"Move, Cat, move!" The massive white robot jumped, and slid down into the crater before him, just barely escaping the artillery volley. He hit the ground running, stumbling slightly, but quickly righted himself. The robotic cheetah ahead of him had little difficulty crossing the blasted terrain, and it was a challenge just to keep up. The white robot would have had no such difficulty in vehicle mode, but the rough terrain would have been impossible to cross in his vehicle mode.
The cheetah looked back over his shoulder. "We got another volley incoming!"
"We need to find some cover, now!" The white robot spotted a massive metallic plate jutting out of the ground. "There!" The white bot's fired a blue beam at the plate from his wrist- the beam caught the edge of the plate and yanked him toward it. He dived behind the plate, and looked back to his ally. "C'mon, Cat!"
"I'm trying, Jazz!" the bot huffed back.
But trying didn't cut it. An artillery shell hit the ground near the cheetah, hurling him forward. The cat-bot slammed into the ground, tumbling end –over-end until he came to a sliding stop near Jazz. Jazz grabbed the cat and pulled him behind cover. He waited until the explosions and the shaking stopped, before looking down at his ally. "You okay, Cat?"
He received no answer. "Hey c'mon Cheetor, answer me!"
Cheetor was silent for a few moments… before he transformed into robot mode and shook himself. "Urgh… I'll live."
Jazz peered over the barrier, only to instantly withdraw in the hail of enemy fire. He stuck his blaster out and fired back blindly. "Aw man, those 'Cons are comin' in fast!" he called. "We need to call in that strike, double-time!"
"On it!" He touched his hand against his communicator! "Cheetor to command, we need an airstrike out here, coordinates one-four-one-" Suddenly, a Vehicon dropped down from on top of the barrier. It aimed its blaster at them, but Cheetor was faster- in one swift move, he rushed forward, bulling a knife from his forearm, and sliced the Decepticon's arm off. Before it could react, he pulled another knife from his other forearm and stabbed it directly into its visor.
"Say again, Cheetor?" a voice at the other end of the comlink asked.
"I repeat, calling in airstrike on coordinates one-four-one by two-three…" Cheetor trailed off as he became aware of the deep rumble of a powerful engine. He looked up, just in time to see a Decepticon tank roll up alongside his and Jazz's position. The tank began to shift and transform, the robot it changed into absolutely towering over the two Autobots. It silently aimed its cannon at them, staring down at them coldly behind its visor. Cheetor could only stare up at the massive tank drone. "Oh slag."
But his terror was short-lived. "Rrrraaagggh!" The tank bot was suddenly knocked flat on its face, revealing its attacker- a massive green Autobot nearly as wide as he was tall. But the Autobot wasn't finished- shifting his fists into massive wrecking balls, he jumped on the tank bot's back and began pounding away furiously. The tank drone's hardened armor plating was no match for the Autobot's merciless assault, and the bot was soon rendered little more than a misshapen pile of battered black metal.
The green bot finally looked up at Jazz and Cheetor. "Looks like you two have gotten yourself into some trouble."
"What, us? Nah…" Jazz replied, still firing at the Decepticon advance.
The Autobot took cover, transforming his arms into cannons, and began firing on the Decepticons as well. "So what happened? You were supposed to have called in the strike by now."
"Jazz wanted to double-check the coordinates," Cheetor replied. "So I climbed up on a ridge to verify. Then I got spotted. Thanks, Jazz."
"Hey, it ain't my fault you got spotted," Jazz replied.
"Of course it is! I mean if you…" Cheetor suddenly saw movement out of the corner of his optic. He looked- behind Bulkhead, in spite of its damage, the tank drone was somehow still active and aiming its cannon toward the Autobot. "Bulkhead look out!" Cheetor aimed… But before he could fire, a searing beam of white light shot through the tank drone's head, leaving a smoldering hole. It wavered for a moment, before collapsing, offline. Bulkhead glanced back, before looking to Cheetor. "Don't worry," he said. "I have my own guardian angel."
"Cheetor's right, Bulkhead," a small voice said. A small winged organic darted over the tank drone and hid behind the metal plate as well. "I won't always be around to watch your back, you know." She peeked over the barrier as well, firing bright beams at the Decepticons from her necklace. "Is everyone okay?"
"We're just fine, Fluttershy," Cheetor replied. "Didn't expect to see you on the front lines."
"Bulkhead and I are partners. We look out for each other."
"Hey uh, don't mean to interrupt but we got 'Cons coming in!" Jazz called.
"This is getting ridiculous…" Bulkhead said. "We might be good, but we can't take on the whole Decepticon army by ourselves!" He touched his comlink. "This is Bulkhead, calling Canterlot! We're pinned down at Point Beta and need support ASAP!"
None of them could have anticipated the response that came. "I'm on my way!"
Fluttershy glanced over for a moment in-between shots. "Was that-"
She never finished. At that moment, the air was filled with the roar of an engine as a Cybertronian truck soared past overhead. It hit the ground hard, almost immediately shifting into a compact red-and-blue robot. Its optics swept over the advancing Decepticon army, before it touched a finger to the side of its head.
"Metroplex, fire on these coordinates!"
"Understood." a massive voice boomed in reply. Far in the distance behind Autobot lines, another machine, one that dwarfed all the others fired shell after shell from his shoulder mounted cannons. The shells arced across the sky, before slamming into the Decepticon army. Shell after shell bombarded the Vehicons, swallowing the advancing horde in massive bursts of fire. The bombardment finally came to an end, leaving a massive hole in the Decepticon line.
Without delay, the red robot signaled to its forces. "Autobots, advance!"
A heavily-armored pony on a motorcycle roared past almost immediately. The chainguns mounted to the pony blazed away, cutting down every Vehicon in their path, while the nimble cycle easily evaded return fire.
"Bon Bon, you might want to conserve your ammo until we reach the Nemesis," the motorcycle said.
Bon Bon ignored the motorcycle, firing a rocket into the advancing columns. "I'll blast every Decepticon that tries to stop me from saving Lyra, Prowl- I don't care if I have to blow through Megatron himself."
Suddenly, a shell struck the ground nearby. Bon Bon was thrown off of Prowl, while Prowl himself was tossed into the air. The motorcycle bot transformed in mid-air, catching the pony and holding her against his chest. He crashed into the ground back-first, shielding Bon Bon from the impact. With a groan, he looked down at her and asked, "…Are you alright?"
Bon Bon groaned, and looked up at Prowl. "Look out!" Without waiting, she fired another rocket, blowing a nearby Vehicon to bits. Bon Bon hopped off and fired into the surrounding horde of Vehicons, allowing Prowl to rise and join the fray as well- Prowl was unarmed, but as a master of several Cybertronian martial arts, that meant little. With ease he rushed another nearby Vehicon and delivered several jabs to its legs- in response, the Vehicon's servomotors shattered, and it toppled over. The ninja-bot then pulled a shuriken from its leg and threw it at another Vehicon, embedding it deep in its faceplate.
Prowl backed up tossing shuriken after shuriken into the advancing Vehicons, his training- and smaller size- allowing him to dodge their fire with ease. When he and Lyra backed into each other, only a few remained. "Hmph. They weren't so tough," Bon Bon said, blowing apart another Vehicon.
"Don't forget our mission, Bon Bon- were supposed to be rescuing the hostages, not fighting the Decepticons," Prowl warned.
"What's the difference?" Bon Bon asked as her chainguns perforated a Vehicon. "We can't do one without doing the other."
