"Gloriosa?"
The girls all stood, confused, as Gloriosa walked over to them, still clapping sarcastically. Bumblebee and Bulkhead drew their weapons as she stood still, moving her hands down to expose her necklace, glowing five different colours.
"Yes, I'm the one who found the crystals first, and they have shown me so much..." Gloriosa began to smirk as the crystals began to glow brighter. "For too long, I've been pushed around, my camp belittled, my plans never quite going the way I anticipated, but I never gave up on my camp. It's been in the family for generations, you know?" She sized up the two Autobots, before returning her attention to the girls. "These crystals have given me the power to save my camp. I've chased away the greedy vultures looking to tear it down and build resorts atop its ruins, and now I see I need to defend it from nosy little girls, and giant robots killing my campers!" She frowned again.
Sunset took in a breath and walked closer to Gloriosa. "Gloriosa, we know that your camp was in danger, but we're the good guys. The Decepticons were the ones killing your campers, and they were the ones who attacked the camp grounds earlier."
"Yeah! And, the Cons snagged the other two crystals! Knowing them, it won't be long before they figure out five more are here!" Bumblebee added, as Twilight checked her device to confirm that Gloriosa was indeed wearing the crystals from the cave.
Gloriosa simply glared, before sneering and walking over to Twilight specifically. "They also tell me about you in particular." As she approached Twilight, the crystals glowed brighter still. "You hold a power inside you, perhaps one greater than mine, yet you are too scared to embrace it." She gripped Twilight's hand. "Succumb to what lies within you, and join with me. Imagine what we could accomplish together." She smirked more as Sunset walked over and smacked her hand away from Twilight, standing in between them.
"She'll never join you!" Sunset told Gloriosa firmly. "She knows that there are far better things in the world than power, and we can show you the way too. If you'd let me show you..." She gave a small smile and held out her hand for Gloriosa to take. Gloriosa hesitated for a moment, and began stretching out her own hand, as though to accept Sunset's offer. However, the crystals let out a bright flash and Gloriosa closed her eyes for a moment, reopening them with a dark green glow. She snapped her fingers and Sunset was soon enveloped by a swarm of dark, thorny vines, much to everyone else's shock.
Gloriosa began to laugh, as more vines emerged from the ground and creeped slowly toward the group. "Oh, how sweet! Trying to stop me with your silly little friendship! Well, I don't need friendship, but I will greatly enjoy taking away the Equestrian magic you all hold within yourselves to fuel my own power!" She clenched her fists, emanating a spark of green as the vines quickly snuck up on the other girls, entrapping them within vines as well and closing them off from the outside world. "As for you two, I don't need anything from you..." She looked up at Bumblebee and Bulkhead. "Time to take out the trash, wouldn't you agree?" She smirked as she sent a swarm of vines to attack the two Autobots.
Bulkhead transformed one of his hands into a giant metallic fist, almost like a wrecking ball, and began to pummel the vines that came at him, crushing them into several splinters with great ease. Bumblebee took out his twin wrist blasters and fired rapidly at the vines, taking them apart as they came at him. He eventually switched out one of his blasters for a small wrist-mounted blade, and slashed at the vines coming at him, leaving them lifeless at his feet. "Bee, you get the girls out of there! I'll stop her!" Bulkhead ran at Gloriosa and, despite her being a human, he smacked her with his giant fist, sending her slamming into the walls of the cave. She fell to the ground, but was helped up by even more vines. Glaring at Bulkhead, she sent out a new batch of vines, strengthened and adorned with green thorns, to wrap themselves around Bulkhead's arms, disarming him. She did the same to Bumblebee, leaving him unable to free the girls.
"That hurt, you overweight brute!" Gloriosa growled as she stared at Bulkhead, one of her eyes twitching a little. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Sorry to hear we aren't on the same page, but I sure hope you enjoy each other's company." She smirked as she walked toward the entrance of the cave, and once she was out, sealed off the entrance by using her vines to move a giant rock over the entrance, and reinforcing it with thorned branches.
