//------------------------------// // Act III: Only Forward // Story: Friendship Is Magic: Prime // by Darkryt Orbinautz //------------------------------// Darkryt Orbinautz presents... Megatron fired directly at Pinkie Pie, with the Dark Energon in her, Pinkie survived the blast, though she did tumbled to her side from the knockback. "Hmph." Megatron grunted, walking over to the party Pony. Pinkie's flank suddenly began tingling, while Megatron's chest insignia began glowing. Megatron glared at Pinkie's flank. "You have taken up Dark Energon?" Megatron laughed. "AHHAHAHAHA! Laughable! As if you Ponies could hope to understand it like I do! Nevertheless, I must remove it from you...lest you and I achieve symbiosis." Megatron crouched down to pluck the Dark Energon splinter from Pinkie when Bumblebee came up behind him in robot mode and tried to pound the Decepticon King in the back. Megatron turned and punched Bumblebee in the gut, then swatted him to the ground. "I have already taken your voice box, Scout." Megatron reminded him. "Do you wish me to take your Spark as well?" Bumblebee bleeped weakly. Megatron unsheathed his arm blade and raised up to strike him when he noticed his symbol was still glowing. He turned back around to see Pinkie running off into the distance. Megatron looked between the Pony and Autobot, trying to decide which he should end first. "...Symbiosis." he muttered to himself, and settled on jogging after Pinkie. After some time of running, Pinkie found a stray desert river and dived into it. "Oh..." Megatron lamented as he stepped by the river's creek. "So unwise..." Megatron stepped forward, sinking into the creek as he did so. "How many times have you tried to talk to someone about something that matters to you, tried to get them to see it the way you do? And how many of those times have ended with you feeling bitter, resenting them for making you feel like your pain doesn't have any substance after all? "They never really understand, because they haven't been there, every day, every hour. They don't know the way things have been, the way that it's made you, the way it has structured your world." Friendship Is Magic: Prime: Act III Chapter V (Box Set Chapter 17): Only Forward Episode Synopsis: Things between the Autobots and Ponies get better...before they get worse. Pinkie swam to the bottom of the river, the current pushing on her mane slightly. Pinkie being Pinkie, she could her breath for quite a good while. Especially consider her non-stop method of talking without pausing for it. It would've been a great help, save for the fact that the fast-approaching sinking form of Lord Megatron didn't need to breath. Pinkie swam away as fast she could, which was faster than Megatron could plod on the river's bottom, since she wasn't a multi-ton metal tyrant. Megatron transformed into his jet mode, his engines serving well to propel him in water as well they did through air. Pinkie panicked, afraid of Megatron was going to catch up to her, but Bumblebee's car mode came sinking in and landed on top of Megatron, bringing his floating jet mode back down the river floor. The two mechs transformed into their robot modes, Bumblebee standing on top of Megatron's chest once they had finished. Megatron grabbed Bumblebee's ankle and threw him into the mud and shoal. He got up and raised his fist, ready to pound the scrap out of Bumblebee, but a green light reached through the water - A GroundBridge- and Bulkhead sunk down and tackled Megatron, the two larger-then-life 'bots proceeding to grapple with each other. Bumblebee took the opportunity to resume trying to reach through to Pinkie while Bulkhead had Megatron distracted. "Pinkie!" Bumblebee screamed, running as fast he could through the river bottom. "Please, just listen to me!" Pinkie shook her head back and forth. "All we want to do is take the Dark Energon out of you!" Pinkie opened her mouth to say something, which wasn't very bright with her being underwater. She hauled her to the water's surface to breath in fresh air. She shot a glare towards the water she presumed Bumblebee to be. "What's so bad about the Dark Energon? It made me and all my friends tougher, didn't it?" Bumblebee plopped out of the water with a splash. "Yes, but keep it in you too long, and it'll mutate you into a hideous beast!" "With fang and claws and saliva?" Bumblebee stared. "...Yes. Let me take you to base, where Ratchet can take it out of you before it does that. We won't hurt you!" Pinkie glared, uncertain. