Heart of Steel

Starscream stood on the riverside, still encased in crystal. He’d tried desperately to break free, but found the crystals were much, much harder than he thought they’d be. Suddenly, he heard Cybertronian thrusters above him, followed by a loud thud. “Lord Megatron! Thank goodness you’re here” he shouted. Megatron entered his line of sight, scowling at him.

“Tell me, Starscream, how did you come to be in this predicament?” he asked coldly. Starscream cringed, looking away from his master.

“Uh...well...you see…” Megatron cut him off. “Could it be that Optimus Prime and his pony companion still breathe? Perhaps that is the reason for your failure?” he shouted angrily.

“Forgive me, Master, please! It wasn’t my fault! I was about to snuff Prime’s spark, but one of the troops got in the way! Then. that wretched organic surprised me and froze me like this! You must believe me” he pleaded. Megatron smiled sisterly, revealing the the panicked cries of his lackey.

“Do not fear, Starscream. I’m far too exhausted to give you a physical punishment. No, I think I’ll just leave you here for...say, two or three planetary cycles” he told him.

“What? Lord Megatron! You can’t do this to me! Please!” Megatron said nothing, leaping into the air, and flying away.

“One day, someone is going to end him, then I’ll be in charge” he muttered to himself. He stood there for a few minutes, frozen, when a rabbit hopped out of the woods. He watched as the small animal hopped around, before digging a hole. Then, its claws scratched something metal. “What do we have here?” Starscream said under his breath. It looked at the curios materials, tried to dig through it a couple more times, than ran off. Starscream shifted his head slightly, trying to get a look at what the rabbit had dug up. He couldn’t see much, but what he could see was a slab of purple metal, and half a Decepticon emblem. Intrigued by the discovery, the tried to break free again.

After a few minutes of struggling, it occurred to him that his mistle might break his arm free, since it didn’t actually arm until fifteen seconds after it was fired. He took aim, to the best of his ability, and fired his weapon. Rather than simply blow his arm off, the rocket shattered the crystal, then flew off into the woods and exploded. With one arm free, he dug his claws into the crystal, slowly cutting them off his body.

Celestia’s biological clock woke her up just before dawn. Despite the temporary nature of their shelter, she’d slept fairly well. ‘I guess robots make good pillows’ she thought to herself. She looked up towards Optimus, finding him awake as well, though she didn’t know if he even went to sleep. “Good, you’re awake” he said.

“Yes, thank you for setting up this shelter. I’ll be sure to remember this when we get back to Canterlot” she told him. She stood, stretching her limbs and shaking the dew off her face. She walked out of the lean-to, her horn glowing. On the horizon, the sun began to poke out from behind the trees. A few seconds later, it was fully visible, illuminating the forest, and drying the dew.

“Pardon my curiosity, but how do you raise the sun?” he asked.

“Well, I...uh…” Celestia’s eyes widened. “I guess I’ve never really given it much thought. After more than a thousand years, I guess it’s just become a habit” she told him.

“Is there any way the others could track you by that?” he asked again.

“No, but it will tell them we’re alive, or I am, at least.” Optimus frowned, his eyes becoming saddened.

“Princes-”

“Call me Celestia, I think you’ve earned it” she told him.

“Celestia, I’m sorry for all I’ve put you and your people throught. This is our war, not yours” he said. “It’s not your fault Optimus. It’s not like you asked for the war to come here” she assured. “Still, I can’t help but feel this is partly my fault. It was because of me that Megatron star-”

“You can’t blame yourself for his actions” she interrupted. She walked up to him, placing a hoof on one of his hands. “I know how hard it is to be betrayed by somepony you love. A thousand years ago, Luna tried to overthrow me, and I sent her to the moon. I blamed myself for centuries, to be honest, part of me does now, but I realized that it was her choice, and all I could do when she came back was try to help her” she told him. Optimus smiled, holding her hoof in his hand. “I don’t know if that helps, but you really shouldn’t blame yourself” she said.

“Thank you, Celestia. It’s...comforting to know there’s someone else who shares my experiences, and Luna gives me hope Megatronus may come back” he told her. “We’d best get moving. It’s fall, and the days are getting short” he added, changing into truck form.

"So, do you mind telling me about Earth?" she asked.

"Earth? Well, Earth was an interesting place. In many regards it was like a melding of Equestria and Cybertron. The planet's dominant species was humans, though small arthropods outnumbered them by a good number. We forged some friendships with the locals, but something surprised me about them" he told her.

"What was that?" Celestia asked, her curiosity piqued.

"They were incredibly greedy. There seemed to be no end to their hunger for...nearly anything, and though this could lead them to commit acts of good, it also cause some of their worst atrocities. After I realized this, I refused to share our weapons technology with them, for fear they would destroy each other" he explained.

Celestia was fascinated, listening intently, when suddenly, her eyes widened. “Optimus stop!” she ordered. Prime slammed on his breaks, which could stop on a dime, despite his size. Unfortunately, Celestia slid forward, the edge of the cab knocking the wind out of her.

“Are you alright?” he asked. After a few seconds, Celestia regained her composure.

“I’m fine, thank you. There’s a swamp up ahead. If you drove into it, we would have sunk to the bottom” she told him.

“I see. Could you hop off?” he said. She did as he asked, and he changed forms.

Carefully, the two approached the bog. Celestia was light enough that the mud only came to her ankles, though the water went all the way up to her knee. Optimus, on the other hand, sank to his ankle when he began to put weight on his foot. He quickly withdrew his foot, standing back on solid ground. “Can you cross?” Celestia asked.

