//------------------------------// // Ch5: Birth of an Apple // Story: Applebloom: Transform and Roll Out! // by Dusty the Royal Janitor //------------------------------// (A/N: This story takes place after issue 10 of the My Little Pony Comic Book and the Cutie Mark Crusaders Micro Series comic. This story also does not officially recognize any events of Season 3 onward. The story primarily takes place in the Transformers Aligned Continuity Family with certain smaller inspirations taken from the Transformers Animated and G1 continuity families.) ___________________________________________________________________________________ Applebloom: Transform and Rollout! by Dusty the Royal Janitor Chapter 5: Birth of an Apple The silence was so thick it could be cut with a knife as Applejack stared at the little bipedal robot that lay dazed at the bottom of her staircase. The only sound the ponies could hear was the light rumble of thunder from the surprise storm that had appeared that night. The two stared at each other for moments that felt like millennia as the tension in the room seemed to escalate with every passing second. Applebloom felt her heart hammering in her mechanical chest as she watched Applejack’s eyes take in every detail of her alien form, her shocked expression slowly making its way through a whole spectrum of emotions. She could recognize surprise, then fear, then, as her eyes made their way to her chest, recognition. Disgust and horror, and then despair. Applebloom’s heart sank deeper and deeper as she watched her sister’s face pore over every inch of her body. It was only when they were interrupted however, that Applejack finally seemed to settle on an emotion. “Sis?” a voice called out, “What was that racke- ”Big Macintosh lumbered his way around, his eyes widening and the words dying in his throat as his eyes too settled on Applebloom. Applejack’s face contorted into one of barely constrained, resigned rage, her head lowering so her hat obscured her eyes. She mumbled something incoherent, causing Applebloom to raise her head in a strain to hear her. “A-Applejack?” she managed to stutter softly. Her sister’s head snapped up, her fury no longer held back. “I’LL GET YOU FOR THIS!” she screamed, spit flying from her gnashing teeth. Applebloom screamed, quickly flying to her feet and stumbling out the homestead’s back door. Applejack reared back and began to give chase, only to be tackled by her brother. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Applejack screamed at him, kicking at his underbelly as he stood over her. “I’ll kill that thing! It was wearing Applebloom!” “AJ, stop!” Big Mac said, enduring his sister’s kicks with a grunt. “You need to listen to me!” “Get. Off. Of. ME!” Applejack shrieked, pulling her hind legs back and driving them into her brother’s chest with enough power to send him flying back into the far wall. The draft stallion lay dazed, the impact having made a huge crater in the drywall. Applejack rolled onto her hooves and pawed at the ground, snorting like a raging bull. All sense of reason was lost as she careened out the door into the storm, howling like a madpony as streams of tears trailed behind her from her fiery eyes. The cold rain pattered against the filly as she attempted to escape the furious mare through the family orchard. There had been no scheduled shower that night so it was probably a rogue storm that had blown in from the neighboring Everfree forest. Applebloom stumbled through the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres, tottering on her two legs as fast as she could make herself go. Despite her wavering balance, her longer stride let her keep up a good clip as she dashed through the orchard, trees darting past her on both sides. Her eyes were tearing up as she ran through the endless rows of apple trees. Her worst fear had been realized. It had only taken one look from Applejack for her to completely dismiss her as her sister. And not just dismiss her, but outright hate her. Applebloom had no doubts that she was coming after her right now and that if she caught up she would be in real trouble. The filly had no idea just how far Applejack would go if she managed to catch up with her. So she ran, mechanical lungs working in overdrive as she sprinted through the farm, no real destination in mind. Her feet hammered against the soft soil, mud splashing up onto her wheels as she slammed one foot down in front of the other. The rain sent chills down her metal spine as she looked for a place to hide from her raving sister. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled as she passed the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse. The filly couldn’t help but sob a little as she realized that she’d have to leave all that behind if she wanted to get away from her sister’s wrath. Her chest wracked with pain, but she kept moving, the pistons in her legs starting to feel like they were burning, despite the chill of the storm. Coughing and sputtering as she cried and heaved for breath, she suddenly felt herself thrown off balance as her foot caught on a root sticking out of the ground. Applebloom was thrown several feet forward as she landed face down in a mud puddle. hacking some mud out of her mouth with a choking sob, the little bot got to her hands and knees. Standing back up on her trembling legs, Applebloom took a step to start running again when she heard a sound like thunder, only there hadn’t been any lightning to herald it. Applebloom whipped around, her mud-covered hair slapping her in the face as she looked behind her. One of the orchard’s tallest trees was suddenly falling right towards her, a familiar orange mare with murder in her eyes standing at the base, her hind hooves kicked out like she’d just finished a good buck. Applebloom yelped and kept running barely managing to get out of the way of the tree as it collapsed to the ground where she had been standing only seconds before. She heard an enraged voice shriek out “Get back here!” as she forced herself to keep moving. She whined and sobbed and burned as she ran faster than she had before. Her legs had long since gone numb when she heard the approaching sound of thundering hooves splashing through the mud and muck towards her. No matter how much she pressed herself and how fast she moved, the sound kept getting closer. Something looped around her neck. The filly was yanked back with a cry of pain and surprise as the hempen rope was pulled taut. Her sister’s