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Bumblebee said, doing the associated hand gestures of the Pinkie Promise. That was enough to sway her. "Okay! After all, you can never break a Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie glared hard at Bumblebee. "NEEEEEVEEEER!" The GroundBridge by the riverside reopened. Bumblebee trudged out of the water and motioned Pinkie through. Pinkie found herself in the Autobot base, Bumblebee trotting behind her. "Ah! I see you were successful, Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked from the GroundBridge control panel. Bumblebee gave a affirmative beep. "Excellent..." after Ratchet said that, Bulkhead came through the GroundBridge. Ratchet quickly shut it off, to keep Megatron from following through. "Now...Pinkie Pie was it? Will you follow me so I can get the Dark Energon out of you?" "Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie said, merrily bouncing along. Bumblebee and Bulkhead crossed their arms and waited. Pinkie and Ratchet came back soon enough, Pinkie's eyes returned their normal blue coloration. "Oooh...I feel dizzy." "Eh, it'll wear off." Ratchet assured her. "Ratchet," Optimus' voice called out through the radio control panel. "We have debriefed Rarity and Fluttershy on the situation. Can you open the GroudBridge?" "Activating it now, Optimus." Ratchet responded, pulling the lever. The GroundBridge reopened and out of it stepped Rarity, Fluttershy, Optimus and- "INSECTICON!" Ratchet screamed, converting his arms to their blade configurations. Bumblebee and Bulkhead readied their blasters. "At ease." Optimus said, raising his hand. "This is Bob. He follows Fluttershy's command. We have nothing to fear from him, so long as Fluttershy does not turn against us." "This will be out of line, Optimus...HAVE YOU LOST YOUR PROCESSOR?" Ratchet screamed. "Even if the Insecticon-" "Ratchet, his name is Bob." "Even if he obeys Fluttershy, what will stop Megatron from using him to track the location of our base? All he has to do is open a commlink!" "That is why, Ratchet, when you repair Bob's leg-" Optimus gestured towards the hole in Bob's leg that Fluttershy had performed emergency work on. "You will also do some modifications to his internal radio as well." "Modifications?" Fluttershy whimpered. "I don't like the sound of that." Optimus 'hmm'ed and furrowed his browplates. "Perhaps, Fluttershy, you would like to assist Ratchet in his work?" "Assist?" Ratchet shrieked. "Swallow your pride, Ratchet." Optimus ordered. "It will be a nice trust-building experience." Ratchet shook his head and grumbled something. "Very well, come along Fluttershy...Insecticon. Bumblebee, I will require you to take Rarity through the Dark Energon removal process." Bumblebee bleeped, and Rarity followed him to the repair chamber rather uncertainly. Optimus looked around and took a headcount. "Arcee, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle are still unaccounted for." Optimus stomped over the control panel and pushed a button. "Arcee, report. What is your status?" "In pursuit. I don't know you've noticed, but unlike Rainbow here, I don't have wings." Rainbow Dash soared through the desert air, slightly bemused by Arcee's attempts to catch her on the ground. "Ha! You think you can catch me on wheels? Forget it! I'm the fastest flier in Equestria!" "Well, for your information, we're not on Equestria!" Arcee shot back. "Listen, Rainbow Dash. We're the not bad guys. Starscream and the Decepticons are the bad guys, understand?" "I agree that the 'Cons are bunch of jerks, but Starscream said you'd say something like that! And I don't happen to see any scars on your cheek!" "...Scar?" Arcee thought to herself. Rainbow Dash, seeing that Arcee was unlikely to catch her, did a causal loop-de-loop in the air, not noticing Arcee roll up one of the huge desert rocks, using it as a ramp to jump. Dash was quite surprised when saw a flying motorcycle hurling itself at her in mid-air. Arcee transformed, did a mid-air flip and brought her heel down on Rainbow Dash's back, bringing the pony down to earth. Dash got to her hooves, only for Arcee to land on top of her, her foot knocking the wind of the pony. "I gave him that scar when I tried to kill him." Arcee hissed, bending over to look Rainbow Dash in the eye. "You know why? Because he killed my partner." Rainbow Dash gasped. "...Really?" "Yes, really." Arcee snarled. Dash shook her head. "No...no, you're trying to trick me!" Arcee took her fist and punched Rainbow Dash, causing some corrupted blood to leap from the pony's lips. "I will tell you right now, and only once: Cliffjumper was real, and he was one of the strongest, bravest, most honest and dependable 'Bots I have ever met, and he didn't deserve what Starscream did to him. You got that? Say one more bad word about him, and I will end you here and now." Rainbow Dash just gazed upwards for a minute while Arcee removed her foot. The bike-bot put a finger to her head. "Arcee to base...This one's a lost cause. Requesting GroundBridge." The familiar portal opened, and Arcee began walking towards it. "Wait!" Dash reached out a hoof. Arcee leered, and Dash scuffed a hoof nervously. Nopony would have that reaction about somepony they made up. "...He was great, wasn't he?" Dash questioned. "He... sounds pretty great." "One of the best." Arcee replied. Silence reigned for a minute. "...I'm sorry." Dash apologized quietly. "What was it you wanted from me?" "It's good to see that you were successful, Arcee." Optimus thanked as Bumblebee led Rainbow Dash to the medi-chamber. Arcee crossed her arms and said nothing. "Whoa!" Dash shouted from the other room. "You didn't tell me you were gonna pump me up with