//------------------------------// // Nothin's gonna Stand in Our Way // Story: Friendship is Magic, When All Are One // by RobotFox //------------------------------// Chapter 19 Nothin’s Gonna Stand in Our Way The group wasted no time; they immediately went back to the library and started their planning. Shining Armor and the guards however didn’t stay, due to Shining Armor’s position; they knew that eventually Celestia would be questioning where he was sooner or later so he couldn’t stay with them and be part of the plan. Big Macintosh remained but knew little of Canterlot so he decided to do what he did best and remained silent. Starscream too, though uncharacteristically, stayed quiet, putting forth little involvement into their plan. Aside from being in an emotional state that made all of this seem like a secondary concern. He almost regretted making the hiatus but he needed the freedom from Rainbow Dash in order to decipher his own feelings with Twilight. Now he had no intention of keeping Rainbow in the dark, after all she was the one to provoke such a possible attraction to his attention. But Starscream was also questioning their ‘weapon’. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and even a few others informed him of the ‘Elements of Harmony’ and their great power but he himself didn’t know its capabilities. He was told that it freed Princess Luna of Nightmare Moon (and by the story he was told wasn’t all that fascinating in his opinion). He was also told of Discord, which actually proved to be a huge threat; turning all of them against their elements, destroying all sensibility and practicality of their world. And the Elements were able to stop him. While Discord sounded like a credible threat, it didn’t seem to beat Unicron. Its true Discord did nearly bring the planet under his control, but Unicron actually destroyed many planets before coming to Cybertron and it seemed that some of the abilities he was told Discord had were similar; controlling individuals, spawns, and just overall massive power. “Y’all bein awfully quiet.” The large red stallion said idly. The silver stallion kept neutral expression. Starscream and Big Macintosh shared a simple relationship. While they didn’t spend too much time together, they seemed to accept each other’s company. All the time Big Mac watched over Starscream when he first came to Equestria inadvertently created some link of trust and since he never pressured or imposed on the ex-seeker, Starscream never found a reason to dislike or not trust him. In fact, Starscream viewed him as his only male friend on this planet aside from Dr. Whooves. “I have little to contribute,” He answered quickly. “I know nothing of this weapon, my only assistance I can provide is the actual fight…I do think we should wait for Optimus Prime and Megatron to see their plans with Unicron.” Macintosh had a small grin though he didn’t care for his attitude. While he knew only a little bit of the ex-Cybertronian, he kind of expected him to refer to the Elements of Harmony as ‘Weapons’. “Didn’t stop yah before.” “All I have to say is that we should wait till the Autobots and the Decepticons come up with a plan. But what do I know? Despite my race’s previous encounter, we don’t know much about Unicron. And I fear that any solution I can think of will probably resulting in harming Celestia with no benefit coming from it.” The larger stallion turned to the smaller stallion as he kept a scowl on his face, “Hmm…” “What?” Starscream could tell he had something on his mind. “Just a bit surprised is all. Usually, I notice you being more…aggressive I guess.” The ex-seeker growled, turning away, “I have other things on my processor now!” “Mind.” He growled at the smart remark as he glared at the slightly grinning Big Macintosh. “I’m going outside.” And with that he left indiscreetly as the others conversed about some kind of strategy. Big Macintosh looked over to the group before following him. “So it’s simple. We’ll write a letter and see if we can get permission to meet up with her or if she can come here.” Twilight explained as she started writing a letter on the table with a semi-excited Spike being ready to send it. “But what if she refuses?” Fluttershy questioned timidly. “She isn’t gonna refuse!” Applejack said confidently looking over Twilight’s shoulder to see what she was writing, “The Princess might be a bit nutty recently but I know she wouldn’t turn on her completely. She practically raised you!” Twilight nodded with a slight smile “Of course. She taught me everything I knew…that’s gotta mean something…” towards the end, she started to lose a bit of confidence in her own statement. Luna put her bandaged wing over the troubled unicorn, “Of course she will.” Luna’s state seemed to be confident, “You were more than a mere student to my sister Twilight. She viewed you as family. If she was truly lost, she would’ve been rid of all of us.” “Indeed.” Rarity agreed, “I too have yet to lose faith in her as well. This…Unicron is clearly what’s affecting our ruler’s judgment.” “Of course it is!” Pinkie Pie confirmed as she jumped on the table looking at the letter upside down. “Celestia would never do that to us intentionally or anyone for that matter.” She kept her bright happy demeanor as she turned to their rainbow mane pegasus who was currently looking elsewhere, “Right Dashie?” “Um…” she shook her head, “That’s right! Cool!” “Is something wrong dear?” Rarity asked idly as she noticed Rainbow’s lack of attention. Though arrogant, much like Starscream, she did have a strong enough attention span to stay in tuned with everyone especially with something important. But now she was in a corner a bit of a distance away from the group. