//------------------------------// // Countdown to Extinction // Story: Transformers: Equestria's Darkest Hour // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// -CHAPTER XVII: COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION- “A good shot is worth more than a good intention.” -Warpath INTEL: Warpath is brash and boastful, always keen to show off his powers with his giant cannon. Not only is it violently powerful, but it's extremely accurate, even over a range of a mile and a half. It gives him the confidence to charge headlong into battle against the Decepticons. Unfortunately, the said cannon fire has also made him slightly deaf. ____________________ “I said get, ya worthless swindla!” “Ah come on, dude! Two bits! That’s my final offa!” “I SAID GET!!!” The so-called “swindler” backed away when several cherries were thrown at him. Luckily, he caught a few in his mouth after the seller viciously chucked a whole bundle at him. Running away, the swindler could hear the male unicorn shouting threats such as, “Come here again and you’ll get it!” Finding a nice alleyway, the swindler sat down and began to chew his lunch. It wasn’t much, just a few cherries. Either way, it would still be enough to get him through his day as a begging peasant. The swindler sat down in the dark alleyway and sighed heavily. He hated his life, almost as much as he hated Manehatten. But this dreadful city was his home and he came to accept it. Usually, just begging and tricking people out of there food was his main “objectives” every day. It was like this ever since his wife left him. He lifted up his head where the back of it hit the brick wall of the alley. There he saw the storm clouds picking up and about to cover the warmth of the sun. He scowled and mumbled, “Stupid Pegasi, why do they have to ruin this day?” But it wasn’t the Pegasi. They weren’t even storm clouds. His eyes widened when the storm cloud opened up and several large raindrops began dropping. The screams filled his ears as he backed away deeper into the alleyway. His breathing increased and his senses took over. All around him he could hear the screams of the ponies he had swindled in the past. Their misery only increased as several explosions rocked the grounds causing the begging stallion to cover his ears and eyes in fear. A deep, unrecognizable voice came from above. “Let’s move, Decepticons! Clear these streets!!!” The stallion opened his eyes. He gasped in terror when the large brick building directly ahead of him suddenly exploded when a meteorite struck the side of it. The entire building collapsed as strange…two-legged creatures began filling the streets. The beggar slowly crawled out of the alley and gasped in fear when he saw his home crumble in seconds. Fire rained the skies. Darkness overcame the city. Filling the skies were possibly hundreds of massive triangular-shaped ships with a large number of those creatures piling out of them. They hit the grounds of Manehatten and began charging at all the ponies running for their lives. The homeless stallion gaped in horror as one of the creatures cornered a young mare and her child near the edge of a collapsed building. He may not have screamed when the monster pointed a strange weapon at them and fired. He may not have screamed when the aliens began falling from the skies at breakneck speeds. But he did scream only when one of those massive meteorites landed directly on him. Darkness was all that remained. ____________________ “You ready for school, sweetie?” “Almost ready, mommy!” The mare smiled warmly and decided not to check in on her son while he was still in his room. It was like this almost every day: she would get up, force her husband to get out of bed, start breakfast, and of course wake up her son. But a mother’s work was never finished and she loved every day just as much as she loved her son. Today was his first day of school. All his friends would be there, all the friends he had grown up with and played with in their very own home. The mare almost shed a tear for how old her son was. It felt just like yesterday her hoof was being held by her dearest husband when she was giving birth to the colt. “They grow up so fast.” The mother quietly told herself as she entered the kitchen. Sitting at the dining table was her typical husband, levitating a coffee cup and taking several sips while reading the morning paper. She could see his scruff and almost giggled at how worn-out he looked. “Morning, hun.” The mare said as approached her husband and kissed him on the forehead. The stallion smiled warmly and gently stroked his wife’s cheek with his rugged chin. She giggled as the prickly hairs tickled her neck. “Morning, dear, how are you?” The stallion asked while his eyes drifted towards the paper again. A special news story was read at the top that he somehow couldn’t take his eyes off. She shrugged and muttered, “Same old, same old. Your son is almost ready for school; he said he wants to say bye to me right before YOU took him to his new school.” She pointed her hoof to her irritable husband who kept his eyes on the frontlines of the paper. “Mmmhmm…” “Hun…?” “Mmhmm…” “Dear!” The stallion took his eyes off the paper and on his wife. Her glare could pierce at least twenty windows if he didn’t apologize quickly. Sheepishly smiling, the stallion put the paper down and said, “Hehe…sorry, dear, I’m kinda spacing out today.” She frowned and said, “You better not be spacing out, because your son-“ “Daddy!!!” Both father and mother turned their heads to see the bouncing little colt enter the kitchen and give his father a big hug. The stallion smiled and ruffled up the colt’s mane while saying, “Hey, kiddo! Ya ready for school?” “Sure am,” The colt smiled wide, “I got my lunch, I combed my mane, I brushed my teeth and-“ The house suddenly shook. The young colt stopped talking and stared at the small glass of milk on the table. Several little ripples appeared at the top whenever a few seconds had passed. The father took precaution and stood up from his seat. “Stay here,” He ordered, “I’m gonna check out the window.” “O-okay, dear.” The mare stuttered as her only child slowly approached her. The father looked back to see his son clutching his mother, obviously scared. He shook it off. In fact, he literally shook it off as the house rumbled again and he nearly face-planted on the ground. Things kept getting worse; one of their chandeliers fell off the ceiling and crashed onto the wooden floor. The sudden explosion of glass caused the colt in the other room to scream. The stallion growled, “Dangit…that thing was expensive.” Stepping over the glass and pulling the window shades apart, the stallion stopped breathing for a brief second in time. That small second not only caused his breathing to stop, it also caused the male unicorn to lose his balance and actually try to crawl away at the horror he had witnessed. For what he saw…was Fillydelphia, his home, the place he had grown up and met the love his life in, was being torn apart before his very eyes. Several large ships sailing above the skies seemed to create large, purple beams that spread across the grounds of the large city. He almost didn’t believe that one of the many