"Fair enough…" Prowl sliced the arm off another Vehicon with a well-aimed shuriken throw. "But we have our own mission to accomplish." Now only one Vehicon remained- Prowl grabbed another shuriken and cocked his arm back…
But before he could throw, a bot with a wheel where its feet should have been roared past, slicing the Vehicon diagonally from shoulder to waist. As the Vehicon fell apart, two more wheelbots raced past.
"Hahaha! Oh man did you see that?" the lead bot laughed. "I was like, wa-bam!" She swung her sword again, effortlessly decapitating another Vehicon.
"Scootaloo, focus," another bot said, one that had Apple Bloom's voice. "We're supposed to be helping the Autobots."
The Scoota-bot turned around to face them, rolling backwards. "I know, but no one said we can't have fun while we're doing it."
The third pointed, and yelled with Sweetie Belle's voice, "More explody things!"
"Spread out!" The Apple-bot ordered. The three scattered, just as Ratchet had instructed them to, weaving erratic paths to avoid the incoming shells. Apple-bot and Sweetie-bot avoided the artillery fire. The Scoota-bot was not so fortunate- a nearby blast knocked her onto her faceplate. She tried to stand, but simply could not find her footing.
The Sweetie-bot and Apple-bot rolled up to their fallen friend. "C'mon Scootaloo, we have to keep moving!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"I'm trying! But this stupid drone won't stand up!" She looked down, and discovered why- her lower wheel had been blown off. "Guys, I think we might be in trouble."
"I can't say I'm surprised," a new voice suddenly said. Two Autobots rolled up: a boxy white one, and a Vehicon- hastily repainted red. A white unicorn climbed out of the white one, hurrying to Scoota-bot's side, before both vehicles transformed. Ratchet knelt down at the cycle drone's side as well, inspecting the damage. "Girls, Macintosh, covering fire."
The red-painted Vehicon lifted raised its minigun and aimed it at the advancing Decepticon columns and replied, "Eeyup." He fired- Apple-bot and Sweetie-bot followed his lead.
Ratchet looked to the unicorn. "Rarity, I'm going to need two struts, an axle, and a wheel."
"Right away, doctor." Rarity touched the Element of Harmony at her neck, and began constructing the parts Ratchet requested.
"And Scootaloo…" Ratchet began as he started removing one of the Scoota-bot's damaged struts. "…these cycle drones might be remote-controlled, but please try to keep them from getting blown up. We need every soldier out here. Every soldier."
"Incoming!" Macintosh shouted. He took aim at a Decepticon fighter heading straight toward him, but the craft easily dodged the hail of gunfire. The others began to fire as well, to no avail. The fighter fired a pair of green bolts at the Autobot group- were it not for the ward Rarity hastily cast, the superheated plasma would have melted the Autobots with ease.
Rattrap watched the red Seeker through the scope of his null ray, but didn't fire. The flyer banked, and made another pass over Ratchet and his team, bombarding them with another round of plasma.
"You stopped firing," Hot Shot said. He pulled the trigger of his rifle, and the battlefield echoed with a resonating bang.
"I'm tracking a target that's harassing Ratchet's team." Bang. "A red Seeker…" Bang. "That's… Thundercracker, right?" Bang.
"No." Bang. "You're looking at Skywarp." Bang. "Thundercracker's blue." Bang.
Rattrap took aim at the Seeker's thrusters. Bang. Direct hit- the Decepticon fighter caught fire and spiraled out of control and crash into the ground. "Well whoever he is, he's just been grounded."
"Then you might want to have a look at Point Epsilon- Warpath's position is being overrun."
"On it." As he aimed his rifle toward the position Hot Shot indicated, he happened to spot something that immediately caught his attention. "Whoa, that's… Bruticus! And Wheeljack's taking him on all by himself!"
"Rattrap, focus. Point Epsilon, now."
Rattrap huffed. "Yeah, yeah…"
"Rrrragh!" Bruticus raised a foot, and drove it towards the small Autobot before him. But Wheeljack wasn't intimidated- he leapt back, avoiding the crushing blow. Before Bruticus could withdraw, he sprinted up the Decepticon combiner's leg and drove his sword deep into the knee joint. Bruticus staggered back, aiming his flamethrower at the Autobot, but Wheeljack evaded the flames with ease.
"Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me!" Wheeljack called.
"Then stand still you little pest!" Bruticus bellowed, raising his foot again to stop on Wheeljack. Wheeljack evaded, pulled a grenade off his chassis and threw it at the massive bot, the explosion sending the Decepticon combiner reeling. Had Bruticus been whole, the battle would have been much more challenging, and therefore much more interesting. But without Swindle, and with only one arm to defend himself, there was little the combiner could do aside from stomp, fire his flamethrower, and shout empty threats.
Wheeljack dodged yet another burst of fire. "Don't do so well when you're down a teammate, do you?"
"Your buddies might've killed Swindle, but don't forget there's still four of us, and only one of you! Combaticons, separate!" Instantly, Bruticus's sole arm detached and rocketed into the air, shifting into the robotic form of Blast Off. His torso detached, its form shifting into Onslaught, as the legs revealed the robotic forms of Vortex and Brawl.
"Great idea, boss!" Brawl shouted. "There's no way he can take on all of us!"
Wheeljack drew his other sword. "Wanna bet on that?"
The Combaticons took aim at Wheeljack, but Blast Off spotted something rapidly approaching their position. "Bombing run! Scatter!" he shouted.
Wheeljack and the Combaticons- sans Brawl- ran for cover. The Decepticon tank simply looked to the sky and asked, "Huh?" He looked up just in time to take an Autobot missile to the chestplate- the explosion sent him tumbling end-over-end until he came to a skidding halt. Brawl groaned, trying to rise to his feet, before he collapsed, entering stasis lock.
Rainbow Dash looked back over her shoulder. "Did you get Bruticus? I can't see!"
"Eyes forward, Rainbow Dash," Jetfire ordered. "You're supposed to be covering me."
"Right." She then brought up a hoof to her headset and listened, before saying, "Copy that, Rhinox We're on our way!" She looked over at the Aerialbot. "Rhinox just called in a strike at his position, ASAP!"
"He'll have to hold out for a minute- I'm out of missiles." He then said into his comlink, "Jetfire to base, I'm en route and in need of ammunition. Repeat, Jetfire returning to base in need of ammo resupply."
"Acknowledged, Jetfire. Platform 2 is being prepped and will be ready upon your arrival."
Jetfire and Rainbow banked hard and began flying toward the mountain with a castle built into its side. Next to it, Metroplex fired shell after shell into the Decepticon ranks. "Wow…" Rainbow said. "Glad that guy's on our side."
"You and me both." But on his radar, Jetfire could see two bogeys approaching their six. "Oh great, just what we need… Rainbow, behind us!"
"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash turned to face their enemies: a jet drone and a helicopter drone. She concentrated- the Element of Harmony on her neck glowed brightly, before a bright red beam shot out of it. The beam sliced the jet drone cleanly in two, but the copter drone evaded the beam with surprising ease, and returned fire; the pegasus evaded, but the Aerialbot's aft was peppered by small arms fire. "Aw man, aren't those copter drones supposed to be the slow ones?"
"Stop complaining and start firing!" Jetfire ordered. "Every shot that lands keeps me out of the sky that much longer!"
Rainbow focused, and fired another beam. The second attack struck home, burning a hole straight through the copter. Its momentum kept it in the air a few moments before it was consumed by a fiery explosion. "Got 'em."
