“Get outta here! Cliffjumper?! What kind of stupid name is that?” Cliffjumper asked.
Princess Twilight struggled to hold in one of her many adorable giggles, her friends failing to do just that. Cliffjumper sat back, his right hand pressed into the dirt behind him. He was slightly confused as to why they would find that funny, and his expression seemed to have been noticed.
“It’s your stupid name, Cliffjumper! I swear we’re telling the truth!” Rainbow Dash snickered before breaking down into more laughter, the rest of her friends joining.
Cliffjumper waved her away. “Pfft! Yeah, okay,” his blue eyes were brought right back up towards the rainbow Pegasus, a sly grin growing on his silver-coated face. “And just what was your name again?”
All colorful eyes shifted to the dying Pegasus. Rainbow looked up from where she was currently lying, a few tears hidden in her eyelids from the laughter. She smirked, instantly catching the wind and flying above all of their heads. She puffed out her chest proudly, placing a blue hoof on said chest.
“I’m the one and only Rainbow Dash! Fastest flyer in Equestria!” she announced proudly and boldly.
Cliffjumper turned his head back to meet the familiar gazes from his fellow giants. Jazz, Ironhide, and Jetfire all looked at each other, silence filling the cool night air. Then it was their turn to laugh.
The rainbow-haired pony adopted an offended look, followed by her cheeks burning light crimson and a frown etching across her face. “Hey, knock it off!” she shouted, but to no avail. The four Autobots fell over each other, dying of laughter.
Rainbow Dash fell to the dirt below, crossing her hooves over one another and pouting. Pinkie placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, but it was hard for Pinkie to contain her own giggles at Rainbow’s embarrassment.
Cliffjumper sat back up, the campfire causing light to dance across his chest. He contained his laughing just enough for him to say, “I’m sorry, but ‘Rainbow Dash’ is just…a ridiculous name!”
The cyan mare tapped her hooves against her chest madly, her eyes nearly bugging out of her skull. "I'm the one with the ridiculous name here?! What about Ironhide? What about Jazz?!”
“Actually, Jazz is a pretty sweet name,” Jazz interrupted, earning a glare from Rainbow and a giggle from Pinkie Pie. Jazz smiled at her angry expression.
Rainbow continued, her blue hoof pointing over to the smallest of the group. “What about Bumblebee? He’s named after a freaking insect for Celestia’s sake!” she screamed, instantly creating uproar amongst the group.
Rarity and Twilight began to shout Rainbow’s name, but even they weren’t fast enough for the yellow Pegasus to react. Fluttershy immediately came to Rainbow’s side with a strong glare joining her. Rainbow Dash took a step back, her eyes wide.
“Rainbow, you know better than to say that to Bumblebee! He’s our friend and deserves the proper respect he earned for what he did,” Fluttershy scolded the cyan Pegasus, surprising both herself and her friends. Once she was done, Fluttershy turned around and offered a friendly smile to the yellow bot.
Bumblebee, who had remained out of the conversations taking place around the campfire, brought his attention to the small pony smiling at him. He truly didn’t care for what these ponies thought of him. If they thought of him as an insect then so be it. Still, it made Bumblebee feel better knowing that there was one still sticking up for him, and he returned her smile with one of his own.
Glad to get a smile out of Bumblebee, Fluttershy turned back towards Rainbow Dash. Returning from her confused state, the Pegasus looked at the ground miserably, her hoof scratching the back of her head.
“…Yeah…sorry about that, ‘Shy. I should’ve known better,” Rainbow admitted, earning some surprised looks from Twilight and Applejack especially.
“It’s nothin’ really,” Bumblebee muttered from behind the group, his back pressed against the nearest tree. Saying this was responded by a few surprised glances from the ponies, especially from Fluttershy.
Bumblebee didn’t even turn his head towards the campfire where everypony was seated. “You don’t have to be sorry over me. Think whatever you want, I don’t care,” he said, a terribly depressed tone in his ragged voice. Twilight immediately looked over to Fluttershy, who nodded and face Bumblebee.
But even she was interrupted by Cliffjumper speaking up.
“So,” Cliffjumper announced, catching everypony’s attention, “got any other crazy things to tell me that I don’t know?”
Twilight scoffed silently, a frown sent Cliffjumper’s way. Her frown only deepened when Jazz joined in, smiling just as wide as his red friend. Twilight couldn’t believe it. Their friend, Bumblebee, clearly was going through something, something his fellow Autobots should’ve helped him with. No, Cliffjumper and Jazz simply ignored Bumblebee’s depressed feelings just as quickly as Bumblebee finished talking.
