Transformares (Not So) Animated

Chapters

Escapee from Cybertron
Head in the Clouds
An Eye for Rarities (Revised)
(6) Flutter Along for a Song
SURPRISE!
Party Crasher
(9) It's got to be the Morning After
Mystery of the Missing Celestia
Fly and be Everfree!
(12) Proto-Formation
Losing My Astrotrain of Thought
Recruitment Drive
(15) Predacons Terrorize
The Secret Airbase
Sonic Ka-boom!
Decisions... or not
Orders of Chaos
(21) Sister Love
In the Shadows of the Truth
Lost in the Fog of War (Revised)
(24) The Family Jewels
Unlikely Alliance
Infiltration Station
(27) Dash away, Discord betray
Reunions
That was... different...
(30) Meanwhile back in the cage...
Discord's Deal
A Spark in the Dark
The Return of Luna
Home away from Home
(36) Twilight's New Groove
Dark Side of the Nightmare Moon
(3) Meeting the Ponyfolk
(18) That which is Old arises Anew
(33) The Return of Harmony

Escapee from Cybertron

by neorenamon

Megatron rubbed his faceplate as he looked out of the alien planet that now had the wreckage of his ship and the shattered remains of the AllSpark that he had gone to great lengths to steal from the puny Autobots. He turned to his only two known soldiers who weren't stuck in stasis pods and wondered what he had ever seen in either of them.

"Lugnut! Blitzwing!" he growled, "REPORT!"

"We are so sorry, Master," said Lugnut from his evacuation pod seat, "The damage inflicted on the ship before we jumped out of Cybertronian Space was just too much for us to repair."

"We're warriors," agreed Blitzwing in his authority figure face, "not space ship engineers. It's lucky we kept the ship held together long enough to make it here."

"And why is it that the AllSpark is down there rather than up here with us?!" he snapped as he paced the floor.

"The Autobots secured the AllSpark, Master," replied Lugnut, "There wasn't enough time to crack the security codes."

"We could have just blown the safe up!" shouted Blitzwing as he switched to his demonic face.

"THAT WAS NOT AN OPTION!" yelled Megatron.

"The Master is right," agreed Lugnut, "We most likely would have shattered the AllSpark inside the safe, and the pieces would have shot out the hole we made."

"Precisely," agreed Megatron, "Now tell me that we can get this shuttle spaceworthy again."

"The results of the diagnostic should be coming up any nanocycle now."

"That's funny," said Blitzwing in his soldier face mode.

"What is it now?"

"I have an organic reading"

"We're next to a planet teaming with organic life, you malfunction!"

"No, the reading is very close to us," said Blitzwing as he changed faces, "Just on the surface of the moon we are currently over."

"Don't be illogical!" replied Megatron, "Organics can't survive a cold airless place like this!"

"The organic is being contained within some kind of alien stasis field. It's not exposed to the vacuum or the cold."

"Lugnut," he ordered, "Go forth and retrieve the organic. Blitzwing and I shall continue the diagnosis and repairs."

"Why send him?!" asked Blitzwing in his demon face mode.

"Because he obeys my orders! That, and I know you might well destroy the organic rather than look at it!"

"I suppose that makes sense," said Blitzwing with another face change.

... Meanwhile, aboard an Autobot ship ...

"OHHH when I get my servos around Megatron's head gasket!" growled Bulkhead.

"He tricked us all," said Ratchet, "Not just you."

"But now he's on the loose again, and this time, he has the AllSpark!" said Optimus Prime.

"Well the Elite Guard made sure it was secured with the best safe and codes available. It's going to take many cycles before Megatron cracks it."

"Unless he attempts something foolish like blowing it open," said Jazz.

"Blitzwing might try that," said Optimus, "but I think Megatron won't risk scattering the AllSpark all over space like that."

"I hope so."

"Besides, we didn't get a chance to try and recover Prowl's spark from the AllSpark before all of this new mess began."

About then, the door to the bridge opened and Sari stumbled through in her Autobot humanoid form. Her special key was glowing as it hung about her neck.

"Are you malfunctioning?" asked Ratchet.

"There's something wrong," said Sari, "I... just have this feeling... like back on Earth when the AllSpark was scattered all over the world."

"Oh great!" groaned Bulkhead, "You have any idea how long it's going to take searching space..."

"No, the fragments are on the planet near the place the stolen ship would have emerged from it's jump."

"So the ship was damaged enough before it left that Megatron was forced to crash land it for repairs," said Optimus.

"That's what it looks like," replied Ratchet.

"It's lucky he didn't have an engineer like me aboard," said Bulkhead with a grin. Then he blinked as the others were glaring at him. "WHAT?!" he said defensively, "Just sayin..."

"Omega Supreme," said Optimus, "Change course to the planet where we think Megatron crashed."

"CHANGING COURSE," said Omega.

"It's nice to see that the Council let us use Omega as our ship again," said Ratchet, "Of course, it's not like we weren't responsible for getting him back from the Decepticons in the first place."

"This looks like a good time for you to take a break and check up on Arcee's recovery."

"Are you sure you don't need..."

"No one is blaming you for erasing her memories during the war. You did what you felt you had to. Now go back there and help her relearn all that... stuff... that she needs to relearn!"

"I'm kind of surprised that the Council even asked us to take her along with us," mused Optimus.

"Perhaps they feel that the AllSpark can somehow play a part in restoring her memories," replied Ratchet.

"I've never heard about anything like that happening," replied Jazz.

"Well as long as she's here, I better take the best care of her that I possibly can," said Ratchet as he left the bridge.

Author's Note

(Sari's image I didn't make)

Head in the Clouds

by neorenamon

"Now that we've taken care of the primary food," said Spike as he checked off another item from the list on his clipboard, "so we can move onto the weather."

"Oh," moaned Twilight as she waddled along, her belly bloated, "I've... ate... too... many... apples."

"Funny. All the Apples looked fine to me."

"What?!" asked Twilight as she blinked.

"Nothing."

"Your sense of humor needs work," she groaned.

"Riiight..."

Spike looked up into the cloudy sky as he said, "Hmm, there's supposed to be a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds."

She looked up at the white fluff floating about and added, "Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?"

Suddenly a rainbow blur crashed into Twilight and plowed her into a random mud puddle. Twilight found herself face down in the mud with a blue pegasus on her back and a rainbow mane in her face. The pegasus mare just gave a nervous laugh. Twilight simply groaned as she looked up at the 'monkey on her back'.

"Uh, 'scuse me?" she said.

Then she continued with the nervous laugh.

Twilight moaned again as the pegasus climbed off her back. She flew off and returned pushing a gray rain laden cloud above Twilight.

She burst into laughter as she said, "Here. Let me help you with that." Jumping up and down on the cloud, she made a micro downpour onto the disgruntled violet unicorn mare. Now she wasn't muddy, but she was in fact soaked to the hide.

She laughed awkwardly once more as she said, "Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this?"

Flying around the startled unicorn, she created a rainbow tornado around the soaked pony standing in a mud puddle. In a matter of seconds, she found that she had gone from soaked to fly dried, her hair puffed out like a hairdo nightmare.

"My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry! No no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome," she added before she looked at Twilight and began laughing so hard, she keeled over.

Spike laughed hard enough to fall to the ground with her.

Twilight looked at her and said dryly, "Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash?"

She looked back and replied, "The one and only. Why, you heard of me?"

"I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear," she replied before sighing heavily, and added, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather for the Summer Sun Celebration."

Dash flew up to lounge on a cloud as she replied, "Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing."

"Shouldn't your duties come before any... practice?"

"Relax," she replied, "I can do both."

"And just what pray tell are you practicing for?" she asked as she glared up at Dash's tail laying over the side of the cloud.

She pointed at a poster against the wall as she said, "The Wonderbolts! They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!"

The was some poster of the Wonderbolts at a show.

"The Wonderbolts?" she asked skeptically.

"That's right!" she said with an energetic nod.

"The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?" she asked in a leading manner.

"That's totally right!" she agreed.

"Pfft!" she said derisively, "Please. They'd never accept a Pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day."

"Hey!" protested Dash, "I can clear away every cloud in sight in TEN seconds flat!"

She delivered the final jab of her argument as she said daringly, "Well then Dash. Prove it!"

Dash burst into a blur of action as she started kicking the clouds around Ponyville into nothing. "Loop the loop around, and wham!" she said as she raced and looped from one cloud to the next. Twilight and Spike watched in mild awe as she raced back and forth, making a gust over the two of them each time she flew by. The she hovered over them at last as she said, "Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging." The she looked at the blown dried Twilight's stare, the stare of the equally startled dragon and laughed again as she added, "You should see the look on your face. It's just precious. Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more."

Spike laughed, "Wow, she's amazing!"

Twilight just groaned at Spike's outburst.

He looked at her frazzled tangled mane and said, "Wait! It's kinda pretty once you get used to it!"
...

As the shuttle moved closer to Equestria, Nightmare Moon said, "Night shall fall soon upon the land. Once Princess Celestia has lowered the sun and raised the moon, she shall be weaker. We must find her and ambush her before she raises the sun the next morning."

"Wait," said Megatron, "This Princess Celestia controls the sun and the moon?!"

"Yes," she replied, "I used to control the moon before she banished me up here!"

"How can that possibly be?" asked Lugnut.

"It's not important," he replied, "We won't be on this planet long enough for that to make a difference."

"We need to go to Canterlot and find out where Celestia is attending the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration! Then we can go there and imprison her when big sister is at her weakest!"

"Your sister is a thousand years old?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really," he replied, "but I have never encountered an organic that had that kind of life span."

"And how long does your kind live?"

"Barring termination," he replied, "We can easily last past ten thousand solar cycles. Are you special?"

"Yes," she replied, "We are the only two living alicorns in all of Equestria."

"Lugnut!" commanded Megatron, "Scan the area for suitable forms. We're going to add some new transformations to our arsenals."

"Must we become these nasty organics, Megatron?"

Megatron shoved his cannon in Blitzwing's faceplate and said, "YOU DARE QUESTION MY ORDERS?!"

"Of course not," he blurt out quickly, "I'm just making sure that Lugnut fully understands your commands!"

"The scan is complete, Master," responded Lugnut.

The three Decepticons looked at all of the results of the scan.

"There's too many results," he said as he turned to Nightmare Moon, "Please point out only the sentient species. Those are the ones we're concerned with."

"Gladly, Lord Megatron," she replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"OOH!" said Blitzwing as he changed faces and pointed, "What THAT?!"

"That's a Hydra," said Nightmare Moon, "All of its head are stupid."

"OOH!" he said as he pointed again, "What THAT?!"

"That's a Manticore," she replied, "It's stupid."

"OOH!" he said as he pointed again, "What THAT?!"

"That's a Chimera," she replied, "and not only is it stupid, none of it's three heads can agree on anything."

"SHUT UP BEFORE I JAM MY FOOTPLATE DOWN YOUR SPEAKER SYSTEM!" snapped Megatron.

"Fine," huffed Blitzwing.

"The sentient species we may well encounter around Equestria include Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns. They are the most common beings we should run into," she said as she pointed from picture to picture, "and the occasional Griffon. The Changeling Queen is intelligent, but her drones largely aren't. I would be shocked if we actually saw any. Zebras are quite rare, at least outside of the Everfree Forest. I don't personally know any. Then there are dragons. They are by and large, very violent and antisocial. Ponies tend to attack them on sight in most cases."

"Pick one, Lugnut," said Megatron.

"I prefer to remain flying," he answered, "so I shall choose the pegasus." He started downloading the data.

"I see," he replied, "and what about you, Blitzwing? Save me the argument with yourself and just pick TWO!"

"That's brilliant," said Blitzwing as he face changed, "I choose the Griffon and the Unicorn!"

"A flying form and a land form," he muttered, "Why am I not surprised?"

"I guess you just know me too well," he said as he started the data download.

"Much to my shame," he replied.

"What form shall you take, Master?"

"Isn't it obvious," he said as he scanned Nightmare Moon.

"Foal," she said, "You won't blend in as an Alicorn!"

"Oh, don't you worry," he replied, "I'm sure I can cover the wings until I need them, and I'll just pass myself off as a unicorn until then."

"Yes!" agreed Lugnut, "Only the most glorious form for Lord Megatron!"

"Whatever," sighed Nightmare Moon, "Let's just get to Canterlot."

An Eye for Rarities (Revised)

by neorenamon

"Well now that... that... is out of the way..." giggled Spike as he continued to look at Twilight's wild uncontrolled mane, "we can check on the decorations."

"Fine," she grumbled, "Would you stop staring at me already? It's giving me a COMPLEX!"

"C'mon," he giggled, "It should only last... a lunar cycle or so!" Then he burst into a full laugh again.

"Your empathy is astounding," she whined.

"We should be seeing the decorator at the town hall," he said as he looked at the clipboard, "I've heard she's also the town's tailor and manedresser."

"Seems like she wears a lot of hats around here..." she said as she watched his expressionless face. "Oh come on," she moaned, "That was FUNNY!"

"If you say so," he replied as he opened the doors to the Town Hall. Everything was brightly festive and decorated with way to many ribbons. Then Spike saw her: The white unicorn with the dark blue mane and tail. She was fussing over more ribbons as her horn made them float around her.

"Decorations. Beautiful..." he sighed.

"Ah yes," replied Twilight, "The decor is coming along nicely. This ought'a be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed." She seemed rather oblivious to the fact Spike was staring right at the other unicorn mare. They weren't on the same page at all.

"Not the decor," he sighed, "It's her!"

But the unicorn was still fussing over ribbons of various bright colors as she muttered, "No, no, no, oh! Goodness no. These won't do at all."

"How are my spines?!" he asked as he looked himself over self consciously, "Are they clean and shiny?!"

She simply groaned as she replied, "They're fine! This isn't the 'Mating Game', you know."

But she could all but see the little hearts shooting out of his eyes as he sighed, "She's... perfect."

Twilight ignored the lovestruck comment as she made her way over for introductions. "Good afternoon..." she began.

She didn't even bother to look at them at first as she said, "Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were. Oh, yes! More sparkles always do the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help you..."

'Great,' thought Twilight, 'She talks to herself out loud about herself.'

But then she gasp as she looked at Twilight's mane and cried, "Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?!"

"My mane?" she asked, "Don't worry about that. I just got a bad blow job on the way over..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she replied, "I'm just here to check on the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. A quick look around and I promise I'll be out of your mane..."

"Out of MY mane?!" retorted Rarity, "What about YOUR mane?!"

"I can take care of that... HAY!!" Twilight had found that she was being dragged away from the decor by the distraught mare.

"THIS CRIME AGAINST FABULOSITY CANNOT GO UNREPAIRED!!"

'FABULOSITY: Is that even a word?' thought Twilight.

Spike floated behind the two of them still powered by the little hearts popping out of his body.
...

"WE HAVE ARRIVED IN SYSTEM," advised Omega Supreme.

"Thank you," answered Optimus, "What's the sensors reading?"

"I'm reading the ion trail from the disabled ship," said Jazz, "It does lead into the atmosphere and down to the surface."

"Then it should be a simple matter to..."

"Wait Prime. There's more."

"Go on."

"A smaller trail leaves the main trail and heads over to the planet's moon. Then it heads towards the planet on another tract."

"I guess Megatron and his bully boys bailed," smirked Sari.

"They probably had to repair their shuttle," said Bulkhead, "And used the shadow of the moon to mask their presence."

"Something's not right here," said Prime, "Why doesn't the shuttle's ion trail head to the crash site? Where else could Megatron be going?"

"Maybe he thinks the largest pieces of the AllSpark aren't at the crash site," suggested Bulkhead, "After all, he did share the power of the AllSpark back on Earth. While his senses aren't as good as Sari's key, I wouldn't be surprised if Megatron did have some... AllSpark sense or something."

"Our first priority should be collecting the pieces of the AllSpark," said Ratchet.

"No, our first priority should be slapping a pair of stasis cuffs on Megatron and his bullybots!" countered Jazz.

"You saw what kind of damage those loose fragments did on Earth."

"And you saw what kind of damage Megatron can do to Earth."

"Look," said Prime, "I think our processors are up to a little multitasking. But for the moment, we should follow the shuttle. There's just as likely AllSpark fragments where Megatron is going to land as anywhere else."

"Yeah," agreed Sari, "At this distance, even the key has trouble focusing on just one fragment."

"SENSORS INDICATE THIS IS A LOW TECH CIVILIZATION," said Omega Supreme, "THEY APPEAR TO HAVE ONLY ADVANCED TO STEAM POWER."

"That is... so primitive," muttered Sari.

"But they do have machines that we can use to blend in with the background," replied Prime, "Omega. Scan the planet for suitable technoforms."

"SCANNING."

Images began turning up on multiple screens.

"Eww..." said Jazz, "I am NOT turning into any of those clunky gross machines!"

"We may not have a choice in the matter," replied Prime.

"I don't think I even can scan..." began Sari.

"I know," he replied, "You'll just have to make do with your human form. We may have to put you in some kind of disguise when we figure out what the dominant life forms are on this planet."
...

Twilight sighed as if Rarity were running her through a fashion tornado. It seemed that every few seconds, she was in a new outfit with a new manedo.

"No, no, uh-uh. Too green. Too yellow. Too poofy. Not poofy enough. Too frilly. Too... shiny," she commented with each change of mane or outfit, "Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from," she said as she strapped Twilight into the Girdle of DOOM.

Twilight was left gasping and out of breath as she replied, "I've... been sent... from Canterlot... to..."

Rarity simply gasp as she let Twilight go, and then watched her crash into a dress mannequin.

"CANTERLOT?!" she replied dramatically, "Oh, I am so envious! The glamor, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I..." Then she paused to look at the gem at the front of the outfit she just slapped on Twilight as she said, "Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!" She vanished towards the back in a puff of dust.

"Quick!" gasp Twilight as she ditched the girdle and the outfit in the blink of an eye, "Let's get out of here before she decides to dye my coat a new color!"

"I think your coat would look good in white..." gushed Spike, "just like hers."

But Twilight was running for the door as Spike floated behind her. His eyes were still looking back to the last place he had seen Rarity.
...

Megatron's shuttle (the stolen Autobot shuttle really) landed a few miles away from the outskirts of Canterlot.

"All right," said Megatron, "Transform to the organic forms or I transform you into scrap metal!"

So they changed as Megatron looked on. Lugnut became a pegasus, and Blitzwing assumed his unicorn form.

Looking at Lugnut, he noticed that his coloration was more like his robot mode than what Megatron knew Earth equines looked like. His body, wings and lower back legs were a deep violet, but the rest of his body was olive green. He also noticed that his body was quite large and bulky, and yet his wings seemed a little too small to support his mass in the air. His cutie mark was an image of his airplane mode.

Like Lugnut, Blitzwing's griffon mode was also very similar to his robot mode's coloration. His body, wings and lower back legs were a deep violet and his face was deep blue, but the rest of his body was sandy brown. While he was just as large as Lugnut, he was a fair deal leaner. His cutie mark was an image of both his jet fighter and his tank modes.

"Hmm," he said, "Is that coloration... normal?"

"I've seen worse," replied Nightmare Moon, "Nopony should question it."

"Blitzwing," he commanded, "Show me your other form."

Blitzwing's unicorn mode had body and lower back legs that were a deep violet and his face was deep blue, but the rest of his body was sandy brown. His also had a horn that appeared to be a bit on the short side and rounded at the tip. While he was just as large as Lugnut, he was a fair deal leaner. The cutie mark didn't change along with the rest of his form.

"Very well. Now it's my turn," he said as he changed into an alicorn.

"Interesting," mused Nightmare Moon.

"What is?!" asked Megatron in a higher octave, "Wait, why has my voice changed?!"

"Well you scanned me," she replied, "I'm a mare after all. I guess that makes you a Princess."

"That's not important!" replied Princess Megatron, "And you two! Stop gawking at me before... I run you through with this horn!"

"Many apologies, Master," said pegasus Lugnut as he knelt before Princess Megatron.

"Now make some hooded cloaks for the two of us," he replied, "We both have our wings to cover up for the moment." Then he glared at Nightmare Moon as he added, "And YOU can stop gawking as well."

So she turned away as she snickered.

"Don't make me regret helping you," she warned Nightmare Moon.

"Very well," she replied, "An innocent mistake. Let us get going to Canterlot to find my older sister... and overthrow her!"

Author's Note

Another pic: [http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/tfp-pony/images/2/24/Tfp_ponies_megatron_by_kagekirite.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120701220043] (This isn't the best Megatron, but it will have to do.)

(6) Flutter Along for a Song

by neorenamon

Spike continued to float down the road behind Twilight as he sighed, "Isn't she dreamy?"

"Settle down, Camarguenova," she replied, "or I'm going to have to give you a cold shower from somepony's garden hose."

She glanced back to see that he was still entranced by the white unicorn mare.

"Snap out of it, Spike!" she commanded, "We've still got things to check up on before we retreat to the Library!"

"Oh huh wha?" he asked as he 'woke up' and checked the list, "Well it looks like the last official thing we need to check on is the music. There's supposed to be a pony on the edge of town who's going to provide music from songbirds."

"Well that should be something to see," she replied.

"And hear," added Spike.

"This one's a bit out of town for just having some birds," noted Twilight.

"Maybe she has some kind of bird sanctuary in her back yard?"

"I suppose we'll find out shortly," she replied as she trotted down the road.

After a moment, Spike put his claw to his ear as he said, "Well, that does sound nice."

"Yes it does," she agreed.

They came into view of a pegasus directing birds as they sang from a branch. But the she stopped their singing as she said "Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm." She fluttered up to speak to one of them: A bluejay. "Excuse me, sir? I mean, no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off. Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three..."

Twilight snuck up on them by accident as she said, "Hello there. I am..."

The birds scattered as the pegasus gave a startled shriek and shot 20 feet or so straight up into the air.

"I'm sorry!" she called, "I didn't mean to startle any of you!"

The pegasus slowly drifted back down towards the ground as she looked around for the birds.

"I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful," she said as the pegasus landed, waiting for some kind of response. "I'm Twilight Sparkle," she added when no response came. "What's your name?" she asked after no response came from that.

"I am... uh... Fluttershy," she said softly. She was turned away from the two of them as well.

"Padron? I didn't catch that."

"Fluttershy," she replied even softer.

"Still didn't catch that."

Her response was all but inaudible.

"The addendum to table 36.9 on page 123 says her name is Fluttershy," offered Spike.

"Well," she replied, "I guess things are peachy here. Let's get going, Spike..."

But Fluttershy had turned around and managed to see Spike for the first time as she squeaked, "Is that a baby dragon?!" In her rush to get into Spike's face, she all but knocked Twilight out of the way. "I've never seen a baby dragon before!" she said in a volume approaching normal conversation. "He's soooo cute," she gushed.

Spike glanced back at the sprawled out Twilight as he commented, "Well well well..."

"Oh my, he talks. I didn't know dragons could talk. That's just so incredibly wonderful I, I just don't even know what to say!" she continued to gush.

"Well, we reeeaaally need to get going," replied Twilight as she found her feet, "Places to go, ponies to see and all that..."

"Wait wait," she objected, "What's his name?"

"They call me... Spike," he replied.

"Hello there, Spike. I'm Fluttershy. So what do dragons talk about?"

"Well," he replied, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Absolutely everything," she blurted out.

Twilight just groaned as she overheard the exchange between the two of them.

"Well... I started out as a cute little purple and green egg..." began Spike as he climbed onto Twilight's flank.
...

Now with their wings cloaked, Nightmare Moon, Megatron and the others made their way towards the border of Canterlot City. They walked up the path towards the Guards at the gate.

"Allow me to do the talking," said Nightmare Moon.

"Very well," agreed Megatron, and then he looked back to add, "Lugnut, Blitzwing. You two stay back until we're ready to go in. We don't need any... incidents... so soon."

"Of course, Master," replied Lugnut.

"We better blow something up later," muttered Blitzwing.

Megatron groaned as he followed Nightmare Moon.

"Hail," she called as she approached a pair of Guards.

"Please state your business here," said one of them as they moved to block the entrance.

"We have supplies we're supposed to deliver to the Summer Sun Celebration," she replied, "but we got lost."

"It's lucky for you that Ponyville is nearby," replied the other, "You might get there in time for your delivery if you hurry."

"I've never heard of that place," she replied as Megatron glared at them.

"It's not far from the base of Canterlot Mountain," he replied, "Just head south. The rail line will show you the way if you should get lost again."

"Thank you," she replied as she turned to leave. They all walked away as the Guards began to gossip.

"I'd do the one with the red eyes," muttered the one guard, "She's a cutie."

"Oh please," replied the other, "The one with the bad teeth and the funny voice is hotter by far."

"Too bad we're on duty," he sighed.

"Too bad they already have stallionfriends."

"Insolent whelps," muttered Nightmare Moon.

"What were they even talking about?"

"Oh, I'm sure you don't want to know that," she hissed.

"I doubt I'll ever understand you organics," sighed Megatron.

"Sometimes I have to wonder about them myself."

"Is being a stallionfriend good?" asked Lugnut.

"That is one thing most mares seek to acquire at one time or another," she replied.

"Then I am obviously the only stallionfriend for my Lord Megatron!" he declared.

"I feel so... honored," grumbled Megatron.

"Thank you, Master!"

"Not big on sarcasm, is he?" smirked Nightmare Moon.

"No." answered Megatron.
...

"ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY BEGINNING," said Omega.

"It's lucky they have no sensors to detect us with," said Ratchet.

"Other than their optics," replied Optimus, "Keep the speed down, Omega. We don't want to generate any sonic booms."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"We should be using the clouds to our advantage," added Sari.

"That's a good idea," agreed Optimus.

"I wonder what the dominant species of this planet is?" asked Bulkhead.

"It's safe to say it's not humans," said Sari, "but there is signs of civilization all over the place. Someone must be in charge."

"I'm sure we'll discover that soon enough," said Prime, "but first we need to take on technoforms to blend in once we get there."

"Well this form looks big and strong enough for me," said Bulkhead as he looked at an image.

"That's a steam locomotive," she replied, "and I don't think they're supposed to be running off of railroad tracks. If you look at the data closely, you'll see that it has no steering mechanisms of any kind."

"That's a bummer," he replied, "All the others are either too small or they're watercraft."

"Look at that one!" said Sari as she pointed, "That kind of looks like a land train!"

"You're right," he replied as he looked, "But what is it?"

"As long as it blends in," said Optimus, "It doesn't matter."

"Okay. I'll download that scan into my transformation circuits."

"Uh," groaned Bumblebee, "They're all so slow, clunky and ugly."

"I gotta agree with that," replied Jazz.

"We all have to make sacrifices for the mission," said Prime. He looked at the scan as he said, "I only see one steam powered fire engine anywhere, so I suppose that's going to have to do for me."

"The things I have to do for Cybertron," groaned Bumblebee.

"I totally agree with that."

"We all have to adapt until the mission is over and we're back on our way to Cybertron."

"Well that one looks like a primitive ambulance," muttered Ratchet, "It looks as old as I feel, so I'll take that one."

"Very good," replied Prime.

"I guess I'll have to take that one," said Bumblebee, "At least that one's streamlined and made for speed... like me."

"Well this one's built for speed too," said Jazz, "So as long as it's temporary, I'll take that one."

"How long til we land?" asked Prime.

"LESS THAN 3 NANOCLICKS."

"Land close to the shuttle as you can."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"What about Omega Supreme?" asked Sari.

"We'll just have to leave him behind until we need some heavy firepower," replied Optimus.

Author's Note

(one scanned image)
(Steam powered fire engine)
(Steam powered ambulance)
(Steam racing car)
(Another steam powered race car)

SURPRISE!

by neorenamon

Twilight continued her walk towards the library even as Spike continued to spout his history to the enraptured Fluttershy. "...and that's the story of my whole entire life! Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?"

"Oh, yes, please!" she pleaded.

But Twilight bucked enough to toss Spike to the ground at the Library door. This caused the baby dragon to cry out in distress and surprise.

"I am so sorry, how did we get here so fast?" said Twilight as she tried to look apologetic, "This is where I'm staying while in Ponyville and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep."

"No I don't..." protested Spike before Twilight bumped him onto his backside again, "whoa!"

"Aww, wook at dat," said Twilight in a baby-like voice, "he's so sweepy he can't even keep his widdle bawance!"

"Oh my," replied Fluttershy, "You need to get him right to bed." She scooped him up in her forelegs and swept him into the Library before Twilight darted in afterwards, and she found herself bodily pushed back out the front door.

"I agree," she said as she pushed Spike though the door, "We'll get right on that. Well, g'night!" Then the door slammed shut behind them.

"You were a bit rude to Fluttershy, don't you think?" grumbled Spike.

"Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time!" she replied with a mixture of apology and desperation, "I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?"

"You just might need friends one of these day," he grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"Now let's find that light switch, shall we?"

Spike switched on the light switch to reveal that they were surrounded by a mass of strange ponies. There was the toot of a party horn, and then they all cried as one, "SURPRISE!"

A party noisemaker was all but blown in her face.

