//------------------------------// // Nothing's Gonna Stand in Our Way // Story: TIL ALL ARE ONE // by CROSSOVER KING //------------------------------// It was another beautiful night in Equestria. The moon was shining as brightly as ever and each of the stars all around it were also a sight to behold. While observing these beauties were quite difficult for ponies living in large cities like Manehattan and Baltimare, it was no challenge at all for those residing in small towns or remote farms. One of these farms was actually a rock farm owned by the Pie family, which consisted of their patriarch Igneous Rock Pie, his wife Cloudy Quartz, and their four daughters Maud, Limestone, Pinkie, and Marble. Since Maud was currently studying for her rocktorate in the Equestrian Institute of Rockology and Pinkie was residing in Ponyville, the management of the farm belonged to Limestone, who had an enormous respect for the family traditions and a fierce determination to remain in charge of the farm. However, despite her seemingly tough and humorless personality, she also loved every single member of her family with all her heart and one of her favorite hobbies of all time was watching the sky every night. She could not really explain why, but silently staring at the moon and the surrounding stars did fill her with such serenity that she was able to forget all of her troubles and frustrations. Unfortunately, she was not going to be able to spend any time on this hobby of hers that night... Her father had recently gotten ill, and since both her mother and Marble were busy taking care of him while also looking after the house, it was Limestone's duty to take care of the chores around the farm each and every day until her father became better. Needless to say, this job was not easy to accomplish at all. Even though she was as strong and durable as the rest of her family, harvesting rocks on the entire field all by herself was extremely tiring for her. Moreover, she could not even manage to finish the workload during the day and this forced her to work during the night as well. While she was saddened by the fact that she would be unable to enjoy watching the beautiful evening sky, she was fully aware of the fact that sustaining the farm and supporting her family had far more importance than a simple hobby. Therefore, she stayed on the field long after the sun had set and the moon had risen, and despite how tired she was, she nevertheless continued to crush rocks without slowing down at all. However, just as she was about to shatter her six hundredth rock that day, she heard a loud thumping noise coming from a distance. It was as if something really big was walking towards the farm and Limestone immediately thought of the possibility that it could be a lone Arimaspi that had wandered off from their nearby territory and was looking for ponies to eat. With that in mind, she put her tools aside and quickly ran towards the toolshed. Once inside, she grabbed a pair of binoculars and a crossbow she had been hiding there in case a bandit, animal or monster ever came to the farm. Despite the fact that her parents loathed using weapons of any kind, she had decided to gather whatever necessary to keep the family safe and it seemed like she was finally going to be able to use her crossbow that night. As soon as she took what she needed from the shed, she went outside and used her binoculars to see exactly what was approaching the farm. As soon as she saw it, however, she became so afraid that her blood ran cold. It was a gigantic twenty feet tall bipedal beast made entirely of metal. He had a yellow-colored visor for eyes, two cannon-shaped cylinders on his back, and a big purple insignia on his chest that looked really menacing. She and her family had heard about these things about a week ago. They were aliens called "Decepticons" and a whole army of them had recently invaded several major Equestrian cities, including Canterlot. Even though they were all destroyed by the combined efforts of the royal guard and their new allies, the Autobots (the mortal enemies of the Decepticons), and the Decepticon leader himself had been imprisoned in Tartarus by the princesses, one of them had apparently survived the Battle for Canterlot. It was slowly but surely making its way towards the rock farm, and Limestone had no idea how she could stop it. She started thinking really hard about the possible ways of preventing his approach and then, about ten seconds later, she came up with a plan that might just work. She put her binoculars aside, grabbed her crossbow, and aimed it towards the Decepticon's visor. While his armor looked extremely durable and that shooting at it would be utterly pointless, the visor looked more vulnerable. So, she aimed the crossbow at it and began to wait for the creature to come close enough so that the arrow could find its target. The waiting lasted for nearly fifteen seconds and by the time it ended, the Decepticon had finally arrived at Limestone's shooting range. Unfortunately, Limestone herself also became significantly more terrified of the creature each time he took a step towards the farm, and got closer and to her. In fact, her hooves were violently shaking with fear as a result of seeing the Decepticon up close and she was no longer certain about her ability to hit her target. However, there was one thing she was absolutely certain about and it was the fact that she had no choice but to use everything at her disposal as soon as possible in order to drive the monster away from her land and save the lives of her loved ones. With that in mind, she fired her arrow, watched as it traveled towards its intended target, and... DOINK! Her jaw dropped to the floor and her eyes widened with pure shock the moment she saw the