Soundwave and Blackout returned to the abandoned factory; the rest of their comrades were just inside the ship as they saw both Decepticons reaching them. The two transformed to robot mode before Soundwave noticed the cannon right next to him.
“I see that the construction of our project is completed,” said the sonic revolutionary.
“It’s actually a surprise this didn’t take that long. Still, I’m so excited to see what this baby can do!” Swindle squealed. “I can almost imagine the dastardly effects it will carry out!”
“Excellent work. All of Detroit will finally be under my supervision,” declared Soundwave. “Rumble has made himself at home, I presume?”
“Oh yeah, he definitely has. After all, that kid is going to make us rich with glory and power! Not to mention making billions of Energon for us... and upgrades...” Swindle sighed dreamily.
“Then there’s no time to waste. Rally the Decepticons together; Soundwave shall rule over all!” Soundwave said.
Rumble walked out of the ship with looks of excitement and nervousness mixed together. “Soooo... Swindle told me that I am going to be this... ‘main component’ for this cannon? It’s really cool, but I... don’t know how I feel about that.”
“Fear not, Rumble; for you shall fulfill your destiny for the Decepticon cause. Without your assistance, our plan will ultimately fail,” said Soundwave. He pressed several buttons on the cannon’s control panel which activated a small opening from the bottom. “Enter inside the machine.”
“Uh... this is awesome and all, but... are you sure about this?” Rumble asked.
“Affirmative. The entire revolution depends on your cooperation.” Soundwave replied.
Rumble stood there for a few seconds as he thought about it. “This is really life-changing for me. Saving a bunch of robots from evil humans? That’s... that’s a great accomplishment! I know Thunderlane will be proud of me.”
Then he looked up to Soundwave with a brave look and nodded. He slowly entered inside the power chamber before the lid closed behind him. “Man, this ought to be fun! I hope it all works out at the end...” he muttered. The purple lights inside lit up, and the circuitry began to function around his minicon body. It then started to connect to his arms, legs, chest, and head with electricity sparkling all over him.
“Whooaaa!! This is getting... (grrrrr)... intense!” Rumble shouted.
The cannon increased its height just above the factory and aimed its barrel right towards Sumdac Tower. It then produced a digital timer at its right side. “Initiating full power blast in half a mega cycle,” said Soundwave.
AT THE AUTOBOT PLANT
Both teams traveled to an abandoned plant in Detroit. As they arrived, the Autobots transformed to robot mode and walked toward the closed entrance of the place. “So you and Optimus are brothers, huh? Like... brother-in-arms? Or something else?” Sari asked.
“You could say that we’re brother-in-arms, but Optimus and I have been very close since our Autobot Academy days,” Rodimus explained, sadly looking down on the ground. “Every time I got in trouble, he would always stand up for me and be at my side. He was so supportive and caring to me that I considered him to be... my big brother.”
“Awww, that’s so sweet!” Twilight brightly smiled. “How long have you guys been together?”
“(Sigh) A long time... longer than you think. However, something terrible happened to us—a horrible mistake I will never forget,” he grimly replied.
“What? What happened?” Spike asked with eager curiosity. The others listened attentively to the story as well.
“The... I can’t—I... I cannot muster the will to say it,” Prime stuttered.
“Come on, Sir, we need to know!” Ironhide insisted.
“Yeah, it’s okay, Rodimus, we will listen,” Red Alert encouraged.
“We’re all friends here. We’re always here for you,” Twilight said.
Hearing their words made him more comfortable. He closed his optics and reopened them with a stoic look on his face. “One day, we were together in a battlefield with several Autobot troopers by our side. One of our own reported sightings of the Decepticons... and an Autobot body. I wanted to go down there to see if he was okay, but Optimus insisted that we remain put,”
“Suddenly, we were ambushed. Several Decepticons appeared out of nowhere and attacked us,” he continued. “Although we did put up a good fight, not many of us made it out alive. They took most of our troopers offline and surrounded us. We were supposed to fight together as brothers, but... I... di—didn’t...”
“What? What?!” Hot Shot panicked.
“... I abandoned him.”
They all gasped in shock.
“I... was afraid. We were vastly outnumbered, outgunned, and cornered. I tried to fight back, but one of them wounded me badly,” he sadly recalled. “Optimus had more courage than I had, and I couldn’t last a full cycle against them. He begged me to help him, but I was too scared to do so. So I ran off for safety... like a coward. Whoever that Decepticon was, he was a monster.”
“Megacycles later, Ultra Magnus and the other Autobots discovered what happened; I told them the whole story. Then I was scolded for my cowardice and was blamed for not saving my Autobot brethren... especially my big brother. It resulted in my expulsion from the academy. I... I really hoped he survived the attack after all these stellar cycles.”
“Wow... I’m so sorry to hear that! You must have felt so guilty for so long.” Sari sympathized.
