Chapter 4

Celestia shifted on her warm comfortable bed, her blankets encompassing her form in a warm embrace as she desperately tried to not fall back asleep.

She had a task to do… And it involved starting the day…

Her eyes opened and her surroundings came into focus slowly.

Then Celestia realised she wasn’t in her room, but a guest room that was open, at least until…

At the thought process she was continuing on, she felt a warmth heat up her cheeks, and her heart stuttered a bit as she continued to think about what might’ve happened last night when she saw Megatron on the abandoned astronomy tower.

She placed a hand to her chest and breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth a few times, calming herself down as the blush subsided.

What in the world of Equestria is wrong with me?! She thought to herself, frustrated.

I can’t be… ATTRACTED to him!

She then continued that rain of thought.

But why do I feel warm and protected?

Celestia suddenly paused, remembering something...

According to the reports I read, Megatron had a look on his face that was gentle, yet turned very fierce when somepony was in danger. For Faust’s sake he killed a stallion that tried to assassinate Commander Tempest Shadow yesterday, and he didn’t even hesitate!

She thought about when the metallic Titan looks to be like a gentle-hearted warrior sometimes, other times a Gladiator that he spoke so reverently about.

How could he have done it so easily?! To kill without great reluctance? The only way that could’ve been possible was if he had been in... Celestia stopped that train of thought as she went back to her original topic.

But… Why do I feel this way around the Titan? That he’ll kill to keep me, Luna, and our ponies safe, even if he had to kill again to do so! She thought as she reattached her golden armored chestplate to her torso and placed her crown on her head.

Perhaps, in time… we’ll see? She finished her thoughts and she walked out of the empty guestroom, raising her sun as her younger sister, Luna, lowered the moon from the confines of her bedroom, her nightly duties finished and ready to sleep the day away.

But they were going to spend time together today, and if she had to drag Luna out of bed kicking and screaming, she would…

Celestia chuckled at the idea with an evil smile as she walked...

Celestia was walking down the decrepit hallways that used to house so many memories of centuries long past, when she heard something faint…

She tilted her head to the side, an ear flicking up to hear better…

There it was again!

Clang!
Thump!
Crash!

It was like the sound of metal crashing against wood.

Curious, Celestia changed her course from the mess hall, and went down the hall to come up to an open door.

She noticed that a couple of guards mares were there, guarding the open doorway…

After nodding in acknowledgement of her fellow ponies, The Solar Princess walked in.

She didn’t expect to see Megatron at one end of the large empty room filled with training equipment, punching his mighty metallic hands against a very thick tree trunk, the force from which he punched put a dent in it with ease, as if slightly melted butter cut with a knife.

Megatron kept up a combination of jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and kicks at random, almost as if he was doing his best to survive an enemy he couldn’t see…

Celestia remembered about the underlined section of the name ‘Gladiator’ on her end-of-day report that Commander Tempest gave her, so it was possible he was expelling some of his pent up frustrations he had accumulated over the past 24 hours.

From meeting Fluttershy and saving her from a Caribou slaver in the outskirts of the Everfree, to arriving at the base with said mare and Twilight Sparkle, as well as an immediate confrontation between the mech and a corrupted stallion that the Caribou had gotten their dirty claws into with their lies.

And the look on Megatron’s face as he killed the stallion when he tried to kill him and Tempest Shadow…

It was the same look she had whenever she had no choice but to do the right thing, even if it meant killing a fellow living being.

The guilt still ate at her for inadvertently banishing her own sister to the moon for a thousand years when she became Nightmare Moon, and she will make sure it never happens again…

Celestia’s thoughts were interrupted by Megatron’s voice, which echoed and reverbed all over the room, causing her lightly jump from her thoughts as her attention to the Cybertronian, who turned his attention from the trunk to her.

“ Ah, Miss Celestia! What can I assist you with today?” He said, his raspy voice causing small gooseflesh to spring up her arms, making her shudder as she felt a chill up her spine at the way he sounded.

