"W-What have you DONE to me?!" Twilight stammered, still examining her new servos.
"What?" Knockoff deadpanned. "What do you mean, 'what'? It's blatantly obvious! I just-" the blue mech sighed before placing a servo over his temple. "Nevermind, you're probably just still in shock. No matter. Perhaps you would get a better feel of your new form from a test-run..."
Twilight gulped at the sadistic tone in Knockoff's last phrase.
"We'll start with the basics," he informed her. "Take a step forward."
Twilight had no choice but to comply. Oddly, she found that walking on two legs, something she had never done before in her life and by all means should be horrible at, to be extremely simple. The action was as automatic for her as walking on four legs. It didn't take her long to figure out that her robot mode had probably been programmed with basic things such as walking.
"Good!" Knockoff said. "Now, try two steps."
She unwillingly followed the order.
“OK, getting a bit more complex- transform into your vehicular mode.”
“Vehicular mode?” the femme questioned. “What-? AHK!” Her question was cut short as she felt herself fold in on herself and fall forward, hitting the ground lightly. Her eye line was now only a few inches off the ground. A heads-up-display appeared in her field of vision, displaying a rotating, 3D image of a square object with wheels on the front and strange triangular... THINGS on the back. She assumed this to be what she looked like now- this was her vehicle mode.
“A research vehicle,” Knockoff nodded. “Appropriate, though a bit impractical. The treads in the rear would make it relatively slow...”
Treads- so that's what those triangular things are called, she thought.
“Now, try driving along the track marked on the ground.”
Twilight looked around before noticing a messily-painted running track on the floor. She felt her engine start up, and her wheels started moving, along with her ‘treads’. As predicted, her vehicular mode was very slow, and it took her a half minute just to reach the track.
“There has GOT to be some way to speed this up, "Failsafe muttered impatiently.”
Knockoff examined the schematics of Twilight’s vehicle mode. “Yes, there is. Activate hover conversion!”
Twilight’s form suddenly stopped, her wheels and treads then flipped underneath her frame. She let out a small yelp as she felt herself being lifted up a few inches by small thrusters that had been hidden under her vehicle mode. She then shot forward, travelling three times faster than she had been via ground travel. She made two laps around the track before Knockoff ordered her to stop and resume her robot form.
"OK, now turn to the left," the blue mech ordered.
Sighing, Twilight whirled ninety degrees to the left.
"See that target?"
She looked at a crude, metal stand with a bulls-eye painted on it and nodded.
"Shoot it."
Twilight's eyes widened. "With what?"
"Good question. Let me see..." Her back was now facing the observation platform. She didn't know what he was doing now, but she could guess he was looking at a computer screen. "And that's odd. According to scans, the Cyberformator gave your robot mode no weapons of any kind."
Twilight cocked a metal eyebrow- not that they could see. "'Cyberformator'?"
"Working name," Knockoff explained. "But that is beside the point. It seems that you should be able to focus your magical energy into a concentrated blast. Try that."
Twilight looked to her forehead to see that, above her now-metal hair, there was a slightly more angular version of her unicorn horn. As she concentrated, it began to glow a soft purple.(You might want to take another look at this line. It makes her seem like she’s going along with it now rather than being forced.) Seeing this, she tried to tilt her head so that her horn was aimed at the target...
Only to screech in surprise as the ground next to her right foot exploded.
"Oh, the magic bolts will come from your hand," Knockoff stated. "Probably should have mentioned that before."
Twilight gritted her titanium teeth. She didn't need to see his face to know that Knockoff was messing with her.
"Now, let's try again..." the blue mech insisted.
Again, Twilight's horn began to glow. This time, she also noticed a similar glow around her right hand. Raising her arm, she pointed her palm at the target. Part of the aura around her appendage broke off and flew across the room at a shockingly fast pace before hitting the target dead center.
She squeaked in surprise as her bolt not only struck the target, but exploded, sending smoldering bits of metal flying ten feet away from where they once stood.
"Good! VERY good!" Knockoff said, the sadistic tone returning to his voice. "Your energy output has been greatly increased form your pathetic pony form. Now spin around one hundred and eighty degrees."
Twilight followed the order, finding herself facing the observation platform. On the wall under the glass room she could see a two foot tall cylinder.
