//------------------------------//
// Episode 2: "Journey to Cybertron, Part 2" 
// Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 15 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
//------------------------------//

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PREVIOUSLY ON "MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC"

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Spike: "This can't go on, Twilight. First Grogar and now this."

Twilight Sparkle: "Do we surrender easily? I'd rather die than do that!"

Optimus Primal: "The shuttle will be ready for you whenever you need it."

Twilight Sparkle: "Having the Maximals back in Equestria will give us an edge over Misty and Queen Opaline."

Queen Opaline: "Don't you see that with the spells Grogar foolishly left behind, we can build an army powerful enough to crush Twilight Sparkle and her friends?! I need the body of Megatron!"

Misty: "Mom, that would mean we would go to Cybertron itself!"

Rainbow Dash: "I call dibs on piloting the Autobot Shuttle!"

Master Vile: "What's in it for me?"

Queen Opaline: "Calibos, how would you like to return to Equestria?"

Sweetie Drops: "Liftoff!"

….

…

Ever since they had returned from Equestria, Optimus Primal and his fellow Maximals had been glad to be back home on Cybertron. The Beast Wars had gone on for far too long in their minds, and all they could think of was settling down and returning to the life they'd had before they ended up on Earth.

But within the confines of Cybertron was a mausoleum built for a specific purpose, to house the dead, sparkless body of the Predacon leader, Megatron, to send a message that any Predacon actions against Cybertron would not be tolerated.

"Oh yoy," Rattrap as he and Dinobot arrived at the Mausoleum. "I still don't see why we have to guard Megadip's carcass. It's not he's just going to get up and walk away or something."

"Megatron is very much alive, vermin," Dinobot remarked. "His spark lives, and someone might steal it along with his body. We're guarding to prevent that from happening, or else everything we struggled for will be for nothing!"

Rattrap sneered at his resurrected partner's suggestion as they approached Megatron's dead transmetal 2 body. "Well what do you expect ol' Megatron to do? Get up and dance, saying that there are no strings on him? I mean, he's dead, Chopperface. Dead dead. Honestly, it's all a waste of my precious time as far as I'm concerned. I should be roaming through the garbage right now, like I was before this whole Predacon business started."

Nevertheless, the two Maximals stood guard at the body, looking out for anyone who would want to steal it.

…

Back in the Autobot Shuttle, Twilight and her friends traveled through the outer reaches of space as they neared Cybertron.

"It's so beautiful!" Rarity gasped while looking out one of the shuttle's windows. "Almost like a dream."

"Seems so relaxing and mystifying," Fluttershy added, standing next to Rarity. "My animals surely would love it."

"I'm sure they would, at least if there's organic life and not metallic life" Spike nodded. "But we aren't here to take in the sights! We're here because we have a job to do!"

"Closin' about 40 miles, y'all," Applejack spoke up as she monitored the navigation of the shuttle. "Shouldn't be long now. Better prepare for landin'"

"Aww, and I was just getting used to this," Pinkie Pie whined, much to Rainbow Dash's annoyance. "Why must space travel be so fast?"

"There is a return flight back, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said, looking at the Princess of Laughter with content. "Now, let's focus on what we have to do. Let's hope Optimus and the Maximals still remember us."

But sitting in the captain's chair of the shuttle, Twilight could not take in the sights of outer space for she knew of the time that was of the essence. "The sooner we get to Cybertron, the better," She thought, tapping her forehoof on the arm of the chair as she magically removed her helmet and tried to keep her anxieties in check, doing one of her Cadence taught breathing techniques. "I just hope Optimus is up for returning to Equestria. We need him and the Maximals more than ever. Equestria just got through a war with Grogar, it shouldn't be forced to endure another long one with Opaline"

Suddenly, Twilight found that she and her friends weren't alone. They heard a thud, causing the shuttle to shake!

"Roadkill! Roadkill! Get it off!" Pinkie Pie screeched as the body of a draconequus was plastered on the window. "Turn on the windshield wipers!"

