Beast Wars: Friendship is Magic

Twilight and Zecora galloped at full speed through the streets of Ponyville, Spike holding onto the unicorn’s back for dear life as they traveled to their destination.   Just as they were about to leave the town a thought suddenly came to Twilight.

"Wait!" She shouted as she skidded to a stop, causing Zecora to reluctantly do the same.

"We do not have time to waste my friend. We need to bring this problem to a quick end." Zecora stated.

"I know, but I need to do this first," Twilight said as she levitated Spike off her back, "Spike, while Zecora and I go and meet the Princesses at the Everfree Forest, I need you to find the others and tell them to head straight to the Golden Oaks Library.  I think it's about time we fill them in on what's going on."

"You can count on me, Twilight!" Spike said, capping it off with a salute before darting out of sight.

Twilight turned back to Zecora, "Alright, let's go!"

The maw of the Everfree Forest slowly came into view. A great light flashed before their eyes, halting Twilight and Zecora in their tracks.

The light faded, revealing Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and their Royal Guard escorts.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!" Twilight did a quick bow before continuing, "I'm sorry to have to make you come out like this.

"Think nothing of it, Twilight," Celestia replied, "This is a matter that requires immediate attention.”

"Then let us not waste more time," Princess Luna added, shifting her attention on Zecora, "Dost thou know how to get to this craft quickly?"

Zecora nodded.  "I know a path that can bring us there.  One that is free of danger and can give us time to spare." "Lead the way, Zecora," Twilight said.

After recovering from the initial shock of the carnage regarding the animals surrounding the pod, the Royal Guards conducted their investigation of the craft, leaving Zecora to explain the details to the Princesses.

While Celestia was horrified, Luna was absolutely repulsed that one would slaughter these creatures so callously.

"Your highness!" the sisters, Twilight, and Zecora looked to the captain, who bowed before he carried on, "We've finished our examination."

"And what were your findings?" Celestia inquired.

"There's no doubt about it; this craft is identical to the one we found the other night," the captain reported.

"Then, ‘tis as we feared, sister," Luna said shaking her head, "This issue is getting worse by the day.  I believe it's time we let the other Elements of Harmony know what has transpired here.”

Twilight spoke up, "I already have Spike on the task.  They should be at the Golden Oaks Library shortly.”

"Excellent.  Captain, you and the rest of the Guards prepare this craft for transport.  And do please give these poor creatures a proper burial." Celestia said, her head lowered slightly.

"Yes, your highness!" The captain saluted, then rejoined to his fellow Guards.

The sisters’ horns glowed once more, creating a second flash of light.  In its wake, the Princesses, Twilight, and Zecora were gone.

Next stop, the Golden Oaks Library.

Paragon’s eyes fluttered open as they met the accursed rays of the sun through the blinds.  He sat upright, rubbing his eyes with a yawn.  He stretched out his arms, looking about the bedroom.  He couldn’t exactly remember when he fell asleep, though he remembered Pinkie Pie’s hyperactive giddiness keeping him up for an unprecedented period of time, much to the Diamond Dog’s chagrin.

Thankfully, the pink Pony had apparently crashed when sleep finally caught up with her.  Pinkie was lying face first in the floor, sleeping soundly.

Paragon sighed.

Thank Primus, she’s quiet for once.

Paragon’s ears perked up as his audio receptors picked up a loud snore coming from the corner of the room.  He looked over to see the source of the sound.

Rainbow Dash.

Thin streams of drool trickled from the cyan Pegasus’s mouth as she snored as loud as an engine.  Blitz Streak was right beside her trying to block out the droning snores by burying his head into his pillow.

Simply put, it wasn’t working.

Paragon tried to resist the urge to laugh at Blitz’s clear annoyance.  The yellow Pegasus raised his face from the pillow, revealing dark circles beneath his eyes from lack of sleep.

Oh, what the heck, a little laughter would brighten up his day.

Paragon cracked up, nursing his gut while pointing at Blitz, the latter’s eye twitching with a vein pulsing from his temple.

“Rough night, kid?” Paragon asked in between fits of laughter.

"To think that I used to complain about the Axalon’s engines being too loud,” Blitz mumbled as he stood.

“You think that’s bad?  Try dealin’ with a pony who won’t stop flappin’ their gums.” Paragon said, making a yapping gesture with his hand.

"Combine that with a snoring Pegasus, and you have a formula for a sleepless night.” Blitz remarked.

A yawn from Rainbow Dash broke their conversation as she stretched out her wings and hooves, getting the cricks out of her neck.

“Another day of being awesome.” she opened one of her eyes at the Maximals. “Morning, guys.”

“Well, I’m glad someone had a good night’s rest.” Blitz remarked.

“I slept like a newborn filly!” Rainbow’s wings carried her into the air, maintaining a laid back position with her hooves resting behind her head.

“So we’ve heard,” Paragon muttered.