"Now, focus some of your magic into an electric energy state."
The purple femme gulped as the glow returned to her horn and hands. She raised both of her hands, the aura around them crackling with lavender lightning. She unwillingly released the energy, causing it to arc through the air until it hit the cylinder, which she guessed was some kind of energy storage capsule. The lightning seemed to be absorbed by the machine, causing a small rectangular readout on the side to glow yellow, starting at the bottom and rising to the top, signifying that the cylinder had been filled to capacity. Seeing this, Twilight deactivated her energy flow.
"Excellent!" Knockoff hissed. "The battery has been charged to full capacity. How do you feel energy wise?"
"Why would I tell you?" Twilight inquired.
"Tell me!" Knockoff commanded.
"I don't feel drained in the slightest," she said, before unsuccessfully trying to clamp a hand over her mouth. She realized he could even control her speech with a simple command.
The blue robot smirked wickedly. "Good. Failsafe, mark the seventh test as a success."
"Why am I the seventh test?" Twilight asked.
"Well, you see," Knockoff explained, "You weren't the first one of your friends that we Cyberformed."
Twilight replied by laughing, much to the surprise of the three robots observing her.
"Is she crazy?" Grimstone asked.
"You're one to talk," Failsafe retorted.
The purple femme stopped laughing long enough to explain herself. "I'm calling your bluff. There are six total friends in my group, INCLUDING me."
Knockoff stared at her with a completely straight face as he stated, "What, your little dragon doesn't count?"
Twilight's smile fell like a starcruiser that had been shot out of the sky. In the insanity of the situation, she had completely forgotten that Spike had been with them when they had been attacked.
"I-I still don't believe you!" she exclaimed.
Knockoff's smirk returned. "See for yourself."
With that he pushed a button on a control panel. Below the observation deck and in front of Twilight, a section of the wall extended outwards before sliding to the left to reveal-
Twilight gasped as her optics widened. In the recess in the wall were six robots, bolted to the wall. She had never seen them before, but from their color schemes it was obvious who they were.
Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike.
"You... did this to my friends, too?" she asked softly.
"Well DERR!" Grimstone retorted, pulling a stupid expression. "We just told you! Were you even listening?!"
But Twilight wasn't listening- at least, not now. At the moment, she was fuming at the thought of them hurting her friends; she recalled the intense amounts of pain the 'Cyberforming' process had been, and how they must have reacted. Her anger only grew as she imagined the horrified, sad screaming of Pinkie Pie, or pained crying of Fluttershy, neither of whom had ever done a harmful thing toward anypony in their lives- at least, not without a heartfelt apology afterwards.
"Aw, is da widdle pony-bot angwy?" Knockoff mocked.
"Yes, I am angry..." Twilight muttered, the intensity of her eye-glow growing. "VERY angry..."
"And let me guess," Failsafe chuckled. "We won't like you when you're angry."
Twilight's head whipped upwards to face the observation deck, her eyes now glowing pure white. "Nope."
An alarm suddenly started blaring in the observation room.
"What the-" Knockoff studied the readouts displayed on a screen in disbelief. "Impossible! She's breaking through the shell programming!"
Twilight then raised her arms, lightning gathering around her servos, just as she had before.
Only this time, she was doing it willingly.
The energy erupted from her hands and struck the six robots in the wall. However, rather than damage them as one might expect, the energy focused itself around the clamps holding them down, causing them to snap open. At the same time, some of the energy shocked the six robots, bringing them back online.
"She's breaking their shell programming also!" Failsafe exclaimed, staring at a computer screen.
"Yah don't say?!" Knockoff retorted as he desperately tried to shut down Twilight's systems to no avail.
Down below, the six robots were waking up and gaining their bearings.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack muttered as she fell free from the clamps and landed on the floor. Her robot form was mostly orange with bits of brown and red. Her stetson had made it into her her form, perched in a metal state on her head. She appeared to be wearing a cowgirl vest and cutoff shorts. Wheels mounted on her shoulders and heels suggested that she had a ground-based vehicle mode.
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed as her systems rebooted. The butter-yellow robot was highlighted with pink accents. Her wings had been converted into blades that rose above her shoulderpads. On her torso was what appeared to be a glass box. This was likely a part of her vehicle mode, which was obviously a flying vehicle of some sort.
