//------------------------------// // Chapter 18-You Don't Have to Be Alone // Story: Transformers: The Requiem // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Princess Twilight skidded to a halt, her eyes gazing over the edge of a deep cliff. “No…” she gasped. Twilight spun around, gulping in fear when the pack of Timberwolves emerged out of the bushes. Her injured wing hung lazily on her side, offering no flight and no chance of escape. To make matters worse, the Timberwolves had trapped her. It was either fall to her death or get ripped apart by the Timberwolves. Neither choice was pleasant. Tree sap leaked from the wolves’ jaws, indicating their hunger for pony flesh. Their hunt was almost over, soon they would return back to the den with fresh meat for their young ones. The alpha male stood in front of the pack. He made sure that the pack surrounded the pony this time. It was a success, and they all slowly went in for the kill. Twilight’s back hoof slipped on the edge as she tried to back away. She remained where she was, her heart beating rapidly and sweat dripping down her eyebrows. The Timberwolves moved in closer, their growls of hunger reaching her eardrums and filling her soul with fear. She could perform another magical blast, but doing so would hinder what little energy she had left. Where would she go from there anyways? Keep running until she was out of breath with only the thought of the Timberwolves snapping at her hind legs keeping her going? It wouldn’t be long until they trapped her again, the next time she would be completely defenseless against them. “S-Stay back!” Twilight yelped, the Timberwolves pushing her to the very ledge. However, they remained persistent and kept moving forward. This was it. Twilight was certain of it. Her friends were nowhere to be found, yet she felt in her heart that they were still out there in the forest looking for her. They were truly the greatest of friends, risking their own lives for the sake of Twilight’s. Small tears began to run down her cheeks at that moment. She endangered the lives of her friends by chasing after Optimus in the most dangerous forest in Equestria. She felt ashamed, embarrassed by her actions. She was a princess now and shouldn’t make such numbskull decisions. Her heart ached at the thought that her friends would never find her. She was Timberwolf food for all she knew, and now Equestria would have to deal with losing the newest Princess of Friendship. Twilight screamed for help one last time before curling up in a tight ball. The Timberwolves howled in delight and pounced… CRASH! They stopped. The entire pack, including the alpha male, spun their heads around to see a massive giant standing at the edge of the tree lines. It stood about as tall as a young dragon, with glowing blue eyes that glared at them from above. If there was one thing that Timberwolves shared with bears, it was that larger enemies were very intimidating. After observing the massive size of the giant, each Timberwolves’ wooden ears flattened in fear. The alpha male was reluctant to leave, but he quickly led the pack to make their cowardly escape to the left of the giant. Speaking of the giant, he watched the beasts scamper away in fear of his presence. How these hunters were afraid of him and those creatures that attacked him before weren’t surprised him greatly. His surprise and assumptions would have to be saved for later investigation…because the sound of crying was up ahead. The giant turned his head towards the weeping purple creature before him. Her legs covered her eyes and her body appeared to be curled together, possibly for protection. He didn’t know much about these things. However, there was a reason he came to find her, and seeing her cry like this made him feel differently inside. It was as if he wanted…to protect her from this world. It was a very, very strange feeling. He took several steps forward, trying not to frighten her but failing at that. She instantly brought her head up, tears streaked down her face. He instantly noticed how surprised she was. Possibly from her life being saved or his presence, he truly did not know. Twilight’s jaw dropped. The Timberwolves were gone. He saved her! Optimus actually saved her! She brought her gaze up to see Optimus Prime slowly moving towards her. Twilight remained still in hopes that he wouldn’t feel threatened again. What surprised her, though, is that Optimus didn’t look threatened at all. It was as if everything that happened to him today was suddenly forgotten, and now he was just tending to a terrified friend, she hoped. Optimus got down to one knee. He placed his left hand on his knee, eyeing the Alicorn up and down. Twilight remained silent and watched his actions with large, teary eyes. Soon, he would speak again, and Twilight would hear that strong, passionate, deep, and powerful voice belonging to Optimus Prime once more. What he said surprised her. “You’re not one of them…are you?” he asked, though it seemed like more of a statement than a question. Twilight was taken aback by this. She thought for a quick moment, before her eyes bulged wide. “Oh! Y-You mean those stallions that attacked you earlier today?” she asked, watching as Prime slowly nodded his head once, even though his expression looked confused. She shook her head, saying, “No, I’m not one of them.” She offered a friendly smile, “I would never hurt you, Optimus.” She watched him blink his glowing blue eyes as if he was just as confused as before. He looked down at her again, asking, “Why do you keep calling me that?” “Because that’s your name. It’s who you are,” she suddenly stopped herself, looking up at him with sorrowful eyes. “You…don’t remember us…do you?” Optimus scratched his head, large flakes of rust floating off from him. “I don’t remember anything,” he stated quietly, almost crestfallen. Now that was odd. Surely something has happened since the event in the Crystal Empire. Maybe he hit his head when he crashed…wherever