This wasn’t them. No Autobot Twilight knew would ever neglect their fellow brother’s feelings. Of course, Twilight knew it wasn’t exactly them. They lost their memories just like Optimus did, but at least Prime was still capable of compassion towards others. Then again, he did spend the most time with her and her friends.
Still, that didn’t break the fact that Bumblebee still looked as miserable as ever. Jetfire and Ironhide paid no heed to the Autobot standing behind them and remaining out of the conversation, so they weren’t any help. Twilight even asked before they started the fire if Bumblebee wanted to join them. He replied with a clear and quick “No.”
She didn’t want them to feel like outcasts. Twilight wanted all the Autobots to feel the same acceptance that Optimus received. She looked over to Cliffjumper and Jazz, their smiling faces reflecting the warm glow of the campfire. They were laughing with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, even Rarity and Applejack couldn’t help but let out a few chuckles here and there. Fluttershy was just sitting there, her large eyes staring at Bumblebee. Ironhide and Jetfire, the two larger Autobots also held some faint smiles at the laughter they heard.
Twilight felt that they were becoming more comfortable with her friends, all except for Bumblebee. She would have to fix that sooner or later.
Bumblebee lowered his head as Cliffjumper continued on discussing things with the mares, his eyes slowly shutting. Definitely sooner.
“That can’t be right,” Ironhide grumbled loudly, causing Twilight to flinch from his heavy voice. She turned to look at the mighty red Autobot, his arms crossing over each other as he said, “A war that lasted millions of years? There’s no way that it would last that long!”
“Well,” Applejack stated, leaning back, “Ah really hate ta burst yer bubble…but it did.”
Jetfire took a stand and leaned forward, his hands directly over the cackling flames.
“Now hold on just a second,” he began, earning the interested and somewhat humorous glances from the six mares sitting in front of him. “Just how exactly is that possible? A war can’t last millions of years without first announcing some sort of peace agreement through the midst of it all. Surely, the Cybertronians were sick of all the fighting and just wanted the war to end!”
Pinkie shook her head. “Nope!” she told him cheerily.
“That doesn’t make any sense!” Jetfire shouted, all of his thoughts of meaning being thrown away. He began again, his composure set straight. “Why would they…or should I say we…fight in a never ending war with no chance of ever making peace? Millions of years even?! Wouldn’t the planet’s population be wiped out throughout the time of conflict?”
The pony that loved answering questions finally received the opportunity she was looking for. Jetfire’s optics fell to the princess as she laughed sadly, her eyes staring longingly at the campfire.
She spoke with the flames dancing in her beautiful eyes.
“It just goes to show the bravery of the Autobots,” Twilight muttered barely over a whisper. The only sound of the dying light around them was the cracking of the fire. Even then, each individual could hear her perfectly.
She continued, a sad smile forming on her lips. “The Decepticons wanted nothing more but to conquer the planet and serve only one master. The planet’s first tyrant known as Megatron was their leader,” Twilight said. Her friends all grumbled at the mention of his name. “The Autobots continued to fight in the war for Cybertron because they knew that if no one else were to take a stand then Megatron would rule the planet with an iron fist, putting all those who opposed him to death.”
Twilight looked up from the campfire, her smile large and her eyes shedding tiny tears. She almost whimpered, but forced her emotions to stay in.
“You should all be so proud of that insignia you wear,” Twilight said to them. Jetfire looked down to his chest. Cliffjumper, Jazz, and Ironhide all did the same. Even Bumblebee decided to listen in and remembered the logo on his chest. Optimus brought his blue optics down to his right shoulder.
The heated red glare of the Autobot insignia burned strong.
It was unusually silent amongst the rowdy group of bots, even Cliffjumper found a reason to keep his mouth shut. They all turned back towards the winged pony to hear what she had to say. And it surely was something worth their while.
“All the Autobots wore that symbol through the greatest battles Cybertron has ever witnessed. It was a sign of hope and bravery to those who couldn’t defend themselves against the evils of the Decepticon army. It inspired billions to join in its cause of justice and peace for the Transformer race.”
Twilight rubbed her eye to get the burning sensation out. Rarity placed a calming hoof onto her friend’s shoulder.
