//------------------------------// // What you thought of me // Story: WHAT I'VE DONE // by CROSSOVER KING //------------------------------// Exactly twelve hours later, every pony and Autobot was finally ready for battle. As soon as Ratchet and Princess Luna reached Canterlot, they began to form a plan on how to hold off the upcoming Decepticon attack. This process consisted of Ratchet giving the royal guard an extensive lesson on Cybertronian anatomy and different types of Decepticon soldiers. While there were a few yawns in the audience, the guards generally received a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each enemy type, and exactly where to strike them in order to take them down as swiftly as possible. Shortly after the lesson ended, Optimus Prime and the others arrived to warn them of what they had learned about the assault. Learning that Megatron intends to invade Canterlot with everything at his disposal, Luna convinced Celestia to declare a state of emergency and evacuate the entire city. Both the residents and the refugees from the Crystal Empire were instructed to travel to either Manehattan and Baltimare, and remain there until the battle was over. Also, though Celestia was a bit uneasy around the Autobots when they first arrived to Canterlot, she eventually warmed up to them as they planned out a tactic to push the Decepticon assault back from Equestria. She especially got along well with Optimus as the two aged and wise leaders of their respective races exchanged their respective knowledge on battle strategy. On top of that, Twilight was extremely happy to see her mentor working together with their new mechanical friends. Unfortunately, her anxiety had grown exponentially by the time the entire royal guard was assembled at the front gates of Canterlot the next morning with her being right in front of them along with the Autobots and her fellow princesses. She was never in a real battle before and the fact that she was about to lead an army to fight numerous hostile aliens was more enough to terrify her. She was thinking about not just the probability of not making through the battle, but also the probability of this experience making her go through a dramatic change if she did survive. Would she suffer the same fate as Optimus and lose all interest in researching new things? Would she become more stoic and violent as a result? How would this affect her relationships with her friends and family? Though she knew that it was not time to dwell on these questions and concentrate on the conflict ahead, but she just could not help herself. Luckily, something that made her snap out of all her current thoughts finally happened. As soon as Celestia raised the sun, a giant spaceship entered the atmosphere and flew straight towards their location. It landed about a hundred feet away from that and shortly after its doors opened up, only three Decepticons came out: Brawl, Barricade, and Lord Megatron. Immediately after that, the ship flew back towards space and the cunning Decepticon leader let out a loud chuckle. "Optimus Prime!", he began. "How wonderful it is to see you here on this glorious day!" In response, Optimus took a few steps towards him and somberly said, "I wish I could share your excitement, Megatron." Megatron then sighed with sadness and replied, "You should have realized by now, Prime, that our fight is truly pointless. After all, we both seek the same outcome: the restoration of our home and the betterment of our people. If anything, we should become allies in order to accomplish this common goal. There is much we can benefit from each other." "I agree", Optimus said, which resulted in everyone standing behind him gasp in shock. "You and I should, indeed, join forces to save Cybertron. However, you must promise me a few things. I ask that you leave other planets alone and treat everyone in our planet as an equal. Only then can i entrust you with the leadership of our people." Brawl and Barricade started laughing as soon as they heard this, but a furious look from Megatron convinced them to remain quiet. Megatron then turned his attention back to Optimus and replied, "A noble sentiment, Prime, but also a very naive one. Our people will need a strong and dedicated leader to keep them in order and maintain the peace. That is a task that cannot be achieved with what you propose. Only through order and control can we hope to achieve true harmony, and this is one of the truths that the entire universe should embrace. That is why we shall be introducing these ideals to every planet we travel to as we expand our civilization across the stars. No one will be able to stand in our path to fulfilling our destiny of becoming the most powerful beings in existence!" Upon hearing all these, Brawl and Barricade began cheering while Optimus let out a sigh in disappointment. He then asked, "And what happens when the inhabitants of these planets do not recognize our supposed superiority?" Brawl and Barricade immediately stopped cheering, and an extremely angry expression appeared on Megatron's face as he explained, "They suffer our wrath, of course! The weak are meant to serve the strong and those who defy this law should be punished for their rebellious actions! Just like the inhabitants of THIS PLANET!" "But these creatures did nothing wrong to us", argued Optimus. "If anyone who should be punished, it is you and your Decepticons. You are the ones who invaded their home and slaughtered their citizens. And for what? An artifact that could grant you the power to rule Cybertron and conquer all other planets in existence? You must answer for your crimes." As soon as he heard this, Megatron became even more furious than ever and yelled, "IT IS THESE PESTS WHO ARE THE REAL CRIMINALS! They foolishly kept the AllSpark to themselves instead of returning it to its rightful owners! TO US! Thus, they caused the resurrection of our people to be delayed for an entire millennia! This criminal act will not go unpunished! JUSTICE SHALL BE SERVED!" He pressed a button on the left side of his head and said, "Decepticons, mobilize at my position!" The second he gave that order, five spaceships of the same type that brought him and his companions to the surface entered the atmosphere and flew towards their position. Once they landed only a couple feet in front of them, a huge number of Decepticon troopers emerged from each of the ships. Each ship was carrying a different type of soldier. 100 Drones: 50 Brutes: 25 Titans: 20 Rocketeers: And 5 Destroyers: Megatron proudly took a look at his forces who were all raising their fists up to the air and shouting his name. He then looked back at Optimus who, along with everyone else behind him, were staring at the vast Decepticon army with both shock and fear. They were clearly outnumbered as there had only a hundred royal guards to fight with them (50 of them were Celestial and the other 50 was Lunar). Therefore, Optimus was now contemplating whether or not they will even stand a chance in this fight. However, he was immediately snapped out of these thoughts when Megatron shouted, "One final offer for you and your Autobots, Prime! Join me in returning our home to its golden age or be decimated for protecting these revolting insects! YOU HAVE ONE CYCLE TO DECIDE!" Right after hearing that, Optimus looked behind at him to see the faces of everyone who had come to fight with him. While Celestia and her guards looked fearful and worried, Luna, her guards, and his fellow Autobots appeared rather defiant and ready to fight. Twilight, meanwhile, was looking at him with a facial expression that said, "Is there any chance we can win?" Upon interpreting the meaning of that face, Optimus looked down for a while to ponder and a handful of seconds later, he looked back at Twilight and gave her a determined nod. This caused Twilight to not just smile and respond with another determined nod, but also flew towards the Autobot leader's shoulder and igniting her horn with magic upon landing. In response, Optimus shifted his attention to Megatron and retrieved a giant double-bladed axe from his back. The moment he grabbed a hold of that axe, it began glowing red and forming small red streaks of red lighting around itself. He then pointed it towards a now-confused Megatron and declared, "One shall stand, one shall fall." In response, Megatron angrily asked, "Why throw away your life so carelessly?" "That is a question you should ask yourself, Megatron", Optimus confidently replied. Megatron became even more agitated upon hearing that and shouted, "No! I will crush you with my bare hands! Decepticons, commence the attack! ANNIHILATE THESE TRAITORS TO CYBERTRON!" As soon as receiving that order, every single Decepticon soldier began running towards the front gates of Canterlot, intending to destroy everything and everyone who stood in their path.