"She didn't have to say that about me..." Bulkhead mumbled as he immediately began straining against the vines, trying to free himself, Bumblebee looking on before doing the same.
"Don't listen to her, Bulk. You're fine. Let's just focus on freeing ourselves and the girls, then radio Optimus for back-up."
Autobot Base
Hangar E
"Ratchet, it has been a while since Bulkhead and Bumblebee last transmitted their position. I fear that something may have happened to them." Optimus spoke, watching the monitors in their base with a grim expression in his eyes.
Ratchet shook his head. "No, Optimus. I've heard nothing." He looked up suddenly as two blips began appearing on the monitor. "Wait...that can't be right.." He began typing on his holographic keyboard.
"What is it, Ratch?" Wheeljack asked as Ratchet looked back up at his monitor.
"I'm picking up a very unique energy signature emerging from the camp where Cliffjumper died, and a Decepticon energy signature heading there fast!"
Optimus looked toward the GroundBridge in their base. "It would seem as though the Decepticons are after that energy source. I cannot let that happen! Ratchet, activate the GroundBridge."
Wheeljack stood up straight and took out a couple of large weapons. "Here, Prime. Take these." He tossed them over to Optimus, who caught them easily. "Go frag that 'Con for us. For Cliffjumper." Optimus nodded at Wheeljack as he rushed through the portal, the other Autobots remaining at the base.
Camp Everfree
The camp grounds were already under siege from Gloriosa, using her newfound powers over nature to entomb the camp grounds within a dome of thorns. The few campers that had survived the previous Decepticon incursion were trapped within their cabins, the door sealed off by thorns and vines. Gloriosa laughed out loud as she admired her handiwork, though her smile faltered when she heard what sounded like a military aircraft flying overhead outside the dome, just as an explosion rocked the roof of the dome, sending splinters and branches falling to the ground.
A military jet descended from the gaping hole left by the explosion, and quickly transformed itself into a large winged robot; Starscream. He quickly stood upright and turned toward Gloriosa. "So, you're the little human hoarding the rest of my energy crystals?" From one of his arms emerged a missile launcher, aimed straight at Gloriosa's head. "If you surrender the crystals to me now, maybe I'll allow you to live" He sneered and held out his other hand, anticipating that Gloriosa would simply follow his demands.
"Hmm, a tempting offer, but unfortunately for you..." Gloriosa began as her five crystals began to channel magical energies within them. "I don't work with machines!" She unleashed an energy pulse into the ground, sending a large, sentient vine-like creature after Starscream and slamming him into one of the camp cabins, though thankfully nobody was hurt. As he fell, Starscream dropped the last two energy crystals on the ground, catching Gloriosa's eye. "What's this?" She floated over and seized the last two crystals before Starscream could recover, using her thorn-covered bodyguard to knock him aside and restrain him as she admired the final pieces of her puzzle. "Now, I can finally achieve my full power...ALL WILL BECOME A PART OF EVERFREE!!" She added the last two crystals to her necklace, as a series of thorned vines began to envelop around her, and she began to change into her final form.
Meanwhile, back at the crystal cave, the GroundBridge portal opens at the other side of the cave's entrance, as Optimus Prime ran out. "This is where Bulkhead and Bumblebee last transmitted their position..." Optimus walked toward the thorned barrier blocking the cave entrance, and through his audio receptors, he could faintly hear the sounds of his fellow Autobots struggling against something. He then turned around to see Gloriosa's dome around Camp Everfree, a powerful green glow emanating from between the brambles. Optimus' optics widened as he summoned an energy axe from one of his hands and began to cut through the cave entrance. "Hang on, Autobots!"