Suddenly, the creature opened his eyes and causing everypony on board to scream…except for Fluttershy. "It's not roadkill, it's Discord!" She cried as Discord teleported himself into the shuttle. "Discord, what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking the same question about you Fluttershy," Discord scolded the pegasus. "You know better than to run off without saying goodbye! What about your animals?"

"Well, you're supposed to be watching them, aren't you?" Fluttershy remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"They'll be fine, I've got Smooze keeping an eye on them!" Discord huffed. "Besides, I came here on behalf of Celestia and Luna. They specifically asked me to keep an eye on you!" Expanding his eyes, Discord eyeballed the six princesses. "Now, what's all this about the Maximals?"

"Don't you remember them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, I was imprisoned by Grogar, remember? I was disguised as a bounty hunter named Lockdown. In fact, you sent me to spy on him, Twilight!" Discord scolded. "And I never got a proper apology for risking my life to be your eyes and ears!"

But Twilight had other reasons to focus on. "You're right, and I'm sorry I didn't thank you properly for all you did. But that's not neither here nor there, is it? In any case, your timing is most opportune Discord," And she asked. "How good does your chaos magic work up here? Does it work okay?"

Snapping his eagle claw, Discord tested out his chaos magic in a variety of ways, all of which worked perfectly, including making it rain chocolate rain in the shuttle.

"I'll take that as a yes," Spike remarked. "In fact, having you around gives us an edge against any Predacons."

"If there ire any surviving Predacons…" Twilight cautioned as she turned to look out the window again as the shuttle neared a planet in the shape of a robotic sphere. "I'm sure they'll be ready for us."

…

As the shuttle neared Cybertron, at that very moment, a pair of shadows rocketed through space and landed on a Cybertronian city street. The shadows disappeared revealing themselves to be Opaline and Misty, clothed in spacesuits.

"Is this Cybertron, mother?" Misty asked.

"It is, you foolish mare!" Opaline scolded. "Now we mustn't take too long. We need the body of Megatron and any Predacons who perished in Equestria. If Princess Twilight and her friends think they can use the Maximals against us, it only seems fitting to counter with the Maximals sworn enemy: The Predacons."

As luck would have it, the streets of Cybertron were empty, providing ample protection for mother and daughter.

"Now, how do you propose we recruit them?" Misty asked as they both suddenly saw a wasp flying above the streets.

Opaline saw an opportunity to get information out of the wasp. "Watch and learn," She smirked before she fired a beam of magic on the wasp, causing it to be pulled back. Struggling, the wasp tried to break free, but he couldn't do so.

"Waspinator…" The wasp started to say only to be pulled into a back alley. "Waspinator ambushed…Waspinator thought he was…"

"Shut up!" Opaline hissed, forcing Waspinator to be silenced. "Do you want to live? Well, do you?!"

"Waspinator wants to live…" The ex-Predacon pleaded.

"Then tell me where Megatron's body is being kept!" Opaline demanded, tightening her grip on Waspinator's throat. "Tell me, or I will kill you!"

…

…

Meanwhile, Optimus Primal was in his gorilla beast mode and fast asleep in his quarters with his mate, Optimus Prima sleeping next to him. It had been a long time since he had a sleep like this and Optimus was going to relish in it, no matter what it took.

Outside, his reincarnated brother Rodiums Primal was also asleep in his lion beast mode when he suddenly felt a strange summons that caused him to wake up! "Huh? What was that?" He wondered, quickly getting up and going over towards one of the windows. "Could it be?!" Immediately, he turned back around, racing up the stairs towards Optimus and his mate! "Optimus!" He called, causing the Maximal leader to be woken up slightly. "Optimus!"

"Rodimus, what is it?" Prima asked as Rodimus dashed into the room. "What's going on?!"

Grumpily and groggily, Optimus Primal demanded. "Rodimus, report."