“But even with the heroic attributes the Autobots performed…it wasn’t enough to stop the Decepticons,” Twilight sniffled, looking at each Autobot with a tear sliding down her cheek. This surprised the group of Autobots, even Cliffjumper. She said, “The Autobots never surrendered, they never gave up, and they never backed down. So you wanna know why the war lasted millions of years…” she looked at Jetfire specifically, but her message went out to all of them.
“It’s because the Autobots knew if they lost…it would mean the end of everything. They wanted to create a better future for the future Cybertronians, and not just leave their home as a plagued battleground that can never support life.”
She sighed.
“I just wish that last part wouldn’t be true,” Twilight finished, her eyes closing as another tear rolled down her face.
Inside the darkness of her eyelids, Twilight’s ears did most of her seeing. All she could really hear was the continuous pops from the fire in front of her, its warmth keeping her coat from freezing from the cool breeze rolling in. Other than that, it was completely silent. Rarity’s hoof had fallen from Twilight’s shoulder not too long ago, but she could strangely still feel her friend holding her, ensuring her that she was safe.
“Hey…Twilight?”
She recognized the voice, but even then was still shocked to know who it came from. Twilight opened her eyes to see all six Autobots staring at her, Cliffjumper. She felt as if he wasn’t just looking at her, but his eyes actually saw her for who she was. The truth in her words, the amount of emotion she shed, everything she told them…
Cliffjumper looked at the ground for a few seconds. He shook his head, bringing his gaze over to the six mares in front of him, the fires burning below.
“I…I just wanna say…I’m sorry for how I acted when I first met you all,” he said, not only surprising the ponies but himself. He continued, letting out a little chuckle, “I…I think I was just scared. I guess I know now that none of you are gonna hurt us like those other ponies did, huh?”
He smiled when he saw each of them nod.
Rarity spoke up, catching Cliffjumper’s attention. “Oh, darling, you don’t have to be sorry. We understand what you had to go through, what all of you had to go through when you first got here,” she told him, offering one of her fabulous smiles. He smiled back.
“Yes, well, you won’t have to worry about those ruffians any longer, Cliffjumper. When you’re in Ponyville, all you really need to know…is that you’re home now…and you’re all safe,” Rarity said, though her message managed to get across to the whole group.
Optimus was pleased to see the other Autobots smiling. Even Bumblebee showed some relief. It seems they were finally beginning to trust Twilight and her friends, just what Optimus wanted all along. The Autobot leader remained quiet as the hours ticked away, casually listening in with the stories the two different races shared with one another, ignoring the differences, the pasts, and the hardships they’ve all faced and just enjoying each other’s company. It gave Prime a good feeling inside.
That good feeling was instantly washed away when a loud blast came from above.
The stories were instantly cut in half as all eyes shot upwards. Twilight hadn’t even realized what time it was when she witnessed the setting sun being taken by monstrous storm clouds heading right for them. Lightning danced across the clouds’ edges from what the Alicorn could see. She could also feel the tiniest of rain droplets hitting her face.
“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow Dash gulped, nervously chuckling. “Hehe, I guess I forgot to mention that Ponyville’s Pegasi were sending a storm cloud through town today. Whoops.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Rainbow,” Applejack deadpanned, holding her hat from flying away. She squinted, noticing that the clouds were moving abnormally fast to their campsite. “We might as well head back now! Those buggers are lookin’ fierce!”
“Where are the Autobots going to stay?” Fluttershy shouted over the rising winds, her mane flapping wildly past her face.
Twilight, having taking her eyes from the deadly storm approaching Ponyville, brought her attention over to the six Autobots. They were all getting back to their feet, the ones that were sitting down that is, and were mumbling things to one another that the princess couldn’t hear. She could also see the looks each of her friends expressed. Her friends kept their eyes attached the towering giants around them, longing, waiting.
She knew what to do, and it might just give her some time alone with…him.
“Applejack,” Twilight announced loudly over the hissing winds. The farmpony turned to the Alicorn right as she began to speak, louder this time. “Do you mind taking Ironhide back to Sweet Apple Acres to hide from the storm?”
Applejack’s brow began to rise suspiciously. Her eyes suddenly widened when she noticed Twilight’s expression, her mouth in the shape of an “O.”
“Oh, shucks, Twi! There’s no problem to it!” Applejack said loudly, her head swiveling over the massive red Autobot. She smiled and shouted, “Mind followin’ me back ta the farm? Ah might be able ta find a place fer ya ta rest up a bit!”