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She poorly acted with a smile but such a reaction didn’t fool the dress designer, “Why wouldn’t I be?” “Rainbow Dash!” She said her name firmly as she walked over to her and kept her voice low in order to keep their conversation somewhat private. “Last night you were more than willing to come up with a plan to finally bring our world back in order. Darling, I know something’s wrong.” Rainbow turned to the group. All of them were looking over Twilight and watching her write the letter. She turned back to her sophisticated friend, “Look Rarity, I’m glad you care and all but…I’m not up to it right now.” Rarity looked over to the group and then back to Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow Dash, please, tell me what’s wrong.” The pegasus mare sighed, “It’s Starscream…” “Oh.” Rarity wasn’t too surprised, as she knew the look of heartbreak. “Dear please tell me what happened.” Rainbow was silent for a moment. She did want to tell her but…what was she supposed to say? She didn’t lose faith in Starscream really by the way he silently walked out, obviously trying not to get anyone’s attention she knew that he was either confused or saddened (which Starscream seems to interpret as anger naturally) as much as she was. She knew that she was partially at fault; she brought it up almost accusingly. But in a way, she needed sort her own feelings on the ex-seeker. They started as enemies and within a week’s time, they grew close. He told her a generalized version of his relationship with Megatron and how trapped he was being with the Decepticons. After learning from the confused pegasus she taught him and in time they could almost talk about anything. They both loved flying and being in charge and both had the habit of jumping the gun and making rash and sometimes unintelligent moves. But she didn’t ‘know’ Starscream. She knew this couldn’t easy for him. He lived for several million years as a thirty-foot tall machine and then suddenly became a small organic creature. She also had to keep in mind that during all of that he was a military commander of an evil army for many of those years. But she didn’t know what to think about that really when Twilight actually knew all about this and she didn’t. Starscream merely gave her small bits like being an Air Commander and his high position as Second-in-Command. He never went into detail about what he did aside from fighting the Autobots and how many times he tried to overthrow Megatron in many instances. He never talked about what exactly they fought for aside from energy or never went into detail about what he did specifically in these fights or whatever. Rainbow sighed as she kept her gaze on her generous friend, “Really…Starscream and I have been… a bit distant recently. I mean even before Megatron and Unicron and even before Celestia was call him and Twilight all the time.” “What has he been doing when he’s not with you then?” “Well,” she paused, “basically he’s been spending time with either Twilight or the Doc.” “The Doc? As in the Doctor?” “Yeah Doctor Whooves. Derpy’s husband,” She answered which Rarity understood as she nodded and Dash continued, “I mean there was even a time he left me to spend time with Twilight when we were watching a Wonderbolts air show.” “Oh dear…” Rarity sighed. “How did you find out?” Rainbow looked over her shoulder to see what the group was doing. They were all still occupied with the letter so she turned back to Rarity, “What do you mean?” “How did you find out? Do you find him at the library or what exactly?” Rarity explained. “Oh, it’s nothing like that. I mean, it’s not like he kept where he was going a secret. He told me he was going to meet up with Twilight or the Doc.” “Hmm…well it’s not that.” Rarity let out a breath, “Do you know why?” “No…” She said, a bit discouraged, “I know he’s confused and still adapting to everything but…why does he prefer to be with Twilight instead of me?” “Well I can’t speak for Starscream. But you need to talk to him.” “About what?” Rainbow really didn’t want to get any else involved in this aside from herself, Starscream and inevitably Twilight if she wasn’t already. “I think you know.” “But…we already talk and he said that we should-” she was quickly hushed with a white hoof in mouth. “Rainbow Dash, we can’t restore Equestria back in order if your head is out of it and Starscream’s not contributing. His race is just as much involved in this as we are.” Rarity explained. She knew she was hitting pretty hard on this but not only was she concerned for Unicron but she didn’t want her friend to be like this any longer. “It can’t be that simple.” The rainbow mane mare stated. “Of course it is darling. Communication is what makes a relationship.” She noticed that probably wasn’t the best way to put it. Rainbow slumped a bit, she remembered her telling her that Starscream was conversing with Twilight more. She cleared her throat, “What I mean is not all problems with the heart heal with time.” “But-” “Rainbow Dash!” She raised her tone to keep her attention completely on her next words, “If he really didn’t have feelings for you, how did he break the spell and save you all those months ago?