//------------------------------// // Chapter 84-The Bounty // Story: Transformers: The Requiem // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// “No…” Jetfire’s blue eye faded to black. Twilight’s ears fell flat against her bruised skull, tears falling from her eyes at a brisk pace. As she lay in the center of Ponyville’s road, the fires from the houses giving the area an eerie—almost haunting—look, the fallen Autobot before her breathed his final breath with his adversary laughing to the heavens. Twilight shut her eyes tight, refusing to look at Jetfire’s severed head and into his eyes that would not ever hold life again. She cried, now fully embracing the horrors of warfare and all that came with it. Just like before… Pain. Suffering. Death. …Loss. The laughing ceased. Twilight lifted up her head and opened her eyes, still suffering over the loss of her friend. Her emotions were forced back inside when she was met with the end of the barrel from Starscream’s rifle. “You see, princess,” Starscream began, his silver tongue tracing against Twilight’s ears, making her shiver. “Your Autobots aren’t unstoppable. You aren’t unstoppable. We’ve taken your world, enjoyed its riches, and now we are one step closer to total victory.” The princess whimpered in pain, more tears falling from her eyes. Starscream smirked, his foot kicking aside Jetfire’s remains. “Your world is gone, Sparkle, and the sooner you are wiped out from existence…the sooner each and every one of your precious, little friends will give in.” Twilight watched as the end of the barrel began to glow. She could still see Starscream’s wicked smile. “Just like Equestria…you fall.” He fired. Twilight held her breath and waited for the bullet to hit its mark. The dirt next to her exploded, yet she remained fine. Well, more or less. Surprised, the princess looked up to be met with a sight that made her heart skip a beat. A rainbow trail led straight over her head and into Starscream’s face, causing both the Decepticon and pony that rammed him to stumble backwards. She knew well enough who had come to her aid. “GAH! Wretched equine!” Starscream bellowed, swiping his fist in an attempt to smack the bothersome pony to the dirt. However, the cyan Pegasus was much too quick for the faltering Starscream, and she responded to his swipes with one of her own. Rainbow Dash flew behind the Decepticon, appearing underneath and his legs and jetting straight to his chin. Her hoof connected perfectly against Starscream’s lower jaw, sending the fumbling Transformer into a clumsy backpedal. “You’re not hurting my friends anymore!” the Pegasus screamed, rushing straight for the Decepticon while he was dazed. Her speed picked rather quickly, and just before she could prepare herself for another head-on collision… …Starscream’s hand stopped her. Twilight gasped. Starscream glared hatefully at the struggling Rainbow Dash in his grip. With a scream of anger, he slammed the pony into the dirt right by his feet. Rainbow hit the ground with a loud thud and an ear-splitting crack that made the Pegasus cry out in pain. Starscream didn’t stop there. He advanced on the wounded pony, sending a powerful kick into her side which launched the Pegasus next to Twilight’s side. With Starscream clutching his jaw in pain and shouting curse after curse, Twilight took what little time she could and crawled over to her friend. It hurt her body, but it hurt even more so to see Rainbow Dash, her friend, crying in pain as she lay in the dirt. Twilight crawled until she was right next to Rainbow. She spoke, her voice cracking. “…Rainbow Dash…you…you saved me.” The rainbow-haired Pegasus managed a weak smile, painful tears still boiling in her eyes as she chuckled. Twilight bit her lower lip, eyeing Rainbow clutching her twisted wing. “Is it broken?” the Alicorn princess asked. Rainbow Dash stared down at her left wing, noticing the odd angle it created. She prodded it gently with her hoof, hissing in agony, more tears rolling down her cheeks. “Yeah… Yeah, I think it’s broken,” Rainbow managed to sputter. “Oh, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight whimpered, leaning in and nuzzling Rainbow’s cheek affectionately. “I’m sorry…this is all my fault. I never wanted any of you to risk your lives for me. If it wasn’t for me…none of this would be happening.” Rainbow actually managed a genuine smile, though her grunts of pain made it disappear for a few, short moments. She said, “Hey, don’t say that. We’re friends…and friends risk their lives for one another. It’s what we do… It’s what I do.” Twilight began to smile, but it was interrupted by two loud crashes appearing from her side. Both she and Rainbow Dash turned their eyes to the source, only Rainbow glaring in sheer hatred at the being standing before them. Starscream glared right back, his rifle aimed right at the two. “I’ve had it with you, Rainbow Dash! I’ve had it with this scrapping world! When I finish you off, I’ll be sure to tell your friends how you begged for mercy at the hands of Star-!” A sword flew right over their heads, slicing Starscream’s rifle in half. A look of pure terror had stricken Starscream’s expression as he watched his rifle fall apart in his hands, the sword tumbling to the dirt to his far left. With the two mares lying before him still awestruck, the hate-filled Decepticon Seeker turned towards the direction the blade had soared from. “Who dares challenge the might of Starscream?!” An Autobot rushed through the smoke