//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Transformers Prime: A Brave New World // by The Carolean //------------------------------// Starscream stood beside Ponyville’s train station, grimacing as his foot sank into the still damp soil. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat on a bench next to him, patiently awaiting the arrival of the four o’clock train from Canterlot. The other ponies surrounding them had migrated to the opposing end of the station, each of them fidgeting nervously as the occasionally shock a glance at the massive Cybertronian. “Are you certain your princess can give me a new T-cog?” Starscream asked. “Honestly, Ah don’t know, but there’s no harm in askin’,” Apple Bloom said. The train’s wheels screeched as it neared the station, slowing to a halt in front of the four companions. The doors opened, releasing a flood of ponies, one zebra, and one alicorn “There she is,” Scootaloo shouted excitedly. She calmly strode out of the train, then walked parallel to it until she reached a flatbed car with a blue and white vehicle netted to it. The auto, Smokescreen, changed forms, lifting the cargo net off himself. “Enjoy the ride?” Twilight asked. “Meh. It wasn’t horrible, but I’ll need to wash the bugs off my windshield,” the Autobot answered. Suddenly, he looked up, gasping as he stood upright. “Get down,” he yelled as he drew his gun. A high pitched scream erupted from behind her. Twilight turned to see Starscream standing at the edge of the train station, with his arms thrown up, shielding his face. After a moment more, Smokescreen realized his mistake, retracting his weapon. “Sorry ‘Screamer, it’s a reflex,” he told the Decepticon. Starscream lowered his hands, straightening himself in a vain attempt to regain some of his lost pride. “Please don’t call me ‘Screamer',” he asked him somewhat politely, much to Smokescreen’s shock. “Twilight, we’ve got somethin’ ta ask you,” Apple Bloom said. Before the alicorn could even get a single word out of her mouth, Scoot aloof lunged into the air. “Do you think you can give Starscream a new T-cog?” she asked excitedly. Twilight recoiled, her eyes wide. “Uh, what’s a T-cog?” she asked. “It’s the organ that lets us transform,” Smokescreen explained. Twilight placed a hoof to her chin, stroking it as she thought. “Well, I might have a spell that can make you a new T-cog, but I have no clue how to even begin installing it,” the princess said. “That may be a problem. The only Autobot that knows how to do that is Ratchet, and I really, really don’t think he’ll like the idea of giving Starscream his wings back,” Smokescreen interjected. “What if we ask him really nicely?” Sweetie proposed. --------------- “Absolutely not!” Ratchet shouted angrily. “I don’t care if he’s ‘reformed’ or not, an airborne Decepticon is twice as dangerous as one on the ground.” “Come on doc, what’s the harm? It’s not like he can go back to Megs, unless he’s feeling suicidal, and I’ve got his weapons locked up right here,” Wheeljack said. “Since when do you take his side?” the doctor questioned. Wheeljack failed to answer, merely shrugging as he propped his feet up on a crate within his ship. Ratchet sighed, turning back to the Crusaders. “Pretty please?” Sweetie pleaded desperately. “No,” the Autobot answered. The three fillies left the Jackhammer, their heads hung low in disappointment. Starscream followed behind them, along with Smokescreen and Twilight. “Do you thin’ you could install Mr. Starscream’s T-cog?” Apple Bloom asked the princess, perking up for a moment. “I’m sorry girls, but it’s just too dangerous. If I tried without Ratchet’s help, I could cripple Starscream, or even kill him,” Twilight told the filly, causing her to hang her head low again. “Wait!” Ratchet called from the Jackhammer, before he started running towards them. “I’ll do it.” “Come again?” Scootaloo asked. “I...uh...had a change of spark” he told them. --------------- Starscream’s eyesight slowly blurred into focus, allowing him to see Twilight, fast asleep in a corner of the Jackhammer with Smokescreen by her side. Ratchet stood beside him, placing one of his tools down as he detached a tube filled with energon from his body. Wheeljack sat in the cockpit, doing nothing. “Alright, your new T-cog has been installed. The anesthesia should wear off in a few hours” Ratchet told him as the doctor put away his tools. “Thank you, Dr. Ratchet,” Sweetie Belle said. “Yes, yes, it was nothing really,” Ratchet answered, more focused on cleaning his tools than the filly. Starscream rose from from the table on which he lay, rubbing his cranium in an attempt to dissipate his headache. “How’r ya feelin’ Mr. Starscream?” Apple Bloom asked. The ‘bot lowered his hand, shaking his head as his headache finally disappeared. “I feel...whole,” he told them. “So, do you think we can go flying later?” Scootaloo asked somewhat bashfully. Starscream wiggled his wings as he smiled gleefully. “No,” he answered. “we’re taking a flight right now.” Without warning, the Decepticon changed forms, scooping the crusaders into his cockpit, before roaring out of the Jackhammer. Within moments, he broke through the sound barrier, accidentally shattering a few windows within the town below him. Scootaloo hopped out of her seat, pressing her face to the window as she watched the world pass by her. “Are you enjoying the view?” Starscream asked the young ones. “You bet!” Scootaloo answered excitedly. “In that case, buckle your seat belt,” he told them. They did as they were told, sitting in a chair their friend had modified and buckling in. Suddenly, Starscream pulled upward, flying even faster than before. The clouds around them became thinner and icier until they disappeared entirely. Eventually, small lights began to appear in the blue sky. Finally, Starscream leveled out, slowing down considerably as the blue of the sky faded entirely. “Alright, you can remove your seatbelts,” the ‘bot told them. The three fillies did as he said, each of them gasping as they began to float. “Are we in space?” Scootaloo questioned. “Almost; this is the furthest point to which your atmosphere extends,” Starscream answered, flipping himself over to give his companions a view of their home. Each of the three drifted to his cockpit, their mouths gaping as they looked at their planet. Equestria was a beautiful planet, mostly covered in water, with a bluish-white haze covering it’s entirety. “It’s beautiful” Sweetie Belle said. “Hey girls, we’re the first ponies to ever go in’ta space,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “I’m glad you’re all enjoying this,” Starscream said as he began to descend. “Aw, can’t we stay a bit longer?” Scootaloo pleaded. “I’m sorry, but I can’t hold enough oxygen to remain here any longer,” he told her, much to the pegasus’ disappointment. Each of the fillies fastened their seatbelts, feeling gravity return to them as their ride descended. Once they reached ground level, however, they noticed something odd. Rather than Ponyville’s trees, they saw barren, rust colored Earth. “Uh...Mr. Starscream, where are we goin’?” Apple Bloom asked. The ‘bot remained silent, slowing as he neared a small settlement. He landed outside of the small town, opening his cockpit and dropping a ladder. “Is this where your relative Braeburn lives?” Starscream asked coldly. Apple Bloom looked over the town to confirm it was Applelousa. “Yeah, why?” she asked. “Get out and find him,” Starscream ordered, his voice cold. The three did as they were told, climbing down the ladder and onto the desert. “I don’t get it; why are you doing leaving us here?” Scootaloo asked. “There is something I need to do, something that will be very dangerous,” he told her as he wheeled around to take off. “Please do not think ill of me,” he said as he took off. --------------- Ratchet watched as a small red dot slowed to a halt on the screen of his scanner. “Alright, he’s stopped,” he told the two ponies in the Jackhammer. “Thank’s a heap Ratchet,” Applejack said. “We’re out of here,” Rainbow Dash added. “Be careful; he’s even more dangerous now that he can fly,” Ratchet warned. “We will,” Applejack assured him.