"Oh great," grumbled Twilight.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you!" said the pink Earth pony mare as she popped up next to Twilight, "Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?"

"Very surprised," she grumbled, "Libraries are supposed to be quiet."

"Well, that's silly!" she blurt out quickly, "What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all 'hello' and I was all [deep gasp], remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!"

Twilight just groaned at Pinkie's rushed speech.

"And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet," Pinkie continued to gush as she bounced and jumped all around Twilight, "and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went [deep gasp]! I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville!"

Then Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were all there around Pinkie as she added, "See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!" Wait, didn't Twilight just ditch Fluttershy at the front door? ARGH, another plot hole! I have to think of a way to rewrite this scene later... oh, pardon me for editorializing... back to the story.

Twilight used her magic to grab a random bottle from the table she approached and poured something red into a goblet. Wow, nothing can go wrong with this. Then she placed a straw into the cup as she started to sip and pretend to listen to Pinkie's ramblings. But then her cheeks became puffy and beet red. There was clearly something wrong with her.

"Are you all right, sugarcube?" asked Applejack with some concern.

Then she jumped upwards and shot fire from her mouth. While still in the air, she shot off towards the someplace she could find some water.

"Aww, she's so happy she's crying!" said Pinkie as she watched her go.

But Spike picked up the bottle she had used and commented, "This is 'hot sauce'."

Pinkie poured the sauce on a cupcake (Wait! Who does that?! Oh nevermind) and popped it into her mouth. Then she said with her mouth full, "What? It's really really good..."
...

"That must be the town of Ponyville up ahead," said Nightmare Moon as her group sighted a cluster of buildings ahead. By sticking to the roads, they managed to avoid the small farms and other sidetracks along the way. "My big sister won't be here yet," she continued, "I highly doubt she'd leave the coziness of her palace bedroom to spend the night here. It's not like her."

"Then we just need to know where the Princess will arrive so we can take her by surprise," replied Princess Megatron.

"But then what are we going to do?" asked Lugnut.

"Let's just blow her up!" said Blitzwing.

Nightmare Moon groaned as she said, "If I just put big sister out of her misery, then I cannot make her suffer just like I've suffered!"

"I like the way you think."

"I'd still rather just blow stuff up!"

"And nobody asked YOU!!"

"My sister defeated me before because I made the mistake of letting her see me coming," replied Nightmare Moon, "This time, a stun bolt spell should be able to stun her before she can react. We just need to restrain her before she can recover."

"Perhaps I can help with that," replied Megatron, "We have some stasis cuffs I... borrowed from the Autobots along with their ship. Perhaps they can be tuned so that they'll be effective against organics."

"Won't we need a test subject for who's not one of us?"

"Yes, that is a valid point," she replied, "We'll need to abduct a pony to test them on. Somepony that won't be missed until after we've captured Celestia."

"Oh, I don't think that's going to be a problem," said Nightmare Moon as she looked at the houses.

"Lugnut: release one of the stasis cuffs from your storage. If I'm right, then they shall be on the right scale for use on ponies."

"As the Master commands," he said as his chest split and two doors opened.

"That is really disturbing," said Nightmare Moon as she looked away.

But a pony sized pair of stasis cuffs flopped to the ground just as Megatron predicted. Then the doors in Lugnut's chest closed and disappeared without leaving any seams or cracks behind. The alicorns horn glowed as the cuffs likewise glowed and floated from the ground.

"What kind of power is that?"

"What? My magic?"

"Can I do that?"

"Any creature with this style of horn should be able to perform this feat."

"How... intriguing..."

"Ooo, and it looks like all kinds of fun too!"

"What do I need to activate?"

"You just look at the object you wish to move," replied Nightmare Moon as the cuffs circled around her, "and will it to move as you desire."

So Megatron looked at a hoof-sized rock as his horn began to glow. The rock began to likewise glow and shake.

"That's it," she urged, "Just focus more."

The rock began to lift off the ground even as Megatron began to visibly strain. "This is harder than it looks," she groaned.

"The more you practice, the stronger the power becomes. I'd rip up one of these trees to show you, but we can't afford to make such a scene right now."

The rock fell as she said, "And I doubt I'll be around here long enough to worry about it."

"But imagine what Decepticons could destroy if we could harness this new power!!" gushed Blitzwing.

"He's all about destruction, isn't he?"

"Indeed, but as long as it's just Autobots and other enemies of mine, I... put up with it."

"The Master is very tolerant of our failings!"

"He's bragging about that?!"

"Yes," groaned Megatron.

Party Crasher

by neorenamon

Twilight laid in bed mysteriously left alone by everypony that was supposed to be at the party for her. The sound of the music could be heard from the floor below. Yet the sound of the tickling clock was also painfully clear. Perhaps Spike made excuses for her? Could one wonder what how anypony could sleep with that kind of noise? We may never know...

She lay on her back and groaned aloud at her misfortune.

Then the music became louder as the door opened and Spike said, "Hey! They're about to play 'pin the tail on the @$$'. You should come down and join us. After all, you're missing your own party, Twilight."

"The party I never asked for," she groaned back, "I'd swear everypony in this town is nuts! Do they know what time it is?!"

"Of course they know what time it is!" retorted Spike, "and Nuts couldn't make it!"

"What?"

"Pinkie got a note earlier saying Nuts couldn't make the party."

She groaned as she whined, "Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it! 'Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night.' I hope the Princess was right... I hope it really is just an old ponytale..."

"Hey," said Spike, "I gotta go... Rarity is expecting me... She is SO dreamy..."

"I hope one of us has fun," she grumbled as Spike closed the door. Climbing out of bed, she walked to the doors to the balcony. Opening the door, she stepped out to look up at the moon. "But what can I do?" she asked of the moon and stars, "I'm just one pony..."
...

Nightmare Moon and the others stalked up to a house that still had the lights on. She glanced at the mailbox that had the name 'Nuts' on it.

"This should do," she said, "We hide in the bushes. You send the one called Lugnut to knock at the door. When the door opens, I hit them with the Stun Bolt and then you slap on the Stasis Cuffs."

"How?" Megatron asked, "I'm not good enough with magic yet."

"Use your mouth like every other pony, Princess," she smirked.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" growled the Princess.

"Hush," she replied, "We don't want to give ourselves away to Nuts."

Megatron just growled under her breath at Nightmare Moon as Lugnut stepped up to the door. He lifted his hoof, knocked at the door, and stepped to the side.

Then the door opened as an Earth stallion poked his head out to ask, "Who the hay is bothering me at this time of the... *HURK!*"

Nightmare Moon cut him off with her Stun Bolt as Megatron rushed up, Stasis Cuffs in mouth, and unceremoniously slapped them on Nuts' fetlocks. He became stiff and keeled over against the door frame.

"Quickly. Take him inside before you make a scene."

"Stop ordering," replied Megatron, "You aren't the Princess of me!"

"You know, I think your voice is getting higher pitched," observed Nightmare Moon as she followed them inside, "and I think you're doing pretty good with your mouth there, sister."

Megatron moaned.

"It looks like the cuffs are functioning on the organic, Lord Megatron," said Lugnut as he observed their Nuts.

"Yes, but I think you need to make a stronger Stun Bolt," answered Megatron, "We may well need more time to slap the cuffs on her."

"Very well. I can make it stronger. This one didn't need a stronger bolt than what I hit him with."

"I still want to blow him up," muttered Blitzwing.

"Ugh, the things I have to put up with."

"We need to watch him for a while to make sure the cuffs keep working," she interrupted, "Then we can tie him up, remove the cuffs and then stuff him in a closet. I'm sure somepony will discover him long after I'm ruling."

"What should we do while we're waiting?"

"Oh, I'm sure that you can keep your Princess Megatron company while we wait," suggested Nightmare Moon, "That's what good stallionfriends do."

"KNOCK IT OFF!!" she growled back.

She just snickered as Megatron glared at her who in turn ignored how Lugnut was looking at his Master.
...

Prime looked around inside the shuttle they found with Ratchet and Jazz as the others stayed on guard outside.

"It looks like the Cons have already bailed," said Ratchet, "I can find any sign of their plans."

"I think I found something, Prime," called Jazz over the radio.

"What do you have?" he asked back.

"It's something you better come see for yourself," he replied.

"I'm on my way," he replied as he headed towards Jazz's signal. Soon, he was at Jazz's side as he looked down on some shattered crystal fragments.

"My scans tell me this crystal is made of some kinda weird energy. Something's I've never seen before."

"This might have something to do with why they landed here instead of at the crash site." Then he put his hand to his ear and said, "Bulkhead: Come in here and analyze these crystals. I want to make sure they're not related to Space Bridge Technology."

"On my way, Prime," replied Bulkhead.

So they waited for him to arrive as Jazz continued to examine the pieces.

"Let me look at it," he said as he waited for Prime and Jazz to make a path. He scanned a crystal piece as the others waited for the results. After a few minutes, he finally said, "Nothing to do with Space Bridges. I think it's more of some kind of alien stasis field."

"Ratchet knows about Stasis Fields," said Prime, "We better get his opinion as well."

"I agree."

"We have to assume that Megatron and the others are also disguised as local machines," he mused, "otherwise we would have surely spotted them while we were coming in for a landing."

"There was no machines within sight," replied Jazz, "So it must have been a very small machine."

"That is curious."
...

Sari walked away from Omega Supreme in her human form. But now that she knew she was an Autobot protoform, she could hear the Autobot's transmissions even as a human.

"SARI," said Omega, "YOUR EXCURSION HAS NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY OPTIMUS PRIME."

"Well just chill," she replied, "I'm not going far. Who knows. I might bump into the dominant species while I'm looking around."

"MY TEMPERATURE IS CURRENTLY NOMINAL," he replied.

"That's just a saying, Omega. It means relax and stand down. Nothing is going to happen."

"PLEASE KEEP ME ADVISED."

"Fine," she grumbled, "You're worse than my dad."

She sighed as she walked through the trees. While it was dark, there was enough moonlight for her to see somewhat well. She heard a hoot, and watched as an owl glided overhead.

"Someone's out hunting," she mused as she watched it. But she was looking up at the owl as she stepped over the edge of a slope and took a long tumble. She rolled through a number of bushes as she gained speed towards the ground below. Fortunately, she avoided all the trees before she tumbled into the roadway and came to a rough stop. She sat up, and looked both ways on the road. Looking down the road, she saw the glow of lights against the night, but they were a fair distance away from her. She also say a light moving in the night like a headlight. It was moving towards the other lights.

"I found a road and some lights," she called to Omega, "Just taking a few minutes to see what they are."

"BE CAUTIOUS."

She stood, brushed herself off, and then began walking down the road towards the lights. But as she walked, she noticed a pony-drawn cart coming towards her, making its way slowly along the road in the dark. The only light came from a pair of oil lamps mounted on the sides, focused to shine ahead.

"Whoa," came a voice, "What kind of creature are you?!"

"My name is Sari," she replied, "I'm from a place called Earth. They call us Humans."

The cart came forward, and she realized there was no driver.

"Hey," she called, "Who talked to me?"

"Well who else would," he replied. She realized it was the pony that was speaking.

"WHOA!!" she cried, "A talking pony!!"

"Well of course I talk," he replied mildly insulted, "You think I'm an @$$ or something?!"

She came closer as she said, "Sorry. Where I come from, ponies just don't talk."

"What kind of sick twisted land is that?!"

"Earth."

"I'm glad I don't live there."

"Is there a town up the road there?" she asked as she closed to just out of her arm's reach.

"Yeah," he said, "I just came from Ponyville with a late night delivery for Canterlot."

"Ponyville?!" she asked in surprise, "That... sounds... awesome!!"

"I take it Earth isn't around here?"

"Oh, it's really far away from here. Are there others around here like me?"

"I promise that you're the first creature I've seen that looks anything like you," replied the pony.

"What's your name?"

"Oh," he replied as he stopped, "My name is Longhaul. Express delivery is my job."

"Wait," she said as she looked at him in the light, "Are you hot pink?!"

"Yeah," he replied, "What about it?"

"Earth ponies don't come in that color!"

"Hay!" he protested, "I'm ALL Earth pony!"

"How can you be an Earth pony if we're not on Earth?!"

"Well duh," he replied, "This is Equestria."

"Well... okay..." she answered, "I guess I'll figure this all out... somehow... Good luck with your delivery."

"Good luck to you too," he replied as he started trotting again. She continued her walk towards Ponyville.

"That was weird," they both said as they parted ways.

"Hey Omega," she radioed.

"AWAITING COMMUNICATIONS," he replied.

"You won't believe this, but the ponies on this planet talk!"

"WHAT IS A PONY?"

"Nevermind," she replied, "I'm going on a bit longer. There's a settlement and I'm going to check it out."

"OPTIMUS PRIME SHOULD BE ADVISED OF..."

"He has enough to worry about," she replied, "I should be back before he even returns to the ship."

"AFFIRMATIVE. OMEGA SUPREME OUT."
...

"The stasis cuffs worked perfectly," said Megatron as they left Nuts' house, "and we still have time to set up the best ambush point."

"I doubt there should be more than two guards with Celestia," said Nightmare Moon, "Do you have enough stasis cuffs for all of them?"

"Yes we do."

"Excellent. I have enough Stun Bolts for all."

"Something is wrong, Lord Megatron," said Lugnut with a yawn, "I have this urge to shut down my systems."

"Why is this happening?"

"Almost all ponies sleep at night," replied Nightmare Moon, "but I can temporarily fix that." Her horn glowed as it spread over Megatron and the others. "There. That spell should remove the need to sleep for a couple of days."

"I no longer feel the need to shut down."

"Blitzwing might be right about this thing called magic," mused Megatron aloud. They slipped though the streets towards the largest and most important looking building in Ponyville.

"Judging by the decorations," said Moon, "I'd say this must be the place where the ceremony is being held. We need to get out of sight. Celestia should be flying in her chariot pretty soon."

"How can you tell?"

"I was once the Princess of the Moon," she replied, "and my magic tells me when it's time to lower the moon. It's only an hour or so from now, and I'm sure Celestia will try to slip in unnoticed before everypony else starts showing up. She'll want to avoid crowds until she has to deal with them."

So they moved to hide in the bushes.
...

Celestia looked down as they flew towards Ponyville. She wanted to slip in before the crowds gathered, so she tried to be there a bit early. But as they winged there way over the road, she caught a glimpse of a strange yellow creature. She blinked, but they were flying fast enough that she lost sight of it. Looking up at the Guards pulling her chariot, they didn't seem to have noticed what she did, so she said nothing to them about it.

"I wonder what that was?" she asked, "Ah, I must be working too hard."

"Did you say something, my Princess?" asked one of the Royal Guards.

"Just practicing my Summer Sun Celebration speech," she replied, "Hope it's not bothering you."

"Of course not, marelady," he replied.

They approached the site of the Summer Sun Celebration, and noticed how well it was decorated. Then the chariot landed, rolled to a stop, and then she climbed out as she called ahead, "You may return to Canterlot. I'm sure that Spike can send you a message when I need to return."

They whinnied before they pulled the chariot back into the sky. She watched them fly away, but just as she was turning around to walk in, a magical bolt was fired at her from the bushes. It struck her square in the chest before she could react. She couldn't move or think clearly as a strange unicorn rushed up and slapped some strange looking manacles on her fetlocks. She realized that she couldn't move or use her magic at all.

"You've grown soft, big sister," said a mare as she emerged from the bushes.

'NIGHTMARE MOON?!' she thought.

"I'd like you to meet my partners in crime," she added as she pointed her horn at the unicorn and the two others emerging from the bushes, "My associates, Princess Megatron, Lugnut and Blitzwing."

"Blast it, organic!" she cursed as her wings popped out from under the cloak, "Just call me Megatron or Lord Megatron! I AM NOT A PONY PRINCESS!!"

But Nightmare Moon smiles her fanged grin as she said, "She's just too easy to tease about anything, big sister."

"Where can we hide the prisoner?" asked Lugnut.

"Just blow her up already," said Blitzwing.

"I'll blow YOU up if you suggest that again!"

"Don't worry about big sister," she replied, "I know this area well enough to know where some deep caves are. They shouldn't be used by anypony. Once I've taken over a made the Eternal Night, we can return so that I can properly punish her for what she did to me!" Her horn glowed as she made Celestia float, and they followed her as she made her way towards the edge of town. "Then I shall return, and these foals will discover that their precious sun, their sun Princess, and the daylight SHALL! BE! GONE! FOREVER!" She made a wicked laugh.

"HAY!! Keep it down out there!! An old stallion needs his sleep after all, ya whippersnappers!!" called a cranky old pony from his window. Fortunately, he was looking in the wrong area as Nightmare Moon and the others rushed away.

(9) It's got to be the Morning After

by neorenamon

Celestia found that she couldn't move or act as she was magically whisk through the woods by her now evil little sister turned Nightmare Moon. She knew it had to be the strange manacle on her fetlocks, but they also seemed to be immune to her power. But she was aware of what was happening around her. Given a chance, she could have found her way back to Ponyville.

"How does it feel to have the hoof on the other leg?" asked Nightmare Moon.

There was no response.

"Don't worry... I'm not going to banish you right away. Perhaps I'll keep you as a statue for a while before I banish you!!"

Still no response.

"I cannot hardly wait to see their sun-loving little faces when I announce the beginning of my reign of Eternal Night!"

"She knows she cannot respond audibly, doesn't she?" asked Lugnut.

"But she knows that her big sister can hear everything she says," replied Megatron, "Just like an Autobot in stasis cuffs can."

"We've travelled several clicks in these flesh bag bodies," complained Blitzing, "How far are we going?"

"Stop whining!" growled Moon, "We're almost there! It won't take much time to dump her off and get back to Ponyville before the ceremony! Those ponies are so dim, I doubt anypony will even bother to check on Celestia before they announce her!"

"That sounds like low powered processors, alright."

"You should know."

"Thank you for noticing, Master," he replied.

Megatron sighed as a cave came into their view partly hidden behind some bushes and hanging vines. The group travelled a good hundred paces or so into the cave before Celestia was dumped into a corner with no fanfare.

"Stay! Sit! Heel!" she smirked, "I've always wanted to say that."

"I don't get it."

"I'm sure it's some kind of inside joke."

"I'm sure you can find the way back," said Moon as she turned to blue sparkling mist, "This form will get me back faster." Then she raced from the cave back towards Ponyville at great speed.

As she left, Celestia heard Blitzwing say, "Ooo, I want that upgrade!"

"That would surely have its uses."

"This power called magic is surely mystifying, Lord Megatron."

"Perhaps we're going to stay around this planet until we figure out how magic works," replied Megatron, "but we need to terminate any Autobots in pursuit in order to keep this new power secret."

"That sounds like an excuse to blow them up!"

"Yes it is."
...

Twilight grumbled as she followed Pinkie and the others to the main hall for the Summer Sun Celebration. She looked ahead of her as Spike walked at Rarity's side and made small talk even as Fluttershy walked on his other side, listening enraptured at the baby dragon she had gushed over. They all filed inside, leaving little room for movement within. She could see Fluttershy waiting with her birds for their cue even as Rarity stood in place on the upper stage to open the curtains and reveal Princess Celestia to her loyal subjects in Ponyville.

Once inside, Pinkie Pie bounced up next to her as she gushed, "Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited-- well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went [deep gasp] but I mean really, who can top that?"

There was fanfare from Fluttershy's birds announcing the Mayor's approach to the lower stage.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," she announced, "as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!"

There was much rejoicing. Twilight looked up to see that she could no longer see the shadowy image of the Mare in the Moon across the surface.

"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..."

"Ready?" asked Fluttershy of her birds.

"...Princess Celestia!"

Rarity opened the curtains to reveal... an empty stage. Wow, nopony did check on the Princess ahead of time. "Huh?" she asked in surprise.

Murmurs spread about the gathered ponies as they all stared at the empty stage above them. None of them even noticed that there was now a human looking in through a window as well.

"This cannot be good," said Twilight. It's nice that somepony is still willing to state the obvious.

"Ooh, ooh," gushed Pinkie without a clue, "I love guessing games! Is she hiding?"

"SHE'S GONE!" replied Rarity. Wait, you didn't even know she was there. How could you know she was missing?

"Remain calm, everypony," said the Mayor, "there must be a reasonable explanation!"

"Ooo! She's goooood..."

A sparkling purple mist swirled onto the stage, causing Pinkie Pie to gasp aloud. From the mist emerged a dark blue alicorn mare that only one pony there recognized. The one who believed the legends and saw the signs. "Oh no... Nightmare Moon!" she said in quite desperation. Spike fell as he fainted.

Nightmare Moon gazed out on the gathered ponies as she said, "Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces."

"What did you do with our Princess?!" asked Dash as she tried to fly at her, but Applejack used her mouth to grab the tip of her tail and stop her cold.

"Whoa there Nelly!" she called with her teeth clenched.

She chuckled darkly as she said, "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty..." gushed Pinkie before Applejack shoved a apple into her pie hole while still holding back Dash. Ooo, she's good.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" hissed Nightmare Moon. As she spoke, she used her mane as a hoof to spook Fluttershy and her birds, and then stroke the chin of Rarity.

"I did," said Twilight boldly, "And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!"

There was a collective gasp from the collected ponies. They do that a lot, don't they?

"Well well well, somepony who remembers me," said Nightmare Moon condescendingly, "Then you also know why I'm here."

Twilight stammered as she said, "You're here to... to..." But she paused to gulp hard.

Nightmare Moon laughed as she said, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" Her laughter continued as her sparkly mane-thingie swirled up into a cloud, and thunder effects were heard. There was also flashes of lightning from it. Ooo, what pony does her special effects?!
...

"Wow," said Sari as she watched the scene unfolding, "so many pastel ponies. I wonder if Prime will let me keep one... Oh, this reminds me of a bad cartoon I once saw... I wonder who does the special effects for that dark blue horned pegasus?"

"Sari?!" called Prime over the radio.

"Ooo, busted," she muttered before she replied, "What's up, big bot?"

"Where are you?!" he replied, "Why did you leave the ship?!"

"Calm down," she answered, "I've found out that the dominant species on this planet is... TALKING PONIES! I see ponies, little pegasus, little unicorns and even some creepy looking winged unicorn. She has this disturbing laugh."

"Have you been spotted by any of them?!"

"Oh, I'm better than that, Prime."

"Then you better get back here as soon as possible," he scolded, "Your father would so... what's that word I'm looking for?"

"Ground me?"

"Yeah that!"

But she looked up the road from the bushes as another winged unicorn, a unicorn and a pegasus all made their way towards the back of the building in a rush. She gasp at what she saw, but none of them looked in her direction.

"Prime!" she called, "You aren't going to believe this!"

"You aren't just trying to change the subject, are you?!"

"No way," she answered, "I just saw a gray winged unicorn running around... WITH THE DECEPTICON FACE ON ITS BUTT!!"

"You're right... I don't believe you."

"And there's another unicorn and a pegasus whose bodies have the same coloration as Lugnut and Blitzwing!!"

"If a protoform could take on an organic form," interrupted Ratchet, "There's no reason to believe that a full transformer couldn't do the same."

"That sounds so gross!" protested Bulkhead.

"All the more reason to get out of there, Sari," said Prime.

"What did you... ssshhh... Prime? ssshhh... I'm losing... ssshhh... Gotta check on... ssshhh..." said Sari before she closed the radio link.

Then she ran after where she saw the Deception winged unicorn go.
...

Ratchet walked onto the bridge as he commented, "Bumblebee's fake static still sounds better."

"I have a lock on Sari's signal," said Jazz.

"AUTOBOTS!" he said, "We need to go after Sari if there's even the slightest chance it's Megatron!" Then he looked at Ratchet and said, "It's best if you stay behind with Omega Supreme and monitor the situation from here. I don't need you rolling in too unless we're sure it's not a trap of some kind."

"Very well," agreed Ratchet.

"Everyone use the new mechanical forms!" said Prime as he transformed and rolled for the exit hatch. He rolled down the hallway belching steam as he went.

"This is so under protest," said Jazz as he transformed and rolled out too.

"Me too!" added Bumblebee as he changed and rolled out.

"I'll open the hatch and change once I'm outside," said Bulkhead as he ran after them. The collective steam was fogging his optics a bit even as he did so.

"Good luck," called Ratchet after them.

He opened the hatch, and then followed the others out before he transformed.

"Be careful. These aren't exactly off road vehicle forms."

"Agreed," said Prime, "I don't think we're far from a dirt road. It should be easier once we get to it."

"The things I do for Cybertron," muttered Bumblebee as they rolled out.
...

Nightmare Moon continued her evil laugh as she reared on the stage. More thunder and lightning. Sooo good.

"Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!" cried the Mayor as she hoof pointed. Wait! How the heck did she know that?! PLOT HOLE!! WEE!!

Three of the Princess' Royal Guards rushed Nightmare Moon. Wait! When the heck did they show up?! Seriously...

"Stand back, you foals!" she cried as she blasted the three guards away with the lightning. How convenient. Then she turned into sparkling blue smoke and flew away even as Rainbow Dash finally broke away from Applejack's grip on her tail.

Flying outside, Dash called "COME BACK HERE!" Oh yeah, that's gonna work. As she watched the smoke vanish in the distance, she said softly to herself, "Nighttime... forever?"

She looked down to see Twilight with Spike on her back running out the front door... somehow getting past the panicked crowd in the way... nothing to see here.

"Where's she going?" asked Dash as she talked to herself out loud.
...

Meanwhile, Megatron and his associates rushed up the back stairs to the stage to see it was empty. He looked down over the panicked ponies even as some of them began moving towards the exit.

"I AM MEGATRON, LEADER OF THE DECEPTICONS!!" called Princess Megatron from the upper stage.

Every pony stopped to look up.

"Who the hay is that?!" asked Applejack.

Lugnut and Blitzwing rushed up beside their leader.

"WAIT?! WHERE DID THAT NIGHTMARE MOON GO?!" asked Megatron looking around.

"Ooo," gushed Pinkie as she pointed with her front hoof, "She turned into sparkly blue smoke and flew out the front door!"

"Oh great!" she moaned, "Blitzwing: Griffon mode! We're flying after her to see what she's up to!"

The ponies stared open mouthed as a unicorn shifted into a griffon, and then the three of them flew out the open door.

"That... looks... so... COOL!" gushed Pinkie.

Sari ran up onto the stage as she called, "Hey! Where did Megatron go?!"

"Ooo," gushed Pinkie, "She flew off out the front door after Nightmare Moon!"

"SHE?!"

"Well duh. I think I know an alicorn mare when I see one."

Sari burst into laughter. "A mare?!" she laughed, "That's so precious!! I can't wait to tell Prime about that!!"

"Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!" cried the Mayor as she hoof pointed. Why not?

The Royal Guards now flew at Sari.

"Hey!" she protested as she was surrounded, "I don't know anything about Princesses! I'm just here to stop... *snicker* Megatron!"

"Wait," said a random stallion, "If she was an alicorn, doesn't that also make her a Princess?!"

"PRINCESS MEGATRON?!" laughed Sari as she grabbed her sides and fell backwards.

"I didn't think it was that funny."

Mystery of the Missing Celestia

by neorenamon

Dash looked at the retreating violet unicorn and sniffed, "What a chicken... she can run away if she wants to." Then she flew back inside.

"What is that MONSTER?!" shrieked Random Stallion #9 as they pointed at the creature up on the stage.

"She knows where the Priness is!" yelled Random Mare #12.

"Make it talk!!" screamed Random Stallion #13.

"I told you I'm Sari!" she replied.

"Well just what are you sorry for?!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she walked towards the stage.

"No no no!" she replied, "Saa-ri, not Sar-ree!"

"Put some manacles on that... that... creature!" yelled the Mayor, "We'll make it tell us where our Princess is!"

"I told you I don't know anything about your pony princess," she replied, "I'm here to capture... *snicker* Princess Megatron!"

"Well what did she do?!" asked Random Mare #12.

"Megatron's a warmonger who leads the Decipticons!" she cried, "In addition, my father was abducted by them and forced to do... questionable stuff! My friends and I have been attacked by them on numerous occasions! They've been hurt really badly, and one had to give up their life to keep us safe from them!"

"That shore sounds like some kinda evil Princess," said Applejack.

But the Royal Guards, all three of them, pressed closer to Sari, making her back up towards the edge of the platform.

"She's not evil!" yelled Pinkie, "That Nightmare Moon and Princess Megatron are the evil ones!"

"Oh... my..." said Fluttershy as she sent the birds back home out the window, and then slipped over by Pinkie Pie.

"Somethin' done stinks here," muttered Applejack as she looked sidelong at Pinkie Pie.

"What?!" replied Pinkie, "I showered yesterday morning!"

Applejack facehoofed herself as Dash came over.

"Hay Dashie, what happened to the violet unicorn mare?"

"She ran away somewhere," replied Dash smugly.

"Well if I were her, I would have returned to the Library. She seems like the kinda mare who feels safe among books."

"Books do not make good accessories," replied Rarity as she walked over.

"If you don't bust me, I promise I'll help get your Princess back from Nightmare Moon and Princess Megatron!" called Sari as she raised her hands defensively.

