffic then?" asked Twilight, bewildered.
Her answer came from the sound of a ground-bridge and a beeping as a carriage pulled up, being pulled by a black-and-yellow pony with a honeycomb on his flank. "Hey," said Bumblebee's disguised form.
"Image inducer," replied Big Mac, elaborating for the baffled Twilight. "It makes him look like somepony."
"Well our ride's here. C'mon Twilight, come with us!" pleaded Lyra. "I promise it'll be fun."
"Sorry, I'd love to, everypony, but I have a essay to work on. Maybe next time?" Lyra nodded and Bic Mac smiled. "Bring me a souvenir!"
"You got it," said Lyra, giving her a wink. "C'mon, Spike, Mac. Bee, let's jam!"
"You've got it!" Placing sunglasses on his head, Bumblebee turned on the stereo as electro-synth played from Bumblebee's speakers as the three piled in. Revving the engines in a most-unpony like way, he reared back and disturbing several ponies in the early morning commute.
Talk with your mouth full!
Bite the hand that feeds you!
Bite on more than you chew
What can you do
Dare to be stupid!
And with that, the Autobot peeled off, leaving faint tire tracks as Lyra whooped and Spike yelled. "Yep," said Mac as they sped off in the direction of Fillydelphia.
"... I have such a bad feeling about this..." said Twilight before shutting the door behind her.
=====
Road Trip
=====
Perhaps there was something to be said about travelling in style. The world whipped past them at a rate faster than any steam-powered/pony-pulled train could ever pull them, and the grasslands around the valley surrounding Ponyville disappeared quickly, giving way to the deserts. "We should be reaching Appleloosa in a few minutes," said Lyra, not even having to raise her voice over the sound of Bumblebee's engine.
"Yup. I want to drop off these seeds to Brayburn before we move on," added Big Mac. "He'll be surprised t'see us, since this is an unscheduled stop."
"How many of those can we make? Fillydelphia's two days away by train," said Spike, concerned.
"But only a couple of hours by Autobot. You have to understand I can make speeds of more than 150 kilometers an hour, and your trains only make speeds of fifty at the most," replied Bumblebee, slowing his speed down a little as Appleloosa came into view. "It's the difference between speed and technology. Didn't one of your fillies and Rainbow Dash make it to the Crystal Empire in half a day?"
"Well yeah..." muttered Spike. "Still dunno how that happened..."
"See? Ponies do things that defy logic. And so do Autobots. Slow it a touch more Bee, we're almost into town."
"Got it." Slowing down as much as possible, Bee's avatar came to a canter as he pulled up to the general store in Appleloosa. "All right, Big Mac, where's your cousin?"
"He should be round here," said Big Mac, as Bee popped his trunk and Mac got out. "He should be here any second no--"
"Heya, cuz!" exclaimed Brayburn, suddenly popped into view. "Welcome to Appleloosa! Ah didn't think you'd be coming!"
As Big Mac's hoof was pumped rapidly, he started to reply. "Yep, Ah've--"
"And you've brought friends! Well howdy there, all, and welcome to Appleloosa!" The last was punctuated with a rearing of his front hooves.
"Yeah, I know, I've been here before, Brayburn," deadpanned Spike, used to his theatrics. "How're the buffalo tribes?"
"Oh hi, Spike! They're gettin' along just fine with the farmers, an' they stop for pie. Lookie there, they're some o'them right now! Hey ya'll!" Brayburn waved at a couple of burly buffalo and a smaller feminine one who looked up and waved back before trotting over.
Her expression lit up in recognition of the dragon and exclaimed, "Spike! Hello! It is good to see you again."
"Hey! Lyra, Bee, this is Little Strongheart. She and I go way back. After a mishap with an apple tree and a bit of a showdown," explained Spike, introducing the pair.
"I'm sure it was hilarious in retrospect," said Lyra as her T-shirt changed to read "Can I get a whoop whoop". "Sorry, the T-shirt does that all on its own."
"None taken," replied Little Strongheart. "And Bee, was it?"
"Bumblebee," replied Bumblebee, tipping a hoof at her.
"Oh, are you a beekeeper then?" inquired Brayburn. "We could use somepony who knows how to deal with the bees lately."
"Let's just say I've got a knack for stinging when it counts," chuckled Bee as the others and a "Yep" was heard from Mac.
"Ah've got something fer ya, Brayburn," said Mac, going over and pulling out two bags of seeds, setting them on the deck of the general store's front porch. "After tha' incident wit' the Flim Flams, we fished out the seeds from their dullgarn machine left behind, an' planted the rest tha' we could. The rest, we're givin' to ya'll."