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened at the realization. “Hey you two!” Pinkie Pie called out waving her foreleg at them “Are you going to contribute or what?” “You bet!” Rainbow called out and flying over to the group, “We’re saving Equestria again!” Rarity merely smiled and walked over to see the letter Twilight was writing. --Outside the Library-- Starscream walked out of the library silently and sat outside looking over to the far away castle when everything changed. He considered going to one of the Communication Arrays and see if they left him any messages or attempted to contact him. He had to thank Primus for being a pegasus otherwise it would be difficult to use the thing. He wished he could stay focused but Rainbow Dash was constantly at the back of his mind. It was ironic really; before he came to Equestria…heck even before the war, he viewed romance to be a simple-minded flaw of any sentient being, organic or mechanical. That changed when they opened his optics/eyes to friendship and in time he viewed Rainbow Dash in a different light, especially when she taught him how to fly. He smirked as he sat down on the ground thinking back at the pleasant memory, they really weren’t even friends yet but it definitely was a spark. The whole time he remembered finding a certain beauty about her even before he was turned into a pony the first time. The natural rainbow color mane and sky blue made her stand out from the rest and couldn’t look past it. He had a grin growing unintentionally. He couldn’t help it, Rainbow Dash had left a mark on him that even with a moment where his life could’ve ended…he had to show how much he cared. He was still surprised at himself at the fact he was the one that instituted on their first kiss at the battlefield. It was first time he understood the meaning of the action. He knew it was important in romance and he had to show Rainbow Dash that… He sighed as his pleasantries fell to an annoyance, “What about Twilight?” The seeker turned away for a moment. Like Rainbow Dash, he did enjoy her company but Rainbow, perhaps due to their relationship, made it difficult sometimes. Starscream could easily be himself around both of them. But the unicorn was more than willing to listen to him on things he’d never want to share with Rainbow Dash; he was more comfortable with her knowing all these things about him. Perhaps that’s what it was he hoped for. Thinking her imagination would be enough to fill her curiosity. But he could tell that she wanted the truth. “Loyalty…” Starscream chuckled at the irony. It almost felt like a test really, like weather or not they would see each other in the same light after going into more details. He trusted Twilight with that information…but maybe it was because they were just close friends. He and Rainbow were on such a closer level that he didn’t want to taint it with his past. How brutal and cruel he was to Autobots, Decepticons, and innocents alike. What he did on Equestria was minor to what he’d had done on Earth and Cybertron. In a way, he felt it was unimportant, after all, everyone had their own secrets and he was sure that Rainbow Dash didn’t tell him everything. But…he gave a vague history before the war and some accomplishments during the war. The only thing he put any kind elaboration on was his relationship with Megatron. She deserved to know but…was it worth the risk? While all of them attributed to him remembering who he was before the war Rainbow Dash was the one that ultimately made him stay. At that moment, he heard the door open and close behind him and saw Big Macintosh coming out. He groaned, annoyed, “Oh, look who it is…” “Ya look like ya got something else on yer mind.” The larger stallion said. “Is it that obvious?” To this Big Mac smirked. Starscream sighed, “I only told you so.” Mac grinned and gave a light chuckle, “Eeyup. What’s on yur mind?” He glared but took a breath and calmed down, “It’s Rainbow Dash.” “Hmm…Fluttershy told me you were with her. Not too surprised really.” He explained while Starscream merely tilted his head a bit, “What’s the problem?” He groaned, he didn’t want to rope someone else into this but he since he probably had more experience than he did in this genre so he decided to tell him, besides he barely talks to anyone as is. “In recent time…I’ve been very distant with her to the point where I was spending more time with Twilight. I’m still trying to sort out weather my feelings for her were…” he didn’t want to say it. Big Macintosh kept his expression the same since he knew what he was trying to say. “Well, do you see Miss Sparkle the same way you did Miss Dash?” “What?” “When yur visiting Twilight do you see her more than a friend?” Starscream took a moment to think about it, actually never looked at her in any other light he only viewed her as a friend never daring to look at her in any other light. He couldn’t tell if Twilight saw him in any other way. In a way, he had a deeper level of trust in her because he told her everything he’d done and she always treated him the same. They also had a lot in common but he never viewed her in any other way he did Rainbow Dash. Despite keeping his past a secret and staying away from her, he always thought back to her when he thought back to what he truly cared about. In hindsight Twilight was a close friend he could always go to…like a biological bond… “Yes…” he finally answered. Macintosh nodded, “She’s like a comfort zone fer yah. I don’t pretend to know what ya’ll are going through. But both Miss Sparkle and Miss Dash are smart mares, they know you’re still trying tah figure all this out.” Starscream had a very small grin, “Yeah…” He turned back, “You go see where the mares are at with the plan. I’m going to the communications array, see if they left me an update. Inform them to wait till I return, I doubt the Elements alone will be enough.” Macintosh nodded, “Eeyup.” --Canterlot-- Skyfire was now on patrol, no longer just standing by the door. Queen Celestia was no longer looking over him but told him to go on patrol as the city