purple beams just annihilated a large skyscraper before him, he almost didn’t believe that coming out of the ships were smaller purple dots hitting the ground and tops of buildings, but he did believe….when a large monster appeared in the front of his window. The creature was purple in color and had large pointed tips for hands. But probably most disturbing about it was its large purple eye that glowed dark purple as did the symbol on its chest. Shocked in fear, the stallion never had a chance to whimper when the creature busted through the window and into his home. “DADDY!!!” Both the monster and the stallion faced the sound of the scream, where they saw a mare holding a small colt against her chest in a protective embrace. The creature chuckled darkly and pointed its fist at the mare and colt. “Did I just hear ‘daddy’? That means this will be all the more painful to see….and to feel.” The creature growled and approached the two ponies. Standing back up, the stallion jumped forward on the monster trying to attack his family. Be it extremely brave or very stupid, he would NEVER let anything hurt his family. But the monster didn’t even feel threatened. Instead he just swatted the stallion off of him causing the unicorn to hit the hard wall with a loud thud. Slinking down and hitting the ground, the stallion groaned and opened his eyes. They were quickly filled with tears when the monster lifted up his fist right over his wife and child. “NOOOOO!!!!!” The monster turned back around, its purple eye directly focused on the direction of the scream. It was coming from the unicorn. He was obviously in pain with liquid trailing down from his face. The Decepticon chuckled. He knew this must be horrible for anybody to watch. Their own family being murdered before their eyes. “You’re pretty tough, pony,” The Decepticon growled and turned his way, “You managed to survive a hit from a Decepticon Leaper, not many Autobots could survive that. And because you’re so tough, I’ve decided to spare your family.” The stallion felt relief flood- “I’ll just take you out instead.” “W-what?! NO! No, no, no, no, NOOOOO!!!!!!” The stallion screamed right before the Leaper charged at him with his spiked fist pointed forwards. The stallion felt the pain quickly flow through him as the blade was jammed right in his chest. His eyes fell. The pain subsided. His breathing gone. “DADDY!!!” ____________________ Princess Celestia sighed with great misery. She and her younger sister watched from the teal-glassed windows as her sun shined brightly in the high afternoon sky. It wasn’t even past one o’clock…and she had already received several distress letters. It would be a few minutes when a letter was delivered to her and her sister. Those minutes would turn into seconds when a guard strolled in a placed the newest letter at their hooves, bowing peacefully and leaving. Normally, after the first few letters, both princesses would nod and say ‘thank you’. After a while, they just frowned deeper and deeper when more letters kept reaching them. When Princess Celestia read the first letter, her heart sank. When she read the second letter, her heart cracked. When she read the third letter, her heart broke. When she read the fourth letter, her heart shattered. Letter after letter, her withering heart would only pain even more when the terrible news had reached Canterlot. Equestria was being invaded. Tears spread across her iris. They flowed down her face as she read even more into these horrible explanations of this invasion. She should feel terrible. This was her home she swore to defend from anything that could harm her, her kingdom, but most of all….her little ponies. The bringer of the sun could do nothing but sit in sorrow and mourn with her younger sister as they read the letters together. They both sat together, nuzzling each other as more and more memorable places were being overrun as they silently read the lines. Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, Trottingham, Stalliongrad, Cloudsdale, Hoofington, Baltimare, Saddle Arabia, Unyasi. Everywhere, the major cities of every part of Equestria and beyond the entire planet were being thwarted and destroyed in seconds. But what could she do? Should she abandon Canterlot, possibly one of the only remaining capitols in all of Equestria and go assist these other cities while the Decepticons invade? That was the worst part of it. The Decepticons. Celestia scowled in hatred when she read the explanations the Griffons had written out while their empire was being attacked. It seems that even the powerful Griffon Kingdom couldn’t hold back the power and might of the Decepticons. From what Celestia and Luna read, the Decepticons attacked with brute force and large numbers, thus crumbling the Griffon Kingdom. The Sun Goddess hated every moment she sat and did absolutely nothing as the pain and sorrow from these letters hurt her already broken heart, jabbing a knife in the wound and twisting it when the casualties reached in the hundreds of thousands. She prayed that her student and her friends were alive and well in the Crystal Empire….but she hadn’t received any news on the empire or if the Crystal Heart was active again. Levitating the newest letter down, which had asked to send immediate assistance to Appaloosa, Celestia looked over to her little sister. Princess Luna looked awful. Her mane wasn’t flowing as brilliantly glorious as it has other times. Her eyes were full of tears, obviously when she was reading the letters with her older sister. Princess Celestia gently pulled her little sister into a warm embrace, nuzzling her only a big sister would to ease the pain. Celestia had felt like this once before, during the time when Nightmare Moon was turned back into Princess Luna and when she was finally reunited with her only sister. But this felt worse…this was sorrow. Both sisters sat there, holding each other tight and withering in their own pity. Their home was being destroyed…and they could do absolutely nothing. It was silent for a long time, despite the sniffling and crying from both Princesses, that is until the doors opened. Both Celestia and Luna had expected to see another Royal Guard enter the room with a letter in his mouth, but they were even more surprised to see the baby dragon waddle into their throne room. “Why…Spike…what are you doing in here?” Celestia asked as the dragon walked towards them, “I thought you were still asleep?” The reason he wasn’t asleep was clear. Although his eyes did look tired, they also looked defeated…as if something terrible had happened. When he finally arrived next to them, Luna turned towards the dragon and asked sincerely, “Spike…art thou okay?” The baby dragon looked at one of the teal-glass windows decorating the throne room. There his tired eyes caught HIS window, a portrait of himself smiling with the Crystal Heart shining above him. It was given to him for his bravery in the Crystal Empire…somehow that didn’t mean much to him anymore. Facing the Princesses, Spike held out his hand right before he could burst into tears. Princess Celestia wasn’t surprised to see yet another letter, but she was mildly surprised to know that Spike delivered it. Saying thank you and levitating