As much as Bumblebee hated to admit it, fixing up Ponyville was not an easy task for him. Compared to the town's residents, he was a mechanical giant as tall as the buildings and at least ten times larger than an average pony. So, naturally, he had a really hard time picking up tools and bricks without accidentally breaking them, let alone using them to repair damaged buildings.
Even navigating through the streets was a real challenge. He had to watch every single one of his steps in order to avoid stepping on any pony and there had been a couple of incidents where he had fallen through a newly restored house while trying not to squash a nearby bystander. Needless to say, this job was certainly one of the toughest ones he had ever taken in his entire life.
Fortunately, there was at least a silver lining in all this misery and frustration. The townspeople (especially the CMC and their respective sisters) had really warmed up to his presence. While they were initially pretty scared of him due to their previous experiences with giant robots, his victory against the Decepticons, the fact that he single handedly rescued the CMC from certain doom, and Spike's verbal skills convinced them that he was no threat. Even though he was still a little clumsy while moving around their town and assisting them with repairs, they were responding to his efforts with empathy and had accepted him as a friend. Even Shining Armor and Cadence, who were initially the most reluctant ones to trust him, were really impressed by his down to earth nature, undying loyalty, and constant willingness to help everyone around him.
However, the ponies that connected with Bumblebee the most were, unsurprisingly, the CMC. They played a huge part in helping him adjust to his new surroundings and teaching him how to pick up stuff without accidentally damaging anything. Thus, he became a lot better at assisting the restoration efforts and walking around Ponyville.
Moreover, they were a great company to be around. They frequently told him about the adventures they had during their quest to discover their true talents, and he found nearly all of them both exciting and hilarious. In fact, some of them actually reminded him of the stunts he pulled during his youth and remembering those times did put a smile to his face. The days he foolishly spent trying to perform dangerous tricks to impress his friends belonged to a time when Cybertron was truly a paradise and he really had to thank the girls for bringing those memories back to life.
He was about halfway done with fixing up the Apple family barn when they were recounting their adventure involving a pony named Trouble Shoes. While it was not particularly thrilling or funny, he did find the story quite interesting.
"Wait, so, let me get this straight," he said. "You ventured into a creepy forest in the middle of a dark and stormy night in order to find a giant stallion living in an equally creepy-looking cabin in the woods? And you did all of that without any adult supervision whatsoever?"
The fillies nodded in unison.
"Holy scrap!", he exclaimed "You three are even bolder than I thought! I probably wouldn't have made five meters into it before running back screaming."
Once they heard that statement, the CMC looked at each other in confusion before bursting out laughing.
"Oh, don't be so modest, Bee!", Apple Bloom replied. "I mean, you're a metal giant who uses a sword for pony's sake!"
"Yeah, and besides, you took down two other metal giants all by yourself", added Sweetie Belle.
"Don't forget that one of them was a lot bigger and meaner than you", Scootaloo pointed out. "The way we see it, you're one of the bravest friends we've ever had!"
Hearing that made Bumblebee both humbled and a little bit sad at the same time.
"Oh, yeah?", he replied. "Well, what if I told you I wasn't always like this?"
Upon hearing this question, the CMC's facial expressions changed from happy to puzzled and each of the girls let out a "Huh?" in unison, making Bumblebee slightly chuckle.
"It's true", he clarified. "Back when I was young and my people were still tearing each other apart for the control of our home planet, I was a lowly scout whom everyone assumed to be a coward due to my relatively small size. Sure, I had friends who supported me, but most of them were in the same situation as I was. Bigger stronger bots almost always pushed us to the sidelines, because they feared we would endanger their missions by running away at the first sign of trouble. It wasn't long before we realized that we had to do something in order to prove ourselves to be just as competent and fearless as our comrades. So, we decided to take on the scrapheap partner of that big unfriendly giant you mentioned, thinking that he would go down with no trouble at all due to him being nearly the same size as us. How do you think that turned out?"
The intrigued fillies thought about it for a few seconds before Apple Bloom suggested, "I reckon it went badly?"