was being rebuilt from the attack. It was still amazing to that the Decepticons cause so much damage and really all for petty revenge. Megatron was prone to do things like this sometimes but usually it’s for something more important in the long run. Though trying to take out the capital city would aid them in some ways, it seemed counterproductive. But Skyfire didn’t pretend to understand Megatron, he didn’t expect many people did. “Cybertronian.” He turned around and what he saw caught him off guard. It was another Cybertronian, one he didn’t recognize. This one almost as tall as him, he stood firmly. He was all purple save for his face, which was silver, he had red optics and on his helm, he had two long protrusions. His voice was a bit deep but not quiet monotone like Soundwave or Prowl. “Another Cybertronian?” He looked down and noticed the Decepticon insignia on his chest. “Decepticon…” he said silently. “I thought I was the only one who joined Queen Celestia’s regime.” The unknown Decepticon smirked slightly, “I haven’t, I serve Unicron directly.” “Unicron?” Skyfire questioned. “But you do know about what he did to Cybertron?” “I was there,” The being smirked, rubbing his chin. “I was there with the Decepticons and the Autobots as they united forces against Unicron.” Skyfire blinked his optic covers, “Who are you?” “Since my time with Unicron, my identity has been many…” he smirked, thinking of how blind both the people of Equestria and Cybertron were. “But at the time, I was called Cyclonus.” “Cyclonus?” “That is correct.” “I’ve never heard of you.” Really, the shuttle didn’t know what to think. Aside from meeting a Decepticon that was clearly a high rank and never even heard of him, granted he wasn’t too up to date on Cybertron when he awoke from the ice. In fact, he’d only been on Cybertron a few brief times since then. “I can’t say that you remind me of anyone I can recall since then either,” He stated. “What’s your name?” The white Cybertronian looked at the Decepticon for a moment, “…Skyfire” “A former Autobot no less,” He stated, looking at his insignia. Skyfire was about to say that he would always be an Autobot but didn’t know if that would be the right thing to say, he didn’t know if he, Unicron, or Celestia would misinterpret what he would be saying. For all he knew, one of them was watching. “Yes, I serve our Queen now.” “Excellent,” He stated though Skyfire noticed that the ever persistent grin he had seemed to falter a bit. “You realize serving her means you’re serving Unicron as well.” “…I know. But my race has been irresponsible… if we don’t have a mediator, the war may never end.” “Indeed,” Cyclonus nodded once. “But if we’re to bring peace…you do know your race will retaliate and force may be necessary.” “…” he tried to stay calm internally and keep a straight face, “I know.” “Excellent.” With that, he started to walk away. Skyfire blinked his optic covers before take a step forward, “Cyclonus.” The addressed Decepticon turned his head, showing that he got his attention. “You said you were there when Unicron came to Cybertron, right?” “Yes.” “Why do you serve him directly?” He thought for a moment before answering, “I was there before he even came to Cybertron…” and with that he walked a few yards before transforming into a unique jet and flew away leaving a confused Skyfire. “He was there when the Decepticons and Autobots united…then how…?” --Cybertron-- Prowl was currently overseeing several Cybertronians, Autobots and Decepticons alike, at the Autobot home base, where several working operations were going on. He served as a guard, making sure there were no outbreaks between the two factions. Prowl was a bit surprised that Optimus gave him this position, especially after he made it perfectly clear that he very much disagreed with just about all the decisions he made with the unification with the Decepticons. He trusted Optimus, he really did. But this was far from the first time he’d questioned his leader’s methods. Prowl made it very clear that he’d never trust a Decepticon. Despite Starscream showing some kind of reform from what he knew, he refused to see him in any other way. In his optics, all Decepticons were the same, a lost cause. He never saw Decepticons in any possible light to redeem them. “Decepticons…” he had to admit, he was a very narrow-minded individual. He himself had experienced Autobots that were just as corrupt as Decepticons, and yet they weren’t Decepticons. Sometimes he wondered if there were a few exceptions, he had to admit, it was surprising to see the planet running like any peaceful planet and Starscream wasn’t restrained in any way. He turned over to the side from the computer where Soundwave was performing the same duty he was. The Decepticon Communications Officer was impossible to read due to his red optic band and concealed mouth through his always-present facemask. Next to Megatron himself, he didn’t trust Soundwave in the slightest. The Decepticon Third-in-Command always seemed to be following Megatron without question. He did hear a rumor saying that during their first encounter with Unicron that he had voiced interest in taking control when Megatron was missing, but that was it. “What’s the word on the attack on Unicron?” Prowl asked, he really wanted this to pass so he could get over this uncomfortable feeling of his enemy constantly around him. Soundwave kept his optics on the monitor. “Mobilization to attack Unicron nearly complete. Strategy: Distract Unicron while Optimus Prime and Megatron unleash the power of the Matrix.” “Simple enough, what about Celestia and the organics of the planet?” “Unknown. Megatron hasn’t stated any action