lasso pulled tight around her neck and she was pulled off her feet and into the air as she was swung around by the mare on the other end, spinning her around in a wide circle. The orchard blurred past her in a 360 degree arc as she gasped for breath through the strangling tightness of the rope. And then she was flying. The rope was let loose as Applebloom felt herself hurtle through the air. Time seemed to freeze for a moment as she reached the apex of her arc. Everything seemed to go silent for just a split second. For a single, calm moment, Applebloom noticed nothing but her own breathing and the soft patter of rain against her metal skin. And all at once, the noise came crashing back to her. Lightning flashed above her as she fell back towards the earth, gravity having taken hold of her once again, her voice strained in a strangled scream. And then impact. Applebloom tumbled head over wheels as she somersaulted backwards through the orchard kicking up mud and grass and fallen fruit. The filly grunted in pain as she felt every rock and root clang against her mud-stained, metal body. And with resounding crash, Applebloom came to a sudden halt as she slammed into an apple tree, the bark scratching her as she slid to the ground and came to rest on her flank. She groaned, her hidden ears ringing and her vision blurring, not helped by the battering sheets of rain cascading down from the sky. She could make out, though, an orange shape advancing on her through the rain. Applejack looked like something out of a horror film. Her mane was matted to her head and tangled wildly around her face, having lost her hairband and hat somewhere in the orchard as she chased the little robot with murderous intent. Her hooves were covered in mud and bits of tree, her tail lashing around furiously. Her pupils were mere pinpricks in a sea of monstrous green and her teeth were grit so hard that it looked like she might crack them. Mist puffed out of her nostrils as she pawed at the ground, bearing down on Applebloom like a vengeful goddess. “A-Applejack” Applebloom whimpered. “Applejack it’s me!” “Shut up!” Applejack snapped, her teeth gnashing. “Y’all are gonna pay for my sister!” “But it is!” She tried desperately to protest. “I’m Applebloom, I’m just different!” The farmer slammed a hoof into her chest and Applebloom’s breath escaped all at once. The farmer growled as she put all her weight on the little bot’s chest. Applebloom winced in pain as she heard the sound of groaning metal -her metal- under the pressure of her sister’s earth pony strength. “You’re wearing her face!” Applejack roared. “Nopony flays and desecrates my kin and lives to get away with it!” Applebloom cried out. “AJ, please…” she squeaked. Applejack didn’t respond, rearing up on her hind legs, ready to stomp the filly and cave her skull in. Applebloom squealed and raised her hands in a vain effort to protect herself. Big Macintosh came barreling in like a truck. The draft horse slammed into Applejack’s side, sending her careening into a tree, the bark splintering under the impact. The orange mare didn’t even seem dazed as she started to get up, only to be pinned to the tree by Big Mac, slamming his hooves into her shoulders. “Get offa me, Macintosh!” Applejack snarled. Big Mac shook his head. “Not until y’all stop acting like a damn fool!” Applejack drew her head back and headbutted Big Macintosh just below the forehead, where soft tissue met skull. There was a sickening crack and Macintosh stumbled back clutching his nose with a single hoof. Blood trickled out of Big Mac’s broken nose as he backed up, but just as Applejack was about to charge Applebloom again, he twirled around with a grace that a stallion his size had no right to have and bucked her in the chest with one leg, cratering her against the tree again with another sickly crack. AJ cried out, clutching her side, nursing her ribs. At least one of them was cracked, and possibly broken. AJ fell to the side, gasping for air and making pained grunting noises all the while. “AJ! Big Mac, stop fighting!” Applebloom wailed, scared to approach her brawling siblings. “Shut up! Just shut up!” Applejack shouted, her face contorted in a pained grimace. “No, you shut up, AJ!” Big Mac said with a stamp of his hoof, blood dripping off the bottom of his snout. “What the hell is wrong with you, Big Macintosh?!” Applejack snarled. “Can’t you see what it did to Applebloom?!” She pointed at the little robot accusingly, “Them things is called Skinwalkers or somethin’! Heard about ‘em from Twilight. They’re like changelings, but worse! Sick things that skin ponies and wear ‘em to blend in!” Big Macintosh snorted. “Y’all ain’t thinking straight, AJ! Get yourself together!” Applebloom approached the pair. “Applejack? Big Mac?” her voice wracked with sobs. Applejack and Big Macintosh looked at her. Big Mac looked concerned but AJ still had an angry fire in her eyes. Applebloom gulped and took a deep breath. She shut her eyes and concentrated, hearing the sound of shifting metal. She got shorter, her arms and legs retracting and her fingers and wheels disappearing. The metal skin was replaced with soft flesh and fur. Her stance shifted back to her familiar quadrupedal one. In seconds, the robot that had been standing there in the orchard was replaced with a familiar little filly. Applebloom gulped and opened her eyes. The transformation didn’t have the effect that she hoped though. If anything it had made it worse. Applejack was looking at her with even more hatred and disgust than normal, struggling to get up off the ground, her teeth gnashing and frothing at her. It was only thanks to Big Macintosh that her sister hadn’t already gotten up and mauled her. The draft stallion was practically lying atop the orange farmer, pinning her to the ground. “Get offa me, Mac!” Applejack screamed as she struggled and bucked. “Look at her! It’s like I said! It’s wearin’ Applebloom to blend in, the freak!” Applebloom started tearing up anew at her sister’s words, her head hanging as she started to curl into a ball. “AJ, just listen!” Big Macintosh pleaded. “I can explain everything!” Applejack snarled, thrashing and tossing Big Mac around. “I’ll kill it, you hear me! And I’ll kill you if you’re in on it, Big Mac! She was our sister! Our sist-kkkk” Applejacks screams were cut off as Big Mac looped a foreleg around his sister’s neck and pulled tight. AJ felt the blood to her head get cut off, the world swimming around her as she became