"I can't believe anything a monster would say," called the Mayor, "Slap it in irons and we'll make it talk... with enough incentive."

The Guards pulled out sets of manacles... from somewhere.

"I don't like the sound of that!" said Sari from the edge of the balcony.

"Ah don't like the sound'a that neither," replied Applejack as she pulled out her lasso.

"What are ya gonna do?" asked Fluttershy quietly.

"The Apple Clan don't stand fer no injustices," she replied as she used her mouth to begin twirling the lasso over her head.

"You should just leave her to the Guards," suggested Rarity.

"Ah agree with Pinkie," she replied as she twirled the lasso faster, "an no innocent critter should be interrogated like that. So we all are gittin her outa here. She knows somethin more than she said jus like that there violet unicorn did." She let the lasso fly as it landed over Sari's shoulders, pulling her arms to her side just under her bosom. Then with a sharp tug, she came flying back towards them. Applejack turned in time for Sari to land sitting on her back facing backwards. "Come on ladies!" she cried, "We all are outta here!"

"What are you doing?!" yelled the Mayor, "You're harboring an monster criminal!"

But Applejack and the others made a dash for the door, and fortunately no pony in their way was willing to stick out their neck to stop them.

"Think of the Princess!" she cried as they ran out into the street.

"Where to now?" asked Dash.

"If Twilight's retreated to the Library, then that's where we should go too!" said Pinkie.

"No one looks for criminals at a Library!" agreed Dash as they all ran off for the Golden Oak Library.

"Whoa," said Sari, "I'm being abducted by talking pastel ponies! This! is! so! COOL!"

"Yeah, it's COOL!" cried Pinkie.

"Do ya understand what she jus said?" asked Applejack as she ran.

"I have no idea what she's talking about, but it sure sounds like something fun!"

"Ah don't know you," she muttered under her breath.
...

Once she got back to the Library, she rushed in and set down Spike only to realize he was exhausted from partying all night. So she quietly slipped him into his basket and covered him wif his widdle blankie before she set out to look for any book she could find that was relevant to the return of Nightmare Moon. Her horn glowed brightly as books glowed and swarmed about her like flies. She looked from one book cover to the next as she said, "101 Things A Pony can do on the Potty? Not this one." *toss to the floor* "Adventures I've had while I was Stoned? Not this one either." *toss* "Secret Journal #1? Nah, that can't be it..." *toss* "101 uses for a Meadow Muffin? Eww..." *toss* "The Enchiridion? Not even close." *toss* "The Necronomicon? NOPE!" *toss* "The Anarchist's Cookbook? Puh-lease." *toss* "Tales of the Bronies Grimm? I don't need creepy pasta stories!" *lob* "Cupcakes?! Aw, come on!" *hard throw* "Where are those books on Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony?!" Why do so many ponies expound their thoughts aloud around here?

But she turned to find Rainbow Dash in her face saying, "And just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy? Whoa!"

Applejack had stopped her by biting the end of her tail again.

"Jus give it a rest there, Jenny," she replied with her teeth clenched, "She ain't no spy. But she sure knows what's going on. Don't you, Twilight?"

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon," replied Twilight, "Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!"

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide," said Pinkie who mysteriously appeared on a ladder as she pulled the book down from the highest shelf.

"Where did you find that?" asked Twilight.

(Wait, shouldn't she asked, "What are you doing in the Library, you creepy stalker?!" Oh nevermind...)

"It was under EEE-eee!" sang Pinkie.

"Hey, could you get this rope off me?" asked Sari as she sat on Applejack's back.

"Sorry sugar-cube," as she removed the rope and let Sari slide off her butt.

"Wow, if I didn't care so much about the return of Nightmare Moon, I'd ask what kind of creature is that?" she asked as she opened the book on the Elements of Harmony.

"I tell you that I'm a human from the place called Earth."

"Thar ain't no place called Earth," retorted Applejack, "Jus us Earth ponies."

"Well have you been everyplace in Equestria?" asked Pinkie, "Or beyond?"

"Uh... I reckon not..."

"Oh, I promise you that Earth is really far from here. My friends and I are in hot pursuit of the criminal warlord... *snicker* Princess Megatron."

"This Princess Megatron sounds like some evil pony, alright!" she agreed.

"If Princess Megatron is in cahoots with your Nightmare Moon, that's gonna spell big trouble for everyone."

"The return of Nightmare Moon was foretold in the legends," replied Twilight, "but I never saw any reference to any Princess Megatron!"

"That's because you didn't read THIS book!" cried Pinkie as she set down another book by the Reference Guide.

She looked at the book and said, "They came from the Stars? I've never heard of this before."

Sari and the other mares crowded closer as she opened the book. On the inside of the cover was a symbol that Sari knew all too well.

"THAT'S THE DECEPTICON SYMBOL!" she said as soon as she saw the evil face.

"Evil shall fall from the sky in the trail of a falling star," read Twilight, "and they shall mingle with the ponies even though they are not. They shall live by violence and conquest. Take not their word for their word shall mean naught. They shall make any disaster worse, and they seek to steal that which is not theirs. Beware, for they shall forge alliances with those who are evil."

"That sounds like ole' Megatron to me," said Sari quietly.

"Ooo," said Pinkie, "There's more."

"But as the evil warriors from the sky shall wreck havoc, seek out the good warriors from beyond to aid in the battle against them. They shall be known by the symbol which is not the same as the one born by the evil warriors. Consult thine image on the back cover, you ninny."

They flipped to the back cover, where another face symbol was. "That's the Autobot symbol!" called Sari as she pointed.

"So these here Autobots will help us fight them thar Decepticons an git our Princess back from Nightmare Moon?" asked Applejack skeptically.

"Always!" she replied, "The Autobots are like my bestest buds!"

"Well maybe we don't need no Elements of Harmony."

"No," replied Twilight, "We need those in case Nightmare Moon is stronger than these... Autobots."

"As if," sniffed Sari.

Twilight went back to reading the Reference Guide aloud as she said, "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now..."

"The Everfree Forest?!" cried the others.

"Is that bad?" asked Sari.

"Sari!" called Prime over the radio, "Where are you? Where's Megatron?"

"I'm fine Prime," she replied, "And Princess Megatron took a powder."

Applejack looked at Sari apparently talking to no one as she asked, "Who all are ya talkin too, sugar-cube?"

"Oh, I'm just talking to Prime over the radio. It's sounds you can't hear."

"Oh..." she replied, "Like one of those dog whistles?"

"Close enough."

"Princess Megatron?!" asked Prime, "By the spark, what is that?!"

"I'll explain when you get here," she replied, "Lock on my signal and I'll meet you outside this Library."

"OOO!!" cried Pinkie, "I wanna meet your friends!"

"We'll all go out," replied Applejack, "but stay close in case those Guards are out lookin for ya."

"I will," replied Sari, "Not that I'm worried or anything. Like primitive iron manacles would hold me..." She kept muttering as they all went for the door. In front of the Library was a collection of steam powered vehicles.

"When the hay did these here new fangled machines git here? Whar are their drivers?"

"Whoa!" called Sari, "That's so low tech, they don't even keep that in Earth museums any more!" Then she turned to the ponies and said, "These are my friends, the Autobots!"

"Come again, sugar-cube?"

"Transform Prime so they don't think I'm nuts over here!"

"We can't do that where we can be seen," replied Prime, "We might cause a panic."

"Look," said Twilight, "I have to go to the Everfree Forest to stop Nightmare Moon. The rest of you can work this Princess Megatron problem out. It's best that I face any dangers there... alone."

"No can do, sugarcube. We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple."

Pinkie said randomly, "Especially if there's candy apples in there. What? Those things are good."

"We can follow them," said Prime, "and then we can transform without being seen by anyone... besides these six."

"As long as we're coming with," said Sari, "Everyone get in one of these steam vehicles. We might as well ride out there in style."

"I'm a Doctor," grumbled Ratchet, "Not a taxi!"

"You've given rides to humans..."

"and whined about it... Besides, I hope I didn't bust a steam gasket just to rush over here for nothing!"

"So just let one of the ponies ride in you and zip the speakers already!"

"It won't hurt," said Prime.

Ratchet groaned as the ponies climbed into the vehicles.
...

"This is the border of the Everfree Forest!" called Twilight as she looked through Prime's windshield.

"Okay," replied Sari, "everyone get out and the Autobots will show you something really cool!"

So Sari and all of the mares climbed out.

"Autobots transform!" called Prime as the Autobots shifted back to robot mode.

"What da what?!" asked Dash in dismay.

"THAT IS SO COOL!" cried Pinkie Pie.

"I am Optimus Prime," said Prime as he lowered himself to one knee, "These are my soldiers and friends. We've spent many solar cycles battling against Megatron and his Decepticon forces."

"Yeah, that evil Princess Megatron."

"What's this Princess Megatron stuff about?" asked Bulkead.

"Oh, Megatron took the form of an alicorn Princess," snickered Sari, "so apparently that makes Megatron a Princess around here."

"THAT'S FUNNY!" laughed Bumblebee.

"I KNOW!"

"What's an alicorn?" asked Prime.

"It's kinda like a pony with wings and one horn on their forehead," she replied, "like that robot toy thing that Professor Princess liked to ride."

"Those are REAL?!" asked Bumblebee.

"They apparently are on this planet," said Prime.

"What's a planet?" asked Twilight.

"Oh great," muttered Ratchet.

"I was trying to put off explaining that," replied Sari.

"They have to find out eventually," said Bulkhead.

"Just tell them we're from beyond the stars and leave it at that!" grumbled Ratchet.

"Well until we stop Nightmare Moon and this Princess Megatron, I guess that will have to do," replied Twilight. She turned and said, "That's the Everfree Forest, and that's where we'll find the Elements of Harmony."

"I betcha that Nightmare Moon and Princess Megatron went there too!" said Sari, "If they have the Princess and are looking for those Element things, then I'd take your kidnapped Princess there too!"

"It's too dense for vehicle mode," said Prime, "We're going in on foot."

"Agreed," said Jazz.

But the ponies other than Twilight seemed reluctant to enter.

"So, none of you have been in here before?" she asked.

"Ugh, Heavens no! Just look at it - it's dreadful," whined Rarity.

"And it ain't natural. Folk say it don't work the same as Equestria," said Applejack.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Twilight.

"Nopony knows. You know why?" asked Dash.

But Applejack seemed put off as she said, "Rainbow, quit it."

Dash continued in her spooky voice, " 'cause every pony who's ever come in, has never come out!"

"The Autobots should be able to protect you from any threat," answered Prime.

"Oh big metal... things," said Rarity sarcastically, "I feel so much safer already."

"Rarity!" called Applejack, "Don't sass these here Autobots! They all are just tryin ta help us!"

"Actually, they look 20% cooler!" agreed Rainbow Dash.

"All right," said Prime, "We're going in. Stay close. All of you. We should be safer in a group."

The mares nodded.

Fly and be Everfree!

by neorenamon

Twilight lead the group into the Everfree Forest, as she seemed to be less confused about where they were supposed to go than anyone else. The ponies and Sari also had their eyes closer to the ground than the Autobots, making it easier for them to lead the way through the trees and underbrush.

"What's so scary about this place?" asked Sari, "Looks just like some old forests back on Earth."

"But the Everfree Forest," said Dash in a spooky tone, "IS FULL OF MONSTERS!!"

But Sari's key glowed and began to drag her away from the path as she said, "WHOA!!"

Prime looked at her and said, "Have you found an AllSpark fragment already?!"

"That's what my key is telling me!" sang Sari as the key dragged her into the brush.

This glowing key will not listen, no not one little bit
It drags me 'cross the countryside and with it's little glowy fits
It's up to me to control this, 'cause plainly you can see
It's got to be my destiny
And it's what my glowing key is telling me!

"Whoa!" shouted Pinkie, "Musical number!"

Then Optimus sang out as he stood before the Autobots,

I have to be their leader with this Autobot face
But no matter how I lead them, it seems a bit of a disgrace
I have to be their leader, it's there for all to see
It's got to be my destiny
And it's what my Autobot mark is telling me!

Then Bumblebee sang as he looked through the underbrush,

I don't care much for underbrush and these trees ain't helpin me out!
No matter what I try, I cannot find the right route!
I've got these scouting things to do, it's no fun being me
But it has to be my destiny
'Cause it's what my Autobot mark is telling me

Then Bulkhead sang as he looked at a random pile of rocks he just made (DON'T ASK ME WHEN!!),

Lookie here at what I've made, I can't tell I must confess
I know it doesn't look like much, I'm under some distress
Could y'all give me a hand here and help me fix up this mess?
My destiny is not pretty
But it's what my Autobot mark is tellin' me

"AW CAN THE FOOLISHNESS ALREADY!!" screamed Ratchet.

"Whoa," said Sari, "I have no idea where that came from."

"Or the music," said Bulkhead.

"It must be the spooky magic of the Everfree Forest," said Dash spookily.

"Give it a rest, sugar-cube," scolded Applejack.

"Or it might have something to do with the AllSpark fragment I just stepped on," suggested Sari as she looked under her boot.

"Wow, that was really close by," said Bumblebee.

"The key should have detected the spark fragment much sooner," replied Prime, "So just hang onto that for safe keeping, Sari."

"You got it, bossbot!!" she replied as she pocketed it.

"Let's keep going. Keep you optics peeled for..."

A familiar evil laugh rang out through the trees.

"Nightmare Moon!" shouted the ponies.

A blue sparkling mist came out and turned into the black alicorn of eternal night as she said, "You were foals to follow me! NOW I SHALL DESTROY YOU!!" Her mane swirled into a cloud again as lightning randomly shot at pony and ally alike.

Megatron, Blitzwing and Lugnut stumbled through the trees as Megatron called out, "Blast it!! Where have you gone to?!"

"MASTER!" called Lugnut, "It's the Autobots!"

"They can't use their vehicle modes here!" said Megatron, "Transform to air vehicle mode and DESTROY THEM FROM THE SKY!!"

He transformed into his twin-bladed attack helicopter as Lugnut changed into a heavy jet transport, and Blitzwing changed into a fighter jet. They all soared into the sky, and then turned back to open fire on the Autobots.

"Sari!" called Prime, "Stay back and guard the ponies!"

She changed from human to robot mode as she replied, "I'm on that, Prime!"

"She can't protect them from ME!" yelled Nightmare Moon as her lightning rained down all around Sari and the ponies. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were felled by the shocks even as they tried to fly up.

"NO NO NO!!" screamed Twilight.

"Oh no!" cried Sari, "I can't protect them!"

Her key began to glow as the AllSpark fragment flew from her pocket. The fragment attached itself to the end of the key. Suddenly, the eyes of Sari and all of the ponies opened wide as light burst from them. The funny thing was that Nightmare Moon's eyes glowed too. Oh, this would look so cool if I could draw or animate!

Sari grew to the size of Bumblebee as she shouted, "Maximum Sari transform!" Her hands changed as she began firing electroballs at the Decepticons from her open palms.

Twilight stood on her hind legs as she turned metallic, split open in a few places like her head and chest, reconfigured and became a robot! See the pics in the description because it's way to hard to describe all that in text! She was now also as tall as the new Sari as she said, "Twilight Prime transform!"

The other ponies followed suit.

Dash shouted, "Rainbow Bolt transform!'

Applejack shouted, "Apple Buster Transform!"

Rarity shouted, "Rare Seeker transform!"

Fluttershy called, "Flutterstorm transform!'

Pinkie Pie sang, "Pinkie Maximus transform!"

"AH!" moaned Nightmare Moon, "Nightmaretron transform!"

"Whoa!" said Pinkie Maximus, "Nightmare Moon has TWO HEADS now!" Yes, she had a robot head and her other head along her right arm.

"That all just ain't right," said Apple Buster.

But Nightmaretron simply laughed as she yelled, "I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER!!" A powerful beam shot at Sari and the ponies from her formerly alicorn head's mouth.

"Well so are we!" replied Twilight Prime. Her hands glowed brightly as a large translucent violet shield formed a partial dome in front of them, and blocked Nightmaretron's attack against them.

"Flutterstorm!" called Rainbow Bolt, "We have to take the battle to the Decepticons!" Rocket boosters from her back and boots engaged as she shot upwards into the sky.

"Oh my," she replied as her boot jets flared and she followed her friend's lead.

"WHOAAA!!" screamed Dash as she shot through the Deceptican formation. There was a massive explosive shock wave that sent the 'Cons tumbling.

"Prime!" called Bulkhead, "I think that ponybot just hit MACH 15!"

"Dayum!" shouted Bumblebee.

Megatron was shooting at Prime, but his shot landed between Twilight and Rarity instead. It blasted them off their feet.

"How dare you!" yelled Flutterstorm as her eyes turned red, "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY FRIENDS, YOU BIG METAL MEANIE!!" Her mane turned into a pink typhoon over her head as a massive lightning bolt blasted the Decepticons and threw them miles back from the battlefield. Wicked awesome, eh? Then her lightning clashed with the lightning from Nightmaretron, the clash making explosions of light between them.

"Eat my Meteor Shower!" called Twilight Prime as her hands retracted, and gatling gun barrels replaced them. A rapid barrage of glowing white mini-bolts were spreayed in Nightmaretron's direction.

"Add my Gemstorm to your collection!" shouted Rare Seeker as a volley of gems erupted from the ground beneath Nightmaretron and shot up at her.

"It's PARTY CANNON TIME!" cried Pinkie Maximus as her chest split open, a large canon stuck out and it fired on... you know who by now.

"Have some lucky explodin horseshoes!" called Apple Buster as launchers popped out of her forearms.

A black translucent sphere appeared around Nightmaretron, but even as it blocked most of the effects of their combined attack, she was still hurled backwards hundreds of feet through the air. "AHHH!" she cried in surprise, "YOU FOALS WILL PAY FOR THAT!!"

But a rainbow comet slammed into her from behind, sending her flying miles down range. "Not if Rainbow Bolt punches your ticket first!!" shouted Dash as the comet changed back into her.

"DECEPTICONS!!" called Megatron, "RETREAT!!"

The three of them flew after the form of Nightmaretron.

The group watched them retreat, but then Bolt's boosters flared. "I'll get them all!" she screamed.

"Stay back!!" called Twilight Prime and Optimus Prime as one, "That's an order!!"

"Stereo," said Bumblebee.

"Alright alright," muttered Bolt as she and Flutterstorm landed with the others.

"I did not see this coming," muttered Ratchet.

(12) Proto-Formation

by neorenamon

"Wait," asked Jazz, "You're tellin me that these ponies are Autobots?!"

"Well Sari is proof that a protoform can adopt organics forms," replied Ratchet.

"How could protoforms of any type wind up here?" asked Bulkhead.

"I have a theory about that."

"Well don't keep it a secret," replied Prime.

"Long ago..."

"Oh, it's one of those stories..." grumbled Bumblebee.

"DO YOU MIND?!" snapped Ratchet as he glared at Bumblebee.

"Okay. Sheesh," he said as he folded his arms and looked another way.

"Shortly after the last full blown war with the Decepticons started," he continued as he looked back at the others, "there was a lab that was working on experimental protoforms. These protoforms were very special because they could replicate themselves without a factory."

"Say what?!"

"Once they were formed, they gained the ability to produce new proforms internally. The 'females' bore the responsibility of sheltering the form inside her own frame until it could be released, and continue development until it became fully operational. The protoform developed within a special 'production module' she kept within her lower torso."

"Like us Earth creatures do normally!" said Sari.

"Precisely. The protoforms were too precious to be allowed to be taken by the Decepticons, so all of them were loaded onto a robot ship and warped deep into space to orbit a distant star. It was programmed to wait until a reasonable amount of time had passed, and then automatically return to Cybertron. But it never returned, so it was presumed lost. Eventually, that bit of data was lost from the main Autobot History Files. Some say the Primes did this on purpose, but I'm not so sure about that. Now if that ship crashed on this planet about 1,100 to 1,300 solar cycles ago, then the ponies here would have found the wreckage."

"And if those ponies touched a broken storage cell, the protoform would have become one of the ponies!" said Bulkhead.

"Correct," he replied, "and ponies of the time might have taken this as some sign or gift from... the sky gods or something. Now there was also supposed to be other special protoforms that cannot reproduce, but were made to be more powerful. In fact, I'm pretty sure we... borrowed a couple of these from the Decepticons. For safe keeping and all that."

"That would explain why the ponies and Nightmare Moon transformed into robots!"

"But without the proper programming, or lessons, then the protoforms created by the original protoforms would not know how to transform. There would most likely be any reason to record something in history that no one knew about."

"But their ability to transform was somehow triggered by my key and the AllSpark fragment," said Sari.

"That makes the most sense really."

"So these protoforms can reproduce with an organic?" asked Prime.

"No," he replied, "I think it required two protoforms with the opposing types of Cybertonian Nucleic Acid. They take half of their plans and mesh them together to make a whole new proform that takes after their parents, taking on superficial characteristics of both while still remaining Autobot on the inside."

"So the odds are that there aren't many of these proto-ponies running around. It would almost be by chance that two acceptable forms would happen to meet each other and engage in reproductive activities."

"So this is just pure chance that we six here just happen to be these proto-critters?" asked Applejack.

"Most likely."

"Wait," said Twilight, "If Nightmare Moon is a protoform, then what about Princess Celestia?"

"We won't know until we save her, and see if she reacts to the key-fragment combination like the six of you did."

"And how did I know about these weapons?" asked Twilight as she looked at her hands.

"Once activated," he replied, "Your minds simply accessed the databank that you had no need to use before."

"Will we all be stuck like this forever?" asked Applejack.

"No, you should be able to change back by setting your mind to make that happen."

"But right now..." said Optimus Primes and Twilight Prime as one.

"You go first," said Twilight.

"No, please say what you wanted to say," replied Prime.

"Well, I was going to say we should use these forms until we rescue Princess Celestia."

"That's good, because I was going to suggest the same. I guess at heart, you really are Prime material."

"What all is a Prime?" asked Applejack.

"A Prime is a leader of Autobots," he replied, "We normally get educated at the Academy, but some just believe Primes are created rather than educated." He offered his hand to her as he continued, "And as I'm the Prime to these Autobots, you are just as much a Prime to your pony friends here. It's now your responsibility to guide them and protect them."

"But I didn't ask for that," she replied as she placed her hand in his.

"I have the feeling you'll take the role of Prime anyways."

"It's also somewhat against the odds that all six of you are the female protoforms," added Ratchet, "or at least the female descendants of the original protoforms."

"So Equestria is some kind of secret Autobot colony?" asked Bumblebee.

"I suppose you could put it that way."

"It's SO COOL that we're all related now... in some way or another!" gushed Sari.

"I guess so," answered Optimus Prime and Twilight Prime as one. Then they glanced at each other and smiled.

"Well, that could get just a little annoying," muttered Ratchet.

"Too bad Nightmare Moon isn't some wicked cool dragon!" said Sari.

"Why?"

"Because a story is so much cooler when the villain is a dragon! D'uh."

"I still don't get you organics, and I've known you for a few solar cycles now."

"That's because I'm special!"

"But that brings up an interesting possibility," said Ratchet as he looked at the ponies turned Autobots.

"What's that?" asked Twilight.

"If Nightmare Moon was once one of the Decepticon protoforms, that might explain her current behavior. No matter how integrated a protoform becomes, they will always have elements of their base programming."

"So that might explain how Nightmare Moon lived so long? And perhaps Celestia as well?"

"Autobots and Decepticons can last thousands of solar cycles baring catastrophic systems failure."

"But can this base programming be changed?"

"Well, the Decepticons have claimed that they can reprogram an Autobot into one of their own permanently, but I don't know if the Autobots ever tried creating a similar reprogramming process of their own."

"So there is a chance that Nightmare Moon could be returned to the younger sister of Princess Celestia she was at one time," mused Twilight.

"Younger sister?!" asked all the other ponies as one.

"That's the backstory to the legend and the prophecy," she replied,"Nightmare Moon was the younger sister of the alicorn Princess that controlled the sun, and once she was imprisoned in the moon, the older sister took control of the sun and the moon. It has to be Princess Celestia. She has to be the older sister."

"Whoa!" cried Pinkie, "My mind is blown!" Confetti shot out of her mane as noise makers blew... somewhere around her.

"Well ah reckon I don't care if yer some fancy Prime or not, Twillie," said Applejack as she placed her hand on her shoulder, "We're friends now. That's all the really matters in the end. I'll follow you... believe in you... because we're friends."

"ME TOO!" said Pinkie.

The rest of the ponies nodded in agreement.

"Then let's go rescue Princess Celestia!!" cried Twilight Prime.

The others cheered their approval.

"And the spirit of Primus is transferred across the universe to a new generation of Autobots," sighed Ratchet, "and the power of evil may well be contained for another generation."

"What was that?" asked Optimus.

"Nothing," he replied as they set out for going deeper into the Everfree Forest, "Just the ramblings of an old Autobot processor."

Author's Note

A shadow shall fall over the universe.
And evil will grow in its path.
And death will come from the skies.
-- Intro to 'Heavy Metal' movie.

Losing My Astrotrain of Thought

by neorenamon

"Blast it!" shouted Megatron as he flew after Nightmaretron, "Where did all those new Autobots come from?!"

"It looked like to ponies turned into Autobots, Lord Megatron!" called Lugnut as he followed.

"Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?!"

"Yes."

"We're going to have a huge hassle getting those AllSpark fragments without some reinforcements!"

"There's no way to contact other Decepticon forces. They're scattered too far away from here keeping the Elite Guard spread thin."

"Blast those Elite Guard fools for shutting down the Space Bridge network!"

"Then we'll just have to make do with what we have," replied Blitzwing, "then worry about the forces we wish we had."

"That's the sanest thing I ever heard you say."

"Perhaps we can use this 'magic' to bolster our power. That seems like something Nightmare Moon would know about."

About then, they saw Nightmaretron flying back towards them cursing, "FOUL CREATURES!! I SHALL DESTROY THEM ALL!! Even with her new powers, those ponies cannot defeat the likes of ME!"

"WAIT!!" called Megatron as they were about to be passed.

"What is it?!" she replied as she flew back.

"Our enemies are temporarily stronger than we are. Going back right now may well spell our defeat. We don't even know if there's Autobot or Elite Guard troops in reserve back on their ship."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"In order for both of us to get what we want, we need reinforcements of our own."

"I cannot help you with that. The only evil one who would live long enough to survive my imprisonment can't help us anyways."

"Who is it? Why can't they help us?"

"His name is Discord, and right now, he's a lawn statue in the Canterlot Palace Gardens. Celestia and I were the ones who used the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone more than 1,000 years ago. Before our little... falling out."

"Can this creature be revived?"

"Without the Elements of Harmony, I don't know how we can."

"Then let us sneak back into Canterlot and examine this statue for ourselves. Perhaps an AllSpark fragment's power can do the trick."

"Perhaps."

Suddenly, the Decepticons heard a transmission from space. "Is there any bot on this channel?"

"Who dares call me?" as Megatron looked around.

"Is that you, Lord Megatron?"

"Obviously."

"I know that audio signature, Lord Megatron," replied Lugnut, "Is this Astrotrain?"

"Affirmative," came the reply.

"I know this one from the time I served in the Decepticon Logistics Corps. He's one of the best transports the Decepticons have."

"How did you come to this planet? Why did you come here at all?" asked Megatron suspiciously.

"As to the firs question: Because I'm large enough to use a stolen Autobot warp system," he replied, "And as to the second: I managed to go to the planet Earth where I tried to blend in an Earth transport museum using Earth transport modes, heard that you were captured and that you were sent to Cybertron for trail. By the time I left Earth and warped to Cybertron, the Autobot radio traffic indicated that you had already escaped on an Autobot ship, so I warped out along the last known heading. It took a number of jumps before I arrived here and detected Decepticon radio signals."

"Can this Astrotrain fight?" asked Megatron off the air.

"He's almost as good as me or Blitzwing."

"That's not all that encouraging."

Nightmaretron laughed.

"I'm sending you my coordinates now. Approach us as stealthily as possible. There are Autobots around, and I don't want them to detect you before we can plan a counterattack against them and their allies."

"Affirmative. I'll glide in to avoid active sensor sweeps."

"The Autobots will avoid using their radar to avoid us pinpointing them, so just use the cloud cover effectively as you approach."

"Affirmative."

"How many forms does Astrotrain have?" asked Megatron, "and how many personalities?"

"Three my Lord. Robot, space transport and ground transport. But last I checked, only one personality."

"That's good. I can only deal with one multiple personae disorder at a time."

Lugnut pointed skyward as he said, "I think that's Astrotrain now at the edge of my optic sensor perception range."

Megatron and Blitzing looked up to see an old chemical boosted style space shuttle gliding towards them. It was really large.

"Hmm, we might have a little trouble sneaking around with that one unless he takes an organic form. But still, I have the feeling he could be useful."

"No more alicorns!" retorted Nightmaretron.

"I wouldn't allow that even if Astrotrain somehow knew about them."

"Good!"
...