"Hold on, we've got another contact at 12 o'clock," Jetfire said.
Rainbow faced forward again. "Is it another 'Con?"
"No, it… It came from the palace! I think it's-" Suddenly, a sphere shining a blinding gold light shot past the two, toward the Nemesis.
The glowing sphere crashed into the ground, vaporizing an entire squad of Vehicons unfortunate enough to be caught beneath it. Others trained their guns on the light and fired, but their rounds merely rebounded off the sphere's surface. Then, the sphere shone even brighter for a moment, before releasing a powerful explosion. A few Vehicons began to retreat- most stood their ground. But in either case, the explosion completely obliterated the surrounding Vehicons, not leaving behind even a single atom. The sphere faded away, revealing a winged unicorn with a brilliant white coat, its sparkling mane fluttering in the breeze. Her normally serene expression was gone, replaced by one of immeasurable fury. Without a moment's hesitation, she continued her advance on the Nemesis.
Though a great many Vehicons had been vaporized by the explosions, by no means had all been neutralized, and those that remained moved to intercept their new target. A tank drone moved into her path, taking aim- with ease, the winged unicorn magically lifted the drone, flipped it over, and slammed it headfirst into the ground, shattering its processor and sending it offline instantly. Another Vehicon took aim- she fired a bolt of lightning at it, over-stimulating the Energon reserves inside its body and blowing it apart in a thunderous explosion. Another tried to stop her, as did the next, and the one after that. But every Decepticon that stood before her met with a swift, brutal end.
Though she struck down any and every Decepticon foolish enough to bar her path, Celestia was only interested in one. And soon enough, she found him- a terrifying beast of a machine, his unpainted metal plating dully reflecting the fires of the battlefield, bellowing orders and firing his massive cannon indiscriminately into the advancing Autobot lines. The machine seemingly took no notice of the Princess.
Celestia drew herself to her full height, and said in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "Megatron."
The Decepticon leader ceased firing, his electronic eyes falling on her. "Ah, Princess Celestia…" Megatron said. "I see that you're well."
Bolts of magical energy began to arc across Celestia's horn. "Give. Back. My sister."
"You are quite bold to think you can demand anything from me, fleshling." Megatron pointed a sharpened finger at Celestia. "If you truly wish to reunite with your fellow organic, then take her from me."
"With pleasure." A ray of light suddenly came down from the sun. It touched Celestia's horn, before firing out at Megatron, striking him directly in the chest plate.
Megatron staggered back, unprepared for the force of the Princess's attack. He looked down at himself, touching the hole she had burned through his plating, before looking back up to her. "…Alright then."
He swung out his arm, firing at the Princess. She quickly cast a magic barrier that deflected the blow, before firing in turn. She aimed for his weak points- his joints, the gaps in his plating, his optics. And where her magic had merely glanced off him before, her attacks now seemed to genuinely hurt the Cybertronian. She deflected what attacks she could not evade, and fired an endless stream of magic at Megatron's weak points.
Shockwave watched the duel between Megatron and Celestia with great interest. "Her technique has improved," he said, "but at this rate she'll exhaust herself before inflicting any serious damage." He shifted his attention to the other viewscreens at his console. Decepticons were the finest warriors in the universe, but even they could be caught off-guard- the Autobot attack had been unexpected, swift, and brutal, leaving their forces scrambling to respond. As he watched the external camera feeds, Shockwave couldn't help but to silently applaud the Autobots' ruthlessness.
But something he spotted on one of the screens immediately caught his attention. "Just as Thundercracker predicted…" Shockwave mumbled, watching as Metroplex bombarded the Vehicon forces. "And yet you said it couldn't be done, Megatron. …This requires a counteroffensive." Shockwave turned away from the console to face the prisoner behind him. He approached her containment unit, and deactivated it. "It is time, your majesty. Awaken him."
Luna looked up at him, head held high in defiance. "No."
He picked her up and carried her to the console. "That was not a request."
"Make me."
Without any hesitation, Shockwave slammed Luna against the console. The small pony cried out in pain, spitting up blood. He then brought her up to optic-level again. "Awaken Trypticon. Now."
"I'd sooner die before helping your kind," Luna spat. "You may as well kill me now."
"And I would- believe me, I would like nothing more than to dissect you and find out exactly how you tick. But, I'm under very strict orders not to kill you." He looked to the viewscreen over the console. "Display brig, camera two." The viewscreen immediately displayed a hundreds of ponies contained in a large cell. He held up Luna so she could see. "However, Lord Megatron gave no such instructions regarding them. …Waspinator, prepare to flood the containment unit with C-2 gas, on my mark."
"No!" Luna cried.
Shockwave turned his attention back to the Princess. "Is there something you wished to say, your majesty?"
Luna gritted her teeth in silence for a moment, before she hung her head. "…I'll do it."
"I knew you were a reasonable creature." Shockwave looked back at the viewscreen. "Waspinator, stand down. The prisoner and I have come to terms."
"Wazzzpinator obeys Eye-Bot." A wasp-like soldier saluted the camera, before the screen went offline.
The Decepticon set Luna down. A few moments passed as he stared down at her, before he said, "Well? It's best not to keep Lord Megatron waiting."
Luna glared up at the Decepticon, but she had no choice but to comply. She focused, her horn beginning to glow. She could feel a presence within the ship, a massive consciousness that dwarfed any other. But it was slumbering, held in a dreamless sleep by magics that she herself had cast. And now, she had no choice but to undo the bonds holding that consciousness down. Slowly, one-by-one, Luna removed the seals keeping the presence in its forced slumber. The sleeping mind stirred, growing more restless with every spell she undid, coming closer and closer to its awakening, until finally…
A deep, rumbling laughter sounded from within the confines of the ship. "Beware. I live."
The red robot plowed through the Decepticon columns, running down any bot unfortunate enough to remain in its path. But as it advanced, it could see the Nemesis begin to move. The robot thought for a moment that it was taking off, but the truth was much, much worse. The metal plating of the ship shifted and retracted, exposing massive servomotors beneath. Slowly, the ship began to stand, revealing its true, massive robotic form. The Decepticon that was the Nemesis reared back, and let out an earsplitting roar.
The red truck activated its comlink. "Metroplex, we have a new target. A big one."
"Moving to engage." The titanic Autobot stomped across the battlefield to meet his equally massive foe. But the red robot turned its attention away from the dueling colossi- it had a mission, and it would see thing through.
Finally, the robot spotted its target- a dull grey Cybertronian with a massive cannon attached to its right arm. Strangely, his back was turned to the Autobot line, and he was firing, as though engaging another target inside his own line. It wasn't until it came closer that the robot realized who.
Celestia sank to her knees, breathing heavily. Megatron approached, picking her up in one hand, and aimed his fusion cannon at her. "I'd originally planned to keep you alive, Princess, but now I see that that's more trouble than it's worth." The muzzle of the fusion cannon began to glow brightly. "But all the same, I still think you'll make a fine trophy."
The red robot transformed, coming to a sliding halt behind the Decepticon leader. "Put the Princess down, Megatron."
Megatron turned to face the red robot- he was so shocked by what he saw that he unceremoniously dropped Celestia. "…O-Optimus?" He shook his head. "N-No. That's impossible! You're dead! I killed you!"
"You're right. You did kill Optimus…" The red robot's head split apart and folded away within its body, exposing its true identity. "…But you have every right to be afraid."