Ironhide faced the orange pony. For several seconds all he did was continuously stare at her before finally nodding. The pony smiled, but her smile suddenly faded away when her hat flew off of her head. The wind managed to fool around with Applejack a bit more and captured her hat, making it tumble down the hill.
“Oh, shoot! Come back here!” she shouted, racing down the hill to retrieve the escaping hat. All of Applejack’s friends shared a laugh at the humorous scene of the farmpony chasing her hat. Ironhide found himself chuckling as well, his head swiveling over to Twilight.
“I’ll go help her out,” he assured them, taking a few steps away from the campsite. He stopped at the edge of the hilltop, turning his head back at the group. “I’ll see you all in the morning,” he told them, earning several nods from his fellow Autobots and even more smiles from the five mares. He couldn’t hold in the smile anymore.
As Ironhide’s heavy footsteps became more and more distant, Twilight turned her attention towards Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie, do you think you could take Jazz to Sugarcube Corner and find him a place to stay for the night?” the princess asked. The pink mare gasped loudly, her hoof slamming over her mouth. Twilight closed her eyes, a small smile remaining on her lips. That smile vanished as well as all the air in her lungs when she felt a pair of forelegs squeeze her entire body.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Pinkie squealed, her unnatural strength crushing the Alicorn.
“Pinkie…can’t…breath…please…let go!”
Twilight suddenly dropped to the dirt, her lungs expanding to take in a plentiful of oxygen. As she continued to struggle for breath, Twilight looked up when Pinkie started patting her on the head, her entire body zooming over to Jazz with speeds that Pinkie was known for. She jumped up quickly and snatched Jazz’s hand with her hooves. Using that incredible strength of hers, she managed to make Jazz bend over and pull him forward, his massive hand caught between her fumbling pink hooves.
“We’re gonna have the greatest sleepover EVER! We’ll stay up all night and tell scary stories, have pillow fights, watch some movies, and eat ice cream! OH MY GOSH WE CAN EAT ICE CREAM!!! I don’t know if you can eat it, then again Optimus couldn’t eat cake and he tried it when he wasn’t awake and he seemed to like it!” Pinkie screamed, dragging Jazz practically by his feet.
The Autobot looked over to Twilight, mouthing the words “Help me.”
As Princess Twilight struggled to contain her laughter, Rainbow Dash finally began to understand what Twilight was trying to do. Faking a yawn, though it soon became much more realistic, Rainbow spread out her wings and began to hover high above the group.
“Well, I’m gonna go to bed soon anyways soooo…Jetfire!” Rainbow said loudly, catching the Autobot by surprise. She flew down closer to him and asked, “Wanna crash at my place tonight?”
Jetfire shrugged, cracking his back which was full of rusty bolts and nuts. “Might as well,” Jetfire answered plain and simple. The two strolled off into the darkened hills, Rainbow leading the towering giant to her house in the clouds. Twilight could hear them laughing. She smiled.
“Oh, Cliffjumper!” Rarity sang, catching the eyes of both Twilight and the little red Autobot. She stood up and walked over to the edge of the hilltop, looking back at the group. “Would you be so kind as to walk a lady back home?” she asked while batting her eyelashes for effect.
Cliffjumper’s eyes grew wide. He grinned and saluted the white unicorn. “Of course!” Cliffjumper shouted, running up next to Rarity’s side. The two then walked together down the hill, their voices lost.
That just left the four of them alone. The fire was dying, and the approaching thunder made a certain Pegasus feel a bit more frightful than normal.
Fluttershy’s eyes zeroed in on the massive thunderstorm heading for Ponyville. Lightning danced across the skies, the pouring rain being seen in the distance. Her cyan eyes shrunk, light whimpers being formed in her throat and escaping past her lips.
“Oh no,” she began to finally talk, “I haven’t put the chickens back in their coop yet! They’re probably terrified and it’s all my fault!”
She felt two giant footsteps behind her, tempting the Pegasus to turn around. Optimus Prime looked down at the lone pony, each one of his arms crossing over each other. He saw her wings snap to her sides quickly as his dark shadow overcame her entire essence.
“Well,” Optimus’ tone was dark and heavy, earning a terrified squeak out of the pony beneath him, “you’re going to need some help gathering them all together.”
Fluttershy opened her eyes, a surprised look in her eyes. Optimus nodded her over closer to him as he began to walk away. “Come, I’ll take you home, Fluttershy,” Optimus’ powerful voice assured her, earning a relieved smile from the tiny mare.