and haze, tossing his second sword right at the Decepticon. Starscream was unprepared for the blade approaching at such quick speeds, and the very tip of the sword was launched right into his left shoulder. Starscream yelped in pain, turning once more to face his assailant. He watched helplessly as the Autobot pounced on him, ripping the sword from his shoulder and sending a powerful kick into his chest at the same time. Starscream flew backwards from the force of the kick, his body impacting a small house. Starscream disappeared under the falling house. With relieved sighs, the two mares looked up to be greeted by their savior. Drift. The Autobot reached down to pick up the first sword he tossed. With his blades rightly returned, Drift brought his eyes down to the two ponies, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, both clearly injured. He lowered the tip of his sword to them. “Quickly now, we have not much time before the Decepticons move in! We still need to get you six to the castle!” After finally realizing what Drift was doing, Rainbow reached forward and gripped her hoof on the top of the sword, the portion that wasn’t sharp, and pulled herself up. As her broken wing hung lazily at her side, Rainbow proceeded to assist the wounded princess. Twilight grunted in pain as she stood back up on all fours, assisted by Rainbow, of course. She looked up at Drift, tears still fresh in her eyes. “I can’t go anymore… The castle’s too far away,” she whimpered as Rainbow nuzzled her for comfort. Drift, however, wasn’t having any of it. “It’s not too far away! Come, I will protect each and every one of you!” Drift stated firmly, moving down the road to where Twilight presumed her castle was. It was hard to tell. There was still so much smoke building up all around her. With Rainbow Dash never leaving her side, the princess proceeded to limp towards her destination. Drift waited for them as they passed, and just before he could follow…something caught his glance. Something… Drift turned his optics back towards the road, the same area he saved the two ponies from Starscream’s wrath. He was met with a sight that made his Energon freeze. A Transformer’s remains lay scattered across the dirt. A severed head sat silently, its eyes forever dark. A fallen warrior. Drift’s jaw fell only slightly. A fallen Autobot. He stood as silent as the breeze in the burning battlegrounds of Ponyville. A sword in each hand, a weight on each shoulder, the Decepticon turned Autobot gazed longingly at the first casualty he’s experienced while fighting for justice. The fallen warrior, the Autobot, gazed at his thriving companion, the one who wasn’t fast enough to save them all. Drift lowered his head, his optics slowly shutting. “…Drift!” The faint call of a friend… Drift turned his gaze around, locking his eyes with Rainbow Dash. She and Twilight were both several feet ahead of him, still waiting for him, their protector. She called out once more. “Come on, dude! Twilight’s not gonna make it much longer!” Drift lingered his gaze towards Twilight. She coughed, sputtering out droplets of blood that painted the dirt dark crimson. Rainbow held her close, her eyes continuously full of worry. The Autobot sent one last gaze to his fallen comrade before turning and running for the ponies, his friends. The fallen warrior remained where he was, forever lost with no one able to save him. Only with sacrifice can there be victory. Whoever shall fall will be met with peace, Drift hopefully thought. And by Primus, Drift was going to get them to safety no matter what. He came next to Rainbow’s side, nodding to her. She nodded back. Despite my darkest moods you reach out, take my hand, and lead me toward hope. By Primus, he was going to protect his friends. The only thing Twilight could recognize from Swoop’s crash was that it completely decimated Ponyville’s dirt road. Large chunks of earth and rock pockmarked the landscape while indents in the road led to a single smoking crash site, a crash site surrounded by her friends. “Guys…I found Twilight!” Rainbow called out, still holding onto the limping princess. Twilight lifted up her head to see her friends once more. Though her vision continued to fade in and out, she focused and managed to catch a glimpse of what the crash had done for all of her companions. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper stood together over the smoking crater where Swoop resigned. Both Autobots had scorch marks with numerous bumps and tears along their armor plates. Still, they stood strong without any looks of pain across their face. Applejack sat bitterly, listening to Rarity’s continued complaints over her ruined mane and chipped hoof. Applejack merely rolled her eyes. They had just survived a crash from more than a hundred feet in the air and she was complaining about how she looked. Sometimes…Applejack just couldn’t believe the mare. Pinkie Pie sat patiently near the crater while Fluttershy tended to the injured Dinobot within the smoke. The butter Pegasus gently placed her hoof on Swoop’s beak, instantly bringing it back once Swoop whimpered in pain. Fluttershy could only shed a few tears over the agony Swoop must be experiencing. Twilight lowered her head, her eyelids slowly falling. Once Rainbow Dash approached with Twilight under her foreleg, Applejack and Rarity were quick to come to Twilight’s aid, Pinkie galloping right behind them. Fluttershy remained in the crater, gently whispering soothing tones to the