Megatron allowed himself a short burst of laughter. "Me? Be afraid of you? Such conceit is to be expected from your kind, but this goes far beyond simple arrogance. You may strut about wearing his corpse, but you are no Optimus. You are no Prime… Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight held out a fist. "Are you going to talk, Megatron? Or are you going to fight?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Megatron extended a pair of blades from his forearms. "I'm going to enjoy crushing you. You, the Autobots, and every last inhabitant on this pathetic dirt-pile of a planet." He held out and arm and leveled his blade at the red robot, issuing a silent challenge. "One shall stand…"
Twilight extended its own blades, her helmet reassembling. "…and one shall fall."
For a brief moment, the Autobot and the Decepticon merely stared each other down. Then, both tensed, and charged at the other, drawing back their blades to deliver a vicious strike.
The sound of their blades clashing against one another echoed across the universe.
Make Friends and Roll Out!
By: Proteus-92
Chapter I: More Than Meets the Eye
Chapter I: More Than Meets the Eye
Five Months Earlier…
“C’mon c’mon, we’re gonna miss it!” Twilight said, bouncing up and down on her hooves impatiently.
“Settle down, Twilight,” Applejack replied. “That meteor shower ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“But it could start at any minute! And we still haven’t found a good spot!” Twilight was right. No matter where they went, they saw ponies packed shoulder-to-shoulder- in the park, in the town square, even up on the roofs of houses. It seemed that all of Ponyville had turned out for the night’s spectacle- there was barely any room for just one pony, and seating for six plus one dragon would have been absolutely out of the question.
Twilight had discovered the meteor shower quite by accident during her astronomy studies a few days prior. Though it had meant to stay a secret between her and her friends, a certain pink party pony had let it slip to one of Sugarcube Corner’s customers- now, everypony and their grandmother scrambled to and fro, staking their claim in an attempt to find the best vantage point.
A pegasus, nearly invisible against the night sky, swooped down and landed next to the group. “Sorry guys, but the hill’s a no go,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s totally packed. Same with the lake.”
“Well, what’re we supposed ta do now?” Applejack asked. “Those were our last two options.”
“We could always try the farm… couldn’t we?” Fluttershy meekly suggested.
“Nah, that wouldn’t work,” Rainbow replied. “I might be able to fly there, but there’s no way the rest of you could make it in time on foot. And I don’t think Twilight could teleport all of us there either. No offense, Twilight.” Twilight glowered at Rainbow Dash, but said nothing in reply.
“Why don’t we watch from the top of the library?” Spike said.
“The top of the library?” Rarity asked, as though offended by the suggestion. “With all those branches and twigs and spiders? I certainly think not!”
“Well it ain’t like we’ve gotta lot of options now, Rarity,” Applejack said.
“Spike’s got a point- I saw lots of ponies up on roofs on my way back,” Rainbow added.
I think it’s a great idea!” Pinkie said excitedly. “The library’s the tallest building in Ponyville after the Mayor’s office!”
Twilight tapped her forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” She turned in the direction of the library. “Come on everypony, back to the library.”
A few minutes later, Twilight and company sat at the top of the library, eagerly awaiting the spectacle to begin. Twilight knew a number of spells that could strengthen a tree branch to the point where it could support a pony, but until tonight she had never actually tested them. So after casting the spells- and with an extra reassurance from Spike- she headed out to test them. When she proved it was safe, the others joined her.
“Ugh…” Rarity groaned, shuddering as she sat down. “I can practically feel the spiders crawling around up here.”
“Would you rather be down there, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing to the crowds below. “Stuck in that crowd where it’s dirty and sweaty and-”
Rarity clapped her hooves over her ears. “Stop it, stop it! Are you trying to make me ill?”
Pinkie suddenly shoved Rarity down. “Look! Look!” She pointed her hoof out to the sky. Several moments passed, before a bright yellow streak suddenly raced across the sky. Then another. And another. And then another after that. And before long, the group “Ooh”-ed and “Ahh”-ed as the night sky came alight with hundreds of brilliant streaks.
“Ah’ve never seen this many before…” Applejack whispered.
“Me neither,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Twilight said this was the biggest meteor shower she’d ever seen,” Spike said. “It might be the biggest one in Equestrian history.”
Twilight shushed Spike, but Pinkie pointed to the sky and shouted “Did you see that? That one was green!”
“Green? That meteorite must have had a high copper content, then,” Twilight replied. “Most of them are yellow- no surprise there, since most meteors are made up of iron, though sulfur can also burn yellow as it enters the atmosphere. Those red ones have a higher concentration of silicates, and- Oh! Did you see that purple one? That one had a high potassium concentration.” Twilight continued to share her knowledge of meteorites with the others, but when she realized the others had stopped paying attention to her, she begrudgingly fell silent and watched the sky.
But all of a sudden, the sky brightened, almost completely drowning out the light from the meteors. Twilight shielded her eyes from the sudden light, thinking for a few moments that the sun had come out. But no- the light was too faint, she realized. And the truth was much stranger- opposite the meteor shower, a massive, swirling vortex that dominated half of the sky hung silently in the night sky. The chatter of the crowd immediately fell silent as other ponies began to take notice of it.
“…Ah’m guessin’ that ain’t part of tonight’s show,” Applejack said.
Twilight simply shook her head in silence. Her mind was hard at work trying to formulate an explanation for what she was seeing, but nothing she’d read about in her studies matched what she was seeing even remotely. The only thing that came close was an essay that discussed wormholes… but the science in that essay was only theoretical at best. Nopony had ever actually observed-
There was another bright flash. Twilight shielded her eyes, and looked again, just in time to see a massive object wreathed in flames emerged from the vortex.
Twilight could tell instantly that it was not a meteor- it was too large, and its shape was far too regular. Her heart jumped into her throat as she pictured the devastation caused by the impact of such a massive object… but a chain of bright explosions ripped across the object’s surface, and to her shock, it began breaking apart right before her eyes. First, it split into two, then three, then eight, and then dozens of flaming fragments were arcing all across the sky. One fragment in particular began to rapidly dip in the sky… on a direct course for Ponyville.
“Everypony get down!” Twilight immediately dived on top of Spike, putting up a barrier around the library.
But the flaming object had been at a higher altitude than Twilight predicted- it passed high overhead, before crashing down somewhere within the Everfree Forest with a bright flash and a deep rumble.
For several seconds, the group simply stared after the object in silence. Then, Twilight stood up. “We need to check that out.”
“What? You mean, go into the Everfree Forest?” Rarity asked, both shocked and offended at the notion.
“At… at night?” Fluttershy whimpered.
“Well we’ve gotta go,” Applejack said. “That meteor could start a fire.”
“I’m with Applejack on this one,” Rainbow said, already taking to the air. “And as part of the weather team, I have to look into stuff like this.”
Spike stood up. “No point sitting around here, then. Let’s check it out.”
“Ooh, ooh! Maybe we’ll see some space aliens!” Pinkie cheered excitedly, bouncing up and down.
“I wouldn’t get too excited Pinkie,” Twilight said. “I’m sure it’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
>>Now loading…
Initiating internal scans……
Scan complete.
Damage: Minimal. No energon leaks detected.
Initiating startup sequence…
Equilibrium Sensors: ONLINE
Auditory Sensors: ONLINE
Optical Sensors: ONLINE
Somatoreceptors: ONLINE
Olfactory Sensors: ONLINE
Servomechanisms: ONLINE
Transformation Cog: ONLINE
Radio Transmitter: ONLINE
Weapons Systems: ONLINE
Personality Subroutines: ONLINE
Prime Directives: ONLINE
Matrix of Leadership: ONLINE
All systems operating within acceptable parameters.