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “What was that?”

Paragon held up his arms, defensively. “Nothing.”

Blitz massaged his aching eyes, chiming in, “So, what’s our agenda for today?  We meeting your Princesses?”

Before Rainbow could answer, they were interrupted by the high-pitched voice of a familiar, hyper mare.

“I made breakfast!”

The three looked to see Pinkie Pie holding four trays of waffles, glasses of milk, and a few bowls of ice cream.

Blitz remained aghast at Pinkie's astonishing speed while Paragon pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll never understand that one.” the Diamond Dog frowned, manually shutting Blitz’s agape jaw, bringing him back to his senses.

“I’m not even sure if we can eat,” Blitz rubbed the back of his head.  “We’re non-organic and having all of this material may cause some, how do I put it… issues?”

The scent of the freshly baked waffles, however, snuck into Paragon’s nose, causing his tongue to sag from the corner of his mouth.  The temptation was too strong; he had to try it.

No, he needed to try it.

“Only one way to find out!” Paragon plucked one of the waffles from the plate, stuffing it into his mouth.  The moment the food made contact with his beast mode’s taste buds, the Diamond Dog’s eyes dilated into dots.

“Paragon, are you alright?” Blitz tapped his friend’s shoulder gingerly.

“By the Matrix, I think I’ve just had a slice of heaven!” Paragon swooned, devouring another waffle from the plate.

“Well, I guess it’s worth a try.” Blitz took a bite out of one of his own waffles and felt the warm sensation of taste flood his mouth.  “Ultra gear, you’re right!  This is delicious!”

“I know, right?!” Paragon replied through a mouth full of waffles.  So full, in fact, that his cheeks were bulging orbs.

Rainbow and Pinkie gorged on their own plates as the Maximals chowed down theirs within nano-kliks, the robots letting out a collective belch.

Paragon pat the younger bot on the back. “Boy, that hit the spot, kid.”

“I guess it’s okay to eat while in beast mode,” Blitz shrugged with a smile.

“Who wants seconds?” Pinkie tantalizingly asked.

Paragon immediately heeded the call, shooting his hand up.

“I DO!”

"I think I’ll pass.” Blitz took a sip of his milk. “This stuff isn’t half bad either!  Not as good as a cup of liquid Energon, but it’s good nonetheless.”

Paragon just shrugged, looking down at the waffles. “More for me!” he stopped upon noticing that this batch was covered in a white, powdery substance.

“What’s this?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Powdered sugar, silly willy!” Pinkie gave a wide grin.  “It’ll make your waffles more scrumptious than ever!”

Paragon’s interest was piqued at the sound of that.  Picking up the morsel, he took one bite and his mouth was flooded with the sensation of the sweet sugar, eyes reducing to that of dots once more.

“This… is… AMAZING!” he exclaimed. “I take back everythin’ I’ve ever said about this backwater planet!”

Paragon messily devoured his second plate, Blitz and Rainbow scooting away from him a few inches.

“Look at him go,” Blitz nudged the weather pegasus.  “How long do you think he can go on like this for?”

“All day, maybe?  Guess we’d just have to wait and see…” Rainbow blinked twice at Paragon’s display.

“So, about those Princesses of yours?” Blitz hearkened back to their exchange from before.

Rainbow was left confused at first, but was able to recall what he was referring to, her face morphing into a state of remembrance.  She tapped her chin with her hoof.

“Oh, yeah, that!  It’s going to be a little more… what’s the word?  Complicated?  Yeah, let’s go with that.  It’ll be a little complicated to explain this whole situation to our friends.”

“No it's not. There are two factions of robots that were battling in space and during said battle, they crashed, and both of them landed in Equestria!  Now, the two factions are trying to regroup so they can continue their epic battle of good vs evil, and now two of the robots on the good faction have been discovered, and you're asking for my help so we can all help save the world!  What's so ‘complicated’ about that?” Pinkie interjected.

“Not exactly what I meant, Pinkie.” Rainbow facehooved.  “I mean how we’re going to explain this whole thing without coming off like we’ve had a screw loose.”

“This world is full of magical ponies, monsters, talking dogs, and other freaks of nature.  Aliens wouldn’t be that far-fetched if I lived on this world.” Paragon spoke up through a mouthful of waffles, the powdered sugar now creating a white outline around his mouth.

"We’ve grown used to these magical creatures, not robot, shape-shifting aliens.” Rainbow countered, taking a bite of her ice cream.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Paragon wave her off before focusing his attention on Blitz’s dessert. “Hey, kid you gonna eat that, uh…”

"Ice cream.” Rainbow reminded.

“Yeah, that.” Paragon finished.

Blitz shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Without a second thought, the Diamond Dog grabbed the bowl and started to chug down its contents.

“I swear, he’s like a bottomless pit!” Rainbow gawked, wide-eyed.