Energon!" Beep Beep Bleep Beet whieeee-ooo eeeeep! "What did you just say to me, Punk? What did you just say?" "Bulkhead," Optimus barked, "Please attempt to defuse the situation." Bulkhead twiddled his fingers nervously. "Uhhh...I'll try." Bulkhead left the room. In the medical room, Ratchet was having difficulty getting Bob on one of the medical tables. "Get-up-there!" Ratchet said, trying in vain to push Bob on. Bob shrieked a refusal. "Bob? Would you get on the table so the nice Autobot can work on you?" Bob crossed his arms and sulked. "Pleeease?" Bob pursed his lips, but relented and jumped up on the bed and laid on his back, his limbs falling over and touching the ground. The table wasn't really 'Insecticon size.' Ratchet stared open-mouthed at the way Fluttershy got the Insecticon to obey her. Regaining his composure, he walked to Bob's legs and examined it. "Mmm. Scraplets?" "Um... I don't know." Fluttershy shrugged. "I need something nice, heavy and thick to fully repair the Insecticon's leg..." Ratchet and Fluttershy alternated their gazes at different parts of the room. Fluttershy looked around the room. "Ooh! What about those?" Fluttershy pointed to a bunch of metal slabs with white paint on them that looked like they had been cast aside in the corner of a room. "The Synth-En canvasses?...That's brilliant!" Ratchet walked over to the canvasses and pulled out a buried one that didn't have paint on it out of the pile. He transformed his arm into what looked to Fluttershy like a bee-smoker. The sparks coming out from it as he dragged across the slab revealed it to be a blowtorch. He used it to cut a good chunk off the slab and turned to Fluttershy. "I need a hammer." Fluttershy floated about the room and retrieved the requested tool. Ratchet took the hammer and started hammering the chunk of the slab he cut off into the hole of Bob's leg. Bob started squealing. "You're hurting him!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I'm sorry. Sometimes you have to do that in medical procedure." After some banging (and squealing) Ratchet declared the procedure finished. Ratchet walk over to Bob's head and put a finger to it. A panel flipped open from Bob's, revealing a communications array. "Now, as for the the communications issues, all we have to do is reset the programming, adjust the frequencies by about 30 numbers and-" Ratchet noticed Fluttershy smiling broadly. "You have no idea what I'm saying, do you?" Fluttershy nodded. "No." After finishing messing with Bob's side-panel, Ratchet said they should they go back to the main room. "Thank you for letting me help you with Bob, Ratchet. It was..." Fluttershy hesitated. "Fun." "Well, Fluttershy, I'm glad you had...fun." Ratchet replied with some hesitation of his own. "Aw sweet, you can fly! Can you take me for a ride through the clouds?" A excited voice asked. Fluttershy looked around, and Bob pointed at his feet. "I'm...sorry?" Fluttershy said to the human at Bob's feet. "I'm Miko!" Two more humans came into view besides her. "This is Raf, and you already met Jack, didn't cha?" "Oh yes." Fluttershy, fluttering down to ground level. "Hello again, Jack." "Hi." Jack replied nervously, looking up at Bob. "Umm...Optimus? I can't help but notice that there's an Insecticon in the room." "Yes...That would be Bob." Optimus answered. "He follows Fluttershy around, rather like a dog." "OH, DUDE!" Miko exclaimed. "You have an Insecticon for a dog? You must rock so freaking hard!" Miko made excited air punch gestures at Fluttershy, who hid behind her mane. "Um...if you say so." Fluttershy mumbled. Bulkhead, Bumblebee and a Dark Energon-free Rainbow Dash reentered the room, Dash looking rather huffed about something and Bulkhead having his cheeks glow blue in some sort of Cybertronian form of a blush. "If you do that again, Bulkhead, I swear I will shove your lugnuts so far up- hey you!" Dash noticed Jack. Jack threw his hands up in surrender. "I already explained to Applejack-" "Chill, R.D. He's cool." Applejack interrupted. "So, Ah don't think` mah friends have been introduced to you three formally." The humans and the Ponies all got themselves introduced properly. "You're a very pretty pony, Rarity." Raf complimented. Rarity giggled. "Hmhmhmh! Flattering, darling, but I think you're a little young for me." Rarity ruffled Raf's hair good-naturedly, but seeing as Rarity was of a comparable size to a horse and was large enough to buck Raf's skull into his stomach, it made the boy a little uncomfortable. "Little young for- No, see, on Earth, we have these things called horses that- never mind." Raf gave up on trying to explain that he meant Rarity was a pretty animal. Which was probably for the best, as the vain unicorn likely would've taken offense to it. Miko and Rainbow Dash seemed to be hitting it off, as they were discussing their shared feelings about adrenaline. Jack just smiled and nodded as Pinkie rambled off about whatever. Optimus' lips twitched upward, though they refrained from a full smile. "It is good to see everypony is getting along with-wait..." Optimus flexed his fingers as though he was counting. "Arcee