//------------------------------//
// Our love's enough 
// Story: BACK TO LIFE 
// by CROSSOVER KING 
//------------------------------//

As soon as the girls came through the other side of the portal and got out of the cars, they looked at everything in sight with complete awe. 

They were in a giant building that looked a lot like a military base inside a mountain as every single one of the walls appeared to be made out of reinforced concrete and the only one corner that was pure stone had a tunnel going through it. 

At the center of the room, there was a platform with multiple stages with the top stage connected to a cylindrical elevator shaft. Right next to the platform itself, there was what seemed like a computer console tall enough for a giant robot to use and there were three green-colored monitors right above it. 

Finally, at the northwest corner of the room, there was a cylindrical area much larger than the elevator and the inside of the area looked very similar to a medical facility. 

As the girls started walking around and exploring the base, the Autobots tranformed back into their robot modes and went after them to make sure they did not break anything. Suddenly, the portal closed and everyone heard a slow clapping sound coming from behind and echoing throughout the room. 

They all turned around and were met with another Autobot slightly taller than both Cliffjumper and Bumblebee standing near the console with a smug expression on his face. His optics were blue like his comrades, and his color scheme was a combination of white, red, and green. 



A few seconds after he was spotted, he stopped clapping, crossed his arms, and said with a voice that sounded older than that of Cliffjumper, "Well, congratulations, rookies. You have officially broken Prime's number one rule regarding humans. Just as I said you would. When he or doc finds out about this, both of you are going to be in so much trouble." 

While Bumblebee nervously scratched his head, Cliffjumper let out a dry chuckle and announced, "Funny you should say that, Wheeljack. We actually want them to know about this, because it might very well be a clue to an upcoming Decepticon plot. So, um, would you happen to know where they went off to?"

Upon hearing this, Wheeljack's facial expression changed from smug to confused and he even raised an eyebrow before replying, "A clue to a Decepticon plot, huh? Well, for your sake, I do hope you're right about this. As for where they went off to, doc is in the storage bay making an inventory count and Prime is- "

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE ALLSPARK IS GOING ON HERE?!" 

Both the girls and the Autobots immediately looked at the direction that yell had come from and saw yet another Autobot about the same height as Wheeljack standing at the entrance of a hallway near the medical facility. He had an orange and white color scheme, the same optic color as the other Autobots, wheels on his elbows, big shoulders knee pads, the markings of an ambulance on his arms, and an extremely stern expression on his face. From his overall appearance, it was clear that he was the doctor that Wheeljack and Cliffjumper had spoken of, and when he yelled once again, his voice sounded even older than that of Wheeljack.



"Bumblebee! Cliffjumper! Explain yourselves at once! What made you even think that bringing humans to the base, let alone interacting with them, and violating a law essential to maintaining our presence on this planet a secret was a good idea?"

Before the young Autobots could provide a proper explanation, the girls walked in front of them and Sunset announced, "We were attacked on the road by a group of Decepticons led by Breakdown. They were after our magical geodes and they surely would've killed us all if Cliffjumper and Bumblebee hadn't shown up. After they beat Breakdown's soldiers and forced him to retreat, they offered to take us here so that your leader could explain why we were attacked in the first place."

As the doc stared at her in silence and tried to comprehend her story, Wheeljack commented, "Hmmm... Gotta say, that's actually not the most outlandish story I've ever heard. The rookies might be right, after all, Ratchet. This could be the key to uncovering what the Cons had been up to for the past few weeks." 

Ratchet then took a deep breath and declared, "Even so, I would've appreciated if they had told us about this event before taking such a rash action. Secrecy and discretion have always been our primary methods of survival ever since we came to this planet. Throwing them away just like that does not sit right with me." 

Right after that, Cliffjumper stepped forward and said, "With all due respect, doc, the Decepticons were the ones who threw those methods away first without any hesitation. All this are clear proof of them planning something big and the only way to stop them is figuring out what use could they have for the 'geodes' these humans are carrying with them. Now, can we please find out where the commander is so that he can give us a clear answer?"

