My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron.
Our homeplanet was once a peaceful and serene world, until one inhabitant took that all away. A mighty gladiator from the pits of Kaon, by the name of Megatron. He had great strength, countless victories and adoring followers, yet he craved more. Eventually insanity and an undying lust for power consumed him and provoked him to build a destructive army. One of which he called the Decepticons.
And so began the war. Between the Autobots, who fought for our planet's freedom, and the Decepticons, who destroyed all in their path for tyranny.
Many of our brethren perished during the endless conflict, both ally and opponent. The combat became more desperate and Megatron progressively proved himself incapable of amending his ways. Finally he injected the very core of our planet with Dark Energon, a corruptive counterpart to the lifeblood of all Cybertronians. With no hope for survival, we Autobots ultimately chose to evacuate our dying home. We constructed a vessel from one of our cargo haulers to carry us all, in hopes of finding a new home among the stars: a transport which we called the Ark.
But Megatron and his forces refused to permit our exodus and attempted to destroy our only hope of leaving. During my mission to hinder his plans, I came across a new ally of great size, one who had been in the form of our own space station for quite some time: the Autobot titan, Metroplex.
His limitless strength managed to stand against the Decepticon forces and finally extinguish Megatron's spark. As a result, his traitorous second-in-command Starscream immediately proclaimed himself the new leader of the Decepticons.
Despite our victory, it cost us all the Energon that had been saved for the Ark. In order to find more and quickly, the Autobots Cliffjumper and Jazz journeyed to our planet's barren wasteland, the Sea of Rust. They sought assistance from the Lightning Strike Coalition Force, an Autobot team of great brutality and strength led by their extremely aggressive leader Grimlock. They had mysteriously sneaked out of the Autobot base and ventured out to this harsh environment, for reasons unknown. Excluding the massacred remains of Sludge, the other team members were not found. But our search was not all for naught, as Jazz and Cliffjumper discovered an entire reservoir filled with pure Energon, being safeguarded by the Decepticon scientist Shockwave. We attempted to transport it back to the Ark for additional fuel but Starscream and his army aimed to seize it back. However Starscream's poor strategic skills resulted in the mission being jeopardised and the half of the Energon supply being destroyed.
Then an unexplicable thing happened. Megatron returned to life and reclaimed his position as Decepticon leader. How this happened is indefinite but we do know that Starscream fled, swearing revenge.
For reasons previously unknown, Megatron journeyed to the crash-landing site of the Decepticons' comatose titan warrior, Trypticon, in order to obtain his power core and use it as an energy source. Despite our best efforts to prevent his goal, Megatron eventually found him and constructed his damaged body into a new transportation vessel: the Nemesis.
As the Ark finally prepared to launch in the final days of Cybertron, we received word from allies who we feared dead: Grimlock and his teammates. He informed us of Megatron's plans: that Shockwave was opening up a Space Bridge portal to another world, rich with raw energy. I ordered him and his team to return back to base so that we could face this situation together. But Grimlock refused, vowing to terminate the Space Bridge controls by himself. He succeeded but in spite of his accomplishment, the portal began to become unstable. Whether Grimlock and his team are alive or not is currently unknown.
The situation was desperate. At this rate, the portal would close before we even got there. We needed to launch quickly. So Metroplex made the ultimate sacrifice: he powered up the Ark's engines with the last of his spark. The launch was successful, though at the cost of his own life.
As the Ark began to near the portal, the Decepticons unfortunately caught up and began their assault. They attempted to sabotage the Ark's engines and fuel tanks but we Autobots fought back against the attacks. The conflict was nearly endless. However before the winning side could be determined, both ships were sucked into the unstable portal which finally closed behind us. The Space Bridge transported both our vessels to the world it was locked onto.
An unknown planet called Equestria.
This world will not be ready for our war. Or our warriors. But we have come. The fate of our race and the future of this planet shall be decided here.
The noise was deafening.
The wailing sirens. Parts of the Ark being ripped away by the force of the portal’s suction. Ratchet’s audio receptors stung as the geriatric Autobot pulled himself to his feet, leaning on the corridor wall for support. The Ark had managed to stop spinning but the rest of the commotion was thunderous. As if those sounds weren’t enough, the rapid metal thud of Cliffjumper’s approaching running footsteps only added to his headache.
“Ratchet, Jazz told me that Bruticus destroyed the fuel tanks and one of the Ark’s thrusters took a beating from the Space Bridge!” the red Autobot yelled over the clamour, “We gotta get off the ship now!”
“What happened to Bumblebee?” Ratchet shouted back, still clutching his head.
“Troops brought him inside. He’s alive, but just barely!” came the reply.
“And Optimus?”
“Last time I saw him, he went on deck to fight Megatron! They must’ve gotten lost when the ships were sucked into the portal!” Just as he’d finished, the Autobot Jetfire sprinted up to them, his feet grinding against the metal floor as he skidded to a halt.
“I flew around the exterior of the ship! No sign of Optimus or Megatron!” he cried over the blaring noise of the flashing sirens. A wave of horror sweep through Ratchet's body; what could have happened? Was Optimus out there, lost in the empty void of space? Had he been torn apart by the force of the unstable portal? That last thought was the one the medic dreaded the most.