pursued Rainbow Dash...Bumblebee, Pinkie...Ratchet remained at base. Where is Twilight Sparkle?" "Oh, Twilight? She's, uh, she's right, uh..." Bulkhead trailed off. All the Ponies widened in alarm. "Oh dude! We gotta find her!" "Agreed, Rainbow Dash. Ratchet, equip the Ponies each with earpieces and prepare the GroundBridge. Every minute Twilight remains unaccounted for is another minute the Dark Energon has to corrupt her. Transform and roll out!" Rarity raised a hoof. "Yes, Rarity. I am aware your species' lacks transformation capabilities." Optimus said with a hint of exasperation. Rarity put her hoof down. Somewhere far away, Starscream and Twilight had stopped to rest by an abandoned Energon mine. Starscream had his claws on his knees while Twilight paced around anxiously. "If I could run...huff...as fast as you...huff...gallop." Starscreamed complained. "You think I'm bad?" Twilight put a hoof to her chest. "You should see Rainbow Dash!" "If you're any indication, I'd rather not..." Starscream noticed the unease in the way Twilight was pacing. "What's wrong, Twilight?" "It's just..." Twilight signed. "Here we are, safe and sound, and I don't know if any of my friends are okay.! I mean, what if Optimus uses the same trick on her as he did on Applejack?" Starscream stared at the ground, unsure of what to say. "Eeeh...I am sure that Fluttershy and Bob have held Optimus at bay." Twilight frowned. "I hope you're right." "Of course I'm right! I'm always right!" Starscream brushed his claw against his chin proudly. Thinking he was joking, Twilight giggled. Twilight walked over and rested her head on Starscream's foot. "It's good to have a friend with you, no matter how long you've known them." Starscream smiled nervously and crouched down to pat her. "It is, isn't it?" Twilight looked to smile at Starscream when shafts of blue light came from nowhere and knocked him out. "STARSCREAM!" Adam came running at Twilight, jumped onto her back and put a chemical soaked towel to her mouth. Twilight whinnied and reared up, causing Adam to slide, but he took his free arm and wrapped it around her neck, causing him to dangle from it as she flailed about. Twilight's eyelids started getting heavy, and she fell onto her side unconscious. Adam got up, dusted himself and pulled out a cell phone. "Adam to MECH chopper. Specimen, ready for pickup." Starscream put his claw to his head as he came to. "Oooh...Twilight, what happened? Twilight?" Starscream pushed himself to his feet and looked around. "Oh, yes...that's right." Starscream remembered the tinge that knocked him out as being the same one as MECH's rifles. "My considerations go out to her." Starscream puffed his chest out and began to walk away but then a voice in his head yelled at him. "You fool! Remember all that scrap you told Twilight and her friends?" "Yes. What about it?" "If you let MECH keep her, you'll be exposed as the fraud you are!" "I do not wish to engage those savages!" "In all likeliness, Optimus will rescue her!" "That's not likely, is it?" "Think, you fool! You saw Applejack crawl out of the GroundBridge with Optimus. Optimus is friendly and always wants to give peace a chance." "So Twilight and Optimus will become friends. What a loss." "Yes it is, for when he reveals you lied to her and her friends, she'll disassemble you." "She doesn't have the power to do that." "She beat Megatron, remember?" Starscream turned around, resolving to bargain with MECH for Twilight's freedom and ignoring the fact he had just had a conversation with himself. Within the holding cell MECH had her in, Twilight under a white sheet. The sheet moved. Twilight flipped over and flipped the sheet off herself. She looked at her surroundings. She seemed in a traditional jail cell, what with the shoddy beg hung from the wall by chains, except the cell bars were replaced a clear plastic window. Through the plastic window, Twilight could see a man in a full-body black-grey suit and mask with what appeared to be a weapon in his arms. "Excuse me, sir?" Twilight said politely. "Where am I? And who are you?" The man remained silently, but made a beckoning gesture at somepony Twilight couldn't see. She saw him soon enough though, as another human came into view. This one wasn't wearing a mask, which let Twilight see the signs of age and scars on his face. His suite was green, rather then black, and he was really quite muscular. "So you're awake." The old man said. His voice had something of an briskness in it. "Um...yes." Twilight replied uncertainly. "Will you tell me who you are?" "I am Silas." The man replied. "You are?" "Twilight Sparkle, the prize student of Princess Celestia." "Mmm...Leader of MECH." Silas explained. "Pardon me, Miss Sparkle, but what exactly are you?" "I am a unicorn." Twilight gestured to her horn. "Are you?" Silas raised an eyebrow. "I thought unicorns didn't exist." "Well..." Twilight shifted her body weight nervously. "Maybe not on this world..." That seemed to catch Silas's interest. "Not on this world? Would you happen to be an alien, Miss Sparkle?" "Well, yes..." Twilight kicked her front hoof. "I...don't suppose you would let me out of here?" "No." Silas replied coldly. "You see, Miss Sparkle, MECH intends to be on the cutting edge of technology at all times. That means keeping undiscovered species -such as yourself- to ourselves for study." "Study?" Twilight shot back. "I love study! But you can't just study me like an animal!" "And why can't we?" Silas asked a hint of bemusement. "Because unlike an animal, I can speak your language and convey my thoughts! I can learn and understand your ways of life! Your social protocols! Your taboos!" "Mmm...duly noted. Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, what does MECH stand to gain from your release?" "Well, I know a few things about technology myself. I'd be happy to help you, you know. If you asked nicely." "MECH doesn't ask for anything." Twilight narrowed her eyes at Silas. "I assure you, Silas, Starscream will be here to rescue me, and you will regret your lack of manners." Silas looked over Twilight contemplatively. "Starscream? The renegade Decepticon?" "Yes! He'll fight for my freedom, the same he fights against the Autobots and Decepticons alike!" Silas lingered for a moment. "Is that so? Keep her under guard." Silas walked back the away he came, disappearing from Twilight's view. Twilight narrowed her eyes and charged up her horn. "Uh...I wouldn't do that if I was you." The guard tried to warn her. "Well, you're not me, now are you?" Twilight spat. She fired a blast of energy from her horn the clear plastic window, only it bounce off and hit her, throwing her against the bed. "Tried to warn ya." The guard said. Twilight groaned in annoyance. After much, much walking through the dessert, Starscream found a series of warehouses that he was fairly certain the current MECH base, as it's troops were stationed out in front of the entrance. "Two guards." Starscream noted. He cocked his arm missile. "This should be easy." 'Should' being the keyword, as one of the guards noticed him and alerted his partner. They both began firing, their bullets somehow piecring right through Starscream's mesh. "Ooooow!" Starscream covered a new hole in his shoulder pad with a claw. "Scrapping- how are they-GAAAAH!" One of the bullets went right through his thigh, the awkward proving too much for him to bear, and he fell onto his stomach. He looked around at the MECH troopers now surrounding him, which included Silas. "So," Silas drawled. "You did come to rescue her...didn't you?" "I...have no idea what you're talking about." Starscream fibbed through gritted teeth. "Twilight Sparkle? The unicorn? Don't lie to me, Starscream. I know you've lied to her." "Eeeuf, what of it?" Silas rested his his elbow on Starscream's cheek. "She thinks you're some sort of crusader, trying to protect people from Autobot and Decepticon alike. I know that you're a deserter, acting on your own for your own personal gain. I understand that you've lied to Twilight...what I don't is: Why?" Starscream squinted at Silas. "She and her pony companions possess the power to best Megatron. I thought, 'surely, if they can do that, why cannot they beat Optimus Prime as well?' My intention was to have her friends end Optimus, then take credit for it. Then, I would use the 'fact' that I succeeded at something Megatron has so often failed to do to convince the Decepticons to oust Megatron and put me in his place..." "Quite a complex plan you have there." Silas said. "I think...we can help." "What?" Starscream exclaimed. "You can't be serious!" He gestured to his ribcage area. "After all, the last time we teamed up ended so well for me!" "True." Silas noted. "But Twilight said she could help MECH's technologically advancement if we asked nicely. MECH doesn't ask nicely, and she trusts you already. If you would give a letter of recommendation, of sorts..." "For the savages who took my T-Cog? I think not!" Silas stroked his chin. "Tell you what, I'll cut you a deal. You convince Twilight to help us and..." The MECH Troopers cocked their rifles. "We'll let you live." "These weapons you have here...they're not standard, are they? They burn." Starscream noted. "Sabot rounds." Silas said with pride. "A recent addition to my forces recommended them to me, and given how fast they brought you down, they're rather effective. So what's it gonna be, Starscream? Either you lie or you die." Starscream shifted eyes back and forth at the troopers and signed heavily. "I choose my area of expertise: Lies." "I knew you'd see reason." Silas quipped. Twilight glared out the window of her cell, unmoving and sulking at the fact it was protected against her unicorn magic. "Twilight Sparkle?" Another MECH agent who wasn't her guard asked as he came up. "Visitor for you." The guard removed a keycard from his pocket and put on a control panel Twilight couldn't see, though she knew it was in the wall. Begrudgingly, she followed the other agent out of the cramped hallway and into a open room she knew was warehouse floor. She saw a bunch of MECH agents and grey crates. The black scarf wearing agent that capurted and and a agent more burly then the others were standing by Silas like