- Everfree Forest, midday
Sunshine beamed though the small cracks in the dense forest canopy, dotting the ground with spots of light, while the trees rustled and dropped their leaves from a gentle wind. The air smelled of moist moss and green mildew, and unseen creatures beyond the foliage squawked and snarled. It was here that three little fillies trotted in single file, each carrying a saddle bag over their back. Applebloom, an earth pony with a yellow coat and a bright red mane tied back in an oversized magenta bow, lead the two others down a narrow forest path with a bound in her step. Following directly behind was Scootaloo, an orange pegasus with a reddish-purple mane, and a look of apprehension plastered on her face. Following uncomfortably close to her was Sweetie Belle, a unicorn with a snowy white coat and her mane separated between two shades of dark and light purple respectively. Her stride alternated between a slow canter and a sudden gallop, her mind torn between worrying about what was out there and keeping up with her friends. Feeling her hindquarters getting sore from the all of her sprinting, a low hiss from a nearby bush caused her to jump forward with a squeak and wrap her forelegs around the neck of the pony in front of her.
"Hey, what's the big idea?!"
Sweetie Belle looked at the young pegasus she was clinging to and grinned sheepishly before letting go. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and sighed, her exasperation near its peak.
"Ugh, Applebloom, we've been wandering down this path forever! I'm starting to think this whole 'explorer' thing's turning out to be one big goose egg. I mean, we haven't seen anything that could be called a discovery!"
Sweetie Belle spoke up, "Uhm, I'm sorry Scootaloo. It's just...I'm still nervous about this place since the last time we were all here."
They hadn't forgotten. The three of them had once ventured out into the forest in the middle of the night to search for a lost chicken, only to run afoul of a Cockatrice. It was a very terrifying moment for all of them, and was still on Sweetie Belle's mind.
Applebloom retorted in her usual southern accent, "We can't give up now girls! This here's th'spot I don't normally go past. Ah'm sure if we keep on this here path, we're sure to find sumthin' nopony's ever seen!"
It wasn't enough to lift Scootaloo's spirits, though it was enough for her to raise an eyebrow. “You sure about that? Cause' it seems to me like we're just wandering in here without a plan.” She huffed softly, her head lulling to one side as she watched the trees pass by. “You know what, never mind...I'm still saying we should've tried reading up on demon slaying! That would've been so cool!”
Scootaloo jumped a little ways ahead of Applebloom, standing on two hooves and making a pose. "Defending the innocent and defenseless ponies, armed with weapons of mystical power, the demon hunter Scootaloo slays all evil creatures that lurk in the night!"
Sweetie Belle, not slowing her stride, trotted up to Scootaloo with her own eyebrow raised. "Do demons even exist? I mean, I'll believe in ogres, manticores, and sirens, but really? Ghouls and ghosts and zombie-ponies? That's just plain silly."
Scootaloo cartwheeled once and backflipped, landing next to the unicorn. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure?"
Sweetie Belle scoffed, "Back home, where I left my daffodil sandwich...and my geometry book."
Applebloom looked back and hollered, "You still worryin' bout' that? Don't worry, y'all can jus' copy off me later. And if ya want, I'll share mah lunch with ya...too..."
The other two fillies both share a nearly identical look of confusion as they watched Applebloom slowly freeze in place, her face going slightly pale. Already somewhat impatient from their little nature walk, Scootaloo spoke up first, "Uh, what's wrong with you? Don't tell me you forgot to do your homework too!"
Applebloom gulped, her eyes drifting upward. "Um, Scootaloo? Remember what ya said bout' demon slayin'? W-well...it's not a demon, but...!"
She pointed a shaky hoof behind them, her pupils shrinking and her mouth agape. The other two fillies had to force themselves to turn their heads, causing Sweetie Belle to shriek and grasp her forelegs around Scootaloo's neck again, the latter pony darting her head back and forth trying to find out what was scaring them so much.
"Wha-what is it? What's going on? What are you all looking aa - !"
Her worried rambling is stopped midway by her friend's hooves jerking her head upward, causing the color to drain from her face as well. Coiled around several trees both near to them and far, was a giant serpent. Its tongue flicked out of its closed mouth to taste the air, and its unmoving eyes were set directly on its quarry. It slowly opened its mouth, a gray mist creeping out of it, turning the branches that it touched to stone. The girl's next reaction was something anypony would've done automatically.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
----
- Sweet Apple Acres
An orange mare wearing a cowboy hat on her blonde mane rummaged through her closet with an annoyed expression, dust caking her hooves and face. Spitting a little and wiping her face in a vain attempt to get the dust off, Applejack said to herself, “Dag nabbit, where's that dern featherduster? Ah feel like ah jus' walked through mah cellar durin' spider season...”
She sighed once and stepped away from the closet, tapping a hoof on her chin and looking at the ceiling.
"Come ta think of it, where's that sister a' mine? She's s'posed ta be helpin' clean the farm this month an' I haven't seen her all day..."
----
"I really shoulda' helped Applejack with cleanin' today!!!"
Far off the beaten path, the three fillies galloped frantically away from the hungry serpent. In her panic, Sweetie Belle tripped over an exposed tree root and tumbled to the ground. Hearing her friend fall to the ground behind her and thinking fast, Applebloom immediately turned on her heel and took her hoof in her mouth, pulling her away right as the monster came down to bite a tree. Scootaloo slowed just enough to confirm seeing her friends get to safety, as well as see the tree it bit become lifeless and gray. As Sweetie Belle and Applebloom caught up to her, Scootaloo managed to squeak out between breaths, "What is that thing anyway?! And why is it another monster that turns things into stone?!"
Applebloom replied, "Ah think...(pant)...Twilight called it, uh...basi...basi-somethin'...!"
Sweetie Belle finished her sentence, "A basilisk! The mist from its mouth petrifies anything it touches!"
Scootaloo's legs would have been paralyzed if not for the adrenaline rush and the sounds of crunching branches following her. "You've GOT to be kidding me! I didn't sign up for this!"
Applebloom interjected, "Well...(pant)...look on the bright side! You did say you wanted ta' slay some demons, didn't ya?!"
Scootaloo was incredulous, nearly tripping over tree roots herself before sputtering out, "Applebloom, this is the WORST possible time to be sarcastic! Besides, I wanted to read about demon slaying, not actually do it!"
Sweetie Belle interrupted both her friends, "Less arguing, more running!!!"
All three fillies were terrified to look behind themselves. The only thing they could do was run and run, ignoring the pain in their legs and the cramps in the abdomens, not even knowing how much time had passed or how far they had galloped. Not aware if they'd lost the basilisk and not looking where they were going, they kept running with reckless abandon until they reached a steep, fog covered cliffside devoid of trees. Dropping down onto her belly upon seeing the ravine, Applebloom let out a defeated sigh.