toward her other than destruction.” “And Optimus is going with this?” Prowl prodded. “Unknown. Neither Optimus Prime or Megatron have elaborated on any countermeasures toward their ruler.” “Then what are-” All of a sudden, a call came in. Soundwave answered it immediately and was greeted with a ponified Starscream. “My fellow Cybertronians,” Starscream gave a characteristic grin, “I’m still surprised that I’ve yet to be informed.” It was then he noticed that it was Soundwave and Prowl to which this was ended with his grin faltering a bit. “Perfect…” “Oh great, just what exactly what I need, you calling,” Prowl said, voicing his emotions clearly. “The feeling is mutual Autobot. Where’s Skyfire? At least I know he’ll actually give me answers.” Prowl was about to say something but stopped himself, where was Skyfire? He hadn’t seen him since they were on Equestria. In fact, he couldn’t recall him even coming off the Space Bridge at all. His expression of contempt for the ex-seeker and Soundwave fell and turned to one of confusion. “Actually, I don’t know.” “What?” Starscream couldn’t believe this. “Find him!” Prowl groaned a bit and attempted call him through his comlink but came up with nothing, more likely due to being out of range, which with that knowledge indicated that he wasn’t at the base. Cybertronian comlink had a fairly long range without using a communications array to go much further. “I can’t get a hold of him,” Prowl uttered, a bit confused himself. “For Primus’ sake…” the ex-seeker groaned then turned his attention to Soundwave, “Soundwave, locate Skyfire.” “Who are you to give orders?” Prowl sneered. Starscream gave a slight sneer of his own. “Fine, Soundwave, are you able to locate Skyfire?” He asked, a bit more gently instead of a command. The blue Cybertronian didn’t seem to mind either way, as he started working on the console the first time he was told, but each time he came up with nothing. He turned away, noticing that he wasn’t able to pick up his energy signature or any signal from him at all. “Unable to locate Autobot Skyfire,” He answered, looking back up to the monitor. Starscream showed visual concern on his face. Ironically, if he hadn’t come here, he’d probably not care but since they’ve restored to some degree their old friendship, it made him slightly concerned. “Well-” he cut himself off; he had to remember he technically had no power over them anymore. “Will you at least tell me what your plan with Unicron is?” Prowl would usually be the one telling him that it wasn’t his business but he wasn’t stupid, despite how, earlier on Equestria, he had stated that the Autobots alone could defeat Unicron, he wasn’t serious, he just didn’t want to ally himself with their enemy. “We’re planning a full scale assault. We’re going to distract Unicron, we’ll blow an opening and see if we can get Optimus in there with the Matrix.” “What about Celestia?” “I don’t know, neither Optimus nor Megatron expressed any plans with her.” “Hmm…” Starscream remained silent. “We may have that covered…” “Hmm?” Prowl said, interested. “Hope you’re not over estimating your abilities, Screamer.” The ex-seeker visibly cringed. He never liked the nickname ‘Screamer’ at all. The only Decepticons that he let get away with it were Thundercracker and Skywarp. Other Decepticons were met with him abusing his power often. This thought actually made him think back to Rainbow Dash. He never understood why, but he actually liked it when she called him ‘Screamer’. Heck, she called him that before they found any common ground and he didn’t mind it. He never corrected her he let each one slide, to the point where it didn’t bother him anymore. On that note, he actually found it saddening that she called him by his full name back at the bakery instead of ‘Screamer’. Even when the other Elements called him that on occasion (excluding Twilight who identified him as ‘Star’ on occasion, which he didn’t mind either), it hardly bothered him. Starscream shook his head. “No, it’s not me Autobot.” He explained, “Unicron has amplified his power with magic somehow and Celestia is the source of that power. The residence of this planet has a weapon to counteract such power. They believe that it will be enough to defeat or rather purge Unicron from Celestia, which in turn may weaken Unicron.” “Huh?” Prowl put a servo to his chin, “Well, if this thing works, then we won’t have to worry about Celestia getting in the way or worry about magic that Unicron may have.” “I don’t know if it’s as foolproof as they believe, but I’ve heard of what it can do against formidable foes, it may be exactly what we need.” “Attack Fleet via warp gate to Unicron will begin within Equestria’s orbital cycle, Recommendation: Purge Celestia before fleet arrives,” The Communications Officer informed them. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Soundwave’s right. If this thing works, we’ll need her out of the way and safe before we start that attack. We don’t need to kill her if she’s really this great ruler or have her kill us.” Starscream nodded once, “Agreed. If everything goes as planned, Celestia will not be a problem.” --Library-- The group finished the note they were going to send to Celestia, and hopefully if would help they get their ruler and friend back to normal. Big Macintosh informed them of Starscream’s status and they all agreed to wait till they had all the facts before they went on with their plan. In a moment’s time, all of them were in their own conversations with Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Luna double-checking the letter to see if there were any errors or anything that seemed too suspicious. Twilight was