“Okay… Clearly, we need to have some sort of plan on how to use these new bodies.” Sunset paced back and forth in front of the girls. “Because let’s face it. Today was a disaster waiting to happen.”
“You can say that again.” Rainbow nodded.
“I don’t think it was all that bad…” Fluttershy twiddled her robot digits.
“It was a tragedy, darling!” Rarity exclaimed. “Those ruffians ruined my paintwork out there! How am I supposed to think of it as a non-tragedy?!”
“So they got the drop on us. We just have to hit ‘em harder!” Rainbow held her fist out. “Plus, I kinda need to redeem myself after that last battle…”
“How are we supposed ta fight when we have these clunky bodies?” Applejack held her arm out. “Ah feel so silly right about now.”
“I don’t!” Pinkie squeaked. “I feel so cool with this new body!”
“Pinkie, you ALWAYS feel cool with everything,” Twilight deadpanned.
“Girls!” Sunset interrupted. “Er, guys… look, we just need to try a little more. We can do this, we just need to stay calm, cool, and collective. Hopefully none of the other Bots will find out…” Sunset sighed.
Twilight looked around for a moment and raised a brow. “Hey, wait. Where are the Shadowbolts?”
“Indigo, dah, I mean Hound said they were going somewhere to practice their bodies.” Sunset replied, stuttering.
“Hopefully not too far,” Rarity said, analyzing the scratched paint. “Ooh… I hope my sweetie pie can get this fixed… I would hate it for him to have these dents forever.”
“Can’t he just buff that out?” Rainbow asked. “He’s got a waxing tool, doesn’t he?”
“Do you know how hard it is to buff these things out with a robot body, Rainbow Dash?”
“It's not hard for Knockout.” Rainbow said, shrugging her shoulders.
Rarity just moaned some more. “This is a travesty to Autobot fashion as we know it!”
Off to the side, some Autobots just stood in awkward silence seeing ‘Knockout’ acting melodramatic. Knockout did get a little dramatic at times, but this was just over the top.
Rarity stopped and she noticed some of the faces staring at her. “Why not take a picture? It’ll last longer!”
The Autobots just shrugged and walked off, leaving them alone.
Rarity wiped her forehead as if sweat were to come down.
“Too close… at least most of them don’t know.”
“Yeah, but we’ve got to be careful with some of them. Some of these guys might see right through the disguise, so we got to be extra careful.” Sunset replied.
“Be careful about what?” A female voice asked.
The girls nearly flinched, but they tried not to. Hesitantly, they turned around and met the face of their newest addition to the team; Road Rage.
“Road Rage!” Sunset jumped. “What’re you doing here?”
Road Rage nearly flinched from ‘Optimus’s’ reaction.
“Oh, I just wanted to let you know, Wasp and I finished our training today. And uh… if you guys don’t mind, I… I could use someone to talk to.” Road Rage’s voice sounded a little hurt.
“Sure. What do you wanna talk about?” Twilight asked.
Road Rage looked behind her, seeing that no one was near.
“Okay, uh… can you promise not to tell Sunset or any of the girls about this? Especially the Shadowbolts?”
“Why not the Shadowbolts?” Fluttershy tilted her head.
Road Rage scrunched her eyes. “They hate me… Look, I… I know I’ve only been here a few weeks, and I still have a lot to learn but… I guess I’m not really feeling like I belong here. The other bots they… they’ve said some things…”
“What things?” Applejack lowered her brows and slammed her fists together.
“That I’m a stupid glitch.” She winced and teared up at the name. “Calling an Autobot a glitch is just like a human calling a woman a very offensive word…”
“That name is entirely uncalled for.” Sunset shook her head. “The Autobot or Autobots who said it owe you an apology. Tell us who it was so we can tell them off.”
Road Rage looked away. “Does it really matter? They’re only going to keep on calling me it. Besides, no one likes a tattle-tale…” Road Rage whimpered.
“Road Rage. Can you look at me?”
Road Rage slowly looked up to Sunset and a little bit of golden lubricant was seen at the corner of her eye. She quickly moved her hand up to get rid of it.
“Road Rage, I understand you are new. But if there are problems you are having, you can talk to us. We Autobots stand stronger united together, not against each other.”
“Still, though, the bots who said you’re a glitch are in BIG trouble.” Dash nodded.