"Oh...no...we're done for...!"
Not wanting to give up, Scootaloo turned around and prepared to strike back at the serpent, despite the wobbling in her legs and being out of breath. "I-if I'm gonna get gobbled up, I'm at least gonna give it some indigestion!"
Sweetie Belle, however, didn't share her enthusiasm. She instead faced the ravine, ducked down, and covered her eyes with her hooves. Any minute now that basilisk was going to come bursting out of the forest, bashing through the trees and sending splinters and dirt everywhere. Scootaloo was going to be eaten, if she didn't get petrified first, and there was nothing she could do but cower here with her head in the sand. Though after what felt like hours of nothing but silence, she took a peek behind herself, seeing only a calm forest and an orange pegasus slumping to the ground herself to catch her breath.
"Ok...I think...we're safe. We lost it,” Scootaloo said between gasps.
The other two fillies climbed to their hooves, forcing themselves to look behind at the forest again to confirm that it was indeed gone. Sweetie Belle continued shaking like a leaf, while Applebloom's eyes fell to the ground, feeling like she'd just pulled an April Fool's prank gone wrong. She already knew there were dangerous creatures lurking the forest, but even she couldn't imagine that such a massive beast would chase them around like this. Trotting over to the trembling unicorn's side, she put a hoof on her shoulder, calming her tremors somewhat.
"Look...ah'm sorry girls. Goin' so far into the forest was mah idea, ah didn't think it'd turn out like this..."
Sweetie Belle took her hoof in her's and looked away, still feeling like she wanted to cry. Scootaloo flapped her tiny wings to hover back into a standing position, spinning back around and giving Applebloom a slight glare. She took a breath to give a retort, but ended up closing her mouth and just grunting softly to stop herself. The looks on her friend's faces were enough to quell any angry feelings she had. Walking over to Sweetie Belle's side, she said, "Don't blame yourself Applebloom. I mean, I was pretty dumb following you, right?" She put her hoof on her other shoulder, "Relax. We're still here in one piece, right?"
Sweetie Belle looked up at her friends, no longer trembling, but not ready to show a smile just yet. “Y...yeah. I guess so.” She climbed to her hooves, scraping at the ground with her hoof, her eyes downcast. “Can we go back now? I'm starting to think this is a sign that we shouldn't be here anymore...”
Scootaloo sighed through her nose. “Yeah. I've had just about enough of this place, too. What about you, Applebloom?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah, just a sec...” She was only partially listening, her attention focused on something beyond the fog. Stepping away and leaning over the ravine, she squinted past the fog and said, “Hey, ya'll see somethin' there? Ah think it's some kinda...castle?”
The other two filly's ears perked up. There was only one thing it possibly could have been. Applebloom galloped along the cliff side, her eyes never leaving what she saw beyond the mist. Sliding to a stop at an old, decrepit bridge, her thoughts of guilt and fear were quickly forgotten, her eyes going wide with awe. Jumping up and down, she yelled, "Ah knew it! Ah knew it! Ah knew we'd find somethin' amazin'!"
Moss and trees grew uncontrollably on its weathered stone walls. The center had collapsed in on itself, no doubt from countless years of neglect. Two identical towers stood on either side of it, and an ornate staircase in the front led up to a set of wooden double doors, weathered by the elements. Scootaloo's mouth hung open with a smile, while Sweetie Belle stood up with wide eyes and short breath. Sure enough, they had stumbled upon something they had only previously heard about, something they thought they'd never see in person. The ruined castle of the royal pony sisters.
“(GASP), does that mean...?!”
Applebloom immediately took a look at her flank, only to be met with the same disappointment she's become all too familiar with. Still blank, still no cutie mark. Seeing this out of the corner of her eye, Scootaloo turned around and responded, "Well, technically we already knew about this place. Maybe we should take a look inside?"
Her eyes wandered a bit before settling back onto the castle, her chest stuck out and her mouth curled into a determined smile. "Yer right! Ah'm not lookin' to give up yet! C'mon girls!”
She bounded toward the bridge, with Scootaloo following closely behind. Sweetie Belle on the other hoof, could only squirm in place with her foreleg outstretched towards them, her mouth open and her lower lip trembling. Although she shared her friend's overwhelming zeal to get her cutie mark, she was never a fan of doing anything excessively dangerous. After being chased by a deadly basilisk into perhaps the deepest possible part of the forest, all she wanted to do now was go home, finish her homework, and take a nice, long afternoon nap. She moaned to herself as she watched them scurry across the bridge, her friends not even noticing how rickety and old it was. As much as she wanted to go back, she couldn't leave them either, nor did she want to be alone. She scrunched her eyes shut for half a second before they snapped open as she yelled, "Wait up, guys! I'm coming too!"
----
- Golden Oak Library, Late Afternoon
"Come on Twilight, you've been at this for days! Don't you think you've done enough?"
A small, purple dragon with green dorsal scales looked on with agitation at a frantically pacing unicorn. Her lavender coat was matted with sweat, and her dark violet mane was a mess of tangles. Despite having bags under her eyes, she acted as though nothing was wrong with her, much to the dragon's dismay. She walked back and forth from one end of the library to the next, skimming through a row of books on one end, to checking the notes on a desk at another.
"...and you've looked at that crystal like, a thousand times now! It's not gonna go off!"
It was no exaggeration. Every time Twilight had passed by it, she made sure to look at a small octahedron crystal hanging on the wall. She responded without looking in his general direction, "Spike, this is serious! This isn't just some normal assignment, the Princess specifically gave us the task of protecting the sealed gate!" She pointed a hoof to the crystal with her nose in a book, "And I have to make doubly sure that the alarm crystals I set at the gate don't go off without me knowing!"
Spike stomped a foot down with balled claws and retorted, "But you said it yourself! The gate's in the Everfree Forest! I mean, what more can you do from here?!"
Twilight closed the book and levitated it back onto the bookshelf, this time moving over to a thumbtack bulletin board covered in post-it notes and flash cards connected by lines of string. "Oh, there's PLENTY left I can do! I've been thinking about creating a self-propelled observer unit with a two-way visual feed, one that can fly above the forest indefinitely! Then there's the security fence I came up with 2 hours ago, the pitfalls we need to dig out today, the landmines..."
Spike raised an eyebrow and took a step back. "Land...mines?"
Before he could imagine what awful things were going on inside that unicorn's head, a knock at the front door brought him out of his reverie. Seeing her rambling on about some magic babble, he said to a non-listening Twilight, "Uh, don't worry, I've got it..."
Spike opened the door to meet an ivory white unicorn with an exceptionally styled purple mane and tail, carrying a saddle bag draped over her back. He immediately and unconsciously blushed before stammering out, "O-oh! Hi Rarity...! What, um, brings you over...?"