"Ugh, not cool!" Rainbow said as her processor reeled from suddenly being reactivated. She was mainly blue-and-yellow, retaining her signature rainbow mane and tail in a metal form. She was sleek and agile, her wings now thin metal slabs that were mounted on her back and hung down under her shoulders. Like Fluttershy, she had a glass box on her torso, though hers was more rounded and sleek. Her cutie mark was stamped onto her hips
"This is highly uncouth!" Rarity complained as she landed on her stabilizing servos.She was mainly white-and-ice-blue with purple accents. Sheets of white metal hung off of her hips, giving the impression of a metal dress. Displayed on these slabs was her cutie mark. Her purple hair was still perfectly curled, through the curls seemed to be more angular than before. She had wheels mounted on her forearms and inside her high-heeled feet.
“WEEEEEEEE!” Pinkie squealed as she dropped to the floor. Her robot mode was mostly two shades of pink with some yellow and blue scattered throughout. her mane was still a poofy mess, though it was now poofy mess made out of titanium. She had wheels on her shoulders and heels, as well as lights on her feet and glass on her torso. Like Rainbow, her cutie mark was displayed on her hips.
“OUCH!” Spike cried out as he did a faceplate-plant on the hard floor. The overall shape of his robot form was short and stout, especially contrasted by the slender forms of the femmes. His arms seemed to be made out of 'treads', colored a light green.
“Oh slag!” Knockoff swore as the energy from Twilight's impressive display began shorting out the computer systems and eventually shattered the glass of the observation deck.
"Are you guys alright?" Twilight asked, the glowing of her eyes dimming back to their original purple.
"Mostly, yes," Rarity said as she examined her hands, "Though it appears that our new metal complexions were not a bad dream, as I had hoped."
"Nevermind that," Applejack interrupted, "We gotta get out of here!"
Three consecutive metal clangs drew their attention to the space behind Twilight where they found Knockoff, Failsafe and Grimstone, weapons drawn.
"I suggest you go back into stasis," Knockoff sneered, his large under-slung gun charging.
"Ha! Y'all can't take on all of us at once!" Applejack stated as she pulled what seemed to be a metal lasso from behind her back. "Y'all showed us how to use our fancy new weapons, an' now we'll use them tah kick yer flanks back to... Uh... Wherever you came from!"
"Oh please," Knockoff mocked. "You may know how to use your weapons, but you don't have the skill to use them well!"
"We'll see about that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as a pair of flamethrowers extended out of her forearms. She took aim at their three opponents and activated the flames... sending her flying backwards and crashing into the wall.
Applejack then decided to follow through on her threat and activated her lasso, throwing the looped end towards Failsafe. However, instead of wrapping around him, it curled around and looped itself around Rarity.
"Hey!" the white robot complained. "Careful! You'll scratch my... uh, paint, I guess..."
"Take this you big meanies!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as a panel in her arm opened and an impossibly large blue cannon extended out of it. "Party Cannon Extreme!" She chanted as she fired what seemed to be a sparkling firework that dodged and weaved randomly through the air until it hit the floor and exploded into a shower of sparking confetti. "Ha ha!" Pinkie laughed, until she realized that the projectile had exploded only two feet away from her, leaving her enemies completely unharmed. "Oh."
Knockoff folded his arms and chuckled with amusement. "Now THIS is truly pathetic."
"Yeah? Let's see how you like this!" Spike exclaimed as he folded into a small, treaded vehicle with a large box on its back. The box then opened up, revealing eighteen small missile pods, arranged in two square groups of nine. He fired the missiles one by one, but like Pinkie's projectile, they flailed around randomly, almost hitting some of the pony-bots. Reassuming his robot form, he muttered, "Whoops."
One missile, however, rocketed away from the group and blew a sizable hole in the wall, revealing a cave behind it.
"Out there!" Twilight exclaimed as she telekinetically picked up the battery she had charged from her test and threw it at the three evil robots. She then shot a bolt of magic at the cylinder, causing it to explode and knock her opponents over.
The seven robots took full advantage of this distraction by running towards the fresh opening and into the cave the hallway. It was lined with several lights that illuminated the path, revealing a variety of twists, turns and different passages to take.