“But I did see that we’re near the planet the Space Bridge was set for, so there’s a good chance he might have landed there!” the flying Autobot continued, raising his voice to make himself heard over all the noise. Mentally sighing with both relief and hope, Ratchet remembered what Cliffjumper had said about the Ark’s broken thruster.
“Cliffjumper, Jetfire, gather the remaining Autobots and meet me at the escape pods!” he ordered, “If Optimus is hopefully alive, we’re going to find him!”
All was quiet that night in Ponyville.
The stars twinkled delicately in the dark sky like tiny lanterns as misty clouds gradually rolled past the moon, courtesy of Princess Luna over at Canterlot. After a long day, everypony was now sound asleep in either their houses or cottages. Nothing disturbed the peace. The only noise to be heard in the entire town was the quiet chirp of a lonely cricket, perched on the edge of a sagging blade of grass.
And the peace was definitely needed, especially seeing how Twilight Sparkle had now been granted the amazing gift of becoming an Alicorn princess. Her friends still couldn’t get over this extraordinary event that had happened, followed by her coronation day and moving speech at Princess Celestia’s castle. However, due to her still adjusting to her new royal life, Twilight had been permitted by the princesses to remain at her library home in Ponyville for the time being, just until she felt she was ready.
Over at Carousel Boutique, a certain purple-maned unicorn lay asleep in her queen-sized bed, mask draped over her closed eyes. The snug blankets over Rarity’s tired form slowly rose and fell with every quiet breath she took, nothing distracting from her beauty sleep.
Until the clatter of her pony mannequins toppling over onto the floor sounded, followed by a rumble progressively growing in volume. The unexpected noises made Rarity’s eyes clench tight before finally opening up, prompting her to sit up in her bed. Peeling her eye mask off, she studied the fallen mannequins scattered over her floor by her window.
“What in the world…” the unicorn muttered to herself, pushing her stiff body out of bed and into her fluffy purple slippers. Walking groggily over to the window, she pulled one of the soft fabric curtains back and squinted at the outside world for the source of her sleep’s disturbance.
“Rainbow Dash, if this is another one of your late-night flying stunts again…” she began to mumble irritably as she looked at the sky in search of her pegasus friend.
She never finished her sentence.
Her exhausted eyes finally widened in alarm as she did spot something in the night sky.
But it wasn’t Rainbow Dash. Nor did it look like a pony at all.
A pair of gigantic balls of flame rocketed past her house, almost racing each other in the sky. The two comets both soared over the trees of the darkened Everfree forest, finally ending their course with a crash in separated parts of the trees.
Her mouth agape, Rarity hastily rubbed both her eyes and did a double take of the places they had both crashed, checking that she wasn’t imagining this. From the looks of things, she definitely wasn’t. The astonished unicorn finally spoke the only words that could come to mind:
“Good heavens…”
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts of this out-of-the-blue situation, Rarity turned away from the window and pondered to herself on what to do, speaking aloud as she did.
“Two comets appearing from the sky out of nowhere? This is most incredible! But what must I do? Well I suppose I could tell somepony. Yes, but they’re all asleep, it would be most rude to disturb them. Now that I think about it, I suppose that is true. But what about these comets? They can’t have come from nowhere. I’d highly suggest investigating. They landed in the Everfree forest, maybe Zecora could help with this. But the Everfree forest is so unsanitary! And plus, it’s darker at night than it is in broad daylight… Though it might be something important, or maybe dangerous. And you were the only pony to notice it occur. And if that’s the case, you should be the first to investigate and inform the others about it, including the Princesses.”
Finally having reached a conclusion, despite her love for cleanliness and desire for beauty sleep, Rarity tiptoed downstairs quietly in her slippers and went to the door, being very careful not to disturb Opal in her kitty basket. Gently placing her hoof on the door handle, the unicorn quietly pushed open the door and stepped outside. A chill ran up her spine from the cold weather for a moment, but she shook it off.
Quietly shutting the door, Rarity trotted down the path away from her comfortable home and towards the gloomy forest. She stopped, hesitant, at the edge of the dark trees for a moment or two, thoughts of what horrifying creatures could be lurking in the darkness haunting her mind. Forcing those frightening images out of her head, Rarity breathed in deep.
And set one hoof into the forest.
Finally, her whole body forced itself into the spooky atmosphere and pushed on through the trees and undergrowth. The unicorn shuddered quietly as chilly wind blew eerily and wrapped itself around her shivering legs. It seemed as though everything around her, including the shadows, were watching her tentatively, ready and waiting for the pounce. Struggling to ignore it, Rarity carried on through the bushes and rocks, unkind branches scratching at her bare skin and trying to snag her neatly brushed mane. Though trying to remain courageous, she prayed she would find the strange comet soon so she could get out of here.
It wasn’t until she finally reached her destination that she breathed that held-in sigh of relief.
Stepping cautiously into the clearing, Rarity surveyed her surroundings. A long smoking crevasse engraved into the dirt and grass lay in front of her, giving her the implications of a harsh crash-landing. Her sight following the line of burnt earth and ash, her eyes finally met the source of the commotion.
