//------------------------------// // Chapter 13-Unexpected Arrival // Story: Transformers: The Requiem // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Sunday morning. That meant two things: Sunday comics and no school! Apple Bloom pushed open the door and found the Sunday paper lying at her hooves. She smiled with glee, reaching down to pick it up with her mouth. She could already read some of the headlines, but stopped when something caught her twitching ear. The young pony brought her head back up, her ear twitching at the strange new sound. It was getting louder, coming closer…to her. She stared down the apple orchard, seeing nothing but rows and rows of apple trees. The sound was coming from there, behind the hill that overlooked Ponyville. Now she was getting worried. This early in the morning, on a Sunday, with nopony around but herself and possibly her sister bucking apples, and this strange sound was coming right for Sweet Apple Acres. It sounded like the roaring of a steam engine…multiple steam engines. And then it was gone. Apple Bloom didn’t know how…but the sound was go- Dirt flew everywhere. Practically flying over the hill was about six or seven carriages. These were odd to the little filly. Nopony was pulling them. They were steam powered, almost like Flim and Flam’s motorized contraption the first time they came to Ponyville. However, these were different. Each one was colored dark red with a menacing symbol on each side. And unlike Flim and Flam’s slow machine made to create apple cider, these carriages were faster…and covered with armor. “Applejack!” An eardrum-shattering crack resounded throughout the air. Applejack received a large bundle of apples from that buck, filling the baskets around the tree neatly at the top. However, she stopped when her name was called, coming from her little sister’s recognizable voice. Applejack turned to the sound of Apple Bloom’s cry, an eyebrow arching upwards to see several carriages drive up and stop right in front of Sweet Apple Acres property. She quickly left the baskets full of apples behind, her curiosity taking the best of her once more. She trotted a fast pace out of the northern orchard and arrived at the scene. Apple Bloom was already racing towards her. “What’s goin’ on, little sis?” Applejack asked, surprised to see Apple Bloom get so close to her, almost like she was frightened. Apple Bloom pointed towards the seven carriages, all of them parked clearly fifty or so feet away from the house. They were already trespassing on her property without any word coming to her first. Applejack was prepared for something like this one day. “Stay behind me, Apple Bloom. Ah’ll take care of this,” Applejack assured, feeling Apple Bloom move behind her, presumably for safety. Applejack gulped quietly, taking several steps closer to the carriages. However, she wouldn’t have to meet up with whoever was in the carriages…they all came out at once. At first, Applejack noticed how coordinated they all were. Stallions, all wearing tinted sunglasses and black coats. About four or five exited out of each carriage; stacking up to at least twenty-eight or so ponies altogether. They pushed themselves right past Applejack and her little sister, muttering words that were far beyond Applejack’s vocabulary. “Hey! Wait a minute! Y’all jus’ can’t waltz on Apple family property and-hey Ah’m talkin’ ta you!” Applejack shouted at them, but her words fell on deaf ears as the stallions rummaged around the plantation, searching for…something. She was quickly met with a soft tap on her shoulder. Applejack spun around to be met with a soft grin…on a pretty messed up face. Standing far too close in her personal bubble, a well-built stallion stood silently in front of Applejack, a soft yet knowing grin plastered on his scarred face. He had a very short brown mane and a tan colored coat. Like all the others he wore sunglasses and a black coat covering his front forelegs. His backside and hind legs were left bare, giving Applejack a quick glance at his cutie mark. It represented a broken bone. Applejack shuddered just to imagine how he acquired it in the first place. The stallion saw the filly behind the orange earth pony quiver in fear. He noticed the pony’s stare trying to lock with his. She wouldn’t see his gaze, he knew of it. The stallion smiled, but refused to show his teeth. “Mrs. Applejack?” he asked in a very deep and scratchy voice. “That’s ‘Ms. Applejack’, partner,” the mare drawled, gesturing her hoof to the large group of stallions behind them. “Before ya start with whatever you were gonna say, mind me askin’ why yer friends are tearin’ up mah garden?” He chuckled a bit, but still answered her question as respectable as possible. “My name is Brass Hoof, ma’am. We have orders from Princess Celestia to allow our company to work in this vicinity for a quick search,” he said, but noticed a curious eyebrow rise from her at the mention of Celestia’s name. “Is that the truth?” Applejack asked, astonished. “We have official papers, ma’am,” Brass Hoof said and smiled at her. “I can show back inside your house if you’d be so kind.” Applejack snorted, glaring at the stallions that poured out a basket of fresh apples and peered inside the empty basket, as if expecting to find something in there. He stared at Brass Hoof and narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t see past his dark sunglasses into his eyes. Applejack had the knack for spotting liars…but she couldn’t tell with this pony. “Alrighty,” Applejack said, watching as Brass Hoof’s smile grew wider. “But Ah want ya ta tell yer friends ta knock off whatever they’re doin’ until we can get this whole thing figured out. Deal?” As she finished, Brass Hoof’s smile quickly diminished, leaving nothing but a stone expression of hate. He growled, but nodded only once nonetheless. “Fine,” he said, “lead the way, ma’am.” Applejack gave a small, victorious smile as she turned around and headed back towards the house. Apple Bloom was right on her heels, refusing to leave her older sister’s side. Brass Hoof quickly noted the filly’s actions, keeping them in mind. He followed a good ten feet behind the mare, and while a pretty good showing of the mare’s flank was in his line of sight, Brass Hoof looked away to one of his partners. He gestured to his neck with his hoof, making a slicing motion. In other words, it meant to knock it off. The stallions all grumbled in annoyance, but stopped doing what they were doing and stood there in the hot morning sun, baking in their black coats. One of the stallions watched as Brass Hoof and Applejack walked inside of the house, the door shutting behind them. That’s all it took. No more witnesses. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a complicated device attached to his foreleg underneath. He pressed one button and a blue scanner went over the dirt. A few seconds later, the readings came back. The stallion moaned in annoyance and rolled his sleeve up. “No Energon readings here, boys. Keep up the search.” _______________ Big Macintosh was welcomed to the sight of a stallion just as big as him, if not slightly bigger, walk right through the front door. Applejack saw her brother in the kitchen and was about to call out to him, only to have a filly suddenly run right under her legs and up the stairs. A door slamming shut was all that was heard. Applejack frowned and turned back to Brass Hoof, who wore no expression at all as his gaze was locked on the filly’s escape. “Ah’m sorry about Apple Bloom, sir,” Applejack apologized. “She usually never acts like this in front of strangers, most of the time she’s pretty well-behaved.” Brass Hoof forced a friendly smile. “Think nothin’ of it, ma’am.” A larger presence was felt behind her. Applejack turned around, only to notice Big Mac’s expression. His eyes were narrowed, he didn’t wear his usual smile, and his face was full of suspicion. Applejack smiled nervously, stepping in between the two stallions staring each other down. “Um…Mr. Hoof, this here is mah big brother. Big Macintosh, this is Brass Hoof. He and his…friends jus’ arrived here on some investigation or somethin’…but he did say Princess Celestia gave them the rights ta do so, right?” Applejack asked. Brass Hoof nodded once, a smile appearing on his scarred face. “That is correct,” he said. Applejack faced Big Macintosh, the same nervous smile appearing once more. “Uh…you don’t mind doin’ a little extra work tidying up the garden once his friends are done workin’, do ya, Mac?” Big Macintosh slowly shook his head, his narrow gaze plastered with Brass Hoof’s. “Nope,” he replied. “Good,” Applejack smiled, facing Brass Hoof once again. “Now…about those ‘official papers’ you were talkin’ about before…” she let her sentence fall at that point, wanting Brass Hoof to get the point she was trying to make. He nodded once. “Of course,” he said, walking right past Big Mac and placing his hoof on the nearest table. The two ponies followed behind him, Big Mac still uneasy about his presence and taking his left side while Applejack stood to the right of him. Applejack watched as he reached into his coat and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. As he laid it flat