“Oh, I hope we don’t have to kick them out of the Autobot regime…” Fluttershy whispered.
Road Rage did listen, but as she listened to them speak, she couldn’t help but notice Bumblebee’s little scared movement. Bumblebee never acted like that. At least, not when she was around.
“Um… Bumblebee? Are you okay?” Road Rage asked, tilting her head.
“Uh… yeah, why?”
“Well… maybe this only me, but… I don’t recall you being this scared.”
“R-Really?” Fluttershy’s eyes shot open. “What makes you say that? I’m not frightened. I’m Bumblebee!”
Road Rage nearly jumped back. “Okay, okay! I’m just observing, that’s all…” Road Rage gulped. “I’m in trouble now… aren’t I?”
“You’re never in trouble, Road Rage,” said Sunset. “And you never will be again.”
“Oh, well, okay…” Road Rage said with confusion. “But… I just needed to talk, okay? I’m not asking for anyone to get in trouble. I… I just wanted to talk. I would have talked to the girls but… I’m not sure what they’d think.”
“The girls are feeling a bit under the weather at the moment.” Applejack stood up. “But we’re happy to field any questions from you to them on your behalf.”
“Alright, well… thanks for listening. I really appreciate it guys.” Road Rage gave a weak smile.
“We will help you in any way we can to make sure you can adapt to your new surroundings.” Sunset replied. “And don’t let the others get you down.”
Road Rage nodded. “Alright. I’ll try not to.” And she walked off down the corridors.
Fluttershy sighed. “That was too close... Imagine what would happen if she found out…”
“Yeah. The bots would be furious with us.” Sunset sighed and knelt down to the ground. “We’d never be able to show our faces in public again.”
Rainbow leaned back against a wall and rubbed her forehead. “I hope the others are having better luck than we are. Wait, where’s Optimus?”
“Aside from here, that is.” Pinkie raised a finger.
“Is there any chance they might have gone back to Canterlot?” Twilight asked.
“If they did, they would’ve contacted us by now.” Sunset scratched her chin. “So where are they?”
“I do hope Knockout’s not on a mission with my body.” Rarity’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks. “It’s bad enough that I got his body ruined. I shudder to think of what damage he could do to mine!”
It turned out Optimus and the other girls returned back to Canterlot, but Knockout insisted on making a stop at Rarity’s store where they could stay hidden and talk for the time being.
“So what’s the plan, boss?” asked Sideswipe as he leaned up against a wall.
“As long as we are stuck like this, we risk an easier deactivation at the hands of the Decepticons,” said Optimus Prime. “We will hide here in Miss Rarity’s shop where we are safe from them.”
“Well in case you don’t know it, the girls have school tomorrow. We can’t exactly interfere with their schedules.” Ironhide replied.
“Not unless Wheeljack finally got off his lazy butt and fixed the darn machine already.” Bumblebee tapped the ground with his foot. “Seriously, he creates upgrade chips and can single-handedly take on a Combiner. Why can’t he fix a mess he made?”
Knockout however was too busy looking around at the different clothes she had in the store.
“Knockout are you even listening?” Jazz asked.
“I’m sorry to be rude, but I am not.” Knockout replied back without looking back at them. “All of these clothes, she makes all of these clothes, yet she wears the same thing every day? Isn’t that a bit… odd to you?”
Knockout turned around and gestured to the blouse and skirt he was now sentenced to wear.
“So?” Bumblebee asked.
“That’s enough, brothers. Nothing will come out of this fruitless argument.” Optimus turned to the window display of the shop. “Now, we need to sort this whole thing out as soon as possible before things get any worse.”
Punch huffed. “As if things couldn’t get any worse. I mean look at me! I know Twilight isn’t exactly the strongest, but… come on! I look ridiculous!”
The others just stared at him in awkward silence.
Meanwhile, as the Autobots continued complaining and talking to one another, a tiny camera-droid watched their every move from the window. Once it scanned the Rainbooms and verified their facial data, a smaller part of itself opened up to reveal a micro-microphone.
“All of you complain about such silly things. Just stay focused on the task at hand.” Optimus turned away. “For all we know, there could be a Decepticon watching us right now…”
On the droid’s screen, the wavelength of the voice it picked up fluctuated wildly. A message saying, “ERROR. ANOMALY DETECTED IN VOCAL PATTERNS. TRANSMITTING DATA TO BLITZWING, BUT HE WILL NOT LIKE MY UNCERTAINTY.” Then it flew away.