She responded with a refined air about her, "Why, hello Spike! I had just finished this absolutely lovely jeweled necklace, and I was wondering if...uh..."
Rarity now noticed Twilight darting back and forth throughout the library, seeing that she had signs of sleep deprivation. "Oh, dear...I was hoping this sealed gate business would not put Twilight into one of her moods..."
Spike's brow creased as he looked back at her, being reminded of the current situation. "Well, yeah...she's been like this ever since we got back from Canterlot a few days ago. But, um, you were saying something about a necklace?"
Rarity replied, "Yes, of course." She opened her bag with levitation and pulled out a beautifully detailed gold necklace, its centerpiece being a brightly colored emerald. As she put it on, she said, "I had decided to try my hoof at crafting complex jewelry, and I think it turned out simply divine! Don't you agree?"
Spike was too distracted by the emerald necklace to hear her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and dripping with saliva. Leaning closer to it, he slurred out, "Uh, yeah...it's great Rarity..."
Smiling wryly, Rarity simply pushed Spike away gently. "Yeees, well, I'm afraid this jewel isn't on the menu. But don't fret, I was thinking of you too Spikey-wikey." She opened her saddle bag again and pulled out a semi-large pile of roughly cut, asymmetrical jewels. "Those are the ones I used as a trial run for making this necklace, so feel free to eat them if you like." She let go of her levitation and dropped the jewels in his waiting arms, his eyes sparkling.
"For me...? And so many?! All right!" He wasted no time plopping down on the floor and munching into the gems. Smiling at the happy dragon, Rarity now turned her attention to the still frantic Twilight Sparkle, her attention in yet another book.
"Twilight, darling - "
"Let's see, divide by the square root of..."
"Twilight? What ever are you - "
"I can't forget about the energy requirements or mechanics..."
"Ugh, Twilight, puh-lease get your nose out of that book! It is impolite to - "
"...no, that'll just spread radon all over the place..."
Rarity glared at her with one eye larger than the other, but only for a second. Stepping directly behind her, she chuckled smugly while peeking around her shoulder. Talking to her friend was fruitless, she decided to use a more direct approach.
"There we go! I finally found a way to balance this equation! Now, only four hundred ninety seven more to - ah, AH!"
Since her attention was solely on the book in front of her, Rarity simply levitated it away from the desk. Twilight, however, was still making an attempt to read it. Her head followed its every move, despite it floating through the air. Squinting an eye, Rarity forcefully snapped away the book and hid it behind her. Twilight finally made eye contact with Rarity, her expression becoming neutral. "Oh, hi Rarity. When did you get here?"
The snowy unicorn groaned with puffed cheeks and reeled her head back. Stamping a hoof down, she said, "Now see here Twilight Sparkle, Spike tells me you have been at this for days! It is unbecoming of you, it is bad for your complexion, and your mane is in utter shambles! Somewhere along the way, you simply must take a break!"
Twilight took a moment to check her reflection in the alarm crystal, now noticing how bent out of shape she looked. "Huh...maybe you're right. I look pretty miserable right now."
Spike managed to chime in between bites, "Hey! That'sh what I've been sh'aying all day!"
Twilight frowned and replied sheepishly, "Alright, I apologize. It's just..." She held that thought for a moment, but decided not to voice it. "...never mind, it's not important." She took a quick glance up at her mane. "I guess for now I could brush this rat's nest on my head, huh?"
Rarity smiled with satisfaction. "It's a start. Now then, I came over here because I wanted to get your opinion about this project of mine - "
*knock, knock*
"Hey Twi, you in there?"
Another knock at the door interrupted Rarity, causing her to huff in slight frustration. Downing one more jagged ruby, Spike darted over and opened the door to greet Applejack. Tipping her hat to him, she stepped inside and immediately noticed Twilight's disheveled state. "Hoo wee sugarcube, you like you've jus' went seven rounds wrestlin' a grizzly bear."
Twilight's head drooped and her ears fell. "Yes, well, I noticed. What brings you over?"
Applejack continued, "Well, if'n y'all have the time, ah'm lookin' for Applebloom. Was wonderin' if ah could get some help findin' her, seein' as how she's s'posed to be helpin' clean the farm this month. Ah haven't seen hide or hair of her all day."
Rarity closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, I supposed my latest creation will have to wait. I certainly don't mind lending a helping hoof."
Applejack smiled. "Thank ya kindly Rarity, wasn't even expectin' ta see ya. You comin' with Twi?"
Twilight replied, "Oh, sure. Let me just get something ready."
She levitated the alarm crystal off the wall and walked over a desk, taking out a long piece of string. With a quick flash of magic, she took the string and looped it through the top of the crystal, creating a makeshift necklace. Rarity saw Twilight's creation and added, "Hmm, it's a start, but this necklace certainly could use some more intricate design choices..."
As she put it on, Twilight responded, "No Rarity, this isn't jewelry. This is an alarm crystal I created to notify me of anypony disturbing the sealed gate. If any one of the other crystal's magic is disturbed, it'll send a signal back to this one. This way, I'll know for sure if somepony's trying to get inside."
Spike gave her an annoyed look. "Twilight, why didn't you just wear it around your neck to begin with?"
Twilight jerked to a stop, unable to find any words. "Well...uh...never mind that! We have to look for Applebloom, remember?!"
Spike merely gave her a deadpanned stare.
----
"Ya find anythin' yet Scoot?"
Scootaloo flipped over a small slab of stone covered in nonsensical scribble before replying, "Nah. Nothing but dust and cobwebs. This is all ancient and mysterious and everything, but it's nothing like one of Daring Do's adventures...it gets boring fast."
Applebloom raised an eyebrow in interest. "You read Daring Do? Didn't take ya ta be the bookish type."
She rubbed a hoof behind her head and looked away, chuckling. "Well, Rainbow Dash raves about the series all the time, so I, uh, thought I'd give it a shot..."
Applebloom's eyes became half-lidded as she whispered to herself, (“Knew it had somethin' to do with Rainbow Dash”.)
“Ow!”
A soft thud echoed in the adjacent room, causing the other two filly's ears to perk up. Stepping into the doorway, they found Sweetie Belle face down on the floor and groaning to herself. Scootaloo suppressed a snicker by putting her foreleg over her mouth; apparently she tripped over a raised tile. As Applebloom helped her up, she dusted herself off, flinching as her hoof brushed past her face. "Owww...I fell on my nose."
Letting a smirk out from behind her hoof, the orange filly said, "How'd you miss something so obvious? It's not even dark in here!"
Sweetie Belle puffed her cheeks in frustration. "It's not my fault! That tile came out of nowhere! Well, I mean - it popped up out of nowhere!"