Following Twilight, the new robots took off running down one passage, before making a right, then a left, then another left.
"Where are we going?" Rarity inquired.
"I have no idea!" Twilight replied. "I'm looking for a computer that I can get a map from!"
"No offense," Applejack spoke up, "But ah kinda doubt they just have a bunch of free maps layin' around for their escaped prisoners to use."
They suddenly heard the sounds of jet engines in a hallway far behind them.
"They're going to catch up to us!" Rarity shrieked. "We need to move faster!"
"Then transform!" Twilight shouted back to her.
"Are you kidding me?!" Rarity retorted. "Do you have any idea what this horrible rock floor will do to my wheels?!"
"Just do it!" Twilight replied as she folded into her armored research vehicle mode, making sure to activate her hover conversion for extra speed.
The others soon followed this example- Applejack turned into a pickup, Rarity into a sleek car, Rainbow into a jet, Fluttershy into a helicopter, Pinkie into a round car, and Spike into his tank mode, which also had a hover conversion. They found their vehicle modes to be significantly faster than their robot forms, much to their relief.
Twilight used her vehicle mode's onboard computer and distance calculator to start creating a rough map of the hallways they had been down. She had no idea how she knew how to do this, but she wasn't complaining.
A blip suddenly appeared on her map.
“Guys, I’m picking up an energy signature!” she informed them.
“Say what?” Rainbow questioned.
“There’s something in one of the rooms up ahead!” Twilight said before stopping and transforming. She found herself faced with a metal door .
“Twilight, what are you doing?!” Spike exclaimed as he and the others skidded to a stop next to her. “We gotta get out of here!”
“We weren’t the only ones there when Knockoff and his goons captured us, remember?” Twilight said as she charged her magic and blew down the door, chunks of mismatched metal scattering across the floor. “Hold them off if they get here.”
“How, exactly?” Rainbow asked as the sound of Knockoff, Failsafe and Grimstone’s jet engines grew louder.
Twilight ignored her and entered the room- and gasped at what she saw. Strapped to a metal slab on the stone wall was a green robot with light gray and black detailing. His chest had been stripped away, and a strange ray-gun-like machine was shooting purple energy into the open wound.
“Legatron!” Twilight exclaimed. To her surprise and mild horror, the robot’s head rotated slightly to look at her. He was conscious, despite the immense amounts of pain the machine must have been causing him.
“T-Twilight?” he stammered weakly, squinting to get a better look at her.
The pony-turned-robot responded by shooting a bolt of energy that destroyed the ray gun.
“Woah,” Legatron said, his blue optics widening. “That’s... you... look... good, actually. Did the others get the same treatment?”
Twilight nodded as she shot the clamps holding him to the wall. “What were they doing to you?"
Legatron landed on his feet- and immediately toppled over from weakness, clutching his open chest. Fortunately, Twilight caught him before he hit the ground.
"Trying to replace my... AllSpark circuitry.. with Dark Energon based circuits," he weakly panted. "You stopped the process... soon enough... for me to be able... to regenerate the circuits... eventually..."
She put his arm around her shoulders and helped him stand up. "First things first," she started. "We have to escape."
The sounds of explosions outside, as well as rocks falling, signified the close proximity of their enemies.
"The Nemesii have a Ground Bridge... somewhere in here..." Legatron pointed out.
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "The who have what?"
"Knockoff and his men are called the Nemesii..." he explained, "And they have a... sort of teleporter we can use... to escape... set your scanners for Transwarp energy..."
Twilight nodded, instructing her internal computer to scan for the energy. She really had no idea what she was doing, but when her scanners detected a signal, she decided not to question it.
"C'mon, girls!" She said as she exited the room to find her friends in defensive positions. Behind them, the cave had collapsed, cutting off the route they had taken.
When she looked at the other questioningly, Rarity shrugged. "They were almost here, so we did what popped into mind first. Oh, good, you found Legatron!"
"Hey," the green mech replied weekly with a small wave. “You all look awesome, by the way,” he said, referring to their new robot forms.
"I know how to get us out of here," Twilight explained as she turned and pointed down the cave. "This way!"
The others responded by returning to their vehicle modes.
"Can you transform?" Twilight asked Legatron.
