//------------------------------// // Prologue, Part 2 // Story: War in Equestria // by FlamingSamurai //------------------------------// A few minutes earlier… As the fight between the Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad continued behind him, Devastator made his way towards the Ark's fuel tanks. The ship’s automated defenses tried to bring him down, but that was like throwing leftover pieces of scrap at him. He simply crushed most them underfoot and destroyed the rest with his drills. Soundwave was leading another group of Decepticons into the Ark to take out the rest of the defenses, but for some reason, the defenses were still online. What could possibly be taking him? Devastator didn’t know, but frankly he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that he would destroy the Ark’s fuel tanks and prevent the Autobots from escaping. Destruction was the only thought that ever entered his mind. He soon came to where he needed to be. With nothing left to stand in his way, Devastator activated his drills and prepared to sink them right into the fuel tanks. “YEEEAAAAARRRRGGHH!!!” A powerful jolt of energy suddenly ripped through Devastator, immobilizing him. Then he began to fall apart. First his arms fell, followed by everything from his upper torso up, and then the rest of him fell to his knees and his lower torso hit the ground. As they fell, Devastator’s parts changed, transforming into his smaller components: the Constructicons, a specialized group of six Decepticons in charge of several of building some of their most powerful weapons. Moments later, they began to get up, dazed and confused as to what just happened. As the Constructions struggled to get to their feet, they turned to see a white and orange colored Autobot with a scar on his chest, along with additional ones over each shoulder and a monocle over his right eye. He was carrying a large blaster on his right arm connected to a backpack; the barrel of the weapon smoked and crackled with electricity. “That’s as far as you go, Constructicons!” the Autobot shouted. “There’s nowhere to run. It’s time for you all to pay for your crimes against Cybertron.” One of the Constructicons manage to stand upright and chuckled. “Oh yeah?” he asked. “You and what army?” The Autobot just remained where he was, not so much as batting an optic. However, he did allow a smirk to creep onto his face, which unnerved the Constructicons. “The one right behind you,” he then replied. At that moment, the Constructicons heard the sound of several blasters cocking and turned… and quickly wished they hadn’t. Standing a few feet away was Optimus Prime and several other Autobots with their blasters trained on them. Two of the Autobots, one colored orange and black and the other colored white and black, didn’t carry and guns, but they were instead at the ready wielding swords and a staff, respectively. Some of the Autobots on the outer side of the group fanned out to keep the Constructicons from escaping from the sides. Two of them, a red one with cannons mounted on his arms and a blue and yellow one with what appeared to be a small pistol, moved next to where the white and orange Autobot was standing. “Ratchet,” Optimus called, “are the Constructicons’ t-cogs disabled?” The white and orange Autobot responded, “All readings are clear on my watch, Prime.” The Constructicons’ leader spoke up. “What… what did you do?!” “Using this device, I forced you all out of your gestalt form and back into your original forms,” Ratchet explained. “And if my calculations are correct, you won’t be able to leave your robot forms for a long time. Nor will you be able to gain access to your weapons systems!” “Order your men to stand down now, Mixmaster,” Optimus called out. “Or else we will be forced to use less than pleasant means of making you surrender.” Mixmaster, leader of the Constructions, paused for a moment and then stared at Optimus directly in the optics for what he said next. “If you think the Constructicons will surrender simply because we cannot achieve our strongest form nor use our weapons, you’d be wrong.” He motioned to two bulky Constructicons standing to his right. “My friends Scavenger and Long Haul here are some of the toughest Cybertronians the Decepticons have to offer, able to withstand blaster fire, missiles, and melee weapons.” Then he motioned to the three on his left. “Hook, Hightower, and Scrapper on the other hand have survived skyscrapers collapsing on top of them and even endured explosions that have destroyed whole cities. We were built to last, Prime, and we won’t stop fighting until all of you are gone!” Suddenly, several explosions briefly rocked the ship, shaking everyone in the area. Long Haul and Scavenger turned to see the source and reacted in sheer shock at what they saw. A large, white and red gestalt bearing the Autobot insignia on its chest and holding a large, red, smoking pistol was flying right at them. Mixmaster looked behind it and saw what he could make out as pieces of the tow cables that were holding the ship together. He could also see the other Autobot gestalt, Ruination, flying straight towards the Decepticon warship, wielding what seemed to be a white, double-barred blaster. “SUPERION, PROTECT ARK!” the white and red Autobot gestalt shouted as he scooped up the Constructicons as they tried to run for it. Then he spun around and threw them out into space; Team Prime watched as the six Decepticons shouted for help, with no response as they floated away. Then he turned towards