Stasis Lock: Disengaged
The great machine groaned as he came online. His vision, blurry at first, gradually focused, revealing a strange, darkened world around him. Slowly, his servos groaning slightly under the strain, he stood up. Though his internal systems indicated he was minimally damaged, he looked down at himself all the same- he was covered with fresh dents and scratches, and an especially large gash crossed over his chestplate, but that aside, he seemed to be all right.
A sudden sound came to his auditory sensors. He didn’t need to look to know what it was. Instead, he immediately began searching the nearby wreckage- if the fire was allowed to reach an energon line, the subsequent explosion would vaporize not only him, but every Autobot still trapped inside the Ark’s wreckage. And so long as his spark burned in his chassis, he would never allow that to happen. But thankfully he found what he was searching for- a large red cylinder topped by a nozzle. The great aimed the cylinder at the rapidly-spreading flames behind him and pulled the lever- at once, a jet of foam emerged from the nozzle, completely dousing the flames. He turned to each fire, smothering the flames with the foam of the extinguisher, until all had been put out.
With the fires extinguished, the great machine set the fire extinguisher down and looked around- nothing stirred, and the silence that engulfed him was like that of a tomb’s, punctuated only by the occasional groan of metal. But perhaps, he thought, there was life to be found, hidden within the silence. He brought up a great metal hand and touched the side of his head. “To any Autobot in range of this transmission, this is Optimus Prime, requesting status.”
Optimus’s only response was static. He boosted his transmission’s signal. “I repeat, this is Optimus Prime broadcasting on all frequencies. Any Autobot receiving this transmission, respond.” There was none.
As Optimus lowered his hand and turned to face the wreckage behind him, he heard a shifting of metal, and a voice groan, “Oh… my aching pistons…” A large slab of metal shifted aside, revealing another great machine: a green one, nearly as wide as he was tall. His chassis was battered and dented, but didn’t appear extensively damaged.
Optimus moved to his fellow Autobot’s side without delay. “Are you injured?”
The green Autobot looked down at himself. “I haven’t run a self-diagnostic yet, but I don’t think so. What about you?”
“I am unharmed.”
“That’s good to hear.” The Autobot sat down on a nearby piece of debris- it groaned in protest beneath his weight, but ultimately held. “For a second I thought I was the only one who made it.” He looked up at his ally, and blinked a few times. “Wait, you…” The Autobot scrambled to his feet and brought up his arm in a salute. “O-Optimus Prime, sir!” he stammered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.”
“At ease, soldier,” Optimus said. “What’s your name?”
“Uh, B-Bulkhead, sir.”
“Bulkhead, I need you to help me search through this wreckage. There may be more Autobots that need our help. You start here- I’ll begin on the far side.”
“Right away, sir.” Bulkhead began moving aside metal plates in his search for survivors as Optimus began his search on the other side of the wreck. He came across a few soldiers, both Autobot and Decepticon, but none were functional.
After a few cycles of searching, Optimus’s comlink came online. “Uh, Optimus, sir?” Bulkhead asked. “…Where’s the rest of the Ark?”
“I… I’m not sure. The Ark must have broken apart as it entered this planet’s atmosphere.” He found another Autobot soldier- this one too was, unfortunately, offline. “Make no mistake, Bulkhead- we will find the rest of our comrades. But for now, we should focus of saving who we can, here.”
“Yes sir.” Bulkhead moved an especially large slab of metal aside, exposing a small alcove with a bot wedged inside. An active bot. The bot groaned, before grabbing the alcove’s edge and began to pull himself up.
“Whoa, whoa, hey! Don’t try to get up so fast!” Bulkhead said, before he pushed the other bot back down. "You might be hurt. Uh…” He held up his hand. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
The other bot pushed Bulkhead’s arm aside. “Cut that out! Leave the diagnosing to the medical professionals.”
Optimus, who had been listening through the still-open com-channel, recognized the voice immediately. “Ratchet?” He moved to Bulkhead’s position, finding his longtime friend partly buried in the wreckage, but alive.
Ratchet looked up at Optimus. “Should have known it would take more than this to bring you down,” he said with a smile. He extended his hand. “It’s good to see you’re still in one piece, Optimus.”
Optimus grabbed Ratchet’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Likewise, old friend.”
“So, who’s the greenhorn?”
“Hey, I’m no greenhorn!” Bulkhead protested. “I was at Hydrax Plateau with Ultra Magnus and the rest of the Wreckers!”
“Is that right?” Ratchet sounded less than impressed.
“We may have lost the battle at Hydrax Plateau,” Optimus began, “but the Wreckers proved themselves to be a valuable asset to the Autobot cause. And I am certain that Bulkhead will prove to be a powerful ally in the days to come.”
“I’m sure he will, Optimus. Now where did I put it…” Ratchet began patting himself down. “I know I had it here somewhere… ah! Here it is.” He pulled a small device from inside his plating, and pointed it towards Bulkhead. “This shouldn’t take more than a cycle or two. Try not to move around too much.”
Bulkhead stared at the device. “A medical scan? What for? I feel fine.”
“That’s what every bot says. Then five cycles later, they keel over because it turned out they had an energon leak their internal sensors didn’t pick up. Now hold still.” Ratchet’s scanner began to emit a blue beam that slowly swept up Bulkhead’s chassis. “Hmm… shrapnel, laser burns, plenty of dents… no energon leaks though, so there’s some good news at least.”
“What did I tell you? Us Wreckers are built tough.”
“So it would seem.” Ratchet turned to his commander. “You turn, Optimus.” Ratchet held the scanner out toward him, and the blue light swept up and down his body. “…I’m not picking up any energon leaks in you, either. And the damage to your chestplate looks worse than it is- for now at least, your auto-repair function should be able to take care of it…”
Far, far away, another Autobot was slowly coming to. He grumbled, waiting for his equilibrium sensors to come online, before he pushed himself upright. But as he rose, he realized he was no longer in the Ark. He scrambled to his feet, looking around- immediately, he spotted a deep ridge cut into the ground. It didn’t appear natural, and without any other leads, he followed it. Any injuries he had could wait- as long as he had all of his limbs, he was okay in his book.
The Autobot followed the ridge- it grew deeper and deeper, before it finally expanded into a deep, wide crater, with the Ark resting at the bottom. Or, a section of it, at least- the last thing he remembered before waking up from stasis lock was an announcement that multiple structural failures would tear the Ark apart as it entered the planet’s atmosphere.
“Arcee!” he called. “Ironhide! Bumper!” His voice echoed across within the crater, but there was no answer. He jumped down to the piece of the Ark, and began searching through the broken panels and wiring. “Arcee!” he called again. And again, he received no answer. “…anyone?” His voice echoed across the crater, but silence was the only response. No way… the Autobot thought to himself. I… I can’t be the only one left. I can’t be! He brought up a hand and turned on his comlink. “This is Cliffjumper to any Autobot in range of this transmission. If you can hear me, respond.” Static. “C’mon, you guys are tougher than this! There’s gotta be someone out there!”
This time, Cliffjumper received an answer, but not from his comlink. He heard a sound, one so faint that his auditory sensors almost didn’t pick it up. He rerouted power to his sensors and listened intently. For several seconds, he heard nothing… but then he heard a faint scratching sound coming from his left. He rushed over, digging furiously through the wreckage. “Just hold on!” he called, unsure he would get an answer. “I’ll get you out of there before you know it!” He tossed one last scrap of metal aside, and peered into the hole.