“If I move quickly enough, I should be able to avoid sinking” he answered.

Prime took a few steps back, before running at the bog. Though his foot sank to his ankle each time he took a step, he could pull his foot out with shocking ease, and thanks to the length of his stride, the mud ahead of him wasn’t affected by the mud he pushed down. Together, they ran across the swamp, when Optimus suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Stop!” he shouted. Celestia stopped, turning to her companion.

“Optimus, what are you doing? You’re going to sink?” she said. He was already knee deep in the mud, but his eyes were fixed on something else.

“Look up!” he ordered. She did, and saw four hydra heads poking out of the mud.

All four heads roared, one of them darting toward the princess. She jumped out of the way, retreating to the tree line. Another head tried to catch her, but she avoided its jaws, taking to the trees. The head moved up the tree, looking Celestia in the eyes as it prepared to strike again. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the tree with her magic, ripping it out by the roots. She slammed the base of the tree into the hydra’s face, then leapt off the top. Another hydra head tried to snare her in it’s jaws, but she managed to kick out one of his teeth. Though she was much smaller than the monster, alicorns were much stronger than normal ponies, with the combination of pegasus and Earth pony muscles.

Suddenly, a stream of blue bolts struck the side of two heads. Optimus, sunk to his shoulders and unable to move, had drawn both of his ion cannons, and shot the massive beast. Though his bolts could have take off any of the hydra’s heads, his power was running low, and he couldn’t waste energy on weapons. All four of the monster’s heads scowled at Prime, as it began to trudge over to him. She fired a magic bolt at the face closest to her, turning its attention back to her. “What are you doing?! That thing’s going to kill you” she shouted.

“I have a plan, just trust me” he told her, losing more bolts.

Celestia did as he said, hiding behind a tree. The hydra took Prime in his mouth, lifting him out of the mud, and shaking him violently. Neither Celestia, nor the hydra could see it, but Optimus was smiling as he was shaken back and forth. “That,” he said, prying the beast’s jaw open from the inside. “was a poor choice.” He leapt out of its mouth, taking the head with him. Once he reached the swamp, he ran under the hydra, tripping itself over its own legs. Eventually, the body collapsed, the heads unable to figure out what to do. Optimus pulled on the one head he had, using his incredible strength to spin the massive beast in a circle, and hurl it to the other end of the bog. They hydra slammed into trees on the edge of the swamp, sending a flock of birds skyward. Quickly, the hydra snapped out of its daze, and ran away as quickly as its legs could carry it.

Optimus trudged to the swamp’s edge, kneeling and panting once he reached solid ground. Celestia ran over to him, partially panicked, and partially astonished. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yes, I just used a fair amount of energy. I'll need fresh energon soon” he told her, rising. He changed forms, and Celestia mounted him. They drove through the forest, and after a few hours, saw smoke on the other side.

“Optimus, do you see that?” she asked.

“I do. It seems we’ve reached a settlement” he said.

As they drove, they passed Zecora’s hut. As they passed, Zecora looked out her window. “Either my senses are not keen, or that was the sun princess, riding a strange machine” she said. She grabbed her cloak and left her hut. As Optimus and Celestia neared Ponyville, the forest disappeared entirely, replaced by grassland. They entered the town, passing Sugarcube Corner. As the scent of baked goods met her nose, Celestia’s stomach growled in a very loud, un-princess-like way, as she nearly threw up what little remained in her gut.

“Are you alright?” Prime asked.

“Would you mind stopping? I haven’t had anything to eat since last night” she said.

He stopped in front of Sugarcube Corner, changing forms after she dismounted him. They entered the cafe, Optimus waiting outside while Celestia went to get something to eat. The smell of sweats hit her like a wave, as she salivated and nearly threw up again. Pinkie was under the counter, fidgeting with some cupcakes. “Excuse me, could I get a banana muffin?” she asked politely.

“Sure thing, just let me-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!!!!!!!!!” Pinkie’s mane was deflated, and her voice lacked her normal enthusiasm. Then, she suddenly rushed past Celestia in a blur, stopping only when she saw Optimus outside, then dashed off again. Celestia exited the building, a confused look on her face.

Pinkie ran around the side of the building towards Ratchet, who was sitting at the back. “Ratchet! Ratchet!” she shouted.

“What is it Pinkie?” he asked. She dashed up his body, resting on his shoulder.

“I see dead ponies...” she whispered.

“Pinkie Pie, that’s ridiculous” he said.

“But it’s true! Celestia’s ghost just asked for some cupcakes! And Optimus’ ghost was with her! He was waiting outside, though. I don’t think he realizes he’s a ghost yet” she told him.

“Did...did you say Optimus?” Ratchet asked again.

“Yeah. He’s probably still outside the ba-Wah!”

Ratchet leapt to his feet, running to the front of Sugarcube corner. Behind them in the street, a mob approached. At the head of the pack were Twilight and Zecora, with their jaws to the ground. Ponies clambered on top of each other, gasping when they caught sight of the pair. After a few seconds, Twilight fainted, Spike catching her before she struck the ground. “Optimus? Is that you?” Ratchet yelled. He turned the corner, his jaw dropping. He couldn’t believe his eyes, using his scanner to make sure he wasn’t crazy.

“Ratchet? What’s the matter?” Optimus questioned.

“Optimus....you...you and Celestia...you’re funerals are tomorrow” he told them.