the Decepticon warship, aimed its blaster at it along with Ruination, and both gestalts opened fire. From his place next to Optimus, Bumblebee’s expression, mixed with pure shock and utter joy, never gave way. “I wish I could see the look on Megatron’s face right now…” he thought to himself. ------------------------------------- Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, stood on the top of the Decepticon warship, surveying the battlefield below. It all started so well. After the Autobots retreated from Cybertron, he had gathered several of his most loyal followers and chased after them for several weeks. Soon, weeks turned into months and now, they had finally caught with them after chasing them from one corner of the galaxy to the other. The plan was simple: send the Mayhem Attack Squad, along with their two gestalts, Devastator and Bruticus, to attack the Ark’s fuel tanks to stop them from escaping while his communications officer Soundwave led a small strike team inside the Ark via tow cables to disrupt the defense systems. Then, when it was over and most of the Autobots had fallen, he would crush Optimus Prime with his own servos. But then, things started going wrong. Soundwave’s team was supposed to have reported back at least five minutes ago, but so far Megatron hadn’t heard a thing back from him and the Ark’s defenses were still online. Meanwhile, the Mayhem Attack Squad, Devastator, and Bruticus were being stalled by the Wreckers, who had somehow managed to recreate the gestalt technology for their use. How? Did someone actually manage to bypass their security and enter Shockwave’s laboratory? Even worse, Devastator had been taken out, forced back into the Constructicons by Team Prime. How could things possibly get any worse? “Lord Megatron!” Megatron turned around to see two Decepticons running towards him. The one on the left was grey and red in color, had wings on his back as in indication of his jet alternate mode, a missile mounted on each arm, and was far shorter than him. The one on the right was about Megatron’s own height, somewhat bulky, was colored purple and grey, had a large cannon in place of his left arm, and a single, large, red optic making up his face. With the cyclopean, Megatron could never directly tell what his expression was, but with the shorter Decepticon, things were much clearer. This Decepticon had a penchant for bringing bad news at the wrong time and the worried look on his face told him that something had gone down south. “Starscream, Shockwave,” Megatron said. “What is it?” “My liege,” Starscream said, “I’ve just tried getting into contact with Soundwave, but when I did, all I heard was an Autobot taunting us!” Megatron’s eyes narrowed. “WHAT!?” “He speaks the truth, Lord Megatron,” Shockwave droned in his low monotone voice. “Someone must have intercepted Soundwave’s strike team before they could take out the Ark’s defenses. Either Optimus Prime knew about our attack or more likely he had this contingency set up just in case.” Megatron growled to himself and stared at the ground for a moment before facing his fellow Decepticons. “It would seem I underestimated Optimus’ intelligence. No matter. I will deal with him soon eno – “ Before he could finish his sentence, Megatron heard a large explosion behind him and turned around, Starscream and Shockwave running up to his side to see what their master had discovered. What they saw made Megatron and Starscream’s jaws drop. “SUPERION, PROTECT ARK!” “What in the pits of Kaon is that!?” Starscream shouted. As he and Megatron stared in disbelief at the the… Autobot gestalt that had just severed the ship’s tow cables and was now flying right at the Constructicons. Meanwhile, Shockwave was looking over towards another part of the ship. He could see Bruticus and the Mayhem Attack Squad fighting the Wreckers and what appeared to be another Autobot gestalt. Both sides were fighting hard, but from what Shockwave could make out, the Autobots were winning. Granted, two of the Wreckers appeared to have fallen, but the remaining three were still proving to be bothersome with Steeljaw and his team. But Shockwave wasn’t completely focused on them, rather he was focused mainly on the two gestalts, the Autobot gestalt in particular. “So, the Autobots stole the gestalt technology behind my back,” Shockwave thought. But before the three Decepticons could react further, Shockwave saw the Autobot gestalt fighting Bruticus bring out a double-barreled blaster and fire a massive blast that knocked the Decepticon gestalt clear off the ship and into space. Meanwhile, Megatron and Starscream saw the second Autobot gestalt grab the Constructicons as they ran and throw them off the ship. With both of the Decepticons’ gestalts out of the fight, both Autobot gestalts turned their attention towards the Decepticon warship. As they both raised their blasters, Megatron realized what was about to happen. “Take cover!” Megatron cried out. At that moment, both gestalts fired, massive beams emitting from the barrels of their blasters. Shockwave dove to his left while Megatron and Starscream dived off the top of the ship, transformed into their jet modes, and flew out of the line of fire. The beams ripped through the ship like a hot sword going through an enemy soldier. The beams fired them move up and down, tearing the ship in half in a large explosion. Shockwave managed to dodge most of the blast, but was knocked off the ship by its sheer force. As soon as they were clear of the line of fire, Megatron