//------------------------------//
// Legend 
// Story: Transformers: Equestria's Darkest Hour 
// by JDPrime22 
//------------------------------//


-CHAPTER XXX: LEGEND-









“Heroes are those who do what is absolutely right. We are all heroes.”



-Twilight Sparkle





____________________








-NINE WEEKS LATER-






At last, Twilight opened her eyes.

She sat up and stretched her limbs. Below her, the snores of a baby dragon seemed to be what woke her up. Giggling in response to that, Twilight hopped out of the bed. Making sure to walk over the sleeping dragon, Twilight finally got over to her desk.

Levitating a long scroll out from one of the drawers, Twilight pulled out a quill and dipped it in the ink. Time for another morning checklist.

“Wake up at 6:30 AM,” Twilight read as she looked over to the clock hanging on the far wall. She smiled and said, “Check.” She checked off the box and continued to read. “Brush mane to get tangles out.” She looked up and smiled to see her mane a mess. She always liked a challenge. Levitating a hairbrush from another drawer, Twilight calmly but swiftly stroked her mane over and over again until it felt straight enough to be presentable. “Check.” She said and read on.

“Wake up Spike by all means possible.” Twilight looked over to the baby dragon. Silently creeping over to him, Twilight placed her hoof on his exposed tummy and began to tickle it. Spike shot out of bed and giggled uncontrollably.

“What the-HAHAHA! Tw-Twilight! HAHAHA! Please…STOP! HAHAHA!!!” Spike begged with tears in his eyes.

Twilight giggled to herself and check off the box. “Check.” She managed to say between giggles.

She read on. “Remind Spike and self about the unveiling at the statue garden today.”

Twilight sighed and crossed off the box. “Check.”

Spike managed to stand up on his own. He approached Twilight but saw her turn around and head for the stairs. “Hey, where ya goin’?” Spike asked, slightly rubbing his eye with a claw. He yawned carnivorously right as Twilight turned her head back towards him.

“Spike,” She stated irritably, “I told you about this last night! The statue garden is gonna reopen today! This is supposed to be one of the most important days in Equestria history! Delegates, Kings, important ponies from across the globe are gonna be there!”

The baby dragon scratched his chin for a few seconds before he finally came to. “OH YEAH! Now I remember! So, when are we going?”

“Right now.” Twilight stated, making her way down the stairs quickly.

Spike’s eyes popped open. “Wait…like right now right now? Aren’t we going to have some breakfast first?” The dragon asked as he struggled to keep up with the unicorn. His belly rumbled in hunger.

Twilight shook her head and said, “No time. The statue garden opens really early. We don’t wanna miss a single second of it! Besides…Rarity’s gonna be there.” She teased with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“Well what are we just sitting here for?!” Spike shouted and opened the door for her, “Let’s get a move on!”

Twilight giggled and trotted passed him. “Just try and keep up, Romeo.”

Spike shut the door to the library.



____________________




Once they were outside, Twilight breathed in deep, really taking in the fresh air.

She still couldn’t believe that Princess Cadance had helped her by sending a building crew all the way from the Crystal Empire to help rebuild her library. It was technically a sign of thanks for saving all of ponykind from mass destruction. Yeah.

So they moved on, both Twilight Sparkle and Spike as they trekked through Ponyville, the morning sun giving both of them bright and healthy smiles. 

Twilight’s mind began to play back the events of last night. Spike had given her a letter at about 9 PM. Princess Celestia had informed her about the reopening of the Canterlot statue garden, she said it would truly mean something special to everypony who went. Today was the day, both Twilight Sparkle and Spike kept moving down the dirt path in Ponyville.

They needed to get to the Friendship Express.

It was only about five minutes until they finally arrived. Twilight observed the scene.

The train remained where it should, in the station, its top blowing steam and out, ready for boarding and take off. Surrounding the closed entrance was her friends and their families. Pinkie Pie was bouncing in mid-place, Mr. and Mrs. Cake standing right behind her with Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake in their forelegs, each of them sound asleep from the early morning wake-up. 

Rarity, along with her parents and Sweetie Belle resided next to the bouncing mare, them mostly talking to the large group of ponies the entire time. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stood next to Sweetie Belle, each of them in their own little conversation. Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith all stood by each other, large saddlebags wrapped around their backs. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were among the crowd, their families oddly missing. Maybe they just lived too far away.

While that was the only crowd where her friends were, Twilight still looked around to notice several other ponies lined up to enter the Friendship Express. Ponies such as Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Vinyl Scratch, Ditzy Doo, Time Turner, Colgate, Thunderlane, and several more.

Both the unicorn and baby dragon approached the crowd, their smiles growing wider once they recognized her.

“Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed to everypony around her, “Glad you could make it, dear!” 

“YEAH,” Pinkie shouted, her bouncing cooling down, “At first, we didn’t know if you were gonna show up or not! Then Rainbow Dash bet Applejack ten bits that Spike would make you guys late, but you’re here just in time!”

“Yeah…woopty doo.” Rainbow Dash scowled as she handed the orange mare a bag full of bits.

Applejack chuckled and stuffed the bag into her already-filled saddlebag. She turned towards Twilight with a large smile adorning her features. “Well, shoot, it wouldn’t be the same without ya, Twilight. From the letter ya showed us it sounded like the Princess really wanted ya ta come.”

Twilight smiled and said, “Well I’m just left in the dark as you guys. The Princess didn’t tell me anything except that it was a very special event at the statue gardens. Maybe she wanted it to be a surprise.”

Pinkie bounced in front of the group. “Or maybe she’s creating a secret organization for the most elite out of magical ponies to defend all of Equestria from blood-thirsty zombies!”

It was about three seconds before the entire group exploded into laughter.

Pinkie blinked her eyelashes innocently. “What?”

Twilight contained herself but still couldn’t contain the laughter. “Hee! Hee! Pinkie! What are you talking about?!”

“I was just-!”

“ALL ABOARD!!!”

The laughter died down instantly. Everypony turned their heads to see the conductor enter the train along with the line of ponies entering. Twilight smiled and turned her head back towards the group.

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s get a move on.” 

Pinkie Pie led the way.

“Canterlot here we come!”




___________________





-CANTERLOT-






The Friendship Express stopped at the nearest train station, steam erupting with a loud hiss as it slowly made a stop. Several Royal Guards stood at the entrance of the train as the doors opened up, a very large crowd of ponies their way to get to the front.

When Twilight, Spike, Applejack and her family, Rarity and her family, Pinkie Pie and the Cakes, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo finally made it off the train they were greeted by a magnificent sight.

Canterlot was simply stunning on its own. But today, oh today, today was truly something special. A banner hung around street poles and across castle walls, the only one Twilight read was, “WELCOME DISTANT TRAVELERS!” Balloons and several decorations were scattered across the entrance to the city while most of it was focused towards the castle and its gardens. That must’ve been where the sculpture gardens were. The group looked around and noticed that the train had already left, possibly to make more trips around Equestria. They could see why.

Canterlot was basically a main tourist attraction today. The letter Princess Celestia sent Twilight must’ve been just between them two. The Sun Goddess probably exclaimed to all of Equestria and beyond that today was truly a momentous occasion to be centered in the capitol. 

Ponies from every across the globe were in Canterlot. Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, Sapphire Shores, Fancy Pants, the Wonderbolts, and (sadly) Prince Blueblood were all there. Many others were spotted but Rarity couldn’t announce them all to the group.

When the group of 17 ponies and one dragon were done sightseeing, they all made their way to where the Royal Guards instructed them to move, the presence of Princess Celestia’s pupil quickly caught their attention.

