Chapter 33-Twilight's Time
Princess Twilight had no idea how long the party lasted. The next thing she knew, the left side of her face was planted against the dirt, streamers and deflated balloons lying across her vision. It wasn’t morning yet. Twilight could still see the moon lowering ever so slowly to the earth.
She sat up, noticing a mighty headache brewing inside. While rubbing her forehead, Twilight looked around and saw ponies leaving the party zone. Most were asleep, lying together in large bundles, while others were trudging back to their homes for just a bit of rest.
“Well, there’s the princess of Ponyville!”
Twilight spun her head around and noticed all of her friends slowly approaching her from behind. They all looked exhausted, but happy nonetheless. Rarity’s mane was in shambles, but she didn’t seem to care. Spike was quietly snoring on Rarity’s back. Oh, if only he was awake. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both shared a couple of yawns together, leaving Applejack and Pinkie Pie to approach the worn-out princess.
“Where have you been, Twilight?” the pink mare asked, blowing a party horn that reached forward and tickled the Alicorn’s nose. “We’ve been looking for you for…” Pinkie then began to count silently on her hooves for nearly ten seconds, “…like seven minutes!”
The princess chuckled, adjusting her hind legs so she was resting in a sitting position.
“Sorry. I must’ve dozed off a little while ago,” Twilight said. She looked around at the devastation Pinkie’s party had created in Ponyville. It would take at least a few days to clean all the trash up, not to mention packing away the stage and DJ system. But her eyes weren’t focused on that. They continued searching, a hint of worry in each eye.
Applejack leaned in. “There somethin’ ya lookin’ for, sugarcube?”
The Alicorn bit her lip, turning her head so she was staring at all of her friends. She began, “Well…do any of you know where Optimus went?”
Pinkie and Applejack both shared looks of confusion towards each other. Rainbow Dash shrugged, yawning loudly. Rarity shook her head. Spike sucked his claw.
“I know where he went,” Fluttershy’s tiny voice managed to expel enough noise for each of her friends to hear.
Twilight moved her head back a few inches, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Fluttershy…you?” she asked, receiving a little nod from the light yellow Pegasus. “But…how?”
Fluttershy looked up, managing to say, “Um…well…he came up to me by the snacks when the party quieted down. He said he was going to…um…he said he was going to go somewhere a little quieter. I think he went over to the pond in Ponyville Park,” she stopped when she noticed all the eyes on her. “But I’m not so sure!” she yelped, scrunching up into a ball.
She screamed when Pinkie Pie appeared over, glaring down at her with eyes far too big for her skull to contain.
“Why didn’t you tell us before?!” Pinkie roared, waking up several ponies around them.
“You never asked,” Fluttershy whimpered, her voice no longer heard.
It was at that point that Twilight got out of the dirt, multiple pieces of confetti trapped in her tail. From pure memory, Twilight located the area that led out of the town and into the park. She smiled in victory, noticing massive footprints in the dirt following the same path she was looking at.
Rainbow Dash yawned for the umpteenth time, flapping her wings so she was hovering above her friends. “I’m gonna call it quits tonight, guys. I’ll see you all tomorrow morning. Oh, and Pinkie…” she flew over to her pink friend, sticking out her hoof for Pinkie to hit it. “Epic. Party.”
Pinkie bumped Rainbow’s hoof with her own, giggling, “Thanks, Dashie!”
With that said, Rainbow Dash took to the dark skies, a hardly visible rainbow trail following her. Applejack yawned as well, turning towards the rest of the group.
“Ah think Ah’m gonna hit the hay too,” she looked over to see Fluttershy slowly getting back up to her hooves. “Care ta join me, ‘Shy?”
The Pegasus almost fell flat on her face. She looked at Applejack, smiled and nodded. “Okay…I’m getting pretty tired anyway.”
As the two mares left together, Rarity approached Twilight and said, “Normally I wouldn’t attend such ruthless celebrations,” she waved her hoof through her wild mane, “but I must agree that that party was quite enjoyable.”
Twilight nodded, and opened her mouth to speak. However, Rarity beat her to the punch.
“You don’t mind if I take little Spikey-Wikey to the castle to tuck him in, do you?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with hope. It was quite generous of her to take Spike home, though she really just wanted to visit Twilight’s beautiful castle by herself.
The Alicorn giggled. “Of course you can, Rarity. Thank you.”