a bit skeptical of the plan but she was a sure that Celestia would at least respond, after all Celestia never said they could never communicate ever again or that sending a note was part of their banishment from Canterlot. “You still have doubts about the letter?” Luna inquired. “Well, not really…but I guess I still have doubts…yeah…” Twilight was clearly covering her actual concern but Rainbow didn’t notice and Luna decided to hold off on it for now. “Oh come on Twi, I don’t care what’s gotten into Celestia, she’ll listen,” Rainbow Dash assured her. “Yeah, but we’re still playing a game of deception, on top of that, we don’t know if the Elements will work, who knows how powerful Unicron made her.” “Come on, we’ve been through this!” Rainbow exclaimed, a bit annoyed. “If they were able to turn Discord into Stone, and purge Nightmare Moon, then Celestia can’t possibly stand up to it! Besides, the others will take care of Unicron.” Luna stood in thought for a moment. “What are we to do with the Decepticons?” she said aloud, more to herself than anyone else. “Uh…” Rainbow stood confused for a moment then turn to Twilight, hoping for an answer. “One thing at a time,” Twilight said before rolling up the letter and putting it on the table they were standing around. The lavender unicorn rubbed her hoof into the ground and started to look away from the two. Rainbow Dash turned to the dark alicorn beside her with a confused look and was met with an understanding one from her. Luna, while she did not completely understand Twilight’s issues, she knew it must have something to do with Starscream and Rainbow Dash, not just Unicron. With all the time Twilight and herself have gotten significantly closer due becoming somewhat like a substitute teacher in the recent past. From that she’s learned that the lavender mare was very openly showed her concern especially when it came to Celestia and disappointing her or her friends. But when it was personal or something that’s personal for another, she tended to make it just as obvious, but not as open. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” Luna asked. “It’s nothing,” She answered plainly, looking up at the two of them. She was able to see that neither of them bought it. “Look it’s-” “Come on Twi, you know that you can tell us anything. You do know that you’re just a bad a liar as Applejack.” Twilight tried to come up with a rebuttal to that but came up short. She sighed, looking at her colorful and dark friends, “Um, Luna, can I speak with Rainbow Dash in private? It’s really important that I speak with her.” Luna nodded once; while she wasn’t entirely certain of what the situation was, she figured it would be best if they sort it out themselves, whatever it was. The Alicorn took a step back and the two other mares left to go into the second room of books. While neither Luna nor the two mares in question did anything to bring attention to them, the other mares, stallion, and drake watched them going into the next room wordlessly. Rarity was the first to speak after a brief moment of silence, “Um, Prince- Luna, um, you wouldn’t happen to know that was all about would you?” Luna looked toward the door then back to the white unicorn, “Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow Dash seem to be in some way personal turmoil that I believe we should leave to them.” Rarity stood there thinking for a moment, she wasn’t sure, but she would’ve put bits on the fact Starscream had something to do with it. She turned back to the former Princess, “Um, excuse me Luna, but do you know if Twilight has any sort of, um, attraction to Starscream?” The Alicorn stood in thought for a moment, “Actually…” she paused. “I don’t know about attraction in a romantic sense but…I could tell that she and Starscream had grown close to one another.” Rarity sighed, “They must be confused on their own emotions. If I remember correctly, none of them have had a special somepony before.” “Hmm,” this was news to the former Night Princess. “I was not aware of that. Well, they must sort it themselves, but we need all of them together.” “Oh, seems that you’ve had experience in this field,” Rarity stated, to which Luna gave a halfhearted chuckle. “No, not really, but when you guide everypony to a good night sleep, you tend to learn a few things.” At that moment, Starscream returned to the library, making it abundantly clear that he had returned with a loud closing of the door. “Hey there, sugar cube,” Applejack said, greeting their male friend along with the others. “What’s the word?” “My hypothesis was correct. They’re planning on focusing on Unicron, they didn’t have a plan for Celestia.” “Oh good!” Fluttershy said in relief, having been very concerned for their ruler and friend. “So what about Unicron?” “They’re implanting a diversionary tactic; keeping him focused on an armada while Optimus uses the matrix to destroy Unicron once again. But we must act quickly.” “Why? What’s happening? Is something bad going to happen to Celestia if we don’t?” Pinkie prodded. “That’s a possibility but not what I meant,” Starscream said, showing he was a little annoyed at being interrupted. “No, but they plan on attacking within the orbital cy-” he growled as he corrected himself, “within the days’ time.” “Wait, how? Didn’t you say it took about seven days to get here?” Rarity questioned. “They plan on using the warp gate. When the Decepticons built the Space Bridge, they became able to use it as a beacon, if it’s activated, to send in the armada quickly. But enough about that, we have to move quickly.” “And what’s the hurry?” Applejack asked, motioning with her hoof. “As you know, Celestia’s power has