Scootaloo replied with a silly grin, "Yeah, sure, next thing you'll say is that the rest of the floor's gonna come flying at you...huh?" Raising an eyebrow, she noticed an unusual glow coming from beneath the tile behind her. Flapping her wings like a hummingbird, she exclaimed, "Hey guys, I think I finally found something! Help me pull up this tile!"
Eager to not make their excursion fruitless, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom both got behind the tile and pulled it up off the floor with their hooves along with Scootaloo. After a few minutes of strenuous activity, they finally managed to flip the heavy tile over with a loud slam, kicking dust up everywhere and making them avert their eyes. A soft sneeze could be heard as the dust settled.
"Ugh, nevermind. It's just another dumb jewel," Scootaloo complained.
Applebloom raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Ah dunno, Scoot. Ya ever seen a sapphire glow like this?" She asked Sweetie Belle, "Hey, you spend a lot of time with Rarity. Can ya tell me if there's anythin' up with this here gem?"
Rubbing her nose, Sweetie Belle got a good look at the protrusion under the tile. It was the top of what appeared to be a large sapphire crystal jutting straight up out of the ground. However, it pulsed with a vibrant and bright blue hue. Sneezing again, she responded, "Well, it looks like a sapphire...buuut, I don't think it is. As a matter of fact, I don't know about any jewels that glow so brightly like this at all. A-choo!"
Applebloom gave her friend a wry smile. Going into her saddle bag, she pulled out a white cloth with her teeth, saying, "Here, ah brought a handkerchief. Might wanna get all that dust outta yer nose."
"Oh, thanks Applebloom." Sitting down and taking the handkerchief in her hooves, she went to blow her nose, only to sneeze loudly and forcefully into it. At the same time, however, her horn unexpectedly sparked with a pale green flash of magic, enough to brightly illuminate the whole room for half a second. Her friends doubled back, wide-eyed and gasping.
"Whoa, Sweetie Belle, did you see your horn?!"
"Yeah! Ah don't think ah've ever seen ya do that! That was illumination magic, right?!"
"Huh, what? I did magic?" Sweetie Belle instinctively took a look at the horn on her head, with no particular reason why. She would have taken a bit longer staring at it, but was distracted by what sounded like electrical sparks at her hooves. Taking a look at the mysterious crystal in the ground again, she noticed that it was indeed emitting blue electricity. She slowly backed up as she also noticed that the energy it was putting out was increasing. "Uhm, girls? I...think we better run! I don't like what that jewel's doing!"
The girls sauntered away slowly from the errant jewel at first, only to go into a full gallop one at a time after a large crack appeared in the gem. Unfortunately, they were only able to get several meters away before the gem exploded with a deafening boom, shaking them down to the bone. A massive shockwave of azure energy collided into their backsides, blinding them and knocking them off their hooves. A thunderous bang rang in their heads, and the force from the blast sent the three of them skidding into the nearest wall. As the dust settled, Sweetie Belle shook the dust from her mane and looked back at the hole where the crystal was, seeing only a giant, blackened crater. Slowly standing up, she lamented with a defeated sigh, "So much for discoveries...I guess that thing didn't like magic much."
Applebloom didn't even bother getting up, instead rolling onto her back and flailing her hooves. "Ohhh, we were so clooose! First we almost get eaten by that giant snake monster, then we get lost, and now the one thing we actually find up and explodes! This day can't get any worse!"
Almost on cue to her complaining, a slow rumble reverberated throughout the ground, the intensity increasing with every passing second. Having a feeling where this was going, Scootaloo said to her, "Hey Applebloom, do you know what Murphy's Law is...?"
She stood up and replied in a shaky voice, "Um, no...? Does it have somethin' ta do with what ah just said...?"
The girls had no time to react. Without any further warning, the floor beneath their hooves fissured open in multiple places and crumbled apart like brittle pumice, revealing a dark, lightless pit beneath. Shrieking loud enough to shatter glass, each of the fillies all had the same things on their minds.
("Me an' mah big mouth! NOW we're done for!")
("Oh no oh no oh no oh NO!)
("This isn't fair! I wish I could do something...!)
Thankfully for them, the end they were all expecting didn't come. Only a painful landing and the sound of stone falling from above jarred them back to reality. Shaking her head, Scootaloo immediately climbed to her hooves and turned flicked her head up, her pupils contracting at what she saw. She called out to her friends, "Guys, get up quick! We've gotta find someplace to hide, the floor's gonna cave in on us!"
Sweetie Belle barely heard her over the sound of rocks falling, pushing past the pain of the fall to stand. Knowing they only have moments to spare, her eyes quickly scanned the area, trying to find anything that could protect them. Ignoring her racing heart and trembling limbs, she pointed a hoof in front of her and cried out, "Over there! There's a hole in the ground we can jump into!"
Applebloom heard what she needed to hear and scrambled to stand, though a strange clinking noise made her pause. Lifting up her foreleg and looking under it, she asked, "Wait, what did we land on?! It feels like metal!"
Scootaloo reprimanded her, "We don't have time to worry about that now Applebloom, you wanna get squashed?!"
A massive boulder landing directly next to her with a deafening crash made her jump and cringe, quickly reminding her that she shouldn't be asking questions. The three of them galloped with all their might into the small hole, not thinking about what may be waiting inside at all. While the hole was quickly covered with falling debris, the surrounding area sparked with electricity. Multiple lights in the walls and floor slowly flickered to life, and unknown constructs began to creak and groan with motion.
----
- Ponyville Town Square, Dusk
"Any sign of her, Rarity?"
"I'm afraid not, Twilight. I'm starting to become rather worried now..."
"Don't get yer frills in a twist, ah'm sure she's doin' fine. Till I find her at least."
"Ooo! Ooo! I get it now! You're all searching for Applebloom, right!? Or, waitaminute, maybe it was that pony yelling at Twilight's door? Or maybe - "
Rarity and Applejack's thoughts were suddenly derailed by a bouncing, energetic, extremely pink pony with a mane style resembling cotton candy. Twilight's head drooped as she brought a hoof to her face, not even bothering to question where she came from.
"Pinkie Pie, that's what I've been telling you the past few hours! Haven't you been listening?"
She immediately dashed into Twilight's face, stopping only centimeters away. The huge smile plastered on her face was somehow both obnoxious, yet cute. "Nope! Y'see, I thought it'd be fun to try and figure out what you were doing by myself by secretly following you around, and that wouldn't be fair if you just told me, silly!"
Twilight wanted to groan out loud, but held it in as she was expecting this from her. She replied, "Pinkie, first of all, there's nothing secret about you following directly behind me and asking what I'm doing over and over again. Second, this is serious! None of us have found Applebloom, and for all we know she could have gone missing!"
Pinkie finally stopped bouncing around and frowned a little. "Oh, I'm super sorry Twilight. I didn't mean to - WAH!"