The Autobots and Autoponies travelled deeper into the Everfree Forest. Travel was slow since they were on foot, and there was no road of any sort for them to follow. They were also trying to disturb the trees and foliage as little as possible.

"My foot plates are getting filthy!" whined Rare Seeker.

"Ya make that sound like a bad thing," smirked Apple Buster.

"Well it is!"

"Rainbow Bolt and Flutterstorm can't carry us all," replied Twilight Prime, "and separating might just give out enemies the edge they need to defeat us. There's no other way to get this done."

"I still don't have to like it!"

"Well everyone stay alert for the Decepticons or Nightmare Moon," replied Optimus, "We don't need to be ambushed like that again."

"Affirmative," replied the Autobots.

They heard something roaring and making all kinds of noise as they approached.

"What kinda critter is that?" asked Apple Buster, "And why is it makin such a fuss?"

"I better sneak ahead and look," replied Rainbow Bolt, "No matter what form I have, I'm sure I still have the best eyes."

"Okay," said Twilight, "Just be careful. Report by radio only."

"I got it," she replied as she crept ahead.

They waited a moment before they received a signal from Rainbow. "It looks like a Manticore," she reported, "and it looks like it's trapped under a fallen tree. We can avoid it easily."

But before anyone could stop her, Flutterstorm dashed ahead of them.

"Hay! What does she think she's doing?!"

The Manticore hissed at Flutterstorm even as she slowed her approach. It weakly waved one of it's paws at her defensively.

"That's alright," she said softly, "I won't hurt you."

"Be careful there, sugar-cube!" called Apple Buster as she followed, "That critter might still hurt ya!"

She offered her hand open and palm up towards it's nose. But the creature responded by biting it.

"Flutterstorm!" she called as she prepared to fire her lucky explosive horseshoes.

"I'm metal now," replied Flutterstorm calmly, "It doesn't hurt at all. If I don't respond violently, it will understand I mean no harm."

After a moment, it looked into her eyes and released it's bite. Then it whimpered softly even as it licked her hand.

"There there," she replied, "Now let's see about getting you free."

The Manticore watched her as she put her hands under the tree trunk and started to lift. She bent at the knees to use her legs to the best effect as she used all of her might to heft the large fallen tree.

"My this is heavy," she said as she slowly lifted.

The trapped creature began to claw at the ground as it tried to pull out from under the tree.

"Let me help..." called Apple Buster.

"No," ordered Twilight as she came up, "That might just panic the Manticore again. Flutterstorm has this covered."

Finally, the tree was high enough for it to get free. Then she dropped the tree as the grateful beast licked her faceplate and mane.

"You are such a good baby," she cooed, "Now run along and find your mother. I'm sure she's worried sick about you."

"That's a baby?!" asked Rainbow Bolt.

"Oh yes," she answered as it bounded away.

"That's so kind of you to help a dangerous creature you don't even know," said Twilight.

"Oh, that all is just the way our Flutters rolls," said Apple Buster.

Author's Note

(Image of Astrotrain etc)
(Manticore pic I didn't make)

Recruitment Drive

by neoreanamon

"Hmm, your train form seems adequate for getting us close to Canterlot and the Palace Gardens," said Megatron as they rode the rails, "But it won't do for once we have to leave the rails behind. You need an alternate vehicle mode that's going to fit in, which means it's going to have to be steam powered. It seems that most other vehicle forms are strictly powered by the muscles of an organic beast of burden."

"This sure isn't Cybertron," mused Astrotrain.

"No, it's not."

"It seems that other than this magic, most forms of energy haven't even been tapped yet."

"And we aren't going to stay here long enough to wait for them to discover them."

"I wish I could be more assistance in your quest for the AllSpark fragments," mused Nightmaretron.

"I wasn't expecting you to be all that useful in that search anyways."

"Master," said Lugnut, "She is surely a transformer now. Perhaps she can help us."

"What do you mean?"

"Once we find a fragment, perhaps her magic can integrate with her spark, and then we can track the fragments the way the autohuman can track the fragments with that key of hers."

"That... is certainly an interesting idea. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long before we recover at least one fragment."

"If it aided you, then I am surely willing to try. There's not much else I can give you if you're going to leave once I'm ruling and you've found those fragments that you're searching for."

Then Astrotrain's whistle blew a few times in a row rather loudly.

"What is it now, Astrotrain?"

"I'm just telling the train I've detected ahead to take a side rail and get out of our way, Lord Megatron. Of course, I'd surely win any collision with such a crude and primitive machine."

"If we were just going to conquer this world for ourselves, I would agree. But we are trying to keep a low profile. Keep the unneeded destruction to a minimum."

"As you command, Megatron."

He glanced at the sidetracked train as they passed it. Ponie faces were looking at the engine with no cars attached as they rode the rails by them.

"One day soon, those ponies shall be by vassals and subjects."

"And I shall use the AllSpark to return to Cybertron and conquer it for myself."

"Even though we are from different cultures, it seems we aren't so different after all."

"Perhaps after we conquer our respective worlds, we might well forge an alliance that benefits both of us."

"I shall keep my mind open to such possibilities," she replied, "but even if we revive Discord, he's not going to be easy to control."

"How so?"

"He considers himself a god of chaos. A master manipulator who does as he pleases, and pretty much as he pleases alone."

"Oh, I think between us, we can convince him his continued well being rides on his cooperation with us."

"I hope so," she mused, "It would be a shame if I had to split control of Equestria with the likes of him."

"Be careful of which allies and flunkies you choose. One day, they might just betray you for their own interests."

"I know that. After all, I'm deposing my own older sister. But thanks for the advice anyways."

"I shall surely never betray you, Lord Megatron," chimed in Lugnut.

"Yes, you are one of my most loyal soldiers," he replied as he looked at him, "and when Cybertron falls, you shall surely get a fitting reward."

"I shall continue to function if only for the glorious day you rule as befitting you, Master."

"He does overdo the flank kissing just a bit too much?"

"But unlike Starscream, I know he means it."

"Starscream?" she asked as she cocked her head.

"That's a long story. Perhaps another time."
...

The Autobots and Autoponies crested a hill and looked down into a small clearing.

"Is that all a shack?" asked Apple Buster.

"I thought you said nopony came back from these woods," commented Rare Seeker.

"Well I never said nopony couldn't live here," Rainbow Bolt replied, "I just said they just don't come back."

"Well what pony would want to live in a dreadful dirty place like this?"

"Perhaps they just want to live away from rules?" asked Twilight Prime.

"Ah reckon only varmints and criminal types would want that."

"Not everyone who wants to live on their own terms is a nut or criminal, Apple Buster."

"Well... I dunno... maybe ya is right."

"I don't see any signs of a fire," replied Rainbow Bolt, "Maybe nopony is home?"

"Since we're going that way, we should stop by and check. They might just have some valuable information about this area," replied Twilight.

"That sounds like a good idea," agreed Optimus Prime.

"It might be best if we changed to pony form and went down there ourselves. That way, we won't spook anypony who might be living there."

"Very well. We shall stay back here and monitor the situation."

So the Autoponies changed back to their pony modes and made their way down to the shack while they looked for anypony moving around the area, or inside the shack. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the two most outdoor oriented ponies, led the way for the others.

"Now let's make sure it's safe before we..." said Twilight, "PINKIE?!"

Pinkie Pie had already rushed up to the front door and knocked on it before anypony could stop her. A moment passed before the door opened, and they saw a really old pony who appeared to be at least as old as Granny Smith. His hide, mane, tail and even his eyes appeared to be old and gray. If he had a cutie mark, they couldn't see it under his denim coveralls.

"Hello?" he asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"HI!" she said, "I'm Pinkie Pie! We're looking for the Elements of Harmony!!"

"What makes ya think I know anything?"

"It doesn't hurt to ask."

"Well, I guess it don't at that."

"So..." she asked, "Know anything, old timer?"

"I have something that might help ya," he replied, "but you'll have to trade me for it."

"We don't know what you need?" asked Rarity as she walked up beside Pinkie, "Other than Pinkie's candy, we don't have any food or water."

"Oh, I don't need nuthin like that."

"What do you need?"

"I've been searching this area for 10 whole years lookin for big shiny gems!" he replied with enthusiasm.

"Have you found any?"

"Nuthin worth writin home for," he grumbled, "an I can't go back home until I git some bigguns."

"So you want to trade gems for... whatever you want to trade?"

"That's right, missy."

"I think I might have some gems to trade," she replied.

"Don't ya need those fer ya dresses?" asked Applejack.

"Oh... I'm sure I'll find some more," she answered as she pulled a hoof-full of larger gems from her saddlebags.

"Those are purdy!" he replied, "I'll be glad ta trade ya!"

She gave over the gems as he smiled, pocketed them and said, "I'll be right back with tha thing!"

He vanished inside for minutes as they waited for him to return. Then he finally returned with a rolled up scroll.

"Here ya go, fillies," he replied, "Good luck with that. Personally, I never really found a need fer it mahself." He then stepped back and closed the door.

Rarity unrolled the scroll and looked at it as the other looked over her shoulders.

"You got ripped off," said Rainbow Dash, "It's just a bunch of scribbles!"

"No," replied Twilight, "I think it's a map. A map of the Everfree Forest. I think the X marks must be where he already looked for gems and failed."

"Like I said, it's useless scribbles."

"He looked almost everywhere," replied Rarity.

"But in the upper middle part of the map," said Twilight, "He's marked ruins. I think that might just be the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. That may well be the place that we can find the Elements of Harmony. It was really generous of you to help us get that map, Rarity."

"Oh it's nothing, dahling."

(15) Predacons Terrorize

by neorenamon

So after returning to the others and orienting themselves towards the elderly pony's map, they started out once more for the Castle of the Two Sisters. But to get there, they had to enter the deepest, darkest and spookiest part of the Everfree Forest yet.

"Autoponies transform!" ordered Twilight Prime, so they shifted back to their robot forms.

"This woodland just gets nastier and grosser!" whined Rare Seeker, "I wanna go home, Dahling!"

"We can't go back without the Elements of Harmony. Not until we've rescued Princess Celestia."

"We gotta do all we can for our Princess!" agreed Rainbow Bolt.

"But we should remain close to each other. There's no telling what we might run into in there."

"That goes for us as well," agreed Optimus Prime.

"Well nothing scares me," boasted Bumblebee.

"Not even Megatron?" asked Ratchet.

"Oh, not even him!" he retorted, "We beat his backplate, an Omega Supreme controlled by Starscream, and three more Omega Supreme knockoffs. It can't get much worse than that. I'm not sure there's anything left for me to be afraid of."

"I'll believe that when I see it," he muttered back.

"Uh... you were there with us too."

"Yeah, and I had to change my oil pan after a couple of those battles!"

"That's just because you're really really old, Doc," said Bumblebee as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah, well you aren't gonna be any better after as many solar cycles as I've been around!"

"Whatevs."

The trees grew darker and more twisted as they moved along. It was starting to creep them out. Soon, they heard a noise coming towards them through the trees.

"What is that?!" asked Rare Seeker.

"Oh, it can't be so bad," replied Pinkie Maximus.

"Whatever it is..." said Flutterstorm, "It's something big."

The large creature lumbered ever closer.

"Well whatever it is, we'll just beat it up and take it down like those Decepticons!" said Rainbow Bolt.

"What is that fashion disaster?!" screamed Rare Seeker as she saw it.

"What is that, Prime?!" asked Ratchet.

"I have no idea," replied Prime.

"I AM MEGATRON, LEADER OF THE PREDACONS!" it bellowed.

"I never heard of anybot like that," said Bulkhead.

"Me neither," added Bumblebee.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!" he yelled as lightning like beams shot from his forehead at them, "CUTTER BEAM!"

Autobots and Autoponies alike dove for cover to avoid the powerful wide beam.

"There's more than one of him?!" yelled Bumblebee, "What the heck is that noise!!"

"Well Megatron or no," replied Prime, "We have to take him down!"

"MEGATRON TERRORIZE!" he yelled as he changed into a twin-headed dragon.

The two heads breathed a massive blast of flame together at all of them. Twilight stepped up to make the glowing shield with her hands, but found she was blasted back a few dozen yards.

"TWILLIE!" called Apple Buster, "That tears it! Give'em everything we got!"

All but Twilight and Pinkie opened fire on the Megatron-beast. But their fire had no effect on the raging monster.

"It's not working Prime!" called Bulkhead.

"Bumblebee!" called Ratchet, "Help me blast that thing with some EMP!"

"You got it!" he replied as he rushed over to Doc's side. The two combined their electric and magnetic weapons to blast the monster, but again had no effect on him. He still seemed pristine, in fact.

"I AM INVINCIBLE!" he called as he changed to bat mode. He unleashed a horrible scream that none could avoid and none could shield themselves against. They all fell to their knees as they covered their audio receptors.

"I'm starting to think he's right about that!!" yelled Bumblebee.

"No one's invincible!" replied Prime.

But to the surprise of all, Pinkie Maximus began laughing.

"Ah think Pinkie's mind has snapped!" yelled Apple Buster.

But Pinkie stood and walked towards the monster just laughing louder.

"PERISH, YOU FOOL!" called Megatron as he changed back to robot mode, "CUTTER BEAM!"

They all gasp as Pinkie was blasted at point blank range and there was a huge explosion.

"PINKIE!!" cried the Autoponies.

But when the smoke cleared, Pinkie was unharmed.

"What the hay?!" asked Apple Buster.

She simply reached up, grabbed Megatron's head, and pulled him down to kiss him on the forehead.

"Okay... that all is just kinda creepy."

But Megatron staggered back as he yelled, "BUT I'M MEGATRON!! I'M INVINCIBLE!! YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!!"

"You're just something I'm not afraid of any more," laughed Pinkie, and then Megatron popped like a soap bubble.

"Huh?" asked Rainbow.

"Well just look around," she giggled, "No one got hurt. Nothing got destroyed by his attacks. It just felt like it was a nightmare or something."

"So you destroyed it with laughter?" asked Twilight.

"I guess so."

"I wonder if Nightmaretron is somehow behind all this?" she asked as she looked into the sky. The moon looked down on them emotionlessly.
...

A gypsy wagon pulled into the Canterlot Gardens pulled by a unicorn and a pegasus of odd colors. They pulled the wagon around as they moved from one statue to the next. The place was empty except for them.

But then they stopped as the pegasus said, "Lord Megatron! I think I see an AllSpark fragment just laying on the grass!"

Princess Megatron climbed out of the back of the wagon followed by Nightmare Moon.

"Ah, and I see our target: The Discord statue!" she said as she pointed.

"Well release yourself from the harness and fetch it for me, Lugnut," said Megatron.

"As you command, Mighty Megatron."

As Lugnut went to retrieve the AllSpark fragment, the others went to the Discord statue.

"Hmm, this does look like an odd creature."

"I assure you he's more dangerous than he looks. That's why he's stone instead of destroyed. We couldn't get rid of him permanently."

Lugnut returned with the fragment. Then Megatron shifted back to robot mode.

"Change to your robot mode and will your spark chamber to open," he said as he took the fragment from Lugnut's mouth.

So she changed to Nightmaretron as her chest opened, and they could see the glowing sphere that was her spark. Megatron simply stuck the fragment into the spark, and stepped back as it closed. Nightmaretron's eyes glowed brightly as she shined twin beams of light at Discord. She screamed as the surface of the statue began to crack like an eggshell.

"It appears to be working."

Discord began to roar and raise his upper legs menacingly as lightning burst from the sky around them.

"Ahh..." moaned Nightmaretron, "I feel this power coursing through my body! It feels... feels... I don't know what it feels like!"

Oh, Discord was just stretching. He wasn't going to attack.

"Well, that was a real nice nap," said Discord as he looked around, "So who or what might you be?"

"I am Nightmaretron!" she said, "I have freed you from your thousand year imprisonment to get revenge on those who did this to you!"

"I thought he was supposed to help Nightmare Moon take over Equestria," replied Lugnut.

She turned to glare at him as she yelled, "DO YOU MIND?!"

"Well it's nice that at least one of you is being honest with me," replied Discord, "but seriously, who might you be?"

"I am Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons," said Megatron, "and I have allied myself with Nightmare Moon to help her take Equestria for herself."

"Interesting. And what do you get from this deal?"

"She helps me get back the AllSpark that was lost when my ship crashed on this planet."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"We need allies to overcome the resistance of my enemies, the Autobots, and their Autopony allies."

"Well since you freed me, I suppose I can help you that much."

"Excellent."

Author's Note

(an image I didn't make)
(The forms of Megatron (RiD) )

The Secret Airbase

by neorenamon

"Are we there yet?" whined Sari, Bumblebee and Pinkie as one.

"No!" retorted Optimus Prime and Twilight Prime.

"Like protoforms just given shape," grumbled Ratchet.

Then the Primes both received a scrambled transmission. "UNUSUAL ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED IN AREA DESIGNATED CANTERLOT," transmitted Omega.

"Could you evaluate the spike?" asked Optimus.

"NEGATIVE. ENERGY SPIKE DURATION INSUFFICIENT."

"Continue your monitoring without giving away your position and continue to report."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"What was that, Prime?" asked Ratchet.

"Omega detected an unusual energy spike from Canterlot, but he couldn't get any solid data on it. I told Omega to continue scanning without giving his position away to the Decepticons."

"Maybe it was more of this magic energy stuff?"

"Perhaps, but I couldn't risk transmitting the scan to us in case the Decepticons were trying to locate Omega. We can look at that information once this mission has been accomplished."

"Thank you for helping us," said Twilight, "We're still all but strangers, and yet you've gone so far out of your way to help."

"I wouldn't be a good Autobot if I didn't."

"And then the donkey tells the barkeep," said Pinkie to Bumblebee, "that's not my boiler, that's my mother-in-law!"

Bumblebee began to snigger and giggle. "You're the funniest bot I've ever met," he said as he wiped some fluid from one optic sensor.

The Primes looked back and noticed that Pinkie were walking side by side, looking into each others eyes as they smiled and laughed.

"Ya know, this Prowl sounded like really balanced bot," said Flutterstorm.

"He was," replied Ratchet, "Always tuned to his inner nature. Always seeking inner and outer peace. And we all still miss his spark a lot even to this nanoclick."

They turned to notice that Flutterstorm was using both of her hands to squeeze one of Ratchet's.

"So just how much can you lift?" asked Rainbow Bolt.

"Oh, I can lift over 100 tons," he replied, "I've never really had to test my absolute limits."

"I betcha I can do better than that," smirked Bolt.

"Scrawny little bot like you?" asked Bulky, "No way!"

They looked around again in time to see Bolt playfully punch Bulk's arm servo as she giggled, "Sounds like a challenge. Wanna see who's the strongest bot once we're done with saving our Princess?"

"It's your slot in the scrap yard," he replied, "So you're on."

"Oh, I'm so going to enjoy making you eat those words, big bot."

"Maybe we'll make a wager on this later."

"It wouldn't be fun if we didn't," she giggled.

"It looks like the Autobots and Autoponies are friends as well as allies," observed Optimus.

"I agree," said Twilight.

The trees began to thin out as they approached a large hill.

"Funny," she noted, "The map doesn't show a hill like that."

"I think that old pony was a little off his gourd," replied Bolt.

"But the map has been accurate so far."

"Wait! That hill has a giant double door built into the side of it!"

"Great," she muttered, "Something else we weren't expecting."

"If it's not part of the mission," grumbled Ratchet, "We should just leave it alone."

"Hey, it will hardly take any time at all for me to buzz the place and see what's happening," replied Bolt.

"Very well," said Twilight, "but don't engage any Decepticons or Nightmaretron on your own. Just see what you can and fly back. Nothing fancy."

"Sure thing Mom!" she replied as she flew off. As she streaked closer, the doors began to slide open. From the lit interior, seven pegasus emerged wearing strange metal saddlebags at their sides. They were walking in a wedge formation. The lead pony looked up at her as she came closer. She could see them wearing odd midnight black suits that covered all of their body other than their goggles. Even the saddlebags were just as black. "For a place no pony returns from, this place sure has it's share of ponies," she muttered as she landed a few pony lengths in front of the formation lead. They all just looked at her without noticeable response. "So who might all you ponies be?" she asked when none spoke to her first.

"We are the Shadowbolts," replied the lead, "A mercenary fighter organization seeking to become established in the Canterlot region. Only the best fliers in the world can join out elite ranks."

"Never heard of you."

"Our ranks are still too small. Equestria is not yet ready to admit that they need top rated aerial mercenaries like us."

Bolt shifted to her Pegasus form as she said, "I bet I'm good enough to join you easy peasy!"

"Are you willing to challenge us for the right to join our ranks?"

"I think that's just what I said."

"And what name are you known by?"

"They call me Rainbow Dash!" she bragged.

The stallion turned to one of the ponies on the far right end as he said, "Dirge. Remove your battle pack and place it on Rainbow Dash."

"As you command," replied a mare's voice as she began to unstrap her pack.

"Dirge?" asked Dash, "That's a cheery name."

"Make no mistake," replied the lead, "She's called Dirge by her compatriots becauses she is anything but cheery."

Dash's knees shook a bit as the pack was placed on her back. It easily weighed as much as she did.

"Can you handle that?" said the lead.

"Just a bit heavier than it looks," she replied, "No problems."

"Then race us about the hill ten times clockwise, and if you come in third place or better, we'll move on to the next test."

"Third nothing! I'm first place all the way!"

Dirge stood before them as she said, "I shall start. On the count of three. One. Two. Three."

They all took off in a blur in spite of the heavy packs.
...

"I see movement. Multiple movements. But I can't see any details," said Twilight.

"I betcha Dash is showin off to some ponies who ain't supposed ta be out here," replied Apple Buster.

"Even I can tell bad fashion from here," said Rare Finder, "I mean wearing black at this time of the year." She made a disgusted grunt.

"It's best to stay back and only move in there in case Dash gets in trouble," replied Twilight.

"Agreed," said Prime.

"Ah hope this here showin off ain't gonna take too long," muttered Buster.
...

"Discord," said Nightmaretron, "Take us to the Castle of the Twin Sisters. That's the last place I knew my big sister kept her precious Elements hidden."

"What's the magic word?" he asked back.

"OBEY!" she snapped.

"Not even close," he sighed, "I'm sure you'll enjoy the long ride out to..."

"FINE!" she growled, then her voice softened a little as she said, "Please."

"That wasn't so hard," he said as he snapped his talons.

"Yes it was," she mumbled as they appeared in the throne room of the ruins of the Castle.

"Well, it sure looks a lot worse for the wear since this was my castle," he said as he looked about.

"No castle is forever, Discord. I'm sure big sister stayed here for a while before she built the new castle in Canterlot."

"What makes you think the Elements are hidden here?" asked Megatron.

"Because this place is very low on the list of likely hiding places," she replied, "All the better to keep them hidden from prying eyes."

"And you know where they should be?"

"Of course I do."

"And if they are not there?"

"Then we shall look into every secret passage and hidden chamber I know of."

"Can't we just blow everything up until we find it?" asked Blitzwing.

Nightmaretron and Megatron facepalmed themselves at the same time as they groaned.

Sonic Ka-boom!

by neorenamon

The lead mare lined up with the other six pegasus as well as Rainbow Dash. Dash found that she was struggling under the incredibly heavy weight of the metal saddlebags. She wondered what could be inside them. Lead bars?

Dirge walked over and offered Dash her tinted flight goggles.

"Thanks," said Dash as they were slipped over her head.

"You're still gonna lose," she replied glumly.

"I don't think so!" Dash replied confidently.

So she moved ahead to stand in the middle of them, and raised her leg to signal the start of the race. They all quivered with anticipation as they waited for the race to start, and Dash lived for such competition since her days in Junior Flight School. Then her legged dropped, and they all started running. The others were airborne after taking a dozen running steps, but Dash was still struggling to get off the ground. She never tried to fly under such a load, even counting the times she had another pony across her back.

But none of the others even bothered to look back as they moved ahead. They didn't even look at each other directly. Shadowbolts were pros after all.

Dash barely cleared the end of the runway before she was off, and the others were almost a sixth of a lap ahead of her. But she was no quitter. Her motto was do or die always. Her wings flapped furiously as she tried to catch up.

"Gotta dig deeper!" she moaned, "Gotta give it my ALL!"

She could feel a warmth spread out from her chest. Perhaps even from her heart. It spread out into her wings and flight muscles, and she suddenly felt like they had become much stronger. The air moved faster around her as she began to gain on the others, but they had already gone into their sixth lap before she could see the one behind all the others at last. Looking over her shoulder, she realized that she was being followed by the lead pegasus. That they even might lap her.

"NO WAY I'M LOSING TO ANYPONY!!" she screamed as her wings beat like never before. The wind became like a gale in her face as her speed increased. The next to last place flyer was coming ever closer. But as Dash tried to pass, she was slammed into the side of the hill by the metal saddlebags of the other pegasus. She tumbled down the hill before she came to a stop, and saw the lead fly over her.

"NO BUCKING WAY!!" she yelled as she shot into the air again. Now her wings beat even harder as she climbed back onto the circuit just behind the lead. She let out a beastial scream that seemed to phase all of the ponies around her as she suddenly shot ahead. As she stuck her hooves ahead, the mach cone began to build just in front. The lead was falling behind as she went faster and faster. Then the Sonic Rainboom happened just as she passed the one that knocked her out of the sky, and she smirked as she watched the shockwave throw them into a loop.

She doubled her speed as she left her trademark rainbow trail behind her. Travelling around at super speed, she soon began lapping all of the fliers as they looked at her fly by. Even professionals like them were dumbfounded. She won the race before she knew it and even then continued to lap the hill as she overtook even her own rainbow trail more than once. The wind increased as it threatened to spawn a megatornado around the hill.

"STOP!!" called the lead from the ground, "YOU WON!!"

Dash snapped out of her super speed trance as she glided around the hill one more time, and landed by the other pegasus.

"Congratulations," said the lead, "That's the most amazing race I've ever seen."

But Dash stomped over to the last place flier and snorted fire in their face as she yelled, "YOU!! IF YOU EVER CHEAT LIKE THAT AGAIN, I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!!"

The lead came over and asked, "What is she talking about?!"

"She body checked me when I tried to pass! That's why I was on the ground the first time you lapped me!"

"Is that true?!"

The flier nodded without speaking.

"YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR A MONTH!!" screamed the lead as their voice sounded more feminine, "If I ever hear a word of you cheating like that again, YOU'RE OFF THE SQUAD FOREVER!! REPORT FOR KP DUTY AT ONCE!!"

The shamed pony turned at trotted off head down towards the base hangar doors.

"The squad is very... competitive..." she said, "My name is Captain Slipstream, and I'm very sorry for Thundercracker's shameful behavior just now. If you don't want to continue the tests..."

"Oh, you can't get rid of me that easily!"

She paused as her head came up, and said, "Very well! The next competition is marksmanship! You have to place third or better against the rest of us if you want to move to the next test!"

"No problems, sistah," said Dash with a confident grin.

"Follow me," she said as they trotted down a path through the woods.

'I hope the others are keeping an eye on me,' thought Dash as she followed.

"These weapons systems are very secret," said Slipstream, "You have to promise that even if you fail the test, you will never speak to anypony anywhere about what you're about to see and use."

"I am totally cool with that," she replied.

"Excellent!" The group approached a white line made of small stones that led down a long trench backed up against a hillside. At the end of the line were a dozen or so targets. There was also lines of standing targets every hundred yards or so. Dash figured there was twelve lines of targets all told. "Master command! Deploy weapons systems!" Dash watched in surprise as a small cannon barrel popped from the from of the bag, a quad rocket launcher popped from the side, and she could feel a couple of small bombs lower from the bottom and swing out to rails on the outside edge of the packs. The other pack deployed in reflection to the first.

"Whoa!" cried Dash, "That's some heavy metal arms!"

"Indeed," she relied, "Each pack carries 200 round of small incendiary autocannon rounds, four anti-armor rockets and two small anti-pony anti-material high explosive bombs. That's the standard loadout for most of our missions."

"Wow, you ponies sure are serious."

"As serious as gold and death," replied Slipstream somberly.

Then a helmet deployed from the packs as they settled down over their heads, including Dash. Then translucent yellow visors dropped down over their eyes. Slipstream stepped up and opened a panel in the side of the helmet. She fiddled with something that made her whole head buzz. A pair of mics slipped down from the helmet to the sides of her mouth.

"What da what?" she asked in surprise.

"Just calm down," replied Slipstream, "I'm just setting the helmet to temporarily obey your voice commands. The visor shows what you're supposed to shoot at, and your voice commands tell which weapon to fire and how many rounds you wish to release in each controlled burst or volley." She turned to one of the others under her command and said, "Demonstrate for us, Thrust."

They nodded as they stepped up to the line. Looking at the 300 yard target down the middle, a mare's voice commanded, "Autocannons: 5 round burst on my mark. Mark!" The cannons quickly spat out their ten rounds as about six hits registered against the target. Brass shell casings were ejected from slots that opened up in the sides of the saddlebags.

"Oh, I can so do this," said Dash.

"We'll see about that, hotshot."