arrow missing the target. Instead, it hit the Decepticon's forehead and fell harmlessly towards the ground. The creature, meanwhile, noticed this and immediately gazed at the direction the arrow was fired from. Once he saw Limestone, he began walking towards her and Limestone just stood there frozen from utter terror and all four of her hooves trembling. She did not even scream when the Decepticon gently picked her up with two fingers and brought her just inches away from his face. Right after that, he said with a rough voice, "I'm just passing through. Not here to cause trouble. So, please, stop shooting at me with your primitive weapons, let me go about my business, and forget this encounter ever occurred. Are we clear?" Limestone responded by giving him both a sheepish grin and a few quick nods. Therefore, the Decepticon carefully placed her back on the ground and continued on his current course. Limestone looked at him from behind for a short while before realizing exactly where he was headed. She then galloped towards the creature and once she was right beside him, she yelled, "Wait! You can't go that way! That's where the Arimaspi Territory is!" Upon hearing this, he stopped walking, looked back at Limestone, and replied, "I'm fully aware of that. It's my plan to go there, anyway. I'm going to spend the rest of my days there, because it's the one place in Equestria where no pony or Autobot would ever think to go. Besides, there are plenty of things I can do to keep myself occupied there. Smashing monsters, smashing mountains, smashing rocks... You name it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a retirement home to get to. Oh, and like I said before, forget this encounter ever occurred." As he continued to walk towards his destination, Limestone took a few moments to think about what he had just said. Then, she suddenly got an idea and ran after the Decepticon once again. Once she arrived near him, she announced, "Hey, uh, if you enjoy smashing rocks that much, you can stay here and help me with my harvest. I've been cracking rocks all day long and, as much as I hate to admit it, I could really use some assistance finishing up my workload. Besides, this place is pretty far away from all the major cities and towns, so no pony or Autobot would think to come here, as well. So, what do you say? Care to spend your retirement here instead of the Arimaspi Territory?" As soon as she finished that sentence, the Decepticon stopped walking once again, facepalmed, and let out a loud groan. Then, he once again picked up Limestone with his fingers, brought her close to his face, and angrily said, "I appreciate your kind offer, but there is just one problem with it. If I stay here, I'll be near you and your relatives, and being near ponies is the last thing I need right now. Oh, yes, I do know that you have relatives here, because I saw them with my thermal imaging. Also, I scanned both your DNA and theirs, and noticed that they are very similar to each other. This means you're all related to one another, but that is the least of my worries at the moment. My main concern is whether or not I can trust any of you to keep my presence here a secret. Frankly, I think the risks I would take by staying here far outweigh the benefits. I mean, what if one of you decides to report my presence to the authorities? What if those authorities bring the Autobots with them? What if they succeed in terminating me a second time? Oh, dear Primus, just thinking about it is messing with my cerebral cortex!" As he made that exclamation, he accidentally let go of Limestone and only noticed her fall when she let out terrified screams a few seconds later. Fortunately, he caught her with his right palm just before she hit the ground and once again brought her a few inches away from his face. "Um... sorry about that", he nervously apologized. "It's just... being terminated during my last battle with your people and the Autobots was a truly horrible experience and I honestly do not want it to happen again. That's mainly why I've been avoiding ponies ever since." "Hold on a minute. So, you're saying you actually perished and came back to life afterwards?", Limestone asked with great confusion in her voice. "How the heck did that happen? Also, you Decepticons have an afterlife too?" "Yeah, we do and it's called 'the Matrix'. It is the realm of our almighty creator, Primus. The spark of every deceased Autobot and Decepticon go there, and be reunited with their fallen comrades. I briefly got to see my brother Barricade when I arrived there. Unfortunately, our reunion was cut short due to my sudden resurrection. It happened when our leader Megatron used a life-giving artifact called, 'the AllSpark', to bring back all of our fallen soldiers in a desperate effort to turn the tide of the Battle for Canterlot. I was supposed to help him achieve victory upon my return, but instead, I chose to run away from the battlefield. Something inside me snapped that day and I realized how foolish was my belief that Megatron's cause was the righteous path. I mean, fighting for him against both the Autobots and the princesses is what caused me to become offline in the first place and what's worse, he interrupted my reunion with Barricade by bringing me back from the Matrix. I had no intention to follow him after that and so, I escaped and I've been wandering through Equestria looking for an isolated place to stay ever since. Even though I do miss my brother sometimes, I don't really have the courage to re-experience the pain of termination once again. I just want to spend what's left of my natural lifespan in peace and doing what I do best. Smashing things." As he explained all this, Limestone listened to every word he spoke with great interest. Although