incredibly dizzy all at once. The world dimmed and AJ drifted off into unconsciousness, her head slapping dully against the ground. Big Macintosh released his sister’s neck, carefully stepping off of the limp pony and wheezing as he leaned against a tree for support. Applebloom quickly scampered over to the pair and nuzzled her sister. “Applejack?” she whimpered, looking to Big Mac with tears in her eyes. “What did you just do?” “Sleeper hold,” Big Mac wheezed, trying to breathe through his broken nose. “She weren’t gonna see reason. Had to get her calm somehow.” Applebloom blinked. “Where did you learn to do that?” she asked. Big Mac grinned through the pain. “Ponyville Junior Wrestling. Gold medal on the stallion team three years running.” the stallion suddenly winced, his legs buckling. “‘Course, your sister won the mare’s team five years in a row… ouch…” Applebloom looked down at the prone form of her sleeping sister. Despite the fact that she seemed to be sleeping peacefully given the situation, tears were still running down her face and her expression was pained. “Will she be alright?” Applebloom asked with a sniffle. Big Mac nodded, looking at Applejack with a frown. “In about ten minutes. She’ll be dizzy for a while, but she’ll be fine,” the stallion looked at his little sister. “Help get her onto my back, would you?” The little filly nodded, struggling to try and lift the bigger mare. “Hang on,” Applebloom said nervously. “I can’t lift her like this… do you mind if I…?” Big Mac nodded. “Go ‘head.” Applebloom gulped, focusing once more and shifting into her taller, bipedal robot form. She looked nervously to her brother, as if she almost expected him to turn on her like her sister did. She was relieved, and perhaps a little surprised to see him merely shake his head and chuckle. “Still seems so strange…” Big Mac mumbled to himself. “Big Mac?” Applebloom asked. The draft stallion motioned to their still-knocked out sister. “Help her onto my back, would you? I’ll explain everything back at the house.” Applebloom nodded and lifted the limp form of her sister with her stronger, metallic arms. In this form she felt so light, like lifting a shred of tissue paper. It felt so strange to be so much bigger than her sister in this form. Applejack, who normally towered over her like all adults, was like a foal compared to her in this form. ”I wonder if this is how Princess Celestia feels all the time?” she contemplated. She shuddered at the thought. Princess Celestia was an incredibly powerful pony. Applebloom wasn’t sure she could handle that sort of power. The very thought made her nervous. “On my back” Big Macintosh repeated. The filly-bot nodded and draped the sleeping Applejack over her brother’s back. Big Mac grunted and seemed to buckle under his younger sister’s weight for a second, but he quickly regained his composure. “Y’all okay?” Big Mac nodded. “I’ll be fine. Now come on, let’s get the two of you back to the house and dried off.” The two began the short trek back to the farmhouse. Applebloom striding alongside her big brother nervously. “So… What’s going on, Big Mac?” She dared to ask. Her brother’s face was stoic as ever. “I’ll tell y’all when we get back to the house. Ain’t no point in catching a cold while we talk out here in the rain…” He looked curiously at Applebloom, “that’s if y’all can even catch a cold, of course.” Applebloom thought back on it. Come to think of it, she didn’t remember ever getting all that sick in her life. She’d faked it once or twice and she’d eaten things that hadn’t agreed with her, but she never really remembered getting a virus or infection or anything. She’d broken bones before and there was one time she broke a tooth and had Zecora fix her up, but those were injuries and not illnesses. Before, she’d chalked it up to just the strong, old “Apple Family constitution” but now… She shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. She could think on that later. Now, though, she wanted answers. “Big Mac,” she pleaded, “I need to know what’s going on. I need to know what’s happening to me!” Big Macintosh sighed. “An’ I promise that you’ll hear it. But Applejack needs to hear it too. An’ I don’t fancy telling the story more than once, and especially not out here in the rain.” He motioned to AJ with a flick of his neck “‘Sides, if we don’t get AJ here secure, we’ll have to deal with her gettin’ all uppity again. And I don’t think neither of us want to deal with that.” Applebloom cocked her head. “How are we gonna deal with that?” * * * Applejack blearily woke up, her vision swimming. The farm pony blinked a few times, trying to chase the unconsciousness away. As she tried to sit up, she suddenly realized that she couldn’t move. The farmer suddenly snapped into wakefulness. Looking herself over, she saw that she was completely tied up with her own rope, lying down on the old overstuffed sofa. “What in tarnation?!” she snapped. “Big Mac, she’s awake!” a voice called off to her left. The farmer quickly snapped her head in the direction of the voice to see a large bipedal robot sitting awkwardly in one of the living room easy chairs. Suddenly, the events of mere minutes before came rushing back to her. Her expression darkened and her teeth clenched as her mind turned once more to dark, violent places. “You…” she snarled darkly. “AJ, please listen.” the thing said. “I’ll get you for what you did to my sister!” she snapped, her teeth gnashing. The creature seemed to tear up at that. Good. “Mark my words, monster,” she continued, “I’ll tear y’all limb from-” “That’s enough!” Big Mac shouted, suddenly stepping in from the kitchen. The draft stallion had a bandage over his nose and one wrapped around his barrel. Granny Smith followed close behind him, teacups balanced on a tray on her back. “Granny! Big Mac!” Applejack snarled, thrashing against her bonds “Don’t tell me, y’all are in on this! What’s going on here?!” “Hush, child.” Granny said comfortingly, weakly trotting over to her granddaughter and placing the tray on the sidetable next to the sofa. “Big Mac’ll explain everything.” “Granny?” Applebloom asked. “Y’all knew about this too?” The old mare smiled softly. “I didn’t know the details, hon. I heard about it from your parents. And they heard about it from Macintosh here.” she said, pointing weakly at him. “I always had a feeling there were something special about you, though, I did.” “Big Mac.” Applejack growled darkly. “What is going on?” Her expression was pulled