Twilight found herself buried under a thin layer of twigs, rock, and dust. The last thing she could recall was the Decepticons firing their missiles, then everything went blank. “Twilight, you alright?” Smokescreen asked, turning on his only functioning headlight.
“Yeah, I think so,” she answered. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she noticed there was a thick layer of rock and tree hovering above her, however, it lacked the support to not collapse.
“Wow, it’s a miracle we weren't crushed,” Smokescreen remarked.
“Yeah...miracle,” she muttered. She flew up to the layer of rock, scrutinizing it as she hovered. After examining the ceiling more thoroughly, she noticed a slight blue glow on the stone.
She turned to see Princess Luna standing behind her like a living pillar, holding up the ceiling of rock, dirt, and wood that would otherwise crush them all. Luna grunted as beads of sweat danced across her blue coat. She held her head low, almost to the ground, straining to hold the tons of stone above them. Though it wasn't enough to completely cover the cave floor, it was still a massive amount of debris. “How is she doing that?” Smokescreen questioned, awestruck.
"Princess Luna! Are you alright?!" Twilight shouted, flying to the side of her fellow princess.
"T-T-Twilight! Find my sister! Hurry! There isn't much time!” Luna ordered. Twilight did as she was told, rearing around and flying off in search of her mentor. Smokescreen followed, changing into his vehicle mode.
---------------
Applejack coughed, groaning as she forced herself up. In front of her there was only darkness, and were it not for her hooves, she wouldn’t have been able to tell she was standing on a pile of rocks. “Hello? Anypony?” she called.
“Applejack, darling, is that you?” a voice answered.
“Rarity? It’s me! Where are ya?” she asked. Her question was answered when a warm, furry, fruit smelling form bumped into her. The two tumbled down a rocky slope, bumping into something hard and metallic.
“Eep!”
“Fluttershy? Is that you?” Rarity asked the shadows.
“Uhm...yes...oh, and Bumblebee’s here too,” the pegasis answered.
“Great! Bumblebee, any chance ya can tern on yer headlights?” Applejack questioned. Bumblebee answered with a series of bleeps.
“He said he can’t, they’re broken,” Fluttershy told her.
“Wait a minute, you can understand him?” Rarity asked.
“Can’t you?” Fluttershy asked back.
“Y’all, that ain’t important. Right now we need at find the others and get outta here! Bee, can ya move?" she asked again.
He answered in more incomprehensible language, which Flutters translated. "Um...he says his leg's hurt."
"Well, ain't that just peachy," Apple jack spat in frustration. "Ah've got a'hold of part of ya. Maybe ah can help ya walk."
Bumblebee beeped curiously, causing Fluttershy to audibly quiver. "He s-says you're not touching him!" she said before taking refuge under the Cybertonian.
"Alright, I've had just about enough of this!" Rarity light up her horn to reveal Applejack was actually holding Starscream. All three mares screamed, along with Starscream, and the three fillies in his arms.
"Applejack! Rarity! Is that you?" Rainbow Dash called out from the darkness.
"D-D-Dash?" Fluttershy whispered.
"Hold on , we're coming!" Bulkhead shouted.
"Hurry! We found Starscream, and he has Sweetie Belle!" Rarity added.
"No, wait! You've got it all wrong!" the Decepticon interjected. "I only took the children to save them after the scout was wounded! I meant them no harm" he professed.
"Ha! Likely story" Rainbow Dash spat. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack reached the group, Arcee with her weapon drawn.
Starscream screeched, holding the CMC out in front of him. "Please! You must believe me! I was hidden, was I not? Why would I reveal myself if not to save the young ones!" he shouted, panicked.
Bulkhead hummed quietly to himself placed his hand on Arcee's weapon, guiding it towards the ground. "You can't be serious," she said.
"He has a good point. He knows we don't trust him, so why'd he jump out there and help the Crusaders?" Bulkhead asked.
"I say we gut him," Wheel jack suggested, drawing a sword. Starscream gulped.
"Hold on now, ain't that a tad bit harsh? Ah mean, he did save our sisters" Applejack questioned.
“It’s true,” Sweetie Belle interjected.
“He even protected us when we fell,” Scootaloo added.
"Ponies, you have no idea what this...this...monster has done!" Arcee assured them forcefully. She drew one of her blades, charging Starscream, before Bulkhead brought her to a halt. "Let me go!" she shouted angrily.
"Th-that sounds a little m-mean…” Fluttershy whispered. Bumblebee spoke out, slamming his fist against the ground angrily.
“Arcee, think! Would Optimus do this?” Bulkhead asked.
Arcee resisted a moment more, before huffing and relaxing in Bulkhead's grip. “You win,” she spat under her breath. Confident she was calm, then hoisted Bumblebee up, draping the scout's arm over his shoulder so he could support himself.
“Thank you, thank you, noble Autobot. I swear, you won’t regret this act of kindness,” Starscream assured his savior.
“Yeah yeah, whatever, just carry the kids” Bulkhead told him. Starscream happily obeyed, following the group into the darkness of the cave. Suddenly, Arcee pulled him to the side.
“You may have the others fooled, but the first time you make a false move, I will end you. Got it?” she promised, before releasing him. Starscream gulped, resuming his trek, while taking extra care to keep his distance from Arcee.