Her sentence is suddenly interrupted by a massive body spasm, as if she were doing an impression of a jello mold on a rickety train. It lasts for a few seconds before abruptly stopping, leaving Pinkie's eyes wide. She nonchalantly explained, "Huh. My pinkie sense tells me that not only Applebloom, but Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are all in really big danger right now."
Rarity instantly grabbed Pinkie by her shoulders, the panic evident in her eyes. There were times where she would keep her cool under stress, and others where she would freak out over something frivolous, but this was anything but the former. "WHAT?! What do you mean by that?! What kind of danger?!" She shook her a little bit. "And just why are you so calm about it?!"
Pinkie closed her eyes and smiled warmly. "Because, silly, they're all fine. A four second full body spasm means that whatever danger that happened's all gone now. You really should learn how to keep your cool under stress, Rarity."
Even though she was an aloof and eccentric earth pony, Pinkie Pie's "pinkie sense" was somehow able to predict select events before they happened, whenever something strange happened to her body. And although Rarity had her misgivings about that last comment, she wholeheartedly trusted Pinkie's intuition, calming down somewhat.
"Well...if you say so. Please forgive me, it was rather unladylike of me to - "
"OH NO! OH NO, OH NO, OH NOOO!!!"
Rarity nearly jumped out of her skin from Pinkie's sudden outburst. "Good HEAVENS Pinkie, what is it this time?!"
Her expression suddenly becomes frantic and fearful. "My LEFT EYE'S itchy!"
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Uh...ah don't follow."
She darted between her friends rapidly as she explained herself. "Um, Hello-o?! THAT means that right after the really dangerous thing happened, something ELSE super-duper scary bad's gonna happen at the same place! And it's gonna happen...at...at...!"
"...the sealed gate..."
Surprised, Pinkie smiled widely at Twilight, her mood suddenly making a 180. "Oh wow, you're right Twilight! Does that mean you have some kind of Twilight sense that you never told us about?"
Twilight's face was filled with fear and dread. "No Pinkie, look...!"
Hanging from her hoof was the alarm crystal necklace - pulsing rapidly with a bright white light.
"Judging from this reaction, it means literally ALL the alarm crystals I set up at the gate were just set off!"
Applejack and Rarity were ready to start panicking. The alarm crystal going off and Pinkie's prediction about their respective sisters was grim news indeed. Rarity could feel her heart going a mile a minute, and Applejack was seconds away from running off by herself into the Everfree Forest. Thankfully, Twilight was able to keep herself collected enough to give a plan of action.
"Girls, this is no time to panic! I've been preparing for this for days!"
After taking a deep, cleansing breath, she replied, "Rarity, Applejack, go get Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie, you're with me - I have to send a letter to Canterlot immediately. We'll meet up at the forest entrance before going in, now move!"
As the ponies galloped off in different directions, Twilight took a second to take in the situation, staring at the flashing alarm crystal hanging in her hoof. Despite all her recent obsessive tendencies, the rational part of her mind told her that it was not going to go off. It couldn't go off. Why would it? Nopony else knew of the gate but her friends and the Princesses of Equestria.
"So why...? Why now, after I just found out about it?"
Twilight is brought out of her silent contemplation as she noticed Pinkie Pie bouncing off in another direction. "Pinkie, I said you're with me!"
----
- ?????, Early Evening
Applebloom awoke to darkness and a still-prevalent headache. Groaning as she stood up, she rubbed a side of her head and called out, "Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle! Are y'all ok?! Ah can't see anythin'!"
A voice from a few feet away answered her. "I'm here Applebloom, I'm all right." It was Scootaloo. "You ok, Sweetie Belle?"
There was no response. She called out again, "Sweetie Beeeelle! Are you theeeere?!"
Again, no response. Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, Applebloom barely managed to make out her surroundings. They were in some kind of giant hallway, composed of what seemed like metal. Pieces of random debris lay scattered across the floor, and some larger obstructions seemed be stabbed through the walls and ceiling, the finer details of these objects obscured by the dark. The only source of light came from several hundred feet away, at the end of the hallway. As she squinted in the darkness, Applebloom could feel her heart drop.
"Scoot, she's not here. We must'a gotten separated when we tumbled down that hole..."
She sat down and buried her face in her hooves. "Ohh, this is all mah fault! It was mah stupid idea to come here an' now Sweetie Belle's gone missing! She's all alone right now an' she could be hurt or scared or - "
"Knock it off Applebloom!" Her tirade is suddenly interrupted by a shout in her ear. She looked in her direction with tears threatening to fall. "I'm not liking this any more than you, but we gotta focus! Look, we all fell down that hole together, so she can't be too far behind. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can all get out of here. We'll worry about yelling at you later."
The sound of her voice had resolve, but even in the dark Applebloom could see that Scootaloo's expression betrayed any sense of courage. She was just as worried and scared as she was. Taking a moment to calm herself down as best she could, she stood back up.
"O-ok...you're right. We gotta find Sweetie Belle. Then we can jus' forget this day ever happened."
Aside from finding her friend, Applebloom was also just as concerned about getting out of this mess as soon as possible. The thought that someone so close to her was in trouble because she wanted to explore such a dangerous place felt awful. It weighed heavily on her conscience. She kicked a piece of debris into the wall as she trotted toward the light source, making a clanging noise and startling Scootaloo.
("Ah wouldn't be surprised if they didn't wanna talk to me anymore...ah don't think ah've ever screwed up so badly. Even worse, Applejack's prob'ly gonna ground me for life...")
Applebloom slowly came to a halt when she noticed only one set of hoofsteps. Looking back, she saw that Scootaloo had stopped just short of the hallway's corner, while she had kept trotting past her without realizing it. She called out to her with a slightly shaky voice, "Scootaloo, what's wrong? Why'd ya stop?"
Her eyes were wide and awash with a mix of astonishment and uneasiness. She replied, "Applebloom, just...look. Look around you."
The light was coming from the ceiling, being emitted from what looked like a large, shining panel. What it revealed, however, left her speechless. The entire corridor was indeed constructed of metal, an unusual beige-colored alloy. Giant pipes were lined across the ceiling as well, traveling down the middle into the next room. But what stood out most of all, was the state of the corridor itself. Multiple bullet holes and burn marks were littered across the walls, a strange tendril hung out of a gash in the ceiling that sparked intermittently with electricity, and a massive silvery cone adorned with angled hooks around its sides was smashed through the right side of the room. Scootaloo slowly came up beside Applebloom to confirm her fears.
"There's no way this place was made by ponies. All this stuff looks like something out of a sci-fi movie." She slowly trotted over to one of the many gashes in the walls, cautiously brushing it with her hoof. "Not only that, there was a big fight going on here, using who-knows-what kind of weapons. Applebloom, I-I think..." She was becoming increasingly nervous. Applebloom gulped. "I think this is an alien spaceship...!"