"Even if I could, I couldn't fly," he replied.
Applejack rolled up in her pickup mode. "They said ah was supposed tah be a transport vehicle ah some sort..."
"Works for me!" Twilight said as she placed the injured robot in the truck's bed. His back leaned up against the cab, and his legs bent over the tailgate, almost sliding against the ground. Applejack's metal lasso then wrapped around him, acting as a tie-down.
"Oh, yeah, there's nothing awkward about this..." Legatron complained.
"Would yah rather we left yah behind?" the orange truck asked as she began to accelerate.
The sounds of the Nemesii breaking down the makeshift rock wall then echoed through the tunnel.
"Forget I said anything," Legatron replied in a mutter.
Twilight, now in her vehicle’s hover mode, led the way, trying to navigate through the twists and turns of the cave to find the Ground Bridge.
At last, they came to another large, patchwork metal door. Behind it, Twilight detected a large amount of stored Transwarp energy.
“Right here!” she exclaimed as she stopped in front of the door. She was about to change to her robot form to blast it down when Spike rolled up and, activating his missile pods, reduced it to scrapmetal.
“You seem to be very good and creating exits for us today,” Rarity said as she drove by the small purple tank.
“Aw, thanks,” Spike replied, soaking up the praise from his crush like a sponge as he entered the room. After all eight of them were safely inside, Twilight blasted the ceiling above the open doorway, causing a mini-rockslide that blocked the entrance.
Ahead of them was a large, hollowed out room containing a massive computer terminal. On the other end of the room was another cave that was lined with metal, making it look like the inside of a massive, tin can.
“What do we have to do to activate this thing?” Twilight asked Legatron as she helped him out of Applejack’s truck bed and over to the computer. The green robot lifted his free right hand to the keyboard and began typing commands.
The sound of the explosions breaking through the rock wall then echoed through the room.
"Hurry!” Rainbow prompted.
“Hey, YOU try working while... half of your insides... have been turned into... poison,” Legatron panted, his condition obviously deteriorating again.
The computer made a negative beeping sound as a red 'X' appeared on the screen.
"Scrap... I can't get past... the passcode locks!" Legatron explained.
“Let me try," Twilight said. She walked over to the computer and examined it before seeing a small access port. She felt her something on her right hand- looking down, she saw that the tip of her index finger had opened up, revealing a connector to the access port on the computer. Grinning, she clicked it into the computer. After mere seconds, she stated, "I'm in! ...what do I put in for the coordinates?"
"The last used settings," Legatron explained, now sitting back in Applejack's truck bed. "It should be... close to Ponyville..."
With another explosion, part of the makeshift rock barricade collapsed
Finally, the large metal tunnel began lighting up blue.
“Now! GO!” Twilight ordered, prompting the others to drive into the glowing tunnel.
“Oh, and one more thing," Legatron said as Applejack began accelerating
“What?” Twilight asked her while index finger closed
He pointed to the computer. “Blast it, then RUN.”
Twilight nodded, waiting until the others were through before taking aim at the computer.
Before she could blast it, she heard more of the barricade give way. Looking back, she saw Failsafe climbing through a hole in the rocks, struggling to fit through the small opening.
She then unleashed the energy that had been charging around her hand, reducing the computer terminal to molten slag.
"NO!" Failsafe shouted as he witnessed the destruction to his team's property.
Acting fast, Twilight bolted for the tunnel, which was already shutting down. She entered it and leapt into the glowing blue vortex an instant before it closed.
Failsafe finally managed to pull himself through the rocks. He was soon followed by Grimstone and Knockoff, who stared in horror at the destroyed Ground Bridge Terminal.
The tunnel suddenly sprang back to life, Transwarp energy flailing randomly in tendril-like bolts that scorched everything they struck.
“This is gonna suck,” Knockoff commented as the ground bridge exploded in a brilliant flash of light that engulfed the entire room, the three evil robots included.
Author's Note
Twilight Sparkle- The last of her friends to be Cyberformed, but the first to break free, Twilight is the most fascinated with her new powers out of all of them. Everything from her computer-enhanced brain to boosted magic energy levels to new biology fascinates her. IN her vehicle mode she has an onboard computer system that can operate independently from her brain, allowing her to focus on two situations at once. She can also access just about any computer terminal via a port located in her right index finger. She can focus her magic into a beam of energy, or solidify it into simple weapons, such as a sword or shield.