“Ma’am,” one guard in bright armor said proudly as he approached Twilight, “My name is Flash Sentry. You and your group had better follow me. Your brother, Shining Armor, had instructed me to take you to him.”

“Thank you, lead the way, please.” Twilight smiled as the guard turned away from her, leading her and the large group into the Canterlot gardens. This is where most of the tourists and ponies seemed to be heading.

“Back off,” Flash Sentry shouted as the large crowd began to depart, “VIP’s coming through!”

The group walked closer together, knowing it could be easy to get lost in this swarm of crazy tourists. Twilight looked around and noticed they were soon entering to where the Labyrinth was and still is. A large red curtain hung between two massive walls, a sign on one of them reading, “Canterlot Sculpture Gardens”. A podium and stage remained in front of the curtain, obvious signs that Celestia was to make an announcement before she revealed the new and improved statue gardens.

Once they stopped, the guard parted away the crowd and made a large open circle for Twilight and her group to spread out in. Giving a thankful nod, Twilight watched as Flash Sentry trotted off to resume his regular duties.

“Twily, glad you could make it!”

The unicorn turned brought her head forward towards the familiar voice. She was greeted by her brother Shining Armor in…well….shining armor. The morning sun reflected off his helmet as he took it off and approached his little sister.

“I see you brought the rest of the gang.” Shining Armor exclaimed as he and his little sister shared a quick hug.

“Yep,” She replied cheerfully, “Princess Celestia informed me that today was going to mark a new occasion in Equestrian history,” Her eyes darted back and forth as she leaned her head in closer to her older brother, “You’ve seen it already, right? Mind telling me what it is?”

Shining Armor only chuckled in response and said, “Oh I’ve seen it alright, but I’m not telling you. Strict orders from the Princess, she said she wanted it to be a surprise for you and your friends.”

He could see the look of disappointment strewn across her features. Ruffling up her mane in a playful way, Shining Armor smiled and said, “Hey, don’t get all down in the dumps,” When he finished, she proceeded to stick her tongue out at him. “You and your friends are going to love it…I promise.”

“We’d better.” Twilight finished as two loud horns were heard.

“OH! It’s starting! See ya later, Twilight!” Shining Armor quietly shouted and trotted off. 

Twilight waved to him before turning her head back to the stage, the rest of the very large crowd of ponies quieting down. It was soon silent as one of the Royal Guard stepped up to the podium. He cleared his throat and unveiled a parchment.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, it is with great honor to announce the bringer of the sun and ruler of Equestria…Princess Celestia!”

The entire crowd exploded into cheer and claps.

Princess Celestia arrived by flying up and over the red curtain, Twilight watched her the entire time. Once she softly landed with a flap of her wings, Celestia nodded the guard away and approached the podium, a smile spreading across her mouth when she saw her student in the crowd, accompanied by her closest friends.

After a few more seconds of cheering and clapping, the crowd finally quieted down once Celestia raised her hoof to them, signaling her speech.

She cleared her throat.

“Fellow ponies from across Equestria and beyond, I come to you today to mark the first event of a momentous and cheerful new day in Equestrian history. As most of you know of the tragic events many weeks ago, several cities and small towns were invaded and destroyed by a foe we have not yet come to know. Over the course of time, on that same exact day, every single invader was vanquished by a powerful force residing from the Crystal Empire. On that same exact day, evil was defeated…and freedom rained throughout Equestria once again. But at the cost of several lives…lives from Equestrian inhabitants…and many heroes. On this day I speak to you all to tell you that we will not fear these aliens anymore…but have come to thank them for their sacrifice and courage in our darkest hour. For if they hadn’t sacrificed their own lives…our planet would have been destroyed…everything we know would’ve ceased to exist. I come to you today to share with you the knowledge these beings have shared with us…for this is our tribute to them. I am proud to announce as the ruler of Equestria that all are welcome to our tribute for the many heroes who gave up their lives for us. Welcome one and all…to the new Canterlot Sculpture Gardens!”

Behind her, the red curtain opened up from the inside, light pouring in from the morning sun. Once it did that, Twilight Sparkle and the entire crowd gasped in awe at the sight held before them.

The two walls ended several feet behind the curtain, a black and much decorated gate opening at the entrance. Princess Celestia lit up her horn and soon the stage and curtain were gone, allowing clear passage for the crowd to mingle in the garden. The sea of ponies and tourists rushed through, their eyes boggling at the sight. Twilight and her group followed from behind.

Once they had entered passed the gates, nopony could believe what they saw.

The original statues that were once there still remained. The statue the represented friendship. The statue that represented victory. The statue that represented freedom. But nopony paid any attention to those…all eyes were focused on a new portion of the garden….

Rows upon rows of gray-colored sculptures were lined across the green grass. But these statues were not of past pony heroes…these were of some of old friends.

As the large crowd of ponies quickly scattered around, Twilight and her group stayed in the same place they were once they had entered passed the gates. Many of their jaws were wide open. Rarity was shedding little tears of joy while the rest of them only smiled at the beautiful scene arrayed before them.

All around them they could see statues of Autobots and Decepticons, each of them in their own little pose. A small engraving was at the bottom of each statue, giving a short description of each Transformer. There was one main dirt path that led to a fork in the middle, each with three separate paths: the one on the left was an all Autobot tribute and the one on the right was the Decepticon tribute. Straight down the three split paths three large statues stood side by side. Princess Celestia arrived right next to her student, lowering her wing so it was wrapped around her body.

“How do you like it?” Celestia quietly asked her student. She could feel her body trembling with joy right as she began to speak.

“I…I uh….I…it’s…i-it’s…” She was at a loss for words, a small tear rolling down her cheek as the memories soon progressed through her mind yet again. The horrid battlefield, the tragic loss, her magic holding Optimus away from the portal, his faceplate moving up and down but no audible words escaping him.

She felt a soft hoof brush over her cheek, wiping the tears away. Twilight broke down and hugged her teacher, small whimpers escaping her as Celestia held the mare close to her chest.

“I love it.” Twilight finally said, looking up at her teacher with a big smile.

Celestia smiled back and gave her one quick hug more. “I knew you would.”

After they broke, Celestia slowly began to trot away, but not after she looked back once more towards the group. “Be sure to look at every statue. Our artists tried their best and Shining Armor along with Princess Cadance worked hard to describe each Autobot and Decepticon…with some help from Luna and I of course. Have fun!”

And with that, she was gone, lost in the crowd of ponies gawking in awe at the towering statues.

The group stood there in shock for a few more seconds, each of their eyes gazing at the massive statues arrayed before them. It was finally up to Granny Smith to break the silence.

“Well, let’s not all jus’ stand here like a bunch o’ cows eatin’ at the pasture, let’s get a move on!” The elderly mare shouted, slapping her hoof on Applejack’s flank, thus moving her forward with a loud yelp escaping from the farm pony. While Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith already entered the Autobot section of the sculpture garden, Apple Bloom with the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders went their own way, straight into the Decepticon section.

Twilight and Spike nodded to one another, they turned their heads back to see Rarity nod them forward. “You lead the way, Twilight.”

The lavender unicorn smiled broadly. She began at a slow trot, the remaining of the group following her into the Autobot section.



____________________




Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes, nor could Spike, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Rarity’s parents along with Mr. and Mrs. Cake were the only ones who hadn’t seen these bipedal creatures before, they seemed to mean a lot to the five mares and baby dragon.

“Wow! Who’s this?” Rarity’s father inquired as he approached the statue. Rarity and her mother quickly approached from behind, reading the engraving along with the father.

“Autobot Wheeljack. The first to be sucked into the black hole, this Autobot’s courageous heroism almost reaches his height of knowledge as one of the Autobot’s most powerful-minded team members. He will be remembered.” They all read in unison.