“Thank goodness,” she breathed, her eyes snapping open when she witnessed Prime already at the edge of the hill, waving her over to him. “Coming!” she called out to him, trotting over to the Autobot leader.
As Optimus watched her walk past him, he slowly turned his head over to Twilight Sparkle. He motioned his head to the last Autobot standing alone, nodding only once to her.
With that, the last Prime turned around and walked away.
Princess Twilight let out a heavy sigh, nearly jumping out of her skin when some thunder boomed overhead. She spun her head around and noticed that the cloud was directly above them. It wouldn’t be long until the downpour came. She wouldn’t need to put out the fire.
This brought her attention to the final Autobot, the one who could talk…but couldn’t seem to find a voice.
Twilight stood up from her sitting position, slowly making her approach to the campfire. Even with the soft sprinkles of rainwater hitting it, a small hiss heard every few seconds, the fire burned on as strong as when she first created it with a little spark from her horn. That’s all it took. A spark created the wonderful fire that kept all of her friends warm in the cold winds.
Maybe that’s all it ever takes.
A spark.
The Alicorn looked away from the blissful heat and watched him. Bumblebee had his arms crossed, his back pressed against the same tree he had been standing by since he arrived there with them. His head was low, his shoulders were sagged, and she could barely make out his eyes only being half-open. He looked as miserable as a colt being scolded by his parents.
“Bumblebee…”
He rose his dented and scarred head up to look at the princess. Twilight slowly approached his position, the tiniest of smiles seen on her face.
She spoke again. “I just want you to know that you’re safe from now on. My friends are the kindest ponies in all of Ponyville, and without them…I’d be nothing. You don’t have to worry about anything ever coming to hurt you…because when you’re with us…you’re with family.”
Bumblebee’s mouth opened slightly.
Twilight continued, her eyes looking at the grass dancing around her purple hooves. “You might not feel accepted among your fellow Autobots because you’re not the strongest or the biggest, but you know what…” her glorious violet eyes stared right into Bumblebee’s. She offered her friendliest smile and said, “You’re the bravest.”
The Autobot simply stood there for the longest time. No thunder roared and no rain poured, it was completely silent. As his arms fell to his sides, Bumblebee found himself not only looking at a pony, but a pony that wasn’t using false testimony like the others did.
Back in the forest when he was first awakened, those ponies told him not to be afraid, that everything was going to be fine and they were there to help him. In his current situation, Bumblebee admitted to his guilt that he believed them, even letting down his guard for one second. And when he didn’t see it coming…they lied and shot at him. That’s why he ran.
He ran from their lies, from their hatred, from everything they promised him.
This pony was different. The tone in her voice, the story she told earlier and the emotions she shed. This pony cared for him.
When you’re with us…you’re with family.
“Thank you…” Bumblebee muttered, watching carefully as a large smile spread across the pony’s face. He got off from the tree he was leaning on, his head slightly tilting to the left.
“By the way…what was your name again?”
Twilight sat in front of him, her hoof extending. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and welcome to Equestria.”
The Autobot was cautious for several untracked seconds. He stared at her hoof, his own hand leaning forward to grab it. He could see Twilight’s smile increase. His index finger was incredibly close to her hoof, a new spark slowly being created between the two of them.
Thunder shook the skies, an onslaught of rain to go with that.
“Oh no!” Twilight yelped, her wings shielding her head from the heavy raindrops painting all the hills around them. Bumblebee was still new to this strange type of weather, but didn’t seem to mind as much as Twilight did. He did see her mane and tail getting soaked though, something she really didn’t want to happen.
“Let’s get outta here!” Princess Twilight screamed as the storm washed over them.
Bumblebee pointed forward, the rain pelting his metal skin.
“Lead the way!” he shouted back.
Twilight and Bumblebee took off like two terrified fillies. The princess’ wings kept her head from getting mostly wet, but that didn’t stop the rain from making all the dirt as slippery as can be. She slipped and tumbled a few times here and there, getting mud all over her coat. Bumblebee would fall too, his rusty exterior getting worse. Strangely though, the two didn’t seem to mind it. In fact, they seemed to be having fun.
As Twilight lay in the mud she slipped in, she looked up to witness Bumblebee fall flat on his back. The scene was all too funny for her not to burst out laughing. She felt something that night, something she’d been looking for since she first saw how sad Bumblebee appeared.
She found the spark. Twilight found that spark when she heard Bumblebee laughing.