Heart of Steel

Just before they struck the water, Celestia placed a magical shield around them, protecting them from most of the impact, though it shattered after the hit. As they entered the water, Optimus let go of Celestia, sinking straight to the bottom. The princess didn’t fair much better, struggling and thrashing as her heavy, metal armor weighed her down. She tried everything she could to break free of the armor’s death grip, even removing a horseshoe and her helmet, but it was no use. The armor was too heavy, even for her, and she slowly began to sink to the bottom.

Suddenly, just as the darkness began to encroach on her vision, a hand reached up from the bottom of the lake, grabbing her back and forcing her above the surface. She gasped as she finally reached the surface, panting as she tried to take in as much oxygen as possible. She looked down towards the lake surface, seeing the face of her savior. Optimus, who didn’t need air, was tall enough to stand on the bottom of the lake. His head was still under water, but his arm was long enough to reach the surface.

Slowly, he walked to shore, setting Celestia down on the beach. “Are you alright?” he asked, a little bit of water pouring out of his mouth. She caught a couple times, shaking some of the water off her coat.

“A bit waterlogged, but I’ll live” she told him. Prime sat next to her, breathing a sigh of relief, as he rubbed his closed eyes. “Do you think they saw us fall?” she asked him.

“I highly doubt it. They were on the opposite side of the ship when we jumped. Even if they saw us, it’s unlikely they saw us land” he answered.

“So, we have to find our own way back then?” she asked again.

“It would seem so, but I have no clue how. We’re stranded in the middle of no where, with no way of telling direction” he said.

“I know how to tell direction” Celestia interjected.

Optimus gave her an estranged look. “How?” he questioned.

“Well, the sun always rises in the east, and sets in the west, so that way, you can find north and south” she explained.

“Hhm. Interesting” he said under his breath.

“Couldn’t you do that on your home planet?” she asked.

“Our home was entirely metal, and heavily industrialized. The only parts outside of civilization were places like the Sea of Rust, where the sun couldn’t be seen” he told her.

“I see. Now, Cloudsdale was south of Ponyville collecting the runoff from the winter snow, then was heading to Dodge City, so that means we need to head north-west” she said.

“Alright then, we should get moving before it gets dark” he added, changing into truck form. Celestia hopped on his back, and the two drove into the forest, though they didn’t get far.

Starscream slowly crept onto the Nemesis’ deck, grinning smugly, despite the ship’s current shape. The cruiser had embedded itself in the dirt at a forty-five degree angle, in the middle of the forest, with no defence systems, scanners, or anything else save for the lights. Megatron was standing on what remained of the deck growling as his engineers did what they could to reverse the damage. “Lord Megatron, I have good news” said Starscream.

Megatron didn’t even bother turning to face him, and merely spat: “This had better be good.” His voice made starscream jump, before regaining his composure.

“I am happy to inform you that Optimus Prime is no more” he said. Megatron turned, neither smiling, nor changing his scowl.

“Are you certain?” he asked.

“I saw it with my own eyes. He plummeted right off the side of the ship, with one of those curcid equine on his back!” he told him.

“And the body?” Megatron asked again. Starscream’s smugg smile disappeared rapidly, as his wings slumped downward.

“I...uh...I was so concerned whether or not you’d been hurt in the crash, I...didn’t look for the body” he lied. In truth, he’d hoped Megatron would take his word for it, and give him a reward.

“Well then,” he said slowly. “you’d best get to that. You wouldn’t want to lie to me, would you?” As soon as Megatron finished his sentence, Starscream sloppily rushed out of the deck, changing forms and flying down the hallway.

They entered a new clearing, only to discover a river blocking their way. It was a raging torrent, wider than either of them, and probably just as deep. Celestia hopped off Optimus, investigating the shore as he changed forms. “How are we going to get across?” she asked, dipping the tip of her hoof in the water. Optimus placed his hand on his chin, looking around to see what they had to work with. “Hm. Can you fly across the river?” he questioned. She outstretched both of her wings, grunting and quickly pulling her hurt wing back to her side. “I take that as a no.” They both looked around, desperate for anything that might help them.

“What about those vines?” Celestia suggested.

“If we tied them wove them together, we might be able to use them to pull us across, but we can’t get them over the river” he said.

“Heh, you could always throw me across the river” she jested. Suddenly, Optimus’ eyes widened.

“Celestia! You’re a genius” he yelled, setting to work as he chopped down a series of vines.

Celestia tilted her head to the side. She stared at him, awestruck. “Are you serious? I was kidding!” she said. Optimus took six of the vines, twisting them together, then tying it at one end to create a makeshift rope.

“If I crouch, and throw you like a javelin, then you can wrap this around one of those trees, and pull me across” he told her.

“Won’t I get hurt when you throw me?” she asked again.

“Not if you shield yourself before you hit the ground” he said, finishing his rope. “If you’re not willing to do this, we could try to find another place to cross.” Celestia looked up and down the river, which seemed continued forever.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot” she said.

Prime slid his hand under her, picking her up by her belly and kneeling next to the river. He drew back, giving her the rope, which she placed in her mouth, then threw her across. For a second, she thought he missjudged his throw, but her fears were put to rest when she saw green underneath her. She landed on the other side of the river, less than gracefully, but unheart. Once she righted herself, she ran to the treeline, wrapping the vine around a tree.