Author's Note

This is a shout out to War Thunder when during April, they had pastel colored pegasus ground attack fighters that were basically armed just like the Shadowbolts are in this story.

Decisions... or not

by neorenamon

The Shadowbolts stared slack jawed as Rainbow Dash walked away from the firing line.

"Three bullseyes with ONE SHELL?" asked Slipstream in shock.

"What can I say?" she replied, "I have a knack for seeing things in 3 dimensions and making things bounce the way I want to."

"Slipstream did the same," muttered Dirge.

"After years of practice," she answered, "but I wasn't nearly that good on my first try."

"I'm not just a pretty face. I'm the best flier in all of Equestria."

"Well there's one last little test," she said evenly.

"What's that?"

"A cooperation test," she replied, "Squads only work when they work together."

"But how do you test that?"

"If you want to stay around, I'll tell you that as soon as it's set up."

"That's cool," she replied smoothly, "Will I need the hardware for this?"

"Yes," she replied, "Your ordinance load will be restocked before the test begins."

A couple of Shadowbolts trotted out, and one of them whispered something to Slipstream.

"Please excuse us," she announced, "but there's the matter of interlopers..."

"They're not interlopers," interrupted Dash, "They're my friends. We were out looking for the ruins of the Castle of the Twin Sisters when I spotted your awesome secret base."

"So they are waiting for you?"

"Totally."

"You know that if you join us, you'll have to leave your friends behind for training."

"I've been to junior flight schools," replied Dash, "and I know the Wonderbolts would be the same deal."

"The Wonderbolts are show ponies," sniffed Slipstream, "We accomplish more than them, and we pay much better."

"They're still the cream of the crop of pegasus in Equestria and everypony who's anypony wants to fly with them."

"Well I still feel... uncomfortable... with the notion they might be spying on us," she replied, "If you invite them over to speak freely, I promise that no action shall be taken against them. I just ask that you leave the weapons packs behind."

Dash nodded as two Shadowbolts approached and sloughed off her metal saddlebags.

"No matter what you finally decide, I'd appreciate it if you came back and reported it."

"Sure," replied Dash as she took off, "I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail." Once in the air, she radioed back to Twilight, "Miss me ponypals? Well I'm on my way back. We need to talk. But it shouldn't be over the radio."

"You know where we are," replied Twilight.

With her sharp pegasus eyes, she saw the others first as she made her way towards them. She pulled up at the last second and landed before Twilight Prime.

"I heard the cannon fire from here," she said, "and we saw the air race if one could call it that. What's going on?"

"Oh, they're just testing me to see if I'm good enough to join them," she replied with a grin, "and so far, I'm passing with flying colors."

"But what about us? What about the Wonderbolts?"

"Give me a little credit," she answered, "I said I'm taking the tests to see if I'm good enough to join. Never said I'd actually join."

"Then what all is tha point of them thar tests?" asked Apple Buster.

"If I'm good enough to join the elite of pegasus mercenaries, then I'm way good enough to be a Wonderbolt."

"So we ready ta move on?"

"Well... the Shadowbolts want you to come over and speak with them... At first, some of them thought you were spies."

"Alright," replied Twilight, "but it has to be quick. We can't waste another minute that we don't have to if we're going to save Celestia from Nightmaretron and the Decepticon forces."

"I haven't forgotten."

"Just to make things easier, Autoponies change back to pony mode."

"But what if they're hostile?" asked Apple Buster.

"Then we can change back really quickly."

So the Autoponies changed back to pony form.

"My Autobots and I will stay back a short distance so there shouldn't be as much tension," added Optimus.

The group walked over towards the base. They could see several sets of sharp eyes following them as they approached. Dash could see Captain Slipstream eyeing them as they came closer, and then walked ahead towards them. At the moment, all of their weapons packs were closed up, but nopony was taking theirs off. In fact, Dirge was having her packs strapped back onto her.

"Greetings," she said, "I am Captain Slipstream. Air Commander of the Shadowbolts. Dash informs me that you are her friends?"

"Yes," replied Twilight, "The ponies are all from Ponyville but me. I am on an important mission for Canterlot. My large metal friends back there are from a very distant land, and they are assisting us in the rescue of our kidnapped Princess."

"A kidnapped Princess, you say?"

She nodded as she looked at Dash.

"Hey," she said awkwardly, "I didn't really have a chance to bring that part up yet. But I was going to get around to it."

"We Shadowbolts understand the need for loyalty. If my commander was taken, I would rest at nothing to get her back. Perhaps it would be best to delay the last phase of the test. All I ask is that you keep our existence a secret for a while longer."

"Very well," replied Twilight, "I'm sure we can all agree to that. Whatever the results are, or whatever Dash decides, that's her choice and I shall not stand in her way. I'm glad we met face to face, but now we need to get back to our mission."

She looked at Dash as she said, "You know where we'll be. Come back when you're ready to continue."

Dash nodded. Slipstream turned and began walking back towards the others.
...

Discord has changed one of the castle's turrets into a small observatory style telescope, but it was aimed at a distant point on the ground. Not at the stars.

"Well that's an odd looking crew," he muttered.

"You were expecting somepony else?" asked Nightmaretron from behind.

"Perhaps."

"Certainly more dangerous than they appear," remarked Princess Megatron.

"Oh I doubt that."

"Discord could surely take them all out... if he didn't get distracted with his amusements."

"Well what's the point of existing if it's not to amuse myself?"

"That was part of the reason my sister and I were able to turn you to stone in the first place."

"A trifling detail, my dear," smirked Discord, "but now it's time for a little fun." He snapped his talons as clouds began forming all over the skin within his sight, and Discord could see pretty far. Then while half the clouds began pouring chocolate milk rain, the other half began snowing tiny little marshmallows.

"What purpose does this serve?"

"The whole point of chaos is to be random," he answered, "There's no master plan for everything."

"Well I'd appreciate if you at least left my moon alone," muttered Nightmaretron, "and try to keep the damage to a minimum. This is going to be part of my new Empire of the Night, after all."

"Party pooper."

"Just play with them until I can discover where big sister has hidden the Elements of Harmony. I really look forward to making her tell me."

"You know that won't work."

"Yes, but it's a good excuse as any to make her suffer for awhile."

"Perhaps Lugnut and Blitzwing can..."

"Search for something they've never seen before?"

"There's not much point in making Discord rebuild my castle twice."

"Fine. I need to speak with them about the search for the AllSpark fragments anyways."

So Discord was left alone to watch the oncoming Autobots and ponies.

Orders of Chaos

by neorenamon

"Ooo!!" cried Pinkie, "Chocolate rain! Marshmallow snow!" She was dancing under the rain from one cloud to the next as she caught the falling goodies in her open mouth. "Mmm!!" she sighed as she was drenched in hot chocolate and marshmallow creme.

"This is just plain wrong!" hissed Rare Seeker, "Do you know how much effort it takes to get chocolate and marshmallow stains out?!"

"What all does this mean, Twillie?" asked Apple Buster.

"Since this isn't Nightmare Moon's style," replied Twilight Prime evenly, "It can only mean one thing."

"That we're out of whipped cream?!" replied Pinkie.

Twilight and Apple just face-hooved themselves.

"I don't think that's it," said Flutterstorm softly.

"It's just so... random!" interjected Rainbow Bolt.

"Precisely," replied Twilight, "and that means that they have somehow freed the Spirit of Chaos: DISCORD!"

"Did we just somehow skip over all of Season One?" asked Pinkie. Fourth wall fall down go boom.

"What tha hay is ya carryin on bout?" asked Apple.

"Nuthin!"

"Sometimes ah just dun git ya..."

"AHH!" said Twilight in distress, "This wasn't in the prophecy either!"

"I take it this is bad?" asked Optimus.

"Oh, it just got very bad!" she replied, "Discord may well be even more powerful than Nightmare Moon! He managed to rule Equestria under his chaotic power for some time before Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to turn him into a statue!"

"Calm down an take a deep breath there, sugar-cube."

"So he can make it rain chocolate and marshmallows," snorted Rainbow, "How bad is that?"

"Well well well," said Discord as he appeared in a flash of light, "Somepony who remembers me." He was holding an umbrella and a coffer mug that read "I 'heart' chaos". He stuck out the cup so that chocolate rain began to fill it.

"Discord!" hissed Twilight, "How did you escape imprisonment?!"

"Oh, Nightmaretron and Princess Megatron were..."

"Princess Megatron!" laughed Sari, "That never gets old!"

"I KNOW!" laughed Bumblebee.

Discord cleared his throat be continuing, "They used some spark fragment thingie to release me from the stone prison that Celestia and Luna left me in. If I ever find those two..."

"Oh, you already saw Luna," said Pinkie.

"What?!"

"Don't say anything more!" blurt Twilight.

"After you were turned to stone, Luna became Nightmare Moon," she continued blithely, "Then Celestia had to imprison her in the moon for 1,000 years!"

Twilight face-hooved herself.

"Hmm," he said, "I'm helping one of my jailers take over..."

"WHAT?!" asked Twillie in dismay.

"Nothing," he sniffed.

"Give us back Princess Celestia!" growled Rainbow as she flew into his face, "Or we'll make you!"

"Your Celestia is fine at the moment," he replied, "Her magic is gone..."

"WAIT!" cried Twilight, "Is that her horn and wings on your body?!"

"Well thank you for that, Captain Obvious."

"It wasn't obvious to ME-EEE!" sang Pinkie.

"I stand corrected," he replied, "and as I was saying, your Princess is fine for now. I don't think Nightmaretron has got around to amusing herself at her expense as of yet..."

"Why are you helping them?!" asked Twillie.

"They freed me from my stone prison, so I owe them a few favors. When that is repaid, I'm taking this show on the road."

"So the great and powerful Discord has been reduced to the status of a flunky?" she asked with a sneer.

"I am nopony's lackey!" he replied.

"Do you think she's just going to let you go your merry way once she's got what she's wanted?"

"She does not have the Elements of Harmony," he sniffed, "and neither do you."

"But she freed you from your stone prison without the Elements, didn't she?"

"Well... yes..."

"And didn't you ever wonder how she pulled that off?"

"No..."

"And once she gathers all of the power of the AllSpark, do you really think she's going to let you do what you want?"

"She's no where near powerful enough to dictate terms to me!" he hissed.

"Nightmare Moon is a control freak!" replied Twilight as she looked into his eyes, "She wants to rule this land, and rule it alone! The Eternal Night is just the beginning of her reign of terror!"

"Did somepony just say 'rain'?" asked Pinkie.

"Eternal Night?" he asked ignoring Pinkie's outburst, "That's... so dull! So orderly!"

"And that's what Nightmare Moon wants!" retorted Twilight, "What she's always wanted!"

"Well if she thinks she can control the likes of me..." he said as he vanished in a burst of light.

A flash briefly appeared in Twilight's eyes as if she suddenly had an epiphany.

"So we all have to fight Princess Megatron, Nightmaretron and now Discord?!" asked Apple.

"Oh, I think there's going to be some problems in their ranks now," replied Twilight evenly.

(21) Sister Love

by neorenamon

"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" hissed Nightmaretron as she paced before her sister's prison cell.

"I wanted Luna back," sniffed Celestia, "I've wanted her back for 1,000 lonely years. That's all I ever wanted..." Without her horn and wings, she appeared to be a shadow of her former self. Her mane and tail had dimmed to a lusterless pink mass of hair. She simply lay in the hay at the back of her cell.

"LIES!!" she hissed, "The incident with King Sombra proved to us that all you ever really wanted was to rule alone!"

"We were meant to rule together, little sister!" she replied as she stood to face Nightmaretron.

"We were once foal enough to believe you!" she hissed back, "but we grew up and realized that you couldn't even see us in your SHADOW!!"

"NO! I was the foal!" cried Celestia as she walked towards Nightmaretron, "I was the one who couldn't see your needs! I was the one blind to the one who mattered the most! Punish me, but leave the ponies of Equestria out of this!"

"STOP THAT! STOP ACTING LIKE YOU'VE GIVEN UP MORE THAN ANY OTHER PONY!"

"For 1,000 years, I've kept the balance in the land, little sister. I've had to measure the day against the night. The winter against the spring. The summer against the fall. I've never had more than an hour to myself in all that time. No time to think about what my needs were. No time for romance and thinking about what my offspring would be like. The ponies always came first. Their needs always came first."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you banished us to the moon!"

"I couldn't let you destroy Equestria," she sighed as she looked into the hateful eyes and remembered the once peaceful eyes of her little sister Luna, "I couldn't let you rule them like you wanted to."

"MORE LIES!" hissed Nightmaretron, "I would have kept all the ponies safe in the embrace of the night!"

"You don't get it!" replied Celestia, "Plants grow in the sun and sleep at night! Without the sun, most of the plants would turn to dust, the ponies, the animal life that lived off that would die off! On the small amount of fungus and mold that grows at night would be left to feed everypony! What kind of kingdom has no subjects in it?!"

"My magic would have changed all that!!"

"I couldn't take that risk, little sister! The lives of Equestria are not some experiment! How many lives would you have been willing to lose in order to figure out what works?! How many animal species had to have died off before you realized how wrong you were?!"

"STOP WHINING!! I AM NOT A VILLAIN!! I WASN'T UNTIL YOU TURNED ME INTO ONE!!"

"It all changed when we discovered the Elements of Harmony and used them to imprison Discord, didn't it?"

"That was the turning point for us, big sister," she replied, "The day you decided that you had to control their power..."

"IT WAS BOTH OF US!" she cried back, "I never controlled the Elements by myself! I never could have!"

"The price of power is a steep one, isn't it?" asked a voice from thin air.

"Can't you see we're having a moment?!" hissed Nightmaretron.

"And since I've delayed both the Autobots and the Autoponies, I'm sure you'll have plenty for time for that," replied Discord as he appeared in a flash of light, "Besides, I don't think you're going to get past this little moment. Not until one fully dominates the other."

"And that dominatrix shall! be! me!"

"Perhaps it's time to see what part of the world I'll claim as..."

"NO!" she snapped, "This Twilight Prime and her allies are resourceful and persistent! They shall not give up so easily, so you better not leave them to their own devices! Surely they shall make you look the foal if you do!"

"My favor to you is not endless, Night Princess."

"Neither is our patience."

"Are you threatening moi?"

"No. Merely some friendly advice on my part. We freed you from your stone prison, and you shouldn't presume our enemies cannot return you to that state of imprisonment."

"Or you..."

"What was that?!"

"I said 'I do'... agree..." he said quickly, "Well if I'm going to spy on our enemies, I guess I better get back to it." He vanished in a flash of light as Princess Megatron made her entrance.

"And that's why I'm glad I'm not counting on that one for what I'm here for."

"Who said I was counting on Discord for anything?" she replied as she shifted back to her nightmare alicorn form, "But let us move our talks back to the throne room. The less big sister hears of our plans, the less she can scheme to send messages to the hopeful rescuers."

"Of course," replied Megatron as she turned to trot back up the stairs with her ally in tow.

"I haven't given up on you yet, little sister," replied Celestia softly as the two of them left her behind.

In the Shadows of the Truth

by neorenamon

Discord returned to view the Autoponies and Autobots from a distance. He knew that in order to weaken his enemies, he had to divide and conquer them. It was fortunate that the Draconequus was just the kind of lord of Chaos to make such a thing happen. Snapping his talons, he began a fog rolling in across the Everfree Forest. It was a thick blanket of fog that oppressed the senses and made one lose their direction from somepony unless they were holding hands. Of course, the fog had no effect on his own senses. It would be silly to create a fog that would.

All he had to do was sit back and see who got separated far enough for his games to begin.

"I know you and Flutterstorm can just fly above the fog," he could hear Twilight Prime saying, "but you could well lose sight of the rest of us. You all need to stay within earshot so we don't have to depend on eyesight to keep us together."

"Sage advice," he giggled, "Not that it's going to help you any."

He was soon rewarded when he heard Apple Buster take a mistep and a tumble down the side of a slope. "OH SHIIIIIII!!......" But Discord had already muted the sounds to any ear but his own. They didn't even know she was apart from them now. It was time to move in.

"Dangnabbit," cussed Apple Buster as she looked about for her favorite hat in the fog.

He needed to change his appearances so he could approach her without alarming her. A quick look at her mind and her past told him the ideal form to use, so he snapped his talons and changed into an elderly pony.

"Hey, who's out there?" he asked.

Just as she was placing her hat back on her head, she heard the call and replied, "Uncle Strudel?!"

"And just who the hay is this pony who knows me?"

She shifted back to Applejack as she replied, "It's yer relative Applejack from Ponyville. I saw ya at the last Apple Clan Reunion."

He stepped from the fog as she watched. "Fancy meetin you out here," he said amiably.

"What are'ya doin out here where no pony's supposed ta be?" asked Applejack as she walked closer.

"Before the sisters had their tiff," he said smoothly, "Celestia hid a stash of gold out here in them woods. If'n you help me find it, the Apple Clan will be set for generations to come."

"If it's Celestia's gold, shouldn't we just give it back to her?"

He leaned closer as he said, "I don't even live in Equestria and I know just how loaded she is. She'll never miss just a little cache of gold. Just divide among all the families of the Apple Clan and nopony has to be the wiser. I know I'm so close to finding the place where it's hidden."

"How do ya all know that?" she asked.

"I... had a map... but I lost it in a Hydra attack," he replied awkwardly, "It's lucky I got away with my head in one piece."

"An I'm glad yer alright too."

"Well, thank you for the concern my dear," he replied, "Help me out and I'm sure we'll be dividing that gold up in no time!"

"But I'm helpin mah friends get Celestia back from that there Nightmare Moon," she said with concern.

"How many friends?"

"I reckon 13 or so all told," she replied.

"And they can't spare you so you can help me take care of our own clan?" he asked skeptically.

"Ah reckon I can ask..."

"Don't say anything about the gold!" he snapped, "They'll demand their own shares without lifting a hoof to help get it!"

"Ah don't think they're..."

"Don't think!" he retorted, "There's nothing to think about! I'm sure that the Princess is going to be just fine with all those ponies helping!"

"But they all depends on meh..."

"And I'm depending on you!" he claimed as he twisted the verbal knife he had thrust into her sense of honor and family, "Now who's more important? Your friends and their little quest or your own kinfolk?"

"Alright!" she cried, "I'll help ya fetch that gold... even if ah don't happen ta like it."

"Good filly," he replied as he turned, "Follow me. I don't think we're all that far from the hidey hole Celestia buried that gold."

She sighed as she followed him down the path that seemed to appear in a cleft in the fog. It was difficult to judge distances surrounded by fog, but it didn't feel that they were travelling all that quickly.

"There's something ya need ta know," she spoke up at last.

"What might that be?"

"Something... inside'a me... it's changed lately," she replied awkwardly.

"Is it important?" he asked without looking back.

"Well... yeah..."

"Well I already know about it," he replied smoothly.

"How could ya know bout it already?!" she asked in dismay.

"Oh, I saw the way your were staring at third cousin Apfelpfannkuchen and her big ole caboose..."

"AGH!" she moaned, "I ain't no lesmarian there Uncle Apple Strudel!"

"Are you sure?"

"YES I'M SURE!" she snapped, "I was just trying to figure out how ya git apples inta pancakes!"

"Oh, then it must be the other thing..."

"The other thing?" she asked dubiously.

"I'm sure it's perfectly normal to think about being a stallion," he replied, "Even fantasize about..."

"I AIN'T INTERESTED IN BEIN NO STALLION!!" she snapped.

"You surely act like a tomstallion, my dear."

"I do not..." she replied before she corrected herself, "Well maybe I do act a bit like a tomstallion... I gotta hold up mah end of the chores at the farm with only Big Macintosh ta tend ta the orchards mosta the time... BUT THAT AIN'T IT!"

"Well then what ever could you be carrying on about?" he asked, never pausing in his walk forward.

"Ah might be some kinda... metal monster..." she replied as she shifted back to Apple Buster.

Apple Strudel turned and walked back to stare at her without comment.

"Ah just found about this not so long ago," she explained.

"I doesn't matter!" he snapped, "All that matters is that your kin!"

"It don't bother ya..."

"Of course not," he replied, "I'd still be your kin if you turned into Nightmare Moon herself!"

Apple Buster picked him up and hugged him to her frame.

"Now that the awkward moment is over," he said breathlessly, "put me down so we can get on with this."

"Shore," she replied as she let him go and shifted back into Applejack.

"I think we're coming up to a rope bridge," he said, "That would mean we're almost to the cave with all of that gold waiting to be claimed!"

Lost in the Fog of War (Revised)

by neorenamon

"Has anypony heard from Apple Buster?!" asked Twilight through the fog.

"I can barely hear myself processing!" grumbled Ratchet.

"I hope she's alright out there!"

"I'm sure she's trying to get back to us right now!" said Bulkhead.

"This fog... there's something magical to it!"

"This magic stuff is really hard to compute!" complained Jazz.

"My mane is getting soaked!" compained Rare Seeker.

"I'm sure it's not doing my circuits any good either!" agreed Bumblebee.

"And the fog can hide something SPOOKY and SCARY!" goaded Rainbow Bolt.

"Quit it, Rainbow!" snapped Twilight, "That didn't help before and it's not helping now!"

"Can't you whip up some magic mumbo jumbo spell to make the fog go away?!"

"Don't you think I've tried spells already?!"

"I do love some good old chaos," whispered somepony in Twilight's ear.

"WHO SAID THAT?!" she called out.

"Who said what?!" replied Rainbow.

"Hey!" cried Rare Seeker, "This fog! It's getting me all sticky and sweet! GROSS!"

"MMM!!" yelled Pinkie Maximus, "It's COTTON CANDY FOG!!"

"Prime!" called Ratchet, "This stuff is getting into my joints! I'm having trouble moving!"

"That seems to be the case for all of us!" replied Twilight.

"MMM!!" moaned Pinkie, "This is so good!! I can't get enough!!"

"Okay, ALMOST all of us!"

"I'm glad that one of you is enjoying yourselves," said the mystery voice in Twilight's ear.

"Discord!" she hissed, "What are you trying to get from this?!"

"Oh, I'm just amusing myself by delaying your little band of heroes," replied Discord as he appeared next to Twilight. Of course, he was unaffected by the cotton candy fog he had created.

"Still playing Nightmare Moon's little errand pony?" she asked him pointedly.

"As long as it amuses me, I'll play along with their little plan."

"Will you still be amused once she slaps you in her dungeon?!"

Discord chuckled as he replied, "Oh, I promise you it won't ever get that far. I have my own plans for that stuck up little Princess."

"So you're still going to get back for making you a statue for more than 1,000 years? I think I can still smell the pigeon droppings on you."

Discord sniffed himself as he replied, "You're just making that up, aren't you?"

"We can help you defeat Nightmaretron."

"Why?" he asked, "So you can save your precious little sun Princess? Don't think I've given up on the notion of getting even with her too."

"Celestia only does what she feels is right for the majority of ponies," replied Twilight, "For the greater good."

Discord sniffed as he replied, "What about MY greater good?"

"Celestia didn't have a choice," she replied, "She can't babysit you every minute! You just can't help but mess with others!"

"But why wait 1,000 years?"

"Because shortly after Nightmare Moon rebelled, Celestia had to use the Elements on her to imprison her in the moon!" retorted Twilight, "She lost control of the Elements, and therefore lost the ability to revive you from your stone prison!"

"So are you saying you would have used the Elements to help me?!"

"Well, once Nightmare Moon was dealt with, I was going to add that to my list of things to do."

"Are you saying you care about me?!" he asked as he leaned closer.

"I care about every pony," she replied, "even you."

"Do you think that because you could be nice to me, I'll turn soft and cuddly?"

"Maybe if you were nicer," she retorted, "You might have some friends."

"So I'll make a deal," he replied, "The candy fog should dissipate in about an hour or so. Then you'll be free to continue. But then you'll have a choice to make: Save Celestia, punish Nightmare Moon or become my friend. Think about it." He vanished in a flash of light.

"Peachy," muttered Twilight.

"No cotton candy!" replied Pinkie. Twilight could hear her munching away now.

"Hey!" called Ratchet, "I think the noise dampening problem has cleared up!"

"I have it... on somewhat good word... that we'll be out of this candy fog in one hour!"

"Who told you that?!" asked Rainbow.

"Discord said it," she replied.

"And you believe him?!"

"Yes," replied Twilight, "because I think he's planning to test my intentions."

"I hate tests..."
...

Uncle Strudel and Apple Buster crossed the rope bridge, and soon a cave came into view just as he predicted.

"Well dear," said Uncle Strudel as he glanced over his shoulder, "We're almost there. Ah can feel it in mah bones."

"If'n y'all says so," replied Apple Buster distantly.

"Aren't ya pleased that the family is about ta be rich ferever?"

"Well ah guess that's nice an all," she replied, "but ah feel like ah've abandoned mah friends."

"Ya well know that family always come first," he said as he walked into the cave.

"Ah reckon so," she replied as she followed him. The cave didn't seem to be as dark as she expected. It seemed that tiny crystals imbedded in the stone seemed to glow softly with some kind of inner light. While it wasn't bright enough to read by, it was just enough to see where they were going.

"Ins't this interesting?"

"Well it does seem like an odd place to hide treasure an all." she replied as she looked about.

"As long as no one came here to look, it doesn't seem so strange to me."

"Ah guess so."

"Oh cheer up my dear," he said as he glanced back again, "Things'll look great once you're rich."

"Ah never thought that just havin money fer the sake'ah having money was what mattered..."

"But you have to think of more than yerself and yer immediate kinfolk," he said as he trotted up to a corner, "Do ya think when Big Macintosh gets his own wife, he ain't gonna want to go off ta his own farm?"

"No no," she replied, "Why would he ever wanna leave Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Or perhaps you might want to have your own farm when you get married, my dear?"

She paused as she never seriously thought about marriage before. As the older brother, Big Macintosh would run the farm once Granny Smith passed away. He might not want her husband or her own foals around once he settled down and start his own family. The same would well apply to Apple Bloom as well. The house would be quite crowded once two families were living there, and construction of a second house would well take up valuable growing space.

"Ah'm sure that some stallion has caught yer fancy by now?" he asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

"No," she replied, "There ain't no stallions in mah life."

"Oh you're young, healthy and attractive," he said with a smirk, "Ah'm sure that some stallion will coming knocking for you soon enough."

She smiled nervously. It seemed odd that he had never mentioned the farm or marriage to her before.

"Oh my," he said, "I do think I see something ahead... something golden."

The crystals in the wall seemed to grow even larger as they moved along. Light seemed to grow brighter as she saw the gleam from a gold hinged wooden chest come into her view.

"Wait," she said, "what'll we do if it's locked?"

"Well you buck apples for a living," he replied, "How hard can it be?"

"What if the chest has some kinda curse on it?"

"Oh, you know curses are just fables to scare the foals away," he chuckled as he walked closer.

"Ah... ah can't help feelin mah friends are needin me..."

"We're almost there," he replied, "I'm sure that riches are just a kick away."

She caught up to Strudel until they were next to the chest. They walked slight around it until a large crude padlock came into view. Even the lock was gold plated. Turning around nervously, she kicked at the lock and cleanly broke it off from it. The lid flipped open and even looking away, she could see the glow of all the gold she would surely see once she turned around.

"We're filthy rich my dear," he giggled as she turned around.

The chest was indeed full to the brim not only with gold bits, but also all manner of gems, jewels and various forms of jewelry.

"All your dreams are about to come true," he whispered.

She began to sniffle.

"My," he said, "just look at how happy you are."

Tears began to leak from her eyes.

"With riches, you don't need anyone else."

"NO!!" she cried, "Ah can't be happy without mah FRIENDS!!" She bolted for the cave opening.

"Well well," he said as he watched her go, "Maybe there's more to you than meets the eye." The gold chest vanished as he started to laugh. "It seems I've given you something to think about as well as kept me amused for a little while." Then he vanished as well.

(24) The Family Jewels

by neorenamon

Nightmaretron gazed at the five gray stones she now held in her hands, and yet she somehow know by their symbols that they were the inert Elements of Harmony she was so concerned about falling into the hands of her enemies. She knew that there was originally six, but she wasn't quite sure which of the Elements was no longer with the others. But in their current state, they posed no threat to her.

"But perhaps these could be used as bait to lure in the wannabe heroes," she said under her breath.

"Should they be like this?" asked Princess Megatron.

"They were not like this the last I saw them," she replied, "perhaps over time, their power has faded."

"So I take it they can neither threaten you nor Discord?"

"No," she replied.

"Then we should focus our efforts on destroying the Autobots, recovering the AllSpark and getting you installed as the ruler of Equestria."

"But just destroying your enemies takes all the fun out of it," replied Discord as he appeared in a flash of light.

"Destroying our enemies is the fun of it!" retorted Blitzwing.

"For one of us..."

"As long as there shall be Eternal Night, I shall be pleased..."

"Speaking of which..."

"What about it?!"

"I'm just saying," he said as he popped above them and an unseen shaft of light shone down on him, "it would be really BORING if the whole world was dark all of the time!"

"FINE! You can manage your own part of the world as you see fit, but mine shall be properly dark all the time!"