Bumblebee let out a heavy sigh and replied, "No, it was worse. Way worse. For one, he didn't even bother fighting us. He just fired a few shots at us and then, drove off into a series of underground tunnels. Following him was probably the worst and definitely the last mistake we've ever made as a team. The chase led us through a rugged and booby-trapped route that cost me my entire team. I alone managed to survive with a few serious injuries while all of my friends at the time were lost. Crosshairs, Drift, Hound...”
He covered his saddened face with his hand and let out an even heavier sigh. Just then, he felt something touching his foot and looked down to see an equally sad Sweetie Belle placing her hoof on him.
"We're really sorry, Bee. Are you okay? Is there anything we can do to help?"
Bumblebee quickly cleared her throat and gave them a small embarrassed smile.
"Nothing's wrong, guys. I'm okay. It's just that nostalgia can make me a little emotional sometimes, but it's nothing to worry about," he explained. "Anyway, after that traumatizing experience, our leader Zeta Prime demoted me to the messenger rank and I was indefinitely banned from engaging the enemy in any of the missions. Of course, that didn't stop me from secretly wasting every single Decepticon on my path during these messenger missions. I just couldn't get over the fact that my friends never got to prove themselves as brave warriors. So, it only made sense to me that achieving this dream myself would be the best way to honor their memory."
"And you did it, right?", an extremely curious Scootaloo asked.
"Well, not at first, actually", Bumblebee replied. "The Cons soon became tired of the devastation I was bringing to their ranks and so, they sent a small army to set up an ambush for me. I fell right into their trap and would've surely been turned into a scrap pile if it weren't for the impeccable timing of our newest commander, Optimus. He saved me from the ambush all by himself and right after that, he took on the role as my mentor in order to show me the error of my ways."
"What do you mean 'the error of your ways'?", inquired Apple Bloom. "Were you making a mistake up until that point?"
"Yeah, a big stupid mistake", Bumblebee answered. "You see, the big guy showed me that being brave isn't really about defeating your enemies with raw strength, but rather standing up for those you care about against impossible odds. Up until that point, what me and my friends were displaying had nothing to with bravery. It was just pride and anger to hide our fear of rejection. Optimus was the truly brave bot when he risked his life to save mine from a barrage of enemy fire. From that moment on, I pledged to him my unwavering allegiance and dedicated the rest of my life to being as brave as him. It took practically forever, but I think I finally got the hang of it. What do you think?"
"Are you kidding?!", Sweetie Belle happily exclaimed. "You put your own life at risk to save both us and the entire town from those monsters. If that's not true bravery, I don't know what it is!"
"It's what Rainbow Dash does all the time!", Scootaloo added. "Let me tell you, she's pretty much the staple of bravery and loyalty around here."
An obviously touched Bumblebee replied, "Really? Well, then, I guess all the trouble I went through during the past few millennia was totally worth it. Also, this 'Rainbow Dash' does sound like someone I'd probably be honored to meet at some point. Where is she right now?"
Apple Bloom answered, "I heard she and Pinkie Pie went to a far away land to solve a friendship problem, but I'm sure she'll be back here by tomorrow. Hey! I just had a great idea! What if our special talent is being brave like you and her?! I mean, you did say were pretty bold when we traveled through that dark creepy forest to find Trouble Shoes."
"Um, I hate to break it to you guys, but being brave and being bold aren't exactly the same thing", Bumblebee clarified. "In fact, I think the word I should've chosen is 'persistent', which isn't really enough for true bravery. In other words, being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble."
The girls unanimously let out "Oh" in disappointment and hung their heads in embarrassment, causing Bumblebee to kneel beside them and gently stroke their manes.
"Aw, chin up!", he said. "You know that doesn't necessarily mean you haven't yet done or won't ever do anything truly brave, right? Tell me, have you ever stood up for someone against impossible odds? "
They thought about it for a moment before Sweetie Belle suggested, "Well, after we met Trouble Shoes, we learned that he was just an unlucky colt who wanted to be a rodeo star more than anything. So, we defended him against the whole town and convinced them of his innocence. Does that count?"
