//------------------------------// // Murky, pt 2 // Story: Transformers: Ancient Legacy // by Goldymarg //------------------------------// - Beneath Horseshoe Bay, Dusk Trixie awoke to a sore body and a hazy mind. She was conscious, but refused to move or even open her eyes, not even wondering if the position she was in was uncomfortable. It was like there was an aura of pain surrounding her. She was afraid that moving would only make it hurt more. ("What...what happened...? Where am I? The last thing I remember was...”) “Ug – koff!” Her lungs however, didn't care how much pain she was in. Rolling onto her side, Trixie involuntarily spat up what felt like a pint of sea water, gasping for air afterward. ("Ugh, disgusting...”) As she lay there, she was grateful that her supposed pain was just imaginary, and mentally bucked herself for having such a silly thought. She could still feel her hat and cape, though they weren't exactly comfortable to wear right now. They were both sopping wet and smelled like ocean, just like everything else around her. She'd have to magically dry those off later. (“That's right...we were inside Prowl running away from...”) Trixie's eyes snapped open, having remembered the last thing she saw. Those huge jaws swallowing them whole. She scrambled to her hooves, only to fall back down as her rear legs slipped on the end of her wet cape. If she wasn't hurting before, she definitely was hurting now. “Ow! Why am I even bothering with – wait. What?” The unicorn stood up again, much more calmly this time. Her curiosity piqued, she tapped a hoof in place a few times. *klack, klack* Trixie wasn't big on anatomy, but she was certain that didn't sound like a megalodon's stomach. That sounded more like rock, or crystal. What was the meaning of this? They were eaten by that sea monster, weren't they? “HWOOOOOOHH...” Well, that was enough to confirm it. It was the same howl that terrified her earlier, only this time it came from all around her, echoing off the walls. Somehow, this place was indeed it's belly. Deciding that she had enough, Trixie levitated her hat off and illuminated the area with a flash of her horn. As the darkness receded, she felt herself unconsciously take a step backward. “Wha...what is this?!” It was like she was sucked into another world. She was expecting disgusting walls of stomach lining and pools of acid, but instead was met with a twisting network of opaque, dark purple crystal. There was no rhyme or reason to its structure, everything looked like it could collapse at any second. Pillars of crystal splintered off into many jagged subsections that extended out like a collection of knives, and thick walls were suspended in mid air by threads no wider than a centimeter. The floor she was standing on felt solid in one area, and brittle in another. Even the air itself was like a foreign entity, blowing into her face one second, and against her back the next. If she didn't hear the beast's howl, there was no way she could have guessed this place was its stomach. “...huh? Prowl? Warpath? Fluttershy?! Where are all of yooou?!” With her bewilderment at this place fading, Trixie eventually realized that she was alone. Looking around, she couldn't tell just how expansive this cavern was, her illumination magic only reaching so far. The only option left was to explore. “(gulp)...Okay! Th-this is nothing! The Great and Powerful Trixie fears no beast, dragon, or sea monster! I'm...I'm certain the others are in the depths of peril, s-so they will no doubt require my awesome magics to - ” “HWOOOOOHH...” “EEK!!!” Trixie pulled her hat over her eyes, darkening the area and filling her nostrils with the smell of sea water. Slumping a bit, she magically conjured a blow dryer, chuckling as the hot air blew over her. “Eh heh heh...like Trixie said, this is nothing...I-I mean, this is the whole reason why Twilight Sparkle sent me here! She was counting on this sort of thing to happen to such inexperienced lowlifes! Why this entire operation would have fallen apart from the get go if - ” “Stop using magic you idiot! Do you want to blow us all to scrap?!” She shrieked and shut off her magic without question, only to regret it a second later. That angry voice belonged to Prowl. As she raised her hat, she wasn't sure if she should feel grateful or unfortunate. “(a-ahem). I, uh...Trixie has things under control you nitwit! Besides, how do you expect us to see in here without an illumination spell?!” Even in the darkness, she could see him raise his arm and tap something on his body, beaming the headlights in his torso directly into her face. Trixie growled as she covered her eyes with a foreleg, knowing for certain he was doing that on purpose. “I have had just about enough of you. If you stopped your incessant boasting for even one moment and analyzed the situation, you would have realized this entire cavern is composed of dark energon!” She turned her head in his direction to try and make eye contact, but couldn't get a good look at him with that glare. “Dark what?! What are you talking about, why does that matter?!” Prowl placed a palm on his face, shaking his head. “Did Twilight even bother to brief you on...ugh. Of course she didn't. Listen to me pony, and listen carefully, because I will not repeat myself. Your world's 'magic' and raw energon react violently when they come into contact with each other. If even the smallest amount of magical energy is introduced into energon ore, the entire deposit detonates. You do understand the implications