"So what are you going to do now?" he asked as he leaned in and winked.

"I shall torment my sister with these useless baubles before I take over all she held dear!" snapped Nightmaretron.

"Ooo, I certainly want to be there to hear that!"

"Whatever amuses you!"

"Oh, it amuses me alright," replied the draconequus as he clicked his paw and talon together, "I love to see what happens next."
...

"Once we get out of this cotton candy," asked Rainbow Bolt, "What'll we do then?"

"We need to get into the Castle of the Twin Sisters and get the Elements of Harmony back," replied Twilight Prime, "It's the only effective weapon there is against both Nightmaretron and Discord."

"But are they strong enough to beat them both at once?"

"I... I can't answer that," she replied slowly.

"Then we have to make do with what we already have and already know," replied Optimus, "We have strength in our numbers and strength in our resolve."

"That's surely true," she answered as she nodded, "but I'm not sure that sticking together is the best use of that strength."

"I don't understand."

"Discord has vast powers," she replied, "but I don't think he can split his attention without limit. If we split up into pairs, we should be able to have at least one group of us get into the Castle and locate the Elements of Harmony undetected."

"How do you know they don't have it already?" asked Bumblebee.

"I have a feeling if they had them already, they would be gloating about it at the very least."

"That does make sense," replied Optimus, "We should assign the teams now."

"I had a feeling you were going to suggest that," she answered, "I think we should have Pinkie Maximus team up with Bumblebee."

"Ratchet should go with Flutterstorm," suggested Optimus.

"Apple Buster should go with Jazz," she replied.

"Then Bulkhead should team up with Rare Seeker."

She nodded as she added, "Rainbow Bolt should team up with Sari."

"Then that leaves you and me for the last team," observed Optimus.

"And I'll get to team up with you all!" called Discord as he appeared among them.

They all just looked at him and groaned.

"What?!"

Unlikely Alliance

by neorenamon

"DISCORD!!" shouted all the Autobots and Autoponies as one.

"What?!" he asked, "Can't we be friends?"

"i don't know you well enough to voice an opinion," replied Optimus.

"You're the spirit of chaos," retorted Twilight, "Why in the name of Celestia's horn would you help us against the one who set you free in the first place?!"

"Normally that's quite a valid question," he replied, "But in this case, the one who freed me want to make the world as boring and dark as she is. You were right about her not letting me do what I want to do. I know enough to be sure about that even though Nightmaretron and Princess Megatron..."

"OH THAT NEVER GETS OLD!" cried Bumblebee and Sari as one.

"But that is," he retorted, "Well in spite of their assurances otherwise, I think they're going to double cross me before they're done. She claims the Elements of Harmony are just five cold inert stones..."

"Inert stones?!" asked Twilight, "I guess I really need to find that spark after all..."

"Spark?"

"I'm still not sure what that means either," she admitted.

"Well I'm sure you have a better chance with me on your side..."

"If'n we can trust ya as far as we all can throw ya," commented Apple Buster.

So Discord turned into a baseball with a face and said, "Well how far can you throw me now?"

"Y'all don't wanna know."

"Party pooper," he scolded as he changed back.

"Well why don't you prove how you're helping use by bringing us them right now?" asked Rainbow Bolt.

"For your information, Nightmaretron, Princess Mega... Stop it! Lugnut and Blitzkreig are guardian them like griffons. They'll sure try some attack against me as soon as I try anything. With the alien powers, I'm not confident that I'm immune to their effects."

"So you're scared, Discord?!"

"Prudent," he replied, "I wouldn't be here now if I wasn't more cautious the first time Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony against me, don't you know."

"That does make sense," replied Twilight.

"Who's side are you on?!" asked Rainbow Bolt.

"Celestia's side," she retorted.

"So like it or not," he replied, "I'm helping you replace Celestia. All I ask in return is that you put in a good word and not use the Elements of Harmony to put me back in that horrible statue state."

"Only if y'all promise ya ain't gonna give us a reason to," snapped Apple Buster.

"I think he's sorry for his past actions," interrupted Flutterstorm.

"Well I see one of you is ready to give me another chance," smirked Discord.

"I would too if you didn't have enough baggage from your past to sink any ship in Equestria," replied Twilight.

"As least you have to promise not to cause any wide spread chaos any more," said Rare Seeker, "and certainly no major crimes against fabulosity, dahling."

"Is that even a word?" whispered Discord as he leaned closer to Twilight.

"Yes," she replied simply.

"Funny," he replied, "No one's ever called me 'dahling' before..."

Twilight face-palmed herself.

"What?!" asked Discord innocently.

"CAN WE GET GOING?!" growled Ratchet, "THIS HUMIDITY IS KILLING MY ROTOR CUFFITIS!!"

"Everything aggravates his Rotor Cuffitis," whispered Bumblebee to Pinkie Maximus.

"I HEARD THAT!!"

"Well his ears are working well," she replied.

"Only when he wants them to," replied Bumblebee.

"I HEARD THAT TOO!!" snapped Ratchet.

"Like right now. When I needed by drive train realigned and my transformation cog tuned, he acted like he couldn't hear me for about 2 megacycles."

"You can stop talking about me like I'm not even here!"

"Do I have those things?" asked Pinkie.

"Well I don't know about the drive train, but..."

"YES you have a transformation cog!" snapped the doc-bot.

"His pallet-side manner is atrocious."

"I'm a war doctor! Not a limobot plastic surgeon!"

"What is..." asked Pinkie.

"IT'S NOT IMPORTANT!"

"He is a cranky crankshaft, isn't he?"

"I KNOW!" said Bumblebee and Sari as one.

"You probably don't even know what you just called me!" retorted Ratchet.

"Not that that's ever stopped her," sighed Twilight. Then she turned to Discord and said, "Well if you can't bring the Elements here, can you at least sneak us into the Twin Sister's Castle unnoticed."

"I thought you'd never ask," replied Discord.

"Why would you think..."

"Nothing," he replied as he rolled his eyes. They came up boxcars. Then snake-eyes. "I knew I should have never started gambling in Los Pegasus."

"When did you..."

"Oh nevermind," he replied, "It's not important right now."

Infiltration Station

by neorenamon

"Any ideas how you can sneak us into the Two Sister's Castle?" asked Twilight as they used their optics to scan the castle from as far away as they could.

"I could eat you and throw you up once they let me in," offered Discord helpfully.

"EWW!" protested Apple Buster, "That's so dang wrong on so dang many levels!"

"Yeah," agreed Rare Seeker, "That would be a fashion disaster!"

"Ah don't think y'all is getting the point over here," she sighed.

"Sounds like fun to me!" said Pinkie Maximum.

"Now ya really got meh worried there Pinkie," she groaned further.

"I think if we knew where the Decepticons and Nightmaretron were," suggested Prime, "we could plan a route to sneak in past them."

"Too bad we don't have cloaking devices," mused Bulkhead.

Discord snapped his talons and a really big cloak appeared on Bulkhead.

"No no," he said, "A cloaking device radiates an energy field that makes us invisible to the enemies' sensor packages."

"Since I have no real idea how your sensors work, I doubt I could do anything like that."

"But having the enemy looking someplace else is pretty much the same effect," said Ratchet.

"That sounds like you're having an idea," said Jazz.

"Yes," he continued, "Have Omega Supreme make a diversionary attack on the other side of the castle. Make the Cons give chase for a while before Megatron..."

"Princess Megatron!" blurt out Bumblebee.

"AHEM!" he snapped, "Before he calls them back to their patrols. The Cons will assume we're on the ship waiting to assault the base."

"That sounds good," said Prime.

"I'd prefer leaving Arcee behind," he added, "but she should be perfectly safe in Omega's sick bay."

"Agreed. Omega should break off the attack and fake battle damage as soon as Megatron hits him. I'm sure he's arrogant enough to think his cannon can damage Omega and will surely call for the other Cons to give chase."

"While Omega diverts their attention, we slip in and rescue the Princess," said Twilight, "and hopefully recover the remains of the Elements of Harmony. We can still hopefully find a way to make them usable again. I can't believe they're permanently inert."

"We can't assume we can get them to work," said Prime, "So we'll need contingency plans..."

"Just kick her can across the sky with our awesomeness!" interrupted Rainbow Bolt.

"Oh that'll work," grumbled Ratchet.

"But for the moment, we should stay together," said Prime, "The Cons and their allies are surely sticking together."

"True," said Twilight, "and we need you to continue acting like their ally until we need you to attack their group from the inside, Discord."

"Oh that so sounds like fun," he said rubbing his paw and talong together.

"So get back to the group," she scolded, "If you suddenly appeared during Omega's diversion, even Nightmaretron would surely look at the coincidence suspiciously."

"Oh right!" he said as he vanished in a flash of light.

"Can we trust that one?" asked Prime.

"As long as Nightmaretron and Megatron appear to be holding the upper hand," replied Twilight, "I think so. But as soon as we have the Elements of Harmony and deal with Nightmaretron, he might strike out on his own and attack us. We have to keep tabs on him at all times."

They all nodded. Then they moved closer to the castle as Prime used a scrambled channel to call Omega. He had to use burst transmits to make sure the Cons couldn't triangulate on their position.

"Somethin bugs me, Twillie," said Apple as she whispered close to her.

"What's that?"

"Well what if Discord decides he can schmooze his way into Nightmaretron's good graces by double crossing us?"

"There's not much we can do if he does," she replied, "He's just too powerful to deal with without the Elements and I'm pretty sure he's fully aware of that."

"I can't say he has loyalty to anyone but himself," muttered Rainbow.

"And if we play it right, we can use that to our advantage."

"I really hope that Nightmaretron hasn't done anything... unsightly... to our beloved Celestia," said Rare Seeker.

"We all hope that," said Apple.

"I believe her strategic value is still too high for them to dispose of her right now," said Twilight.

They continued to move closer when they heard explosions on the other side of the castle.

"The diversion has begun," said Prime, "We better keep radio silence now that we're so close together."

They all nodded. From the walls of the castle, they could see Megatron, Blitzwing and Lugnut take off away from them in their vehicle modes. There was no sign of Nightmaretron as of yet. The sounds of battle increased before they sounded like they were moving away from the castle and away from them.

"Good job, Omega," said Ratchet quietly.

Then there was a really bright flash and loud explosion they couldn't see through the castle.

"DAMAGE SEVERE," said Omega in an open broadcast, "RETREATING TO SPACE."

"Oh no," gasp Ratchet.

"Don't call to him," said Jazz, "That could have been a ploy to make the Decepticons follow him."

"Trust me," he replied, "I've known Omega long enough to know he's not capable of lying! He must really be damaged!"

"Well he's still doing his job."

"I just hope Arcee wasn't damaged in the attack."

"She's down near his core. If he's damage that far in, he couldn't fly out to space."

"Yeah," he sighed back, "There's that."

"Now let's get into that castle so we can save their Princess."

Author's Note

Sorry for the update delay.

(27) Dash away, Discord betray

by neorenamon

The Autobots and Autoponies continued their stealthy approach to the castle. They hoped that the Cons and Nightmaretron were still pursuing Omega into space from his diversionary attack, but they were all concerned about just how much damage Omega had sustained during his attack.

"Pardon me," said Discord, "I have to 'check in' with her holy heiny and convince her you're still delayed." Without waiting for a reply or snide comment, he snapped his talons and vanished.

"Unfortunately, none of us are old enough to know the layout of the Twin Sister's Castle," said Twilight Prime, "We have to guess where the dungeon is and what kind of precautions they've taken to guard Princess Celestia."

"Then how do you know she's even in the dungeon?" asked Bumblebee.

"Because that would be the most humiliating place that Nightmaretron could keep her," she replied evenly, "and we all know that she's all about the revenge."

"That makes sense," said Sari.

"I think it would make for the most efficient use of our forces to split into the Autopony team and the Autobot team," she continued.

"Hmm," replied Optimus, "I think I see where this is going. The Autoponies rescue the Princess while the Autobots attack the Cons when they return from chasing Omega."

"Precisely," she said, "I have a feeling we're looking for a secret tunnel into the castle."

"Why would there be one of those?" asked Pinkie.

"Because if I we're designing a castle, I'd have one in case the castle came under siege."

"Ah reckon that all makes sense as long as the enemy don't find it," offered Apple Buster.

"I would make sure that only certain magics would reveal it," she continued, "But I have a feeling I know what sort of spells Celestia would use to make sure that secret tunnel remains secret."

"Well since Celestia is the Princess of the Sun, I imagine it would have something to do with light," said Pinkie.

They all blinked in surprise at Pinkie's insight.

"How did you know?!" asked Twilight.

o/~ "Just a lucky guessss!" o/~ she sang.

"Her luck kinda creeps meh out a little," muttered Apple Buster.

"Well I have the feeling that the 'back door' should be in the back of the castle," observed Twilight, "but not close enough that a siege would be sitting on top of it."

"Alright," said Prime as the Autobots crept away, "Keep radio silence unless it's a dire situation." Then he looked at Sari and said, "I know you're one of us now, but I think it's best you stay with the Autoponies and support them."

"You just don't think I can handle Cons yet," she muttered back.

"Yes," replied Ratchet.

"Well what all makes ya think she can handle Nightmaretron?" asked Apple.

"Mainly numbers," said Jazz.

"Okay fine," she replied, "Go off an have fun without me."

"There's nothing fun about this," snarled Ratchet.

"Well I'm right proud ta have ya with us," said Apple with a grin.

The Autoponies nodded in agreement with her.

"Thanks," said Sari softly.

They began looking around the back area of the Castle for anything that looked suspicious. Something that might be light activated that wouldn't be set off by the Sun by mistake. It took a while and didn't produce any solid leads. Then the air was split with laughter as sparkly purple smoke flew in and turned into Nightmaretron.

"Well well," she scolded, "Having a picnic behind my own Castle and not invite the Mistress of the Castle? HOW RUDE!"

In a flash of light, Discord appeared beside her.

"I told you I know what I'm doing," he replied with a grin.

"BETRAYER!!" hissed Twilight as they all prepared to fight.

"Oh don't look so wounded," he said condescendingly, "We all knew which team I'm really playing for and you decided to go along with me anyways."

Rainbow Bolt shot up into the air as Nightmaretron blasted all of the others with a massive lightning attack. They all fell down, their bodies crackling with electricity.

"I've overloaded their circuits," she hissed, "What are you going to do about it Dashie?"

She looked down at her friends and back at them. Then without a word, she shot away from them leaving a large rainboom in her wake. By the time they could see clearly again, she was long gone.

"So loyal," hissed Nightmaretron.

"Apparently not like me," he said as he looked down at Twilight. She could still turn her head far enough for him to see her glare and the anger in her eyes.

"Don't worry," she gloated, "I'm sure that coward will be joining the rest of you in my dungeon soon enough! I can't wait to see my big sister's look when I torture you one at a time in front of her eyes!" She turned to Discord and said, "Now would you be a dear and restrain all these prisoners for me. I'm sure Princess Megatron will be launching his surprise attack on the Autobots very soon thanks to the intelligence you've given us."

"Oh yes," he said as he snapped his talons, and they were all bound tightly in magic chains.

"I wonder what happened to the big one?" she asked as she looked up.

"The Omega?" he asked, "I believe he's crashed on the surface of the Moon. With that level of damage, he won't be going anywhere for quite some time."

"Excellent," she replied, "I think he would make an excellent shock trooper for my glorious army!"

"And I shall get what I want, right?" he asked.

"Oh, you shall receive all the rewards that you have earned," she said with a wicked grin.

"Excellent," he said as he rubbed his paw and talons together, "Things are falling into place."

'And you are just my pawn,' they thought as they looked at each other.

"You know," he said, "Far be it from me to tell you how to torment your prisoners, but..."

"Go on," she hissed.

"They all expect that these Elements of Harmony are somehow going to save their sorry flanks."

"So?"

"Then break their spirits by destroying the Elements of Harmony before their very eyes," he gloated.

"YES!" she cried, "A most excellent suggestion! Once they're broken, they'll serve me in ALL OF MY GLORY!"

'Oh I don't think you're going to like what you get,' he thought as he stared at her gloating.

Reunions

by neorenamon

"Well well Princess Celestia," gloated Discord as he appeared in her cell with their new prisoners, "It looks like your rescue was a bust. Pity one of them managed to escape, but I doubt it won't be long before they join you as well."

Celestia blinked as she looked around at the humanoids bound by chains. While they were rather alien to her, she somehow got the feeling that she knew them as well. It did seem consistent with Luna's transformation from Nightmare Moon into Nightmaretron. But she just didn't know the ponies well enough to know who they were until she saw the cutie mark of the violet prisoner.

'TWILIGHT?!' she thought.

"Your rescue has failed, big sister!" gloated Nightmaretron as she walked into view, "It's only a matter of time before the night... will last... FOREVER!"

'Drama queen,' she thought back.

"But now that your bungled rescue is here," she hissed, "Perhaps it's time to show them what they feel will save them!"

The five inert Elements of Harmony rolled into the cell with them and Discord. They all struggled against their chains to try and grab at least one of them on the off chance they could activate it.

"When my power is at its peak," she hissed, "I'll destroy the Elements of Harmony before your very eyes!!"

They looked on in wide eyed horror at the notion of what Nightmaretron just said.

"Yes," agreed Discord, "Destroying our one true weakness will help us both immensely. Once that little detail is out of the way, I can go my own way and sew chaos in my own kingdoms. You can rule this one as you see fit."

"Oh yes," she hissed, "Your contribution to the defeat of my big sister will not go unnoticed or unrewarded."

"Do you think the blue coward will let her friends rot in here?"

"Oh I think she'll come back to try and save them," she replied as she laughed, "Her ego won't allow her to admit she failed. She thinks she can do alone what they couldn't do together."

"You don't really need ALL of them, do you?" he asked as he looked the struggling prisoners over.

"Other than Twilight and my big sister," she hissed, "You can take any of the others for your own toys. All I ask is that they see the destruction of the Elements of Harmony first. I want to see their eyes when their only hope is dashed right in front of them."

His talon stroked Pinkie's chin as he mused, "Oh I definitely want this one. I'm sure we can have a whole lot of fun together." It made her squirm as she fought against the chains. "Don't be like that sweets," he cooed into her ear, "Once I... adjust your personality... you'll be all to happy to serve me in any capacity I choose to." He continued to stare at her as he added, "Oh, I'll really enjoy taking that defiant look from your eyes, my dear."

"But the suffering of big sister will be the most delicious thing to me," snarled Nightmaretron, "But would you be a dear and see if Princess Megatron needs help destroying the Autobots? I don't like surprises and I don't know enough about them to make sure that doesn't happen. I also don't want any surprise returns from that blue coward."

"Of course I can," he said as he snapped his talons and vanished in a flash of light.

That was... different...

by neorenamon

The Autobots were pinned down by Megatron and his bullybots. They were quickly running out of rocks to keep them shielded from the deadly barrage of Decepticon fire.

"I don't know how much more we can take!" shouted Ratchet.

"Well we have to keep Megatron busy until they save their Princess!" replied Prime.

"And just who is going to save us?!"

"A bot's gotta do what a bot's gotta do," interrupted Jazz.

"And a con's gotta do what a con's gotta do," replied Blitzwing as he strafed the Autobot's hiding places, "Let's play some more Whack-a-Moletron!"

"Oh where do I find these bots?" muttered Megatron as he hovered in chopper mode looking for a target for his big gun.

"I shall always be at your beck and call," replied Lugnut.

"That makes me feel so much better."

Of course, sarcasm was totally wasted on Lugnut.

"Surrender Autobots," said Astrotrain as he buzzed them in shuttle mode, "We have you totally outgunned without your precious Omega Supreme!"

Megatron cleared his throat speaker.

"Ah... assuming that Lord Megatron is even willing to entertain such thoughts!"

"That's better," he replied.

Then Megatron noticed that Bumblebee was moving towards Ratchet.

"Decepticons!" he called, "Keep that scout away from their medic! If they join their weapons, they can make an electromagnetic pulse that could take down one of us!"

So Blitzwing focused fire on Bumblebee while Lugnut drove Ratchet back with his own attacks.

"This doesn't look so good!" called Jazz, "I suggest we fall back and regroup!"

"We can't fall back without going into open terrain!" he replied, "The Cons would crush us for sure!"

"It's only time before they crush us here!"

"I wish you let Sari stay here with us!" whined Bumblebee.

"She's safer where she is!" retorted Prime.

"With that Nightmaretron and Discord around, how can you be so sure?!"

"I... well..."

"Oh don't worry your pretty little... uh... heads about that," said an eerie voice, "They're total safe rotting in a cell with their precious Princess Celestia!" Then Discord appeared in a flash of light.

"YOU'VE LOST, PRIME!!" growled Megatron.

"I think Megamouth might have a point!" called Bumblebee.

"We've gotten out of tougher spots than this!" replied Prime.

"NOT LATELY!"

No one seemed to noticed that a cloud front was moving in on them. If they were paying attention, they might have realized they were coming from the same direction as the Shadowbolt's base.

"Hmm..." mused Discord, "Well this is no fun. I think it's time to spice things up..."

"What are you babbling about?!" asked Megatron.

So he snapped his talons and turned them all to pony forms. Including the Autobots. The Decepticons, of course, already had their pony forms for some time.

"You're twisted!" hissed Princess Megatron, "But we'll still crush them! I'll have you know that Nightmaretron will know of your treachery and I don't think she'll like it!"

"Oh, so you're the teacher's pet, are you?"

"I don't even know what that means!"

"Nevermind," he replied as he looked over his handiwork.

"Lord Megatron!" called Lugnut-pegasus, "We have no ranged attacks in these forms!"

"What's a matter?!" replied Bumblebee, "Are you afraid to get your hooves dirty?!"

"I will CRUSH you for your impudence!"

"Oh worse bots than you have tried that!" he replied, "And failed!"

"Funny," mused Discord as he looked at the clouds, "I wasn't expecting a storm."

"And I bet you weren't expecting 20% more awesome either!" called Rainbow Dash as she came in on a sonic rainboom. She was wearing one of the Shadowbolts' weapons packs. There was also a Shadowbolt uniform on her.

"You think one pony will make any difference!" shouted Princess Megatron.

"Weapons deploy!" she called as the autocannon, rockets and bombs deployed from her packs.

"Everyone attack her now! She can't get all of you!"

"I wouldn't expect cowardice from you, Princess Megatron!" called Optimus-pony.

"Even with these packs on, you can't lay a hoof on me!" taunted Rainbow. She proved her point be evading the Cons clumsy attacks as she moved higher into the air.

"I know this has to work," called Princess Megatron as she focused. She saw Nightmaretron do it and figured she had to be able to do something like it. Much to her surprise, a black energy bolt shot from her horn and glanced off Dash's saddlebag.

"Gimme a break!" growled Ratchet.

"Now this is much more amusing," giggled Discord.

"Autocannons!" commanded Dash, "Long burst at Princess Megatron!" The guns responded with a stream of red hot cannon shells.

But Lugnut intercepted them and took all the hits for his leader.

Then the energy blast from her horn struck a glancing blow off Dash's head.

None of the Cons seemed to care as Lugnut fell from the sky bleeding.

"I don't believe I'm going to do this!" called Ratchet as he moved himself to break Lugnut's fall.

"Ratchet!" called Prime, "What are you doing?!"

"My job!" he replied just before Lugnut hit. The two of them were left laying in a pile.

"Well isn't this just all kinds of special?!" called Bumblebee as he made his way towards the two of them.

Dash shook her head and said, "I was really hoping it wouldn't have to be like this."

"What is she muttering about?" asked Astrotrain-pegasus. Oh right, he didn't have an organic form yet.

Then Dash whistled. There was a deafening silence as nothing seemed to happen.

"You fool!" called Megatron, "What were you..."

The clouds suddenly erupted in volleys of rockets aimed at the Cons.

"Oh scrap..." she replied as she dodged.

"Dash led the Cons up higher so her friends had a clear line of fire at them!" called Bulkhead-pony, "BRILLIANT!"

"Princess Megatron!" called Discord, "You and your Cons fall back! Regroup! I'll keep them all busy!"

"Very well," replied the Princess, "All units withdraw!"

"What about Lugnut?!" asked Astrotrain.

"If you want to go back for him and face them all on your own, be my guest!"

"NOT A CHANCE!" he replied as he flew off after them.

"We have you surrounded!" called Prime as the Cons retreated, "Surrender!"

"Do you mind?!" snapped Discord as he flashed over to Ratchet and Lugnut, "While healing isn't my strong point, I can fake it." He began to glow as his magic began to flow into the two wounded.

"Why are you helping us?" asked Bumblebee.

"Do you really think I'm on Nightmaretron's side?!" he asked, "That I'd put up with the likes of Princess Megatron?!"

The Shadowbolts emerged from the clouds as they flew in.

"Then why did you betray the Autoponies?!" asked Prime.

"Well they wanted to be with their Princess Celestia," he replied, "and that was the easiest way I could think of."

"But now they're rotting in a cell!" snapped Bumblebee.

"Why do I get the idea that you're the one who secured them all?" asked Jazz-pony.

"Ah, someone's using their processor," replied Discord.

"So you can free them at any time?!" asked Ratchet.

"When Nightmaretron is suitably distracted," he answered, "They will."

"What about the Elements of Harmony?!"

"Oh, I suppose if Nightmaretron is bent on smashing them, what can I do?"

"So you win from that as well," replied Jazz.

"Don't go, Princess Megatron," muttered Lugnut.

"Dude," said Bumblebee, "You really need to make a better choice of marefriends!"

"Someone get this hunk of meat OFF ME!" hissed Ratchet-pony.

"Well some things never change."

Author's Note

Sorry for the delayed update.
Ratchet and Wreck-Gar
Bulhead
Bumblebee

(30) Meanwhile back in the cage...

by neorenamon

Twilight struggled in vain to escape her chains. She was so close to Celestia but couldn't say anything to comfort her. It seemed like her magic was blocked and she had no physical means to escape Discord's magical imprisonment. She felt growing anger at how easily they were all betrayed by the draconequus. How they were so powerless to resist his will.

She looked about to see that the others were struggling just as hard as her to get loose. Everypony but Celestia. It seemed like she had surrendered to Nightmaretron's will. That she felt like she was powerless to stop the coming Eternal Night.

'You can't give up now,' she thought, 'As long as you're the Princess of Equestria, you have to keep fighting for every pony you rule. It's not just you now. They all need you.'

"Just look at those precious sun-loving faces," hissed Nightmaretron as she opened the cage door and walked in. They all gasp against their bound muzzles and gagged mouths as they saw the Elements of Harmony floating along behind her. "If you think these baubles are going to save your sorry flanks," she continued, "you are truly and sadly mistaken!"

'There's only five,' thought Twilight, 'That means they haven't found them all yet.'

"Oh, and if you think you're Autobot allies are going to save you," she growled, "you're twice the foal and doubly cursed! Even as we speak, Princess Megatron, Discord and their assorted minions are turning them into scrap!"

'NO!!'

"As soon as Discord returns," she scowled, "I'm going to CRUSH the Elements of Harmony before your very eyes! The! Night! Shall! Last! FOREVER!!" Then she broke into a long bought of evil laughter as she watched the spirits of her prisoners falling as she gloated.

'Please! By Celestia's horn, it can't end like this!'

"After the Elements are broken and gone, I'll BREAK ALL OF YOU!"

'I'll NEVER voluntarily serve you! Even if you destroy the Elements, I'll find a way to beat you!'

Nightmaretron laughed again as she gloated, "Look at all of your defiant stares. Those looks of determination. If looks could kill... Only my sweet sister knows that all is already lost. That my reign has already begun." She walked over and put her hoof under Celestia's chin. "Perhaps I'll banish you to the sun for 1,000 years just to see how much you like it!"

Tears welled up in Celestia's eyes as she looked up into the cold hard stare of her once sister Luna.

"Don't think those puppy dog eyes or those crocodile tears will move me, big sister! The time for such forgiveness has long passed!"

One of the Elements floated before Celestia's nose.

"This is the Element of Kindness!" she hissed, "The thing YOU NEVER SHOWED ME!!"

The inert stone shattered against the cold stone floor even as they stared powerless to stop her. Flutterstorm shuddered as if she were kicked in the stomach. But Nightmaretron didn't seem to notice... or care if she did.

"This is the Element of Generosity!" she hissed, "The thing YOU NEVER SHOWED ME!!"

Another stone shattered against the cold stone floor even as they stared and wept bitter tears. Rare Seeker shuddered as if she were kicked in the stomach.

"This is the Element of Laugher!" she hissed, "The BIGGEST JOKE OF ALL THE ELEMENTS!!"

Another stone shattered against the cold stone floor even as they their hopes fell to the floor beneath. Pinkie Maximus shuddered as if she were kicked in the stomach.

"This is the Element of Honesty!" she hissed, "I'll save this one if just to EXPOSE all of your LIES to the ponies of Equestria!!" The inert stone just dropped to the floor. "It will serve as a token of your failure to rule Equestria!"

Apple Buster simply cried harder as she watched the stone lay there powerless. As powerless as she felt.