A surprised “Whoa!” was all Cliffjumper managed before a blast of energy knocked him off his feet. As he righted himself, his attacker clawed his way out of the wreckage, before standing upright, looking down on the Autobot in all his great and terrible glory.
“Stand down, Autobot,” Megatron growled. “My interest lies only with Optimus Prime.”
“What, am I not good enough for ya?” Cliffjumper thumped his chest in defiance.
Megatron accepted the Autobot soldier’s challenge. “…I suppose I could find a small amount of satisfaction in crushing you.”
Cliffjumper noticed that rather than standing upright, the Decepticon leader leaned at a noticeable angle. His internal systems must still have been recalibrating from the crash. There was no way to know when Megatron would become fully functional- if Cliffjumper was going to defeat him, he would need to do so quickly.
Megatron made the first move- he lunged, a blade extending from beneath the plating over his wrist. The blade would have pierced the spark chamber of a slower Autobot… but Cliffjumper wasn’t a slower Autobot. He avoided the attack and responded in kind, striking Megatron’s faceplate with a vicious left hook. Megatron retaliated with a powerful swing, but Cliffjumper again avoided the attack, and responded with a quick but debilitating fist to the optic.
Cliffjumper had seen Megatron fight- not only on the battlefield, but also in recordings from his days as a gladiator. The Decepticon leader was supposed to be strong, swift, deadly… but not a trace of that could be seen anywhere. Megatron’s swings were slow, clumsy, and easily avoided, and his attempts to avoid Cliffjumper’s attacks all met with failure. Despite his seeming advantage, Cliffjumper stayed on his toes- Megatron’s infamous fusion cannon was still riveted to his forearm, and at this range, a single well-aimed shot would offline him in a nanoklik.
“Enough! This ends now!” Megatron aimed his fusion cannon at Cliffjumper. The Autobot did the only thing he could think to do: he ran. Or rather, he drove- he dived out of the line of fire, his body shifting into the sleek racer that was his vehicle mode. Megatron fired again and again, but Cliffjumper’s nimble driving- and a fair bit of luck- kept any of his shots from landing. But luck would only carry him so far. A ranged battle with Megatron wasn’t a battle at all- it a suicide note. He needed to close the distance between them, and fast.
Cliffjumper’s tires skidded on the Ark’s hull as he turned hard to face Megatron. He sped toward the Decepticon, only just avoiding fire from his fusion cannon- he would have only one chance, and if he didn't do it right… well, he didn’t want to think about that. When he’d closed the distance, he transformed and leapt into the air, cocking his fist back to deliver an absolutely devastating punch. Megatron aimed and fired… but by then, Cliffjumper had already passed the fusion cannon’s muzzle.
Cliffjumper lucked out- if he’d jumped sooner, the blast would have caught him in the chestplate, dead center.
Cliffjumper felt the plating of Megatron’s face buckle under his fist. Incredibly, his blow knocked Megatron off his feet and onto his back. Cliffjumper skidded to a stop as Megatron rose, slowly, to his feet. Sure enough, as the Decepticon leader glared at him, he saw a rather nasty dent just underneath his right optic.
“C’mon, is that all you’ve got? I’ve fought Vehicons tougher than you!”
The taunt elicited precisely the reaction Cliffjumper hoped it would- Megatron roared in fury and charged, his arm drawn back in preparation to deliver an especially vicious strike. As the Decepticon went for a killing blow, Cliffjumper deflected the attack toward the ground, before delivering a powerful knee into Megatron’s jaw.
Cliffjumper knew better, but he couldn’t help but to get excited- he was facing off with Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons… and he was winning. Maybe, if he was careful, he could beat him, and bring the war to an end once and for all. The Autobot deftly avoided a furious swing of Megatron’s blade, and then another. The swing left Megatron dangerously off-balance, and Cliffjumper cocked his arm back before letting out a devastating sucker punch.
Megatron caught his fist.
The Decepticon’s grip tightened, crushing Cliffjumper’s hand with frightening ease. Cliffjumper tried to pull free, but Megatron’s unbreakable grip kept him in place. Megatron pulled him close, bringing them optic-to-optic. “Did you really believe that my systems could be so easily disrupted?” he asked.
A ruse. Frantic, Cliffjumper shifted his free hand into a blaster and aimed it directly at Megatron’s face.
But Megatron was faster. With impossible speed, he raised his fusion cannon and fired it directly into the Autobot’s chest. The bolt punched a hole straight through Cliffjumper’s chassis from front to back as though it were nothing more than rusty iron. Megatron released Cliffjumper; the Autobot struggled to rise to his knees, clutching the fresh hole in his chest as though his hand would somehow stem the flow of energon. He looked up just in time to see Megatron leveling his fusion cannon directly at his face.
“Give Zeta Prime my regards.”
The cannon’s muzzle glowed brightly. Then, there was a bright flash, and a deep rumble of thunder. The headless Autobot swayed for a moment, before falling onto his side, his spark extinguished.
Megatron turned away. His sensors indicated there were other Autobots here, but all were in stasis lock. Killing them would certainly hamper the Autobots’ war effort, but Decepticons were born from conquest, not slaughter- there would be no honor, no challenge in killing enemies unable to fight back. And at any rate, he did not detect Optimus Prime among them. But Prime was here, alive, somewhere on this planet- he could feel it within his spark. He would find the last Prime, and bring him to his knees.
One would stand, one would fall.
Megatron transformed and took to the skies, leaving the burning wreckage that was the Autobots’ Ark behind him.
Twilight could only stare in stunned silence. She couldn’t believe it. She was looking right at it, and she still couldn’t believe it.
Robots.
Giant robots.
She watched as one of the robots, a massive red-and-blue machine, pulled another, red-and-white one onto its feet. For a few moments, they and another green robot conversed with one another, assuming that the strange, harsh electronic sounds they made was in fact speech. Then, the red-and-white pulled some sort of tool out from within his body, and held it out towards the green one- a narrow blue beam swept up and down the robot, before the red-and-white one turned to the other.
“Are you guys seeing this?” Rainbow asked.
“Ah see it…” Applejack replied. “But Ah ain’t sure Ah believe it.”
Slowly, Twilight began to creep forward, only for something to grab her tail. She looked back, to see Spike holding her back. “Twilight what do you think you’re doing?” he whispered harshly.
“Can’t you guys see what an incredible opportunity this is?” she asked in return, pulling her tail from Spike’s grip. “We could be the first ponies to ever make contact with alien lifeforms! Think about it!”
“C’mon Twilight, you of all ponies should know that all aliens ever wanna do is steal our water and grind us up for their food!” Rainbow said. “I mean, the library has a whole section on aliens- haven’t you read any of those books?”
“I have to agree with Rainbow Dash,” Rarity interjected. “They certainly don’t seem like a friendly bunch.”
“You all thought the same thing about Zecora, but she turned out to be perfectly fine,” Twilight protested. “How is this any different?”
“Zecora wasn’t a giant robot from outer space,” Applejack replied.
“Yes, yes, I’m aware of that. But what should we do? We can’t just leave.”
“We should tell the Princess about this,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I don’t know about you, but dealing with aliens isn’t exactly in my job description.”
“Ooh, I’ll do it!” Pinkie said excitedly, but Applejack grabbed her tail before she could hop away.
“Don’t you even want to try communicating with them?” Twilight asked, exasperated.
“If you want to take the chance and go out there, then be my guest. But I’m staying right here,” Rarity said.