Something enormous rested at the end of the ditch, wisps of thick smoke floating off its surface and curving in many patterns and shapes. Almost hesitantly but still fascinated, Rarity crept closer to the object, its outline beginning to become more clear through the smoke as she neared it. As she got closer, she progressively became more and more shocked as it started to become clear that this comet had arms.
A pair of legs.
A body.
And a head.
She finally realized this wasn’t a comet at all. It was a being.
Fully captivated now, Rarity gently clambered up one of the creature’s arms and onto its bulky chest, studying it more closely. Its body possessed a red and blue colour scheme. Its warm and solid surface made it evident it was, strangely, made of metal rather than skin and flesh, coated in giant scrapes and cuts. It lacked scales, hair or fur of any description. And inscribed on both its shoulders was a bright red insignia resembling a face of some sort. It was clear that this thing wasn’t a pony of any sort. But as for what it was exactly, Rarity had no clue.
“What in Equestria are you?” she whispered almost inaudibly.
Her puzzling thoughts were interrupted by a low humming emanating from the creature’s chest. The unicorn started to become nervous as she noticed the creatures eyes slowly light up a shade of light blue until they glowed brilliantly. She let a small shriek escape her mouth as the creature began to sit up, causing her to slide off its chest and land harshly on her back. Rarity’s eyes widened to the point where they would nearly burst out of their sockets as the metal being slowly stood up, tiny pieces of burnt dirt falling from its body. She swore it stood at nearly thirty hooves tall.
Her courage faded almost immediately as the being’s head looked down at her, its translucent blue eyes almost piercing her soul. Rarity’s body shook like a rattle. The creature remained still. Neither said anything for the longest time.
Finally the being spoke gently.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”
The unicorn took off like a rocket, her hooves pounding against the ground as she sprinted back into the forest, screaming her head off in her trademark high-pitched voice. Branches and bushes scratched vigorously at her sides and mane, even a cobweb caught itself on her tail, but she didn’t even blink. She wanted to get away from whatever this creature was as far as possible.
Still screaming even as she finally exited the forest, Rarity galloped rapidly to Twilight’s library as fast as her exhausted hooves could carry her, leaves and broken twigs sticking out of her mane like splinters. A few peeved ponies opened their windows and glared after her, yelling at her to shut up, only for their shouts to be ignored as she kept running. At last Rarity reached her destination and didn’t hesitate to pound her hoof repeatedly against the door. It would have broken off its hinges completely if an incredibly tired and annoyed Twilight hadn’t finally opened the door.
“Rarity?” she groaned, rubbing her eyes with her hoof, “What are you doing here? It’s almost one in the mor…” She didn’t get the chance to finish as her panicking friend grabbed her and shook her back and forth frantically.
“TWILIGHTYOUGOTTAHELPMETHERESAGIANTMETALMONSTERINTHEMIDDLEOFTHEEVERFREEFORESTTHATFELLFROMTHESKYANDITSGONNAKILLME-HE-HE-HE-HE-HEEEEEEEEEE!”
Her neck now achy from the harsh shaking, Twilight finally managed to free a hoof from Rarity’s tight grip and place it over her mouth, silencing her terrified babbling.
“Rarity, calm down for a moment!” the purple Alicorn scolded, not taking kindly to being woken up and shaken back and forth, “Now I’m going to take my hoof away from your mouth. And when I do, I want you to calmly tell me what it is you have to say. Understand?”
“Mm-hmm.” came the muffled response, though in a very high-pitched voice.
"Good.” With that, Twilight gently removed her hoof from her friend’s mouth but still kept it ready in case she started babbling again. Fortunately Rarity didn’t and instead began her story, but still sounding quite panicky.
“I was in bed, because of course, who wouldn’t be at this time of night? When all of a sudden, there was this rumbling outside and I thought it was Rainbow Dash doing one of her silly late-night stunts again. But when I went to check two fiery comets fall from the sky and land in the Everfree forest. I didn’t want to disturb any of you so I decided to check it out by myself and see if Zecora could possibly help. So I did and I got to the crash-landing site of the closest meteor and you won’t believe what I saw! It was this sort of…”
“CAN’T A PEGASUS GET ANY REST WITHOUT HER FRIEND WAKING UP THE WHOLE TOWN WITH HER SCREAMING?!”
Turning their heads in the direction of the loud complaint, Twilight and Rarity both looked up and saw an incredibly ticked off Rainbow Dash, her multi-coloured hair messier than it always was from lying in bed and visible bags underneath her eyes. And beneath her, also looking like they had all just woken up were Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
“Rarity, y’all better have a good reason fer wakin’ us up in the middle a’ the night like this.” Applejack grumbled, her eyes squinting as they adjusted to the intense light coming from the inside of Twilight’s house.
“We could hear your scream from a mile away.” Fluttershy added, her voice quiet and nervous while trying not to be cross with being woken up.