they were of higher rank then the others, and behind Silas was- "Starscream!" Twilight exclaimed, rushing over to nuzzle Starscream's foot. Starscream bent over and petted her head. Agent Novo couldn't contain himself. "D'aawww! It's like a little boy and his lost puppy." Silas and Adam ignored him. "I trust you are well, Twilight?" "Yeah. You?" "Just as well, though I have found a matter of concern to us..." Twilight removed herself from Starscream's foot and looked up. "What?" Starscream gestured around them. "You see these men? Their intentions are as noble as mine." That wasn't technically a lie. MECH's intentions were as noble as Starscream's, the hitch in that was that Starscream's intentions weren't truly all that noble. "They wish to protect the rest of their race from the Autobot-Decepticon war, even if they must do it in secret. Their capture of you was a misunderstanding, of sorts. They can help us recover your friends and defeat the Autobots!" Twilight gasped and put on an excited smile. "Does this mean they can help you get your T-Cog back from the barbarians who took it?" Silas kept his face as neutral as possible while Starscream smirked at him knowingly. "Yes, Silas, can you help us with that?" The conceit in Starscream's voice was palpable. Silas leered, not having any good response. "Um, actually, Twilight," Agent Novo spoke up, pulling a pair of blueprints out of his pocket. "We are the ones who took Starscream's T-Cog. We needed it...for this." Novo unfolded the blueprints in Twilight's view. Twilight a hoof to her chin. "Interesting...I think I can help you with that. After I do some research of course..." "So does that mean we're all on the same page?" "You got it!" Twilight held out her hoof for Novo to shake. Nove accepted, though the sensation of giving handshake to something without hands was...a unique experience. Optimus pulled into a stop, steam hissing from his axles. An entrance into Jasper was readily visible, and probably would have been suspicious for him to drive in with a talking orange pony in the driver's. Applejack groaned and covered her mouth. "Optimus, could y'all open a window? Ah don't feel so well...urrgh." "Of course, Applejack." Optimus lowered a window, and Applejack flung herself onto the rim for some fresh air. "Y'all drive real nice, Optimus, but you're still a biggun'...no offense. Buhhh..." "None taken, Applejack." Optimus assured her, then the beep of a comm being opened came from the dashboard. "Autobots, report. What is our status?" "Nothing here." Bulkhead replied. "Scrap on my radar." Arcee told him. Bumblebee bleeped a negative on his end too, and probably wasn't aware his comm was still open when he started swearing at Pinkie for some reason. "Wait, Rainbow Dash just spotted something." Arcee corrected. "En route." "Arcee, remain on your guard." Arcee sped along the desert road and came up on the striped Energon mine Rainbow Dash had alerted her to. She transformed into robot and walked over to the entrance where Rainbow Dash was looking inside fervently. "What do you see?" "Twilight...and she has a bunch of humans around her!" Dash exclaimed. "Humans...?" Arcee bent over and gasped. "What?" Dash snapped. "I recognize those humans." Arcee explained, then she activated her comm. "Optimus, we've located Twilight Sparkle...and she's got MECH with her." "Has Silas captured Twilight Sparkle?" Arcee took another look inside. The MECH troopers were standing guard while Twilight stuck her horn the rock of the mine, and the horn started turning-Twilight was using it as a drill. "Worse." Arcee replied. "I think she's working for him, trying to get Energon scraps out of this mine." "Mmm...Twilight was last seen with Starscream. I cannot fathom the reason why Twilight would switch allegiances to MECH, if that is indeed the case of what happened. Hold your position, and wait for back-up." "Understood." "Eh, Two Wheels?" Rainbow said. "You may understand, but I don't think they do!" The MECH soldiers had evidently spotted them, as they rushing out of the cave with their guns ablaze. Rainbow Dash took the air and started dodging bullets with all the expertise of a Wonderbolt, while Arcee armed her blasters and started firing back. "Lower your weapons!" Twilight yelled, having heard the commotion and departed from her mining efforts. "LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!" The MECH soldiers obeyed. Arcee did the same in response. Twilight and Rainbow Dash approached each other. "Rainbow Dash? You don't have the Dark Energon in you! What's going on?" "What's going on," Dash snarled. "Is that Dark Energon is evil, and Starscream is a big fat liar!" Twilight tilted her head in concern. "Starscream said that Optimus be willing to whatever takes to convince you to believe him..." "Yeah, and Optimus didn't do anything!" Dash snapped. "Starscream, on the other hand, totally snuffed Arcee's partner!" Twilight took a step backwards and bit her lip. "I...no, he wouldn't do that, would he?" "Clearly he would, since he did!" Arcee snapped. Furious, she resumed fire, electrocuting some of the MECH soldiers. Twilight