Rarity squealed in delight, catching Twilight by surprise as she hopped away with Spike bouncing up and down on her back. If she wasn’t careful, he might fall off. He did. Rarity spent the next few minutes picking up the dragon every time he fell from her back. That just left Pinkie Pie. Twilight slowly turned her head to stare into Pinkie’s blue eyes.
She didn’t even look tired.
“So…uh…I’m gonna go find Optimus now…” Twilight awkwardly said, standing up to her four hooves. “Awesome party as always, Pinkie, and uh…I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast at Sugarcube Corner, right?”
Pinkie smiled wide. “Righty, righty, right!” she cheered.
Twilight chuckled. She turned around, but before she could walk off she looked back and said, “Goodnight, Pinkie.”
The pink party animal waved at the disappearing Alicorn. Twilight followed the massive tracks only belonging to the Autobot leader until she was out of sight behind all the buildings.
Standing alone in the center of destruction, Pinkie took a look at her surroundings. Ponies from the late night party were wrapped up in sleeping bags or loved ones and rested silently. Not even crickets were chirping on that peaceful night. It was so quiet, so serene, something Pinkie could not have.
She took in a deep breath and screamed, “Who’s ready for the AFTER PARTY?!”
A lone red cup was thrown from the darkness and hit Pinkie in the back of the head.
_______________
It really wasn’t that hard to find him.
Optimus Prime stuck out in the darkness of Ponyville Park, his glowing red lights illuminating the area around him in his welcoming embrace. For a moment, Twilight did nothing but stare at him, her thoughts contemplating whether to strike up a conversation with the Prime or leave him be.
In the end, her curiosity got the better of her once again, and Twilight crossed the bridge to enter the park.
She got as close as to where she was directly behind him. The last of the Primes stood at the edge of a large pond, his reflection dancing across the rippling waves. Twilight walked over to his right side, noticing his eyes were completely focused on the falling moon and not on the pony to his side.
Twilight politely cleared her throat.
His attention now shattered, Optimus Prime turned his head back to see the same purple pony he could now call…a friend. Twilight Sparkle looked as nervous as ever, her eyes only meeting his for a few moments before they fell to the ground.
“…Uh…do you mind if I join you?” Twilight managed to ask him, though her eyes still appeared more nervous than her appearance.
Optimus closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Not at all,” his deep voice rang in Twilight’s ears.
The Alicorn smiled gratefully, her shaky eyes finally adjusting to Prime’s powerful glance. She walked over and sat next to Optimus’ right side, silence filling the late night air between the two. Optimus did not mind the silence, if anything he found it calming and even…enjoyable. Twilight on the other hoof didn’t quite need the silence at the moment. She really did want to strike up a conversation with Optimus as to why he walked away from his own party.
Then again, Twilight didn’t want to sound rude and just blatantly ask him why. She wanted Optimus to open up to her, to tell him his feelings and how he truly felt about this large experience for him. So that just left one question: Where to begin?
“Did you like the party?”
The question came out of Twilight’s mouth despite her control. She looked up at Optimus, noticing his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze locked with Luna’s moon.
Optimus only shrugged, answering by saying, “It was enjoyable.”
“Oh…” Twilight muttered, her ears falling flat against her skull. Optimus remained silent after that. Well, so much for striking up a deep and memorable conversation with him. Instead, the princess stared at her reflection in the pond.
The moon shined its grace across the surface, while several winking diamonds made their presence known as the stars in the black sky. Twilight watched the ripples of the pond from tiny tadpoles dancing underneath, eventually bringing her eyes to adjust to her own reflection. There she saw a pony that has been through all that the world could possibly throw at her. Surviving Cybertron, facing Megatron, and going one on one against Lord Tirek. Many ponies thought of her as a hero.
Maybe she was a hero. Or maybe she was just another princess.
That’s what Twilight saw in her reflection. Not a regular pony, not the unicorn that had arrived in Ponyville with her baby dragon by her side, and not a hero. All she saw was a princess…that was never meant to be.
Twilight stretched out her healing wing and prodded it with a hoof. She turned her head back to the reflection of herself. With her wings by her side, the weight of responsibility hung on her shoulders, forcing them to sag. Twilight lowered her head and closed her eyes, her face showing a terribly sad expression. A lone teardrop fell from her left eye and hit the pond, creating little ripples.
Optimus noticed the tear fall from her eye, though he wasn’t seen catching a glance. The Prime didn’t know why these ponies shed liquid from their eyes, but whenever they did it would usually mean they were scared or saddened. Twilight, being the brave pony she was, probably wasn’t scared.