“And so could I!” squealed Pinkie Pie, still her perky overexcited self, despite it being the middle of the night, “I thought it was a happy scream because that would probably mean that you’d be having an exciting slumber party over at Twilight’s house again! But then again, if you hadn’t invited us or Applejack like last time, who else could be going to it? But I suppose it could be with your sister Sweetie Belle but she’s with your parents, or perhaps it could’ve been Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy except they’re both here with us. Hey, was it a slumber party? Was there cake? Or games? Or pillow fights? Or maybe scary stories? Is that the reason you were screaming so loudly? Because of the scary stories, like the one about the Headless Horse? Or maybe it was…”
“QUIET!” It was that one word from Twilight that finally caused everypony to simmer down.
“No, Pinkie, it wasn’t a slumber party or any kind of party.” She continued calmly once everything was quiet again, “Rarity told me she’d see two comets fall from the sky and land in the Everfree forest.” This piece of information made everypony’s eyes widen with interest and surprise.
“Now that’s weird.” Applejack said in puzzlement, “I don’t recall Princess Luna tellin’ us about any meteor showers of some kind happenin’ tonight.”
“Two comets? In Ponyville?” Rainbow asked, almost getting in Twilight’s face with these pestering questions, “And I didn’t even get the chance to see them? How in the hay did I miss it?”
“Umm… because you’re a heavy sleeper?” Fluttershy offered timidly, receiving a glare in return which caused her to shut up.
“Tell us, Rarity; what did you see?” asked the purple Alicorn, turning back to her friend who still looked quite anxious.
“Well as I said, I went to investigate and I found the nearest comet. But when I looked closely, I saw that…” She paused for a moment as her breath caught in her throat, “It wasn’t a comet at all.” Now very interested, Twilight couldn’t help but lean in closer, along with the others.
“It was a creature.” Rarity finished in almost a scared whisper.
“What, ya mean a timberwolf or a cockatrice or something like that?” Applejack asked. Turning to face her farm friend, the unicorn shook her head frightfully.
“Oh, no, this creature was nothing like anything in Equestria at all, Applejack.” She responded, which made Fluttershy quiver in the knees a tiny bit, “I think it was some sort of alien or something. I mean, this creature was huge, around thirty or forty hooves tall! I-It was made of metal instead of skin! There was no hair or fur anywhere on its body, a-and it had these glowing blue eyes that stared right at me as it woke up!” Fluttershy was now completely shaking from head to hoof with each description Rarity gave, while Pinkie Pie only smiled more and more with excitement.
“I climbed onto it to get a closer look and then it started waking up. Then i-it stood and looked down at me!” the white unicorn continued, looking very frightened as she recalled the events, “And it said “don’t be afraid”, and I screamed and ran back here as quick as I could!”
“Well that explains the twigs and bushes stuck in your mane.” Twilight muttered to herself before regaining her focus and looking Rarity in the eyes, “But are you sure this is what you saw, Rarity?”
“Of course I’m sure! I’m positive I saw it, Twilight!” Rarity almost screamed in reply, “What do you think I am, overreacting?” That question earned her a few uncertain “umms” and “uhhs” from the other ponies.
“Well, um, we don’t actually know if it’s here to hurt us or not.” Fluttershy spoke up, “It might be a friendly creature from outer space.”
“Fluttershy’s right, we shouldn’t judge this thing straight away, Maybe we should go investigate the crashsite.” Applejack stated, straightening her cowgirl hat in determination.
“And if these things, for any reason, do wanna hurt us, we should tell Princess Celestia right away.” Twilight added. Above them, Rainbow Dash did a loop as she laughed almost giddily.
“We get to meet real life aliens! Awesome!” she whooped, “This is better than comets any day!” Pinkie Pie, unsurprisingly, also couldn’t contain her excitement, bouncing up and down on the spot like a lively spring.
“Oh, my gosh, this is so exciting! But it’s also really interesting! It’s interciting!” she giggled at her made-up word as she continued babbling, “Do you think they’ll wanna be friends with us if they’re nice? Maybe they’ll wanna have a party! I could throw them the bestest ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party EVER!”
“Now, Pinkie, let’s not get too excited.” Rarity said calmly, slightly softening her pink friend’s extremely happy mood, “Like Fluttershy said, we don’t know if it will be friendly or not, so we’ll have to inspect it up-close.”
“Well, Rarity, since you found the first one, I think you should lead the way.” Twilight instructed, “Rainbow, fly overhead and see if you can spot the second crash-landing site. When you do, we’ll split up into two groups and investigate both sites.”
“Well then what are we standing around for?” the smiling blue pegasus asked impudently, “Let’s get searching!” With that, she took off toward the edge of the Everfree forest, the rest of the Mane Six running after her.
Rather than use her new wings, as she was still getting adjusted to them (she was planning to hopefully get some lessons from Rainbow), Twilight just followed her friends on the ground. Inside her head though, she was absolutely head-over-heels with this news. Her first chance to actually meet real life aliens from another planet, who wouldn’t be excited for something like that? But on the other hoof, what if Rarity was right and these creatures were in Equestria to invade them? Shaking those distressing thoughts out of her head, Twilight ran alongside her friends to the gloomy edge of the forest.
Whether or not these beings would be peaceful or not, that was to be found out.
Author's Note
Apologies if the Mane Six aren't written as well as they are in the show. I've only been a fan of the show since last summer, so I'm still getting used to writing MLP fan fiction. But I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless and be excited for the next chapter!