“Well we can’t just sit around all night,” Spike said. “What do you think we should do, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy didn’t answer. “Hey, Fluttersy, I asked you something.”
Fluttershy again said nothing. She stood stock-still, her eyes fixed on something over Twilight’s shoulder. The rest of the group followed her gaze.
They found themselves staring eye-to-eye with the three massive robots.
For several moments, the two groups simply stared at each other in silence, before the three robots began to seemingly argue amongst themselves for a few moments. Then, the green robot stepped forward, held up a hand, and said… well, nopony was entirely sure what the enormous machine said, but the harsh electronic sounds couldn’t possibly have conveyed a friendly message. There was only one possible response.
“Run!” Twilight yelled.
The group ran screaming into the woods. Twilight ran as fast as her legs would carry her, never imagining she could ever run so fast in her life, only stopping when she was completely out of breath. She sank to her knees, breathing hard, and listened, but Twilight heard no signs of pursuit. After catching her breath, she called out in a whisper, “Guys! Guys, where are you?”
“Twilight?” Applejack’s voice asked from somewhere in the darkness. “Are they followin’ us?”
“I don’t think so.” Twilight concentrated, and her horn began to glow, illuminating her friend. “Where’s everyone else?”
“We’re here,” Spike said, stepping into the light; Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash followed him. Twilight wasn’t normally one to trust gut instinct, but she immediately knew something wasn’t right. She counted everypony present: Applejack, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity… and that was it.
Twilight began, “Wait, where’s… oh no.” She immediately turned and began running back the way she came, or at least, the way she thought she’d come- she’d been a little distracted the last time she passed through here. Fortunately, the robots’ crash site proved easy enough to find, and she was joined by the others in short order.
Peering through the undergrowth, they saw Fluttershy lying on her side, paralyzed… and the massive green robot bending down to pick her up in its massive metal hand.
“You guys hear that?” Bulkhead asked.
The three Autobots fell silent. They strained their auditory sensors, and indeed they heard an odd rhythmic sound, coming from somewhere nearby. Though they couldn’t understand it, it sounded like speech.
“So I wasn’t hearing things…” Bulkhead continued. “What is that?”
“Some form of indigenous life, no doubt,” Ratchet replied. He raised his arm and pointed into the foliage. “There. See them?” There, hidden in the brush, the three could see a number of strange creatures, not much larger than the palm of a Cybertronian’s hand. The creatures took no notice of the Autobots at first, but once one became aware of them, the rest were quickly alerted to their presence.
The small creatures stared, motionless, at the Autobots, and the Autobots stared in return. After a long silence, Bulkhead took a step toward the strange creatures. “I’m gonna try to communicate with them,” he said. “After all, they could be intelligent.”
“Exercise caution, Bulkhead,” Optimus warned. “We are on an alien planet, and we cannot be certain of the capabilities of its inhabitants.”
“But look at how tiny they are! How could they possibly be dangerous?” With that, Bulkhead approached the small creatures, and held up his hand. “Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong.”
However, the small creatures misinterpreted Bulkhead’s intent- a terrified cry sounded among them, and they retreated into the surrounding woods… all except one. A small yellow creature simply froze up and fell onto its side, as though it had suddenly entered stasis lock. Bulkhead knelt down to get a better look at the fallen creature. “Uh-oh. Looks like one of them had a system crash.” Bulkhead reached out to pick it up…
“Bulkhead, be careful!” Ratchet called. “I have reason to believe these creatures might be… organic. There’s no telling what kind of infections they could be carrying.”
“Hey, I can be careful.” Bulkhead bent down again, and slowly dug his fingers into the earth surrounding the creature, taking great care not to touch it directly. He then picked up the mound of earth, and the organic with it. “See? Careful.”
Suddenly, Bulkhead staggered as he was struck by a bolt of energy. It didn’t hurt, but the sudden attack gave the Autobot no chance to brace. Bulkhead’s response was instinctive- he shifted his free hand into a laser cannon and aimed it in the direction the bolts came from, his sights coming to a rest on one of the small organics that had fled earlier. The organic froze in whatever approximation of terror it possessed. Bulkhead charged his cannon, but…
“Bulkhead, hold fire!” Optimus shouted.
Bulkhead looked back, but kept his weapon trained on the small organic. “But Optimus, we’re under attack from hostile aliens!”
“Need I remind you that we’re the aliens here, Bulkhead?” Ratchet said.
“Ratchet is right,” Optimus continued. “But I believe there may still be a diplomatic solution to be had, so long as we tread carefully. …Set the organic down.”
Bulkhead began to do as he had been ordered. “Slowly now…” Ratchet cautioned. “We don’t want to startle them.” Bulkhead set down the organic on the ground, earth mound and all.
“Now back away, slowly.” Bulkhead again did as he was ordered, backing away until he was alongside his comrades.
“Alright… now what, boss-bot?” Bulkhead asked.
“I’ve already begun an algorithm to translate the aliens’ language,” Ratchet replied. “A full translation should be complete in just a few minutes.”
“Excellent thinking, Ratchet,” Optimus said.
The organic approached its companion, apparently verifying its status. With the two organics in the open, the Autobots could see variances in their designs- the fallen one appeared to have wings, while the new, lavender-colored organic exchanged its wings for an odd protuberance on its head. Different models, perhaps? The lavender organic then looked up at the Autobots and said… something. When none of the bots responded, the organic spoke again, its voice harsher, and more impatient.
Bulkhead leaned towards Ratchet and whispered, “Uh, Ratchet? Is there any way to speed up that algorithm? That organic doesn’t look too happy…”
“We just need a few more phrases…”
The protrusion on the organic’s head began to glow brightly. The organic let out another slew of angry-sounding words. No translation was necessary- a demand for an explanation or, more likely, a threat.
Bulkhead leaned toward Ratchet again. “Uh… Ratchet?”
“Almost there… got it!” He sent the translation data to his comrades without delay. As if a switch had been flipped, they could understand the alien’s words in an instant. “-nd I don’t care if you’re a bunch of giant robots! If you try to hurt any of my friends again, I’ll-”
“I assure you,” Optimus interrupted, speaking in the alien’s language, “we have no intention of harming any lifeform on this planet.”
The dark void of space was briefly illuminated as a swirling vortex suddenly opened. From it emerged a ship, massive and black as the void surrounding it, covered in a seemingly endless number of cruel spines. The vortex closed, leaving the ship hanging dark and motionless in space.
The sudden lurch nearly threw Sarscream off of his feet. “Gah… report!”
A Vehicon manning a nearby terminal looked back at him. “Energies from the space bridge have caused power fluctuations on all decks!”
“Communications and sensor arrays are offline,” another Vehicon said. “Shields are down and charging.”
“What about the engines?” Starscream demanded.
“The power fluctuations have put them in lockdown, sir.”
“Get those engines back online!” Starscream took a moment to collect himself, before drawing up to his full height. “Fellow Decepticons, we have braved the horrors of space bridge travel, and have emerged unscathed. Now, a planet rich in raw energon lies within our grasp, ripe for the taking. And take it we shall, in the name of your new, glorious-” Starscream instantly stopped when he saw what was outside the Nemesis’s viewscreeen.
Nothing. A great smoldering, slagging pile of nothing.
“W…What? Where is it? Shockwave said the space bridge would lead us to a planet rich with raw energy! So where is the planet?” It took several moments for Starscream to calm himself. “…No matter. Initiate deep scans once sensors are online- we need to gather as much information as we can, on wherever we are.”