"Well, he's actually not here at the moment", Ratchet replied. "He went to investigate a recently discovered Decepticon mining operation about an hour ago. However, I suspect he'll be back in a short while."

As if on cue, the sound of a large truck came from the tunnel and, shortly afterwards, there came big rig truck with a red and blue color scheme, and no trailer. 



Upon emerging from the tunnel, it stopped right in front of the entrance and began transforming into a robot much larger than all the Autobots in the room. The girls watched all this with utter shock on their faces and, as the transformation neared its completion, they became more and more awestruck by what they were seeing. 

The Autobot before them was at least thirty feet tall, had a gray face with a blue helmet and three antennas on each side (two blue, the others grey), heavily detailed and designed with multiple plates and layers of pieces on top of each other. He also had two sphere-shaped bases for his antennas with dark blue coloring around it, a red chest with windows from his vehicle mode, and a dark grey strip on both of his ribs. On top of all that, he was equipped with big shoulders that overlaped his arms. two wheels at the back held by his smokestacks, and four wheels are at the back of his legs.



Upon fully transforming into his robot mode, he curiously gazed at the girls for a few moments while they continued to stare at him with their shocked facial expressions. Then, Sunset very sheepishly announced, "Uhhh... H-hello there, sir. I-I'm Sunset Shimmer a-and these are my friends Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity."

After the girls nervously waved hello at him, the newly arrived Autobot turned towards Ratchet, and said with a deep and commanding voice, "I was not aware we were having guests today."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call them guests, Optimus", replied Ratchet. "They're more like Decepticon targets that require temporary shelter and an explanation for why they were attacked. By the way, you can thank the youngsters for allowing the humans here without telling any of us." 

"Hey, it's not like we had much of a choice at the moment!", Cliffjumper exclaimed. "Besides, it was technically Bumblebee's idea to bring them here in the first place." 

Bumblebee immediately started making angry-sounding buzzing noises, continued to do so for several seconds, and even raised his fist up with the intention of punching Cliffjumper in the face until Optimus gestured for him to cease and be silent with one hand. Then, he declared, "The identity of the one responsible for bringing these humans here is of no concern to me. What is really important is the fact that they have went through an undoubtedly terrifying experience, and we must provide them with an explanation for what they have seen so that their fear and confusion could be alleviated."

"Well, I'd love to stay and join the discussion, but sadly I've got some work to do outside", Wheeljack revealed. "I need to do a perimeter check and make sure all our defenses are fully operational. Now, before anyone tells me for the hundredth time to make some upgrades or modifications to them, let me tell you this: they haven't broken down yet and there's no point in altering or improving something that's not broken. That is my final word on this matter. If anyone's interested in lending me some assistance out there, you're more than welcome to do so." 

Upon hearing that, Bumblebee looked first at Wheeljack, then at Optimus, and finally at Wheeljack again before shrugging his shoulders and following his mechanic friend through the tunnel leading to outside. Even though Cliffjumper attempted to go with them, Ratchet stopped him by grabbing his shoulder and declared, "No, no, no. You are not going back outside just yet. Your chassis is covered in dents and bruises, and you've been leaking Energon ever since you came back from your most recent misadventure. So, now, you're coming with me to the medical center and you'll be staying there until I finish patching up all your injuries. Understood?"

Even though Cliffjumper let out a frustrated sigh at this, he nevertheless nodded in approval and allowed Ratchet to escort him to the medical center. As they walked towards their destination, Ratchet announced to both Optimus and the girls, "Sorry about that. You'll just have to carry on without us. We won't be back for a while, I'm afraid." 

A few moments later, they went inside the medical center and Ratchet began examining Cliffjumper's wounds. Their commander then sighed with some sorrow, kneeled before the girls, and began to explain, "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"Cybertron? That's a pretty strange name for a planet", Twilight commented. "Where exactly is it located, may I ask?" 