"Well, shucks, cuz, that's mighty fine of you!" exclaimed Brayburn, picking up the bags and slinging them over his back. "Why don't you stay for dinner? We'll be making some apple tarts tonight."
"Sorry, but we're headed to Fillydelphia for the Jazz Festival," replied Lyra. "Gotta show Spike some of the sights on the way there too."
Brayburn and Little Strongheart both wore puzzled expressions. "But Fillydelphia is more than two days away, and the Jazz Festival is tonight," said Little Strongheart. "How are you going to make it in a carriage?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," said Bumblebee with a laugh. "I'm plenty fast. You might say I'm way too fast for anypony."
"Well, if you're so confident, lemme rustle you up all some snacks before you head out. No sense going hungry on the trip there. It'll just be a second. Come on over, kip over to the bakery," invited Brayburn.
"Go ahead, I'll wait here," said Bumblebee, as the others followed the excitable pony, leaving him and Little Strongheart behind. "Not going with them?"
"Who are you, really?" asked the buffalo calf. "You smell of oil and there's a faint smell of acidic smoke coming from the rear of your cart. And when I look at your shadow..."
Bumblebee followed her gaze and sure enough, a huge muscle car was outlined on it. He clicked his tongue. "I'll have to remind Ratchet about that. Note to self: Image inducers don't extend to shadows."
"You're not a pony at all, and this isn't a carriage, is it?" There was a tinge of something in her voice. A sort of deep respect. "Are you... one of them?"
"Them?" asked Bumblebee.
"The Great Spirits. The guardians of our lands before Celestia's reign. They said that they visited our people, imparted the wisdom. Taught us fire, and the hunt, taught us math before they left for the stars. They called them the Sojourners. You're one of them, aren't you?"
"... Yeah, I guess I am," said Bumblebee. "What was his name?"
"Pardon?"
"The Spirit's name, the Sojourner's name. Was it Wheeljack?"
"No... no the legend tells of a powerful beast who walks like a ape. Intelligent, yet spoke in simple terms. We called him Askook, but he could assume the form of a lizard than anything else. And there were more, other names lost to memory, but Askook was the leader, a king."
"... So that's where they went," muttered Bumblebee. "I was wondering where they got off to after the mass exodus from Cybertron happened. It must have happened sometime during the late stages of the war then." And then to Little Strongheart he added, "I might know him. At least I hope he's still alive and out there. His name was Grimlock, if what you're telling me is true. I haven't seen him for ages though. Not for a long time."
"So Askook may live, as with the others... how is it possible?" asked Little Strongheart, bewildered. "They were among our people well before Celestia, well before Discord."
"Our people are extremely long lived. 1500, even 2000 years is a drop in the bucket for us," replied Bumblebee. "If your people had contact with the Autobots, then that makes us nearly kin."
"Kin... I like that idea. I will tell the Elders that I have met with you, Sojourner. Our home is not far from here. Will you be sending an emissary to our lands?"
"Hopefully with any luck. And possibly someone good with talking too." He beeped his horn, making Little Strongheart jump for a moment. "Lyra, Mac, Spike, c'mon, shake a leg!"
"We're coming, hold your engines!" yelled Lyra back.
"I'll put in a call when we're on the road," said Bumblebee with an assuring smile. "You have my word. The Autobots will come visit your tribe."
"Thank you, Sojourner. This means a lot to us."
=====
"You seem awfully quiet, Bee," said Lyra as the landscape passed quietly. Bee had removed his image inducer and the surroundings had changed back into the familiar setting of the insides of Bee's interior. "What's wrong?"
"Just thinking to myself," replied Bumblebee as he took a corner and headed past Dodge Junction, taking the winding paths towards Baltimare and up towards Fillydelphia. They were taking the scenic route since they could afford it, and there was a museum that Mac wanted to show Spike in Baltimare as well. "Every time we go out on these little trips, we find out more and more that Cybertron is connected to Equestria. First it was finding out that this planet apparently had naturally occurring Energon, much less Dark Energon. And then there was Unicron living at the center of our planet..."
"Unicron? Wait you mean that guy who drove Tirek insane?" asked Spike, eyes wide.
"Yeah, him," said Lyra. "Go on, Bee."
"And then everywhere I look, there's Cybertronian relics, histories of visits to this planet. Even more than Earth. One would think with Unicron's body forming Earth that there would be more connection there, but all of it is focused here. On this planet. And that makes me wonder. Just how big is this going to get? We were under the impression for a while that Wheeljack was the first visitor here. Then I find out today that the Dinobots were here even before him. I just don't understand it."