A Vehicon looked up at him. “But Starscream, sir, what about Lord Megatron?”
Starscream’s processor scrambled to formulate a reason not to look for their leader. Then he remembered- Megatron had been on the Ark’s hull when it and the Nemesis passed through the space bridge… “…Megatron was exposed to the energies of the space bridge unshielded. It is… very unlikely he survived a direct exposure to such raw power.”
A slender hand rested on Starscream’s shoulder. The Decepticon seeker looked up to find himself face-to-visor with Soundwave.
Soundwave simply stared down at Starscream in silence.
Starscream turned back to face the bridge. “…When can communications be restored?”
“The array’s already online, sir. Short-range only though.”
“Open a channel to Megatron’s com-link.”
The Vehicon typed for a few moments. “Channel open, sir.”
“Lord Megatron, this is the Nemesis. Transmit your coordinates for pickup.” Static. “Nemesis to Megatron, respond.” Again, the only response was static.
It took all of Starscream’s willpower to suppress a smile. “…Fellow Decepticons, it is with deepest sorrows that I note for the log… that Megatron is lost in space. I know that his loss was sudden, and it is with the utmost reluctance that I, Starscream, now accept my rightful place as leader of the Decepticons. But our goals do not die with Megatron, no. For under my superior leadership, the Decepticons shall soar to even greater heights! Where Megatron was content only with seizing Cybertron, I aim to conquer the universe! And as your-”
But Starscream was interrupted when Soundwave suddenly pushed past him. Seething, Starscream growled, “You interrupted my speech!”
Wordlessly, Soundwave approached a console and plugged himself in, reaching over the Vehicon manning it. He extended his sensors- at once, a flood of data appeared on the bridge’s main screen… concluding with an isometric display of a planet… overlaid by an image of Megatron.
Starscream’s face began to contort in anger, but he quickly suppressed it. “…Helmsman, how long will it take to reach that planet from our current position?”
The helmsman replied, “At full speed, I estimate the Nemesis can reach it in approximately nine solar cycles.”
Starscream turned his back on the bridge viewscreen. “…Very well. Helmsman, I believe you have your destination- set a course once the engines are back online. Everyone else, I want the Nemesis battle-ready within the next megacycle. Soundwave, you have the bridge until I return.”
Soundwave looked at him.
“I… need a few cycles to process everything that’s happened. I will return shortly.”
Soundwave stood stock-still for a moment, before giving Starscream a small nod.
A large smile broke across Starscream’s face as he left the bridge. As much as he’d hoped Megatron would be forever lost to the void, his temporary absence coupled with Soundwave overseeing the bridge provided him with a rare window of opportunity, and by Primus he was going to take it.
He navigated the halls of the Nemesis swiftly and silently, so that none would discover his intentions. It wasn’t long before he arrived at his destination- an unassuming storage room in the aft section of the ship. Megatron had chosen this room because of its unremarkable appearance, a precaution against the extremely unlikely event of the Autobots boarding the vessel. The room’s contents were such a well-guarded secret, even most of the crew were unaware of what it contained- fortunately, Starscream was aware of what was held within.
While the most sophisticated security systems ever developed protected the storage room’s interior, its door was locked by a simple keypad. For a moment, Starscream’s hand hovered over the keypad as he tried to guess Megatron’s password. Then it hit him- it was so obvious that he wondered why he even had to think about it.
He entered Megatron’s own name.
To no surprise, the red lights on the door turned green before it slid open. As he entered, he said aloud, “Using your own name as a password… how utterly expected of you, Megatron.” Right inside, suspended in a tank for all the world to see, was the prize- Megatron’s private stockpile of dark energon. Megatron had once boasted that armed with this stockpile, a single Decepticon soldier could fight the entire Autobot army for a million stellar cycles. That boast was not without merit.
It was tempting, so very tempting to simply seize the entire stockpile for himself and take the Nemesis by force with its power… but doing so would rob him of the chance to see Megatron’s face as his greatest weapon was used against him. And smuggling several megatons worth of dark energon through the ship undetected would be rather difficult as well. So instead, Starscream approached the crystal cluster, and cut out a small, nearly undetectable sliver from one of the innermost crystals. Quietly slipping the sliver into a space in his plating, he left the storage room, reactivating the security systems before he left.
Now came the next part of his plan. Stealthily, Starscream moved to the fore of the ship, near the sensor arrays; an area rarely frequented by Vehicon patrols. He located one particular wall panel that was looser than the others and slid the aside, revealing a substantial cache of energon cubes hidden within the bulkhead. In the chaos before the Nemesis’s launch, it had been easy for Starscream to smuggle the energon from storage and hide it here, until he was ready to act. And the time to act was now.
He removed the small sliver of energon from his plating, and pushed it into the nearest energon cube.
The reaction was immediate- dark purple veins began to radiate from the sliver, branching numerous times as they spread through the energon. In just a few megacycles, the entire stockpile would be corrupted. And once he had all the dark energon he needed, all he had to do was play the waiting game.
Starscream smiled as he looked at his energon cache one last time, before sliding the bulkhead panel shut once more.
Before anypony could stop her, Twilight dashed out, her horn glowing, and fired bolts of energy at the enormous machine- giant robots or no, she would not stand by and let these aliens eat her friend, or dissect her, or… whatever it was aliens did with ponies they abducted. The bolts hit their mark, singing the machine and causing him to stumble back. But the robot didn’t drop Fluttershy. Instead, it held out its arm, the plates shifting and moving until they arranged themselves into a cannon bigger than she was. Only now did Twilight realize her potentially lethal mistake. The muzzle of the cannon began to glow brightly…
But then, an ear-splitting electronic shriek filled the air. Twilight doubled over, covering her ears from the harsh sound. She looked up again- the green robot still aimed its cannon at her, but its attention was now focused on its two companions. The three spoke among themselves again for a few moments, then something Twilight hadn’t expected happened- the enormous green machine transformed his cannon back into an ordinary hand, set Fluttershy down, and backed away, slowly.
Twilight took a step forward, then another, but the robots took no further action. She rushed to Fluttershy’s side. “Fluttershy, are you okay?” she asked, kneeling down to look at her friend. Fluttershy’s eyes were closed, and her side rose and fell as though she was asleep- the stress of nearly being abducted must have caused her to faint. Twilight touched her, but the pegasus did not stir. She then looked up at the machines, unsure of what to say. “Um… y-you… you just, stay where you are!”
The robots merely stared back in silence- apparently, the lack of understanding was mutual.
Twilight looked down at Fluttershy again- she still hadn’t awoken. Drawing herself up, she looked up at the robots again and called, “Alright, I’m only asking once: Who are you, and why have you come here?”
The robots again merely stared back. Twilight was growing impatient- if these giant robots could travel across the stars, then surely they had a means of translating her language.
“I… I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but I’m not afraid of you!” Twilight’s horn began to glow as her anger grew. “If you’re here to invade And I don’t care if you’re a bunch of giant robots! If you try to hurt any of my friends again, I’ll-”
But then, the red-and-blue robot said suddenly spoke. “I assure you, we have no intention of harming any lifeform on this planet.”
Hearing the enormous robot suddenly speak was like a punch in the gut for Twilight. Mind reeling, she fell back on her rump, unable to do anything other than stare up at the massive machine in front of her. Somehow, she managed to choke out, “Who… what… are you?”
The red-and-blue robot walked toward her, the earth shaking with every step. Then, it knelt down, bringing his face close to hers. “My name is Optimus Prime. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron.”