All three of them lifted up their heads to see a tall statue of the Autobot. Wheeljack’s sculpture had him facing forward, his hands morphed into fists while his chest pointed outwards. 

“Wow…he looks really nice, don’t you think, Rarity?” Her mother asked, receiving a tiny smile from the unicorn.

“He sure was.” She said.

The three of them continued on the dirt path, eventually coming up to the next statue. Once they approached, Rarity’s father immediately started to read.

“Autobot Blaster. Blaster was a fun-loving, hip and happening robot. Loud and energetic, Blaster will always be remembered as a true hero to many ponies.”

Below the engraving, Rarity spotted a small bundle of flowers. She got a closer look and noticed it had writing on it that said, “Keep on rocking, Blaster. Love, Vinyl Scratch.”

Rarity gave the small pile of flowers a pitiful stare before returning back to her parents, each of them mesmerized by the sculpture of the Autobot. Blaster had his finger pointed out in front of him, a valiant smile on his gray-colored face.

They moved on without a word.

When they reached the next statue directly next to the last one, Rarity’s mother decided to read this one out loud.

“Autobot Sideswipe. The competitive Sideswipe is always happy to show off his prowess in the heat of battle, and is willing to do whatever it takes to win. A very trusting companion among the Autobots. Will be missed.”

They all stopped reading and looked up at Sideswipe’s sculpture. He was facing forward like every single other statue, one fist was pointed forward while the other was behind his right leg, which was pointed forward as well.

Rarity’s family continued on.

“Well, isn’t this place swell, Rarity?” Her father asked while her mother snapped a picture of one of the statues.

“Yes….it’s great.” Rarity replied a soft sigh escaping her wilted form. Her eyes were drooping low to the ground, several emotions piling up inside of her. It didn’t feel right to be here, it kind of hurt her a little.

“Oh! Rarity! Look at this one!” Her mother exclaimed. Rarity’s eyes followed the dirt path until they landed on the sculpture her parent’s had pointed out. She gasped, small tears falling down her eyes.

A tall statue of Cliffjumper stood proudly in the morning sun, his fist held tightly above his head. Rarity stopped dead in front of the statue, this time she wanted to read it out.

“Autobot Cliffjumper. His courage and valor in the war proved that size doesn’t matter. He would always be the first to shoot the first shot, or the first to get a punch in. He will always be remembered as a friend of this planet and many ponies. Rest in Peace, fair Cliffjumper.”

Rarity sat down hard and began to shed more tears. Right now was the breaking point. She couldn’t hold in the feelings, everything she felt as this moment. She quietly began to cry as her parents quickly arrived by her side.

“Honey? Are you alright?” Her father asked, softly patting her on the back.

Rarity slowly nodded, quickly levitating a handkerchief from her pouch and blowing into it. Once she brought down the handkerchief, Rarity looked up to Cliffjumper’s statue once more, a very bright smile erupting across her face.

“Rest in peace, Cliffjumper. I will always love you.”




____________________




“Autobot Ratchet. The team medical officer and close friend to Optimus Prime. Ratchet always helped those in the midst of heated battle, whether they were under enemy fire or not. A true hero.”

Twilight finished the line as she, Spike, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie backed away from the sculpture, getting a full view. Ratchet stood not like the other Autobots. He didn’t make a pose or point anywhere. He was just standing on his sculpture base, staring blindly into the world in front of him.

“Nice.” Rainbow Dash commented, she being the first to leave along with the others. They continued along the dirt path, their eyes looking up and down at the amazing scenery. Pinkie Pie bounced around the small group as they continued along.

Not only were they near the Labyrinth, but the entire area was “transformed” into a garden. Several plants and flowers were spread near the statues, small honeybees buzzing around for sweet nectar to consume. Fluttershy flew up to one of the flowers, sniffing with joy as they sweet scent entered her nostrils.

She stopped once her eyes slowly fluttered open, each of them growing wide once the six statues came into focus. 

Five tall statues stood behind a towering single one. Once Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie arrived, each of them stared in awe at the first sculpture. Twilight approached the first one and began to read the engraving in the stone.

“Autobot Jetfire. Being one of the many Autobots that had the power of flight, he along with Silverbolt led the four Aerialbots (behind statue) with great leadership and courage. All six of these brave bots will be missed for their sacrifice.”

Rainbow Dash gasped and hid behind Twilight.

“Look,” She whispered sharply and pointed a shaky hoof towards a group of Pegasi dressed in matching blue jumpsuits. “It’s the Wonderbolts!”

“Probably here to pay their respects.” Spike said.

“I’m outta here!” Rainbow Dash shouted, jetting towards the Wonderbolts. She quickly stopped behind them, fixing her mane just so she could presentable in front of her idles.

Feeling the gust of wind, Spitfire and Soarin’ slowly turned around from Air Raid’s statue, both of them smiling at the panting Pegasus.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash, how’s it hangin’?” Spitfire asked, holding out her hoof as Rainbow pounded it. 

“Oh ya know…same old, same old.” Rainbow Dash managed to say through trembling lips.

Soarin’ chuckled and asked, “Do you…ya know…wanna hang out with us as we pay our respects?” 

They could see the rainbow-mane Pegasus nearly leap out of her skin in excitement, reciting chuckles from both Soarin’ and Spitfire. She nodded her slowly and cleared her throat, trying to keep her cool.

“Yeah…I got time.” Rainbow Dash said, holding her excitement in as she and the Wonderbolts began to look at the other statues of the Aerialbots.

Twilight giggled and said, “That’s Rainbow Dash for you.”

Pinkie Pie jumped right in front of her and shouted, “Well, let’s keep moving! I wanna look at ALL the statues! Except for those mean Decepticons!”

Twilight giggled a second time and said, “Then let’s move out.”

The four of them abandoned their fellow Pegasus friend, knowing she would spend a lot of time with the Wonderbolts and maybe…just maybe…they’d let her join them. They wouldn’t want to get in the way of this opportunity for her by telling her they had to keep moving so they could see all the statues. Twilight was so deep in these thoughts that she almost forgot about Pinkie Pie reading the engraving of the next statue they arrived at.

“Autobot Hound. Although he never arrived on Equestria along with the other Autobots, Hound gave up his life before he left his home world. The Decepticon Makeshift has been masquerading as the Autobot and finally got caught at the battle in the Crystal Empire.”

A big statue of Hound resembled the Autobot completely. He had his knees bent and fists held outwards, as if ready to attack an incoming enemy.

Having a short moment of silence, the four of them continued on their journey through this maze of sculptures. They shortly arrived to the next sculpture that was directly next to Hound’s.

Spike read this one.

“Autobot Perceptor. One of the most brilliant minds of the Autobots, Perceptor was one who did not take kindly to fighting. But even in the call of duty, Perceptor fought to the bitter end which would ultimately lead to the each Autobots’ end.”

“I don’t really like that saying too much.” Fluttershy finally said. Twilight and the others nodded their head in agreement. It basically said that Perceptor died horribly along with every other Autobot. Not a good message.

They continued onwards.

All four of them stopped at the next statue, their eyes and mouths growing wide with surprise and shock. Pinkie’s mane deflated at the scene, her eyes big and watery. In front of them stood a statue of Jazz, his pose very intimidating but cool. Cool like Jazz.

Knowing Pinkie couldn’t read it from the position she was in, Twilight held in the tears and approached the stone engraving right in the front of the statue.

She began with a small sniffle. “Autobot Jazz. Serving as Optimus Prime’s second in command, Jazz was mostly known for keeping his cool no matter how bad the situation turned out. He was kind, helpful, strong, and brave. Loved by many forever and always.”