of that, don't you?” Trixie looked under one of her hooves, feeling the gravity of what she almost did. One single misstep with her spells would've been all it took to blow the entire cavern to smithereens. She felt her throat go dry and her legs go slightly numb, but not because she was nearly incinerated. The last thing she wanted to admit out loud was that this rude alien was right about anything. “...I'm not some patsy you can just push around...” “What was that?!” The unicorn looked away with clenched teeth, trying her best not to say anything else under her breath. “N-nothing! Look, do you have any way for us to get out of here?! You're the leader right?! Think of something!” Prowl studied her for a second before turning away, walking off by himself. He made no gestures to let her follow, knowing she would do it anyway. Pressing two fingers on his temple, he said, “The outer layers of this dark energon deposit are mostly inert, yet my scanners are showing a spike in energy levels the further we descend. Judging from the readings I'm getting, there's a high chance the source of this corruption is at the center of the cavern. For now, we'll investigate. And do try not to do anything else that will kill us all.” Trixie was forced to half gallop to keep up with his stride. Her cape was sticking to her back, and she had to constantly keep her hat from falling over her eyes. Both pieces of her attire were cold and clammy, and now the shoulder she fell onto earlier was getting sore. Coupled with the fact that this Autobot kept talking down to her, she was close to boiling over. (“You...you don't have any right to treat me like this! None of you do! Not you, not Twilight Sparkle, not anypony! Look at you, acting all high and mighty, just because you're three stories tall, you stupid - ”) Trixie's eyes widened. Bringing herself to a full gallop, she jumped directly in front of Prowl and cut him off. He thought about simply stepping over her, but the look in her eye made it clear she had something to say. “Hold on a second! You're accusing Trixie of nearly blowing up this place, but it was you who nearly drowned me! Why in Equestria would you transform in the middle of us getting swallowed by a sea monster knowing FULL WELL we can't breathe underwater?!” At this point she was just reaching for things to verbally assault him. She wanted to assert herself in some way, any way to give her piece of mind. Prowl stared her down, replying in a dour tone, “There was an energy surge the moment Warpath and I entered this cavern. It momentarily scrambled our systems and forced us out of our alternate forms. I can hardly be blamed for such a thing.” Feeling this was another waste of time, he ended up stepping over her anyway, leaving Trixie standing there with her mouth hanging slightly open. (“I can't believe this...!”) She clenched her teeth again and turned around, glaring at him with hateful eyes. “That's IT?! I nearly drown and you don't even apologize?! Just who do you think you are, anyway?!” She ended her last word with a stomp of her hoof. Prowl stopped, turning just enough so that one of his optics stared back at her. “What I am, is logical. And as it stands, my logic center has deduced that you are nothing more than a nuisance. To think that Ironhide trusted the inhabitants of this planet with such a daunting task defies all reason...nevertheless, you are here, testing my patience.” He turned and began walking off again, his words softening as he got further away. “Don't follow me. Stay here until I've analyzed the situation fully. I'd rather not have some...'pony' getting in my way.” *stomp* “Y-you...! You dare talk to The Great and Powerful Trixie like some common insect?! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!!!” There have been times in the past where the showmare had been ridiculed, both on the stage and off. She could take a tomato or two, or even endure complete humiliation in front of an entire town. Those memories however, felt so small and distant now. In this moment, she was literally seething. A vein was visible on her forehead, steam blew out of her nostrils, and all she could see was red. Never in the entirety of her life had she even been more insulted. Reeling back on her haunches, Trixie slammed her forelegs down, ready to charge this scumbag of an alien. She wasn't even thinking about whether or not she could, because it was the only thing she wanted. *kthooom – CRASH* Fortunately, the moment before the enraged unicorn could make a serious mistake, the wall between herself and Prowl exploded in a blaze of flame and crystal. Trixie automatically raised a foreleg in front of her with wide eyes, her rage simmering down at the sight. If she actually decided to charge him, she'd look like that wall right now - broken, and in pieces. “That was Warpath's cannonfire...!” The white Autobot made a 180 and jumped through the smoldering hole in the wall, leaving Trixie behind again as she fell to her stomach. This was the second time today that she's had such a close scrape with death. The realization crept over her like a dense fog. How much longer was it going to be until her luck ran out? “...please stop! If you keep firing that cannon, you might hurt him!” (“Fluttershy? She's in there too?”) Trixie stared at the hole in the wall as she rose, not quite understanding her words. That yellow pegasus acted so timid and cowardly on the way here, but right now she was staying inside of a room with a trigger-happy Autobot armed with a bunker