Elsewhere, over in Canterlot, the Autobots in the Shadowbolts bodies were busy walking around and enjoying the sights now from the human point of view.
“So… this is what it's like from the Shadowbolts point of view.” Hound spoke, watching everyone go about their daily lives. “Indigo really needs to get out more.”
“I know.” Smallfoot’s eyes darted from one thing to another. “Just looking at these sights is enough to give me jolts in my energon. It’s amazing.”
“Say, if we have to be in these bodies for another day, do you think we might able to survive their school?” Highbrow asked.
“Y’mean Crystal Prep?” Blaster asked.
“Yes. I know repair work, it takes some time. Do you think we can survive a day in school in these forms?”
“Maybe it might be worth a call, just to make sure.” Outback fiddled with his comm device to try and get a hold if Sunny Flare. Despite his attempts, all he got was a voicemail message.
“Sorry, mate. I’m pretty busy right now riskin’ life and limb out there.” Outback’s voice echoed in his ears. “Talk to ya when I get back.”
“Son of a glitch!” Outback hung up. “Straight to voicemail…”
“What could they be doing that’s so busy?” Blaster asked, rolling his eyes. “Well, hopefully they…” Blaster stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes widened. “Oh my god. I left my cassettes with Lemon!” He clutched his temples. “This is a nightmare!”
“Blaster!” Smallfoot threw a hard slap across Blaster’s face. “Calm… down. Look, you’ve know Lemon long enough to know that she wouldn’t do a thing to harm them. I’m sure they’ll be fine. Also…”
Smallfoot threw another slap onto Blaster’s face.
“OW! What was that for!?”
“Personally for me, I wanted to do that to Lemon for all of the innuendo jokes.” Smallfoot shrugged with a smug grin.
Blaster rubbed his face. “That really hurt, you know…”
“Y’think a Decepticon’s pinned ‘em down?” Outback tipped his hand. “I heard rumors that there was a pretty nasty con in those parts.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing down where they went.” Hound said. “Besides, it's not the first time they’ve been out alone… but then again… they were only out for a little bit…” Hound felt his heart start to pound against himself. Now he was realizing how bad it would have been to leave them out there by themselves.
“Guys… can we calm down? I’m sure it’ll be fine. We just need to stay calm, and assure ourselves, they’ll be alright.” Smallfoot said.
Looking ahead, the group was distracted. They could see two people ahead that they instantly recognized. Cadence and Shining Armor, the heads of Crystal Prep.
“Oh, it’s Shining Armor and Dean Cadence.” Hound said. “You think they’ll recognize us?”
“Hound, we’re in the girls’ bodies, they won’t see anyone except for the Shadowbolts. Look, let's just try to stay calm, alright?” Highbrow asked.
“Hello, everyone.” Cadence waved at the Autobots. “It’s nice to see you all out of school hours.”
“Oh, uh… hi, Dean Cadence.” Hound chuckled nervously. “Uh.. how are you doing?”
“Fine. I was just out taking my daughter on a little trip around town.” Cadence looked down at her daughter, Flurry Heart.
Smallfoot instantly looked and a big smile crept on her face as she looked at the adorable little sight.
“Aw, a baby!” Smallfoot gushed.
Cadence’s brows shot open. “Sour. You’re not… mad about it?”
“No, I love babies! Aw, she’s cute!” Smallfoot squeed.
The others all sunk into their shoulders.
Oh no, not again...
Darkness began to fall on the abandoned theme park, and the Decepticon atop the castle let out a toothy grin as he opened his wings and swooped down across the ground, blowing away everything in his path.
It let out a large scream as it flew down and then it flew up into the air, performing a spin around and land back down on the castle. Cawing like a bird, it glared down on the Shadowbolts cowering in their hiding place.
“Hide all you want, little ones…” it whispered. “Move, and I take off the rest of your heads.”
The Shadowbolts were still leaning against a wall, hidden from the creature.
“Girls… I’m willing to bet… that thing’s a Decepticon.” Indigo gulped.
“Why do you think it’d be hunting us?” Lemon asked. “Just look at those claws! They could take Optimus’s eyes out!
“Correction. They’ll take all of our eyes out if we don’t get out of here!” Sugarcoat whispered, still in her tiny state. “Look, someone just keep trying and call for help. We can’t stay out here.”