"This is the Element of Loyalty!" she hissed, "I'll save this one if just to show that every pony should be LOYAL TO ME!!" The inert stone just dropped to the floor. "It will serve as a sign that I was meant to rule all along instead of YOU!!"

Twilight cried harder at the notion that Nightmaretron was the one meant to rule them all under the endless night.

About then, Princess Megatron stalked into the area just outside the open cage door.

"Well," said Nightmaretron, "Tell me about how you crushed those Autobots!"

"That hasn't happened yet!" hissed Megatron.

"The one called Discord interfered!" said Astrotrain.

"Oh, I had a feeling I couldn't trust him!" she replied.

"He locked us into these... ugh... organic forms!" grumbled Blitzwing-griffon.

"Still we could have crushed the Autobots in their pony forms if it wasn't for Rainbow Bolt!"

"What could that foal have done?"

"She returned with weapons packs we didn't have access to," she muttered, "and she brought a large squadron of support ponies as well! We were massively outgunned! Discord stayed behind to cover our withdrawal!"

"Or perhaps he's making a better deal with our enemies!" said Astrotrain.

"Oh I wouldn't put it past him!" hissed Nightmaretron, "But it's all in vain now! I've already destroyed half of the Elements of Harmony!"

"I don't care about that," replied Megatron, "All I care about is getting back my AllSpark and leaving the planet in your hoof servos."

"Say... where is the one called Lugnut?"

"Fallen before the onslaught of my enemies," she replied, "but his sacrifice for the cause shall not be forgotten."

"Even if we didn't try to save him," muttered Astrotrain.

Megatron cut him off with a glare.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Discord saved him just to get into the good graces of our enemies," she replied, "But they'll soon discover that he's just as untrustworthy to them as he was to us."

"I thought the Elements were the only things that could stop him."

"Oh I have an idea or two about how I'm going to reward Discord for his betrayal," she hissed, "One that should get him out of my hair for at least a thousand years." She looked at Celestia as she added, "I think you two will have fun tormenting each other because you two DESERVE to be together."

Discord's Deal

by neorenamon

"When are you going to unlock us from these organic forms?!" growled Ratchet.

"It's not like we haven't been organics before," replied Optimus.

"Really?" asked Discord.

"That was only a simulation in our minds while Soundwave was trying to reprogram us!" scowled Ratchet.

"Oh..." smirked Discord, "So you've never actually been organics before?"

"Well the simulation sure felt real enough," replied Prime.

"Fascinating..."

"Look," snarled Ratchet, "Are you going to fix us OR NOT?!"

"Testy one, isn't he?" he smirked as he looked back into Ratchet's glare.

"That's our docbot," replied Bumblebee.

"What are we going to do about Lugnut?" asked Jazz.

"Don't worry about that," replied Discord, "He's going to be asleep until his body fully heals."

"It's something like an organic version of our recharge cycle," retorted Ratchet.

"You mechanicals are most fascinating..."

"And you're just plain ILLOGICAL!"

"Of course I'm illogical," sniffed Discord, "I'm the embodiment of chaos after all."

"They say you have vast powers," replied Prime, "So you could just as easily fix us right now with... a snap of your talons."

"I suppose I could," he retorted, "but where would the fun in that be?"

"Well I think you're just blowing smoke up our... uh... exhaust ports!" he said as he looked away, "I don't think you even can undo the things you've done."

"OH PLEASE!" he sniffed, "That's about the lamest attempt at reverse psychology I've ever heard!"

"Sorry bots, but that's the only plan I really had," said Prime as he looked at the others.

"Besides, I thought you'd like a challenge," he replied, "It's not like Princess Megatron and his bullybots are any better off than you."

"But Princess Megatron shot that... energy blast thing... from her horn!" protested Bumblebee.

"But look at all these cannons, bombs and rockets you have on your side," he replied as he waved around, "It hardly seems fair."

"Well they also have Nightmaretron," observed Prime.

"Once you've rescued Twilight and Celestia," he sniffed, "that will all change again, won't it?"

"Well he has a point," noted Jazz.

"But first," he snickered as he snapped his talons.

"Hey!" replied Ratchet as his body shifted slightly, "What's with my voice module?! While do I feel like my internal systems have changed?!" The nose and muzzle became more rounded, the eyes slightly larger and the build a bit less bulky. The voice increased by at least a full octave and surely sounded sexier.

"Oh I've just changed you from a stallion into a mare," he replied, "They tend to have... more mellow dispositions."

"I DON'T WANT TO BE MELLOW!!" she snapped, "Whatever that is!!"

"I believe that's what Sari calls it when we play video games and stuff with her back home," replied Bulkhead.

"Oh, that sounds so fascinating," replied Discord, "I'd love to hear more about those 'video games' and being mellow."

"Well we are..."

"We can tell you all about that once we've rescued the Autoponies, their Princess and reassembled the AllSpark," interrupted Prime.

"I take it this AllSpark is important?" asked Discord.

"It's the greatest relic known to Transformers," replied Prime, "They say that all sparks came from it, and one day all sparks shall return to it... like poor Prowl... He became one with the AllSpark before his time... to save the rest of us..."

"AH!" he sniffed, "Heroic sacrifice. Another one of those things I'll never understand."

"What do you really want?"

"What does mwa really want?" he asked 'innocently', "I just want to remain free and do as I please. I believe it's called freedom."

"Well I believe you were imprisoned in stone for committing crimes..."

"CRIMES?!" he snapped, "I just wanted everypony to be as free as me! All I did was add some spice to their horribly dull and pointless lives! And all they did was whine about it!"

"Well if they weren't allowed to have their own opinions, then they weren't truly free then were they?"

Discord looked back without further comment.

"And if you're not going to help us any more, I suggest you take your freedom someplace else."

"Fine," he sniffed, "I'll keep helping you. But I won't lift a claw to fight for you."

"Even if Nightmaretron or Princess Megatron attacks you?"

"I said nothing about not defending myself," he replied, "I just said I won't help YOU with your battle."

"Well if he doesn't help the enemy, I guess I can live with that," replied Bumblebee.

"HEY!" growled Ratchet, "What are you two malfunctions doing behind me?!"

Prime looked to notice that Bumblebee and Bulkhead had their noses near Ratchet's flank.

"My organic olfactory sensor is detecting something... strange..." replied Bulkhead.

"Yeah, and the docbot smells funny too," sniffed Bumblebee.

"Oh my," said Discord, "I think somepony is about to come into season."

"What does that mean?" asked Prime.

"That means they're ready to reproduce," he giggled.

"WHAT?!" snapped Ratchet, "I'm not ready for internal protoform production!"

"But you're body is..."

"Anyone tries anything funny with me is going to get a mouth full of my hoof!" To emphasize the point, she bucked at Bumblebee and Bulkhead, driving them back from her flanks.

"Well I don't want to give you any protoforms!" replied Bumblebee defensively.

"Oh I'm sure you'll give into the natural order of organics soon enough," smirked Discord, "It's in their nature."

"It sounds like some of our subroutines," replied Prime.

"Well we aren't slaves to our subroutines!" cried Ratchet, "I won't be a slave to this body's urges either!"

Meanwhile, the Shadowbolts trotted in from the places they landed nearby.

"You remember your promise?" asked Slipstream.

"Yeah yeah," replied Rainbow Dash, "If the reward Celestia gives you for saving her isn't good enough, I promise I'll join the ranks of the Shadowbolts forever. But I'm sure that Celestia's wealth that she'll give you will be more than satisfactory. Heck, I bet you'll even become a permanent contractor to the Crown of Equestria."

"We'll see about that," she replied with a grin.

"I for one would never make a deal like that," sniffed Discord.

"Yeah, I know..."

A Spark in the Dark

by neorenamon

Nightmaretron left her prisoners alone while she went to consult with Princess Megatron, but no one had any doubts that either Blitzwing or Astrotrain was left behind to guard them. While Nightmaretron was perfectly willing to make them suffer, Megatron would most likely have ordered termination for any escape attempt.

Twilight looked to Princess Celestia, and noticed that she was still weeping lightly even though their tormentors had taken their leave. She had to wonder just how much she still cared for Nightmaretron regardless of what she turned into. Could her sister have been so different before she became Nightmare Moon? Could Celestia have done something to fix the situation other than banish her forever?

She had to wonder how the ruler of Equestria could not have known about the prophecy regarding Nightmare Moons escape from her imprisonment on the moon, or the strange prediction about the coming of Decepticons and Autobots to Equestria. Perhaps living a thousand years had lulled Celestia into some false sense of security. It seemed most likely that she handled every crisis since Nightmare Moon's being banished to the moon with her Guards (or herself if she had to).

Yet the wise and benevolent Celestia didn't seem like the kind of pony to not look into something that would threaten the well being of her subjects, and she wasn't beyond doing what she had to to protect them. Including banishing her own sister to the moon.

Then Twilight looked around to see what the others were doing. They had struggled to some degree or another for hours trying to get loose from the bonds that Discord had placed on them to no effect. He certainly had powerful magic and he surely knew how to use it. Then she noticed that Sari was doing something. She took some time to crawl closer and look. With her arms tied down, her legs tightly bound together and her hands behind her back, it was a struggle for her to move. Sari was rolling around, but it didn't look like she was trying to get loose. But then she saw something in her hands behind her back: The Key.

That strange device that when combined with a fragment of the AllSpark, allowed all of them to access their Autobot abilities and change into their new forms. Perhaps the Key could do other things. So Twilight continued to squirm forward. She knew that she had the best chance to get the key into her body and she knew the guard outside would surely take action if he saw the key in Sari's hand.

It would have been a simple matter to move the key with her magic, but Discord was smart enough to make sure that her powers were tied down as well. She glanced at Rare Seeked laying on her back and noticed that he hadn't even bothered to take away their horns. A look at Flutterstorm told her that she still had her wings. All they had to do was have one of them get loose. She just had a feeling that Rainbow Bolt hadn't abandoned them out on the field of battle, but wondered how she could convince anypony else to come help them.

She drew closer and closer until she was right behind Sari when she heard something that made her scared: "Knock of the noise making in here!" growled Astrotrain, "If I think for one nanoclick that you are up to something, I'm going to jam my hoof-plate somewhere you won't appreciate it!"

Everypony and Sari became perfectly still. The quiet seemed to reassure Astrotrain that his threats had the intended effect.

Twilight hoped she was close enough that her own body blocked the view of the key. A glance over her shoulder told her that he was no longer right by the door.

"Curse these strange organic forms," muttered Astrotrain, "Now I have to vent these waste fluids somewhere. How do organics have to put up with this so much?"

She was pretty sure that she heard him walk away. Twilight could guess well enough that someone had to leave the dungeon in order to get somewhere to relieve one's self, but she also wasn't sure just how long before he would come back.

'Think Twilight,' she thought, 'The key acted when it was in contact with an AllSpark fragment, but I don't think we have one of those.'

She looked around and noticed the pieces of the shattered Elements of Harmony scattered on the floor where they broke.

'Perhaps even in there current state, there might just be enough magic left in them...'

So she used her nose to push one of the larger fragments towards Sari and the Key. Sari looked back over her should and noticed what Twilight was doing, so she struggled to move herself and the Key closer to the Element fragment. Twilight could tell that Sari had some idea of what she was trying to do. The others noticed what was happening and were surely encouraging the two of them on in their own way. Well, except for Pinkie. She seemed content to have her eyes closed tight.

It seemed like forever as the two inched closer. The fragment drew closer to the key.

"Ugh, I can't stand the fluids I have to intake in order to maintain this organic body!"

'By Celestia's tail!' thought Twilight, 'I don't think I can get the fragment to the key before...'

Suddenly a wind-up pony toy popped out of Pinkie's mane. The thing was red and green, and it kind of looked like a toy version of Big Macintosh. It walked over making little squeaking sounds until it took the fragment from her lips and took it over to the key. Twilight wondered what was controlling the thing since Pinkie's eyes were still closed. Nothing seemed to happen when the fragment was put at the end of the key, but then the toy just pulled the key out of Sari's hand.

'By Celestia's horn, what is it doing?'

It came back towards Twilight holding the key in it's mouth. With its awkward gait, it moved rather slowly. It also looked like it could fall over on the rough stone floor at any second.

'Oh that toy is so slow!' she thought as she looked towards the cell door, 'Astrotrain could be looking back in her any second!'

"I said stop making racket in here!" growled Astrotrain, "Don't make me come in there!"

'Oh I want to help my friends so much!' Something seemed to click in her mind as she thought, 'My friends!' She looked at the strange ponies she just met not so long ago and realized that they were in fact her friends. All she wanted to do was help them. She didn't even have to look at her own chest to feel panels opening. 'PLEASE GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO HELP MY FRIENDS!' She felt the Key enter into her chest and then the key turned. Her body erupted with powerful light. Light shone from her eyes like spotlights. She floated up into the air even as her bonds vanished without a trace. Her body oriented itself so that she was upright.

"Oh this can't be good!" cried Astrotrain, "I better get Princess Megatron and Nightmaretron down here at once!"

She just caught a glimpse as Astrotrain galloped away.

"I don't know why," said Twilight Prime aloud, "but I just... know what I must do now!"

The bonds on her friends and the stasis cuffs on Celestia vanished. Once free, their eyes began to glow as well.

For some reason, Twilight wasn't surprised when she heard Celestia say, "CELESTIA PRIME TRANSFORM!" She now seemed as humanoid as everypony else. But Twilight was mostly focused on something else.

"I know what the mystery Element of Harmony is!" she called, "IT'S MAGIC!" Her spark chamber opened as her spark floated out, glowing for all to see. And then the last Element of Harmony separated itself from her very spark.

"I knew you'd figure it out," sighed Celestia Prime.

The fragments of the other Elements came together even as the two stolen Elements suddenly came back. Now all six of the Elements of Harmony were circling around Twilight Prime.

"Something's going on, Lord Megatron!" shouted Astrotrain as he came back, "And I don't like it!"

"How did those foals get back the two Elements I didn't destroy?!" growled Nightmaretron.

Suddenly, the place shook slightly as explosions were heard throughout the stone around them.

"OH NOW WHAT?!" growled Megatron.

"It's time to go!" announced the glowing Twilight Prime as a wormhole opened over her head.

Lord Megatron and the others arrived just in time to see their prisoners all sucked up into the wormhole even as it closed behind them.
...

Twilight and the others arrived on an unbroken piece of the castle roof, but she only glowed brighter as she rose higher. They could see the Shadowbolts and Rainbow Bolt leading the assault against the castle. Apparently they had driven the Cons back to cover with their intense barrage of rockets, bombs and cannonfire.

"TWILIGHT PRIME!!" she called, "SUPER MODE!!"

The Return of Luna

by neorenamon

The leaders of the Shadowbolts followed the others back to Ponyville. Celestia Prime was too happy to have back Luna Prime to discuss rewards and payments at the moment, and the Shadowbolts seemed to understand that.

"You can put me down now!" growled Ratchet, "I can walk the rest of the way! If bots were meant to fly, we wouldn't have built spaceships ya know!"

"I dunno," said Bulkhead, "Flying with this magic stuff is real neat. It's like a superior form of magnetic repulsion or perhaps some kind of anti-gravity flight system."

"You know Ratchet isn't happy unless there's something to gripe about, right?" asked Bumblebee.

"We all know it's because it's an excuse to cover up the fact she cares about us," quipped Sari.

"Hey!" she replied, "I only care as much as a medibot has to!"

"I wonder if you six are going to remain fused permanently?" asked Celestia Prime as she looked over Twilight Prime's Super Form.

"I'm sure it's not permanent," she replied, "but I'm not quite sure when or how it shall end."

"Transformers have had combiners before," said Optimus Prime, "I'm pretty sure they just will themselves to separate and it happens."

"It can't hurt to try," she replied, "Twilight Prime Super Mode separate!"

And she went from one giant mechanical being back to being six.

"Oh lookie!" said Pinkie Maximum as she looked at herself, "The Element of Laughter is mounted on my chestplate! It looks like a pink balloon!" She paused to sigh, "Preeety..."

"That all seems to be the same fer all of us," replied Apple Buster as she looked at the apple-shaped red gem on her own chestplate.

"Well everypony but Twilight," said Rare Seeker as she looked at Twilight Prime's head.

"Why is my Element on a tiara?" she asked, "I don't feel any better or more special than the rest of the Elements."

"But it does seem to go with your status as a Prime," said Celestia, "You are the leader of the Elements even if that wasn't your choice to make. But I know you'll do your best to guide the others."

"I'm cool with you being in charge of the Elements," agreed Rainbow Bolt.

Luna Prime was looking down. She wasn't looking any of the others in their eyes.

"Why do you look so down?" asked Pinkie of Luna.

"We have done many horrible things as both Nightmare Moon and Nightmaretron," she replied, "Perhaps we are not worthy..."

"It's alright," said Twilight interrupting her, "I think most ponies realize that Princess Luna is not the same as Nightmare Moon. They have it in their hearts to forgive you. You just need to give them the chance to."

"You've matured so much since I sent you to Ponyville to learn about friendship," said Celestia softly.

"We hope... that you are right..." she sighed as she looked up into Celestia's eyes.

"Once the Summer Sun Celebration resumes," she said with a smile, "I shall be most proud to reintroduce you to all of the ponies. After a thousand years, I'm so glad to have you back at my side. We were meant to rule Equestria together."

"We hope that we shall not... make you regret that..."

"NEVER!!" she replied with uncharacteristic loudness.

"Say," observed Pinkie, "I haven't seen that Discord in a while. Where'd he go off to?"

"He knows the Elements of Harmony defeated him before," replied Celestia, "It's wise of him not to stick around on the chance they shall be used against him again."

"We noticed that he didn't fear the Elements before," noted Luna, "Why should now be different?"

"He fell because he didn't understand the nature of the Elements. Now I'm sure he knows better. But he shall return. Things are far too... amusing... around here for him to ignore us indefinitely."

"It also seems likely that we haven't seen the last of Princess Megatron," added Twilight, "That kind of megalomaniac doesn't give up easily. A couple of defeats will not deter her for long."

"THAT NEVER GETS OLD!!" shouted Sari and Bumblebee together.

Ratchet loudly cleared her throat before they continued.

"We have to gather the fragments of the AllSpark before she can," said Optimus, "I hope you don't mind if we build a temporary base around here to conduct operations against her."

"It would be an honor to count you among the allies of Equestria," said Celestia.

"Now we need to build a ship to get to the moon," said Optimus, "We have to get Omega fully repaired and brought back here."

"And I have to see how Arcee is doing!" added Ratchet.

"A ship is not needed," replied Luna, "We can easily take you to the moon and protect you there while this Omega is fixed."

"That would really help us out," said Optimus.

"You helped... save me... as much as anypony," she said as she looked down, "It's the least... we can do to repay you."

"AH!" said Lugnut as he suddenly woke up, "Where is my Princess Megatron?!" He jumped to his feet as if he might run.

"Calm yourself," said Celestia, "I'm sure your Princess shall return for you..."

"I'll put it on my calendar for the 12th of Never," quipped Sari. Suddenly she shifted forms as she shrunk back down to her "human" form. "Aw," she moaned, "I was getting used to be large and in charge."

It was about then that the Mane Six shifted back to their pony forms as well.

"Will I be your prisoner?" he asked.

"While you are not a prisoner," replied Celestia said as she glanced at the Mane Six, "You will need supervision while you are living in Ponyville."

Then Luna and Celestia also changed back to their pony forms.

"THANK CELESTIA YOU'RE BACK PRINCESS!!" called Mayor Mare as she rushed out with a crowd of ponies to welcome them all back.

"The Summer Sun Celebration shall continue!" she declared.

Ponies cheered wildly.
...

"Scrap it all!" cursed Princess Megatron as he looked from Blitzwing to Astrotrain, "How am I supposed to get back the AllSpark when I'm stuck with a couple of malfunctions like you two!"

"Well you have to go with the Decepticon Army you have," replied Astrotrain, "and not the one you wish for."

"That doesn't help," she sighed.

"There must be someone we can ally with against the ponies somewhere," observed Blitzwing.

She looked back as she said, "It's not like an ally is just going to... OOF!"

"Watch where you are going, creature!" said the strange mare that Princess Megatron bumped into.

"Watch your mouth servo!" she warned, "You speak to Princess Lord Megatron of the Decepticons!"

"Well I am Queen Chrysalis!" she retorted, "And I must know why you've come from the pony lands into MY KINGDOM!"

"OH!" said Blitzwing, "Can I beat her up?!"

A small army of changelings suddenly rose around their Queen.

"You are surely pony spies!" she accused.

"We are NO FRIENDS of Equestria or Celestia!" replied Megatron, "In fact we're trying to get revenge against them and their allies for setting out plans back!"

"What a coincidence," she replied as she looked about at her subjects, "I have a less than wholesome interest in them. Perhaps we can... help each other?"

"Well," observed Megatron as she looked about, "You do have an army. We could really use an army. I could also use a whole lot of eyes to search for something valuable that's been scattered across this world."

"I'm sure we both... can get what we want... from this arrangement," she replied with a wicked grin.

Home away from Home

by neorenamon

"Hey!" snarled Ratchet, "Keep that nose away from my flank!" She plopped her butt down on the ground of the town square if just to keep stallions from sniffing it. "Oh if I ever get my foot servos on that creepy... organic... mishmash creature!" she sighed. Looking up into the sky, she added, "I should be up there repairing Omega Supreme and checking up on Arcee."

"Let the Autoponies take care of that," said Bulkhead, "You know that you haven't learned to effectively use your new body."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE MY PROCESSOR RUN MORE EFFICIENTLY!!"

"You gotta try one of these 'cakes' from Pinkie Pie," he said as he shoved another slice of cake into his gaping maw, "I'm sure it will... what did she call it? Make you happier?" It was a three layer piece of cake covered in pink frosting, covered with multi-colored sprinkles and had a chocolate layer of top of a white cake layer on top of a strawberry cake layer.

"You know that will just make you... larger... right?" she said as she glanced at the large green stallion.

"I don't know, but it sure goes well with my gustation sensor."

"Say," she noted as she looked at the next piece of cake, "Is that cake supposed to have a piece of paper in it?"

"Uh... I don't think so. Better take it out and look at it," he said as he pulled the note out.

"How can you read that with..." she said before he started licking off the frosting.

"Oh, it looks like it's a note to you from Discord," he said as he looked at the note. He was learning to read Equestrian after all.

"Oh what does he want?!"

"Are you sure you don't want to read it yourself?"

"Just read the darn note already," she sighed as she looked away from it.

Dearest Ratchet,

I know we are not the best of friends yet, but I have something for you. While I've only found a few fragments of your AllSpark, I have seen no signs of Princess Megatron and his remaining goons. But on the good side, I've found a fragment containing the one you call Prowl. You should expect him back in 11 months, give or take. I figured you above all others would want the honor of returning your friend to the land of the living.

"I wonder what he's talking about?"

A fragment shot from the note and almost instantly imbedded itself into Ratchet's abdomen.

"OH NO!!" she said, "He!.. He!.. He wouldn't DARE!"

"Dare what?"

"I think he just implanted Prowl's spark into my internal protoform factory!"

Bumblebee galloped up as he called, "Omega Supreme, Arcee and the others are coming back from the Moon! They should be here really soon!" He looked about as he said at the non-responses and said, "Aren't you excited?"

"Uh, I think Ratchet is going to have a foal and it's going to be Prowl."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm going to beat that Discord into scrap!!" moaned Ratchet.

"Oh wait," said Bulkhead as he looked back at the note, "I think there's more here..."

PS: I'm sure that Twilight and the others will take good care of you until it's time for delivery. She'll explain it to you much better than moi can. Oh, and once you start throwing up, just remember it's perfectly natural... and should only last a few months.

Love Discord.

"Oh what the scrap is he talking about... *HURK!!*" she moaned before bolting away towards the nearest bush. Her mouth was clearly full of something she didn't want to come back up.

"Now until this Princess Megatron comes back for you," said a nearby mare, "I'm sure you'll do a great job delivering Ponyville's mail."

As Ratchet heaved into the bush, the others looked up to see Derpy leading Lugnut through the air. It almost seemed fitting that the mare with the lazy eye was leading the large stallion with one huge red eye and a half a dozen much smaller eyes. Ponies couldn't help but stare.

"Very well," he said, "I'm sure that these skills shall prove useful once I return to Lord Princess Megatron's service."

"Now all these letters are arranged by street and address," she said as she almost flew into a tree in the path she wasn't looking at. She was looking back towards Lugnut. "Once you learn all the streets and the street numbers, I'll teach you how to sort the mail yourself."

"Well this should be amusing," muttered Bulkhead.

"What's wrong with Ratchet?" asked Optimus Prime as he trotted in from the direction of the library.

"Ask Twilight," he replied, "I'm pretty sure it's one of those... pony things."

"Ratchet is going to manufacture a new body for Prowl!" said Bumblebee, "Discord said so!" He paused to add, "I think that has something to do with Ratchet's current malfunction."

"Yeah," he replied, "I'll ask Twilight about it later..." Then he paused to add, "Oh, Omega is about to land. I got a message from Twilight... she says we need to see something... So let's get to the landing site."
...

Omega landed at the outskirts of Ponyville in spaceship mode. The others walked forwards as the ramp dropped. Once it was down, they could see the Autoponies in the pony forms beginning to disembark the ship. Princess Luna was leading Twilight and the other Elements. Now that they were in pony form, their Elements could still be seen to be mounted to their sternums like an imbedded gem.

Ratchet hung out in the back... in case she should have another 'incident'.

But then a new mare appeared at the top of the ramp.

"What's going on?" asked Optimus, "Who's the new pony?"

"Well," replied Twilight, "It looks like Discord's powers... have affected Arcee as well."

"WHAT?!" screeched Ratchet, "I swear I'm going to turn that Discord into scrap for this!"

"On the good side," she continued, "Arcee's apparently a teacher and we could always use another teacher to help Miss Cheerilee."

"I like to teach," she said softly.

Ratchet slowly came up to her as she said, "How much do you remember?"

"I remember the pony that tried so hard to help me," she said as she stepped up and placed her neck over Ratchet's neck. She returned the gesture, and soon they were both crying.

"What's wrong with my optics?!"

"I don't know," she replied, "but it just feels right somehow..."

"So how did the repairs go?" asked Optimus.

"I think we fixed everything we could on the moon," replied Twilight, "but we weren't able to repair the transformation cog... thingie..."

"That's alright," replied Bulkhead, "considering all of the stellar cycles he spent as a spaceship, I'm sure a few more won't hurt."

"AFFIRMATIVE," agreed Omega.

"Well now that that's out of the way," said Optimus, "I think we can start construction on the Autobot base on the outskirts of Ponyville. The operation to recapture Lord Princess Megatron and recover the AllSpark is going to be... a long term mission."
...
` "So," said Rainbow Dash to Slipstream, "Are you happy with the reward you got from Princess Celestia?"

"Well yes and no," she replied as she shifted on her front hooves.

"Wasn't it enough?" she asked curiously.

"Well, it's enough to cover our operational expenses as well as move our base to the new facility on the outskirts of Ponyville," she replied, "but we're definitely going to need some contracts to cover future expenses really soon."

"So..." she replied slowly, "About the promise then..."

"Don't worry about it," replied Slipstream suddenly looking up, "We don't need you for the Shadowbolts yet. I can tell that you're really close to your own... squad."

"Thanks. I'm really tight with my friends."

"But we... I would really like to have you counted as one of the Shadowbolt Reserves. It doesn't pay many bits and you do have to report for training each month..."

"Will you train me to fly and fight even better?" asked Dash quickly.

"That's part of the monthly training..."

"Well until I join the Wonderbolts, I'd love to be one of the Shadowbolt Reserves!"

"Whew... that's a load off my mind. I just have a feeling that when we do need you, you will step up and perform peerlessly."

"Hey!' she replied, "That's the only way I fly!"

Slipstream smiled.

Author's Note

Pony Arcee

(36) Twilight's New Groove

by neorenamon

A day passed while Ponyville wrapped up the Summer Sun Celebration and ended their winter of discontent. With Princess Luna in tow, Princess Celestia stepped majestically before the chariot waiting to whisk them back to Canterlot. Twilight followed at their heels, but she didn't seem happy about walking away from Ponyville. Without even looking back, she knew that the other Elements... Her new friends were following behind. The new Autoponies (formerly Autobots) were with them as well.

Celestia paused to look back as she asked, "Does something bother you?"

"Yes," she replied, "Just when I've made some friends, it's time for me to go back to studies in Canterlot."

"I see," she replied. Then she called into the crowd behind and said, "Would Spike the Dragon please step forward?"

"Sure thing," he said as he came towards Celestia.

"Please take a note," she said, and then shifted to a more official sounding tone, "Twilight Sparkle's current assignment may be over, but I have decided to give her a new mission."

Twilight looked up.

"She shall from hence forth live in the town of Ponyville, making the Golden Oak Library her new home, as she undertakes her new studies in the magic of friendship."

She smiled at her mentor as her friends rushed up to hug her. With Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity all pressing in, it was quite the friendly pile around Twilight.