Trivia: Exactly how much her magic power has been increase by has yet to be figured out by anyone, but it is very likely that her total possible energy output far exceeds that of the Princesses.
Rainbow Dash- Boastful and daring as ever, Rainbow has found a new degree of flying in her jet mode. Her sleek metal exterior, combined with rocket boosters and jet engines, means she can fly at speeds physically impossible for her organic pony form to achieve. Her rocket boosters are mounted in her forearms in robot mode and can be adjusted to function as weaponized flamethrowers, spewing multicolored fire at her opponents. While this attack isn’t strong enough to burn through Cybertronian alloy, it can melt through weaker metals, and the brightness is enough to temporarily blind optical sensors. She is the fastest and most agile of the Equestrions, but Applejack takes the lead for strength.
Trivia: She has the most problems controlling her weapons, as she often forgets to switch them from the ‘rocket booster’ setting to the ‘flamethrower’ setting (and vice versa) before using them.
Fluttershy- Being a robot has not done much to help Fluttershy’s fear of anything that moves (and isn’t a small, cuddly animal). Though her armor plating help protect her from danger, she is just as paranoid and easily frightened as ever. At times, her fear can be so great her rotor blades will seize up. She is not armed with any weapons, which is probably for the best. Instead she is outfitted with a medical scanner, extensive knowledge of Cybertronian anatomy, small tools built into her fingers, and even the ability to temporarily slow down rapidly deteriorating damage long enough for her to fix her patient.
Trivia: She is one of the most powerful Equestrions, as her healing powers can prolong fatal injuries, and subsequently death, for a short time.
"What are you waiting for?! Run!"
"We're not leaving you here!"
"You don't have any other choice! They're almost here, and they're not happy!"
"No! We won't leave!"
"Twilight, they're going to kill you. All of you. And without the Elements, you're-"
BOOM!
"Slag, they're here! GO!"
"C'mon, Twilight!"
Crunch, crackle...
"Look out, the ceiling's falling in!"
CRACKLE, SNAP...
CRASH!
**********
Pain. Incredible pain, all over. Cuts and bruises, maybe even a few fractured and broken bones...
Cold. Something cold, touching the skin, flat against her back, and wrapped around the midsection and limbs, holding them in place.
"Well, look who's finally awake..."
Twilight slowly cracked her eyes open, wincing at the pain this action caused. The bright light of wherever she was temporarily blinded her, forcing her to wait until her eyes adjusted before opening them anymore than they were.
When she did, what she saw made her already-racing heart increase. Crouching down slightly in front of her was a five-foot-tall, bipedal being who seemed to be made of metal. This in-and-of itself wasn't much of a surprise, as Twilight had seen many robots from other universes over the last few months. However, this robot was one she hadn't seen before. Though he appeared to be fairly skinny in build, his light red armor had a shape that could be compared to that of the Samurai of ancient Japon, appearing to give him a bit of extra bulk. On his chest sat an insignia the same shape as one she was very familiar with, though at the same time, its unusual purple coloration made it completely alien.
"Hello, my little pony," the mech taunted, squinting his blood red eyes and smirking tauntingly. "Did you have a nice nap?"
Another robot popped out from behind the other one. He appeared to be a similar design to the first robot, losing the samurai armor and gaining a black and gray coloration, as well as a pair of wings.
"Ooh hoo hoo, she's awake!" the newcomer grinned like a madpony as he approached Twilight, leaning down slightly to be on eye level with her. "Hello, my little pony!"
"I already said that," the red robot pointed out.
"Don't care," the new bot replied, not dropping his creepishly cheery demeanor for a second.
Twilight blinked in confusion as her keen perception picked up on something- despite the fact that these robots were clearly over a foot taller than her, they only needed to bend down a few inches to be on eye level with her. As her senses continued to return to her (bringing a considerable amount of additional pain as they did so) she looked down and realized she was plastered flat against a sheet of metal that was likely propped up against a wall. This was the cold she had felt earlier. Metal rings were attached around her legs and abdomen- more cold feelings.
"Are you two done yet?" A third voice cried from an unseen location. His voice echoed loudly, leading Twilight to conclude that she was in a large room.