Once the six ponies had finally reached the edge of the Everfree forest, their pounding hooves came to a screeching stop, followed by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gently lowering themselves onto the ground. A trail practically carved into the forest complete with snapped twigs and trampled undergrowth, courtesy of Rarity's fleeing, confirmed the direction of the first meteorite.
"Rainbow, can you check which way the other comet is?" asked Twilight. Grinning and giving a small nod in reply, the blue pegasus spread her wings and launched herself upwards, scanning her eyes over the tops of the trees. Her sight finally came to rest on a large section of trees missing on the far left of the woodland area and a long stream of smoke waving out of it. Landing herself on the ground, she kept her eyes focused on the direction and pointed a hoof into the trees.
"Thataway!"
"Okay then, Rarity and Fluttershy, you're both with me. We'll investigate the one Rarity found." Twilight declared, pointing a hoof at each pony as she spoke their names, "Rainbow, you go with Pinkie and Applejack to inspect the other one. Once we find each one and we've made contact, we'll meet back here, got it?"
"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie beamed with a salute before bouncing off into the forest joyously, rambling to herself as she did so, "Ooh, if I'm gonna meet an alien, I'd better start planning that Welcome To Equestria party. I wonder what aliens eat anyway?"
"Hey, wait fer us, Pinkie!" Applejack called, speeding off into the forest after her, immediately followed by Rainbow Dash in the air.
"Good luck!" Twilight called after them, before turning towards the other direction into the woods. Fluttershy was shivering slightly as the cold breeze coiled around her ankles ominously.
"Is it too late to turn back?" she asked, her voice practically a whisper. Turning towards her pegasus friend, Rarity trotted over and placed a calming hoof on her shoulder.
"Fluttershy, darling, pull yourself together." She responded gently, "You've been through these woods before so there's absolutely no reason you should be worried." As she turned to look into the darkness however, her fear from before began to creep back into her body, earning a quiet gulp from her throat.
"I hope." She added to herself in the same tone as Fluttershy. With that, the three friends cautiously stepped hoof into the unwelcoming forest, Rarity especially. The leaves on the branches that weren't destroyed in the white unicorn's panicked rampage seemed to reach out like ghoulish arms and snare their legs. Fluttershy and Rarity shifted about uncomfortably as they walked, though Twilight remained stoic.
"I must admit, Twilight, that was some quite impressive leadership back there." The unicorn managed to say after moments of eerie silence has passed, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say the skills of a princess are beginning to rub off on you without you realising." That comment instantly formed a blush on Twilight's smiling cheeks.
"Oh, stop, Rarity, I-I was just giving instructions." She replied with a shake of her head as she continued walking. A raise of Rarity's eyebrow indicated she wasn't buying it.
"Indeed," Came the cheeky response, "Like a princess."
"Come on, you know I'm still adjusting to this new role in my life," the Alicorn said modestly, "I wouldn't go around claiming I already know what I'm doing with this responsibility. If I had to take charge of a whole kingdom for one day, I'd probably drop in less than a minute. You know, I wouldn't have a clue what to do."
"Oh, Twilight, don't be so modest." Rarity protested, still smiling confidently at her friend, "You handle being one of the Element bearers well. Not to mention you've helped us save Equestria from being on the brink of destruction countless times. The way I see it, being a princess and having command over a kingdom would be a simple breeze for you."
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna make it look so easy though, even with their huge responsibilities of raising the sun and the moon." Twilight replied, "They've been princesses much longer than I have, Rarity. Over a thousand years even! So getting used to this whole princess duty for me will take lots of time and…"
"Um, Twilight?" A meek voice finally interrupted. Both ponies turned towards Fluttershy at the back of the group, staring straight ahead.
"I-I think we're here."
No sooner had she finished speaking, the putrid smell of singed dirt and grass rudely entered through everypony's nostrils. Promptly, Twilight and Rarity spun around to survey the scenery.
The long trail engraved into the ground remained in the same spot as Rarity had found it, small wisps of smoke still rising from its incinerated edges. Twilight and Fluttershy could only gaze in astonishment at the destruction while Rarity felt a chill shoot up her spine at the very thought of seeing the metal creature again. Silently, though fangirling mentally, Twilight boldly stepped a hoof into the clearing and slowly made her way towards the end of the trail, her two allies following close behind. With each step, they both shook more and more while the Alicorn could hardly contain her excitement.
By the time they all made it to the place where the crashlanding had halted, the spot where the alien had been was empty. All that was left were a pair of huge rectangular footprints of flattened grass leading away from the trail and into the trees. Twilight and Fluttershy gaped at the size of the prints; Rarity surprisingly wasn't exaggerating when she described it as being big.
Very big for that matter.
"The alien must've walked away once it stood up." Twilight whispered, in case the creature was anywhere near them, "We follow its trail, we find it." Groaning quietly at the thought of having to walk more, Rarity nonetheless followed the Alicorn into the forest again, Fluttershy treading softly behind. And once more, the darkness seemed to surround them unkindly.
"Oh, I do hope we find these creatures fast so we can all leave this dreadful place." Rarity murmured, "I can't stand to be out here a minute longer." Rolling her eyes slightly, Twilight turned her head back towards her unicorn friend.