on the table, Applejack quickly noticed the symbol at the very top of the paper. It was the same symbol she had seen on the carriages. A black orb with serpents wrapped around it and three capital A’s hanging below it. She didn’t know what it meant, but it definitely wasn’t seen by her before. Brass Hoof began to read the fine print out loud. “‘In response to mysterious activities transpiring throughout the land, I shall give the authority to the AAA to perform any tasks they deem necessary to discovering the essence of this disturbance and eradicate it by any means. Signed, Princess Celestia.’” Brass Hoof stared at Applejack’s confused expression. He didn’t smile this time. “We have the authority to search any part of this land, and you have to let us. Now if you please, I would like to return to my squad,” he said, folding the paper and placing it inside of his coat. He pushed Applejack aside and made his way to the door. However, the red stallion blocked his path, glaring right at him. That annoying voice of hers came back, this time from behind. “Hold on jus’ a sec there, partner,” Applejack slowly spoke as she approached him from behind. Brass Hoof groaned silently as she began to talk again. “I have a close friend who you might know as Princess Twilight,” the name made Brass Hoof’s stomach churn, “and she used to be Princess Celestia’s personal pupil. Now, Ah don’t know if you know, but Ah certainly remember Princess Celestia’s signature in one of those letters she sends Twilight. That signature on yer ‘official paper’…wasn’t Celestia’s writing.” Brass Hoof felt a coldness creep up his spine. He was ordered not to tell, not to give away their cover and secrecy no matter what. The boss would have his throat if he ever spilled information out there about what they really did. It was no use. He was caught in the act. This country hick was a lot smarter than he expected. How this mare remembered Celestia’s personal writing was beyond him. However, he was given a second choice. His boss did tell him that if in a situation where you have been discovered and the Alliance’s true intentions were about to be unveiled…that you must eliminate the evidence…and silence any witnesses. Brass Hoof slowly turned to face Applejack, her brow rising in curiosity. “Anything you’d like to explain, sir?" she questioned. The stallion smiled, his gaze hidden under his heavy shades. “What we do is for the safety of our species, and we’ll have everything we need once we’re done ripping your farm apart,” he hissed. Big Mac brought his hoof quickly down on Brass Hoof’s shoulder. In a span of three seconds, Big Mac’s hoof was grabbed and with unreal strength he was flipped over and slammed right on the dinner table. The entire thing shattered in mere seconds, and Big Macintosh’s head hit the side of the countertop, knocking him out instantly. Still shocked from such the surprising act of strength, Applejack never saw the hoof collide neatly against her cheek. Letting out a painful cry, Applejack landed right on her stomach, a massive presence hovering right above her. She began to tear up once that massive hoof pressed hard on the back of her neck, shutting off her oxygen. Brass Hoof glared at the mare below him. He didn’t want it to have to come to this, but the Alliance’s truth must never be discovered. All and any witnesses to what he was about to do had to be silenced…for good. Right as he was about to jam his hoof downwards on her neck, a high-pitched cry erupted from above. “Applejack?! Are you okay? Ah heard a crash an’ ya screamed! What’s goin’ on down there?!” Forgot about her. The tiny filly raced down the stairs, screaming instantly at the scene unfolding before her innocent eyes. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for her to get right out that door and away from the stallion. To his knowledge, the little sister was no doubt going to get help. That couldn’t happen. “Don’t let her escape!” Brass Hoof shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping his message could get to his troops out there in time. A painful whimper came from below him. Brass Hoof brought his hoof away, watching as the mare gasped for air. A small pool of blood was forming around her face, probably from her nose or mouth. Such a pretty girl. Maybe she didn’t need to be killed after all…maybe she could actually be useful. Brass Hoof leaned down closer to Applejack. The mare flinched once he began to whisper right into her ear. “I’ll say this simple enough for even your tiny mind to understand: Tell me where Optimus Prime is…and I’ll make this as painless as possible.”