//------------------------------//
// A Spark in the Dark 
// Story: Transformares (Not So) Animated 
// by neorenamon 
//------------------------------//

by neorenamon

Nightmaretron left her prisoners alone while she went to consult with Princess Megatron, but no one had any doubts that either Blitzwing or Astrotrain was left behind to guard them. While Nightmaretron was perfectly willing to make them suffer, Megatron would most likely have ordered termination for any escape attempt.
Twilight looked to Princess Celestia, and noticed that she was still weeping lightly even though their tormentors had taken their leave. She had to wonder just how much she still cared for Nightmaretron regardless of what she turned into. Could her sister have been so different before she became Nightmare Moon? Could Celestia have done something to fix the situation other than banish her forever? 
She had to wonder how the ruler of Equestria could not have known about the prophecy regarding Nightmare Moons escape from her imprisonment on the moon, or the strange prediction about the coming of Decepticons and Autobots to Equestria. Perhaps living a thousand years had lulled Celestia into some false sense of security. It seemed most likely that she handled every crisis since Nightmare Moon's being banished to the moon with her Guards (or herself if she had to).
Yet the wise and benevolent Celestia didn't seem like the kind of pony to not look into something that would threaten the well being of her subjects, and she wasn't beyond doing what she had to to protect them. Including banishing her own sister to the moon.
Then Twilight looked around to see what the others were doing. They had struggled to some degree or another for hours trying to get loose from the bonds that Discord had placed on them to no effect. He certainly had powerful magic and he surely knew how to use it. Then she noticed that Sari was doing something. She took some time to crawl closer and look. With her arms tied down, her legs tightly bound together and her hands behind her back, it was a struggle for her to move. Sari was rolling around, but it didn't look like she was trying to get loose. But then she saw something in her hands behind her back: The Key.
That strange device that when combined with a fragment of the AllSpark, allowed all of them to access their Autobot abilities and change into their new forms. Perhaps the Key could do other things. So Twilight continued to squirm forward. She knew that she had the best chance to get the key into her body and she knew the guard outside would surely take action if he saw the key in Sari's hand.
It would have been a simple matter to move the key with her magic, but Discord was smart enough to make sure that her powers were tied down as well. She glanced at Rare Seeked laying on her back and noticed that he hadn't even bothered to take away their horns. A look at Flutterstorm told her that she still had her wings. All they had to do was have one of them get loose. She just had a feeling that Rainbow Bolt hadn't abandoned them out on the field of battle, but wondered how she could convince anypony else to come help them.
She drew closer and closer until she was right behind Sari when she heard something that made her scared: "Knock of the noise making in here!" growled Astrotrain, "If I think for one nanoclick that you are up to something, I'm going to jam my hoof-plate somewhere you won't appreciate it!"
Everypony and Sari became perfectly still. The quiet seemed to reassure Astrotrain that his threats had the intended effect.
Twilight hoped she was close enough that her own body blocked the view of the key. A glance over her shoulder told her that he was no longer right by the door.
"Curse these strange organic forms," muttered Astrotrain, "Now I have to vent these waste fluids somewhere. How do organics have to put up with this so much?"
She was pretty sure that she heard him walk away. Twilight could guess well enough that someone had to leave the dungeon in order to get somewhere to relieve one's self, but she also wasn't sure just how long before he would come back.
'Think Twilight,' she thought, 'The key acted when it was in contact with an AllSpark fragment, but I don't think we have one of those.'
She looked around and noticed the pieces of the shattered Elements of Harmony scattered on the floor where they broke.
'Perhaps even in there current state, there might just be enough magic left in them...'
So she used her nose to push one of the larger fragments towards Sari and the Key. Sari looked back over her should and noticed what Twilight was doing, so she struggled to move herself and the Key closer to the Element fragment. Twilight could tell that Sari had some idea of what she was trying to do. The others noticed what was happening and were surely encouraging the two of them on in their own way. Well, except for Pinkie. She seemed content to have her eyes closed tight.
It seemed like forever as the two inched closer. The fragment drew closer to the key.
"Ugh, I can't stand the fluids I have to intake in order to maintain this organic body!"
'By Celestia's tail!' thought Twilight, 'I don't think I can get the fragment to the key before...'
Suddenly a wind-up pony toy popped out of Pinkie's mane. The thing was red and green, and it kind of looked like a toy version of Big Macintosh. It walked over making little squeaking sounds until it took the fragment from her lips and took it over to the key. Twilight wondered what was controlling the thing since Pinkie's eyes were still closed. Nothing seemed to happen when the fragment was put at the end of the key, but then the toy just pulled the key out of Sari's hand.
'By Celestia's horn, what is it doing?'
It came back towards Twilight holding the key in it's mouth. With its awkward gait, it moved rather slowly. It also looked like it could fall over on the rough stone floor at any second.
'Oh that toy is so slow!' she thought as she looked towards the cell door, 'Astrotrain could be looking back in her any second!'
"I said stop making racket in here!" growled Astrotrain, "Don't make me come in there!"
'Oh I want to help my friends so much!' Something seemed to click in her mind as she thought, 'My friends!' She looked at the strange ponies she just met not so long ago and realized that they were in fact her friends. All she wanted to do was help them. She didn't even have to look at her own chest to feel panels opening. 'PLEASE GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO HELP MY FRIENDS!' She felt the Key enter into her chest and then the key turned. Her body erupted with powerful light. Light shone from her eyes like spotlights. She floated up into the air even as her bonds vanished without a trace. Her body oriented itself so that she was upright.
"Oh this can't be good!" cried Astrotrain, "I better get Princess Megatron and Nightmaretron down here at once!"
She just caught a glimpse as Astrotrain galloped away.
"I don't know why," said Twilight Prime aloud, "but I just... know what I must do now!"
The bonds on her friends and the stasis cuffs on Celestia vanished. Once free, their eyes began to glow as well.
For some reason, Twilight wasn't surprised when she heard Celestia say, "CELESTIA PRIME TRANSFORM!" She now seemed as humanoid as everypony else. But Twilight was mostly focused on something else.
"I know what the mystery Element of Harmony is!" she called, "IT'S MAGIC!" Her spark chamber opened as her spark floated out, glowing for all to see. And then the last Element of Harmony separated itself from her very spark.
"I knew you'd figure it out," sighed Celestia Prime.
The fragments of the other Elements came together even as the two stolen Elements suddenly came back. Now all six of the Elements of Harmony were circling around Twilight Prime.
"Something's going on, Lord Megatron!" shouted Astrotrain as he came back, "And I don't like it!"
"How did those foals get back the two Elements I didn't destroy?!" growled Nightmaretron.
Suddenly, the place shook slightly as explosions were heard throughout the stone around them.
"OH NOW WHAT?!" growled Megatron.
"It's time to go!" announced the glowing Twilight Prime as a wormhole opened over her head.
Lord Megatron and the others arrived just in time to see their prisoners all sucked up into the wormhole even as it closed behind them.
...
Twilight and the others arrived on an unbroken piece of the castle roof, but she only glowed brighter as she rose higher. They could see the Shadowbolts and Rainbow Bolt leading the assault against the castle. Apparently they had driven the Cons back to cover with their intense barrage of rockets, bombs and cannonfire.
"TWILIGHT PRIME!!" she called, "SUPER MODE!!"