That last sentence nearly tore her very heart to pieces. Twilight took a step back and noticed that their energetic and joyous friend had already begun to cry. She sat in a pool of tears, her eyes gazing at Jazz’s statue a few moments more before she couldn’t take it anymore.

Fluttershy quickly wrapped her in hug.

“Thanks, Fluttershy.” Pinkie whimpered and hugged her back.

She looked up one final time at the statue, a tiny smile appearing.

“I’m not sad,” Pinkie said and licked one of her tears, “These tears are…sweet.”

Twilight rolled her tear filled eyes, a small smile escaping her face.



____________________




“So this is yer boyfriend you’ve been tellin’ us all about!” Granny Smith announced to practically all of Canterlot. Applejack pulled her hat over her head, a massive blush spreading across her freckled cheeks.

“Ah didn’t say that,” Applejack screamed hysterically, “Ah said he was good ‘friend’ of mine!”

She, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith all brought their eyes towards the statue. It resembled a hulky war-machine, formerly known as Ironhide. Both of his fists were morphed together as if he was smashing them. His head was turned the other way while his body faced forward.

Big Macintosh cleared his throat and read the lines.

“Autobot Ironhide. By far one of the strongest of all the Autobots, Ironhide along with many gave up their lives for the secure sanctity of our planet’s race. He will be sorely missed by the Apple Family, whom this statue is dedicated to.”

He stopped reading and turned towards the two mares, their looks of shock mirroring the others’. 

“Big Macintosh,” Applejack began, “that’s probably one of the most times Ah’ve ever heard you talk. Why now?”

The stallion approached his little sister and gave her a quick hug. He broke it and said, “Ah knew he meant a lot to ya.”

Applejack smiled, her foreleg coming up to wipe away the tears. “Thanks, Big Mac.”

“Eeyup.” He replied.

The trio of farm ponies continued on the dirt path, a very large statue appearing in front of them. Applejack took a step forward, pressing her hoof against the stone right as she began to read the engraving.

“Autobot Warpath. This Autobot’s brash attitude and mental toughness proved that his name truly implies his nature: war. Warpath was always trying to find something to blow up, but only got a few chances to when he and the others were suddenly gone. He will be sorely missed by many.”

Applejack gazed longingly at the statue for a few more moments before she trotted off to the other sculptures. Granny Smith and Big Macintosh stared at it a few moments longer. Warpath stood in a pose where his feet were pointed forward along with his fists, his head gazing straight at the sun.

They both followed Applejack as she stopped in front of three massive statues, these ones larger than the others.

Applejack, knowing that Granny Smith’s eyesight was getting poorer, decided to read these ones as well. She approached the first one and cleared her throat.

“Autobot Slug. This dynamic Autobot is a part of a sub-group amongst the Autobots, a group known as the Dinobots. Together with Snarl, Swoop, and their leader Grimlock, they use guerilla tactics in order to be one of the strongest fighting groups amongst the Autobots. Slug, along with the others, will be missed with their sacrifice.”

Applejack backed away, only to nearly bump into Big Macintosh. Once she was good and away, Applejack could see two other statues behind Slug. Snarl was posed to where his fists were held outwards, his head facing to the ground. Swoop had his hands out in the form of claws, his head staring straight ahead. And Slug had his fists nearly above his head, his body turned to the left with his feet facing forwards.

Applejack felt another singe of sorrow in her chest. These Autobots gave up everything for them, their planet, their safety, and most importantly…their lives. Applejack would never forget the courage and sacrifice on that horrid day.

Granny Smith nudged her shoulder and said, “Applejack, look! Isn’t that yer friend Twilight waving to us?”

The farm pony turned her head left to see Twilight at the entrance to where she and her family had entered. With Twilight, there was Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike. Applejack turned back towards Granny Smith, her eyes pleading.

“Go right on ahead, sweetie,” Granny Smith cooed, “Big Mac and I will stay here and look at the other statues. Right, Big Mac?”

“Eeyup.”

Applejack smiled gratefully. “Thank ya, Granny.”

She sped off at a full gallop to meet Twilight at the entrance.




____________________




“Wow, Snips! These things are crazy looking!”

An extremely excited Snips darted towards the statue Snails had pointed towards. Practically slamming his hoof on the engraving, Snips began to read the lettering out loud.

“Decepticon Barricade. By far the best Decepticon driver, Barricade earned his name by ramming through Autobot roadblocks. Although he was part of the enemy faction, Barricade along with many others sacrificed their lives to keep us safe, whether they wanted to or not.”

Both Snips and Snails backed away to get a good look at the statue. The Decepticon named “Barricade” had both his hands made into fists, the right side of his body facing towards them as if he was ready to brawl.

Snips and Snails only recently arrived to Canterlot. They were originally part of Miss Cheerilee’s group but staggered off to look at the “cooler-looking” statues while she led the class over to the Autobot section. That didn’t mean they weren’t impressed.

“These things are awesome,” Snips commented, “Why would anyone say they were bad?”

“Maybe they just…” Snails was about to say before he stopped in mid-statement, “Uhhh….I forgot.”

Right before the two could move on, Miss Cheerilee’s stern voice came from behind them, nearly frightening the two unicorns.

“Boys! We’re over here if you’d like to join us!”

Neither of them could get there any faster.




____________________




Once the two troublemakers arrived back to where they were supposed to, amongst the other students, Miss Cheerilee sent them a disapproving stare before she returned back to her announcement. 

As Cheerilee stood in front of the large crowd of fillies and colts, she cleared her throat and slowly began to recollect her train her thought. Smiling brightly, Cheerilee pointed her hoof over to the statue she stood in front of.

“Now, my little ponies, can anyone tell me who this is?” Miss Cheerilee sand in a cheery tone.

A timid hoof was raised. Cheerilee instantly pointed to it. “Yes, Rumble? Would you like to answer?”

Rumble slowly nodded his head. He pointed his hoof towards the statue, the entire class staring at him. “…H-his name is…um…Ramjet…right?” Rumble timidly stated, receiving a large smile from his teacher.

“Very good, Rumble,” Miss Cheerilee said, turning her head back towards the statue right as she began to announce the engraving to her entire class. “Decepticon Ramjet. With his companions, Thrust and Dirge, Ramjet was one of the deadliest Decepticon flyers due to his urges to ram his opponents in mid-flight. Hence the name.”

She backed off and turned back to her class. “Now, can anypony tell me why they built statues of the Decepticons even if they were only here to destroy us?”

Nopony had the certain clue.

When no hooves were raised, Cheerilee huffed quietly and spoke, “Well, none of you really knew did you? Your parents probably never told you,” She turned her head back towards the three statues of Ramjet, Thrust, and Dirge, and she explained, “The reason they built statues of these war-mongering monsters were because if none of the Decepticons were sucked into the black hole then the black hole would’ve destroyed out planet. Their sacrifice saved all of us, which is why Canterlot constructed sculptures of each Autobot and Decepticon here.”

The young ponies nodded their heads, while others were rubbing theirs. Smiling, Cheerilee slowly trotted away from the sculptures. “Moving on.” She announced to her class.

She stopped at a large group of five statues. The class gave loud gasps of surprise.

“Here we have the Stunticons,” Miss Cheerilee announced while she read the lines under Motormaster’s statue. “Stunticons. Under the leadership of Motormaster, the four other Stunticons, Dragstrip, Dead End, Breakdown, and Wildrider were famous for their advanced skills in driving and performing extraordinary stunts.”

“Kind of like Rainbow Dash?!” An excited Pegasus jumped in midst of the class.