turned her tail and fled under MECH's cover fire. "Twilight! You get back here-AHHH!" One the MECH's bullets burned through Dash's leg. Dash snarled and bucked the closet grunt to her, causing him to keel over. Rainbow Dash contemplatively took away his rifle and examined it. "Mmm...now how, does this thing...work?" She tried to wrapped her hoof around the trigger, but couldn't get it into the finger guard. Then she held it oblong to her mouth and stuck her tongue in the guard pushed the trigger with it, causing a bullet to go off and hit a MECH grunt square in the solider. Her hooves shook slightly from the gun's recoil. "I see...idea!" Rainbow Dash curled her around the rifle and held it over her back like a scorpion's stinger. Using the tip of her tail hairs, she started firing back the MECH soldiers, taking them down one-by-one. "Two Wheels, get Twilight! I got this!" Arcee looked hesitant about abandoning Dash, but seeing the pegasus potshot a MECH grunt that was behind her without even turning her head was enough to convince her. She transformed back into her motorcycle mode and rolled after Twilight. "You get back here!" Twilight kept galloping away and didn't even turn her head back. Which proved to be a mistake, as Arcee sped up and ran her over, leaving tire marks all over the unicorn's back. With Twilight Sparkle down, Arcee transformed and stood over her imposingly with her blaster raised. "You have no idea how much it hurt when I found out what happened to Cliff." Arcee began charging her blaster when a missile came streaking over, put a smoking hole in her chest and pushed her backwards. She clutched at the hole and looked up to see Starscream. "You...you-!" Arcee snarled and converted her arms to their blade configurations and charged at Starscream. Starscream raised his arms to block her blows and after some back and forth of Arcee attacking and Starscream blocking, the Ex-'Con kneed her in the gut, then brought his elbow down on her head, bringing her to the ground. He and Arcee exchanged glances, his of smug victory, hers of defiance at the fact that he was in a position to end her, but then he did something she didn't expect. He turned away and yelled. "Twilight! We must escape now!" Violet light began shimmering and collecting from the tip of Twilight's horn before it developed into a flash of light. When the flash cleared from Arcee's vision, Starscream and Twilight had gone. Rainbow Dash soon regrouped with Arcee, and Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bob with Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy riding them drove up and transformed, their pony passengers ending up on their shoulders. "Arcee, I thought I instructed you to wait for backup." Optimus reprimanded. "I'm sorry, Commander. My servo was forced." Arcee apologized as Optimus help her to her feet. "I saw Starscream save Twilight from your assault on her." Optimus explained. "Now that Starscream has actively saved Twilight's life from one of our own, it will be quite difficult to convince her of our true intentions now." Arcee crossed her arms and looked away ashamedly. "She...questioned whether Starscream killed Cliffjumper, Optimus..." Optimus' closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Autobots, return to base." He instructed somberly. The GroundBridge opened, but when Arcee tried to step through, Optimus put a hand on her shoulder. "You gonna lecture me again about not letting my anger get the best of me? Cause' I already heard when I let Starscream get away last time!" "No." Optimus replied calmly, not showing any signs of being offended by Arcee's assumptions. "I wanted you to know...I understand." Arcee's browplates shot up in alarm, but went back down in appreciation. "...Thank you, Optimus Prime." At this point, the Ponies, humans, and Autobots were on fairly good terms with each other, to the point that Ratchet didn't even mind Fluttershy helping him fix Arcee's injuries. With the exception of those three, everypony was in the main control room after the failure of the mission. "So, Twilight's still got the D.E. in her..." Applejack recounted somberly. "And now she's helping a bunch of meanie humans!" Pinkie added. A somber mood fulled the room. "Uh, hey!" Raf said, trying to cheer things up a little. "You guys have Jacks on your world?" The Ponies all pointed to Applejack. "No, no, no!" Raf shook his head and pulled out a bunch of funny looking plastic spike thingies and a ball from his pocket. "Jacks is an Earth game played by human children." "Rafael, you think we're children, do you?" Rarity questioned. "No, no...I just thought you might like to try a thing from Earth..." After explained how Jacks worked, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie all tried to play it, only to complain about how the spikes were penetrating their hooves. "Pokey!" "Yeesh!" "Ow ow ow!" "Okay, okay." Raf said, grabbing Pinkie's hoof and trying to pluck the spike-toys out of it. "Maybe that wasn't my best idea..." Optimus observed Raf's and the Ponies' interaction with each other, then something struck him. He put his finger