Blitz eyed the slowly growing size of Paragon’s stomach and winced. “That… doesn’t look good.”

“What’re you talkin’ about?” Paragon burped as he dropped the now licked clean bowl to the floor.  “I feel fine--”

Then Paragon felt a sudden, sharp pain in his head.  It was like… his processor just… froze!  It felt like a million needles being prodded into his skull, making the sensation worse.

“A-A-AAAAAAAGH!!!!  MY PROCESSOR!!!” Paragon howled, clutching his skull, falling onto his back, the pot belly sloshing in all directions like jello.

“Paragon?!” Blitz rushed over to his side, looking at Rainbow and Pinkie.  “What’s wrong with him?!”

Blitz became perplexed when he noticed that Rainbow and Pinkie had burst out laughing, sending a wave of befuddlement over the Maximal.  “What’s so funny?”

“Paragon’s got the brain freeze!” Pinkie bounced with every word to emphasis her point.

"It’s what happens when you eat too much cream at once,” Rainbow explained through her laughter.  “It doesn’t last that long, but it’s hilarious when it happens!”

Paragon sat up, the ache slowly subsiding.

“Y’know, a little warning would’ve been nice!” he whined while Blitz let out a sigh of relief.

“Mind if we get back on topic?”

“Oh, right.” Rainbow recomposed herself before continuing.  “The best way they’d buy it is if you transformed in front of them.”

Blitz raised an eyebrow as he replied, “And if it causes them to faint like it did your flight team?”

“I can assure you that they’d be able to handle it.  We’ve seen weirder.” Rainbow confidently assured, her usual cocky smirk crossing her features.

Blitz thought about the prospect for a moment, then shrugged.

“I suppose we can give it a shot.  What better proof than the real thing?”

Paragon grunted as he struggled to sit up, but had some difficulty with the weight of his tumorous belly holding him down.  After a moment or two, he achieved a sitting position with a groan.

“Alright, I should be good to go.” Paragon nodded.

“Sure you are,” Rainbow teased, inciting a disgruntled glare from Paragon.  Blitz flapped his wings, joining Rainbow in the air.

"Think you can move, Paragon?” he asked.

"Yeah, just give me a bit,” the Diamond Dog pushed himself to a knee.  Before he could go all the way, however, Blitz intervened, swooping beneath Paragon, mounting him on his back.  “‘Ey, ‘ey!  What’re you doin’?!”

“Making it easier on you,” Blitz answered… albeit with a slight bit of fatigue.  “By the Matrix, did you put on some weight…”

“Onward, to Twilight’s, we go!” Pinkie declared in a deliberately over-the-top manner.  The group made their way down the stairs, going on a straight beeline for the front door.  Without a moment’s hesitation, Pinkie flung the front door open, and leapt outside… right into the small frame of Spike.

The baby Dragon and the Pony tumbled several feet before slowing to a stop, Pinkie sprawled over Spike, horribly dazed.

Shaking her head, the pink party Pony looked down at Spike, who held his head.

“Oh, sorry, Spike!  I totally didn’t see you there, otherwise I would have thought ahead and not bolted out the door, also avoiding our heads being--”

"Pinkie, you’re crushing him!” Rainbow interrupted.

"Whoops!  Sorry, again!” Pinkie backed off the young drake, the Maximals rejoining her and Rainbow.

“Friend of yours?” Paragon asked, to which Rainbow nodded.

“Twilight’s assistant, actually.  He lives with her.” she explained, helping Spike to his feet to regain his bearings.  “You okay, little guy?”

Spike shook the cobwebs from his head, “Yeah, I’m fine.  Just a sore, is all.  Anyway, Twilight sent me here to find you!  She said to meet her at her house immediately!  It’s urgent!  Twilight, Zecora, and the Princesses found some kind of large pod in the Everfree!  They’ll go over the rest of the details at the Library, but you need to go, now!  I’ve already talked with the others; they’re waiting for us right now!”

“Then, what’re we waiting for?  Spike, climb on!”

Spike boarded Rainbow’s back, taking notice of the two Maximals for the first time.

“Hey, wait a minute, who’re yo-OOOUUUUU?!” Spike’s sentence transitioned into a cry as Rainbow bolted down the streets like a multi-colored bullet.

"... She’s fast.” Paragon bluntly stated.

“You have no idea,” Blitz shook his head.

"That’s our Rainbow!” Pinkie galloped after her.  “Keep up, Blitzen!”

The yellow Pegasus blinked twice at the label Pinkie had just given him. “Did she just call me ‘Blitzen’?”

“Kid, get a move on, I’d rather we not be left behind.” Paragon reminded.  “The sooner we’re done here, the sooner we can all go home.”

“Oh, right.” Blitz took off after them, though when one’s carrying a Diamond Dog that devoured a large breakfast, it was understandably a little difficult to maintain his altitude.  “Remind me to make you work off those extra pounds!”