Miss Cheerilee giggled and said, “Yes, Scootaloo. Very much like Rainbow Dash. But these Decepticons did not perform stunts in the air like Rainbow Dash. Instead, they kept very balanced to the ground and performed feats in their vehicle forms. Can anypony tell me what it’s called when an Autobot or Decepticon changes form into their vehicle mode?”

Scootaloo groaned quietly and slapped her hoof over her head. That was the last time she got involved with academics. She turned back to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, a bored look on her face.

“This is boring,” Scootaloo whispered, “Let’s go explore somewhere else.”

“We don’t wanna get in more trouble, Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom warned.

Scootaloo snorted and said, “You were the one who got us caught in the first place!” The three fillies hadn’t gone to school that day and just wanted to spend the day with their friends and family. Besides, there was going to be a fieldtrip to Canterlot at school that day anyway, so why not?

“Um, girls? Are you paying attention? There’ll be a quiz on this back at school, you know?” Miss Cheerilee sternly said from the front of the class. The entire class turned their heads back at the three blushing fillies.

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee. We’re paying attention.” Sweetie Belle told her.

Cheerilee smiled and turned away from the class. “Moving on.” She said.

Sweetie Belle groaned as well and whispered, “You’re right. Let’s bolt.”

As the class departed to follow Cheerilee, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo broke away from the class while Apple Bloom wasn’t as keen to follow them. Apple Bloom turned her head back right as she continued to follow her fellow Crusaders.

“Come on, ya’ll, we need ta get back ta-“

She ran face-first into Sweetie Belle’s backside, sending both fillies to the ground in an instant. As Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom lay in the dirt, Scootaloo had to stand on her hind legs as she began to read the engraving on the statue.

“Decepticon Sharpshot. Along with Hardshell and Kickback, these three formed an elite group called the Insecticons. They grew in massive numbers that all relied on communicating through airwaves, very different to normal Autobots and Decepticons. Sharpshot reigned as the leader of the group and got most of his power from electricity.”

Scootaloo looked up with curious eyes to see Sharpshot’s statue rise before her. The Insecticon leader had both his hands turned into fists, each of them by his side as he glared straight ahead. Behind Sharpshot, Scootaloo could see a statue for both Kickback and Hardshell, the other members of the team.

“Creepy.” Scootaloo commented, her eyes quivering as they stared into Hardshell’s.

“Come on, Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle already found this really cool one!” Apple Bloom exclaimed taking off towards the next few statues. Scootaloo followed quickly, not really comfortable standing so close to those “Insecticons”.

When the two arrived to the next few statues, Sweetie Belle had already begun to read the engraving at the bottom.

“Decepticon Swindle. As the Munitions Officer for the Combaticons, Swindle enjoyed the leftover carnage from a battle. Carnage he could reform and sell for premium prices. Although he was a deadly warrior, Swindle only did what he was told, his only thoughts on what could be lying around after the current battle was over. He and the other Combaticons were hated criminals for almost being the cause of death of the Element Bearers, they are now heroes amongst many others who gave up their own lives so we could live another day.”

“Ah thought these things were supposed to be evil?! Don’t ya’ll remember when they attacked us in the Everfree Forest?!” Apple Bloom shouted with her anger rising after the engraving called this Decepticon and the others “heroes”.

While Scootaloo began to argue with her, Sweetie Belle looked up and saw Swindle’s statue for the first time. He was smiling, although it looked more like a smug grin. Swindle had both his hands out in front of his chest, each hand having the pointer finger straight out and thumbs erecting upwards. It was like he was pointing to someone and saying hi.

Sweetie Belle brought her gaze over to four other statues, each of them promoting the once-living Combaticons. Several ponies walked by them, either snapping pictures or reading the engraving underneath each.

“Combaticons…” Sweetie Belle muttered starting at a slow trot to the next statue.

“Hey! Wait up!” Scootaloo shouted, she and Apple Bloom struggling to keep up to their fellow Crusader. 

Apple Bloom quickly sped by Sweetie Belle as she mere feet away from the next statue. She pressed her tiny hooves on the engraving and began to read right away.

“Decepticon Brawl. By far the strongest of the five Combaticons, Brawl enjoyed the destruction he inflicted upon his enemies. Be it in tank mode or robot mode, Brawl was always keen to show off his cannons in the heat of battle.”

She, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all looked up at the statue. Brawl was standing in a normal pose, fists clenched, back straight; nothing was out of place for this Combaticon. Without a word, the trio moved on to the next statue.

Scootaloo read this one.

“Decepticon Blast Off. Blast Off remained as a reserved loner amongst the other Combaticons. He would rather spend his time flying in space than killing Autobots any day. Even though his famous motto is, “I destroy Autobots by choice, not command,” Blast Off will always remain as a true hero to us all, despite his defiance to the friendly Autobots.”

“These guys are SO much cooler than the ones Cheerilee was showing us!” Scootaloo exclaimed, her eyes scanning Blast Off’s statue up and down. He had his hands held in front of his chest. The rest of his body crouched low as if he was intending to fly off right then and there.

“Wow! Look at this guy!” Sweetie Belle shouted, attracting the attention of the two other Crusaders. “Decepticon Vortex. As the Combaticon interrogator, Vortex served as an important role to the Decepticon cause. Vortex would take to the skies, hunt down enemies, and rain fire down upon them in his helicopter mode. In his robot mode, Vortex served as an interrogator to extract information from captured prisoners. No Autobot secret was safe when he was around.”

“Could you imagine being capture by that guy? It would suck!” Scootaloo shouted too loud.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gasped in unison. 

“Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom shouted, “who taught ya that kinda language?! Mah Granny said it was real bad!”

“Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo said.

“Of course.” Sweetie Belle chuckled.

After sharing a group laugh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders came up to last statue of the Combaticons, apparently the leader of the group. Apple Bloom was the one to read this guy’s profile.

“Decepticon Onslaught. As role as the Combaticon Commander, Onslaught was brilliant in battle strategies he would concoct all by himself. For his dislike in battle situations, Onslaught would rather have his team take out the Autobots while he would walk right through the carnage without a scratch. That didn’t mean he was a powerful warrior. Onslaught, along with the other Combaticons sacrificed their lives for all of us, even if they despised us deeply inside.”

Apple Bloom backed away from the sculpture, her eyes big and sad.

“Why did they hate us so much?” Apple Bloom asked with big teary eyes.

Scootaloo shrugged. “They probably was just jealous of us, I think.” 

“’Were’ just jealous of us, you said was.” Sweetie Belle corrected her.

Scootaloo snorted again and shouted, “What are you? A dictionary? I’m gonna go check out these other statues. Come on, Apple Bloom!”

She and Apple Bloom quickly darted off to some unknown statues to them. Sweetie Belle groaned and reluctantly followed the two even deeper into the Decepticon section of the statue gardens.

In the bushes, two pairs of devious eyes opened and closed as the trio of fillies darted off behind several other sculptures. They as well disappeared to follow them, snickering as they did so.




____________________




“Check this guy out! It even has Rainbow Dash’s name in it!”

Scootaloo practically pressed her nose against the engraving. She read a little too fast, just wanting to catch Rainbow Dash’s name affiliated within the lettering.

“Decepticon Starscream. With Thundercracker and Skywarp at his side, Starscream served as the Decepticon Air Commander. He was extremely powerful in the skies as well as on solid earth. He is mostly known for his traitorous ambition to take control of the Decepticons. Although, the true Decepticon leader, Megatron, despised Starscream and always found a way to make him suffer for his usurping. His end quickly came by none other than our very own Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. She and the Decepticon battled numerous times with Rainbow Dash always coming out on top.”

Scootaloo breathed in for about few seconds…before letting out an amazed sigh.