Within the cave, a weary Bumblebee heard their leader call out to him. "Optimus! We're in here!" He called out too as he resumed his struggle to release his arms from Gloriosa's trap. Suddenly, Bumblebee's wrist blade came out and cut through the thorns with ease. "A-ha! Why didn't I think of this earlier?" He smiled to himself as he got to work freeing Bulkhead. He then turned his attention to the rock that was also blocking the entrance. "Bulk, you go help Optimus and get that rock out of the way. I'll free the girls." His large friend nodded as he ran toward the rock and began to slowly punch his way through it, helping Optimus to breach the barrier of the cave entrance. He made short work of the boulder, as Optimus cut down the last of the brambles that were obstructing his path into the cave.
"Boss! It's good to see you again!" Bulkhead smiled brightly as Bumblebee freed the last of the girls from their thorned prisons. "The camp director's gone crazy, she trapped us in here." He looked toward the girls, then back at Optimus. The girls all looked up at the Autobots in the cave as Optimus turned his attention to the large dome around the main camp grounds.
"I am aware, and she is using an incredible power to seal off the camp grounds in a border made of thorns." Optimus pointed toward the dome. "The campers must be trapped inside. We must free them!" The other Autobots nodded in agreement as Sunset moved to look at the Dome herself, her eyes widening as she witnessed green energy pulsing through the thorns.
She looked back at the group and then up at Optimus. "Equestrian magic...those crystals were made from Equestrian magic. They must have come through the portal after Twilight destroyed the statue." She stopped for a second as she noticed Twilight shrink back from the crowd. "Sorry. Anyway, we need to get through that dome and stop her before the power drives her to do something...worse."
Optimus nodded in agreement with Sunset. "Indeed, Sunset Shimmer, but I fear that it won't just be the camp director to deal with."
"What do you mean?" Bumblebee asked.
"Before I left the base, we picked up a Decepticon energy signature heading fast toward the camp grounds. It would stand to reason that Starscream has come for the remaining energy crystals that she has acquired." Optimus spoke grimly, as he continued to stare at the dome surrounding the camp grounds. "We cannot allow Starscream or Gloriosa to leave with the crystals." Everyone around Optimus nodded in agreement as he pointed toward the dome. "Autobots, humans, roll out!" With that, they all ran down toward the thorned dome.
Back within the dome, Starscream staggered back to his feet, looking around for the crystals that he had dropped. "Now, where did I drop them?" As he surveyed his environment, Starscream noted a large ball composed of thorned vines, a strange glow coming from within the ball. He stepped back, unsure what to think. "Now, that wasn't always there, was it?" He stared confused at the ball as a quiet ringing began to reverberate in his ears, as he activated his comms. "What?"
"Starscream, have you recovered the remaining energy crystals? You are taking longer than is logically feasible." Shockwave spoke on the other end, observing the dome Gloriosa had put up from the safe confines of the Nemesis.
Starscream scowled a little. "I'm working on it, Shockwave, but I seem to have run into...er...a couple of problems." He gave a nervous chuckle, and could hear Shockwave mumble something to himself over the comms. "Pardon?!"
"Nothing. Just fulfil your task. Preferably before Soundwave returns and takes charge of the operation. "
He seemed a little puzzled by this, not that he was concerned whatsoever at Soundwave's whereabouts. "And where, may I ask, is Soundwave?"
"He did not specify. Personal business requiring Lugnut's assistance, from what I could gather/" Shockwave answered.
Starscream scowled a little and ended the communication with Shockwave abruptly. He thought about it for a little, wondering what sort of personal business Soundwave was getting into while on Earth, and why he would need Lugnut's help, out of all the Decepticons they have on hand. He wasn't left to ponder any further, though, for the ball he was staring at mere minutes ago was beginning to open up, almost as though it were an egg giving way for a new creature to come into the world.
A giant, plant-like creature emerged from the ball, her hair held out by branches coming from her head, the lower half of her body anchored into the ground by a tree trunk. She grinned down at Starscream, twirling a thorned necklace holding all seven of the magical crystals in her hands, laughing.
"Now, pathetic little machine, you shall feel the truth wrath of Gaea Everfree!!"