the note out of Spike’s hand, both Celestia and Luna scrunched their heads in closer to read. If her heart was already shattered, then this letter caused the pieces to be stomped on several times repeatedly. Celestia dropped the letter after reading it, her burning eyes reaching the breaking point to full out sobbing. The hope she held onto for her student’s sake was gone….for the letter she had received…explained in full that the Crystal Empire was now being invaded. That was the breaking point. “GUARDS!!!” Princess Celestia shouted. Two guards immediately busted into the room and bowed before the royalty. The Princess turned towards them and ordered, “Prepare the carriages and ready the Royal Guard. I want all squadrons 1 through 12 to defend Manehatten. I want all groups 13 to 19 to assist Fillydelphia. I order teams 20 through 27 to attack the Decepticons that are invading Las Pegasus,” Stopping herself there, Princess Celestia knew that Trottingham was one of the largest cities in all of Equestria, she would need ALL of her Royal Guard, or what remained of it that is, to go there and defend it. “We shall help.” Turning towards her younger sister, Celestia smiled and watched as Luna gave orders. She pointed her hoof towards the two stallions and shouted, “Order my Lunar Guards to prepare the attack. Send ALL groups and attack forces to Trottingham, Baltimare, Unyasi, Saddle Arabia, Stalliongrad, Cloudsdale, and Hoofington! We shall defend it!” The two Royal Guards bowed with their snouts hitting the floor. The first one lifted his head and nodded, “Yes, your majesty.” And with that said, the two Royal Guards hurried out of the throne room to spread the news. But before they could leave, Princess Celestia coughed politely, causing both stallions to rear their heads back and listen. Celestia narrowed her eyes and said, “For inspiration, tell all the Royal Guard this…” She closed her eyes and slowly spoke. The guards tensed up as she said these very words… “Right now…as we speak…we are being colonized.” The two guards gulped in fear as they both nodded and left them in peace. The fear they now held was to be spread throughout all the Royal Guard and the Luna Guard so that they knew…that their home was in danger of being destroyed and that they HAD to defend it….at all costs. Both Celestia and Luna sighed with relief. Their most elite attack groups were on their way now to defend Equestria from total extinction. They both sat there, staring at the glass windows filling the room, the piles of distress letters stopped rising and just laid on the ground in a big pile. Celestia knew that Twilight Sparkle was meant for something great…she knew…that she could take care of herself with Optimus Prime and his team in the Crystal Empire. But before they both knew it, the sound of sniffling came from their lefts. Facing that way, they were met with an already heart wrenching sight. Spike, that delicate little dragon, had his knees close to his chest and his arms wrapped around his kneecaps. Trailing down his face, tears fell from his eyes and hit his arms which proceeded to fall down and splash against the marble floor. He was so precious…and so sad…it almost made Luna want to hug him right then and there. But she never got a chance to do that…because Spike began to talk. “Years from now they’re gonna ask, ‘Where were you when they took over the planet?’” Spike said between sniffles, “And we’ll say, ‘We just stood by and watched.’” That was all he said. Nothing more. Nothing less. He only spoke two sentences…but it felt like a million words to the two Princesses. And he was absolutely right. Princess Celestia and Luna did just sit here and watched as their home crumbled, they did send the Royal Guard to defend the cities under attack…but was really worth it? Neither sister could answer the baby dragon and just lowered their heads in defeat. Their tears rang across the silent room as the portraits stared them down in embarrassment. The portraits were the only witnesses of the failure these Princesses had suffered. ____________________ Megatron smiled when he watched his loyal Decepticons enter the Crystal Empire via dropship. He glanced back and forth to see the hundreds of dropships sailing down from the clouds and fly forward towards the battle close at hand. The Decepticon leader knew this day would come. To destroy this world to save another was truly the right thing to do. If he was responsible for destroying all life on Cybertron, then he would also be responsible for bringing all life back to his dying home. His master plan had finally begun….the Decepticons were going to save Cybertron. Suddenly, the air was filled with the sounds of jet engines. Turning around, Megatron, Soundwave, Thundercracker, and Skywarp watched passively as a familiar ship lowered itself onto the grassy hills of the Crystal Empire. Not only did the large ship land on the fields, but several dropships did so as well and opened up to let several Decepticon soldiers pile out. Megatron watched as the soldiers lined up in two rows in front of him, they saluted and turned their heads towards their master. “We have arrived, lord Megatron!” “What are your orders, sir?” Megatron smiled and waved them away. “Patience, my Decepticons. Victory is nearly ours! But first…I wish to have a little conversation with one of my loyal subjects.” Megatron growled as he began to walk forward. The soldiers spilt up and allowed Megatron to pass them. They watched their leader approach Shockwave’s ship. The ship finally touched the ground where Megatron was waiting on the outside. The doors opened with a slight hissing noise, allowing the Decepticon second in command to exit. Megatron forced another smile and shouted, “Shockwave, it’s good to see you again.” The Decepticon scientist looked back and forth, his purple eye observing this new land. He had been in Equestria before…but never had he ever dreamed of this day finally coming. He wanted to bow before his master right now, his knees touching the dirt to prove that he was not worthy of Megatron’s presence. But…something was off….he could see it in his master’s optics. The way Megatron looked at him made Shockwave feel uneasy….it was as if Megatron was ready to kill him right here and now. Ignoring that thought, Shockwave brought up his right hand and clenched it. “All hail Megatron,” Shockwave began and lifted up his blaster, he began typing on it where a little hologram of the planet they were residing on popped up. Shockwave quickly explained, “Your armies have already begun attacking the major cities on this planet. Once the power of this world has fallen, we shall ignite the power cores of the Decepticon War Machines. With their drilling abilities, they will infect this planet’s core with Dark Energon, thus allowing us to suck the remaining energy off this pony world and return to the portal still open out in space. Unfortunately, without the Nemesis we cannot suck the energy with relevant speed, we will have to do it slow and cautious. With the energy completely drained from Equestria, we can return to Cybertron and reboot the core. Doing this, the Dark Energon infection of Cybertron will be completely destroyed. Cybertron will