"A-aliens?!" In the first few moments, she didn't want to believe it. Such a thing was completely outside the realm of rational thought. But looking at the structures around her, and the devastation that had transpired in here, she had no other explanation to turn to. Instantly her mind conjured images of creepy black monsters with claws and two mouths, the skinny creatures with bulbous heads, the hulking, nightmarish beasts with mandibles and a sinister roar. Applebloom could feel the adrenaline rush from earlier coming back.
"SWEETIE BEEELLE!!! WHERE ARE YOUUU!?!"
She started galloping down the corridor without any sense of reason, driven wholly by irrational terror. The only thing she could think about was finding Sweetie Belle and getting out of this place before any of those horrible, disgusting aliens could find them.
"Applebloom, stop! Don't go off on your own!"
Scootaloo was terrified herself, but had enough rationality left to know that they couldn't split up. She galloped after her, pushing past the aching tiredness in her hooves, just barely trailing behind. As she sees Applebloom go around a corner and out of sight, her pursuit is briefly interrupted by a noise coming through the walls. Aside from the fading sounds of hoofsteps, it had been relatively silent until now. Scootaloo unconsciously slowed her stride and strained her ears to listen for anything else. After just a few moments, her fears were confirmed.
("Oh no...I think I hear something moving around! Something big!")
It was the rhythmic pounding of something huge walking around that resonated through the walls. And whatever it was, it sounded close. Now knowing for sure that this place was inhabited, she picked up her pace again and rounded the corner, this time entering another darkened room with what looked like an elevator shaft on the right side. The sight that greeted her thankfully alleviated her biggest worry.
"Sweetie Belle! Oh, thank Celestia you're all right!"
Applebloom had her forelegs wrapped around her in a big hug. Sweetie Belle on the other hoof looked like the stress of this day had finally gotten to her. Her eyes were drying up now, but it was clear that she was recently crying. She returned the hug and buried her head in Applebloom's shoulder.
"I-I'm so glad you're a-all here...(hic)...I w-would've gone looking for you all, but..."
Noticing that she was still trying to calm down, Applebloom finished her sentence for her with a guilty look in her eyes. "She sprained her hoof during that fall down the hole. Was countin' on us findin' her, seein' as she couldn't walk."
"Oh man, this isn't good..."
Scootaloo was grateful that Sweetie Belle was found, but the faints sounds of pounding through the walls reminded her of how dire the situation still was. There was no way she wanted to be put in any situation where they had to face the source of the noises. Since running around aimlessly looking for an exit was no longer an option, she turned to the next best thing.
"We gotta find someplace to hide, quick! I heard something really big moving around just now and I really don't wanna know what it is!"
Applebloom's recent panic attack was quelled upon seeing Sweetie Belle's injury, but not completely. She still shared her friend's sentiments about not wanting anything to do with the denizens of this place. Pulling Sweetie Bell's foreleg over her shoulder somewhat forcefully, she helped her to stand.
"Ah'm so sorry Sweetie Belle, this is all mah fault...if it wasn't fer me an' mah dumb idea we wouldn't be in this mess an' you wouldn't of got hurt and we wouldn't be lost in this alien spaceship an' - "
Sweetie Belle's head snapped up as she heard that last part. She looked Applebloom in the eye and interrupted, "W-what? Alien spaceship?"
Now that she had calmed down, she was able to take in her surroundings. And everything in this room practically screamed "alien".
"That's right! All ah was thinkin' about was gettin' our cutie marks, an' ah ended up puttin' mah best friends in danger! Y'all prob'ly hate me now..."
Sweetie Belle noticed Applebloom's bottom lip was quivering. She was on the verge of tears as well. She replied in a comforting tone, "Uhm...Applebloom, I don't hate you. It wasn't your fault that big, scary snake chased us here, and that earthquake was pretty much my fault."
Even though she was hurt, lost, scared, and bewildered by this place, she pushed those feelings aside. Just as she thought about earlier, the well-being of her friends was more important.
Scootaloo was also concerned enough to be distracted from the noises she heard. “Look, we're all pretty upset about the way this day turned out. But I don't hate you either. Sweetie Belle's right, you can't take the all the blame. We pretty much all screwed up together.”
Applebloom eyes drifted to the floor. She knew that it was all true, but still felt immense guilt for ever bringing them here to begin with.
“Anyway, this has to wait! We still have to find someplace to hide, otherwise -”
A distant whistling noise could be heard in the middle of her sentence, culminating in an ear-splitting explosion that cut her off. Flames and debris burst from the top of the elevator shaft, raising the temperature of the room at least ten degrees. Scootaloo instinctively jumped forward and hugged her friends as they all shrieked in fear, screwing their eyes shut. Moments after the explosion, a loud, metallic slam resonated throughout the room. The telltale pounding she heard from earlier let her know that something had just jumped down the shaft, and was walking toward them.
(“Oh no...they found us...!”)
They were all afraid to look. They didn't want to see the thing that was in the room with them. But morbid curiosity got the better of them all. Simultaneously opening their eyes, they finally got an eye full of the alien they were so afraid of.
(“...w-what is it...?”)
(“That thing looks really dangerous...!”)
(“Some kinda...metal ogre...?”)
Walking towards them was a bipedal giant, made entirely of a glossy, dark metal. It had two arms and two legs. Its joints made the most unnatural of noises as it walked, clanking and whirring softly. There were wheels attached to its legs and back, and was carrying a strange cylinder with holes on the face on its right shoulder. Its head resembled something more akin to a helmet than anything else; its eyes were like a glowing red visor, it had a faceplate instead of a mouth and nose, and its forehead looked like a horned crown. However, its most striking feature was its rectangular torso. There were multiple sections of its shoulders and legs glowing a sinister purple color, but a large plate in its torso glowed the brightest, branded in the center by a purple insignia. An insignia that resembled its face.
“U^#no/n li+e *orm% id{n*&fied. T)ere #* a hig& pr=bab^%ity /f t^$se c/ea*u+%s b+^ng i]di\e&!us to t?%s *&anet.”
Its faceplate moved in tandem as it spoke, sounding in an unworldly, harmonic monotone. Still hugging each other, Applebloom was the first to squeak out words.
“Wh...what's it sayin'? What's it gonna do to us?”
Scootaloo responded, “Applebloom, it's an alien! Did you think it was gonna speak english?!”
“Th# ope^a%*on m^+t r&mai< ]?*ert. &e^%ina#ing.”
Sections of its right arm suddenly split apart, yet it somehow stayed together as the pieces shift around. In less than a second, it had transformed its hand into some kind of firearm. Its barrel was smoking and hot, indicating that it had been recently fired. The fillies could feel their hearts fill with ice as it pointed the barrel in their direction.