wounded Dinobot. Drift walked past them, his eyes set on his fellow Autobots that had survived the crash. Bumblebee turned to face Drift first, Cliffjumper following. “I see you found Twilight,” Bee observed, bringing his attention to Drift and Drift alone, no one else. A look of confusion struck Bee’s features, causing him to ask the inevitable question. “Hey…where’s Jetfire?” After waiting several seconds and still not getting an answer, Bumblebee brought his gaze towards Drift, noticing that his fellow Autobot wasn’t looking at him but at the dirt. He clenched onto his swords tighter, his body slightly trembling. Cliffjumper stepped forward. “What…what happened? Drift stared miserably to the side. He sighed heavily, more burning ashes falling around him. “Jetfire is not coming back.” At the moment those words left his lips, several gasps erupted from the group of mares behind him. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper simply stared at Drift, no words being formed or thought of. Drift brought his head back when he knew they could only respond in silence, the only type of response Drift really needed at the moment. He faced the road again. “The enemy is closing in. Come, we need to keep moving.” Drift took a step forward… “Wait!” …then prominently brought it back. All eyes were brought to the small, yellow Pegasus stepping out of the crater, her body covered in ash and soot. Her mane was strung together in shambles, the tips of her mane remaining burnt, possibly from the crash. However, despite her body’s defeated posture, her eyes stared bravely into Drift’s, never backing down. Drift faced Fluttershy. She pointed her hoof back to the crater where the demolished form of Swoop remained. She said, “We can’t just leave Swoop here! The poor thing can barely move, let alone try and defend himself!” “The more we try and argue, Fluttershy,” Drift began, his eyes pleading, “the more the enemy grows in strength. If we do not move now then we will never reach Twilight’s castle unharmed!” “Swoop needs our help!” Fluttershy cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. “And he will receive help,” Drift assured. He pointed the tip of the sword in his left hand down the road, the road that led to their destination. “Once you and your friends enact the Rainbow Power within you, then we can return for him. But we must hurry or none of us are going to make it! Jetfire’s death would have been in vain if we don’t finish the mission, the mission he gave his life for!” “But…b-but we n-need to-” Fluttershy stammered, only to be interrupted by Rainbow Dash. She felt a soft hoof on her shoulder. Fluttershy turned her gaze over to Rainbow, the Pegasus staring into her eyes, not with malice, not with anger, but with understanding and regret. Fluttershy’s jaw fell slightly. “Come on, Flutters,” Rainbow whispered, this time smiling. “We won’t be long to get the Rainbow Power started. Swoop can hold out until then.” Indifferent with her choices, Fluttershy eyed Drift again. He nodded to her, his face set in stone. “It is what Jetfire would have wanted, that I can assure you,” the Autobot said, his voice traveling amongst the group. His words fell on the ears of every pony, including Twilight, making her heart sink. They all nodded to one another, standing up and trotting over to Drift. Fluttershy, though hesitant at first, cast one last glance over to the crater Swoop still remained in. She gazed longingly at the Dinobot slowly being consumed by the smoke, sighing quietly in the end. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper watched as the yellow Pegasus stood with her five friends, all ready to continue on. The two Autobots watched Drift carefully, his eyes following the six mares. Reluctantly, the two followed behind the group, their right hands morphing into their weapons. Swoop’s painful screeches could still be heard. Fluttershy whimpered, cuddling closer to Applejack for comfort. Their cuddling came to an abrupt end once they connected to the rest of the group, who had, for some reason, stopped in the middle of the road. Each mare, hidden behind the mighty legs of the Autobot Drift, stepped out from behind his towering figure. Twilight, still clutching Rainbow’s foreleg for support, lifted up her head and sighed with relief. They made it. Her castle was right up ahead. They made it. Twilight took the first step forward. “Stay back!” Drift warned, spreading out his legs in a protective-like barrier in front of the six ponies. The six behind him remained as confused and shocked as ever. However, Drift continued to speak, his head swiveling back and forth. “We are not alone…” With his warning given, the six quickly noticed the rising flying objects approaching from the skies. The figures of several, if not hundreds, Decepticon and Alliance soldiers stepped out from behind the buildings, even from the sides of Twilight’s castle. The princess sighed again, not with relief but with sorrow. She closed her eyes. They were so close. So close. Drift eyed the skies as every second passed, his swords spread out as far as he could have managed. Numerous Alliance airships hovered from behind the group, their underbellies opening up to reveal twin muzzles pointed downwards right at them. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper aimed their weapons up, using their own bodies as a shield for the ponies behind them. If the enemy was going to fire first, Bee and Cliff would make sure that the ponies would live. They couldn’t be harmed. They just couldn’t. Drift stared down the large army presented ahead of him and his friends. It consisted of about fifty or more Decepticon troopers standing alongside a squadron of Alliance Spider Tanks, all standing in the path to Twilight’s castle. Filling the road, the sides, and even the rooftops were hundreds of Alliance ponies, mares and stallions, all ready to strike them down. They were surrounded, just as Drift’s worst fears were confirmed. Drift tightened his grip. His swords began to shudder. A single Decepticon trooper stepped forward. Drift eyed him cautiously. He could feel the ponies beneath him starting to get uneasy, all of them moving closer together. Drift clenched his jaw. The Decepticon trooper raised his right hand. All of the tanks aimed their guns at them. Every single Alliance soldier readied their Energon rifles. Each Decepticon pointed their respected firearms at the small group of ponies and even smaller group of Autobots. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper stood side by side, their backs nearly pressing against Drift’s. Together, the three formed a barrier around the six ponies, a barrier strong enough to hold the line for a very short moment. Once that moment would end, Drift knew he had to tell them to run, to leave them behind. Through it all, in the end, they needed to live. The ponies were the key, not him or his brothers. “Girls…” Drift said, his voice becoming quiet. He couldn’t see them, but he could feel them staring up at him. “When I say run…you run.” “Drift…” Twilight’s weak voice called out. The Decepticon trooper lifted his hand high in the air, and then quickly brought it- A low hum. Twilight’s head shot up. The sound petrified her, a chill racing across her spine whenever it entered her ears. She wasn’t the only one. All of her friends, Autobots included, brought their eyes up to the clouds and smoke, constantly looking around. They weren’t the only ones. The Decepticon trooper, with his hand still raised, turned his head to the skies, motioning his gaze back and forth. Numerous other Decepticons followed his actions. Even more Alliance soldiers did so, as well. The sound continued on, spreading over Ponyville like a wildfire that couldn’t be contained. Sooner or later, it stopped. “…Oh no,” Twilight breathed, slowly turning her head around. Her friends did the same, eyeing the heavy clouds blocking out the sky behind them. She expected the Nemesis to burst through those clouds any moment. Never did she expect the missiles to fly out and hit the Alliance airships. One by one, each airship was blown out of the sky by a single rocket that rained down from the clouds. The debris followed quickly, slamming into the road or a small house with a powerful explosion to go with it. The mares cringed back, still holding onto one another and peeping out from behind the legs of their Autobot protectors. The missiles continued to fall until no more airships hung in the skies. The Alliance was horrified, and aimed their weapons towards the clouds instead of the targets in the street. Each Spider Tank followed the actions of the ponies around them, each Decepticon doing the same. With the weapons no longer aimed at them, Drift spun around and stared into the heavy clouds and dark smoke. His optics narrowed, his hearing processors sharpened, his grip on his blades tightened. He waited for the Nemesis to appear just like Twilight, but something didn’t feel right. Those missiles struck down Alliance forces. Drift knew who was commanding the Nemesis, and he knew that they would never fire on their own ally. That same, low hum returned, this time stronger, bigger, and much more menacing. It entered Ponyville. And it wasn’t the Nemesis. Hearing Drift mutter words of disbelief, Twilight squinted to catch a good look at the ship lowering itself into Ponyville. It wasn't the Nemesis by any means. The ship that slowly hovered down to Ponyville was jagged and dark silver with five massive pillars circling the base. A bright, orange circle glowed violently in the front of the ship, where Twilight presumed the bridge to be. It wasn’t the fact that the ship rivaled the Nemesis in size that scared Twilight. It wasn’t because of the ship’s imposing image, as if it screamed, “Look at me! I’m superior!” Oh, no, the thing that frightened Twilight was Drift’s fearful tongue muttering just loud enough so she could hear. It is impossible. This cannot be true. Why here? Why now? If Drift found a reason to worry…then something was surely wrong. Everyone watched as the ship lowered itself about fifty feet above the ground. It stopped. The entire ship stopped and hovered above Ponyville silently, its engines bringing up tornadoes of dust and dirt underneath its shadow. Everything was silent for the longest time… And then something emerged. Twilight watched as a dark being leapt from the top of the ship and landed on the rooftop of Town Hall. Wood shattered from the force of the being’s landing, and yet it stood up fully, staring at them from afar. Twilight felt as if its green eyes were staring directly into hers, causing her to shiver. Those thoughts were cast aside once Drift began to speak profoundly again. Twilight turned her head back. The look on Drift’s face was something she would’ve never expected from him. Fear. Total, unrelenting, uncontrollable fear. He muttered three words. “He followed me.” Lockdown glared at his hunt. His green visor slammed down on his chin.