Optimus wrapped the vine rope around his chest, tieing it around his shoulder. Then, he leapt into the river, doing his best to swim across. As he jumped, Celestia pulled on the rope as hard as she could. The river shoved Prime downstream, but he changed one hand to a sword, and began to use it as an oar. A few of the vines in the rope snapped, making both of their eyes widen. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Optimus finally reached shore. He dug his fingers into the dirt, slowly hauling himself onto solid ground. Celestia ran up to him, helping him out of the river.

“Are you alright?” she asked. “A bit water logged, but I'll live” he said with a grin. Behind them,  a pair of metal hands clapped slowly.

“Well done, well done” said Starscream. While they were struggling, he’d landed behind them, along with two vehicons. Behind them, two move Decepticons stood on the other side of the river, guns drawn.

“Starscream...” Optimus grunted under his breath.

“I thought you perished when you jumped off the Nemesis. Shame, now I’m going to have to get my claws dirty killing you” he taunted. Then, he turned his back to them, continuing to talk.

“Optimus, when I make my move, you shoot those two behind us, and jump in the river” she whispered, Optimus giving her a nod.

Suddenly, her horn began to burn gold. A beam shot out from her, striking Starscream in the back. As that happened, Optimus turned, drawing both his cannons, and gunning down the two Decepticons behind them. Crystals grew around Starscream’s feet, spreading up his legs, and encasing everything but his hands and face. They both jumped into the river, letting the water carry them downstream. “Why are you two idiots standing there? Go after them!” Starscream ordered. The two remaining Vehicons took flight, leaving their trapped leader behind.

Optimus and Celestia floated through the water. Celestia remembered to put a shield around her head, which gave her oxygen for the moment, though she’d have to surface soon. Prime turned onto his back, only to see the two Vehicons flying over them. He allowed himself to sink nearly to the bottom, obscuring their sight of him. Then, he noticed Celestia was surfacing. Without a second of hesitation, he pointed his guns upward, firing bolt after bolt. His first two shots missed, but his third struck one of the Decepticons in the wing. He spiraled out of control, crashing on the riverbanks, and bursting into flames. With one target out of the way, he took aim at the second one. He fired once, and missed. Celestia was getting close to the surface, and once she was in the air, she was vulnerable. He fired again, and again, he missed. Her horn was poking out of the river. He fired two bolts at once. One missed. The other hit it’s mark. The bold passed through the center of the Decepticon, killing him instantly. The energon in his body ignited, as he dropped into the river. As he crashed, Celestia’s head breached the surface, her mouth gasping for air. Prime breathed a sigh of relief, or he would have, if he needed oxygen. Suddenly, he heard a particular noise ahead of them. He looked downriver, his eyes widening instantly. Before him was a white wall of water, rapidly approaching.

Thinking quickly, he reached up and grabbed Celestia. He jumped out of the water, using his air bags as a flotation device. “Optimus, there’s a waterfall up there!” she said.

“Hold on to me, I have a plan” he told her. She did as he asked, and not a moment too soon, as they went over the side. Optimus once again called on his sword, embedding one of his blades in the rock face. He dug in with his hands and feet, slowing their descent, despite the hundreds of gallons pouring over his head. Celestia placed a magic barrier above their heads, but it didn’t help Prime much. Eventually, they came to a halt, and Optimus began to move to one side of the waterfall. His progress was agonizingly slow, but eventually, they made it to dry land.

The pair nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Optimus knelt to the ground, panting as he retracted his sword. “Do you think we lost them?” Celestia asked.

“Most definitely. Starscream is renowned for his arrogance, he wouldn't have brought more than four soldiers with him. Still, we should get moving” he answered, then changed into truck form. Celestia hopped on his back, and they continued North-West.

As they continued their trek, Optimus noticed something different about his pony companion. During the day, Celestia moved the sun through the sky subconsciously; it was only the act of raising and lowering that actually required effort. Now that the sun was lower in the sky, she’d begun to shiver, and her body temperature had lowered. “Celestia, are you alright?” he asked.

“Oh, y-y-yes, I’m f-f-f-fine” she stuttered, her teeth chattering as she talked. Optimus stopped dead in his tracks at the edge of a large clearing. “Why’d you s-stop?” she asked.

“You’re becoming hypothermic. Wait here and try to warm yourself while I build a shelter” he ordered.

“N-no, we sh-should keep going” she said.

“It isn’t your choice” he said, his voice firm, yet caring. Grudgingly, she dismounted him, huddling under a tree. She extended her free wing, wrapping it around herself in the hopes it might warm her.

Using his sword, Optimus cut down a few larger tree limbs, arranging them in a lean-to type shelter. Then, he gathered leaves and other foliage, covering its top. He sat inside the makeshift building, becoming Celestia over. She lurched over to the shelter, which was only a meter away at most, sitting in Prime’s lap. As she did, she gasped. She assumed his metal would be extremely cold, but it was actually quite warm. It almost felt alive. “What’s wrong?” he asked, half-panicked.

“Nothing, I just didn’t think you’d be this warm” she explained.

“I see. get some sleep, you’ll need it tomorrow” he told her. She took his advice, melting into the warmth of his metal flesh. He covered her sleeping body with leaves, careful not to wake her. In the distance, he saw the sun finally set, which confused him. “Celestia, I thought you raised and lowered the sun?” he said.

“Oh, that must be Luna...we can both raise and lower the sun and the moon, but the one we don’t control-yawn-is much, much harder” she explained, before drifting off into sleep.