into a dark scowl, her face looking ten years older than it should. Big Macintosh looked between his sisters and sighed. “I should have told y’all a long time ago, AJ. Applebloom ain’t related to us by blood.” he mumbled, his head drooping. “I found her in Whitetail Wood twelve years ago.” Applebloom already knew this, of course, but she couldn’t help but shiver at hearing him say it out loud. “Horsehockey!” Applejack snarled. “Ma and Pa had her, like she did you and me!” Big Mac raised an eyebrow. “And do y’all remember the day that Applebloom was born?” he said carefully. Applejack paused. “No…” she shook her head. “‘Course I don’t! She was born over that month I spent in Manehattan before I got my cutie mark!” Granny Smith chuckled sadly. “Do y’all really believe that, AJ?” she asked, carefully lifting a hot toddy to her bound granddaughter’s lips. Applejack, despite her foul mood, gratefully accepted the hot drink and slurped it down. “Y’all was eleven years old back then,” Granny continued, “that’s plenty old enough to remember your Ma. Did she ever look like she was getting ready to have a baby? Did she ever say anything to ya?” Applejack blinked. She hadn’t thought about that time in her life before her cutie mark in ages. She scrunched up her nose, trying to remember those days. “No…” she mumbled. “Ma was fit as ever those days and working the fields with Pa. I always just assumed after Applebloom was born that she just… had a really good pregnancy.” she muttered. Granny Smith barked a laugh. “Ain’t no such thing, child! A pregnant mare wouldn’t be any more able to work a field as a snake’d be able to win a hoof wrasslin’ contest!” Applejack looked down at her hooves, abashed. “But then…” she muttered, looking up at Applebloom with just her big, green eyes, “where’d she come from?” Granny Smith smiled faintly. “That’s for Big Mac to tell. After all, he’s the one that found her.” There was silence in the Apple family homestead for a few interminable moments as all eyes turned onto the big red stallion. The draft horse was gazing deeply into his hot toddy as the uncomfortable stillness filled the air. “Big Mac...?” Applebloom finally ventured. The draft horse sighed. “Alright, y’all. Here’s how it happened…” * * * Little Macintosh was sitting sullenly on a rock on the outskirts of Ponyville. The squat red colt was more silent than usual as he traced circles in the dirt with his forehoof. Ma and Pa had sent him out for a day of fun, since he’d proven completely unhelpful in the fields the past few days. He couldn’t really help it though. He couldn’t get his mind off the fact that his only sister was clean across the country from him. He couldn’t get his mind off her words. “I hate this place and I hate all of you! I ain’t never coming back!” was the last thing she had shouted before she stomped out the door, bindle slung over her back. The little red colt sighed, tears welling up in his eyes at the memory. “Mac?” He heard a familiar voice call to him, “You doing alright? The little colt brought his eyes up to see a mulberry filly with a frizzy two-toned pink mane and, frankly, ridiculous looking clothes gazing at him, concerned. Mac huffed. “‘Tain’t nothing, Cheer.” he mumbled, turning away from her. “It doesn’t look like nothing.” Cheerilee said, sidling up beside him. “Come on, what’s eating you?” “Don’t wanna talk about it.” he muttered. Cheerilee raised an eyebrow. “I think you do,” she asserted. “Talking about it will make you feel better, you know.” “Nnnnope.” Cheerilee snorted. “Well, fine. If you wanna be that way then I guess we’ll just sit here in silence.” “Eeeeeyup.” The two of them sat there for several minutes, but for Big Mac, it felt like hours. The colt kept trying not to notice his friend’s presence, but it was like trying not to think about pink elephants. He couldn’t help but keep looking up at his friend, and every time, she was there, staring at him. It was almost downright creepy. Finally, Mac relented. “I miss my sister.” he said simply. “Little Applejack?” Cheerilee said, tilting her head. “Ahhhh…” she said understanding. “I heard about that. She up and ran away, I heard.” Mac shook her head. “We let her go.” he mumbled. “She weren’t happy ‘round the farm and we didn’t want to keep her where she weren’t happy.” Cheerilee nodded. “I think she was just feeling smothered. She was the baby in the family after all. She’ll be back.” “I dunno…” Mac said. “She went and said some pretty nasty things.” Cheerilee smiled softly. “That’s just what kids do.” she said, patting the colt on the back. “Kids are emotional and don’t always think things through. Trust me, I know these things.” she said, passing a glance back at her own flank. “You think?” Macintosh said, a small spark of hope glimmering in his eyes. “I’m sure of it.” Cheerilee grinned. Mac sighed, this time a little more relaxed. “Thanks, Cheer.” “Hey, no problem.” Cheerilee giggled. “Now come on, how about we get your mind off of your sister. You have the day off, right?” He nodded Cheerilee stood up and shook herself. “I heard that Carrot and Snow were gonna explore Whitetail Woods today. A little hike will be good to get your mind off things, huh?” Little Mac smiled. “Eeeyup.” Not ten minutes later, the two of them were standing on the path just outside of Whitetail woods. They came upon a couple of other colts, both slightly younger than Macintosh, and both much scrawnier. One was a tall, lanky earth colt with a yellow coat, freckles, and a bright orange, curly mane and a few frosted cakes on his flank. The other was a short, but just as scrawny white pegasus. He had a short, cropped blonde mane and small, underdeveloped wings. Despite his name and unimposing looks, he had a barbell on his flank. “Carrot, Snowflake, I found him!” Cheerilee called out to the two of them. The two colts turned to the pair and grinned. “Hey, Cheer! You get him out of his funk?” the yellow one asked. Macintosh rolled his eyes and huffed. Cheerilee giggled. “For now, anyway, yeah.” “Sweet!” Carrot Cake said with a grin. “Yeah!” Snowflake agreed enthusiastically. Mac looked between the group and the forest. “What’s all this about?” Carrot grinned mischievously. “We’re going alien hunting!” the mood of the glade dropped instantly. All three of the other foals looked at Carrot with varying emotions. Cheerilee merely looked incredulous. Snowflake looked confused. Macintosh looked downright exasperated.” “Seriously?” “Seriously!” Macintosh rolled his eyes. “Well