//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: My Little Transformers // by cyberlord4444 //------------------------------// Hot Spot sighed as he fiddled with the communications console. While being buried underground was excellent for hiding, it wasn’t exactly the best for communicating. Luckily they had packed several drones, one of which was being modified as a relay. Hearing the door open, he turned to see Tow-Line enter. “So, how’s the ship?” “Not good,” said Tow-Line as he placed a tool in one of his waist-mounted toolboxes, “even if we weren’t buried we can’t go anywhere because the engines are smashed. Luckily the hyperdrive and reactor are fine, those would’ve been a pain to fix.” “We should’ve gotten a mining ship then,” Hot Spot chuckled. Just then a crackle emitted from the communications console, “Hot Spot here.” "This is Streetwise reporting in,” Streetwise’s voice said from the console, “sorry, but there was a local in distress and Rotorstorm and I had to intervene.” “Not a problem, Optimus Prime himself that we’re Rescue Bots first and foremost,” Hot Spot replied. “Hey, this is just a feeling, but something big’s going on on the surface,” said Rotorstorm, “we may need to get involved.” Hot Spot rubbed his optics, “Of course, I’ve got a probe ready to go, we’ll take a look-see before we make any decisions.” “Good plan,” Rotorstorm replied, “by the way we’re sending footage of the event to you so you know what to look for.” “Got it, it’s coming in now,” said Hot Spot, “and the probe’s launching now.” The probe departed the caverns to examine the city above, and what it saw chilled Hot Spot to the spark. Hundreds of the same kind of bug-ponies that Streetwise and Rotorstorm had encountered were attacking, capturing civilians and placing them in cocoons for an unknown purpose. Hot Spot snarled as he grabbed his gear, “Consider our cover blown, go on ahead, the rest of us will catch up.” “Understood,” said Streetwise as Rotorstorm cracked his knuckles loud enough to be heard over the channel. Hot Spot settled his gear as Tow-Line walked up to him, “I’m guessing you want me to grab First Aid?” “Please.” “On it,” Tow-Line said, pulling out a crowbar before walking off. Twilight counted up the good and bad points of her day so far. Good news, she now knew that the bug-ponies were called Changelings and his brother wouldn’t be marrying one of them. The bad news was that the Changelings were now launching an all-out invasion of Canterlot, and had captured her and her friends. “Hey, let me out of here so I can kick your flanks you no good cheaters,” Rainbow Dash yelled as she struggled against her bonds. Pinkie tried to reply, but her constant chattering had resulted in her mouth being sealed shut by goo. Twilight turned towards Fluttershy, who was crying softly, “Don’t worry Fluttershy, it’ll be alright.” Fluttershy looked up, “Promise?” Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a familiar thudding. Around a building charged Streetwise and Rotorstorm, “Promise.” “Targets are in close proximity to civilians, melee combat only,” said Streetwise as he pulled out a pair of... what did ‘The Big Book of Ancient Armaments’ called them? Oh yeah tonfa. “Up close and personal, got it,” said Rotorstorm as he pulled out a pair of swords. The Changelings carrying Twilight and her friends dropped them before charging at Streetwise and Rotorstorm, they didn’t do so well. Streetwise’s tonfa glowed and sparked before he started spinning them so fast they became a blur, knocking down anything that got within reach. Rotorstorm’s technique was less flashy, but debatably more effective, using the flat part of his swords to bat away Changelings before they got too close, and punching, kicking, and occasionally headbutting anything that did. Unfortunately, the Changelings that had attacked them so far were merely a distraction, as a much larger group had swung around and struck from behind, clinging onto them so they couldn’t get a clear hit. It was the same strategy they had used on Twilight and her friends, and she begrudgingly had to admit, it was effective. Streetwise tossed down one of his tonfa and tried to wipe off a group of Changelings before placing a finger to the side of his head, “Hot Spot, where are you? We’re getting swarmed.” “Right here,” said a new voice as three new giants charged in from the other direction. The largest of the three pulled out a massive axe, which he swept sideways to create a massive gust of wind which blew enough of the Changelings off of Streetwise and Rotorstorm to allow them to regain the upper hand. “First Aid, think you can do anything?” “I’m a medic, not a miracle worker, don’t rush me,” said another figure, who Twilight assumed was female due to its voice and body type, reached into the massive pack it wore and pulled out a strange device. A beam of light emitted from it, that passed over Twilight and her friends and then over a pile of unconscious Changelings. “I think I’ve got something that’ll knock out these hostiles without harming the civilians,” First Aid said as she studied it. “Then work your magic doc,” said the final figure as he kept a large group of Changelings at bay with a heavy hook at the end of a long cable. “Why don’t you do it yourself Tow-Line if it’s so easy,” First Aid grumbled under her breath as she removed her pack and opened it, revealing that it was, among other things, a self-contained chemical laboratory. As the other 4 fought, she furiously mixed chemicals until she had a large cylindrical vial of a red liquid that she loaded into a weapon. Standing up, she aimed and pulled the trigger, firing the compound in a storm of bolts instead of a stream, probably to conserve it Twilight thought to herself. Whenever the compound hit a Changeling, they quickly fell into unconsciousness. Hot Spot let out a breath as he put away his axe, “Excellent work First Aid.” “Honestly, what would you do without me?” First Aid said before firing a single shot at a pony who was walking towards them, causing it to revert into its true Changling form. “Shapeshifters? Well that’s going to make things annoying,” said Streetwise as his visor retracted into his helmet. “Hey, it’s you!” Rotorstorm said as he noticed that Twilight was one of the ponies he’d saved as First Aid swapped the chemical in her gun for a blue one, “we’ve got to stop meeting like this, people are going to talk.” “Hey, I’m not complaining,” Twilight replied as First Aid sprayed the chemical over them in a mist, dissolving their bonds. “This actually saves me the trouble of finding you, I have so many questions.” “I suppose you do,” said Hot Spot, “but answering them should wait until the current crisis is dealt with.” Just then, the chemical had done its work on the goo over Pinkie’s mouth, “You’re a race of mechanical lifeforms from another planet who came to this world a thousand years ago to escape a war that destroyed your planet and to protect a bunch of baby alien robots and crashed into Mount Canter and you’ve been sleeping ever since until this morning when you got a message that the war is over you can go home!” Hot Spot just stared as a protective face plate over his mouth retracted, revealing a stunned expression, “Pretty much yeah... how did you know?” “Just a hunch,” Pinkie replied.