"Rarity, I thought we discussed we don't know if this creature is here to harm us." She replied firmly but quietly.
"She's right, this alien might be friendly." Fluttershy added, her voice still a whisper, "It could be alone or lost or scared or…" Her sentence was never finished. Instead her pupils shrinking as she stared ahead blankly, her mouth slightly open. Confused at her abrupt stop, Twilight and Rarity directed their attention to what she was gazing at.
What they saw made them freeze like statues.
Through the trees, they could all see a huge metal being with a red and blue colour scheme and bulky stature in a small clearing. It was kneeling down on one knee and gently moving one of its giant hands towards a lone deer, standing frozen but staring in wonder at this unknown beast and its shining blue eyes. The ponies were truly mesmerised by this sight. Until…
"TRYING TO HURT THAT POOR DEFENCELESS DEER!"
The normally timid pegasus was instantly a yellow blur and leapt in front of the tiny animal, spreading all her limbs out like a shield but holding one foreleg up almost threateningly towards the startled alien.
"YOU STEP AWAY FROM THE DEER, BUSTER, OR PREPARE FOR THE MOST UNPLEASANT LECTURE OF YOUR LIFE!"
Neither being said nor did anything for the longest time while Twilight and Rarity stared from the trees anxiously. Should they run to help her in case the metal creature was indeed out to harm others? Would the alien try to eviscerate them once they gave away their position? So many questions rattled about inside their heads as the silence remained.
At last, the giant being spoke through the metal plate covering its mouth.
And this time, Rarity listened carefully to its voice. It almost instantly calmed her nerves. The tone it spoke was almost deeper and rumblier than Big Mac's voice was. It was obviously loud, given it was coming from a large creature, but also gentle in a way. Soothing. Wise. Compassionate. A sort of godlike voice Twilight always imagined Star Swirl the Bearded probably would have had.
"I can assure you, I possess no intentions of harming this creature."
The moment the final word left his mouth, Fluttershy's protective stance died down and her glare softened. The deer sprinted off into the trees but she didn't notice. Her attention was too focused on this incredible creature and its radiant blue eyes staring calmingly into hers.
"Oh." She said at last, "Umm… okay."
Another period of silence passed until Twilight inhaled deeply and stepped out of the shadows. Now fully calm, Rarity followed suite. The being turned his gaze towards the two of them, but they didn't flinch. The purple Alicorn finally spoke.
"We're sorry about the commotion," she spoke slowly just in case, "But I promise we mean you no harm. My name is Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends Rarity and Fluttershy. What's yours?" Gazing at her, the creature finally moved, standing up at its full height of nearly thirty hooves tall. Rarity and Fluttershy practically gasped aloud at his large size but Twilight kept her cool. Then the being spoke again.
"My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots and descendant from the planet Cybertron."
Twilight was almost squealing at this point; there was a real life metal alien standing in front of her with a name who claimed to be from a distant planet.
"But I must inquire, what planet am I on?" The being who called himself 'Optimus Prime' asked. Snapping out of her fangirl moment, Twilight regained her composure and responded in the calmest way possible.
"This is Equestria, the land of ponies, like myself." Rarity stepped forward this time and cleared her throat.
"Um, I hope you can forgive me for my rude introduction earlier." She stated sheepishly, "You just startled me is all, what with your voice and… colossal stature."
"It is quite alright." Optimus replied understandingly, before gesturing one of his large hands towards Fluttershy, "Though I do admire your friend's courage. She appears very determined in spirit." The pegasus couldn't help but blush at that comment, while the other two ponies smiled at one another.
"Th-Thank you, sir." She said nearly inaudibly. Not only did this alien have a grand voice and a tall stature, but it was polite too.
"Um, pardon me, Mr… Optimus Prime," Twilight broke the silence once more, "But Rarity says she saw another meteor enter the atmosphere and crashland on the other side of the forest."
"Yes, is it another one of your kind?" the white unicorn added, "A friend of yours perhaps?"
Suddenly a loud echoing shriek followed by the thunderous sound of an explosion caught everyone's attention, emanating from the direction of where the other comet had landed. Twilight instantly recognised that scream as belonging to Pinkie Pie. Turning his head towards the noise, Optimus' glowing blue eyes grew thinner, almost as if they were narrowing in anger.
"Hardly." Came the reply. Suddenly yet another bewildering thing happened that evening.
The alien began to change. His metal body instantly began folding and twisting itself into an entirely new shape, his limbs and head disappearing completely into the metal shifting ball. Different parts of him disconnected, reconnected and rearranged themselves almost in a blur. When the loud clanking and whirring ceased, Optimus no longer stood in front of them.
In his place was a bizarre-looking mode of transport. It was a sort of giant red and blue carriage comprised of metal, but with a flat back suspended by two pair of silver wheels. The front half was more bulky, donning two windows and a grill on the front, held up by one pair of wheels and with six metal pipes jutting out of the back, each one shooting out roaring flames. A giant metal talking alien was strange enough. But a giant metal talking alien that could transform itself into a weird means of transportation. That was even more incredible.
It wasn't until a rectangular hole in the side of the vehicle opened to reveal three custom-made seats just their size that the pony trio snapped out of their stupor.