been amplified intensely due to Unicron influence. Needless to say, she will come to aid Unicron which may end in Celestia getting seriously injured or killed or our efforts being met with no success, depending on how powerful she really is. I agree with both Soundwave and the Autobot, it’s best we cleanse her before the attack.” Luna nodded, “I agree, we need to act quickly.” Luna turned to Spike, “Spike, send the letter.” “Got it!” The young dragon left the group and went to the small table where Luna, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash had previously been conversing to get the letter to send it. “How long do you think ya think it will take before she comes over?” The orange mare asked the group. “Sooner the better!” the pink Earth pony of the group exclaimed, “Then Celestia will be ours again, and once Unicron is gone, we can have Party!” “Um…sure…” Starscream seemed a bit confused. He turned to Spike to see him blow his green flame on the letter and the smoke sending it off. It was then he noticed the lack of both the studious and athletic mares. “Where’s Twilight and Rainbow Dash?” Rarity walked in front of the other mares and confronted him directly, “Um, girls, can you give us some privacy?” “Privacy? What with the secrecy all of a sudden? We’re all friends, right?” Pinkie prodded. “Yes, but I think we should leave them be,” Luna said as she nodded to Rarity to which she returned with a smile. The group merely shrugged and let them be. After they left, there was a moment of silence and a slightly confused Starscream. “Okay, what’s this all about? Where’s Twilight and Rainbow?” “Keep your voice down,” She ordered sternly but kept her composure. “They’re in the next room. And if I’m correct, it’s about you.” The ex-seeker raised a brow a bit annoyed with the game. It didn’t take him too much time to realize that the mare learned of the somewhat in-complete love triangle that was causing so much trouble with himself and Rainbow Dash and Primus knew what Twilight was thinking all of this. “What’s going on?” he said keeping his voice low. “All of you are suffering from this romantic turmoil. Now I may not know all the details, but I do know one thing, you need to sort it out. Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash aren’t thinking straight, and it’s hurting the rest of us as well.” The ex-seeker growled, “We’ll worry about it after all of this blows over. Besides Rainbow Dash and I are on hiatus-” “You’ve delayed this long enough!” She raised her voice. She turned around to see that the group didn’t seem to think too much about what she said, so she turned back to the stallion. “Starscream, I don’t pretend to know what you’ve been through but I do know this in the perspective of the mare and it’s painful. We still have time, and if something happens, I’m sure they would like to have closure to what this is.” The pegasus wanted to argue but he got nothing. It’s not like they didn’t have time either. Truly, he wanted to get out of this problem as much as he knew Rainbow and perhaps Twilight did, but he didn’t know how to address it. In the given time, he was able to sort out his feels to some point but he couldn’t do it alone, the girls had to be involved as well. “Fine…” --Next Room-- When the two mares entered the room and closed the door behind them, they immediately sat on the ground and stayed silent for a moment. Rainbow Dash remained a bit clueless, but she was concerned for her friend. Twilight on the other hand was a bit nervous; she did want to get this of her chest just as much as she knew Rainbow Dash did with her relationship with the ex-Cybertronian. “So…” Rainbow began, “what’s up Twi?” The unicorn mare sighed and looked up to her multicolored friend, “Rainbow…how are things between you and Star?” Rainbow was a surprised but at the same time a bit confused, “Why?” “Well, you see, I’m sure you know Star and I have been spending a lot of time together and…well I don’t know if there was anything happening between you two.” Twilight felt bad sort of lying, she and Starscream had spent a great deal time together but she only knew this because of this morning and spying on them. “Well, we’ve…wait are you trying to get with Starscream?!” she said angrily. “No no no!” Twilight said quickly, hoping Rainbow would listen. “Please just listen, it’s nothing like that!” To the lavender mare’s relief the pegasus stayed and listened to her case. “Dash, I just need to know. I mean, Starscream and I have gotten close over time, what with Celestia calling and all that, and we got along fairly well when he first came. I don’t think it’s romantic but…I’ve never had a special somepony before and I didn’t know if something was wrong between you and Star.” Rainbow took a breath, she should’ve saw this coming knowing in some ways she made the issue by bringing it up. “Well…I don’t know. I mean…aside from last night, we don’t fight or anything it’s just…he barely talks to me, almost ignoring me.” “What did you two fight about?” the librarian probed lightly. “Well, basically Starscream was pointing the hoof at us for not doing anything about his warnings and I told him that he didn’t do much to stop it either.” She sighed not wanting to bring up the next part, “And I brought up the fact that he and you have been spending more time together than he’s been spending with me…even when you weren’t in Canterlot. In rage, I broke up with him and told him to stay with you, thinking he wanted to be with you…instead of me…” Twilight noticed the wetness in her eyes as she brought it up. “Oh…” the mare answered, understanding Rainbow Dash’s side of the problem. “I don’t know if that’s