"Absolutely!", Bumblebee happily declared. "See? You're getting the hang of it at such a young age. Imagine what you can do when you get older!"
Scootaloo asked, "That's awesome and all, but doing that didn't get us any closer to getting our cutie marks. If true bravery isn't our special talent, then what is it?"
Bumblebee replied, "I really don't have a definite answer at the moment, but I can safely say that you're on the right track on finding it. Besides, just like how Optimus helped me on my journey in learning how to be a truly brave soldier, I'm positive you'll help one another on your journey in getting your marks. Whatever they may end up be, you'll find them together."
With their spirits restored after hearing that, the CMC smiled to him and gave each other one big hug.
"Thanks, Bee!", Apple Bloom cheerfully said. "You're really good at giving helpful advice, you know."
"Yeah, just like how Zecora does it all the time", Sweetie Belle added.
"Hey, how about we introduce you to her?", Scootaloo suggested. "I'm sure she'd be thrilled to meet you."
"Oh, my gosh! You're right!", exclaimed Apple Bloom. "Come on! Let's go ask Applejack about it!"
They quickly ran off towards the town while Bumblebee watched their departure with pride. Just then, Spike came along to check on the barn, which was more or less fully repaired.
"Oh, hey, Spike!", Bumblebee greeted him. "How goes the town's repairs? Is everything completely fixed?"
"Yeah, pretty much", replied Spike. "Thanks for all your help. We wouldn't have probably wrapped up everything in such short time without you."
"It's nothing", Bumblebee clarified. "I'm just trying to clean up the mess I made, that's all."
"Well, the crusaders did convince the mayor into building your statue afterwards", Spike added. "By the way, is it true that you promised them to teach your fighting moves?"
"What can I say? I can't really refuse someone as adorable as them", Bumblebee jokingly replied. "Come to think of it, maybe you could some of them too. After all, you'll need all the help you can get during your upcoming showdown with Barricade. What do you say?"
Spike briefly pondered about it and, soon enough, smug smile appeared on his face.
"I say, sign me up, coach!"
"Alright, then! Give me the best punch you got!"
Bumblebee held out his hand and Spike punched it as hard as he could. Unfortunately, he felt immense pain afterwards. Just as they were about to move on to something else, the CMC arrived with excited expressions on their faces.
“Rarity and Applejack said yes!”, declared Sweetie Belle. “So, let’s go already!”
“Do you wanna come with us, Spike?”, Scootaloo asked. “We’re going to introduce Bee to Zecora.”
“Well, uh, I was supposed to oversee the remaining repairs, but since pretty much everything’s been wrapped up, I guess I can take a little break”, he replied. “So, yeah, let’s go already.”
“Very well”, Bumblebee declared. “You girls mentioned Zecora lives somewhere between Ponyville and the middle of Everfree Forest. That shouldn’t be too hard to find. Besides, we can go there and come back much faster in my vehicle form, compared to going on foot. Well, ‘on hoof’, in your case.”
He gently grabbed both the CMC and Spike before happily asking them, “So, who’s ready to go on the greatest ride of all time with everyone’s favorite Autobot?”
As soon as all of them cheerfully yelled “Aye!”, he transformed into his vehicle form and drove off into the forest. As predicted, the enjoyable ride only lasted a few minutes, but it didn’t end because they reached their destination. Instead, it ended when abruptly transformed back into his robot form and looked at a holographic map of the forest that was being projected from his arm.
On both the upper and lower parts of the map was a blinking dot. The one located on the lower part represented Bumblebee himself and the one on the upper part represented an energy signatıre coming from an unusual source that was Cybertronian in nature. If it was what Bumblebee thought it could be, then he had to go to the location of the source and conduct an investigation. Though Optimus ordered him to stay close to Ponyville, he couldn’t ignore this discovery.
When he asked the CMC and Spike what lied in the direction the signal was coming from, their answer did puzzle him a bit:
The Castle of the Two Sisters.