this has been fun, y’all, but I got some moping to do.” “Hey, come on now.” Cheerilee said, grabbing him by the tail with her teeth. “At least give him a chance to explain himself” Carrot Cake grinned. “Okay, so Carrot Top told me that Bon Bon told her that Lyra told Bon Bon that Doc told Lyra that Colgate told Doc that Junebug told Colgate that Derpy told Junebug that Lily, Daisy, and Rose ran screaming out of Whitetail Wood the other day screaming something about aliens!” All three of the other ponies deadpanned at the lanky colt. “There are so many things wrong with this that I can’t even count them all.” Cheerilee said. “Yeah!” Snowflake piped up. “Those three are always overreacting at something. And they almost are never right.” Mac offered. Cheerilee coughed. “Not to mention, if you’re right, then the rumor’s gone through so many ponies by now, it’s like you’re playing one great big game of telegraph.” “Aww, come on, guys!” Carrot whined. “This might be my big chance to impress Cup!” Snowflake and Mac started chuckling. Cheerilee rolled her eyes. “Aaaaaand the truth comes out.” Carrot blushed and kicked around some dust with his forehoof abashedly. “You just want to come back to Cup Cake like some sort of gallant knight, having slain the big bad monster.” Carrot’s face turned the color of a ripe tomato as his friends all started giggling around him. “That… That’s not why we’re here!” He stamped a hoof and tried to snort threateningly. It really only came off like he had a stuffy nose. “If there’s an alien monster running around in the woods, then somepony has to go in there and stop it! For everypony’s safety!” He punctuated his statement with a lash of his tail. The rest of his friends all snickered at his antics. “Okay, Carrot,” Cheerilee said, waving at him placatingly, the many bracelets on her hoof jangling. “Whatever you say.” The scrawny colt huffed and stormed off into the forest. “You foals can stay here if you want. I’m going in there and I’m going to face down an alien and save Ponyville!” Carrot said, turning on a hoof and storming off into the forest. Mac shook his head. “Colt’s gonna get himself killed someday tryin’ to impress that gal.” Cheerilee shrugged. “I can’t really blame him. Let’s face it, Cup Cake is, like, just about the hottest filly in school. She could have any colt she wants.” She sniggered and shook her head. Snowflake’s face seemed to melt into a dreamy expression. “Yeah…” “Out of his league, I tell you” The mulberry mare said, rolling her eyes. “Let him dream.” Mac said with a chuckle. “For now we should follow him and make sure he doesn’t trip and break his back.” “Yeah!” Snowflake said, flapping his tiny wings and charging into the woods after their foolish yellow friend. Cheerilee and Mac looked at each other and laughed for a moment before following after him. The three of them quickly caught up with Carrot and got to exploring the wood in search of the alleged “aliens.” Carrot told the rest of them that they supposedly looked like giant hairless apes, save for a small patch on their head, with long arms, flat faces, and wearing lots of clothes. The others all found the description ridiculous. Despite the lack of aliens, though, the four of them had a good time, just randomly exploring the woods. The natural beauty of the woods was enough to relax Mac’s troubled mind and even raise his mood a little. he spent the day with his three best friends, chasing after frogs and rabbits, climbing trees, and munching on wildberries and flowers. Celestia’s sun was just starting to sink below the horizon, though, when something truly extraordinary happened. The fireflies were just starting to blink into life around them. Snowflake and Cheerilee were busying themselves with trying to catch some while Mac stood off to the side, trying to console a moping Carrot Cake. “We told you that they probably didn’t exist.” Mac said, putting a hoof on Carrot’s back. “I know…” Carrot sighed, his head drooping. “I was just hoping that I could do something heroic and brave and awesome to impress…” Carrot suddenly cut himself off and backpedaled. “Um… the town” he finished, not so smoothly, scratching the back of his head. “Want the town to look at you like some sorta superhero, do y’all?” Mac said with a little laugh. “Yeah, sure…” Carrot mumbled. “But of course it’d turn out it was just a sick baby bunny” Carrot hung his head. “And not even a killer lagomorph or anything like that. A sick, hairless baby bunny that that one shy filly had already found and taken in herself.” Mac chuckled. “There’ll be other monsters for you to slay, Carrot. Maybe you can go looking for them in the Everfree.” Carrot shuddered. “No way. Even I’m not that crazy.” Mac flicked his ears. “Well, come on now. You want to go looking for a monster, that’s the place you’re gonna find them.” Carrot blinked and looked at Mac quizzically. “What?” Mac tilted his head and spoke a little louder. “I said, if you’re looking for a monster, the Everfree is where you’re gonna find them.” “What?!” The scrawny colt scratched at the inside of his ear with a hoof. “I can’t hear you over that loud buzzing!” It was only then that Mac had noticed it. An incredibly loud droning noise had filled the clearing. Mac looked around quickly for the noise, not seeing anything that might make such an uproar. “Mac? MAC!” He suddenly felt his shoulder being shaken. He turned to see Carrot looking up and pointing into the sky. Mac looked up, only to gasp at what he saw. A massive metal monster, at least that’s what it looked like. It looked almost like a massive fish, but one without any sort of defined head and with much longer fins than any fish he’d ever seen had. The whole thing seemed to be at least quadruple the size of the town hall and looked to be made from some sort of gleaming metal, with blue inlets carved into it. Like a massive roc, swooping down to grab a fully grown dragon as its prey, the monstrosity careened down towards them. “GET DOWN!” The colts heard her shout, as Cheerilee and Snowflake tackled the both of them, sending the four of them tumbling into the brush. Mere seconds later, there was a resounding CRASH as the metal monster collided with the ground, kicking up dirt and leaves and branches and even full grown trees into the air. The four ponies screamed as they hid under a large, rocky outcropping, debris banging against their emergency shelter as gravity asserted itself upon the detritus. And then quiet. It was Mac who finally