"Aww, can't we play with the pony a bit more, Knockoff?" the black and gray robot begged, clasping his hands and looking upwards.
"No, Grimstone, get up here," 'Knockoff' ordered. "You, too, Failsafe."
The two robots grumbled under their breaths before turning away and disappearing from Twilight's view.
She drew in a sharp, shocked breath. The entirety of the room she was in came into view as the robots left her sight. It was indeed a large space, seeming to be made entirely of metal. The quality of the metal varied from new sheet metal to rusted scrap that was almost falling off of the walls. Wires and cables hung out of the many gaps in the walls and ceiling, making the place look like it was carelessly thrown together from parts found in a junkyard. Twilight wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.
The most interesting part of the room was the massive machine hanging from the center of the ceiling. She couldn't tell much what it looked like, as she was viewing it head on, but it had a large antenna on the front that was pointed right at her. Twilight guessed the device to be about as large as an elephant, making her wonder just how the shoddy construction of the room was able to keep it suspended.
"Welcome, Twilight Sparkle," 'Knockoff's' voice again echoed throughout the room. The purple unicorn painfully craned her neck upward to see a large glass observatory attached to the top-right side of the room. Inside it, three robots were just visible- Twilight recognized Grimstone and Failsafe, coming to the conclusion that the third one was Knockoff.
"Whuh..." she said, finding it hard to speak.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Grimstone mocked, cupping a servo around his audio receptor. "I can't hear you all the way down there!"
"I said stop that," Knockoff ordered his comrade.
"Why... am I here?" Twilight said, her voice barely a whisper. It was all she was capable of.
"Because we need you for the final phase of our operation," Knockoff explained, looking down and fiddling with what could only be some controls in front of him. "You're part seven of our little puzzle."
Part seven? Twilight pondered. Is he talking about me and my friends? But there's only six Elements...
"You see," Knockoff continued, "We have a thing for merging different technologies from throughout the Multiverse with our own."
"Like those Daleks things," Failsafe mentioned. "Extremely formidable on their own, almost literally unstoppable when fused with our Cybertronian technology." His gaze became unfocused. "Shame they went rouge on us."
"B-but... we d-don't have advanced t-technology..." Twilight stammered.
"This is true," Knockoff admitted. "Your technology is absolutely pathetic; even worse than those human meatbags. But you have something FAR more interesting than circuits and wires..."
Twilight could just make out Knockoff leaning closer to the glass, an effect that would have been much more sinister were he not across the large room.
"You have MAGIC," he finished.
Twilight gulped, suddenly understanding the full gravity of the situation. "You want to put my magic in a robot?"
Knockoff considered this for a moment before responding. "You might say that..."
"B-but are you sure m-my magic would even work in a robot?" Twilight said, trying to stall for time... not that it seemed like there was anything that would come to her rescue.
"Of course!" Knockoff replied as he and the other two robots continued readying equipment. "I mean, I'm sure you remember how well Nightmare Moon turned out. Granted, she was given her robot form through a VERY different method. Though we have already proved this new method to be a success..."
Before Twilight could consider this, the massive, hanging machine in front of her lit up. Light blue energy formed a crackling halo around it, specifically the antenna-like appendage that was jutting out of the front- and aimed right at her.
She felt her heart quicken- at this point she was worried it would give out from overuse.
This was the least of her worries as a bolt of energy leapt from the machine's antenna, arced through the air, then engulfed her entire body.
If she thought the pain she felt when she woke up was unbearable, then this was pure agony. Despite her aching throat, she couldn't stop herself from screaming at the top of her lungs as she felt every molecule of her body being ripped apart and re-formed. The intense light blinded her, filling her vision with nothing but a white glare that felt like it was literally burning her retinas. Among the sound of her agonized cry and the activated machine, she thought she could hear the three robots laughing mockingly.
After what seemed like hours, but was likely only a minute or two, the beam stopped and the machine shut off with a descending mechanical whine.
Slumped forward, Twilight breathed fast and heavily as her vision slowly returned to her. She didn't see how this was possible as a light if such intensity should have permanently blinded her, or at the very least impaired her vision for a much longer period of time.