be saved in the process.” Shockwave lowered his blaster and stared quietly at his master. Megatron smiled and said, “Excellent, Shockwave. After this planet has been infected with Dark Energon, not only will we be able to save Cybertron, but we will finally be rid of these wretched ponies!” “Agreed,” Shockwave nodded, “not even the Autobots and their leader, Optimus Prime, can hold back the gargantuan forces of the entire Decepticon armada. They will fall like the equines will. And then…we will suck every last drop of energy from this planet which will go into the starships for immediate transport to Cybertron.” Megatron’s smile quickly faded. His optics narrowed and his frown grew bigger. “About that…” Megatron growled as he moved in closer to Shockwave. The Decepticon scientist watched without moving a circuit as Megatron was merely a few inches from him. Megatron leaned his head in close and whispered, “We could’ve easily sucked this planet dry with the Nemesis still active, it’s a shame that Trypticon has awakened.” Shockwave’s fears became a reality when Megatron punched him directly in the eye. The Decepticons backed away in shock. Thundercracker and Skywarp gasped at what they just witnessed. Soundwave did absolutely nothing…because he knew that Megatron was not really pleased to know that Shockwave awakened Trypticon in the first place. Shockwave hit the side of his ship with a deafening thud; he slid downwards until he landed face-first onto the soft grass. Looking up, Shockwave knew what was coming to him; he tired his hardest to deny it. “Megatron, what is the meaning of this?!” Shockwave clearly lied as Megatron kicked him in the face, the force of the kick sending his back onto the ship again. “You know damn well what, Shockwave!!!” Megatron cursed as he jammed his fist around Shockwave’s throat. Shockwave struggled against his master’s grip but forced himself to look in Megatron’s optics. It was not good. The Decepticon soldiers began to get antsy, and one of them was stupid enough to object to their lord and master. “Wait, M-Megatron! What are you doing?!” Megatron turned on the soldier, activated his riot cannon, and screamed, “Back off!” With one blast, the Decepticon exploded which was a clear sign to the other soldiers to stay away. Which they did. The soldiers could do nothing to help Shockwave now, all they could really do was watch and see what would happen. Megatron put his cannon away and glared at the trembling Decepticon. Shockwave tried his hardest to speak through Megatron’s tightening grip around his neck. “M-Megatron, p-please just listen to me! I could e-easily t-tell you’re not happy w-with m-me awakening T-Trypticon, but you absolutely must understand t-that we need Trypticon on our side! H-He is one of the most, if not the strongest Decepticons ever created!” Shockwave explained as Megatron tightened his grip even more. Megatron shook his head and quietly muttered, “First you awaken Trypticon and completely betray me. And now you’re saying that I am NOT the strongest Decepticon ever?!?!” Shockwave shook his head back and forth and quickly apologized, “N-No, lord Megatron! No Decepticon is stronger than you-GACK!!!!” Shockwave screamed in pain when Megatron thrusted his hand deeper into Shockwave’s injured throat, obviously that wasn’t the answer he wanted. “My mistake,” Shockwave gasped, “No Decepticon is wiser, stronger, more efficient, or more powerful than you, oh mighty Megatron!” That was the answer Megatron wanted, for he quickly released his tight grasp and simply held Shockwave by the throat against the side of the ship. Shockwave watched as Megatron opened his mouth to speak. “Why should I spare your spark?” Megatron asked, “You’ve clearly betrayed me, Shockwave, something I would have never thought YOU would’ve done. You were always so loyal to me…so please explain in full why you should remain functional.” Shockwave thought for a quick second, the strain against his neck quickly pushing his thoughts into words. “Because you need me.” When Megatron didn’t respond, obviously intrigued, Shockwave continued, “The Decepticons have felt as if you have abandoned them, and although I did not enjoy it, while on Cybertron they started addressing me as ‘lord Shockwave,’” Shockwave felt as if Megatron was going to explode in anger, but he stood there silently, wanting Shockwave to continue. So he did. “If I am killed, the Decepticons will not listen or take orders from you, Megatron. They succeed only when they listen to me, and with my great knowledge on the battlefield, there is no doubt that we will win with my leadership, not that your leadership is lower than mine, Megatron.” Shockwave quickly explained. Once again, Megatron remained silent, obviously still wanting Shockwave to explain himself. Shockwave had to lie to gain Megatron’s trust yet again. It wasn’t like he knew about it right? So swallowing his loyalty again, Shockwave lied, “I even managed to win back the Space Bridge when the Autobots had Metroplex on their side.” It wasn’t technically a lie. He did win back the Space Bridge but the Autobots did not have Metroplex. Megatron’s optics grew wide. If Shockwave’s words were the truth, then that means the Autobots have nothing left. The Decepticons have won. Quickly releasing his grasp, Shockwave dropped to the ground while clutching his throat. Megatron turned back around and faced the Crystal Empire yet again. With no words coming from Shockwave, Megatron decided to tell him. “If you dare try to defy me again, Shockwave, I will not be so forgiving.” Shockwave bowed and said, “You are a passionate and forgiving master, my lord.” Megatron was tired of all the praise he was receiving from these Decepticons, but their loyalty was like fuel to him, giving him the strength to crush all who stood before him and total victory. But before he could continue with the assault on the empire…he needed a new Sky Commander to attack with the Decepticon jets. Turning left, Megatron sternly shouted, “Thundercracker, you will take over as my newest Air Commander. Do not fail me as Starscream has.” Thundercracker nearly leaped in joy at his newest promotion. In hopes of not embarrassing himself, he smiled and bowed, “I thank you so much, lord Megatron.” Megatron paid him no attention and continued to stare as his army demolished the Crystal Empire before his optics. When his master said nothing, Thundercracker and Skywarp turned around and began to make their way back to the empire. Skywarp leaned in and growled, “How come you get to be the Air Commander? What’s the difference between you and me anyhow?” Thundercracker flashed a grin and said, “Well for starters, you’re dumber and I’m smarter, so Megatron made the right decision on making me the new Air Commander.” “What?!” Skywarp yelled, “I’m not dumb! I’ll show you dumb, Thundercracker!” Thundercracker chuckled, “You always do.” Before Skywarp could object, several loud footsteps came from behind. Both Seekers turned around to see several Decepticon jets saluting them. They spoke in unison. “Awaiting your orders, commander!” Without any hesitation, Thundercracker transformed and flew off towards the Crystal Empire under siege. Skywarp, along with all the