"Feel free to come back to Canterlot at any time to see me," she continued, "I shall always make time for you. Or at least send me a report on your progress regularly."

"Of course!" she replied cheerfully.

"Well now that that is taken care of, I shall return with Luna to the Palace. We have so much to catch up on."

Celestia turned and continued towards the chariot with Luna at her heels.

"Just remember Luna," said Twilight, "They'll forgive you if you just give them the chance!"

Luna paused to look over her shoulder back, but then returned her gaze forward without comment.
...
Meanwhile, back in Canterlot...
...

Princess Cadance looked at her Guard Captain as he knelt before her. She was dressed up as befitting a Princess, and yet had said nothing about the reason for calling him in off his normal duties.

"Captain Shining Armor," she began, "I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, have received an official proposal of marriage from you."

He looked up with his eyes wide from hope. But she turned about and looked away from him.

"While your status with the Guard is considerable," she continued, "You are hardly the most eligible stallion in Canterlot."

He began to worry about where this was going.

"And while we have been friends for quite some time, I fear that friendship is hardly the same qualification for marriage as it is to those... who are not of noble blood."

He smile faded quickly.

"We of the noble class must always put the affairs of the state ahead of our own personal interests."

Now the poor stallion was positively crestfallen.

"Therefore, there is only ONE possible answer to your query," she said pausing for dramatic effect.

He braced for the worst. Then she turned back with a wicked little grin.

"And that answer is... YES!"

By the time he got to his feet and turned around, her words suddenly sunk into his brain.

"YES?!" he asked as he spun back to face her.

"YES YES, A HUNDRED TIMES YES!"

He rushed forward to kiss her.

~ Fin ~

Dark Side of the Nightmare Moon

by neorenamon

I do not own any rights to My Little Pony or Transformers Animate, nor any character related to either of those series. Blah blah blah thank you.

...

A chariot raced across the sky weaving between the fluffy white clouds. The two royal pegasi bearing golden armor and helmet tried their best to ignore the conversation behind them, as it wasn't their job to overhear their words or comment on them.

"Spike: Tell me why were going to this..." asked Twilight as she looked at her list, "Ponyville again?"

"Princess Celestia feels you've spent too much time in your books and scrolls, so she is sending you out to report on the wider world. She wants you to experience new things, make friends and gain life experiences outside of a book."

"UHHH..." she groaned in protest, "I'm doing just fine. But Nightmare Moon is soon going to be freed from the Moon with the aid of the stars. I have to find out when it's going to happen so we can be prepared for it."

"That old mare's tale again?"

"It's more than that," she replied, "Tomorrow will be the one thousandth year since Nightmare Moon was imprisoned by Princess Celestia. I should be there planning our defense against her instead of..." Twilight glanced at her list again. "Helping those in Ponyville prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Hey," protested Spike, "The Summer Sun Celebration is very important all across Equestria! It's the first time that the Princess is coming to Ponyville! I'm sure that to these Ponvillers, it's a big bucking deal!"

She looked at the list again before she groaned, "Fine. At least I'll be staying over night at the Golden Oak Library, so the trip won't be a total loss."

Spike facepalmed. He went over to the edge of the chariot and looked ahead to the farmland below. A vast array of apple trees were spread out below them.

"I think we're close," he commented, "The Princess said something about crossing a huge apple orchard just before we arrive in Ponyville."

"That's nice," replied Twilight as she read further down her list, "Now what ponies am I supposed to see about preparing the Summer Sun Celebration..."

"Mayor Mare is the big shot in this town," replied Spike, "I'm pretty sure we should see... Whoa, what's that?!"

"The Mayor is the official elected by the..."

"No!" he said as he grabbed her head and made her look to her left, "What's THAT?!"

A fireball was falling from the sky as it left a trail of fire and smoke trailed behind it. It looked like it was going to crash in some place without ponies living there that still wasn't too far from Ponyville proper.

"That's a shooting star," she replied, "No one knows for sure why such things happen. Celestia controls the sun, moon and stars, but even she admits that every once in a while, a star falls from the sky and crashes into Equestria. My theory is that stars have lives like ponies, and when they are close to death, the lose their power of flight and their body simply falls to the surface. Some ponies have even theorized that the gems scattered around Equestria are somehow related to these falling stars and the stellar bodies they leave behind."

"Mmm..." moaned Spike softly, "Gems..." He loved to eat gems after all.

She looked around and noticed that every pegasus in sight was scrambling for cover. Most were making a dash for Cloudsdale, but many wouldn't make it that far. They had to try and make the local clouds into a shelter they could hide in.

"Guards!" she called, "Hurry! We have to be on the ground in Ponyville before the falling star strikes!"

"We obey!" they replied as they flew much harder and faster towards an open area near the center of the village.

Twilight ran calculations through her head as she figured how long they had before the falling star hit the ground, and about how many seconds after the impact before she expected them to be hit with the impact shockwave. Based on their accelerated speed, they still only had a few seconds between landing and being hit with the expected blast wave. She hoped that once they were below the roof line, the buildings of Ponyville would shield them from the brunt of the shockwave.

"The stars shall aid in her escape," she muttered as she watched the falling star come ever closer to impact.

"Whoa!" cried Spike as they rushed towards the ground, "Windy!"

"The landing might be a little rough!" warned one of the Guards over the sound of the rushing wind.

"Just do the best you can!" she called back.

They lost sight of the falling star because of the buildings, but when the Guards' hooves touched the ground, the sky lit up even brighter from the direction of the projected crash sight.

"Stop and crouch!" she called, "That means you too, Spike!"

They all crouched down. Seconds passed.

"Hey, what's the deal with..."

A sharp blast of wind passed over them. She looked up to see a few pegasus getting blown far overhead. Crude cloud shelters just weren't enough to stand up to the full force of the shockwave. She hoped the blast was blunted enough to keep them from being seriously injured. A number of glass windows facing in the direction of the blast were shattered by the shockwave.

But Twilight was feeling something more than just the shockwave. Something much more that was making her whole body tingle. Of course, she didn't have much experience with the impacts of falling stars. The main buildings in Canterlot offered a great deal of protection from such things even if one did happen within Twilight Sparkle's lifetime.

"I think the worst is over," she sighed in relief.

"WHAT?!" called back Spike. It seemed they were affected by the noise level of the shockwave as well.

"I SAID, 'I THINK THE WORST IS OVER'!!" she yelled in reply.

"'STINK THE FIRST CLOVER'?!" he retorted, "THAT SHOCKWAVE MUST HAVE RATTLED YOUR BRAIN!!"

"NOO!! I SAID, 'I THINK THE WORST IS OVER'!!" she screamed in his ear.

"OH!!"

"LET'S JUST WAIT HERE FOR OUR HEARING TO CLEAR UP!!"

"GOOD IDEA, TWILLIE!!"

The two of them dismounted the chariot as they waited for their hearing to come back. The chariot returned to the sky as the pegasus drawing it winged their way back towards Canterlot. While they waited, Mayor Mare trotted over.

"Are you two alright?!" she called.

"We're fine!" replied Twilight.

"I hope this won't reflect badly on the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow!"

"Well falling stars have been known to be messengers of impending disaster," she replied as the Mayor stopped by them.

"I don't think there's been major damage," mused the Mayor as she looked about, "It should all be repaired by the time the Princess arrives. I am Mayor Mare, the mare in charge of Ponyville. Welcome to our humble settlement. I believe that you are the Princess' prized student, Twilight Sparkle?"

"I am," she replied, "An honor to meet you."

"Oh, I assure you most of the honor is mine," replied the Mayor as she adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I need to make sure the preparations for the Celebration are complete," she replied, "so I should probably get to checking the list." She held up her scroll containing the list of everything she needed to check up on for the Summer Sun Celebration.

"Very well," answered the Mayor, "but if you need to discuss any matters with me, you'll find me in my office."

"Thank you."

"Now I need to return to my own duties," she said as she turned and trotted away.

Twilight stumbled as she felt the powerful tingle rip through her body again.

"Are you okay?" asked Spike as he rushed to her side in case he had to catch her.

"Just a little dazed from the shockwave," she replied, "I should be over it soon."

"Maybe we should see the Ponyville Doctor..."

"I said I'll be fine!" she snapped, "There's no time in our busy schedule for side visits!"

"Okay okay!" replied Spike as he raised his claws in a defensive pose.

"I feel like I'm the only one who cares about the return of Nightmare Moon," she muttered under her breath.

"Come on," he replied, "The List waits for no mare."

She nodded as she followed him towards the Library.

(3) Meeting the Ponyfolk

by neorenamon

Pinkie Pie was beside herself, which wasn't much of a stretch for her. Her Pinkie Sense was going crazy like it never had before, and she wasn't even sure what it meant until the falling star crashed just over the horizon from Ponyville. The burst of light, the blast wave and the feeling she felt were all unbelievable, and yet it happened. But when she spoke to the Cakes about it, they acted like they had felt nothing unusual. They brushed her off while waiting for the repair ponies to arrive with the new plate glass windows for the front of the store. The damage to the Sugarcube Corners seemed to be more important than what was going on with their own little Pinkie Pie.

She went out into town to see if she could track down the source of her strange new feelings. There was a new element, a new factor in town that she just had to discover for herself. Skipping and bouncing as she was want to do, she went from pony to pony as she declared, "Good morning, Derpy!", "Good morning, Snips and Snails!", "Good morning, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon!" and "Good morning, Mayor Mare!" She honestly believed that she knew EVERY pony in Ponyville, or at least 99.94 percent of them.

There wasn't much time to look about before she had to go back to the shop and help bake a bunch of cupcakes for a party later that day, so she was in a bit of a rush to see what she could find. The Cakes, Celestia love them, counted upon her as their only worker in their shop besides themselves, the owners. They weren't the kind of ponies she could let down.

But then she heard a strange new voice say, "Come on, Twilight. The Princess ordered you to make friends. I can't be that hard, can it?"

"But Spike," she moaned, "I have to investigate the return of Nightmare Moon. I have to get to..." She paused as if checking something before she continued, "the Golden Oak Library. We're going to spend the next couple of days there after all."

"Just walk up to a pony and say hello," pleaded the one she figured had to be Spike.

"Okay, fine," she grumbled.

She saw them about the same time that the two of them saw her. It was a small purple dragon and a violet unicorn mare. And she had never seen either of them anywhere about Ponyville before. But as much as she wanted to rush over and say 'hello', her body tingled all over in a way that made her stay still. Those two had to be the ones she was looking for, but she was out of time. She had to get back to the shop.

"Hello," said Twilight as she walked up, "I'm..."

Suddenly, Pinkie found that she could move again. She bolted upwards like a coiled spring that as just released as she gasp aloud. The two of them gawked at her as she zipped off back to the shop. As she retreated, she could here Twilight sigh, "Well that went well..."

She filed a note in her Pinkie files inside her head that she needed to throw a party for the newcomers, and she now knew where she was going to be able to locate the two of them later on.
...

Applejack quietly bucked trees so that the apples fell precisely into the baskets she had arranged around the base of the tree. She was bothered by the strange burst of light she had seen earlier, the shock wave that washed over Sweet Apple Acres, and all of the trees that were bothered by it. While Apple Bloom was going about the house searching for cracked windows facing Ponyville, Big Macintosh was roaming the fields gathering up all of the apples blown down from their trees. Some of the greener ones would rot before they ripen, but many of them could be preserved in the barn until they were ready to ship to market.

Of course, with all of their kin visiting, there was no shortage of assistance with the affairs of the apple orchard. And while they were only going to be there for a couple more days, it was real nice that they were so willing to help her, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith with cleaning up after the star fell from the sky. But nopony was really comfortable with the possible implications of the event, and Granny Smith swore up and down that when a star fell from the sky, something truly evil was not far behind it.

The funniest part was how her, her big brother, her little half-sister, and their Granny all felt a massive tingling through their bodies after the light wave filled the skies over their heads. While she expected such things from one as old as Granny, it was a truly new experience for the others. The oddest part was of all the Apples that were visiting, only one or two of them felt the tingle as well. The rest were completely oblivious to the feelings. Work tended to distract her from any of her strange and awkward feelings, or helped her get over when she wasn't feeling well.

Then she glance up and noticed a pair of strangers coming up the road towards the main house and buildings. It was a violet unicorn and a small purple dragon. Since she seemed to be the closest, she came over to greet them.

"Well, let's get this over with," sighed softly the unicorn as she lowered her head and walked towards her.

Applejack stepped up to hoofshaking range.

"Greetings," she said, "My name is Twilight Sparkle..."

But Applejack had already locked hooves with her and engaged her in an energetic hoof-shake. Perhaps a little too fast and a little too energetic, but that just the way Applejack liked to roll.

"Well howdy do, Miss Twilight," she said amiably, "Pleased to make yer acquaintance. Ah'm Applejack. Welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres. We love ta make new friends here."

"Ff-ff-friends? Aa-aa-aa-actually I..." she stammered.

"So what can I do fer ya?" she asked with an odd wink.

Twilight's leg continued to flap up and down even after Applejack released it. The small dragon had to grab it just to make it stop. She glanced at her companion even as he let out a small giggle. Somepony thought the whole exchange was funny, but it wasn't her. Then she cleared her throat before she continued.

"Actually, I'm here to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I've heard that you're in charge of the primary food concessions, so I'm here to see how things are going with that."

"We sure as sugar are," she replied, "Y'all wanna try some?"

"Well as long as it won't take too long..."

But Applejack was already rushing off to ring the lunch triangle. This Twilight Sparkle sure seemed to arrive on the farm at just the right time. "SOUP'S ON, EVERYPONY!!" she hollered as the ringing of the triangle faded. As she expected, the herd of ponies she called kin all came rushing in towards the open area where Big Macintosh set up some tables first thing in the morning. She noticed that Twilight and the dragon seemed to be swept in with the rest.

Soon, the two of them were rather surrounded as they were ushered to the table.

"Now why don't I introduce y'all to tha Apple Clan?" she asked with a grin.

"Well as long as it won't take too long," she replied.

The ponies rushed up to the table and began unloading their specialty apple treats even as they were introduced. It didn't seem odd at all that all of those ponies just happened to have their apple specializations on them at the time. That seemed to be perfectly... normal.

She smiled as she introduced, "This here's Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala. Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp... [deep breath] Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith."

Granny Smith was napping in her rocking chair that they had moved out into the field... for some reason.

"Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests."

The elderly pony snorted and sniffed as she was suddenly awakened by Applejacks call as she said, "Wha..? Soup's on? I'm up, here I come, ahm comin'..."

Applejack leaned in even as Twilight gawked at the massive food pile in front of her and the dragon and said, "Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!"

Twilight looked about nervously and giggled as she said, "Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way."

But Applejack looked at her as she said, "Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?"

"Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do..." she apologized.

Everypony sighed their disappointment.

"Fine," she groaned, "I'll stay around for brunch."

Everypony cheered! By the power of the collective guilt trip!
...

Meanwhile, Megatron and Blitzwing continued the shuttle repairs.

"Things are almost finished," said Blitzwing as he made excessive sparks spot welding a control panel.

"Excellent," he replied, "Just keep close to the surface of the subplanet in case an Autobot ships warps in after us. The sensor shadow it casts should keep us safe for the most part."

"The maneuvering thrusters are fully functional," he replied, "That's one of the few things we can do that's not a problem."

"I wonder what's keeping Lugnut?" he asked as he looked out the front windscreen.

"He probably has no idea what he's searching for," giggled Blitzwing as he face changed.

"You'd think I could have been saved by at least one technician or scientist," he grumbled as he rubbed his faceplate again.

"Beggerbots cannot be choosers," he smirked.

But then there was a knock on the double hatch leading into the shuttle. He hoped it was Lugnut returning from his task. After all, he had already got past the outer hatch without setting off an alarm.

"Answer that!"

So Blitzwing went off to open the hatch. As the door opened, Lugnut entered as he held some kind of deep blue crystal in his arms.

"By the AllSpark," groaned Megatron, "What is THAT?!"

"It's the organic, Master," he replied as he offered the crystal for Megatron's inspection.

Looking closer, he saw the rough silhouette of some creature deep inside. Some kind of four legged creature with a single horn.

"What kind of stasis generator is this?!"

"I don't know," he replied, "My scanners can tell nothing about it, but the crystal seems to be made of some very unusual energy that no Transformer has even encountered before."

"How curious," he replied, "Can the crystal be removed?"

"I think so," he replied.

"Blitzwing," he called back, "Make sure the shuttle atmosphere has enough oxygen in it for an organic."

"The atmosphere has been adjusted," said Blitzwing with another face change.

"Now let's see about... LUGNUT?!"

While looking at Blitzwing, Lugnut had set down the crystal and crudely smashed it with his fist. The crystal cracked over half of its surface.

"That's one way to do it," replied Blitzwing.

Megatron facepalmed even as the crystal fell away from the organic's body. But Lugnut was busy picking away the larger chunks even as he inwardly groaned about his fate being stuck with these two Decepticons.

"Lord Megatron!" he called, "My sensors indicate that the organic is reviving!"

He removed his hand to look at the creature laying on the deck. It was midnight blue in color, and there was one additional feature he hadn't seen before. The organic had feathered wings folded against the sides of its body.

"How interesting," he said as he looked it over. There was some kind of fanciful metallic armor on some parts of its body. Perhaps it was some kind of adornment, as it surely didn't look like functional armor. It covered much of its head, part of its chest, and the lower parts of its legs.

"Ugh..." it moaned softly, "Where am I?"

"You are aboard an... imperial ship of the mighty lord Megatron," said Lugnut, "Bow before his greatness!"

The creature just looked at Lugnut as he bowed and scraped before Megatron, but the other robot was just quietly facepalming.

"I am a Princess!" replied the strange equine, "I do not bow and scrape before anypony!"

"Bow before Lord Megatron or I shall..."

"GIVE IT A REST, LUGNUT!" he snapped, "This creature is a ruler, so we'll forgo the formalities for now."

"If this creature rules," said Blitzwing with a face change, "Why was it stuck on this moon in a stasis crystal?"

"My sister and I ruled together for quite some time," she replied, "but my sister was weak and foolish. She didn't value my contributions to the kingdom. So I decided that she had to go. But she overpowered me with relics called the Elements of Harmony and banished me to the moon for a very long time."

"So you are quite familiar with the planet below?"

"Of course."

"And you still seek to overthrow you sister and rule?"

"Of course."

"Then perhaps I can help you," he said with an evil grin.

"What do you seek to gain from this?"

"I simply seek to recover some things I've lost," he replied, "and then we'll be leaving your planet so you can rule as you see fit."

"Then I believe we can help each other," she replied, "The foals below call me... Nightmare Moon!"

"That sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship," he grinned.

"It just sounds like a weird name to me," muttered Blitzwing.

Ignoring the comment, Megatron said, "I am known as Lord Megatron, and these are two of my loyal soldiers: Lugnut and Blitzwing."

"It just sounds like weird names to me," muttered Nightmare Moon.

(18) That which is Old arises Anew

by neorenamon

Discord looked about the ruins of the Castle of the Twin Sisters as he quipped, "I love what you've done with the place. Ruins Revival, I believe."

"We have company coming," replied Nightmaretron, "So we should make the castle... presentable. I also need to make my big sister comfortable. She's going to be my dear guest for 1,000 years after all."

"Aren't you just going to banish her to the sun or something?"

"What?!" she replied in mocking surprise, "Keep my dear sweet older sister so far away that I can't hear her delightful screams, her delicious begging and her pathetic crying?! Perish the thought!"

"Okay, I'll restore the castle," he said as he snapped his talons. in an instant, the castle was fully restored to the way it was at the time of Nightmare Moon's banishment down to every detail except the ponies who were there at the time.

"Now remove all of my sister's banners and portraits. Just replace them with my own. Making it all darker and... just make it darker in here."

He snapped his talons and it was so.

"This magic," said Princess Megatron as she looked around, "It looks like it could be... very useful to me."

"Now put Celestia in her new room down in the darkest hole in the dungeon," she hissed, "Just make sure she cannot escape. I want to make sure that when I go down to greet her, it will be all kinds of... SPECIAL!"

So he snapped his talons again. "Are we done yet, Miss Bossy Hooves?"

"For freeing you from stone for 1,000 years, I thought you might be a little more grateful."

"Don't treat me like I'm some genie from a lamp granting wishes on a whim, my dear."

"Oh, of course not," she replied, "but I don't think Princess Megatron has asked for her reward yet."

"I AM NOT A PONY PRINCESS!!" she hissed.

Discord snickered.

Megatron shifted back into robot mode as he added, "Your humor is wearing thin."

He looked at Megatron's cannon and said, "Are we compensating for something?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spewing now?!"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

Megatron looked around and realized he was fitting in the castle's main corridors. "Well someone knows how to create a stone structure." he mused as he checked the clearance of about 3 feet over his head.

"Oh I have my moments," replied Discord, "Oh and I added a few more surprised should some meddling kids come by."

"Why would immature goats wish to..."

"Never mind," he sighed.

"I don't get it either."

A balcony appeared as two elderly versions of Discord looked down at himself.

"Boo! Hiss!" said one.

"We'd rather watch the frog and the pig!" hissed the other.

"Every one of me's a critic," he muttered. Snapping his talons, they both went away.

"By the way," added Nightmaretron, "Equestria belongs to me. Do with the rest of the world as you please, but leave my kingdom alone."

"I suppose you'll say next that I'm not allowed to play with your big sister."

"Oh, you can play with her as long as you don't break her. Only I am allowed to break my own toys."

"Then I think we'll get along just fine," he said as he broke into laughter. Evil laughter. Nightmaretron joined in with an evil laugh of her own. The air was split with little lightning bolts... from somewhere. Do all villains in this show make little lightning bolts when they laugh?

"When will out guests arrive?"

"When I feel like letting them," replied Discord, "and not one minute sooner."

"Then perhaps it's time to go down and see my big sister."

Discord snapped his talons as the three of them appeared in a cell with Celestia. She stood in the corner like a statue watching them.

"Can you remove her magic?"

"Easy peasy," he replied as he plucked off Celestia's horn and placed in on his own forehead.

"Excellent," she replied, "Now remove her wings as well."

He plucked off her wings and placed them on his own back. Now Celestia looked like a large Earth pony mare with a fancy mane and tail.

"Now remove the stasis cuffs and replace them with regular iron chains and manacles."

Snapping his talons, he made it so.

"Hello big sister," she purred, "Did you miss me?"

"You know I only banished you for your own safety," replied Celestia.

"NO!!" she hissed, "You banished me so you could rule all for yourself!!"

"I never wanted to rule alone!" cried Celestia, "For 1,000 years, I've raised and lowered the sun and the moon alone. There hasn't been one minute in all those years I haven't missed you. Not one minute where I wondered if I could have done something different to avoid all this..."

"LIES, BIG SISTER!!"

"I swear every word is true!" Celestia replied as tears began flowing from her eyes.

"Why wait 1,000 years?!"

"By banishing you, I lost the ability to use the Elements of Harmony forever! The sixth Element vanished the second that you did! I realized then the horrible mistakes I've made! I consulted with the sages, and they predicted your return!" she replied, "I... had no choice... but to wait for you... my heart aches even now."

"Oh, more than just your heart will ache when I've got my REVENGE!"

"I do not ask for forgiveness or pity," said Celestia closed her eyes, "Only that you understand."

"DON'T ACT LIKE SOME KIND OF STOIC ICON TO ME!!"

"I have to be strong for the ponies," she replied,"I've always had to. Against those like Discord and Sombra, I've had to be the shield of everypony who counts on me to be their Princess."

"STOP PATRONIZING ME!! STOP MAKING ME LOOK LIKE THE VICTIMIZER INSTEAD OF THE VICTIM!!"

"So if it will make you feel better, do with me as you will. If it will help balance the scales, I will take whatever punishment you see fit to give."

"You don't have to talk like I'm not even here," muttered Discord.

(33) The Return of Harmony

by neorenamon

Five of the Elements shot away from Twilight Prime and merged with her friends. Their spark chambers opened to receive their new gifts apparently without any guidance from Twilight or themselves. Once their spark chambers closed again, they began to glow and change as they drew closer to Twilight. Twilight glowed and seemed to grow larger as they all looked on. Well, almost everypony but Celestia Prime.

Twilight held out her right arm as she called, "FRIENDSHIP FORCE READY! FLUTTERSTORM COMBINE!" She changed into an arm module that attached itself over Twilight Prime's right arm leaving her head as part of her shoulder.

Then she held out her left arm as she called, "RARE SEEKER COMBINE!" She changed into an arm module that attached itself over Twilight Prime's left arm leaving her head as part of her shoulder.

"What kind of nonsense is this?!" asked Nightmaretron.

She held out her right leg as she called, "APPLE BUSTER COMBINE!" She changed into an leg module that attached itself over Twilight Prime's right leg leaving her head as part of her "knee pad".

Then she held out her left leg as she called, "PINKIE MAXIMUS COMBINE!" She changed into an leg module that attached itself over Twilight Prime's left leg leaving her head as part of her "knee pad".

"Well isn't this unexpected?" asked Discord as he watched from behind a cloud.

"AND NOW!" she called, "RAINBOW BOLT COMBINE!" Rainbow dropped her pack as she changed the most, becoming a rocket pack with wings that attached itself to Twilight's back. Her head flipped over Twilight's and became part of a chest plate enhancement as well.

"This can't be!" said Princess Megatron.

"TWILIGHT PRIME SUPER MODE COMPLETE!" she called as a large helmet dropped onto her head making it seem larger.

"We don't care HOW BIG you are now!!" called Nightmaretron, "We shall still crush you and make the Eternal Night OURS!!"

She fired a powerful blast from her arm cannon at Super Twilight Prime causing a large explosion.

"Oh I was so hoping for something better than..." began Discord, "What da what?!"

They all seemed amazed that Super Twilight Prime was not scratched or damaged in the least.

"Nightmaretron!!" shouted Princess Megatron, "We must attack together!!"

"Oh I see many possibilities here," muttered Discord.

They fired together creating a larger explosion.

"I can't say I'd ever imagine running into something more annoying than... Oh scrap."

Super Twilight Prime was once more unphased.

"What are you two malfuntions waiting for?!" called Megatron to Blitzwing and Astrotrain, "ATTACK AT ONCE!!"

But Blitzwing in griffon mode and Astrotrain were already high tailing it out of there.

"I'm nobody's suicide bot!" called Astrotrain as they retreated.

"Come back here!!" she called as she flew off after them.

"Surrender sister!" said Celestia Prime, "Your allies have abandoned you and there's nothing to gain by further struggle!"

"I SHALL STILL CRUSH YOU!!" she called as she turned to her right and fired a powerful energy blast at her sister.

But Super Twilight Prime got between as she called "Super Friendship Blast!" Beams of each color for the six elements shot from the heads on her body including Twilight's own that intercepted Nightmaretron's blast causing an even larger explosion of light between them. But most of the blast was sent back at Nightmaretron blowing her away into a ballistic arc towards the ground below.

"I'll never surrender to the likes of you!" she called as she closed her eyes. The rocks she was going to hit would leave a mark. But instead of smashing into rocks, she landed in Celestia Prime's arms instead. She was carried in her arms sideways.

"Please come back to me!" she cried as Nightmaretron looked. There was tears streaming down her cheeks as she spoke.

"But how could you still care about us?!" she asked, "After all we've done! What we've done to you! The things I said I was going to do..."

"That doesn't matter any more!" said Celestia cutting her off, "I love you and I want my sweet little Luna back!" She looked at Twilight and said, "You have to blast us both with the Elements of Harmony!"

"We can't!" said Twilight, "What if you're both banished..."

"JUST DO IT!!" she cried, "Do it for Equestria!!"

"Harmony Beam fire!" she called. A single rainbow beam shot from the Rainbow Bolt head, and both Celestia and Nightmaretron were struck solidly. They were instantly engulfed in a rainbow tornado.

"NOOOOOO!!!" screamed Nightmaretron.

They waited for the light to fade as Twilight asked, "Princess?! Princess Celestia?!"

"They just have to be alright!" called Sari.

"This is chaos even I wasn't expecting," said Discord with a smirk.

"We're fine," said Celestia at last, "Me and my little sister, Luna Prime!"

"Big sister?" asked Luna weakly.

"Are you ready to accept my friendship, little sister?" she asked as she looked in her little sister's eyes.

"We've missed you so much!" wept Luna in her big sister's arms.

"You know, things are going to be dull once Princess Megatron or Optimus Prime takes the AllSpark and leaves," said Discord with an evil grin, "and I want to play with them for a long time." He snapped his talons and vanished.

"WHOA!!" said Slipstream as she and the Shadowbolts flew closer, "I've never seen anything like that!"

"Well I guess the Summer Sun Celebration won't finish itself," said Celestia as she carried Luna towards Ponyville.

"Oh yeah," sighed Twilight as she followed behind, "My mission here is almost over..."

"WELL SOME OF US DON'T FLY YOU KNOW!" growled Ratchet.

The Autobots turned Autoponies who couldn't fly found themselves floating along in a purple glow.

"Well that's what you get for griping," said Jazz.