"Sometimes y'don't have to understand it," said Big Mac calmly from the back seat. "Ah've been thinking about this a whole lot since mah guard days an' maybe these things happen fer a reason."
"He has a point. Inexplicable things happen in Equestria, even before the Autobots appeared." said Spike. "The long battles with other nations, dragon incursions, the Shadow War of 50 years ago..."
"If it bothers you so much, then we can make a trip to Cybertron and look through the archives," said Lyra. "I'm sure we can do that later on, right?"
"You're right. After the Festival, we'll go visit Cyberton." Spike's eyes widened in surprise. "This'll be your first time off-world, huh, Spike?"
"I'll say! Another world? How big IS Cybertron anyhow?"
"Pretty big," said Mac. "Ah've seen it a couple of times, an' its huge. It's not green though. Doesn't have to be t'be food-laden for the people it supports."
"You think I should write Twilight and tell her we'll be late coming home? I don't want her to worry..." said Spike.
"Mmm, naw, don't worry. I think she'll be fine. She has enough to worry about, and if anything, Shiny'll be coming over now that his leg is healed up." said Lyra. "Just relax! And enjoy the trip."
=====
"Oof. I dunno about you, but three hours in Bee's front seats are enough to give me cramps, no offence," said Spike as they got out in Baltimare in a out of the way part of the park. Piling out, even Bee dropped his image inducer and transformed back to robot mode before sprawling on the grass. "So where's this museum?"
"Jus' down the street," said Big Mac, pointing with a hoof. "You okay hanging out here, Bee?"
"Go ahead, I'm going to soak up some sunshine," replied Bumblebee, stretching out. "Besides, no one's around so I'll be okay."
"All right, we'll be back in an hour. Plenty of time. You're going to love this place Spike. It's the famous Baltimare Visionary Art Museum. It's absolutely insane in a good way." As they left, and Lyra's T-shirt changed to "Woot," Bumblebee found himself drifting off into a nice shutdown for a while.
Once inside and admission was paid, Spike took a long look around the area and whistled. "Wow...! Look at all of this stuff!"
From floor to floor, the walls, ceilings and even floors were covered in various exhibits. All of them were outside the customary designs of art as Lyra read off some of the featured ones.
"Let's see... Grey Waves' Psychic Energy System Collection. Oh, they still have it. And Frank Buffalo's A Life Devoted to THE END. We've got to see that," enthused Lyra.
"Yep. Both are good," stated Big Mac.
As the small group walked through the exhibits, they rounded the corner as they found a couple of ponies arguing over a painting that seemed to pop in color, abstract but there was a familiarity to at least two of the travellers there.
"It's abstract," one of them was arguing, pointing at the painting. "Star Flash, you have to agree with me on that."
"Nuh-uh, I don't have to agree on anything, Penny Pincher," replied the pony named Star Flash. "It clearly depicts reality!"
"Please, as if anypony would find this to be true," scoffed Star Flash as she pointed at the painting.
Lyra looked at it and her eyes narrowed before widening. Turning to Big Mac, she said, "Isn't that...?"
"Yep," said Big Mac. The painting depicted a lone figure standing on the crust of a planet as space spiralled around as if it was painted by Luna herself. But instead of the moon, a huge planet-sized sphere with an open maw and large grasping claws was reaching for the figure, or was it recoiling? The figure itself was holding a item within his hands, and the item was glowing with a brilliant light, leaping from the painting.
"Optimus," said Lyra, the raw emotion in her voice giving way. The two ponies arguing paused as they looked at her.
"It's just a painting," said Penny Pincher. "There's nothing to be upset about."
"It's not just a painting," argued Star Flash. "The artist clearly painted it, infusing it with raw emotion and thought."
"Um, excuse me, but what's the name of the painting?" asked Spike.
"Well actually... it's got two names, but no one can decide on it," said Star Flash.
"The first one is Equestria Falls," said Penny Pincher with a scoff. "But that's clearly not the case."
"The second, is "In Our Darkest Hour," added Star Flash. "Why?"
Big Mac wrapped an arm around Lyra who pulled close. "It's... complicated. But shouldn't it be both?"
The two mares looked at one another. "I don't follow," said Penny Pincher.
"In Our Darkest Hour, Equestria Falls..." said Big Mac. "But... the title is incomplete."
"No more," said Spike. "It's a stanza. Twilight used to read these all the time, and sort of complete them as a exercise."
"In Our Darkest Hour, Equestria Falls, No More." Penny Pincher and Star Flash looked at it and the pair shared a grin. "Seems about right. Thanks."