Decepticon jets, transformed as well and followed their new Sky Commander to the empire for immediate bombardment. Megatron clenched his fists. His red optics completely focused on the Crystal Empire. While standing on the grassy hilltop with Soundwave and Shockwave right next to him, Megatron watched as his Decepticon starships descended from the heavens, they opened up to allow the Leapers and Heavy Soldiers to pile out. The Decepticons had begun to attack with no remorse on the Autobots….and the ponies. “We are here…fight us now.” ____________________ To say Twilight Sparkle was terrified, that was an understatement. She was at a loss for words when these strange ships rained down from the darkened skies, shooting missiles and rockets at several crystal buildings. Explosions were imminent every few seconds as several hundred of these ships lowered themselves to the ground, but what was most terrifying…were the Decepticons piling out of them. This must have been Megatron’s master plan. A total invasion of the Crystal Empire… Twilight couldn’t believe how many of these Decepticons kept falling from the sky, most of them in a giant ball of fire as if they were meteorites. But when they did crash against the ground or the buildings, they rose up from the flames, shouted a deadly battle cry and began to charge head-on at the Autobots. The unicorn specifically remembered one of them. ‘Oh no…not Leapers…wait…what are those things?’ These Decepticons were different from the others. Twilight couldn’t count how many of them there were but it had to be at least ten of them roaming the streets with their massive Gatling guns connecting to their right arms. They were much larger than the normal Decepticon soldiers crawling around the streets, they had to be…heavy soldiers. Whatever they were called, Twilight knew one thing for sure…those red visors were terrifying. One by one, these Heavy Soldiers and Leapers slowly made their way to the battle between the Autobots and Grimlock. The Changelings scattered themselves across the battlefield as well, taking the forms of either Decepticons or Autobots, Twilight knew this because she watched as the Changelings scurried away from the battle while morphing into a Decepticon she knew as Vortex. Others morphed into other Decepticons but she couldn’t really keep track of how many there were. When the Changelings flew or ran away, possibly in fear due to the fact that Decepticons rained from the sky, it only left the charging Decepticon forces on the Autobots. Which she quickly brought her attention back to… “Kill them all, my pet!” Starscream shouted from atop a crystal house while he fired away with his nucleon charge rifle, his hits actually penetrating some Autobots. While the traitorous Grimlock rampaged along the battlefield, Optimus Prime did not keep his focus on the turned Autobot. He wasn’t the traitor….Optimus could feel it. Along with the feeling of doubt, the feeling of fear and pain came soaring into his spark. The Matrix began to glow faintly in his chest, signaling that the darkest hour is near. Optimus placed a hand on his chest and gripped it in pain; he had felt like this only once before. During the time when he saved the Elements of Harmony…..but this…..this…was so much worse. Megatron’s plan had become a reality. All around him, Optimus looked into the skies to see several hundred meteorites and dropships lower themselves onto Equestria’s grounds. Not only that but many, many Decepticon starships sailed above the skies, blocking out the sun and giving an eerie dark brown glow all across this new battleground. Out of the starships and dropships came falling Decepticon soldiers in the hundreds. Once they hit the ground, they began charging at him…and his team. This was it…the Autobots’ final stand. All the wars they had on Cybertron, to losing the core itself, to sacrificing so much for the Ark, to actually leaving their home to claim another, it had all led up to this moment. For this exact moment in time, they were to give up everything for another race. Like Optimus had once said, ‘No sacrifice is too great in the service of freedom.’ Their Legend begins here. Having both hands transform into path blasters, Optimus looked down the road he stood on that lead to the Crystal Castle. It was so far away. The Crystal Castle had to be at least a mile or two away from his current position. But in his path…were several Decepticons. “It’s the Autobot leader!” One of them shouted. “He’s the target! KILL HIM!!!” All of a sudden, several Decepticon Heavy Soldiers stood on top of the ruined buildings and fired away with their ion displacer turrets. Optimus quickly got to cover as the several thousand energy blasts soared above his head. He needed to act fast. “AUTOBOTS!!!” Optimus screamed. Grimlock stopped breathing fire on all the attacking Autobots when a meteorite struck him in the side of the head, the force of the hit causing the turned Dinobot to almost lose his footing. But he did lose his footing when Slug rammed his head directly into his leg. Grimlock fell to one knee, his dino arms unfit to get him back up if he fell. Looking around, his purple optics landed on the Triceratops that was foolish enough to attack him. Slug looked up at his leader and shouted, “Grimlock, it’s me! SLUG! Can’t you see it’s your old friend right in front of you?!” The mindless beast roared in response and stood back up. Right before he could bite down on the Dinobot’s head, a large missile struck him in the neck. Turning towards the direction of the attack, Grimlock looked up to see the Pterodactyl flying above his head. Swoop screamed while dodging Grimlock’s flames, “It’s me, Grimlock! It’s me, your little buddy, Swoop!!! Don’t you recognize me?!” Grimlock didn’t respond. He couldn’t even if he wanted to. Breathing in deeply, Grimlock was about to release another torrent of flames at the flyer, but of course he was yet again interrupted by a long, spiked tail taking out his other leg. Grimlock almost fell this time, nearly landing on one knee; he looked over to glare down at the Stegosaurus. “He doesn’t remember us, guys,” Snarl shouted, “He belongs to Starscream now!” “That son of a glitch!!! I’LL RIP OUT HIS SPARK!!!” Slug screamed as Grimlock’s tail smacked him cleanly on the side of the head. Grimlock roared in anger and charged forward at the Autobots, but before he could do that a large number of dropships flew downwards and began firing on the Dinobot. With his attention on the attacking Decepticons, Slug, along with the rest of the Dinobots, retreated back once Grimlock took his attention off of them. “AUTOBOTS!!!” That sudden call for help caused each Autobot head to turn back. There they saw a horrific sight. Thousands of Decepticons, big and small fell or arrived to the ground by dropship or starship. The starships above seemed to be where all these soldiers and dropships were coming from, obviously from seeing the several hundred pouring out of them. Decepticons filled the streets and the top of roofs as they all slowly approached their current position. But what really terrified them was their leader, Optimus Prime, being overrun by a large number of Decepticon Heavy Soldiers firing on his