true…” “Huh?” “Starscream didn’t want to talk about it earlier when I asked him why he stayed over. I didn’t want to ask him either…he must feel bad too.” At that moment, they heard the door open, close, and then saw the stallion in question walk in. “Starscream?” Rainbow was the first to speak. “Yes, I believe it time we finish this once and for all,” He answered walking to a more logical position. “Right…what are we supposed to do?” Rainbow really didn’t want to be the one to have to start the conversation, but she didn’t know how to address it other than head on. “Starscream, do you like Twilight…like really like her?” She knew for sure Starscream had deep level of care for her, Rarity had to reminder of that but knew it now. But she had to know if he truly did have any feelings for Twilight or herself. Starscream stood there for a moment, trying to piece it together one last time before he answered. Thanks to Big Macintosh’s questioning, he’d been able to figure some things out. One of the major things was his relationship with Twilight. He knew that they were close, but with Rainbow Dash he was even closer…to the point he didn’t want to risk ruining it with anything he had done in his old life, thinking that keeping her in the dark would be best but… what good was that if Twilight knew?…She deserved to know him… “Yes…like a biological bond…” Rainbow Dash was confused but Twilight understood what he meant, “You mean like a sister.” She thought about it for a moment, and it made sense; she had never viewed Starscream in a romantic sense but rather as a close friend that she trusted and could learn and teach, but hearing it, made sense to her, being brother and sister. “A sibling…yes…” Starscream said making a sigh thinking any sort of reaction. To his surprise, he was met with a hug from the lavender mare. He looked up to see her pull back with smile, “You know…that makes a lot of sense…I couldn’t pin point it either but when you said it…I do kinda feel like I’m with my brother Shining Armor...if he was new to Equestria, a bit analytical, angry and was millions of years older than me. But otherwise, I’ve always feel comfortable with you, talking to you and everything.” Starscream chucked at the response. He turned to Rainbow Dash who was walking up to them with a hopeful expression. Starscream smirked as he walked up to the colorful mare, “It took time and bit of processing power but…I figured it out.” The ex-seeker himself couldn’t believe it but he trotted over to her and kissed her. Rainbow Dash intensified it immediately catching the ex-seeker off guard. It almost felt like all problems they’ve had just disappeared. Twilight chuckled and respectively turned away. When they broke the sky blue pegasus erratically jumped in the air and went on top of the stallion’s back hugging his neck tightly but the ex-seeker didn’t seem to mind. “I missed yah Screamer…” she said sincerely. “You’re a bit of an egghead and you can’t stop analyzing everything but hey, I need something to balance me out.” She then leaned closer to his ear, “I wanna who you were Screamer.” Starscream sighed but had a grin and nodded once, “Of course.” He then turned to Twilight as the excited mare on his back finally climbed off him. “Finally, I can move on from this emotional ride of leisure.” “What?” Rainbow questioned. “I believe the humans called it a roller coaster.” He answered groaning a bit. Twilight giggled but then immediately stopped, “Wait, what about Unicron and Celestia?” “Primus.” He shook his head, “We need to be ready. The Autobots and the Decepticons are planning on a full frontal assault on Unicron within the orbital cycle. They plan on destroying him by using the assault as a distraction so Optimus can use the Matrix and destroy him again. In order to keep both Celestia safe and to ensure victory, we need to break Unicron’s influence before they arrive.” “Good plan, did Spike send the letter?” Twilight asked. “As soon as I told them, Primus knows when Celestia will arrive, but we need to be ready.” Rainbow gave a determined nod, “The sooner the better.” --Canterlot-- Celestia stood in her thrown room thinking about everything that had occurred in the last couple of days. It was strange, she herself didn’t get it. It almost felt like something was preventing her from dwelling on it. Not to mention the random fits of rage and just flashes of all sorts of things. There were times where she seemed to black out or only see red. It felt strange though, it didn’t feel like she was under any sort of control, but rather the fact that she couldn’t feel certain emotions. She knew something was wrong but Unicron gave her the power to possibly ensure peace on two planets. It’s was strange. She knew she would feel some things but instead would feel something different almost the exact opposite. Mentally it was there but emotionally it wasn’t…she almost regrets the decision she made with Unicron…but she only felt confidence… “What has happened to me?” she asked herself, remembering her sister’s hurt expression and her beloved student weeping at what she had become. All of a sudden, she noticed the smoke come through to her and materialized in front of her. She was a shocked to see her former student send her anything at all but opened it anyway, missing her student and sister despite what her emotions were saying. The letter was vague but it had clear instructions. It basically said that both Twilight and her sister wanted to see her again in hopes to understand her reasoning and now if they could perhaps understand her and Unicron’s new regime. The bright and powerful Alicron nodded as she put the scroll to the side. “Very well.”