Although Megatron could barely keep his optics open due to the severity of his injuries, he could still see the Decepticon ship ascending towards the clouds. It was a most soul-crushing sight for him as he was being betrayed by one of his most trusted disciples. Though he struggled a lot, he managed to lift his right arm towards the ship, extended his hand as if he was trying to grab it and said in a very weak tone, "No... D-don't l-leave me... Shockwave..."
Once the ship disappeared into the clouds, however, he realized that all hope was lost and let his arm fell to the ground. A handful of seconds later, he saw Optimus with his ion blaster on his right arm looking down on him and let out a frustrated sigh before stating, "If you still intend to finish me off, be quick about it. I am wounded both physically and emotionally. I want the pain to end as soon as possible."
Soon enough, Optimus aimed his weapon at Megatron's face and the fallen Decepticon leader closed his optics, ready to be reunited with his lost followers. However, instead of hearing the weapon going off, he heard a transformation sound and opened his optics to see Optimus extending his hand towards him. Extremely confused by this action, he asked, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Even bitter enemies must show respect to one another from time to time", replied Optimus.
In response, Megatron hesitatingly grabbed the hand and allowed Optimus to pull himself upward. Once he was able to stand upright, he curiously asked, "I do not understand. You had every intention to terminate me a while ago. Why change your mind so suddenly?"
"Even if I take your life right now, it will not make a single difference", Optimus replied. "Your forces have deserted you and will undoubtedly fight each other in order to claim your throne. Therefore, the in-fighting between your ranks will allow my Autobots to take advantage of the situation and, eventually, end this senseless war once and for all. In other words, you are no longer a king, Megatron, and your former kingdom has now begun to crumble."
Upon hearing all this, Megatron remained silent for a few seconds before screaming at the air in rage, firing towards the clouds with his fusion cannon three times until he ran out of ammunition, and then breathing heavily to calm himself down. Once he was calm enough, he stated, "As much as I hate to admit it, Prime, you are correct. My reign is at an end and I can do nothing to save it. So, what am I to be from now on if I am no longer a king?"
In response, Optimus put his right hand on Megatron's left shoulder and declared, "I cannot answer that question for you, Megatron. You must find the answer on your own. Until you do, however, you shall answer for the crimes you committed against the inhabitants of this world."
Although Megatron let out an irritated sigh, he still replied, "I have nothing left to lose, anyway."
Right after that, the two mortal enemies began walking towards the front gates of Canterlot and soon enough, they were met by the rest of the survivors of the recent battle. Ratchet was carrying an injured Bumblebee with both hands, Princesses Celestia and Luna were standing on his right shoulder, Twilight was standing on his left one, the remaining pegasus guards were hovering in the air around him, and all the other royal guards were walking beside him.
They were all scowling at Megatron, and once he and Optimus was close enough to them, Celestia, Luna, and the pegasi began flying towards him while the other guards trotted. The princesses stopped just a couple feet above Megatron's head, the guards pointed their spears right at his optics, and Celestia declared, "Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, for the crimes of invading our world, wreaking havoc on our land, and slaughtering our people without mercy, you are hereby sentenced to three hundred thousand moons of imprisonment in Tartarus."
Upon finishing that sentence her horn began glowing and she cast a spell that opened a portal to what seemed like a dark cavern filled with caged monsters. She then asked, "Do you have anything to say before your punishment begins?"
When Megatron silently glared at them for a while, she announced, "I see. Guards, take him away."
Right after that, the guards motioned the prisoner to move and he did so without hesitation. When they finally passed through the portal and disappeared, Celestia turned to Luna and said, "I need to prepare his prison cell. I'll see you back at the castle in an hour or so."
"Understood. I can handle the repairs to the city myself during that time", Luna replied. "Once you’re done, meet me in the throne room. There are some topics I’ve been meaning to discuss with you for quite some time."
Celestia responded with a nod and the second she passed through the portal, it closed behind her. However, Optimus began to silently stare at the spot it once was and when Twilight noticed this, she flew towards his right shoulder (with some difficulty) and once she landed, she curiously asked, "Are you alright?"