“Whatever that con does, it reacts to noise.” Sunny looked up at the bot as it clawed across the rooftop. “If we call the others, it’ll kill us. No iffs, ands, or buts.”
“I don’t care at this point, we need to go home now! I don’t want to stay here!” Sour whimpered. “She carefully raised her finger up to where Smallfoot’s ear would be, and she hit the button. “Sour-I mean, Smallfoot to base. Please… someone pick up…”
“I see you…” the Con switched to Energon-vision and saw the Shadowbolts’ outline. As soon as their communicators started transmitting, sonic rings emanated towards him. “Got you.” And he leapt off, swooping towards them.
“Crap, run!” Indigo yelled, grabbing the remains of Highbrow’s body and starting to run. Soon the others began to run with her, as they all ran out into the open fleeing in terror from the creature.
“Good god, someone pick up!” Sour screamed.
“Too slow!” The Decepticon grabbed Sunny in his talons and flew her higher into the air. Higher, and higher, and higher still until she touched the clouds above.
Indigo pulled out the only gun she had available and she shot up into the air, firing non stop. She had to make a clean shot, otherwise her friend would die.
Eventually, a scream of a bat cried in pain, and a scream of an Australian filled the air as Sunny fell down from the sky straight back down to where the girls were standing.
“Incoming!”
“Screeeeee!” The con howled and barrelled through the girls, smashing them through the dodgem cars, ferris wheel, and strength test game.
Carefully, getting back up, the girls stayed close together until right behind them, a green portal began to glow, opening their escape.
“You dare fight me?!” The Con screeched. “You will pay for your insolence!”
Everyone ran quickly into the portal, and as they did, the portal closed right behind them, sealing their escape. The Decepticon was just too fast for them and flew through them at the very last second.
The girls all fell flat on their faces as they made it through. What they didn’t see was the con swooping fast over their heads and down through the expansive halls of Autobot HQ.
The girls all looked up and slowly got back up on their feet still shaking in fear.
“That was horrible!” Sour felt herself about to cry. “I don’t want to do that again!”
“I’m just glad that we got away from that thing.” Sugarcoat sighed. “But we lost my body in the process…”
“Indigo, didn’t you take it with you?” Lemon asked.
“Well… I did… and then I accidentally dropped it when we were screaming in terror.”
“That’s just great.” Sour re-opened the Groundbridge. “Well, looks like we’re gonna have to go back or Sugarcoat willl permanently power down.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… we aren’t going back out there. I don’t know about you, but that… thing, is still out there. Wait… you don’t think that Decepticon is from the prison ship, do you?”
“I wouldn’t put it past it, but—“ Sugarcoat felt a surge jump through her head “—WARNING. MUST RETURN HEAD UNIT TO BODY. TOTAL POWER DOWN IMMINENT.”
“Sugarcoat, why don’t you just power down for a bit?” Indigo said blinking. “Wow, that sounded weird.”
“No. Just no.” Sugarcoat glared at Indigo. “You want me to kill myself now?”
“N-No! Never!” Indigo jumped in shock. “I just thought it’d be a good idea to maybe conserve your power y’know?”
“POWER LEVELS FAILING. HEAD UNIT CORRUPTION TAKING HOLD.” Sugarcoat said. “RETURN HEAD TO BODY IMMEDIATELY OR THIS AUTOBOT WILL TERMINATE FOREVER.”
“Sugarcoat, just take a break and sleep. We’ll find something to give you more power.” Sunny sternly said. “NOW.”
Sugarcoat sighed. “Fine…”
Eventually, she just stood still for a moment and watched as her entire body converged into the head unit.
“There. Hopefully we’ll still keep Sugarcoat alive. Sunny, any chance we can check the files on the computer? Maybe we can find out something about that… thing, that nearly killed us.”
“I’ll take a look…” Sunny said, trying to access into the databanks. But as she looked into the files, there was nothing in sight. No pictures or files were found with what they ran into.
“Wha… he’s not in the database… This thing isn’t from the Alchemor!” Sunny panicked. “He’s not in any of the files! Not even the base files!”
A ghostly howl echoed through the corridors. It wasn’t one made by the clanking of far off materials, but one that sounded faintly like a bird of prey’s call.
The girls gulped.
“We’re doomed…” Sour shivered.