They continued onward for a few minutes, until Bumblebee spotted a pair of dim lights in the distance. He called out to his fellow Autobots, enthusiastically pointing at the faint glow. “You’re right Bee, that does look like Optimus” Bulkhead said. “Hey Optimus! Over here!”
“Bulkhead?” Optimus answered.
“Yeah! Over here!” he called again. Optimus changed forms and drove up to the group, Celestia riding atop his cab. Once they reached Bulkhead and the others, she dismounted, allowing him to change back to his upright form. He looked around, inspecting his Autobots.
“Where are Smokescreen and Ratchet? And why is he here?” he questioned, motioning to Starscream.
“Ah think Ah can answer that, at least about him,” Applejack said. “Ah don’t know what his story is, but he saved mah ‘lil sister, along with Rarity’s and Scootaloo,” she explained.
Optimus looked back up at Bulkhead. “Is this true?” he asked.
“Well...yes,” he told him.
“Y’all can bet it’s true! Why, if it wasn’t fer Starscream here, we’d all be dead,” Applebloom said. Optimus stroked his chin, looking over the renegade.
“What’s the matter?” Celestia asked him.
“This is not the first time he’s supposedly attempted to redeem himself,” Optimus explained.
“Optimus, I know the last time’s I’ve tried to make amends for my actions ended… well… poorly, but it was not my fault! The first time, Arcee tried to kill me! Then, in the arctic, I was afraid Dreadwing would defeat you! I only meant to preserve myself! I didn’t mean you any harm...I...I assumed you’d flee. You must believe me!” Starscream told him.
“Yeah, just like you only wanted to preserve yourself when you murdered Cliffjumper,” Arcee interjected.
“He was mortally wounded, I tell you! It was the only merciful thing to do!” he responded.
“Don’t give me that! We both know yo-”
“Enough!” Optimus stood cross armed, staring coldly at the two belligerents. “Starscream, you will turn in your weapons once we reach the Jackhammer, and be relegated to manual labor,” Prime told him.
Starscream smiled, quickly flashing a victorious smile towards Arcee. “Thank you, oh mighty Optimus. I will not fail you,” he said.
“Optimus, this is a big mistake. He’s-” Prime lifted his hand, hushing Arcee.
“I’ve made my decision. Now, where are Ratchet and Smokescreen?”
Suddenly, a spinning drill of pink hair burst out of the ground in the center of the group. Following the hair was the pony attached to it, Pinkie. She happily leaped out of the hole, with Ratchet not far behind. “Finally! By Primus Pinkie, how many times did you get lost?” he said.
“Sorry, I took that left turn at Albuquerque,” Pinkie told him bashfully.
“Ratchet, where have you been?” Optimus asked, hoisting the doctor out of the hole. As he stepped out of the crevasse, he pulled a large metal box. “What is that?” Prime asked again.
“Energon,” Ratchet answered, opening the crate to reveal at least fifteen large cubes.
“Where did that come from?” Bulkhead questioned.
“Ratchet and I fell into a super old ship. We tried to get out the door, but the rock sealed us in, so I used my mane to drill through the hull and that took a really long time, and then Ratchet found a bunch of energon cubes,” Pinkie explained.
“A ship? like the one you came in?” Celestia asked.
“Yes, though its arrival predates the war. It is likely the reason energy exist on this world," Ratchet answered.
"Least we've got energon now," Wheeljack said, placing the lid back on the box.
“Princess Celestia! Optimus!” Twilight shouted. She flew towards the group, panting as Smokescreen drove beside her. She all but collapsed in front of Prime and Celestia, her tongue hanging out of her mouth indignantly.
“Twilight, what’s the matter?” Celestia asked.
Twilight tried in earnest to tell the princess what had happened, but her panting rendered her explanation incomprehensible. “The other princess...what’s her name again? Luna? She’s holding all this up!” he told them on behalf of the winded alicorn. Suddenly, a rock dropped from the stone ceiling, bouncing off his shoulder, before falling to the ground. “And from the looks of it, she can’t do that for much longer.”
“Then there is no time to waste,” Prime said, changing into his alternate form. Celestia climbed ontop of him, using his smokestacks to hold on as they drove towards where Twilight and Smokescreen had come from.
---------------
The blue aura around Luna’s horn flickered, letting several stones fall to the ground. Her entire coat was drenched in sweat, and her muscles were fatigued from the exertion using that much magic required. She couldn’t keep the rocks up much longer. She was going to fail. Then, in the distance of the cavern, two small yellow lights appeared.
“Luna, hold on! I’m coming!”
Luna’s neck straightened as her ears perked up. Celestia leapt off Optimus, running to her little sister. Her horn lit up with a golden aura as she reached out with her mind, cradling the layer of rocks and trees in her telekinetic grip. Luna gasped as a massive load was lifted off her. “Little sister, are you alright?” Celestia asked. Luna nodded, shaking some of the sweat from her body.
Using their combined might, they lifted the rock ceiling higher and higher, until they cast the debris out of the top of the cavern. Behind them, the Autobots stood in awe. Their horns dimmed, the auras surrounding them disappearing. Luna collapsed, allowing Celestia to catch her with her massive wings. She carefully draped the lunar princess over her back, only now realized just how much energy she’d spent to save them.
“Celestia, how did you do that?” Prime asked.
“I’ll explain later. Right now, we should probably leave,” she said, wiping some of the sweat off of Luna.