(“It's...really over now, isn't it...?”)
(“It's gonna shoot us, it's gonna SHOOT US!”)
(“This is...all mah fault...”)
None of them could think or act. They were completely frozen in terror. They only thing they could think about, was that this metal giant was going to kill them. And there was nothing they could do about it but stare down the gun it was pointing at them. The click of the chamber and the sound of an empty magazine falling to the floor was enough cause them to shriek once again. They hardly noticed the crescendo of steps coming from the adjacent hallway.
“S%^ndwa#e!”
The sound of something slamming itself down in front of them filled their ears before they heard automatic gunfire and ricocheting bullets. Sweetie Belle was the first to notice they were unharmed, as she cautiously opened her eyes. What met her gaze, however, left her astonished and confused. It was another metal giant, but this one was using its own body to shield them. Sweetie Belle cried out, “Girls, look!”
Opening their eyes with the same amount of caution, Applebloom and Scootaloo were met with the backside of a red colored giant. This one also had wheels attached to its body, in the base of its legs and elbows. It was knelt down and had its arms crossed in front of itself, trying to block as much of the other giant's gunfire as possible.
(“It's helping us...?”)
The three fillies all thought the same thing. However, they were not going to have much time to contemplate it. The attacker was forced to fall back into the right corridor as more metal giants started dropping into the room from the burning elevator shaft, each of them armed with their own weapons. Their protector fell to its knees, its body smoking from point-blank gunfire. One of the others that had dropped down came over to the it, apparently showing concern. After a moment of them speaking in their alien tongue, the rest ran off to pursue the attacker. As their pounding footsteps became more distant, the red giant slowly stood up and faced the three cowering fillies.
Scootaloo was the first to say something. “W-what now?! Are you gonna sh-shoot at us t-too?!”
This giants face resembled something they were used to; two eyes, and a mouth. Therefore, it was easier to read its emotions – and what they could glean from its expression was some semblance of concern. The giant said nothing, knowing there was a language barrier between them. Instead, it studied the three of them for a moment before backing up a few steps, and in the same way the attacking giant had transformed its hand, this one transformed its entire body. They now knew what the wheels in its limbs were for; it had shifted its body parts around into the shape of a four wheeled vehicle. A door on the side of its body opened upward, revealing a space inside. It was beckoning them to go inside.
Scootaloo, however, wasn't about to trust an alien she just met. “Oh NO, there's NO way I'm getting inside some freaky alien! I bet you just wanna probe us and dissect us and whatever, but – hey! Sweetie Belle, what do you think you're doing?!”
Sweetie Belle had let go of Applebloom's shoulder and was currently limping toward the vehicle/alien's compartment. She responded to Scootaloo while eying the red insignia on its side. “Girls, this alien just saved our lives. I think...I think we can trust him.”
----
- Outside the Sealed Gate, Nightfall
“This is unbelievable. What could have caused so much devastation?”
Twilight stood aghast before what remained of the gate, the rest of her friends staying closely behind with shared sympathies. Massive cracks covered the entire framework, and pieces of the outside facing had already crumbled down. Looking at it now, it was as if it would fall apart from the slightest breeze at any moment. Applejack trotted over to a piece of debris and rolled it over with her hoof, revealing a part of a scrambled rune marking.
“Boy howdy...they sure don' make em' like they used to.”
Twilight responded, “That's just it Applejack, they don't. These are ancient, royal rune seals we're talking about, there's absolutely no way anypony could have even attempted to dispel them, let alone the entire gate. Knowledge of this kind of magic is known only to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, so whoever or whatever did this is must be capable of completely nullifying magic itself. It's the only explanation I can think of.”
A sky blue pegasus sporting a mane and tail lined with all the colors of the rainbow flew up next to Twilight, hovering several feet off the ground. She glared intently at the ruined gate.
“Who cares who did this or why?! Pinkie Pie said Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were in there, right?! We gotta bust in and save them right now!”
The gate didn't crumble away enough to have an opening, but she was prepared to make one. She reeled back and readied herself to smash through an exposed crevice, only to have her charge brought to a halt by Applejack biting firmly onto the end of her tail.
“GAH! Hey! Why do you keep doing that when I'm trying to get things done?!”
Applejack spit her tail out and replied, “Be-cause, the last thing we need's a rock slide comin' down on us Rainbow Dash! Look, I'm rarin' to go as any feller here, but we need a plan.” She looked in Twilight's direction. “Have any ideas Twi?”
Her face was filled with insecurity. “Well, no...just give me a second to think...”
Rarity, however, was becoming increasingly impatient. “Please, you must think of someway to get inside Twilight! My little sister's in there! The longer we stand here, the more danger she could be in! Oh, she could be at the mercy of some horrid monster for all we know...!”
Twilight snapped back, “I'm THINKING! Just – just don't hassle me!”
Out of everypony here, Twilight was the one most rattled. There were too many things going through her mind at once. She couldn't help but think about how the gate's magic was destroyed, how those three fillies could end up inside there, and what this could mean for all of Equestria. Because of her failure, the home she loved so dearly could very well be razed to the ground, just as the Princess had said. Shaking her head, she did her best to not think about any “what-if” scenarios right now. What mattered was the task at hoof. Scanning the cracks on the gate, she quickly formulated a plan.
“Girls, I'm going to use a concussion spark one of the cracks. This is going to need pinpoint accuracy, so stand back. I don't want to cause an avalanche.”
Her friends did as instructed, standing closely together a few meters behind her. She took a deep breath and focused her eyes on her target, the tip of her horn generating a small, glowing orb.
“Here goes nothi – WAH!”
Twilight's concentration is broken by a strange, dark colored vehicle smashing through the gate from the inside. Both herself and her friends managed to dive out its way as it drifted to the left with a loud screech of its tires, speeding its way down the ravine.
Applejack waved the dust out of her face before saying, “What in tarnation was that thing?!”
Before anypony else could respond, a smaller, red vehicle broke out of the gate through a different section, apparently pursuing the one that nearly ran them over. As the others watched it speed out of sight, Twilight's attention was on the damage to the gate. She gasped as she noticed the cracks were getting noticeably larger.
“Everyone group up, quick! The gate's falling!”
The moment they were all huddled up, Twilight created a transparent barrier around them all as the gate finally gave way to age and damage. Giant pieces of stone and metal fall to the ground, kicking up massive clouds of dirt and dust. Thankfully, the only things bouncing off the barrier were bits of pebble. She released her spell as the earth stops shaking, confident the danger had passed. As the dust clears, the ponies were given another reason to feel intimidated.
(“This...this is what Princess Celestia had seen one thousand years ago. This is what she feared the most.”)
