Celestia stood on her balcony, feeling the cool summer breeze blow through her mane. She shut her eyes, and took a deep breath, letting her body relax as she enjoyed the warmth of the sun to envelope her. With the sun now raised, the Alicorn of the sun returned to her room, preparing to enjoy a nice cup of tea.
Celestia took a seat at the table she had in her room, upon which was her tea set. Having brewed a batch before she had raised the sun, Celestia raised the teapot above her cup, and tipped it to pour. But to Celestia’s surprise, nothing came out. Confused, Celestia opened the top of the teapot, and found it empty.
“Odd…I could have sworn it was half full,” said Celestia to herself. Deciding not to think too much of it, the princess got up from her seat, and made her way to the door. She opened it, and left her room, preparing to go retrieve another bag of tea. When she shut the door behind her, she then began making her way down the halls of her castle. But, out of her peripherals, Celestia saw something that caused her to look twice. Celestia quickly noticed that outside the windows, the sky had turned red, and dark.
Confused, and alarmed, Celestia quickly made her way outside to get a better look. As soon as she left the palace, she flapped her wings, and took to the sky.
She wished she’d stayed inside.
The land was dead. The vegetation was gone; the tree’s leafless and dry. Huge metallic structures protruded from the ground. But what bothered her the most were the creatures.
Ponies, Griffins, and a wide variety of other creatures roamed the dying expanses. But they were just as dead as the rest of the world. They were rotting corpses, undead monsters, barely clinging to life. They shuffled around with purple mist in their eyes.
“What could have done this?” questioned Celestia to herself. As soon as the words left her mouth, the scene before her changed. She was now viewing what looked to be a palace. The walls were lined with cold, dark metal. Decepticon emblems lined the walls. Celestia also noticed the beings, large metal bipeds, like the one’s she had fought so long ago, standing in two lines.
In front of them, perched on an iron throne, was a being Celestia had never seen before, though he felt familiar. He was large, much larger than the other robots that stood before him. Sharp metal spikes protruded from his joints, creating sword like feet, knees, and shoulders. His arms ended in bladed claws. His color scheme was mostly grey, with bits of purple lining his joints. There was a large cylinder mounted on his right arm. And in the center of his chest was the Decepticon logo.
“Megatron…” muttered Celestia to herself. She didn’t know how she knew it was him, but she did know. She could see the same malevolence in his eyes, and she could feel the same amount of dark energy coming from him.
The mighty Megatron raised his arm, and pointed towards Celestia.
"Finish this planet, we are done here." The robots turned to face Celestia. They started advancing on her. Celestia tried to run, fly, do anything to get away, but she couldn’t move. But she could see that as the robots were advancing on her, so were the undead creatures. All of these dark forces were advancing on her. She could feel the rotting corpses grab her and start to pull her, to where, she did not know.
“NO! NO, STOP! LET ME GO! LET ME GOOOOOOO!”
Celestia woke with a scream, sitting up in her bead as quick as a pegasus. She pressed a hoof to her heart, as she processed what she had seen, while looking all around her room, for any sign of the creatures she had seen.
“Princess! Princess, are you alright!” came a call from outside her door. It was then quickly opened, as two guards dashed into the room to check on Celestia.
As Celestia took control of her breathing, the two guards approached her bed, and expressed concern for her well-being.
“I…I am alright. It was just a night terror,” responded the Alicorn, not wanting to worry the ponies.
“Should we get Princess Luna?” questioned one of the guards.
“No, no, that will not be necessary. I’m fine.” The guards seemed to relax a bit, but still looked apprehensive. But they adhered to their Princess’s wishes, and left her room, shutting the door behind them.
Once they were gone, Celestia shut her eyes and reflected on her dream. That dream was…no… it was not a dream. It was a premonition. She knew it. This was what would become of her home, if she did not stop the male Alicorn known as Megatron. He would unleash unspeakable horrors, not just onto Equestria, but the entire world. It was then that she made up her mind.
“Megatron…must be stopped…no matter the cost.”
Megatron stood, looking over a holographic map displayed on a table, the image being projected with magic. Standing with Megatron were his top lieutenants, along with Chrysalis, and a few of her own high-ranking changelings. Currently, Megatron was planning the first stages of his conquest.
“We will start by invading and conquering the outer cities and settlements,” said Megatron. “We will take the smaller, more isolated towns, and then take the larger ones, such as Manehattan, Van Hoover, and Los Pegasus.”
As Megatron named the targeted locations, the representations of them on the map glowed, showing his followers the locations.
“During this phase, the changelings will take the form of refugees, who will flee to the inner cities, and eventually settle Canterlot. They will spy on the Equestrian commands, and when the time comes, they will aid in the assault.”
“Brilliant plan, oh wise Megatron,” praised Chrysalis.
“Of course it is,” replied Megatron. “Begin making the preparations. We will begin the attack once I have returned,” said Megatron as he turned and made his way to leave.
“Where are you going, my Lord?” questioned Grey Shine.
“There is one more thing I must acquire before we make our move.”
“And just what would that be?” questioned Chrysalis.
“You shall see, soon enough,” replied Megatron, as he left the room. Once he was out of earshot from the rest of his council, one of his soldiers approached him.
“The transport carriage has been attached to one of our dragons. We are ready to depart as soon as you give the word.”
“Good,” replied Megatron.
“My Lord, if I may ask, where will we be going?”
“The ruins of Tambelon.” The guard stopped in his tracks.
“T-tambelon!” said the guard, shocked. “The ruins where the necromancer, Grogar perished!”
“The very same.”
“But sire, the ruins are haunted by the spirits of the damned! Grogar’s spirit is said to still wander that city! What could possibly be worth journeying to such a desolate place?”
“You will see soon enough,” replied Megatron. “And do not dare to question me again,” said Megatron, as he continued on. The guard stood there, with fear and trepidation in his eyes. After a few moments, he swallowed his courage, and followed his leader.
With Megatron departed, Chrysalis and her changelings left the room. When they were alone, the Queen spoke to her followers.
“Megatron’s ambition may be greater than my own. And his heart is cold. I have not felt any love coming from him.”
“What is our plan, your highness?” questioned one of her changelings.
“We must infiltrate every aspect of his operation. Some of our spies have learned that the ‘oh so great and powerful’ Megatron is building something in the mines. We must find out what.”
“Of course my queen. And what about our original plan?”
“We shall begin, once he returns from this mission of his. I will seduce him, and gain his trust. I will make him love me, and once he does, he will be easy to destroy.”
“How do you plan to do that my queen? He seems to care for nothing other than his quest for power.”
“It’s simple, really,” said Chrysalis, licking her lips. “He is a stallion, I am a mare. I simply have to appeal to his…male sensibilities.”
“Will that work, my Queen?” questioned the other changeling.
“Of course! I’ve done this many times before. At the end of the day…he is just another stallion.”