“Indeed. Of course, Ultra Magnus found a way for me to have my own team and be a Prime. Despite that, it wasn’t the same for me anymore. Without Optimus by my side, I felt alone and worthless. Thankfully, my team helped and supported me in every way they could.” Rodimus said, smiling at his comrades.
“That’s why friendship is so important; with your friends by your side, you are never alone,” said Twilight.
“I suppose you’re right, Twilight Sparkle. It truly is a miracle that Optimus survived after all this time. I... I hope he can forgive me,” Rodimus said.
Sari then knocked on the garage door. They waited for Optimus to answer the door, but there was no answer. The door remained closed. “Huh... that’s weird. Hello? Guys! I brought some guests over! Open up!”
There was still no answer from them. Growing impatient, Brawn walked over to the garage door and smashed it to pieces. They all looked at him with raised eyebrows and optic-brows. “What? Time is of the essence, y’know!”
They slowly entered inside the plant and surprisingly saw no bot in sight. “Optimus! Brother! Are you in here?!” Rodimus cried.
Silence was the only reply. “My goodness, this place looks... so strange and messy,” Luna observed. “How can somepony live in a place like this?”
“Ha! I know I can!” Discord shouted. “A simple dose of chaos will certainly make this dumpster more attractive!” He snapped his fingers to bring in dancing pancakes all over the room. They jumped and danced around the stone furniture and machinery while they screamed in joy. He wore 3D glasses as he watched.
“What the?! What’s going on here?!” Sari exclaimed.
“Discord is what’s going on here,” Starlight replied, rolling her eyes.
“Knock it off, Discord!” Twilight scolded.
“Oh, fine,” he growled. He snapped his fingers again which made them disappear. “Happy now?”
“What took you so long in coming back? You had a fight with Cyclonus or something?” Ironhide asked.
“You could say that,” Discord nonchalantly replied. “Plus, I had a few errands to run.”
Suddenly, a wiring noise was heard below. They all looked down the area where a gaping hole was seen. Elevating was a giant Decepticon bat with keyboards on his wings. He aggressively screeched at the intruders and attacked them.
“What?! Where did that thing come from?!” Hot Shot shouted, ducking the bat’s attacks.
“Autobots, concentrate your attack on that ‘Con!” Rodimus commanded. They and the ponies opened fire on the bat. The latter dodged the laser and magical beams and retrieved back into the lower floor.
“Wow, this reminds me of the time Applejack had the bat pest problem at her farm a few years ago. This one looked... so big!” Twilight recalled.
“Well, this ‘bat pest’ won’t mess with us again once we teach ‘em a thing or two!” Ironhide said, clenching his fists.
“How did a Decepticon infiltrate their home in the first place? Where exactly are they?” Red Alert wondered.
“I think that thing captured them and is holding them as prisoners!” Twilight fearfully shouted.
“A Decepticon half their size... managing to flawlessly take them down... and imprison them? Ha, I don’t buy it,” Ironhide scoffed.
At that very moment, a massive laser beam flew right through the clouds and struck Sumdac Tower. The entire building was electrified and turned bright red; massive ropes of red lightning struck every part of the city as well as every robot. The automatons stopped functioning normally for a few seconds; afterwards, their optics and mouths turned purple and dangerously faced their human owners. They generated sophisticated weapons from their systems and commenced their attack on the humans.
The latter screamed in terror as they fled for their lives. The robots rampaged across the streets and shot missiles at every house and building in sight. Even the garbage bots turned the refuse inside into lava and vomited them on the ground. They climbed on top of the skyscrapers and poured lava and fire on the buildings. Then they raised their arms and uttered monotone, robotic laughter.
“All hail Soundwave, all hail Soundwave, all hail Soundwave,” they chanted.
The Autobots and ponies saw the commotion outside and widened their eyes/optics in horror. “What in the name of the AllSpark is going on out there?!” Brawn shrieked.
“Wow... everything is turning out to be... CHAOTIC!!” Discord dramatically added.
The other robots turned to see them standing outside the plant. “Autobot and organic beings sighted. The techno-organic is with them. Objective: Destroy them all.”
They fired their missiles and laser beams at the Autobots and Equestrians. Celestia and Luna activated their shields and protected everyone from the enemy’s assault. “We need to find your brother and his team before it’s too late!” Celestia advised. “It appears that this is Soundwave’s doing!”
“We can’t forget about Rumble! We have to save him too!” Thunderlane reminded.
“Then we need to spilt up and go find them both! I and my team will search for Optimus and his crew while you ponies can rescue Rumble! LET’S ROLL OUT!!” Rodimus ordered. Thus, they separated and planned to fulfill their mission once and for all.
The sky turned dark orange, and the clouds turned black before covering half of the sky. Soundwave saw his entire work being brought to life before him; he beheld fire and smoke filling the city and humans screaming everywhere.
“Beautiful!” Swindle praised, feasting his optics on the chaos.
“We’re gonna get some good Energon outta this,” Lockdown grinned.
“The project has been a success,” said Soundwave. “The whole world shall fear the name of Soundwave. The revolution shall prevail!”