Chapter 7
In a private speaking chamber in Canterlot, Optimus Prime, Prowl, Celestia, and Luna were discussing the current situation at hand. Outside the door, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Spike, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker were waiting.
Ironhide had his head lightly pressed against the door. “I can hear ‘em talkin’, but I can’t make anything out clear.”
Twilight noticed that all of the newcomers appeared nervous, so she decided to break up the tension. “You know, we all never really had a chance to properly introduce ourselves to each other since we met in the forest. My name is Twilight Sparkle. Girls, if you would be so kind?”
The ponies began individually introducing themselves to the giants.
“My name’s Pinkie Pie!”
“The one n’ only Rainbow Dash!”
“I’m Applejack!”
“I am Rarity, the pleasure is mine.”
“I-I’m…Fluttershy.”
“And I’m Spike.”
The Autobots did the same.
“I am the amazing Sunstreaker!”
“And I’m Sideswipe!”
“You can call me Bumblebee.”
“Name’s Ironhide!”
“I’m Ratchet.”
“So, who are the other two that are in the room?” Pinkie asked.
“The big one is Optimus Prime and the other one is Prowl,” Sideswipe replied, “Who’s in there with ‘em?”
“Princess Celestia is the white one and Princess Luna is the blue one,” Rarity said.
“Alright, now that we have the formalities out of the way,” Twilight said, “I want to ask you five what everypony here has been thinking. Who are you? What are you? And where did you come from?”
“Well, we figured you lot would ask us that sooner or later. In fact I’m pretty sure that’s what the others in the room have been doing for the past ten minutes,” Ratchet said, “So I suppose I’ll tell ya. No Ironhide, you will not tell them the story. If you or any of the others do you’ll only confuse the organics. So gather around, its story time.”
“Oh! Oh! I love story time!” Pinkie Pie excitedly said while bouncing around in circles.
“For some reason that one seems a little fond of me,” Ratchet said quietly to Bumblebee.
“Oh really, ya think?” Bumblebee said with a sarcastically playful tone while Pinkie Pie continued to bounce around uncontrollably.
“Alright settle down, settle down,” Ratchet said, “It all started many millions of years ago on a planet called Cybertron…”
“So you are aliens!” Rainbow Dash called out.
“And you’re from a place called “Cybertron”?” Twilight asked.
“And did you say you all are millions of years old?” Pinkie Pie inquired.
Ratchet sighed. “Yes, you heard me right. All that I said was true. Now you may be thinking that I’m just pulling your legs about our age, but let me make one thing clear to all of you.”
“What would that be?” Twilight asked.
“…We are not made of flesh and blood like you ponies. I, and my comrades, are Cybertronians. Robots. We are made of metal, circuitry, and exclusively to us, energon. Trust me, our kind goes farther back than you can imagine. Machines last longer than organics.”
The ponies seemed taken aback by this revelation. Unsure what to say at first, Twilight managed to say: “So, you’re technically not alive?”
“Well that’s just a matter of perspective, Twilight. We are self- aware, sentient, just like you, so we actually are alive. You don’t need organs to count.”
“So then, what do you look like on the inside?”
“Well lemme show you.” Ratchet then grabbed one side of his chest, and pulled it open like a door, revealing the complicated wiring and electronics inside him.
The ponies gasped. Rarity fainted, Fluttershy hid behind Applejack, and Rainbow Dash flew up to Ratchet’s chest. “Whoa! That is so cool!” she said, “Could you teach me how to do that?”
“No,” Ratchet said bluntly.
“Aw, but why not?” Rainbow Dash asked with big teary eyes.
“Because while a machine like me can survive this process, an organic like you would simply spill their blood and guts and die as a result.”
This brought Rainbow Dash back to the realm of reason. “Oh. Well, um, never mind then.”
Ratchet resumed his story. “Anyways, where were we? Ah yes, we barely started. Millions of years ago on Cybertron, we were a peaceful race, much like you ponies. When one day, the war started. The instigator in question, was Megatron. I trust you three have already familiarized yourselves with him?” Ratchet looked to Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike. They nodded.
“Megatron was and still is the leader of the Decepticons, a group of Cybertronians whose appetite for destruction and lust for power know no bounds. But of course, the rest of Cybertron wasn’t exactly too fond of these terrorists who wished to enslave them, so, the Autobots were formed, which is what we are. We wish for freedom, and we are led by the greatest leader one could wish for, Optimus Prime.”
“He’s the one who saved us,” Spike said.
“Correct, and you were quite lucky too. Any other Autobot would have easily been defeated in a fight of such uneven odds. Not Optimus, though. Anyways, after millions of years of fighting, Cybertron began to run increasingly low on energy, and we had to leave on a ship called The Ark. During our flight though, the Decepticons intercepted us with their own ship, The Nemesis, and we both crashed on a planet extremely similar to yours called Earth.”