As the pair headed off, Lyra smiled at the two. "You know? This has suddenly become my favourite picture out of the whole place."
"Me too."
"Yep."
Upon returning to Bumblebee, the trio related the events to him and he could only chuckle as he assumed vehicle mode. Opening his doors he said, "You know, lately I am not surprised at all. So who painted it?"
"Well, that's the thing. It was submitted by an anonymous donor," replied Lyra as she hopped into the drivers seat. "So it could be anypony."
"Well we'll cross that bridge when we know it. We're making good time, so let's get to Fillydelphia then!" exclaimed Bumblebee, taking off down a side road.
=====
"Fillydelphia's pretty big," remarked Spike as they pulled along the main drag towards the center of the city where the festival was taking place. "How are we going to find parking?"
"Bee will find his place, but we've got tickets for the main gate," said Lyra. "He'll drop us off." Her T-shirt now read "This is the place for partying," and she was nearly bouncing in her seat. "Jazz came ahead and he cleared a spot for Bee to park close enough to enjoy the festival."
"Too bad he can't come inside with us easily," said Spike and Bee chuckled. "Well, they accommodate for some dragons." He pointed out a few dragons, almost fully grown, who were setting up some places to sit down.
"Robots in Disguise, Spike," reminded Bumblebee. "It's not like I can walk in the front door like everyone else."
"It's okay, Spike, we've got arrangements," replied Big Mac. "Let's get inside while we still can."
The town was alight, not just with musicians of all kinds, but with street performers. As they headed into town, a large minotaur passed them by, and Lyra waved at him. "Will!"
"Oh hey," greeted Iron Will with an easy grin. His assistants were nowhere to be seen. "What brings you here? Oh wait, dumb question."
"Aren't you the minotaur who made Fluttershy all kooky one time?" Spike asked suspiciously. Iron Will had the grace to look embarrassed about that. "Well, as long as you're apologetic about it."
"Iron Will's refined his technique since then," admitted Will. "I'm here for the music festival. And playing security for a certain somepony."
"Girlfriend?" teased Lyra and Will coughed. "Wait, it's not..."
The world exploded into fireworks on the other side of the performers as musical fanfare accompanied the appearance of the Great and Powerful Trixie. "Oh," chorused the three Ponyville residents.
"She's not so bad, once you get to know her," said Will. "Pays well once she gets a good amount of cash inflow."
"I thought this was a music festival, not a magic one," scoffed Spike as he watched Trixie perform her magic from afar.
"It's both. Technically it's kind of like a Maredi Gras than anything else, but with music, dancing, street performances and all sorts of stuff," admitted Lyra. "I didn't want Twilight to worry because the Jazz Festival has been mixed into this massive festival for a long time now."
"She would worry if she knew I was basically travelling to a party," agreed Spike.
"Yep," stated Big Mac.
"I've got to get back to security detail," said Will, jabbing a thumb at the stage. "If you see Arcee, say hi for me, will ya?"
"Will do!" As Will headed out, Lyra leaned down to Spike and whispered, "He's not aware Arcee isn't a pony." Her expression brightening, she exclaimed, "Now let's go out and party!"
=====
As Bee soaked in the music coming from the stage, his pony avatar switched off for the duration of his parked state, he was keeping an eye on the proceedings. Jazz was over on the other side of the venue, listening to his music as well. There was a lot of security of course, ponies and a couple of minotaurs and dragons too. It was a big cultural event and even 'Cons knew to stick away from this sort of thing.
Even still, his sensors were on passive and he almost missed the beeping of his communications array. "Bee here," replied Bumblebee, almost grateful for the interruption, since it would relieve him of any potential fears he might have.
"Just checking in, Bumblebee," replied Twilight on the other end and Bee sighed deeply. "How's Spike?"
"I can see him from here. He and the others are having fun here at the festival. Spike picked you something up in Baltimare. So far, so good. Has Shiny dropped by yet?"
"No, and I'm worried. He's almost late. Maybe I should go out and find him," said Twilight on the other end.
"He'll be fine. He's never without his cell and he'll keep in contact with everyone else," soothed Bumblebee.
"I guess you're right, I-- Oh there he is. And he brought a friend. Okay, I'll talk to you later, Bumblebee." And with a click, Twilight hung up.
"Worried about nothing," chuckled Bee, hanging up as well. Leaning back, he deigned to listen to the music that was presented to him.
Hours later, when the festival was winding down and Spike was starting to yawn, Bee pulled up to the hotel that they had booked and parked, letting them out. "Tomorrow, we'll get a space-bridge," promised Bee as Mac carried Spike over his back. "You guys sleep well."