“Whoa…just whoa.” Scootaloo sighed with excitement. She studied the Decepticon Air Commander. Both of his fists were planted at his waist while he stood there proud and tall, as if he was true born leader. From his profile it said he wasn’t.

Behind Starscream were statues of Thundercracker and Skywarp, both of which looked exactly the same as Starscream. Nothing really seemed between the three except for their poses.

“Rainbow Dash beat this guy up?!” Scootaloo shouted with excitement, “She is no doubt the most awesome pony in all of Equestria!”

“Don’t forget all of Equestria and beyond!"

All three of them turned around to see the rainbow-mane Pegasus smiling down at them. Scootaloo tried her best to hide her excitement but just couldn’t. Her idle was standing right in front of her.

“Rainbow Dash” Scootaloo shouted, sizing up to about Rainbow’s chest as she approached her, “YOU beat this guy up?! How did ya do it?! He looks like he could crush the life out of anypony!”

Rainbow chuckled and ruffled up the smaller pony’s mane. “He’s not as tough as he thinks he is.” And with that, Rainbow pushed passed the excited filly and approached Starscream’s statue, a small grin on her face.

“Ya never could beat me, huh Screamer?” Rainbow Dash spoke to the sculpture. Starscream just stared right ahead. Softly patting the base of the solid stone, Rainbow Dash slowly turned around and smiled at the three fillies.

“Oh, I forgot,” Rainbow said, looking at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, “Your sisters wanted to see you two, see if you two were doing okay,” She looked passed all three of them, “OH! Here they come now!”

Rarity and Applejack were the first to step forward, followed by Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. Rarity’s parents decided to stay on the Autobot section of the gardens for a bit more to take more pictures. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom went up to their larger counterparts, hugging them.

“How are you enjoying the statue gardens, Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked as the tiny filly fell from her grasp.

Sweetie Belle smiled and said, “It’s awesome,” She then caught Rarity’s eyes to be a little red, followed by the mascara on the sides of her cheeks. “Have you been crying?” She snickered.

“O-of course not,” Rarity shouted and wiped at her eyes, “It’s just…really hot out here!”

“Well shoot,” Applejack exclaimed and looked around, “You three Crusaders must’ve looked at the entire sculpture garden already!”

Apple Bloom shook her head, her red bow flapping back and forth. “No. We didn’t see ALL of it jus’ yet! There are still a couple Decepticon statues we didn’t see yet!”

“Let’s go check ‘em out, then!” Scootaloo shouted and led the way.

As they all walked through the Decepticon section of the sculpture gardens, the Element Bearers kept looking back and forth, as if one of the statues would come alive and attack-

Kickback’s statue jumped right off the base, roaring at the frightened group.

“RAWR!” Kickback screamed.

The entire group exploded into screams. Suddenly, a white apparition exited the sculpture as it floated back to where it originally belonged. The apparition morphed into something solid, something dying with laughter.

“HA! HA! HA! That was hilarious!” Discord laughed in mid-air.

The frightened mares came out from where they were hiding; many of them glaring at the draconequus while others were still quivering in shock. Twilight glared at the floating spirit of chaos, pointing her hoof at him accusingly.

“Discord! That wasn’t funny! You nearly gave us all heart attacks!” Twilight shouted, motioning her hoof over to Fluttershy who couldn’t stop trembling.

Discord merely snorted and appeared next to the unicorn, ruffling up her mane. “Oh come now, Twilight! What’s a little prank gonna do for the ‘Heroes of Equestria’?” He moved his two fingers up and down as he said those words.

“Just get out of our way, bub! We got stuff to do!” Rainbow Dash shouted and pushed passed the draconequus.

“Yeah!” Scootaloo shouted in agreement, quickly catching up to her idle.

As the group left Discord alone, the spirit of chaos merely shrugged and morphed himself into another statue, waiting for his next victim.




____________________




“Ugh…why did they have to make a statue of him?" 

Rainbow Dash didn’t like this statue at all, neither did any of her friends. His glaring visor and fellow Mini-cons only increased their hatred for this certain Decepticon. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders despised this certain Decepticon. It was the first one they’ve ever seen, after all.

Twilight shook her head as she approached the engraving below the statue.

“Decepticon Soundwave. As Megatron’s most loyal subject, Soundwave implies himself to be the Communications Officer of the Decepticons. Along with his fellow Mini-con Deployers, Soundwave was thankfully taken away from this planet before he could’ve caused serious harm to several ponies.”

Everypony backed away to get a good look at Soundwave.

He was standing straight up, a small stone sculpture of Laserbeak on his arm. Below him, another small sculpture of Rumble stood at Soundwave’s feet, his mallets raised over his head. They brought their gazes to Soundwave himself, many of them shaking their heads.

Soundwave was possibly the worst addition they made to this sculpture garden.

“There are only two statues left…let’s get movin’.” Rainbow Dash muttered, she being the first to leave but quickly followed by Scootaloo. The others trailed behind them, leaving Soundwave’s statue all alone.

The next one they arrived at…

“Great…” Twilight groaned.

Shockwave.

The cyclopean Decepticon scientist stood straight up on his sculpture, his left arm being replaced by his iconic blaster. Both of his arms were at his side, his eye staring straight ahead. Knowing nopony else was going to read, especially Twilight because she hated this guy, Spike stepped up and read the engraving out loud.

“Decepticon Shockwave. The second in command of the Decepticon faction. Shockwave was merely a spawn of Megatron’s rule, forcing him to remain in exile on Cybertron. Although he gave up his life like many others, Shockwave’s attempts were just. All he ever wanted was to save his home world from dying and the only way to do that was to plunder ours. Shockwave was truly never evil. He wanted to save his race.”

“Well that’s a lie,” Spike commented as he jumped down from the engraving stone. He turned back and asked, “Right, Twilight?”

The unicorn did not move. A sullen expression remained on her face as she stared sadly at Shockwave’s statue. At first, she only thought of him as an emotionless beast that only cared for destruction. Now…she realized that he was only doing it to save his planet.

And they denied him that.

Without wasting another second, Twilight took off to see the last statue and get the hay out of the Decepticon section. The others were quick to follow. Fluttershy continued to silently whimper as they passed more and more statues. Everypony felt the same.

These Decepticons had left their mark for sure…in their hearts.




____________________




Silence was all that remained in the statue gardens.

A small amount of chatter our birds singing was all that was audible. Not a gasp, not a breath, nothing. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Spike simply stared. No expressions…no movement.

The statue before them received no attempt.

Finally, a couple of ponies walked by the massive statue. One of them stepped forward and read the line out loud for her friend to hear. The Element Bearers, Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Spike all listened carefully.

“Decepticon leader, Megatron. As the first alien to invade and actually attack this planet, Megatron has made his mark as one of the most feared creatures in existence. His power outmatched all, his armies grew in the billions, and he had the power to destroy an entire planet, which he did. It was his own. Finding our planet, Megatron and his forces invaded with the hope to suck our home of the rich resources and use it to rebuild their own. Luckily, the heroic Autobots whom he has been battling for eons upon end came and thwarted his plans before he could succeed. His Legend will not be forgotten, nor will his sacrifice. Many ponies still wonder why he despised us so. It was because he thought he was superior to us, that if he could destroy an entire planet of massive alien robots then he could destroy a planet of equines. He was wrong.”

The two ponies exchanged looks before retreating off onto the other dirt trails. Twilight and her group just sat there and stared at Megatron, their eyes wide but no life in them whatsoever.

Megatron stood in a pose that made all the others look like nothing. He was bent forward, his hands changed into claws with his cannon placed on his right arm. Megatron’s head stared down at them, glaring at them, forever despising them.