dared to peek his head out from under the rock. The little red colt looked around the new clearing that the metal abomination had dug out. There was a large crevasse dug into the forest floor. Where trees and bushes once stood, there was nothing but a massive ditch filled with dirt, rocks, and mud. Mac fully stepped out from under the rock and looked towards the very edge of the ditch where the thing lay. “Are you crazy?” Carrot whispered, alarmed. “Get back under here! Who knows what that monster might do to you!” Mac paused. “I don’t reckon it was alive, Carrot…” he mumbled. “Looked almost like an airship…” Cheerilee was out next, followed by Snowflake. “Biggest airship I’ve ever seen.” Cheerilee said, hushed. Carrot fidgeted as he crawled out from under the rock. “We should go back to town. Get some grown ups down here to investigate.” Snowflake nodded “Yeah!” he agreed. Mac said nothing. The red colt stepped forward and slid down into the ditch towards the massive airship-like thing. “Mac!” Carrot hissed. “Get back here!” “I don’t think it’s dangerous.” Mac said, trotting towards the massive construct. “That looked like a crash landing. We should check and see if anypony is hurt.” “I agree.” Cheerilee nodded. “If somepony is hurt in there, we don’t have the time to go back to town and get somepony. They need our help now!” Snowflake scratched his head and then shrugged. “...yyyeeah.” Carrot sighed, fidgeting and looking around nervously. “But what if it’s something dangerous?” Cheerilee chuckled, looping a hoof over Mac’s withers. “Then we’ll hold it off while you two gallant monster slayers run back to town! Now come on, time’s-a-wasting!” The four little ponies trotted warily up to the massive metal monster. What appeared to be big from a distance was absolutely enormous up close. The metal structure was several stories high, and that was when it was half buried in the dirt. The little red colt trotted up to the metal colossus, his friends all huddled behind him, watching with bated breath as he slowly reached a hoof up to tap the metal surface. “Careful!” he heard Carrot whisper from behind him. Mac gulped and nodded, slowly bringing his hoof up to tap the giant bay door. The door squealed and fell open with a horrible screech. Mac stumbled back onto his rump with a yelp, his other friends all backpedalling with a squeal as plumes of smoke poured out of the opening. A deep, hissing sound, punctuated by the sounds of clanging metal and sparking electricity reverberated around the clearing. Flashes of electricity spurted from inside the bowels of the massive vessel and blue fluids seemed to leak from the inner walls. The creaks and groans of twisting, heated metal could be heard echoing from far within its depths. The four ponies shivered as they all silently debated what to do next. It was Cheerilee that spoke first. “Well?” she asked the group “Come on!” she trotted forward into the gaping metal cavern. The three colts all blinked at her reckless daring before Mac shrugged and followed. Snowflake hurried after the little draft horse, with Carrot gingerly trotting behind. The group trotted in silence through the sparking, smoking halls of the wreckage, stepping carefully to make sure they didn’t set anything off or alert anything that might want to snack on a pony for lunch. The three of them all gasped as they stepped into a truly awe inspiring room. A domed ceiling stretched dozens of meters above them with pods covering the spherical walls. The whole setup reminded Mac of a honeycomb where bees would nurse their young in alcoves in the walls of the hive. As he pondered this, though, he and the rest of the ponies all jumped as a shrieking metallic clanking and whirring roared through the chamber. “Look there!” Carrot shouted, pointing to the wall of the room. Their eyes were all drawn to a single pod on the wall, which seemed to be lifting away from the side of the cavernous room, rolling along a sparking railway that hadn’t been there earlier. The pod rolled along the railway away from them and towards a hatch on the far end of the room. “What do you think that is?” Cheerilee asked. “Dunno,” Mac shrugged. “First thing we’ve seen moving in here, though,” he added. Cheerilee looked to him. “You think we should follow it?” “Yeah!” Snowflake said enthusiastically, buzzing his small wings. Mac shrugged and nodded in agreement. “First lead we got.” “B-but who knows what could be in that thing!” Carrot shivered. “It could be some sort of horrible alien bug thing that’ll stick to our faces and lay eggs in our chests or something!” Cheerilee looked around the room. “I dunno, this place seems pretty barren to be a bug hive or anything like that.” She nickered. “It’s the first clue we’ve gotten. We can’t pass this up. Come on!” She and the others followed the rolling pod to the end of the room, watching as it passed through a hatch high up on the wall. The four of them passed through another door at their level, only to pile up on each other as Cheerilee screeched to a halt with a gasp. “What is it?” Mac whispered, his head spinning a little, only to see Cheerilee scrabbling to her hooves to retreat out the door. Carrot and Snowflake both looked up and quickly gasped and did the same. Mac shook off the collision and looked up himself to see what had frightened his friends so. A giant. A massive, metal, giant creature, shaped something like a minotaur or a troll. It had golden horns and glowing blue eyes that burned with a fierce intensity. Its hands could probably grab a whole tree out of the ground, and could certainly crush a pony between its fingers. It was tall enough to stomp on any cottage in Ponyville and barely notice. Its face was set in a toothy snarl, and had it not been facing away from them, surely it would have seen and started chasing after them by now, ready to grind their bones into bread. Except… Mac took a closer look, squinting his eyes. That wasn’t an angry snarl the giant had. It was pained. Looking the creature over, Mac noticed that it was clutching its side with one of its massive metal hands, blue fluids leaking from between its giant fingers. The thing was staggering, hunched over a massive structure that Mac couldn’t recognize and whispering into something that looked kind of like a radio microphone that he’d seen on a trip to Fillydelphia once. Steam and smoke seemed to pour out from his joints, like an overtaxed train, and sparks were coming from several holes in his chest. As