turned back into his robot form and surveyed the damage. The Nemesis had been cut in half. “This is impossible! Those guns were about as powerful as a warp cannon! What sort of trickery is this?” “My liege!” Megatron whirled around to see a panic-stricken Starscream hovering next to him. “We don’t stand a chance against that kind of firepower! We need to – “ “NO!” Megatron shouted. “I have come this far and I do not intend to surrender now!” Starscream shrunk back, shocked by Megatron’s outburst. “But… what do you intend to do?” He yelped out in surprise as Megatron grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him close. “Retrieve Shockwave and rally the remaining Decepticons,” Megatron hissed. “I’ve had Skywarp place a bomb in the engine deck of the Ark. Or do you need to be reminded of a contingency plan that you suggested to me?" Throwing Starscream aside, he then finished, “Prepared to locate survivors. We’re finishing this. Optimus is mine.” Megatron then proceeded to change into his jet mode and blasted off directly at Optimus’ position on the Ark. Starscream stared in disbelief for a moment as his leader flew away before transforming himself and flew to the ruined Decepticon warship to retrieve Shockwave. If he was even still alive, of course. And that’s when his sensors picked up the explosion that tore through the engines of the Ark. --------------------------------------------------- “Optimus, you read?” “I read you, Jazz. What is your status?” Over the comm channel, Optimus heard his first lieutenant report on what was happening inside the Ark. “The contingency plan worked like a charm,” Jazz reported. “The Elite Guard and I caught Soundwave, Rumble, and a few other Decepticons off guard when they tried to destroy the power supply to the Ark’s defenses. Took a bit, but they’re all out cold.” “Good work. Take the Decepticons to the brig and then head back to the bridge. The rest of Team Prime and I will be with you shortly,” Optimus ordered. “Roger that, Prime. Jazz out.” As the channel clicked off, Optimus’ looked up at Superion, who had just helped to destroy the Decepticon ship along with Ruination. “Superion, do you know where Wheeljack and Bulkhead are?” he asked. “BOTH WERE INTERCEPTED BY THUNDERCRACKER AND SUNSTORM WHILE WE WERE BUSY FIGHTING OFF THE DECEPTICON WARSHIP’S DEFENSES AROUND THE TOW CABLES,” Superion said. “I WILL GO SEARCH FOR THEM.” Optimus sighed. “Alright. But be careful. Knowing Thundercracker and Sunstorm, Wheeljack and Bulkhead will need all the help they can get.” Superion nodded and flew off, Team Prime watching him go. “Still can’t believe that we actually managed to get the gestalt technology to work for us,” the red Autobot with cannons on his arms said. “We gotta thank the doc-bot here for that,” the blue and yellow one replied. “If it weren’t for him, Perceptor, and Wheeljack, the Ark probably wouldn’t be here right now.” Ratchet just shrugged. “Pfft, well…” he muttered sheepishly. Optimus stepped forward. “I will not deny that the gestalt technology is impressive, but it is not the only factor that will win this war for us. We must remain vigilant. Megatron will not give up so – “ An explosion suddenly rocked the ship and everyone was shaken by it. Everyone looked towards the direction of the sound and saw the place where each of the ship's the thrusters were being torn apart by a large explosion. “What was that?!” the black and white Autobot shouted. Optimus quickly tapped his comm-link to reach the bridge. “Ultra Magnus, do you read me?” he frantically called. “OPTIMUS!!!” Team Prime looked outwards towards the ruined Decepticon warship and saw a Cybertronian jet flying towards them, blasters blazing. Everyone but Optimus ducked out of the way to avoid the laser fire, the Autobot leader bringing up his arms to defend himself. But Megatron’s shots were simply meant to ward the other Autobots off. Knowing this, Optimus jumped into the air and grabbed ahold of Megatron’s wings, allowing the Decepticon leader to fly them both into the space around the Ark. As Megatron shook violently to throw Optimus off him, Optimus used his sheer strength to direct their flight path straight through the window of the Ark’s bridge. The Autobots inside dove aside as both warriors came crashing through, immediately setting off an alarm as the air pressure dropped, causing a vacuum suction that threatened to pull everyone in the bridge out into space. Optimus reached behind him and pulled out his sword, which glowed blue upon Optimus touching its handle. Then as Megatron transformed into his robot form, Optimus impaled it into the floor, keeping him anchored. But Megatron was prepared, as well. Reaching behind him, he pulled out a purple-colored, jagged blade, about the same size as Optimus’ sword, that he stabbed into the floor just a few inches in front of his rival. Megatron stared at him coldly as they both struggled to keep themselves intact. “You think that by stealing our technology and destroying our warship you’ll defeat us!?” Megatron shouted over the overwhelming noises around them. “I will not be denied, Optimus! I will not be denied my rightful conquest of the universe! Soon, we shall be feared throughout the galaxy, as warriors! As GODS!” Optimus’ optics narrowed when he heard that last sentence. Had Megatron really fallen that far? “I am but a soldier, Megatron!” he shouted back. “You and all who follow you are just prisoners of your own twisted delusions!” Screams filled both warriors’ audio receptors as several Autobots