position. Optimus quickly ducked out and fired several shots from his path blasters at the Decepticon army which did little damage. Prime quickly hurried back to his Autobots. The Leapers and Heavy Soldiers began to move up the streets. The Autobots weren’t the only ones completely terrified by this massive army heading for them, Starscream felt his bravery quickly vanish when he had spotted all these Decepticons raining down and bringing complete chaos with them. Transforming into his jet form, Starscream shouted, “This absolutely will not do!!! I cannot kill the Autobots with all these interruptions,” He aimed his nose downwards where he saw his slave, “Grimlock, follow me!!!” With that order given, Starscream flew off deeper into the Crystal Empire. Grimlock looked at his master and back at his supposed targets. With a quiet growl, Grimlock stomped off to follow Starscream, all the while stepping on several crystal houses. Optimus kept watching until he was certain that Grimlock and Starscream were gone. Once they were, Optimus faced his small team of Autobots and explained in full, horrified, and painful detail. “Autobots, the day of reckoning is upon us. As you can see by these thousands of Decepticons,” He motioned his blaster behind his back, indicating the army of Decepticons slowly surrounding them, “that Megatron’s master plan has begun. The Decepticons are going to plunder this world until there is nothing left! What we must do is defend it and get to the Crystal Castle before it’s too late!” Optimus turned towards his group of Autobot flyers and shouted, “Jetfire, you lead the Aerialbots on a mission to take back the skies! If we don’t have air support then there isn’t any possible way we are winning this battle!” “Got it, Optimus,” Jetfire shouted and turned towards his team, “Alright, Aerialbots, let’s turn and burn!!!” Jetfire led the way as he, Silverbolt, Air Raid, Slingshot, Skydive, and Fireflight transformed and took to the skies. With the Aerialbots gone, Optimus faced another small group of Autobots. “Perceptor,” Optimus began, the sudden shouting of his name caused the Autobot scientist to turn towards his leader. Optimus pointed to a relatively large building than the rest as he spoke, “You, Hound, and Blaster are to take command of that area! Get to the rooftops and acquire radio transmission from Blaster! Once that is done, radio Jetfire so we can direct coordinates for an airstrike!” Perceptor nodded and said, “Affirmative, Prime, we’ll get right on it!” Perceptor then turned towards Hound and Blaster. They both nodded and transformed into their vehicle forms. With Perceptor leading the way, the three Autobots made their way to the next road, completely avoiding the firefight with the Decepticon army. With that complete, Optimus faced an old friend. “Ironhide, you and I will lead the assault straight into the Decepticon army!” Ironhide took a step back, shocking him into surprise. He looked over Prime’s shoulder to see the large armada slowly heading their way. With a slight stutter, Ironhide asked, “B-but Prime, what about the ponies?! We can’t have them going head-on against that army!” “I’ve thought of that.” Optimus said and turned his head back. What he saw was tragic. Hiding behind a few crumbled houses, was the six equines he had come to love in the past, present, and future. They looked as if they had seen their lives flash before their eyes, which they probably have since the Decepticons had begun to attack. This was the end of their home…Optimus expected them to look terrified….just like how he expected to see them crying. Calmly…very calmly…Optimus deactivated one of his path blaster and approached the six ponies. He got to one knee and held out his open hand to them. “Twilight, all of you…you must trust me on this. Please get out of there…I have a plan that will save Equestria. But we need your cooperation…can you trust me?” Optimus sincerely asked as he stared at the six of them. Rainbow Dash was the first to step out, but a sudden explosion coming from the building next to them caused her to recoil and join her friends in a protective embrace. Optimus clearly didn’t want to waste any more time. But he also didn’t want to scare them with how angry he was. “All of you…” Optimus stern voice almost came out as a whisper. The equines looked up with teary eyes to see Optimus Prime standing directly above them. His blue optics softened, but Twilight could clearly see the fear that was laid in them. Behind Prime were several bullets flying above with what unfortunately appeared to be ashes raining. Twilight hated it when ashes fell from the sky. It only meant pain and destruction was imminent. When they just stared at him, Optimus continued, “Please…you have to trust me. Nothing will harm you in any way, shape, or form. But if you don’t listen to me…then you will parish.” Twilight’s ears perked up when Prime had said that. It brought back memories of when she was on Cybertron. It was just how Primus had spoken to her. He continued, “I have a plan that will save your home, but if it fails, if all must fall, than I will sacrifice my spark to save this planet and all of you. It’s the least I can do since you six saved my life. Can you trust me…?” Twilight thought of the offer, and since none of her friends had the courage, probably because they were scarred from seeing all of this, she had to answer. Something quickly popped in her head. She remembered when Megatron had told them that Optimus would want them to sacrifice their home planet to save Cybertron, that this was truly paying him back. But no. Megatron was lying to them. Optimus would do anything so that peace could reside in this planet….even sacrificing his home world of Cybertron. Not only that but…Twilight looked down to see little black crystals appearing by her hooves. She turned her gaze towards the Crystal Castle which appeared to be at last two miles away from them. The infection had begun. She could barely see King Sombra’s shadowy coat, but she could definitely see the black crystals slowly growing at the legs of the castle, indicating that King Sombra had begun to create his new Crystal Empire in HIS image. Slowly nodding, Twilight Sparkle stepped out from behind the protection the crumbled houses had to offer. The rest of her friends followed, knowing that wherever Twilight went must be the right way. She was what held their friendship together. She was the brains of the group, so if they lost her…they would be helpless. Once the six of them got out of the wreckage, Optimus quickly scooped them all up, which received a few yelps of surprise from Fluttershy and Rarity. Dodging the fire, Optimus quickly got behind cover along with the rest of his team. He opened his fist to allow the six mares to stumble out. Twilight looked around and observed the scene. Some Autobots were missing. The only ones that were still here were Ironhide, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Jazz, Cliffjumper, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Warpath, Slug, Snarl, and Swoop. A very small team of Autobots…obviously not enough to take on an army that large. But what Optimus just said…only decreased his chances of survival. “I want a