"Yeah, sleep well, Bee." said Lyra, yawning as she and Mac headed inside, carrying their things and one already snoring baby dragon.
The night went on, as Bee kept watch. It was mostly uneventful save for a couple of drunk college ponies trying to break into his interior, but a swift alarm deterred them from following through. He caught a few rest cycles before morning came and soon, after breakfast was picked up through a drive-thru at Wonder Hay, the group was already on the road.
"All right, are you prepared for the trip of your life, Spike?" chuckled Bee as Spike yawned loudly.
"Ready and waiting. I could--yawn--barely sleep."
"Bumblebee to base, I need a space-bridge to Cybertron."
Soon the space-bridge opened. It looked the same as a ground-bridge as Bee zoomed through it. But the trip took much longer than usual, and soon they appeared on a large receiving highway where they were met by a couple of Autobots.
"Perceptor, Ironhide," greeted Bee as he pulled up and dropped his image inducer.
"On a visit today?" inquired Perceptor. "With natives, no less."
"We're here to see the Iacon Archives," replied Lyra cheerfully. "Bee wants to check something out."
"Yep," said Mac.
"Well, everything checks out. I'll tell Hound that you're coming," replied Perceptor. "Good luck."
As the group drove off, Spike gazed around at the scenery. "Everything's so... grey." He said. "Definitely not very colorful."
"At the height of its life, Cybertron was full of color, mostly from the lights. But during the war, most of that was destroyed." Heading down the road towards Iacon, Bee pulled up to a security check, was scanned and let through. "It's here where everything is stored, in the Archives. Only Primes are allowed in, but since Team Prime are considered highest rank so far..."
"There hasn't been a Prime since Optimus," said Lyra. "And the Matrix of Leadership went with him. We retrieved Optimus' body and the Matrix itself, but there's no spark to it."
"How did he die?" asked Spike.
"He sacrificed himself, joined his spark with the core of the planet at the Well of AllSparks," said Big Mac. "I was there when it happened, along with Lyra, Shiny and Cadance. Along with many of our human allies."
"It wasn't a sad parting, more of a hopeful one. We were able to bring back some of our old friends and make new ones too. Some of them even retained their old memories as well," said Bee as he pulled up to a vast computer database and let the ponies and Spike out. Transforming, he added, "We've never actually restored Optimus, though. I think he's finally one with the AllSpark."
Typing in several commands, he got in quickly and started scrolling. "Every ship that departs from Iacon is logged, and their flight path traced. Ah, here we go."
He frowned. "Fifteen flight paths alone... a couple of them logged to the Dinobots, the Wreckers both Wheeljack and others, and something else... the Ark?"
"Didn't the Ark land on Earth? Why would it try to land on Equestria?" asked Lyra as Bee worked quickly.
"It looks like it was going to, but was diverted off course by the Nemesis. The Ark then slipped through a transwarp gate, a naturally occurring one around Equestrian orbit, and landed on Earth in prehistoric times. But that's not right, transwarp technology was lost." Bee's brow furrowed and his optics narrowed. "Transwarp is like time travel, but in one way. For a natural gate to appear, it could be like a space-bridge, in two directions."
"So something from the past could have come through to our world," said Lyra. "Or from the future?"
"Or from a different reality altogether. This bears looking into," said Bee, downloading the info. "I'll get started on cross-referencing this, but we should bridge back to Equestria. Twilight will be wondering where Spike is by now."
"Agreed," said Mac. "Ah've got farm work to take care of."
"Then it's settled. Bee, I hope you find what you're looking for," said Lyra.
"Yeah, me too," added Spike.
"Thanks, you guys."
=====
"I'm home!" exclaimed Spike as he walked into the tree house. "Twilight, are you here?"
"In the kitchen," said Twilight as Spike walked in and found Shining there. "How's my number one assistant doing?"
"A little tired, but excited. The festival was GREAT. Hey, Shiny!" The pair shared a hoof-fist. "Four cups of tea?"
"For our visitor," replied Twilight as a large stallion stepped out from the library area. "Spike, say hello to Orion."
"Hello, Spike," said Orion with a surprisingly deep voice. "I have heard many things about you."
"Hi there," said Spike with a smile. "You know, you remind me of somepony."
"I cannot imagine who," chuckled Orion as he sat at the table. "But I'd imagine it would be a tale."
"Where did you all meet?" inquired Spike.
"Well... I found him in a cabbage patch of all things..." said Shining, taking a sip.
To Be Continued in Resurrection