"Approximately three hundred million light years removed from Earth", Optimus promptly replied. 

"WHOA! Is it really that far away?", asked Twilight. "Then, how did you and the Decepticons manage to come to Earth in the first place?" 

"We used a piece of ancient technology designated as a 'Space Bridge'. It transports matter through time and space, and it can be used by all Cybertronians to travel between entire galaxies in an instant." 

"Um... Hate to break it to you, Optimus Prime sir, but that kind of technology does not obey the laws of physics at all."

"Then, you should keep in mind, Twilight Sparkle, that this technology was designed by the legendary Sentinel Zeta Prime, the Autobot leader before me and one of the greatest scientific minds in the entire history of Cybertron."

"Well, is there any way I can take a look at his research? I would absolutely love to find out how exactly he got this 'technology' to teleport matter through space and time while also violating every single one of the UNIVERSAL laws of physics. Can you show me how to talk to him or do you store the copies of his equations somewhere in this base or- "

"CAN WE PLEASE FOCUS ON WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT HERE?!" 

Upon hearing that shout, all the eyes in the room became focused on Sunset, who had apparently become extremely annoyed by what Twilight had been discussing with Optimus. Immediately afterwards, she took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down and said, "So sorry. It's just that we've all been through a lot in the past few hours and we really do need to talk about something relevant to the things that happened to us. So, instead of HOW the Autobots and Decepticons came to Earth, let's talk about WHY they came to Earth."

"A fair question, Sunset Shimmer", declared Optimus. "My team and I came to Earth so that we could stop the Decepticons from harming its inhabitants and draining its resources. As for why did they decide to come here, I unfortunately do not have a definitive answer to that. However, I can tell you this: Both factions were forced to abandon Cybertron in order to scour other planets for new sources of Energon, which is the fuel and life-blood of all Autobots and Decepticons alike. For countless centuries, we battled each other for the control of Cybertron's entire supply of Energon, which sadly led to our once-majestic home to be ravaged and eventually become completely uninhabitable." 

While the others were visibly saddened by this story, Rarity started to think really hard about what Optimus had just said and, after several seconds of deep contemplation, she revealed, "I think I figured it all out. Those brutish Decepticons came here, because there are some reserves of Energon on this planet, right?" 

Even though her friends looked at her with suprised expressions on their faces, Optimus remarked with admiration, "You are very inquisitive, Rarity. Yes, there are indeed several reserves of Energon on Earth. During the final chapters of the civil war, both factions attempted to hide their Energon supplies on remote planets such as this one. It appears our enemy has already found more than a few stashes deep underground and is conducting mining operations in order to extract every last piece of Energon. Although we have been trying to disrupt these operations and take the Energon for ourselves, we are often overmatched by not just legions Decepticon troopers, but also their immensely powerful commanding officers. Even when we succeed in conquering a site, they immediately bomb it and leave us with only a fraction of the original supply." 

"Hmmm... Maybe they got tired of you interrupting their operations and wanted to use our geodes as some kind of alternate energy source?", Fluttershy asked. 

This prompted Optimus to take a closer look at those geodes, and carefully examine them with both his optics and scanners. After completing the inspection in a matter of seconds, he announced, "Your suspicions could actually be true, Fluttershy. However, we cannot be certain without a more thorough analysis. Which is why, I strongly suggest that you and your friends remain here until its completion. Now, if you will excuse me, I must speak with Ratchet regarding this matter."

He rose back up and was just about to head towards the medical center when he suddenly stopped, looked back at the girls and said with a grim tone, "As for your earlier question, Twilight Sparkle, we do have copies of Sentinel's equations in our database. Unfortunately, there is no longer any possible way for you to converse with him. He was brutally murdered during the earliest days of the war for Cybertron by a truly ruthless warrior I once considered a brother in arms. He is now the supreme leader of the entire Decepticon faction: Megatron." 

The name immeadiately struck terror into the very hearts of the girls.