volunteer group of five or more Autobots to go out deeper into the Crystal Empire.” Twilight looked back at Prime, eyes wide with shock. The other Autobots looked around and saw that there were indeed only eleven of them. Taking away that number of Autobot would greatly increase the chance of failure. “Optimus,” Ratchet began, “obviously you see that if we lose anymore Autobots, and if what you said is true, then there is a very high chance that we won’t be coming out of this battle alive!” “That is a risk we will have to take, Ratchet,” Optimus said while facing the skies. Ratchet groaned, “Optimus, it’s a death trap, clearly you see that!?” “That’s enough, Ratchet!” Ironhide shouted. The Autobot medic stood in silence, wanting Ironhide to explain himself. Ironhide closed his blue optics and sighed deeply. Opening them again, Ironhide said, “I get it, Prime. Please just explain everything to the Autobots.” Optimus nodded and faced his team, clenching his fist he began, “I need a volunteer group of five Autobots. Anyone…?” It was silent, despite the obvious explosions and shouts from the Decepticons slowly closing in. None of the Autobots knew what Prime’s plan was…and they didn’t want any part of it. But of course, the first one to step forward was Jazz. “I volunteer, Prime.” Jazz nodded with a smile. Suddenly, Cliffjumper pushed his way forward and shouted, “I volunteer too! Jazz is helpless without me anyways.” It was only a quick second before Bumblebee stepped forward. “Me too.” Bumblebee saluted. Optimus nodded in agreement, it was exactly the group of Autobots he wanted. But he was surprised to hear who volunteered next. “I’m in.” Swoop said as he and Snarl approached the small group of Autobots. Snarl nodded and said, “No one will stand in our way.” Both Dinobots looked back to see Slug, he kept his mouth shut and stayed away from the conversation. Slug didn’t really feel like talking right now…especially being forced to do battle with his old friend….a friend he thought was dead. Optimus nodded and quickly explained, “Good. We have five volunteers. Now what I want you five to do is to protect the Element Bearers,” Slug lifted up his head, “All of you are to go on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. The Decepticon army will have their attention on us instead of the ponies, I am most certain they are after them. You must fight your way to the Crystal Castle where we will meet you. Once everyone is secured and ready, we will use the power from the crystal ponies to save the heart and stop Sombra. By the looks of these black crystals, it appears he is growing stronger.” “WAIT!” Optimus stopped talking. Everyone had their attention on the last Dinobot. Slug looked down at the six equines, his optics somber behind that glowing red visor as he spoke, “I…wish to accompany the ponies on their journey.” Rainbow Dash scowled in hatred. She turned her nose up in the air and looked the other way. Slug almost felt spark-broken when she stated firmly, “Swoop and Snarl can come! Nobody else!!!” The cyan Pegasus couldn’t tell for sure but…she could almost see the look of pain on his face. When Slug looked up at Prime, Optimus motioned him towards Rainbow Dash. He could almost hear Prime’s voice echo in his mind. ‘Looks as if somepony needs an apology.’ Almost groaning in annoyance, but mostly sorrow, Slug looked at Rainbow Dash. He spoke, “Listen, Rainbow Dash, I can understand why you’re upset. The way I treated you before was not right and of course…not fair. You were never the cause of Grimlock’s death. You thought I felt terrible when Grimlock died? How do you think I feel now that he’s alive?” When Rainbow didn’t answer, Slug continued, “I blamed you when Grimlock died. But now that he’s alive, I feel so much worse,” He knelt down to where his visor met Dash’s magenta eyes, “Can you ever forgive me, as an old friend, I truly want to help you…will you let me do that?” Rainbow Dash thought of the offer. It sounded sincere, but Dash was still pretty peeved about that whole incident at the funeral. If he truly was apologizing, Rainbow Dash could tell if he was lying or not. Looking him straight in the visor, Rainbow looked for any signs of hatred towards her. She could find none. Smiling, Rainbow Dash held out her hoof. “We’re cool, dude.” Slug smiled and gave her hoof a fistbump, just like how Grimlock used to do. Once that was done, Optimus Prime looked for a clear exit and found one soon enough. Pointing to Jazz, Optimus shouted, “Jazz, lead the group over there! We will hold back these Decepticons long enough for each of you to escape and find a clear path that leads to the castle.” Jazz nodded and shouted, “You got it, Prime!” He quickly aimed and fired his grappling hook over to where Prime pointed. Pulling himself forward and dodging the blasts intended to hit him, Jazz used his hook to lift up the debris. “Hurry, everyone inside! I can’t hold this for long!” Jazz screamed. Cliffjumper lead the way as he, Bumblebee, Slug, Snarl, and Swoop dashed forward pass the debris and into the entrance Jazz had created. The five mares quickly followed behind their guardians except for one. Twilight Sparkle stopped in her tracks. “Come on, Twilight,” Jazz screamed, “This is heavy!” Turning back around, Twilight looked up at Optimus Prime, the Autobot she cared for the most. He looked down the battlefield with his path blasters in tow, he was obviously preparing for the war at hand. “Optimus….” The last of the Primes looked down at the small unicorn, her eyes almost as sad as the war surrounding her. Bending down, Optimus got to one knee and met Twilight’s eye level. They watched each other, observing their movements, Twilight looked down the road. The massive Decepticon army was so close now…she had to leave. Looking up at Prime, Twilight’s lower lip quivered as she quietly spoke, “Thank you, Optimus Prime…for everything.” Once again, Optimus could only nod. It happened so fast. He hadn’t realized how low his head was when Twilight placed a kiss on his cheek. Galloping away, Twilight hurried past the debris that Jazz struggled to hold up. With the equines and Autobots safely inside, Jazz quickly swung himself under the debris as it finally collapsed. They were gone…along with the hope for bringing the Crystal Heart to the castle in time. They no longer held onto that hope…they had to believe that the ponies could make it there alive. Standing back up, Optimus placed his hand on the side of his faceplate where Twilight had kissed him, obviously a sign of good luck. Turning back, Optimus Prime could see that he only had a few soldiers left. Them being Wheeljack, Ironhide, Ratchet, Warpath, and Sideswipe. A small but strong group of Autobots. Nodding, Optimus held his path blaster in the air and screamed, “Alright, Autobots, we are going into a target-rich environment! There are no friendlies anywhere so be happy to fire at anything that moves. Be them Decepticons or Changelings, all unknowns are hostile!!!” The Autobots roared in agreement. Optimus got out from behind the debris, he pointed his finger towards the massive Decepticon army closing in and shouted, “Autobots, let’s roll-!” He never got to finish that sentence…. ….because