to his head antennae. "Agent Fowler, we have the Ponies with us. We will be ready for you and them to meet and discuss their status when you-" Agent Fowler was suddenly resting against the door way, huffing and out of breath. "Are..." "Where are they?" Fowler demanded. "Where are the Ponies?" "Um, yoohoo! That's us!" Rarity called. "Right then..." Agent Fowler got up off the doorway and adjusted his tie before stomping over to the Ponies and flashing his badge. "Special Agent William Fowler of the United States Military." "I know what a military is, but what's a United States?" Dash questioned. Fowler ignored her. "I have been selected to serve as a liaison for the Autobots and all Autobot-related activities while they're here on Earth, including giving them aid, giving them access to restricted areas and making sure the public doesn't know about them." "Well, now why would you want do that?" Rarity whined. "How can you have an adoring crowd when the crowd doesn't know anything about you?" Optimus' heavy (well, in comparison the Ponies and humans, heavy,) footsteps echoed as he stepped forward. "Rarity, while on your world the populace might be accepting, humans are a superstitious specious. They are decades-old conspiracy theorists and terrorist organizations built entirely on the notion that aliens are hiding amongst them. We have only been here for three years. If the knowledge that these are true were to be made public, it would induce a rise in their numbers and a mass panic. After all, they would ask themselves, if the government's been hiding aliens, what else have they been hiding? In fact, it is quite fortunate that Jack, Rafael and Miko understand the situation the way they do." The Ponies all looked at Optimus, then to each other and nodded their heads. "Understood." "Oh, dear!" Rarity gasped. "Um, Optimus? Agent Fowler? Before we met Starscream, we went about Jasper trying to find information on Discord's whereabouts. That...that won't be a problem, will it?" Optimus' expression was neutral. "I'm on it." Fowler said, whipping out a cell-phone. Twilight looked on somberly next to Starsceam as the MECH grunts brought in the crates they contained their Energon scraps they salvaged. Twilight paced a hoof. "...Starscream?" She said after much hesitance. "Yes, Twilight Sparkle?" "Rainbow Dash...she said that you killed Arcee's partner...is...is that true?" Twilight looked up at Starscream with big pleading eyes that said quite clearly on their own 'Please tell me it isn't true." Starscream averted his gaze and looked down somberly. "You must understand, Twilight Sparkle, that it was a last resort. At the time, I was a Decepticon...and he was an Autobot. It was...the law of the jungle." "I...see." Twilight looked away from Starscream. Starscream, noticing her unease, crouched down and put a finger to her chin comfortingly. "Twilight, I want you to know that I deeply regret it, with every polyon-fiber of my being. It was a heinous act that I was forced to do, and there is nothing that can be done to redeem myself for it." Twilight put her hoof on Starscream's finger. "That's good to hear, Starscream." She removed it and walked off to, presumably to discuss her next move with Silas. After she was good distance away, Starscream smirked and mentally congratulated himself on a con job well done. AH HA HA! She bought it, hook, line and sinker! Sap. Far away back in Autobot Outpost Omega One, Raf tried a number of games and other entertainment in a effort to keep the minds of Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy from thinking about Twilight, but the depressed and downtrodden mood refused to lighten, no matter how hilariously Raf (purposely) bucked things up. Miko played her guitar, which might've interested Rainbow Dash under better circumstances, while Jack tried to play his harmonica with her. 'Tried' because the two were having difficulty getting their instruments in sync with the others; With all that was going between Starscream and the Dark Energon business, the Ponies had actually forgotten their original reason for being on Earth, but Rarity's mention of their adventure in Jasper had brought it to mind; To find and imprison Discord. The fact that one of their best friends was now fighting against them was a very foreboding omen, especially since they still didn't know where Discord was. Agent Fowler got off his cell phone and announced that no one in Jasper thought about the Ponies too seriously, but it was cold-comfort. Silas and Adam observed the still colorless Discord in his holding cell. Discord pretended to be asleep in the hopes they wouldn't inflict him harm, but his opening of one of his eye's to see if they were still there gave him away. He started pretended to snore in a fruitless effort to keep them thinking he was sleeping. "You think Twilight could help study him?" Adam suggested. "No." Silas snapped. "As a matter of fact...I want him relocated. I don't want our unicorn asking questions... that don't need to be answered." "You will see it done, sir." Adam stiffened up and saluted before turning to gaze at Discord ominously.