At last, Twilight stood up and walked away.

They all did.




____________________




“I was a little worried at first, Princess. You’re lucky the Crystal Heart was able to stop the invasion or else we all would’ve died.” The Griffon King advised to the Princess of Equestria.

Celestia only smiled and said, “It wasn’t luck, your highness. My student and her friends did the impossible. They saved the Crystal Empire even though the castle was destroyed. That just proves what true hope can do: light us in our darkest hour.”

The King of the Griffons nodded and said, “Yes, I suppose that’s correct,” He spread his wings before settling them down at his side, his assumptions arising quickly, “By the way, wasn’t the Crystal Castle meant to be repaired soon?”

“Yes. Princess Cadance is already in the Crystal Empire as we speak. She, along with many, many workers are trying their best to rebuild and construct the castle as it once was. The damage was horrific.”

“It wasn’t smooth sailing in the Griffon Kingdom, either.” The King commented, swaying his red robe back and forth.

Princess Luna, who stood by her older sister’s side the entire time they were speaking with the Griffon King, tapped Celestia’s shoulder and pointed over to the Decepticon section of the sculpture gardens. “Sister, Twilight Sparkle and her friends cometh.”

“Twilight Sparkle?” The King questioned, turning around to see an over-eager purple unicorn trot over to them, a large smile on her face.

The Griffon King smiled and blocked her path.

“Well, well, is this the famous Twilight Sparkle I’ve heard all about?” The King of the Griffons smiled down at the unicorn.

Twilight was surprise. She tilted her head and asked, “You’ve heard of me?”

The Griffon King gave a warm chuckle and said, “Yes. Who hasn’t? You and your friends basically saved all of Equestria from being vanquished. You saved billions of lives, Twilight Sparkle, and for that, as the King of the Griffons, I thank you.” He gently grabbed her hoof with his talons and kissed it.

Blushing, Twilight dropped her hoof once he released his grasp. She instantly remembered why she had come to meet the Princess.

“I’m sorry, your highness,” Twilight advised, receiving a raised eyebrow from the King, “But I didn’t save all of Equestria. Optimus Prime and his Autobots did that. Without them…we all would’ve died.”

The King chuckled again and said, “Aw, yes, those aliens I’ve heard all about. Well, Twilight, it certainly wasn’t the story I’ve heard. YOUR story that your mentor has told me explained that you decided the ultimate fate of our home’s future. You decided to let ‘Optimus Prime’ go which ultimately led to the collapse of the black hole. If you hadn’t had done that…I wouldn’t be here to thank you now, would I?”

Twilight’s eyes grew wide. She turned her head over to Princess Celestia and Luna. Both of them winked at her.

“Oh…well…yeah…I guess it’s true.” Twilight managed to say.

The Griffon King smiled. “Well, it certainly was an honor meeting you, Twilight Sparkle.”

He backed away to let the unicorn through. Twilight smiled at the King one last time before she approached her mentor, giving her a big hug.

“Have you enjoyed the statue gardens, Twilight?” Celestia asked. The unicorn broke off and smiled broadly.

“They were amazing, Princess! Your architects had the hooves of masters to able to construct those stone figures so perfectly! It was like they were actually the Autobots and Decepticons, but frozen!” Twilight squealed.

Celestia and Luna chuckled together.

“They did try their best.” Luna added.

Twilight’s eyes changed from excited to sullen in an instant. They searched and searched but couldn’t find any statues of Ultra Magnus and his team. They out of all the other Autobots deserved a statue for they were the ones who saved them right before Shockwave could finish her and her friends off. But she expected this. Ultra Magnus was not known to Shining Armor or Princess Cadance, nor Princess Celestia or Luna. That’s the only reason there were no statues of them. She had suddenly remembered what she wanted to ask her teacher. Biting her lower lip, Twilight looked back up to Princess Celestia, her eyes full of hope.

“Oh…and Princess…I didn’t see…I-I mean I tried to find him but I…I couldn’t find him anywhere.”

Princess Celestia smiled and slowly backed away. She motioned her hoof to where she was just standing. Three massive statues stood about a hundred feet away.

“Your search is over.”

Twilight gasped. She looked up to the Princess one more time and quickly hugged her. She bolted off towards the three statues with the two Princesses and the Griffon King staring at her as she left. Princess Luna looked back towards her older sister, her eyes full of wonder.

“Are you sure she is ready, sister?” Luna asked.

Princess Celestia’s horn glowed a few moments. Instantly, a medium-sized book appeared above her head, attracting the attention of both Luna and the Griffon King. She levitated the book closer to her and her sister, her grin soft.

“She is,” Celestia said, “If saving all of Equestria from certain doom is one of her tests, then she has proven to be able to solve the impossible. I will send Starswirl the Bearded’s Book of Spells to her in a few weeks…and we will see if she is ready.”




____________________




Twilight Sparkle was the first to arrive. The rest of her friends soon followed.

All eyes focused on the three lone statues in the sculpture garden, passed them laid the endless maze of the Labyrinth. This is what everything led up to, the three paths once they entered the statue garden, the right path led to the Autobot section, the left led to the Decepticon section.

And the middle path…led to the true heroes of Equestria.

Applejack held her little sister close to her as they stared at him, both of their eyes gleaming. Rarity and Sweetie Belle couldn’t stop looking at the statues of these three Autobots. Rarity’s eyes quickly filled with tears. Rainbow Dash brought her attention to most fearsome of all the statues she had seen today, a bright smile spreading across her face. Fluttershy gasped, tiny tears forming in her eyes once she had seen the smaller statue to the left of the middle one. Pinkie Pie and Spike both were smiling, while Twilight didn’t.

A small crowd was forming around them. Several of them snapped pictures at the largest statues in the garden while others remained quiet. Their gazes fell upon the Element of Magic as she slowly approached the middle statue.

Twilight looked up at the sculpture of her dearest friend. A smile finally appeared. 

She was proud to read the lines underneath.

“Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. The only memories we have of the bravest Autobot who ever lived now only rely on this message and the statue above. Optimus Prime was the sworn leader of the Autobots, protectors of peace from across the galaxy. With the war on his world over, he and his brave Autobots had to flee their planet in a massive exile so they could survive somewhere else in the universe. Arriving here, Optimus Prime quickly made friends with our planet’s ponies. He and his Autobots performed the ultimate sacrifice to keep our planet safe. Their own lives. Whenever you gaze upon these three statues, remember the courage and valor these brave and heroic aliens had performed to save all of us so we could live another day. Remember their Legend…for we will never forget them.”

Twilight choked up. She backed away from the engraving and instantly broke down to tears. The crowd remained quiet.

The unicorn looked up at Optimus Prime’s memorial, her eyes filled with tears.

The leader of the Autobots, her friend, Optimus Prime, he stood facing the world in front of him. Replacing his right arm was his trusty path blaster. His other arm remained on his side forever. It was a beautiful remembrance of Optimus Prime. The artists did an excellent job recreating him. 

But what Twilight found most beautiful were his eyes.

She continued to stare at Optimus’ statue in silence. The rest of the crowd already began to move in. Passing her quiet friend, Rainbow Dash flew over to Grimlock’s memorial first, followed by the three Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Before Rainbow Dash could begin to read, a large crowd of colts and fillies piled behind her, followed by the familiar voice of Miss Cheerilee.

“Wow…he sure is a…ferocious Autobot,” Cheerilee gulped as the class stared in awe behind her. “It is an Autobot…right?”

Rainbow Dash nodded and cleared her throat, ready to read the first lines of the engraving. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle arrived by her side, ready to silently read the lines with her. But they never got the chance to do that.