frightened as he was, Mac couldn’t help but feel sorry for the massive creature. It was obvious that he was in a lot of pain, and possibly even dying. His heart went out to it as he considered what it must be like to die alone in a vessel so very far from home. Mac shook his head and started to trot forward. “Mac!” Cheerilee hissed. “What are you doing?” Mac ignored her, continuing to move towards the giant creature. It was working with a cord that seemed to be attached from its head to the console it was working at, pushing at buttons with its mighty fingers. Fascinated as he was with what the giant creature was doing, Mac didn’t notice the large piece of shrapnel that lay across the ground. The little pony stumbled over a fallen girder and fell with an “oof!” The three ponies behind him all gasped at once as the giant, who previously had not seemed to notice them, suddenly went rigid. It lifted its giant metal head and turned to look at them. Mac gulped as the creatures glowing, pupilless blue eyes bore into him, sure that the monster would stomp him into paste or swat him like a fly. Which was why he was so surprised when he saw the creature… smile? The creature seemed to relax, slumping into the console a little further, more at ease this time than he previously seemed to be. “Thank the Allspark” the ponies thought they heard it mutter. “I was worried nobody would find us.” Mac let out a relieved breath at the creature’s actions. The way he spoke and acted was enough to convince him that it wasn’t going to attack him. It seemed to be enough for Cheerilee too, who trotted up behind Mac, though her posture was still a little defensive. The giant chuckled a little, though the laughter was soon accompanied by a cough that sent blue liquid spurting from his mouth. “There’s no need to be frightened.” The creature coughed. “I’m hardly in a position to hurt even one so small.” “Who are you?” Mac asked. “Are you alright?” The giant gave him a pained smile. “I’m afraid not, little one. I don’t have much time left.” He coughed again, more blue fluids leaking from his mouth. “My name is Yoketron,” he spoke. “And I am afraid I must ask you four for a favor.” “We can get you help.” Cheerilee said, her posture slightly less on edge. “The princess could probably help you get better.” “Thank you for your kindness.” The creature who called himself Yoketron said, lifting a massive hand. “but it is not my life that needs saving.” “But you’re hurt!” Cheerilee insisted. “Equestria has hospitals that can help you!” Yoketron hacked and clutched at his chest. “I’m afraid there is no saving me.” He said sadly. “My spark chamber has been breached and I will soon return to the well from whence I came.” His words confused Mac, but the little draft pony decided to let him speak in his last moments. “No,” Yoketron continued. “I need you to save another life.” he said, punching a button on the console he was leaning upon. The four ponies all stumbled as they felt the room around them shake and shudder. “Look!” Carrot said, pointing to the ceiling. The ponies all looked up to see the pod from before lowering into the middle of the room. The ponies followed the pod with their eyes as it lowered on little jets of flame before coming to rest gently on the ground. The four of them all huddled around the pod. “What are we supposed to do with it?” Cheerilee asked. “Not it.” Yoketron said with a gasp, hitting another button. “Her.” There was a whoosh of compressed gas, causing all the ponies to stumble back onto their flanks. A hatch opened in the pod, revealing what looked almost like a baby’s cradle to the four ponies. Nestled within was a small, silver creature, looking almost made of liquid metal, like mercury, and shaped like a minotaur calf save for its flat, featureless face. Mac looked to Yoketron. The giant creature continued, explaining, “I failed. I was supposed to save all of the protoforms, but I was only able to preserve one when the Decepticons attacked. And I will not even live long enough to care for her myself.” Yoketron slumped back in a giant chair, clutching his chest. “Please, save her life.” The little draft pony looked back and forth between the little ‘protoform’ and Yoketron. “But… We don’t know how to care for a… protofarm.” Yoketron chuckled, sounding genuinely amused despite his pain. “You won’t have to,” he said. “Touch her.” Mac blinked, unsure what Yoketron was getting at. The giant creature made a “go on” motion with his hand. Turning to the protoform, Mac lifted a hoof, reaching out to the little thing. Carrot looked as if he wanted to stop him for a second, but quickly lowered his own hoof. As Mac’s hoof made contact with the little being, there was suddenly a flash of bright light and a stinging sensation ran through his limb. Mac fell backwards, nursing his tingling hoof. Cheerilee gasped, quickly stepping to support the falling pony and help him to his hooves. “What are you playing at?!” Cheerilee snapped at the smiling Yoketron who merely chukled and pointed at the pod. “Take a look.” he said simply. The four ponies all turned and gasped at what they saw. A little yellow foal with tufts of red mane and tail was nestled snugly in the bottom of the pod, suckling gently on her hoof and sleeping peacefully. “What’s going on?” Cheerilee asked Yoketron. “His organic nature has merged with her mechanical one, granting her a completed spark.” Yoketron said as though it explained everything. Carrot cocked his head. “What does that even mean?” “It means that now she can find a place where she belongs…” Yoketron said, trailing off. “I can only hope this planet treats her better than Cybertron would.” He coughed again, his eyes flickering and dimming. Mac didn’t even notice. He was too focused on the little foal at the bottom of the pod. Gently, he reached in and nuzzled the little creature, causing the baby to coo and giggle. He couldn’t help but let a smile grow on his face. “Please,” Yoketron continued, “Take her with you.” His voice was raspy and gasping now. “Don’t let her see battle. Don’t let her grow to see the horror that comes with war.” The flickers of electricity that had previously been sparking from his chest seemed to die down. “I can rest in peace if I know that I brought even one of my kind to live far, far away from such things.” “Wait, though!” Cheerilee said. “We still don’t understand! What is she? What are you? What happened to you?” “She’s one of you now.” Yoketron replied. “And that’s all that matters