and Decepticons lost their grip and went flying out into space. Optimus looked around and saw Ultra Magnus, a blue and red Autobot almost his size with large shoulder pads and a large hammer on his back struggling to hold onto the control panel before he inevitably slipped and was sucked out. Optimus turned away and back towards Megatron, now seething with anger as he held tightly onto his sword. Then, a feminine voice crackled over the loudspeakers. “Warning: planetary impact imminent.” Optimus and Megatron took a brief moment to stare out of the broken windshield and into space. Right in the middle of it was a large planet, blue and green in color. But Megatron wasn’t distracted by this sight for long. Moments later, while Optimus was still distracted, he spun around with his sword as an anchor and kicked Optimus in the head. Optimus felt his sword being torn from the floor as both he and it were pulled into the darkness. “This is the sight of our final conquest, Optimus Prime!” Megatron cackled. “All who inhabit that planet shall fear the might of Megatron!” “Not today, Decepti-creep!” an unknown voice suddenly called out from behind him. Megatron turned to see the source and a white, blue, and red Autobot with a blue visor over his optics burned from an explosion suddenly appeared and caught him in a full-body tackle, ripping Megatron’s sword out of its place in the floor in the process. Both Cybertronians were thrown out of the bridge and into the atmosphere above the planet, where Optimus and several other Cybertronians had been thrown. But they didn’t stay there for long. As the Ark plummeted into the planet below, everyone in the atmosphere, Autobot and Decepticon alike, followed suit, succumbing to the planet’s gravitational pull and following it down. As he fell and darkness overtook him, Optimus’ only hope was that his team was still alive and that they could continue on without him and Jazz. The Decepticons had to be stopped… no matter the cost. ------------------------------------------- In a small town in the country of Equestria known as Ponyville, all was quiet as nighttime encompassed the land. All throughout the homes, ponies were sleeping, young and old. On the edge of Ponyville sat a tree-like castle, home of Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Unlike her fellow ponies, she was not asleep, but instead looking upwards in an act of stargazing. Studying the dance of stars was always a favorite pastime of hers. On this night, Twilight stood on the balcony of her castle and yawned. She knew it was about time to sleep, but she couldn’t tear herself away from the constellations in the sky. It was all so very beautiful. After a few seconds, the alicorn finally managed to tear herself away from the night sky and started to walk back into her castle. That’s when a bright light illuminated the sky, drawing Twilight’s attention back to the stars. Twilight gasped in awe as she saw an abnormally large object passing through the stars, a few infinitely smaller objects following in its wake. Was it a meteor of some kind? Whatever it was, it passed over the castle and far off into the distance. The smaller objects falling behind it seemed to disperse and go off in separate directions. They, too, soon disappeared from view. A tremor ran through the ground, shaking Twilight to her very core. The larger object must have hit an area somewhere around Ponyville. She made a mental note right then and there to find the rock and examine it the first chance she got. Just then, she heard someone else yawning and looked down to see a young, purple and green dragon with a blanket wrapped around him. “Did you feel that, too, Twilight?” the dragon asked. “Yeah… yeah, I think so, Spike,” Twilight replied. “I saw something fall out of the sky. I think it hit ground somewhere not far from here.” A look of uncertainty crossed Spike’s tired face. “You’re not gonna go looking for that thing, are you?” he asked. Twilight thought about it for a moment and then giggled. “Of course I am! It’s been a pretty slow week for me anyways and I don’t really have anything better to do.” Spike opened his mouth to protest, but just then, he suddenly burped a green flame that quickly dispersed, leaving only a small scroll with a red ribbon wrapped around it. Using her magic, Twilight opened the scroll and read aloud: “My dear Princess Twilight, I need you and your friends to meet me, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Prince Shining Armor in Canterlot tomorrow. It is a matter of dire importance. Sincerely, Princess Celestia P.S., send a message to Sunset Shimmer in the human world telling her I need her, as well. As much as I don’t want to disrupt her life in the human world, Equestria is going to need all of the help it can get for what is coming.” Twilight put the letter aside as she and Spike exchange confused looks. What was Princess Celestia talking about? What was going on? What was coming? Why does she need Sunset Shimmer to come back? “Well…” Twilight said, mostly at a loss for words. “I guess we’ll have to hold off on this UFO business until… whatever’s going on in Canterlot is settled.” She then yawned. “Come on Spike,” she continued, “let’s hit they hay.” Spike yawned in response. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” They walked back into the castle side-by-side, while the questions Twilight had in her head continued to swirl around. “Whatever’s happening,” Twilight thought, “my friends and I will do all we can to help. No matter what.”