she did not show it, she was truly fascinated by the things he had talked about and by the time he finished his story, she was feeling legitimately sorry for everything he had been through and she did understand her reluctance to staying on the farm. However, there was still one question lingering on her mind. "Whoa... That was... quite a story", she managed to say. "Although, there is one thing I don't exactly understand. Why are you telling me all this? I mean, you said a few minutes ago that you don't really trust me and family to keep your presence here a secret. So, what made you think you can trust me with the tale of your resurrection and change of heart?" "I... don't quite know. Maybe its because I haven't talked to another sentient being for so long that I felt a sudden urge to reveal everything I've been keeping inside. Another reason could be that I see some of my younger self in you. You mentioned earlier that you've been handling the rock harvest all by yourself for the entire day, and that means you're strong and determined just like I was. Also, when I scanned your oldest relative, I noticed that his body temperature was higher than all of yours, which means he is not in good health at the moment and you are in charge of running this farm while your remaining relatives are taking care of him. I admire that kind of strong dedication. Reminds me of how valiantly I served Megatron all those eons even when he was on the brink of defeat. So, yeah, before he went mad and committed terrible crimes against me, I was immensely loyal to him the same way you are immensely loyal to your oldest relative. You know, I sometimes do wish I could go back to those times. When things were simple, my brother was online, and we had a strong leader to both look up to and depend on." As he let out a deep sigh and hung his head in sorrow, Limestone could not help but shed a few tears before walking on his right arm and making his way towards the right side of his head. Once she came close to it, she placed one of her hooves on his right cheek and said, "I'm so sorry about what happened to you, but you should know that just because you can't go back to those simpler times, doesn't mean you can't build a better life for yourself here. It seems to me that this Megatron was more than just your leader. He was, more or less, a father figure to both you and your brother. You may have been unable to stay loyal to your father, but you can help me stay loyal to mine. Trust me, my father is nothing like Megatron. Sure, he's almost always strict and humorless, but he also deeply cares about me, my mother, and my sisters no matter what. He's fully supported us in all of our endeavors and right now, taking care of the rock harvest until he gets better is my perfect opportunity to thank him for that. Unfortunately, I don't really think I can pull it off all on my own. So, what do you say? Lend me a little assistance during your retirement here?" Upon hearing all this, the Decepticon slowly raised his head to look at her before declaring, "Hmmm... Alright, then. I accept your offer, little one. I shall retire to this farm and smash the rocks around here so that you could help out your family during this difficult time. Perhaps, then, you could finally pay your debt to a father far nobler than the one I had. There is just one question I've been contemplating, though. How are we going to explain my presence to your relatives?" A huge smile appeared on Limestone's face as soon as she heard that and as she wiped away the tears on her eyes, she replied, "Leave that to me, buddy. Now, come on! We've got to finish up today's workload before my folks start worrying sick for me. Oh, by the way, my name's Limestone Pie and it’s a real pleasure to welcome you to Pie Family Rock Farm.” "And I am Brawl. Honored to meet you, Limestone Pie. Now, show me some rocks to smash, already!” He punched his left palm with his right fist, to which Limestone could not help but giggle at. She then he pointed towards the rocks scattered around the that required harvesting and Brawl gently placed her back on the ground before walking towards the rocks and promptly started smashing them to bits with his bare hands. After Limestone spent about ten seconds watching him while also being completely awed by his brute strength and seemingly unstoppable power, she was suddenly startled by the combined sound of two distinct shocked gasps. She turned around to see both his mother and Marble staring at Brawl with their jaws dropped to the floor and their eyes widened with terror. In response, she let out a nervous chuckle and managed to say, “Um… I can explain…” The next morning, a decision regarding Brawl’s stay on the farm was reached amongst the members of the Pie family. He was to stay inside the borders Arimaspi Territory from dawn until dusk and come to the farm to help finish Limestone’s rock harvest between sunset and sunrise. In this way, his presence would be completely hidden from other ponies, and none of the family members would feel the need to report him to the authorities due to his contribution to the farm. While Limestone was a bit saddened by the fact that he would not get to see Brawl all the time, she nevertheless agreed to this arrangement and his father openly expressed how proud of her he was, as a result. As for Brawl himself, he was extremely happy over the arrangement. He could get to smash monsters during the day and smash rocks during the night while also spending some time with Limestone. They talked about their respective cultures and societies. Additionally, Brawl shared his war stories with Limestone while she shared her family memories with him. All the while, they got to do one of Limestone’s favorite hobbies: peacefully staring at stars.