“Is there something the matter, Twilight?”
The Alicorn looked up from Prime actually addressing her by her name. She found herself locked in Prime’s gaze, his blue eyes going past her own and even finding a way into her heart. It was very soothing, knowing that all the attributes that Optimus lost with his memory, his calming gaze was not one of them.
She gently waved her hoof over the pond’s tip, creating a little stream. “Oh…it’s nothing really,” she told him, eventually releasing a heavy sigh that caught Prime’s attention. “I just…I can’t shake the feeling of what I’m supposed to do now that I’m the Princess of Friendship. I don’t really expect you to know anything about this…touchy subject, but I’m still having trouble grasping it all.”
“Well,” Optimus said, “let me hear it.”
Leaving Twilight stupefied for a short moment, the Alicorn quickly focused back, biting her lower lip. She stared up at the moon, her violet eyes gleaming in the light. Just staring at the moon reminded her of Princess Luna. A princess. Being seemingly lost in the moon’s lovely light, remembering Luna reminded her of what she was going to say.
“Okay, so I’m supposed to be a princess now like Celestia and Luna,” Twilight began, “but…what does that even mean? I now know that I’m the Princess of Friendship, which in turn means I need to spread the magic of friendship throughout Equestria, even the rest of the world.”
Twilight stopped there.
“What’s so wrong about that?” Optimus asked when Twilight’s continued silence prompted him to speak in order to keep the conversation alive.
Twilight only chuckled, letting her hoof rest in the cool pond water. “Nothing if you don’t think too hard about it,” she said, her eyes shifting to great sorrow once more. “But when you do, you’d realize like I have that while some of the world will accept your friendship…others will reject it. That’s why I’m so afraid… What if I manage to bring Equestria into another war because of some stupid decision I make that’ll no doubt anger some tyrant or something?”
She rested her head on her hooves, her chin barely over the water’s edge.
“I’m just afraid of the future…” Twilight whispered, more tears boiling in her eyes.
Noticing her unending silence, Optimus lowered his head from facing the moon to facing the pony lying to his right. Her words have once again managed to give him something. He didn’t know what it was…but it felt right.
“Then we’re not so different,” Optimus told her, his deep voice barely rising over a whisper.
Twilight looked up at him, her eyes gleaming with curiosity and wonder.
Optimus continued, his head turning to face the moon again. “The night I first met you…I didn’t think of it that much then, but now that I do…I realize what a strong and powerful pony you are, Twilight Sparkle. You have the potential to be a great leader of this free world, and you have showed compassion towards me even though I am not of this world. That is why I am proud to call you my friend.”
Twilight blushed lightly at the kind words.
He went on by saying, “But I face the same challenge you are struggling with now, and at first…I thought I would be alone.” His blue eyes looked over to Twilight as he said, “I may not look it…but I fear of what the future holds for me as well. Unfortunately for me, I don’t know what my destiny is meant to lead me to. But for you…you seem to have a plan for yourself.
“You fear for making mistakes along your life, as well as fearing for the lives you might endanger from your decisions. Your friends,” Twilight shivered at the thought, “your family, and the ponies of this great country you now protect. What I fear is the void I see in my future. There is nothing I can clearly see, nothing I can grasp, nothing I can know that can help me remember who I am or what I am meant to do.”
Optimus lowered his head, his blue eyes half open and staring into his reflection. Twilight watched him the entire time, her eyes wrenching with pure sorrow.
“At least you know what to do with your life, Twilight. I don’t have that kind of choice with the position I’m in now, and I won’t have that choice until I truly know who I am…and what my destiny is.”
As he closed his eyes, Twilight felt a newfound guilt building in her heart and soul. All Optimus wanted was answers, but from the scene at Pinkie’s party…she didn’t know if Optimus would believe the truth in her words or not.
That’s another thing she feared. If Celestia and Luna couldn’t find a cure to Prime’s ailment, then what would they do? Tell him the truth the old fashioned way? Even if they did, he might not believe a word they say and continue to live a life in darkness. Twilight could never have that.
She just needed to keep believing.
And maybe he could too.
Twilight stood up and walked over to where Optimus was standing. She gently placed her hoof on his foot, causing the Prime to open his eyes once more and rest them on the pony. She smiled up at him, a genuine smile of something Optimus had not seen yet.
Hope.