The story was still fresh in her mind, but to actually see it before her was a different feeling entirely. It was just as Celestia described it; a colossal vessel rivaling the mightiest mountain. And now that the gate was nothing more than a giant pile of rubble, it was time to move.
“Nothing stopping me now! I'm goin' in!”
Rainbow Dash was the first to act. She sped over the massive mound of broken stone without a second thought, only to fly right back over it with a resounding yelp. Hovering near Twilight again, she exclaimed with a slight nervousness, “Guys, we've got company! BIG company!”
Moments after her abrupt return, two metal giants had climbed atop the stone mound. The left one had a white torso and ocean blue arms and legs. Its eyes were obscured by a red visor, yet still possessed what looked like a nose and mouth. The other was nearly the complete opposite; it stood at least several meters taller than its companion, was colored almost completely red, and had a faceplate instead of a mouth. It's most striking feature was a triangular shaped cannon in its torso. They both slid down the rubble and landed in front of the ponies with a loud, metallic thud. Twilight took a step backward.
(“...No! We can't back down now!”)
These giants stood at least one or two stories taller than them all. They could just as easily step on them like ants. However, Twilight doesn't allow herself to overtaken by fear. Gritting her teeth, she took a step forward.
“There should be three fillies inside that ship of yours! Where are they?!”
The red giant was taken aback, looking between the ponies and his partner.
“H(y, t%ey +*n't s^eak ou+ l#!gua}e...”
As soon as the red one talked, they realized it didn't understand them. It was also evident that it was at a loss of what to do or say. The blue one simply fiddled with something on its forearm, seemingly ignoring the situation. Fidgeting in place a little, the red giant took a step forward and held out its hand in front of itself.
“Erm... Bah-weep-graaagnah wheep nini bong...”
The ponies were only met with more confusion. Save for Pinkie Pie.
“Ooo! Bah-weep-graaagnah wheep nini bong!”
They turned their confused looks to Pinkie. Applejack responded, “Pinkie, why in the hay are you repeatin' what it said?!”
She replied in a “matter-of-fact” tone, “Because! That's the universal greeting!”
Twilight couldn't believe her ears. “Pinkie, that isn't anything! It's just a bunch of gibberish!”
Even the giant looked disappointed. Rainbow Dash huffed, “Alright, that's it! If you don't wanna tell us where those fillies are, I'm just gonna smash you guys up till ya do!”
She flew up into the air, ready to dive kick them at an astounding speed. The red giant readied itself for it, bringing its fists up.
“WAIIIT!”
A chick yellow pegasus with a soft pink mane and tail flew in front of the red giant, her forelegs out at her sides in a protective manner. She had been unsurprisingly quiet all this time, but she knew what Rainbow was about to do would only make things worse.
Frantically flapping her wings backward to come to a halt, she yelled out, “Fluttershy, what do you think you're doing?!”
She took a moment to look into the red giant's visor before looking back to Rainbow Dash. “It's okay! I don't think these giants mean any harm. I mean...I've been trying to tell you all for a while now.”
“She's right you know.”
All eyes were immediately on the blue giant. It gave a warm smile and calmly said, “Sorry about the silent treatment, but I had to take some time to translate your language. As they say, patience is a virtue.” It tapped a few buttons on its arm again. “I'm sharing the data script with everyone right now. Shouldn't have to worry about any miscommunication anymore.”
The red giant grunted in frustration. “Ugh, couldn't you have done that sooner?! I went ahead and made a lugnut of myself for no reason...”
Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity were at a loss for words. Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs while still hovering, not quite ready to trust them yet. Fluttershy simply matched the blue one's smile. Pinkie Pie had a maniacal grin on her face.
“This is so AMAZING! I've never, ever, EVER seen anything like you guys!” Pinkie started bouncing all around them, poking and prodding their legs. “So are you both like, giant alien robots?! Cause' I don't think I've EEEVER seen a giant alien robot in Ponyville before! Are you new around here?! What are these wheels in your legs for?! Have you ever – mppff!”
Twilight teleported to Pinkie's side with loud spark and shoved a hoof in her mouth before teleporting back to her original position with her. She shouted to the blue one, “Ok, well, now that you understand us, tell us where Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo are!”
As if to answer her question, a red vehicle came barreling down the stone mound and screeched to a halt next to the red giant. Their greatest worry was lifted as the door opened on its side.
“Sweetie Belle! Oh, thank heavens you're all right!”
The moment Rarity spotted her sister, she was scooping her up into a hug seconds afterward. Scootaloo rubbed a hoof behind her head and looked at the ground, not sure how to feel about the situation. Applebloom slowly exited last with a depressed look on her face.
Applejack just as quickly galloped over to her own sister and hugged her in the same manner. “Oh mah stars an' garters...! I don' know what I'd do if anythin' happened to ya...”
Now that she was safe, Applejack let go and rested a hoof on her shoulder, looking her square in the eyes. “Applebloom, what in the sam hill are y'all doin' out here?”
She said it with concern, but Applebloom mistook it as an accusation. She bit her lower lip as it started quivering again. “Applejack, ah...ah...!”
The guilt in her heart was too much. Applebloom buried her head in her sisters shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sweetie Belle let go of Rarity and limped over to them. “Applejack, please don't be mad at her! She's really, really sorry! And - and it's not her fault!”
“It's all right. Ah'm not mad at anypony.”
She wanted to know what they were doing here, but instead opted to let her sister calm down, lovingly stroking the back of her head.
“Besides, ah've got a bigger question I want answered.”
She looked to the 'robots' as Pinkie called them.
“Don't y'all worry, I can accommodate.”
The red vehicle transformed into another giant, much to the shock of everypony watching. It spoke in a raspy, gruff tone, with an accent not that dissimilar to Applejack's. “Ah saved these here young'uns when they were attacked by Soundwave. Nearly toasted mah circuits doin' it too.”
Twilight stepped forward, no longer wary of them. She asked them in a calmer tone, “Who and what are all of you?”
The gruff one looked down into her eyes and sighed. “Mah name's Ironhide. The guy with the howitzer in his chest next to me's called Warpath, and the walkin' zen archive over there's named Beachcomber.”
He gestured to the insignia on his chest, a red symbol that resembled a face. “We're the Autobots.”
----
“Fear not Megatron, Cybertron shall remain as you leave it.”
----
[Shockwave's Case Files: Entry: # 001]
Lord Megatron and the bulk of the remaining Decepticon forces have now departed Cybertron aboard the Nemesis, leaving myself to seize control of what remains. Whether or not the space bridge will take them to the target planet remains to be seen, however, Lord Megatron's orders are absolute. Totalitarian control and preservation of the Decepticon cause are, and will always be, priority one.
And thus, I begin these case files to archive any pertinent current events and scientific findings throughout my temporary regime. My first order of business will be to find a suitable replacement for my left arm, as well as construction of a new research and development facility.