now. Raise her as you would raise one of your own. That is all I ask.” “But…” Cheerilee protested, only to be cut off by Yoketron. “I’m afraid my time here is at an end…” Yoketron said softly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t answer more of your questions.” “Don’t worry.” Mac said, turning to the dying giant. “I’ll take good care of her.” “Mac!” Cheerilee gasped. “Seriously?” Shouted Carrot. “Yeah!” Yoketron smiled gently. “Thank you… Your size belies the size of your heart, small one.” Mac nodded, reaching into the pod and gently lifting the sleeping foal out by the scruff of her neck with his teeth. Lifting her around and draping her sleeping form over his withers, he smiled softly at Yoketron and nodded to him. “‘Til All are One…” Yoketron mumbled. And with that, the light behind his eyes went out. The four ponies stood together in silence for a moment. The only sound they could hear was the soft coos from the little foal, still asleep across Mac’s withers. “Are you serious Mac?” Cheerilee said with a stamp of her hoof. “You can’t take care of that thing!” “Can and am.” Mac said, hefting the foal and trotting towards the exit. “But it’s an alien!” Carrot Cake said. “It could suck out your brains and turn you into its mindless zombie slave!” “Yeah!” Snowflake agreed. Mac shook his head. “Ain’t an alien no more.” Mac said simply. “What, just because the giant alien robot monster thing said she was ‘one of us now’ you’re going to take her in?” Carrot said incredulously. “Eeyup.” Mac replied. “Mac” Cheerilee said, stopping him with a hoof. “Are you sure about this?” Mac went to reply, but was cut off by a high pitched yawn. All four ponies turned to see the little yellow pony’s big amber eyes suddenly pop open. The little foal blinked at the gathered group, looking around for a moment. The ponies breath all held. And then the little foal started giggling. The gathered ponies all smiled. “I’m sure.” Mac said. * * * “...And then?” Applebloom asked. Mac shrugged. “And then I took y’all home. Granny ‘n Ma n’ Pa all took you in, even after I explained where y’all came from. The family decided it’d be best to keep where you came from a secret, since ponies ain’t always trusting of what they don’t understand. Carrot, Snowflake, and Cheerilee agreed to keep the secret for your sake and eventually came to trust you, and AJ came home a few weeks later to a new sister,” He explained. “Ain’t much more to say.” The whole room was silent for what seemed like an eternity. Applejack stared into her empty mug, her hooves shaking. Applebloom drummed her new, metal fingers on her knees. Granny was laying back in her rocking chair, her eyes closed, but her flicking ears suggesting she was still awake and alert. Finally, Applejack broke the silence. “So… Y’all lied ta me.” Applebloom shifted uncomfortably. “AJ…” she tried to say, only to be cut off by her sister raising a hoof. “Y’all kept this a secret from me for twelve years, tellin’ me she was my sister.” AJ growled at Big Mac and Granny Smith. “Y’all didn’t ever think to TELL me that my sister was an alien?!” “Applejack” Big Macintosh said, pleadingly. “We weren’t even sure she was still an alien. She didn’t ever show any sign of turning into giant or nothin’ like that. ‘Sides, Yoketron said she was ‘one of us’ now, and we took that to mean she were a full pony. None of us expected anything like this.” He sighed. “We didn’t think it was important.” “Not important?!” Applejack shouted, jumping to her hooves and throwing her mug to the ground, causing it to shatter. “How could y’all think this weren’t important?! She’s an alien! A thing from outer space! And y’all knew and y’all didn’t even think to tell me that she weren’t just not my sister, but not even a pony?!” “...Applejack…” Applebloom sniffled. “No, I’m through hearing this!” Applejack said, grabbing her hat off the hat rack and storming out of the living room. “AJ, where are you going?!” Applebloom shouted. “I’m going out!” “But it’s one in the morning!” Applebloom protested. “Please, AJ, come back!” Applejack said nothing, the slamming of the front door punctuating her exit. Applebloom slumped back into the overstuffed sofa, her eyes watering. “Let her go, child.” Granny Smith said gently, her eyes opening as she got up from her rocking chair and stepped gently over to her granddaughter, draping an arm around her shoulders. “She’ll come around, you’ll see. Just give her time.” Applebloom sniffled. “She hates me, Granny.” “Oh child,” Granny sighed, shaking her head. “She’s just confused and angry and scared.” “Of me?” Applebloom asked softly. “Naw…” the wizened old mare shook her head. “For you.” Applebloom said nothing. “You know how she gets, child. More stubborn than a mule with a stubbed hoof.” Granny Smith assured her. “She’ll come around when she sees reason. One o’ them friends of hers’ll knock some sense into her.” “Applebloom…” Big Mac spoke up. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell y’all about this sooner. We really didn’t know it’d turn inta something like this.” The little robot sniffed. “It’s alright, Big Mac.” “‘Tain’t alright.” Big Mac shook his head. “I shouldn’ta kept this from you. Y’all deserved to know. I shoulda told you as soon as I saw your cutie mark.” “We can talk all night about shoulda coulda wouldas.” Granny Smith said. “They don’t do us any good in the end.” She kissed Applebloom’s forehead. “All we can do now is move forward.” “But…” Applebloom said. “Where do we go from here?” Granny Smith patted her granddaughter atop the head. “Well for now, we go to bed, child. It’s been a rough night.” Applebloom shuffled her feet. “I’m not sure I can get to sleep after all this, Granny.” Granny Smith winked. “You’ll think different when your head hits the pillow, sweetie. Now git. Y’all ain’t gonna get enough sleep for school tomorrow, else.” Applebloom sighed and wordlessly trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. She didn’t respond to Big Mac or Granny telling her ‘good night’ and didn’t even bother to stop and comfort Winona when the little dog came up to her, whining and licking at her heels. She was too focused on the endless, swirling chaotic thoughts running through her head. She sat on the end of her bed, even less sure of who she was and her place in the world than she was earlier that night. Shifting back into her pony form, she slowly crawled under her covers and lay her head against the pillow. Luckily, Granny Smith was always right.