“I know that your life seems empty now, Optimus,” Twilight began, causing Prime’s shoulders to sag, “but just keep your faith. Maybe not in me, my friends, or the princesses…but you can find hope in knowing that your life is not pointless. You are meant for great things, Optimus Prime…that I can promise you.”
Twilight stopped talking and simply stood there by Prime’s silent side, listening to the gentle splashes of frogs hopping into the pond or the returning noise of nighttime crickets. Optimus did not speak. If anything…he was stunned into silence from Twilight’s powerful words.
She didn’t mind the quiet.
But she did mind the weariness creeping into her eyelids, slowly shutting them. Twilight yawned, her eyes scanning the moon. It was lowering quickly. Day would soon arrive and she hadn’t gotten a minute of sleep.
“I think I’m gonna go home now…you know…get some rest,” Twilight said, her voice low and cracking. Optimus said nothing.
Twilight Sparkle turned around, the sound of her hooves growing distant with each step she took back towards the town. Her hooves stopped, and Optimus could hear her say one more thing…
“Goodnight, Optimus. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Her calming voice was gone, as well as the sound of her hooves hitting the dirt. Optimus could stand there for several more hours, his silence being his only companion. His eyes slowly shut, his head falling a few degrees and his body relaxing. Twilight’s words replayed in his shattered husk of a mind.
You are meant for great things, Optimus Prime…that I can promise you.
I can promise you.
Optimus spun his head around slowly. He didn’t see her anywhere, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered to Optimus was that she was there, in Ponyville, and would be there for him. Through great storms, through terrible battles, to breaking ends…Twilight would be there for him.
“Goodnight…my friend.”
Action will start picking up next chapter. 
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More manly tears, bro...
I would expect Twilight would have doubts about her role as the Princess of Friendship, not everyone would approve of every decision one would make. I mean, it's not like things could go wrong just because having found her dear friend after so long would attract the attention of both a xenophobic madpony and a emotionless Decepticon scientist and eventually lead to another war for Equestia, right?
Twilimus rules! :D
Excellent! I don't know how you manage to capture his wisdom, but that was excellent! Action in the next chapter? Time for the Prime to smash Unicron's face!! I don't know why some people don't see this kind of wisdom and nobility I see in him. Sure, there are plenty of wise, old geysers(geesers?). But Optimus pales in comparison, out matching all wisdom combined... America desperately needs this kind of Leadership that others have failed to deliver after Ronald Reagan. It's sad he's just a character... our world wouldn't be facing shit hitting the fans if there were more leaders like Optimus Prime.
Great chapter, again! Waiting anxiously, but patiently, for the next chapter.
Action in the next chapter huh? then when are we getting to the part where optimus gets his memory back!?
5202790 "Autobots and Decepticons; always fighting, making a mess out of the universe, and I have to clean it up. There is one way you survive: Tell me where he's hiding. Where is Optimus Prime".
A storm is coming. A big, purple storm.
5202413 Exactly. No one, with the exception of our soldiers, embodies the word "patriot" better than Optimus Prime himself. Some out there who doesn't believe in our soldiers and our rights are either simpletons, or traitors.
5202547 And thus you have hit my opinion on our little predicament in the U.S. thank you. G1 Prime FTW!!!
Great chapter, really caught their personas in it and I am waiting for the next chapter, somewhat patiently... It is quite nervracing because it is such a great story!!!
I feel like the roles should have been reversed.
My faith in you has been restored.
Foreshadowing?
I thought the whole point of MMC proved that no one has a choice in the matter, you're destiny has already been chosen and there is nothing you can do to change it.
5202476
5202491 Dude...that is like...the perfect soundtrack for this chapter!
Alas...poor Twilight...she has no idea what war she's getting into. 
5202547 I pray every night for our country and our allies. Well said! America truly needs a leader.
5202790 Chapter 34, which is the next chapter, and then in Chapter 35...Optimus will discover the truth.
5203942 Thanks for keeping faith in me!
Yeah, destiny's are weird in Equestria. 
5207054
My body will be ready...
5202942
"Never."
"Never is here."
5207054 Couldn't agree more!
And I fear that Twilight is going to take a lot of heat for the war she is about to bring.
5208532 It won't be war, it'll be extinction.
5202491 What about an Neutral bounty hunter?
5908418 Patience... we haven't reached that in this part of the story just yet. Lockdown will come soon enough.
Twilight and Optimus always work so well together, no matter what.
Yeah, learn to read the room Pinkie.