“Well, well, well…if it isn’t the three blankflanks!”

Rainbow turned her head back, although she knew nopony referred the name to her. The Cutie Mark Crusaders all groaned in unison, forcing their heads back to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon trot to the front of the entire class.

“Get out of here, Diamond Tiara!” Scootaloo shouted.

Both she and Silver Spoon snickered and looked up at the massive Autobot statue in front of them, their eyes devious.

“Why should we leave? You three are the ones who shouldn’t be here! You don’t know who these aliens are! I bet you never even met these Autobots!” Diamond Tiara sneered and pointed her hoof to the three fillies.

“We did too!” Apple Bloom shouted in defiance.

“Oh, I suppose you have proof as well too, huh?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Dinobot Commander, Grimlock. As the first to arrive to Equestria, Grimlock was unknown to his surroundings. Over the course of time, though, he had come to meet and befriend certain ponies. From a Royal Guard’s point of view, he stated that the lumbering Dinobot protected and defended the Element Bearers, a baby dragon, and three Cutie Mark-less fillies during a Decepticon attack in the Everfree Forest. He was powerful, strong, brave, and most importantly heroic. For not only did he command the most powerful fighting force among the Autobots, he was a true hero to ponies everywhere. Grimlock will be missed forever, for he truly meant something to us all. And we will always be grateful.”

Rainbow Dash finished the engraving with a long and deep sigh. She turned her head back towards Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, a smug grin on her face. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all grinned as well, the looks of shock remaining on the two school fillies.

“What?! How is that…I don’t even…HUH?!?!” Diamond Tiara was a loss for words.

Miss Cheerilee stepped in. “I’m afraid that’s enough, Diamond Tiara.” She said in a stern tone.

Both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon dragged their hooves to the back of the class, not wanting to speak for the rest of the day. The three Cutie Mark Crusaders were giggling uncontrollably at Rainbow Dash’s hooves.

“Oh, and girls?” Miss Cheerilee sternly said as the three fillies looked up from the dirt. “I want to have a little chat with each of you. We need to discuss about staying with the group.” Miss Cheerilee told them.

Quickly, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo got up and slowly made their way over to the rest of the class, leaving Rainbow Dash shaking her head at them, a smile on her face.

She was once defiant…just like them.

Turning her head back, Rainbow gazed longingly at Grimlock’s memorial.

He was forged in his dino form. His tail stuck out over the base of the statue while his massive jaws aimed towards the right of her, as if he was intending to attack that way. Sighing, Rainbow Dash ignored the chatter behind her and only focused on Grimlock for the last time.

She would always remember him. Never would she forget his sacrifice…for he truly did care for her in the end to perform such a feat. Rainbow Dash lowered her head to the ground, a small tears falling from her eye and rippling across the dirt.

She would never forget him.






Fluttershy gingerly approached the smallest of three statues, her body trembling.

She gulped as she finally approached the statue.

Bumblebee appeared to be frozen while running. His back left leg was in mid-air while his right remained in front and planted on the base of the solid stone beneath him. His arms were practically the same but in reverse order as his legs were.

“Go ahead, Fluttershy,” Applejack told her and gently patted the Pegasus on the back, “We want ya to read it…”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. She looked back towards the engraving and pressed her hoof on the solid stone. Once she opened her eyes, a small tear fell down and landed on the stone lettering.

“Autobot Bumblebee. Although he wasn’t the largest or the strongest, Bumblebee carried the most heart out of any of the Transformers. In the very beginning, when he arrived to our planet, he protected our precious Element Bearers everywhere they went. This only promotes the heroism, the sacrifice that Bumblebee performed on that fateful day. He never truly left us in that black hole that destroyed every Autobot and Decepticon. He will always be in our hearts.”

Drip…

Drip…

Fluttershy stopped reading and placed her forehead on the stone letters, her whimpers escalating to balling. Rarity quickly approached her and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Darling, I know it’s hard…but you have to let him go…you have to accept the fact that Bumblebee,” she choked up and nearly started to cry herself, “that Bumblebee is gone…as well as the others…and we’ll never see him again.”

Fluttershy slowly turned around. Both Rarity and Applejack’s mouths’ practically hit the ground with how wide they were.

Fluttershy was smiling, tears streaked down her face.

“I’m not sad anymore,” Fluttershy quietly said and wiped her cheek, “Bumblebee did what he had to do because he loved me…he loved all of us.”

Rarity and Applejack smiled at each other, tears in their eyes as well.

“He sure did.”




____________________





After many minutes, possibly hours of memorializing these aliens, the crowd of tourists and ponies had left the scene, leaving the statue gardens empty.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends remained where they were, staring at the three biggest statues. Spike was there too, but he had fallen asleep on the nearby grass. He had begged Twilight so that they could leave but the unicorn wouldn’t have any of it. So he fell asleep. He was a baby dragon after all.

The sun was still high in the air, clouds coming in to slightly cover it. The Element Bearers kept staring at three statues in silence, none of them willing to break the bond they were reforming with these implications of their true friends.

It wasn’t long before Rainbow Dash had to leave.

Followed by Pinkie Pie.

Then Fluttershy (who had decided to take Spike home).

And Rarity.

And Applejack.

Applejack patted Twilight’s shoulder right before she left her at the feet of Optimus Prime’s sculpture. Twilight didn’t even turn back. She kept listening as Applejack’s retreating hoofsteps became quieter….and quieter….leaving her truly alone.

A giant white wing fell over her shoulder. Twilight finally looked away to see her mentor sitting next to her, her eyes focused on Prime’s statue.

It was silent. Both teacher and student sat together alone in the gardens. 





“I’ve always found this statue to be the most fascinating…do you know why?”

Twilight looked up at her teacher again, her eyes full of wonder. Celestia looked back at her student. Twilight shook her head.

Princess Celestia continued with her head turning back towards Prime’s memorial.

“It feels as if he never died…meaning…that this statue truly symbolizes the Autobot name. The Autobots did triumph over evil in the end…they won. And Optimus Prime…symbolizes their essence.” Princess Celestia quietly cooed and nudged Twilight closer to her.

“Remember him, Twilight Sparkle,” She whispered in her ear, “for he still remembers you.”

And with that said…Princess Celestia got up and walked away.

Twilight Sparkle sighed long this time. She got back up. She never got down. She got up. Twilight looked towards Optimus Prime’s memorial for a long moment of silence. She felt as if she didn’t just look at him….but she knew him…be it made of stone or not.

The bond these two shared would always reside somewhere in Twilight’s heart. And just like Princess Celestia had told her…Optimus would always remember her.

Twilight Sparkle smiled, the tears of joy slowly falling from her eyes.

“I’ll never forget you…or what you did for our world, Optimus Prime,” She spoke to the unmoving statue. Twilight found herself looking upwards towards the morning sky, the clouds blocking out the sun.

“And I know you’re watching me…be it in the heavens….the endless cosmos….or in the deepest remnants of the Matrix of Leadership…I know you’ll be with me as I live the rest of my life. I love you, Optimus Prime….and I will forever be grateful. Goodbye.”

Twilight Sparkle was the last pony to leave the Canterlot Statue Gardens that very day it opened.

Optimus Prime’s sculpture, his memorial, his remembrance to all of ponykind would forever remain in those gardens. Days would pass, months, even years would go by and the statue of every Autobot and Decepticon would stay in those gardens, never to be removed.

And Optimus…would wait every day for Twilight’s arrival.

And even if their memories of the greatest heroes Equestria had ever known may fade away, the Legend of the Transformers will live on in their hearts forever and always.













The Legend lives on.















IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR SERVING WITH YOU, ANONYMOUS



TELETRAAN OFFLINE