He might look or sound evil, but underneath that exterior is somepony with a good head on his shoulders and a good heart…

Celestia cleared her throat and replied,

“ Good Morning, Megatron… I don’t suppose you wouldn’t be inclined to join me and my sister for brunch this morning? To… Get to know each other, learn our goals, I believe the term is?” She asked, a bit nervous of the now 7ft tall metallic titan might say no.

Megatron tilted his helm for a moment, a small amount of confusion in his optics at the term “Brunch”, but after reading it up from the castle library, he dipped his head with a servo on his chest plate formed into a fist.

“ It would be my honor to join you and your brethren.” He said, a tone that made Celestia think of a knight.

Megatron stepped away from the tree trunk that was all dented and scratched to almost a thin branch.

Then his sword activated from underneath his fusion cannon, and he whirled around…

SHING!

It was silent for a moment, with Celestia looking up at him in slight confusion with a furrow of her brows…

Then the tree trunk split in half, the top half falling to the side with a loud crackling of wood.

Celestia’s eyes widened at the clean cut Megatron made of the most thickest tree, barring the Tree of Harmony, was easily cut down to size.

If he could cut down a tree with just one single slice… She thought, plans whirling around at a fast pace in her mind.

Then she shook her head, dispelling those plans…

She wasn’t a chess manipulator, she was a pony with ideas.

Celestia then looked towards the mech that caught her eye, metaphorically...

Albeit CREATIVE ones…

Megatron walked to her side and they began their trek back through the seemingly endless maze of hallways, his CPU processor idly scanning his surroundings and making a layout as he walked.

The two entered the mess hall that was filled to the brim with ponies, talking and whispering to each other as they ate their meals.

Most of them were mares in armor except for the helmet, while others looked to be civilians, their clothes looking like they’ve been rolling around in the dirt all day without a wash.

Perhaps they don’t have cleaning facilities… Megatron thought as all conversation slowly stopped at the sight of him and Celestia walking in, though most were on Celestia.

The Alicorn in question smiled warmly at the sitting crowd and simply said,

“ Good Morning, My Little Ponies. Don’t stop on our accounts.” As she made her way over to another Alicorn, this one with dark blue fur and was wearing a full set of armor and had a black crown on her head.

Megatron simply stood there at the doorway for a couple of moments, his optics gleaming with curiosity as he began to make his way over to an empty spot at a wall…

He was stopped by someone yelling out his name, which made his chassis tense in case it was a fight.

He turned his helm and saw Twilight sitting at the table next to Celestia, and a midnight blue Alicorn who is presumed to be Celestia’s younger sister Luna, waving him over…

Megatron walked over to the table, noticing more and more ponies looking up at his form with a sense of awe and fear.

Maybe it was because of Unicron, but it made him feel… Proud?

Proud that his form is still intimidating, even if he didn’t have the upgrades The Chaos Bringer forced upon him?

Or was it because of what transpired yesterday on his arrival?

He finally made it past the rows of tables full of ponies, sitting down against the wall next to Twilight and a pink Alicorn that he presumed to be Cadence, Celestia’s niece.

He stared out at the large room filled with pointless chatter, before realising that Cadence was trying to say something to him,

" I don’t think we’ve met before, I am…” She began, but Megatron finished, a small smile on his scarred glossa.

" Cadence, Celestia’s youngling niece.” He said, ignoring the shocked and slightly outraged looks from the armored and civilian mares at his casual tone.

Blinking for a couple of seconds, the second youngest Alicorn head tilted to the side as curiosity lit up her purple colored eyes as she gazed at him.

“Curious…” She said, a gleam in her eye that suddenly reminded Megatron of Orion Pax whenever he was talking about Cybertron’s history, " Your stance and aura indicates that you respect us, yet you’re casually talking to us as if some normal commoner.”

At the term ‘commoner’, Megatron’s optics glowed with a sense of intrigue…

Finally! An opportunity for my opinion! He thought.