"Get in." came Optimus' voice from somewhere inside the transport, sounding calm but firm.
The three ponies stared at each other in deep thought. Could they trust this alien being that seemed kind but they had literally just met? Especially regarding all the strange things it could do? As much as those questions rang endlessly in her head, Twilight could sense a great amount of purity in the heart of this being. Or whatever it was he had to keep him alive.
Letting her heart think for her, the Alicorn clambered up the metal side of the truck and into one of the seats. Glancing at the stunned Rarity and Fluttershy, a simple nod of the head stated her answer loud and clear.
xXxXx
Ten minutes earlier
Applejack and Rainbow Dash, having finally caught up to Pinkie, carried on with their trek through the darkness of the trees, Pinkie obviously bouncing her way along while still mumbling to herself about her preparations for the party. Rainbow hovered above the trees, her eyes still focused on the direction of the meteor.
"Hmm, I wonder what colour balloons these aliens like? Do they even have balloons? Well if they don't, I know they'll love 'em once they see 'em!" the pink Earth pony giggled to herself.
"Pinkie, remember what ah told ya," Applejack interrupted, her voice low and almost a whisper, "We don't know whether or not this thing wants ta hurt us or not. So don't get too excited about this."
"Aww, Applejack, you worry too much." Pinkie responded, the smile never leaving her face once, "That isn't to say I can't try to make peace with it. Maybe we'll reform him, just like Fluttershy did with Discord." Applejack couldn't help but roll her eyes at this, still very sceptical about whether or not the Spirit of Chaos had truly changed his ways.
"Yeah, that'll be the day." The cowgirl muttered to herself, though she said it about Discord. It wasn't until their pegasus friend dropped down between them that they stopped walking.
"We're here." Rainbow bluntly stated, staring ahead with slightly wide eyes. Both Earth ponies followed her gaze, their eyes also growing wide at the sight of the long trail engraved into the ground, blackened chunks of mud and plants laying in its wake. Near the edge of the crater was half of a boulder, unfortunately in the way that had gotten melted by the temperature of this comet. Removing her Stetson and placing over her chest, Applejack's eyes remained fixed on this crashsite.
"Whoa, nelly." She said at last, "I know Rarity said the alien was big but ah didn't think the other one would be big too."
"Oooh, bigger means better!" Pinkie almost squealed, shaking with eagerness on the spot. Slowly but surely, the three ponies treaded closer to the end of the trail, the lumps of burnt dirt crumbling instantly under their hooves as they trotted. Waving at the smoke emitting from the finish, Rainbow peered into the crevasse almost nervously, followed by the others. Patches of shining silver accompanied by faint purple lights peeked out from underneath a humungous pile of smoking mud and grass. The moment she saw the possible size of this extra-terrestrial, Applejack muttered the first words she could muster.
"What in Equestria…"
Before she could say anything else, Pinkie Pie was already on the mountain of earth and vigorously digging away at the pile, excitement present on her face.
"Pinkie! Wait a minute!" Rainbow whisper-shouted as she glanced anxiously at the dirt mountain, starting to dread what was buried under there.
"Ah'm sorry, ma eyes must be playin' tricks on me, but is the amazing Rainbow Dash scared?" Applejack couldn't help but tease, nudging her cyan friend with a playful elbow.
"What, you kidding?" she replied, pathetically trying to cover up her obvious emotions, "No, that's… stupid. Uh, I just… don't want Pinkie getting her hooves dirty. It-It could be carrying alien germs." All she got in response was a raised eyebrow and a knowing grin from the orange pony. But before the argument could continue, they were cut off by an "oooooh" from Pinkie. Turning back to the crater, they could see that she had uncovered what looked like a head and torso. The being's dull metal face, complete with furrowed metal eyebrows above its closed eyes and a mouth, was encased in a much brighter dome-shaped helmet of silver colour. And the silver torso was sleek and almost triangular, the top of the chest pointing out and purple dim lights running down the sides, almost giving it the complexion of a ribcage.
"Shiny!" was all Pinkie could say, practically hypnotised by the moon's gleam on this creature's armour.
"Is it made of… metal?" Rainbow wondered aloud in disbelief as she stared.
"It must be," Applejack replied while gaping at this alien's incredible physique, "Ah don't see any hair or scales on it."
But the feature that really stood out on the body of the metal beast was the symbol just below the tip of the jagged chest. It resembled a sort of intimidating horned face with pointed eyes as it too glowed faintly purple.
"Well whatever this thing is and whatever that symbol means, I don't think I wanna find out." Rainbow said, taking a step backwards. Her pink friend, still smiling, glanced over at her as she sat on the torso like she was having a piggy back ride.
"Oh, Dashie, you should know better than to judge ponies and other creatures just from how they look." She replied in her usual cheery manner, "Didn't we learn this lesson in Season One?" But before Rainbow Dash had a chance to respond, something unexpected happened.
The alien's eyes lit up a blood red colour like lightbulbs, a low growl emanating from its mouth as the purple lights on its body immediately glowed bright.