"It's Princess Twilight and her friends," Rodimus reported with a salute. "My sensors indicate they are returning."

Hearing this, Optimus immediately got up and transformed from beast to robot mode. "Something tells me this isn't for a casual visit," He remarked. "Where are they landing, Rodimus?"

"At one of the shuttle ports, I would assume." Rodimus declared.

Taking in this information, Optimus turned back to his mate. "Prima, I will be back. Stay here in case anything comes up."

"Optimus!" Prima called "Be careful! It took everything we had to bring Rodimus back, we can't risk losing you as well."

Heeding his mate's words, Optimus followed Rodimus out of his home and into the streets of Cybertron.

…

Meanwhile, Waspinator had been taken captive and was being forced by Opaline and Misty to lead them to the mausoleum. "Waspinator won't let you get away with this!" He cried as Opaline had her horn pointed at Waspinator's back. "He won't! Waspinator's friends will come and rescue Waspinator!"

"They'll never get the chance, so shut up!" Opaline snapped. "Take us to Megatron's body!"

Not wanting to be turned to scrap metal for the umpteenth time, Waspinator reluctantly did as he was told as they neared the large mausoleum. The structure was mammoth and this to Opaline was a sign that more Predacon bodies were inside.

"Mother, it's amazing!" Misty gasped as they entered! "Is this what a mausoleum looks like?"

"Yes, and it's going to help us get what we want," Opaline declared before turning to Waspinator and asking. "Who is guarding the body?"

"Ratbot and Dinobot are guarding." Waspinator hastily answered.

"Bring them out here," Opaline commanded, her horn pointed right at Waspinator's spine. "Now!"

Gulping, Waspinator did as he was told. "Waspinator…Maximize!" He nervously called out while transforming from a wasp to his robot mode.

"Good, now move!" Opaline ordered

Walking, Waspinator approached the side door of the mausoleum as Opaline and Misty returned to their shadow forms. Knocking, Waspinator attempted to get the attention of Rattrap and Dinobot.

"Hey chopperface, you hear that?" Rattrap asked as Dinobot also looked at the source of the noise. "Are we expecting anyone?"

"Apparently not," Dinobot declared while drawing his sword. "Stay here."

"You expecting me to stay here with Megatron's corpse, Dinobot?" Rattrap protested.

"There are others who need to be guarded, vermin!," Dinobot coldly warned Rattrap, turning around to glare at him. "And we will do our duty, even if it requires a necessary sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Rattrap remarked, shaking his head and remaining at his point while Dinobot went to the door. "The things I do as a Maximal…"

Approaching the door, Dinobot quietly drew his sword and anticipated who would be coming. "Who is there?!" He demanded.

"It's Waspinator." Waspinator nervously called.

"What are you doing here?" Dinobot growled in inquiry.

Waspinator quivered and shivered. "Waspinator… has company."

Right away, Dinobot could smell that something wasn't right. "Who is with you, Waspinator?!"

"No one lizard lips may know." Waspinator sheepishly answered.

Shaking his head, Dinobot knew that there was only one thing to do. "Open the door, Waspinator!" He demanded, and the door slowly opened as Dinobot carefully held his sword tightly in his grip. As the door opened, Dinobot saw Waspinator alone with a worried and scared look on his face. When he saw that no one was with Waspinator, Dinobot asked again. "Where are those who are with you?!"

Just then, Opaline and Misty sneaked their way behind Dinobot and materialized.

"Right behind you!" Queen Opaline laughed as she casted a subduing spell on Dinobot, causing him to be knocked out cold with a tranquilizer in his throat. "Come, Misty!"

Seeing that his friend was lying on the floor, Rattrap drew his weapon and fired several times at Misty and Opaline, who immediately assumed their shadow forms to dodge the blasts. "Hey, what the…?!" Rattrap cried as Opaline fired a beam of magic at Rattrap's chest, sending him against the wall of the mausoleum, knocking him out cold.