he crashed. That still didn’t explain how he got here in the first place, and with Optimus not even knowing his name she wasn’t any closer to figuring out how. Still, Twilight contemplated his words. She looked up at him with a soft grin. Optimus stared back at her, Luna’s moon reflecting off of his forehead. “You may not remember us, but how about we start over,” she said, holding out her shaking hoof to him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you can just call me Twilight.” Optimus stared at her hoof silently for a solid seven seconds. It was at that time did Twilight realize he didn’t recognize the gesture, and she put her hoof back down, smiling sheepishly. Optimus remained silent as she cleared her throat awkwardly and continued what she was saying previously. “Anywho…um…I’m…a friend of yours,” she quickly realized how stupid that sounded, and judging from Prime’s expression he didn’t buy it. She looked up at him once more, quickly explaining. “I know what those ponies did to you, and it was wrong. But I swear the first thing I’ll do when I get out of this forest is tell Princess Celestia about this. She’ll have a massive investigation arranged to find out who tried to…kill you.” Optimus blinked. Noticing his continued silence, Twilight continued with her voice raspy and dry. “If you really want to…you can stay in Ponyville,” she quickly noticed his narrowing eyes. “I swear nothing bad will happen to you there! The ponies there are really nice! They’re nothing like those stallions that attacked you today…I promise.” The giant looked around the forest, as if thinking to return back and leave this…pony…here to fend for herself. He tried to believe her words, he really did, but with his circumstances today leaving him bewildered beyond his grasp, he just didn’t know if he could trust these ponies so easily. They did try to kill him, and they did chase him into this dense area. But…there was something about this one. Twilight seemed to be genuine and actually care for his well-being. He surely didn’t know why, but she was trying and that’s what counted…right? He brought his attention back to Twilight. He noticed painful tears sliding down her cheeks once more as she prodded her right wing with a gentle touch. With his gaze on her, he saw Twilight quickly wipe her tears away and look up at him quietly, patiently. She was brave…that was for certain. “Are you injured?” Optimus asked, directing his attention to her wing. Twilight didn’t want him to be concerned with her pain. She bit her lip, forcing the tears to stay in as she slowly nodded her head. Optimus wheeled his head on the forest once a loud howl was heard in the distance. Leaving this pony here to be nothing but a late night snack for whatever creature lied within wasn’t the right thing to do. She did so much for him, offered him safety and security in a place called “Ponyville”. He might as well return the favor. “Very well,” he said, “I will take you back to this Ponyville. In return, I would ask for a safe dwelling and protection until I can come to my senses.” Twilight smiled brightly at his response. Prime watched as she slowly got back to her hooves, looking at him with that adorable smile of hers. “The princesses can help you with whatever you need to know, and I’m pretty sure my friends and I can help too,” she explained, suddenly staring at the dirt and prodding it with her hooves. “Um…I’d also like to thank you for saving me. I probably would’ve been dead if you didn’t come when you did.” Optimus only nodded once. A thought suddenly occurred to Twilight. She looked up at him with questioning eyes and said, “I’m…pretty sure I can assume that you don’t know where Ponyville is, do you?” Prime shook his head slowly. It suddenly dawned on Twilight that she was tired. Really tired. Running from those Timberwolves had diminished all her reserve energy, and trudging her way through the forest guiding Optimus would prove to be a challenge. She could barely keep her eyes open for a few seconds. Twilight nervously tapped the dirt below her. “Um…I hope you don’t mind if you carry me out of this forest. My right wing needs to heal and I’m really weary from running from those Timberwolves.” Optimus thought about it for a second. He nodded once more and said, “Very well.” He lowered his hand down, letting his fingers fall in front of her. “Get on,” he said. Seeing as Optimus didn’t want to be kept waiting, Twilight forced herself to move faster up onto Prime’s hand. His fingers curled up knowing she was secured, allowing Optimus to stand back up to full height. Twilight suddenly let the cries of her body be answered, and she collapsed onto his palm. “Where do I go from here?” Optimus’ deep voice rang in her ears. Twilight lifted up her head. Bags hung under her eyes as she scanned the foliage of the Everfree Forest. She found Prime’s path rather easily as trees lay in a bundle of twigs from his massive footprints coating the forest floor. She pointed her hoof in the direction where he came from. “Just…just follow your trail back to where it started. That should…that should lead you to the path of fallen trees where I encountered the Timberwolves. Follow that trail all the way back and it should get-” she yawned adorably, “and it should get you out of the forest. Ponyville is the town right up ahead.” Optimus nodded, beginning his journey out of the forest with Twilight’s directions leading him. Twilight felt the cool, midnight air flow through her sweaty mane, causing her to smile. She turned her head back at Optimus’ rusty face. His blue eyes, those same blue eyes that always made her feel safe, stared down the road ahead, completely focused. Twilight longed for moments like this. Lying in Optimus Prime’s protective embrace once more was something she has wanted for a very long time. It was soothing, knowing Optimus would protect the little pony in his hand. With that, Twilight laid her head down and fell asleep, a gentle smile remaining.