buster. It dawned on her that she had just as many close calls as all of them today, but was still willing to stare danger in the face. Why? She'd have to go inside to find out. (“I, uh...geh! Trixie won't be showed up by her of all ponies!”) If Fluttershy could somehow be brave, then it should be no contest for an all-powerful unicorn like herself. She trotted over to the smashed wall with trepidation, trying to avoid cutting herself on some stray, jagged crystal. Lowering herself a bit, she hopped over the still-smoldering areas on the floor and bounded into the room, tumbling around as she entered. Trixie watched the world spin once and rolled into a sitting position, forcing her to re-adjust her hat again. (“Alright, what's going on...here...huh...?”) Hot. It was SO hot. The temperature must have risen at least ten degrees. The air was stifling, nauseating, like she should be choking on the atmosphere instead of breathing it. A sense of dread overcame her heart, making the fine hair on her coat stand on end, and she had just jumped in here. (“What...what's going on...?! I just got here, why do I feel like this?!”) The room itself was circular, and had a low ceiling. Fluttershy was indeed here, floating in front of Warpath, the latter still in vehicle mode and pointing his cannon at the...thing behind her. What was it? It looked like another Cybertronian, but...wrong. Terribly wrong. (“Oh my...goodness...! What IS that?!”) Trixie felt her breath quickening. Everything she had seen up to this point, the Ursa Minor, the megalodon, the horror of being devoured, the shell that nearly blew her to pieces, it paled in comparison to what she was saw in this very moment. The robot was encased in a column of the same crystal that made up the entire cavern, the upper half of his body sticking out like he was trying to escape. However, this crystal was translucent, and glowed between a shade of pure black and light purple, like it was alive. Steeling her nerves, she got up and walked forward to get a better look, only to fall down again the moment she got a good look at his visage. Her knees had grown too weak to support her now. More black crystal spewed forth from giant gashes in his chest and right arm, like he had been impaled with a great sword. By any and all accounts, this guy should be dead, but somehow...somehow, Trixie just knew whoever that was still lived. And it looked like Warpath came to the same conclusion. “Get outta my way Fluttershy, I'm puttin' an end to this war, RIGHT NOW!” “Absolutely not! I won't let you hurt this creature!” “Do you have any idea what you're doing?! Do you know how many Cybertronians this guy's killed?! I ain't lettin' you stop me!” Trixie sat on her haunches with her mouth agape, watching that scardy pony stare down the barrel of a hovertank with her forelegs out in a protective manner. How in Celestia's name did she end up in here anyway? That crazy robot was prepared to blow all of them to bits, just so he could make sure that other terrifying robot suspended in black crystal died. Just what exactly did he do? Was Warpath just insane? “It ends here! Even if I'm goin' down with him! Megatron's gotta die!” Someone had to do something. Someone had to stop him before he set off an energon explosion and wiped them all out. Trixie knew this was the worst possible time to freeze up, but she all she could do was sit and watch. All she could do was listen to the chamber resonate with the metallic clink of another shell being loaded into Warpath's magazine. It was barely audible, but rang in her ears like thunder. It looked like her luck had finally run out. *kchack* “Don't you DARE finish loading that round, Warpath! I will NOT hesitate to target your vital circuits!” A hot wind blew in on her right side as Prowl's leg stamped down next to her. With her shock ebbing away, Trixie looked up at him with confused eyes. His left hand had transformed into a smallish handgun, and he was pointing it directly at the base of Warpath's main cannon. “Our objective was to investigate the energon signal, nothing more! Just because the Decepticon leader is here, that does NOT permit you to defy mission protocol! That includes endangering the lives of civilians and outsiders! Stand down immediately!” The room fell silent, save for the hum of Warpath's hover jets and Fluttershy's flapping wings. He hadn't finished loading his cannon, but wasn't moving an inch either. Just enough time had passed to let an uneasy stillness fill the room before Prowl repeated, “Stand. Down.” After what felt like an eternity, the red Autobot lowered his cannon and transformed back to robot form, falling to one knee. He began punching the ground relentlessly, sending splinters of crystal flying in all directions. Fluttershy squeaked and flew behind Prowl's shoulder, poking her head out to watch. “Why?! Why are you stoppin' me?! HE'S RIGHT HERE!!!” Trixie flipped around and rose to her hooves again, watching him take his rage out on the floor. He sounded so angry, but at the same time, it was nothing like how she herself felt a few minutes earlier. No, he also sounded defeated, anguished. Thinking back, this was not unlike like the time when she was driven out of Ponyville and made a laughing stock. Her expression cringed as she looked away - she knew exactly where he was coming from. “The fact that you stopped at all means you already know the answer. The last thing we Autobots do is kill innocent beings. Even if we were presented with the chance to destroy Megatron.”