Optimus replied in a solemn tone, "I will be, Twilight. It's just that I am having some difficulty believing that the war is practically over. Without Megatron, the Decepticons cannot hope to win and by the time they realize this, it will be too late. My Autobots will achieve victory and there will be peace once again. This should be a time for celebration. Yet, I feel uneasy. I have been a warrior for such a long time that I do not know if I can ever adjust to peace."
Shortly after he finished that sentence, Twilight placed her left hoof on his face plate and said, "It's okay. I can help you with that. You know you can always count on me. It's what friends are for."
Optimus briefly contemplated this before he softly replied, "You are once again correct, Twilight. I do know I can trust you at all times. In fact, I owe you my life and we're all in your debt for what you did today."
“Well, thanks, but, aren’t you a little bit mad at me about what I did?”, a confused Twilight asked. “I mean, I basically destroyed something that could’ve restored your home. Doesn’t that bother you?"
“Like I said before, there could still be another way we can bring back Cybertron”, Optımus confidently replied. “Besides, home is not defined by a place. We carry its memory in our sparks. So, no matter where we go, it will always be with us.”
Twilight briefly pondered this statement before she came to understand its meaning and a smile appeared on her face. She then declared, “Okay, that was a bit too sappy for my taste, but I think I get what you mean. Thanks for making me feel a little better about my radical decision.”
“You are most welcome, my friend”, replied Optimus. “Come on, let's see how Bumblebee is doing."
He then walked towards Ratchet, who had placed Bumblebee to the ground and was treating his wound. When he noticed that Optimus and Twilight were right beside him, he stated, "He'll be alright. However, due to the severity of the injury, I would say it will be a few weeks before he’s fully healed."
"A few weeks?!", exclaimed Bumblebee. "Come on, doc! I promised both Spike and the Crusaders that I would teach them some of my moves. I can't just let them down."
"I'm sorry, Bumblebee, but both you and those children will just have to be patient about this", Ratchet replied, which caused Bumblebee to grumble rather loudly.
Suddenly, Twilight's horn began to glow blue and she felt some invisible pulling her towards Bumblebee. Unable to resist this force, she flew towards the direction it was pulling her to and soon found herself right on top of the wounded scout's body. She then began looking around to find the source of the invisible force and eventually discovered that the pull was getting stronger every time her head was near the Autobot logo located at the center of Bumblebee's chest. So, she moved her head closer to it and the logo instantly transformed into a hole that her horn could fit into. Though she was afraid of what might happen. she nevertheless decided to trust her instincts and moved her horn into the hole.
What happened next was a sight everyone was extremely shocked to see. The moment Twilight inserted her horn into the hole, Bumblebee's entire body began glowing blue and the wound on his chest started to close on its own. In just a matter of seconds, the wound completely disappeared and the rest of Bumblebee's body stopped glowing. Twilight then pulled her horn from the hole, which transformed back into the Autobot logo, and Bumblebee rose up with little to no difficulty before starting to admire the clearly visible improvement on his chassis.
"Holy Primus! Check me out!", he happily exclaimed. "I feel even better than the time I was hit by the energy wave Twilight created when she blew up the AllSpark. How the heck did this happen?"
"It appears the AllSpark is not exactly destroyed". Optimus announced. "Instead, its energy has been transferred into Twilight's body and so, she now possesses its ability to repair damaged Cybertronians. Who knows? She might also be in possession of abilities such as giving life to a machine or even resurrecting a deceased Cybertronian."
"Yes, that all sounds fascinating, but why me?", curiously asked Twilight. "Why would the AllSpark decree that me and the members of my family are worthy enough to carry its knowledge and abilities?"
"I do not have a definitive answer for you, Twilight", replied Optimus. "However, it might have something to do with what you have told me about the adventures you had with your friends. You have led them through various challenges, and you saved your world several times mainly because of your exceptional perseverance and leadership skills. On top of all that, you represent the element of magic, which from what I've heard, is the strongest of all the elements and the key to unleashing the full extent of their power. The AllSpark somehow knew all this and thus, it chose you as a worthy bearer of its power and wisdom. Your family members may also be able to receive those in small portions, but ultimately, you are the one true heir of the AllSpark."