With simultaneous mechanical clinks, the bonds around her limbs and midsection loosened, freeing her. She fell the short distance to the floor, leaning forward in mid-air to land on her hooves, not unlike a cat. Twilight was surprised she was able to pull this off as she had never been the most agile pony.
Something suddenly dawned on her- she was free. All she had to do now was find the door and blast it open with her magic- heck, forget the door, she could probably just blow a hole in the wall and exit that way.
She attempted to move, but oddly found that she couldn't. Her hooves seemed as though they had been welded to the floor. She tried twisting her leg, to no avail. Her eyes darted around, and her head could tilt and turn slightly, but other than that, she was completely frozen in place.
"Wh-what did you do to me?!" she exclaimed, finding that she could talk as well.
"You're now under our control," Knockoff's voice boomed through the room. "Take a step forward."
Twilight tried to protest, but instead found herself involuntarily stepping forward.
"And another two," Failsafe added.
She unwillingly complied.
"Now do the chicken dance!" Grimstone exclaimed.
"Negate that," Knockoff ordered before Twilight could begin the dance, much to her relief.
"Now, transform."
Twilight glanced up at the observation deck in confusion- before feeling herself split apart. She cried out in surprise as a strange blue energy, not unlike that which was shot at her minutes ago, ran along her fur and changed it into metal. Her body stood up on her hind legs, shifting her center of balance. Some of her purple metal folded away to reveal pink armor. Her muzzle and much of her face folded around her chin and into her neck. Her irises grew until her entire eye was glowing purple, a lightly colored pupil blinking on.
When the transformation was completed, she examined on herself. She had become a bipedal, purple and pink robot. Like her pony form, she only had limited movement- just enough movement to look down at her new hands. They reminded her of Spike's claws.
"Welcome to the glory of the Cybertronian race, Twilight Sparkle," Knockoff sneered. "Enjoy your stay... because you won't EVER be leaving."
Author's Note
Grimstone- The most insane of the Nemesii, Grimstone is always babbling nonsense about whatever pops into his flawed processor. This insanity greatly annoys his comrades to the point where one may wonder why they keep him around. The answer is that he is actually a decent fighter. His style is random and ever-changing, switching from swords to guns to bare servos in a matter of seconds. There is no logic behind these changes- they are as random as he is.
Trivia: It was his idea to come to the ponyverse and experiment with Cyberforming ponies.
Failsafe- Failsafe has one of the strangest fascinations of any bot you will meet- cliche's. Maybe it's part of some attempt to blend in with others, or maybe he'd just crazy, but it is no stretch to say that Failsafe has never had an original idea in his life. This actually comes in handy at times, as his processor is filled with various battle plans and fighting strategies that he can call up at a moment's notice, which is useful for getting out of a tight spot. That is, if he knows what the situation is, provided his short intention span hasn't caused him to zone out. He is also a triple changer, capable of assuming both ground and air modes, though he rarely uses his ground form
Trivia: Despite his love of all things overdone, he actually greatly dislikes his samurai-like armor, but doesn't know how to change it.
Knockoff- The original Nemesii, Knockoff was and evil clone created by a mad scientist in attempt to destroy his heroic template. However, the scientist made the fatal mistake of making every bit of Knockoff's personality the opposite of his counterpart. This resulted in him being very strong, but also dumb as a rock. However, exposure to the Time Vortex gave him a much boosted IQ, as well as a newer body. He acts as the leader of the Nemesii, but often finds himself greatly annoyed with his comrades, due to their relatively low intellect. He is a genius when it comes to mechanics, capable to building advanced weapons and even entire fortresses out of garbage. However, his fighting skills are severely lacking. Hes is armed with a powerful cannon and a sword he barely knows how to use.
Trivia: He is the only Nemesii whose weapons are not built into his frame. This is not a good thing, as he has a tendency to loose them in battle.
Author's notes:
-Been planning this story for a LOOONG time, and I hope it goes over well
-It it is received well, I have three SEASONS worth of episodic stories planned; as such, this story is a backdoor pilot
-Bios will be posted at the end of every chapter
-"Why are the bad guys OCs?" Because I wanted to do something different and have my own characters to develop, and explain how they have the technology to pull off a feat such as turning ponies into robots
-"If you do a series, will actual MLP villains be featured?" Absolutely!