"Holy horseapples!" Applejack exclaimed as the rest of the earth coating the creature's body began to crumble. Pinkie Pie slid off its chest as it slowly rose from its comatose state, masses of mud and vegetation dropping from its body as both Rainbow and Applejack could only stare. Finally the being stood at nearly forty hooves on its two bulky legs, in all its metallic glory. The lines of purple lights rain down its arms and legs like snakes. The shoulders it possessed were large and spiked, almost like two big metal rocks resting on the corners of its upper body. Both its arms were sleek but burly, red spiked elbows jutting out of the back like splinters. Instead of hooves, the thing possessed some other form of limbs in the colour blackish-grey, similar to Spike's in appearance. The main part of the body that was easily noticeable was a huge black tube which was sort of stuck to its right arm, almost as big as its entire body.
Pinkie lay on her back and merely glanced up at this giant alien in wonder and eagerness. But Rainbow practically jumped into Applejack's forelegs as the creature roared out a word in a monstrous voice that made them both tremble:
"PRIME!"
The metal beast's head looked around in different directions furiously as if desperately searching for someone. Dropping her pegasus friend unceremoniously, Applejack shook away any fear she had and cleared her throat, albeit very quietly.
"Uhh… excuse me, sir?"
The alien's head snapped sharply in her direction the moment those words left her lips, a piercing glare unmistakeable in its gleaming red eyes. The Earth pony flinched slightly but stood her ground as the creature regarded her with interest. "Hmm, intriguing. Shockwave's statistics viewing the species of this world as primitive appear correct."
"Uhh… huh?" Rainbow could only tilt her head in total confusion at the babble that had left this being's mouth.
"Yet they retain the ability to speak," he continued to himself, "Most interesting." Turning his head to whom he assumed was the dominant member of this group of lifeforms, which happened to be Applejack, he inquired. "So tell me, creature, since you seem to possess speech capabilities: What planet am I on?"
A high-pitched giggle suddenly came from beneath him, instantly turning his attention towards his feet. Pinkie Pie stood there, her smile still present and gazing up at him in both amazement and excitement.
"You're on Equestria, silly!" she answered between laughs, "My name's Pinkie Pie and these are my bestest friends Applejack and Rainbow Dash! What's your name?"
"If you must know, parasite," the alien replied dangerously, standing taller with each description, "I am Megatron, commander of the Decepticons, conqueror of the planet Cybertron! Ruler of galaxies! Destroyer of all worl…"
"Oooh, that's a mouthful." Pinkie interrupted, scratching her chin while still smiling, "Can I call you Megs for short?" Her innocent little question didn't seem to go over well with Megatron whose face twisted into an aggressive expression. The next thing she knew, he was pointing the large tube on his arm directly at her, suddenly making her feel quite scared.
"You dare to mock my title by shortening it to an insulting degree, you carbon-based fleshbag?!" At the enraged tone of this being, Pinkie's mane deflated slightly as her eyes grew big with fear. It was abundantly clear that this creature was in no mood for befriending anypony. Her shock fading away, Rainbow's eyebrows furrowed until the bridge of her nose was crinkled. This alien had the guts to threaten one of her most innocent friends like that? Shooting off the ground, the pegasus flew straight up to Megatron's face and stared him straight in his luminous eyes.
"Hey! You think you can yell at Pinkie Pie like that and get away with it?" she shouted back, "Well if you think so, you got another thing coming, pal!"
"Now, Rainbow, calm down!" Applejack called from the edge of the crevasse, "Ya don't wanna make him mad!" Displaying no signs of fear, Megatron's metal lips crept up into an unpleasant grin.
"Yes, it would be wise to heed your companion's advice, 'Rainbow'," he stated in a sickly tone, "I don't believe you would wish to be on the receiving end of my wrath." Demonstrating, Megatron unexpectedly swing up his right arm with the tube on it, colliding with Rainbow's tiny body and knocking her to the ground beside the pit, earning a horrified shriek from Pinkie. Smirking disgustingly, the metal creature directed the tip of the tube towards the half-melted rock by the trail.
Then two things happened.
Firstly a deafening noise erupted from the tube as a giant ball of purple energy shot out at lightning speeds, making Pinkie and Applejack cover their ears. The next thing that occurred was the shocking sight of the energy ball striking the rock, instantly creating an explosion of black smoke and scorching hot fragments of it. The two conscious ponies gawked at this sight, only to snap out of it at the sound of a low hum progressively growing higher and louder.
Pinkie cautiously turned only to end up gazing down the barrel of Megatron's fusion cannon, the insides becoming brighter with purple energy. Lying down on her stomach in terror, the pony barely squeaked out her next question.
"Can't we just be friends?"
"Friends?" The brute scoffed, "I am leader of the Decepticons. I've no time for such petty nonsense, especially with pitiful creatures like you." His boast was short-lived as Applejack dived into the ditch and skidded in front of her pink friend. Her hateful glare met with the barrel of the charging weapon, her body shielding Pinkie's entirely. This only caused Megatron's smirk to grow as his cannon's ammo grew more and more brighter.
"How noble."
Author's Note
Seriously. Listen to this voice and tell me you don't get chills when you hear it. (if you don't, there's probably something wrong with you...)
[youtube=youtube.com/watch?v=tdY8XfsQ8T8]