Megatron came out of nowhere and tackled him. The Autobots flinched in shock as the leader of the Decepticons literally flew straight into the air with their leader in tow. Never had they thought Megatron had the power to fly….but right now nothing really made sense. Just like how the Decepticons invaded this peaceful land. Ironhide stood back up, his face frozen in terror when he watched Megatron sail away with Optimus Prime. Their leader was gone. All hope was lost. “NO!” Ironhide yelled and activated his assault rifle. Turning around, Ironhide watched as the Autobots lifted themselves up and started preparing their weapons. Ironhide held his fist in the air and shouted, “Alright, Autobots, let’s finish what Optimus started: taking out these Decepti-!” “Ironhide, LOOK OUT!!!!!” Turning around, Ironhide didn’t have a chance to scream when an omega missile landed directly in front of him, sending him and the rest of the Autobots into darkness. ____________________ Jazz pressed his back onto the side of the nearest crystal building. He had once thought this place was really pretty with all the colorful buildings made out of crystals and stuff. But now they were all the same color: black. It spread throughout the ground and even across the buildings…as if it was Dark Energon infusing itself in the- Jazz shook away those thoughts. If anything happened to this planet or the ponies…he would never forgive himself. Looking back, Jazz nodded to his old friend: Cliffjumper. “We clear?” Cliffjumper asked while eyeing the road suspiciously. “Yeah, we clear.” Jazz said as he and Cliffjumper looked back to see the ponies. Bumblebee looked down to be greeted by a pitiful sight. Fluttershy was clinging onto Bee’s legs as tightly as she could. Obviously she wasn’t ready to go back to war, none of them were. And now since the Crystal Empire, which was extremely large, was being invaded, this was going to be a very, VERY long battle. While Bumblebee comforted the timid Pegasus, Slug, Snarl, and Swoop took the backside of the group with the ponies in front of them. Nothing was getting them from behind. “Alright,” Jazz announced as he activated his scatter blaster shotgun, “follow me. And keep your eyes in the sky…we don’t want any unwanted visitors from above.” When Jazz was about to walk forward, he cringed when Twilight asked the big question. “Jazz….are we going to make it out of this?” The Autobot slowly turned his head around, his blue visor meeting Twilight’s purple eyes. He sighed deeply; he really seemed to sigh a lot when these kinds of questions were asked. Bending down to one knee, Jazz looked at her and answered. “I…I-I…I don’t really know right now, Twilight….I’m sorry.” That didn’t really seem to raise her spirits any higher than they were, for her ears quickly fell and her eyes that were once filled with hope wilted downwards. For all the battles they had alongside the Autobots scarred them so much it was as if they had already joined their war. Jazz hated it when they looked like this. He hated it when they felt so weak. He hated it when these brave little ponies thought they were truly powerless and were not good for anything but to just wither away and die. “Twilight, you listen here and you listen well.” Jazz sternly said. The tiny unicorn, but not only her but the rest of her friends, turned their heads towards the white Autobot. Jazz continued with those cute little eyes watching him, “If you think that you’re weak for another second, then I’m about to walk away from this battle right now,” They seemed to be interested now as Jazz continued, “You listen good, ponies, ‘cause I’m only gonna say this once…” He jabbed his finger right in Twilight’s chest, causing the unicorn to take a few steps back, as he said, “YOU are not weak! Stop thinkin’ that you are! If you’re weak, then how in the name of Cybertron were you able to stop Bruticus, huh?!” They stared at him, completely dumbstruck. When they didn’t speak, he continued, “When I fought Bruticus on the Ark, it took all the strengths I’ve gained over the years to fight on and stop that menace from killin’ me and my team! None of you had any experiences with fightin’ and you still managed to stop him! So does that finally prove to you that you’re strong, because if you haven’t already figured that out yet….then I’m done….I’m gonna lose all my faith in fightin’ on if you lose your faith in yourselves.” Jazz stopped talking and looked at the violet unicorn. Twilight was speechless. She never expected Jazz to be this deep, she had just thought he was as cool as can be and never once thought about how the war affected him. These Autobots…are more than meets the eye. “Okay…” Jazz lifted up his head to see Twilight giving him a supporting smile. “Okay, Jazz, I’ll believe in myself from here on out.” Twilight smiled while pawing at the ground. Rarity stepped forward and flashed a dazzling grin, “Me too, I’ll never give up on any of you,” She looked at Cliffjumper and smiled, “or myself.” Rainbow Dash nervously rubbed her foreleg and said, “Yeah…I never really lost faith in myself but…I guess I could try harder, ya know?" She stuck out her chest, proudly boasting, "I mean...I AM the Element of Loyalty after all." Applejack smiled sincerely while speaking in her western drawl, “Ya know, Jazz, Ah never imagined someone like yerself ta be so…helpful. Ah always imagined you was like Rainbow Dash an’ not carin’ about the world around ya.” “Hey!” Rainbow shouted in defiance, her chest deflating. Applejack chuckled to herself as Pinkie Pie bounced her way past her. Pushing Applejack aside, Pinkie Pie smiled broadly and shouted, “I won’t lose faith on myself! And besides, if I did I bet one of my clones would just hold onto their faith. And if that one gave up, the other clone would. And if that one gave up, the other one would. And if THAT one gave up-!” “Okay, Pinkie Pie, we get it!” Twilight shouted, containing her giggles. Jazz smiled warmly at each mare, they could be really brave when they needed to. Wait a minute…five mares? “Hey…” Jazz began, looking around, “where’s Fluttershy?” Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Slug, Snarl, and Swoop brought their heads down to where they saw the butter Pegasus. Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack turned back and approached their friend who for some reason…couldn’t stop trembling. Fluttershy’s eyes were locked on the sky, her breathing began to increase, and her face was sealed in horror. “Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her friend’s shoulder, “what’s wrong?” Slowly…ever so slowly, Fluttershy lifted up her shaking hoof towards the sky. Following it, the five mares finally found what their timid friend was looking at. It made them gasp in both shock and fear. The other Autobots wore faces of confusion, but those quickly faded when they looked in the sky to see what exactly Fluttershy was seeing. Along with the other Autobots, Jazz lifted up his head. His gasps joined the others as he slowly got up and backed away in total fear. He had thought it was destroyed. Nothing…could survive a crash like that…but unfortunately…this one did. Out of the sky and through the clouds…the Nemesis entered the Crystal Empire.