" Tell me, madam, why do you think you should demand respect, when I am not even one of you?” He said, his voice taking on a neutral tone that made Twilight stiffen slightly, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

Cadence took a few moments to answer tapping her fingers on her chin, before answering truthfully.

" I don’t demand respect, it’s a choice of WHO you respect the most, despite these dark times.” She then frowned a bit, " But I suppose that you have your own sense of honor that you uphold.”

Megatron’s optic ridge rose slightly as he listened, but didn’t say anything…

" The reason why I say this is because it’s… REFRESHING… I guess you could say.” Cadence finished, looking out into the sea of eyes that were staring at her as she talked, " After a long time of ponies respecting you, bowing to you, trying not to incur your so-called wrath and not get on your bad side, it gets tiresome.” She finished as she stretched her back a little bit, getting out the kinks.

The silent one, Luna, spoke up,

" Indeed, dearest niece. It DOES get a bit tiring when your fellow ponies look up to you as if your a goddess.” She said as the ponies in front of the Alicorns turn their attention to her.

Celestia was silent for a moment, thinking it over for a couple of seconds before dipping her head down and said,

" I agree.”

Megatron stared at the four ponies sitting near him, before smiling.

" And THAT is why I try to make up for my misdeeds. To show the universe that change can happen at the most smallest of instances.” He admitted, his servos clenching into fists at all of his past mistakes he made over eons of civil war.

Some of the ponies in the room were confused on how he could’ve done misdeeds, if he was like a knight…

Oh they have no idea...

He then felt a hand on his shoulder plating and looked up, his red optics making contact with purple colored eyes…

Cadence was smiling, her eyes twinkling brightly as she patted the warm metal that was fused together with Unicron’s power.

" And that is why I asked that specific question. To see what your answer would be.” She said, before returning to her meal, with her fellow Alicorns smiling at what he said, before following suit.

The mares and small amount of stallions of all pony tribes blinked, whispering to each other, talking about what just happened…

Megatron on the other hand, shut down his optics, mulling over the question that Cadence asked him, and his truthful answer.

It was quiet for awhile, the silence only interrupted by the sound of cutlery and quiet chewing…

Until a large crash cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter…

The guards mares were instantly up out of their chairs, rifles and pistols at the ready as they aimed towards the door, where the source of the noise was.

Megatron got to his pedes, his fusion cannon powering up as he aimed at the door.

It was quiet again for a few moments, before the sound of a clang echoed throughout the silent hall…

Then another…

And another…

For some reason, Megatron had a suspicion that whatever was making that noise is taller than it should be, so he returned to his normal size of 30 ft, the hall more than tall enough to accommodate one his size.

He had to be careful if it was an attack though, otherwise he would squish the organics surrounding him...

BANG! SMASH!

The double doors blew apart with the sound of a Cybertronian weapon, a cloud of dust spreading throughout the area.

Megatron’s optics narrowed at the familiar sound of the weaponry, but then he saw something…

A familiar slender figure with a glass visor covering their faceplate…

Megatron lowered his cannon and spoke, his tone one of surprise.

" Soundwave?” He asked, not believing who was before him.

He couldn’t believe it, after hearing the reports of his loyal comrade being trapped in the Shadowzone by Bulkhead and Bumblebee’s human charges, he thought he had lost the only one could truly call ‘friend’.

Yet there the silent mech stood… His chassis still as always, with Laserbeak attached…

The crowded room watched as Megatron’s optics gleamed with recognition and lowered his weapon, and the guards mares reluctantly did the same, wary of this new arrival that was similar to Megatron.

Interesting turn of events. Megatron thought.

Author's Note

I hope you are enjoying the story so far, because I AM TOO! I have already wrote chapters 5 and 6 already, but I am proofreading it so they look good and are over 2k words per chapter.

Comments, Questions, Concerns, Suggestions? Lemme KNOW!