"Oh... I guess that makes sense", a surprised Twilight managed to say.
Ratchet then became really excited and declared, "Optimus, if what you say is true, then what we have here is a truly unprecedented phenomenon. In fact, this could be the REAL KEY to restoring Cybertron. I strongly recommend we begin researching and observing Twilight's new abilities as soon as possible. Also, we must run numerous experiments to make sure we're not missing anything."
Optimus responded by putting his left hand on Ratchet's right shoulder and saying, "I agree, old friend. However, I think Twilight is more than capable of taking care of all that by herself. After all, she has a strong addiction to discovering new things and is as studious as I was before the war."
"Oh, yes, I remember", replied Ratchet. "So, if she's going to handle the things I mentioned by herself, what are we supposed to do in the meantime? There must be something we can occupy ourselves with besides fighting Decepticons."
Then, Bumblebee merrily announced, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'll soon be on my way back to Ponyville. I promised my new friends that I would be teaching them a few of my fighting techniques and you all know that I NEVER break a promise."
"Very well, Bumblebee", Optimus replied. "You may go whenever you want. Just make sure to bring Twilight back to her home in the process."
Twilight became a bit confused upon hearing that and asked, "Wait. You're not coming with us?"
"Not for a while", explained Optimus. "In fact, I have decided to travel around Equestria and see if it is as magnificent as you claim it to be. Since we will be spending an unspecified amount of time here, it only makes sense that I see as much of this world as I can and learn about all the secrets it holds."
As he wrapped up this explanation, Twilight's facial expression shifted from confused to happy and she excitedly replied, "Well, look at you! Looks like you'll adjust to peace in not time at all."
Optimus responded with a warm chuckle and Ratchet declared, "Well, that does sound like a logical course of action. Therefore, there's no point in questioning it. However, there remains one unresolved issue. What am I supposed to do in the meantime? I mean, my primary responsibility is to provide medical assistance to my friends and allies, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that when each of us are heading in separate directions for a time."
Suddenly, Luna (who had been quietly listening to the entire conversation right above them) landed on Ratchet's left shoulder and stated, "I may have a few ideas about that, my friend. If you would just follow me to Canterlot, I shall explain everything once we arrive.”
Ratchet proceeded to let out a deep sigh and say, "This should be interesting. Alright, let's go. Take care, Autobots, and please try not to get into too much trouble during my absence."
He waved his comrades good-bye, they waved back, and he began walking towards Canterlot with Luna flying right beside him. As they entered the city through the nearly demolished front gates, Bumblebee turned to Twilight and asked, "So, uh, where would you want me to drop you off, your majesty?"
Twilight giggled at the question and replied, "Come on, Bee, just because I now have the AllSpark inside me, doesn't mean you can't address me by my actual name. We're still friends, you know. As for your question, I'd be delighted if you drop me off near the Ponyville train station. Two of my best friends, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, are coming from their friendship mission in Griffonstone today and I'm sure they would love to meet you."
"Well, in that case, we have no time to lose! Hop on my shoulder and let's roll!", Bumblebee excitedly stated. After Twilight did what he asked, he turned to Optimus and said, "Take care, boss bot. Hope you come visit soon."
Optimus responded by waving them good-bye and after they waved back, Bumblebee transformed into his vehicle mode and drove away at top speed, leaving Optimus completely alone in the empty field. He began to ponder where he should go first and eventually decided to travel to the place Twilight had mentioned earlier: Griffonstone. Though the name sounded a bit strange, he nevertheless figured it could be a good place to start his Equestria-wide journey.
So, he accessed his data banks and discovered not only which direction he should travel towards, but also something quite unexpected: His long-range transmission system was back online for the first time since he sustained a critical injury during the final battle on Cybertron. Subsequently, he transformed into his vehicle mode and as he drove, he began transmitting a message towards the edges of the galaxy:
"With the AllSpark gone, we cannot return life to our planet at this moment. Yet, fate has yielded an unexpected reward: a new world to call home."
"We live among its people now, without the need to hide, but still watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there is more to them than meets the eye.
"I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars."
"We are here."
"We are waiting."