With the two Maximals disposed of, Opaline stared down at the body of Megatron. "Excellent," Opaline declared. "Megatron, leader of the Predacons, we meet at last," She then turned to Misty, knowing that there were more Predacon bodies to be found. "Misty, retrieve any bodies you find here," She ordered. "Go! Now!"

Acting on her mother's orders, Misty did as she was told while Opaline began to cast a spell on Megatron's body, surrounding it with dark magic and lifting it into the air. "Now you shall come with me and have a second chance at life, Megatron!" Opaline cackled as the body continued to hover a few more moments before disappearing along with Opaline.

Down in the basement, Misty held several more Predacon bodies in her aura and with the bodies in tow, she also disappeared.

…

Meanwhile, the Autobot shuttle neared Cybertron's atmosphere and both Rainbow Dash and Applejack kept an eye out for the landing site.

"About five miles out." Applejack announced, watching the navigation screen closely.

"Lower landing gear." Twilight ordered and Rainbow Dash did as she was told.

"Landing gear lowered," Rainbow Dash acknowledged. "Flaps down to thirty."

With the flaps and the landing gear lowered, the shuttle proceeded towards the landing site as a small tension filled its occupants, none of them knowing what was going to happen next.

"We're lined up, Twilight!" Rainbow cried as they all took their seats, except for Discord.

"Discord, sit down!" Fluttershy demanded!

"Don't worry, I'm a spirit of chaos!" Discord insisted. "Nothing's going to happen to me!" But a sudden patch of turbulence sent Discord pancaking onto the ceiling. "Then again, I could be wrong," he whispered.

Down at the site, Optimus and the top Maximals watched as the shuttle landed in front of them. Gently, Rainbow Dash landed the shuttle in place and shut down the engines. Cheetor and Silverbolt took their positions and opened the door for Twilight and her friends to exit through.

As they stepped down, Optimus couldn't help but feel delighted in the fact that he was seeing Twilight again.

"Optimus Primal, it's good to see you again!" Twilight beamed.

"It's good to see you again too, Princess Twilight," Optimus replied with a salute. "Welcome to Cybertron!"

Smiling, Twilight nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Wow, I didn't think Cybertron would be like Manehattan!" Rarity remarked as she stepped down the stairs and her eyes took in the sights. "Look at all the buildings!"

"Certainly looks no different from anythin' in Manehattan, I reckon," Applejack added. "Never would've guessed our worlds could look so alike."

"Optimus, while we are delighted to see you again," Twilight declared, getting right down to business. "Time is of the essence. A new threat has been made against Equestria and we need your…" But then she was interrupted by the sounds of radio chatter coming on Optimus' radio.

"Boss monkey, you there?!" Rattrap asked.

"I'm here, Rattrap," Optimus replied. "What's happening?"

"Well, how shall I say this?" Rattrap called. "Chopperface and I along with Bug Boy… we had some… unwanted visitors in the mausoleum."

Right away, a look of concern fell upon the faces of everyone!

"What visitors?!" Optimus questioned! "And what are they doing in the mausoleum?!"

"A pair of equines," Rattrap answered. "They came in and put some kind of spell on me and Dinobot, and apparently Waspinator too!"

"They beat us here?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a shocked voice! "How?! Who tipped them off about our trip?!"

"Well, did anything else happen?!" Optimus demanded! "Did they take anything?!"

"Well, how shall I put this, Fearless Leader?" Rattrap answered quite slowly. "They took Megabutt's shell from the mausoleum."

"We'll be right there, Rattrap!" Optimus quickly replied. "Have Dinobot and Waspinator be taken to a CR Chamber if they need it."

"Bug boy may not, but chopperface might." Rattrap replied before his communication ceased.

Turning off his radio, Optimus immediately turned his attention and thoughts to the mausoleum Immediately, a deep fear befell everyone present.

"One down," Opaline said as her shadow form flew across space while Misty's shadow followed suit while cackling loudly. "And one more to go!"

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