“And then what happened?” The ponies and dragon asked.
“The crash had put us all into stasis lock for four million years. When we awoke, we resumed our fighting. Fortunately for us Autobots, the dominant species of organics that inhabited Earth quickly became our allies, and helped fight off the Decepticons. They call themselves “humans”.”
“More aliens?” Twilight asked, “What do they look like?”
“Well actually, they look like us. A lot like us. Except they are made of meat like you and are on average about half as tall as Bumblebee here,” Ratchet said while putting his hand to Bumblebee’s waist. “But on with the story. Up to this point, our war has raged on Earth for ten years. Occasionally we go back to Cybertron but only for special missions against the Decepticons. Then one day, our top scientist, Perceptor, came up with this idea about space bridges. Uh, teleportation to put it simply. Now space bridges require two nodes to work, but Perceptor had thought he found a way to do it one way. But when we tried it the volunteer team, us, instead ended up falling through some unknown and barely recognizable place. Apparently the Decepticons had been trying out the same technology at the same time, so they were there with us! In hindsight I think that may be why the accident happened in the first place. But then everything blacked out for the most of us and next thing we know we were in the middle of a forest in a crater. So, that’s our story. Any questions?”
The ponies appeared lost in thought for a while.
“Um, could ya’ll please repeat that for us?” Applejack somewhat nervously asked.
Ratchet was clearly frustrated. “Okay, fine, how about this? We are giant alien robots from another dimension. We are the good guys. The others you saw fly off are the bad guys. Better?”
“Um, yes,” Applejack said, who was still a little confused.
“Now I would like to ask you a question. What’s the name of this place?”
“Equestria. We are currently in the castle of Canterlot.”
“I see.”
Then Spike spoke up. “Hey you guys, when we first saw Optimus, he was a box on wheels, then he turned into a giant. How did he do that? Can you all change your bodies?”
“Well sure we can lil’ fella! It’s called transforming,” Ironhide replied.
“Transforming? How does that work?” Rarity asked.
Bumblebee stepped up, and transformed into his vehicle mode. “Like this, see? Now I’m a car!”
“A…car?”
“A Human vehicle. They use them to travel long distances. There are different types and names but I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.”
“I see,” Twilight said, “But why do you do it? Is transforming used only for locomotion?”
“No, we also use it for disguise. Any one of us could perfectly blend into a populated human area. Here, I don’t see the point in bothering.” Bumblebee transformed back into a robot.
“So, what did Starscream and the other “Seekers” turn into? Those triangles?”
“Yeah, humans call them jets. They’re used for aerial fighting. Fits the Decepticons perfectly.”
For a long time the two groups conversed about various topics such as magic, electricity, space, robotics, and so on. An hour passed when Optimus, Prowl, Celestia, and Luna finally exited the room. They were walking toward the main entrance, and the others who had waited followed. They opened the doors, revealing hundreds of ponies waiting at the steps. They all gasped when the saw the Autobots step out into the light, tall, strong, and frightening. Celestia raised a hoof to signal silence, and the mass of ponies settled down. She cleared her throat.
“Citizens of Equestria! Now I know this is a major shock to all of us, but, we have officially made first contact with aliens.”
A loud murmur rose from the crowd.
“However,” Celestia continued, “I need you all to know that not all of our visitors are friendly. Some of them are very dangerous. Oh no not these ones here, oh no, no, they are the good ones. The evil ones, known as the Decepticons, are hiding somewhere in our land, and I ask all of you to please not search them out, for your own safety. But on a happier note, I would like you all to please meet and welcome the Autobots and their leader, Optimus Prime, our newest friends!”
A loud cheer rose from the crowd. Celestia turned to Optimus, who was standing next to her. Celestia gave a low bow to him, and Optimus returned the bow to her. As the Autobots waved to the crowd, Bumblebee turned his head over to Ironhide. “Maybe this place will be as good as Earth or Cybertron…”
Pinkie Pie popped up. “Let’s start this party!”
Several miles away, in the mountains…
“Soundwave, have you picked up any signal from the other Decepticons?” Megatron asked Soundwave as he repaired his leg wound. The Decepticons had found a shallow cave to hide in for the time being from the Autobots. While Megatron, Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker sat in the cave repairing themselves, Soundwave was standing outside of the cave on the cliff edge. He was scanning the air for radio signals.
“Negative, Lord Megatron. Continuing operation,” Soundwave answered.
Starscream looked angrily at Megatron. “So, oh glorious leader, what brilliant plan do you have in mind now, huh?”
“Simple,” Megatron responded, “We lay low until we fix ourselves and pick up a signal. And Starscream?”
“Yes Lord Megatron?”
“Shut the slag up.”