The Autobots gasped in unison. Ratchet blinked repeatedly, forced to do a double take by the sheer shock. “By the Allspark” he muttered under his breath. Meanwhile, the ponies and changelings stood there, supremely confused.
“I’m confused. What’s wrong?” Shrapnel asked.
“What...what happened?” Ratchet asked, ignoring the Shrapnel's question.
---------------
Optimus slowly came to, groaning as his vision blurred into focus. Though he couldn’t make out his surroundings clearly, the copious amounts of purple told him exactly where he was. He tried to move, only to find himself restrained as well as suspended above the floor.
“Well, well, look who’s awake,” Knockout said.
Finally, Prime’s vision focused, allowing him to see Megatron. His brother stood proud and triumphant with a new trophy to display his victory. Resting around his neck was the Matrix of Leadership. “Welcome back to the realm of the living Prime. Oh, pardon me; I forgot you no longer hold that title, Orion,” Megatron taunted. Optimus scowled at the remark, struggling against his restraints. “Do not fear, the Matrix of Leadership is now in the hands of its rightful owner.”
Finally, Orion stopped his fighting. “Why?” he asked.
“Why? Why are you still alive? Why did I chose to trap you as I did?” Megatron laughed, reveling in his victory. “My reasoning is rather simple: I wanted to show you just how weak you really are,” The Decepticon paused, grabbing Pax’s face and forcing the Autobot to look into his eyes. “I want to show you that I am the rightful master of all Cybertronians, and by extension, the universe” he explained. “And it seems I’ve more than proven my point.”
He released Orion, allowing his head to hang low in defeat. Megatron stepped back, turning towards the exit. “So are we done here?” Knockout asked.
“Yes doctor, we are,” his master told him as he left.
Knockout grinned as he rubbed his hands together. “Well, I’m off to have some fun with two other specimens. Have fun,” the doctor said as he followed Megatron.
---------------
“Optimus, I-” Ratchet began to speak, but Prime cut him off.
“None of that matters now,” he told the other Autobots as he closed his chest. “We must focus on retaking Canterlot, with or without the Matrix. Starscream can be dealt with later.” He strode past the others, changing forms and driving towards Twilight’s castle. Celestia took flight, and Shrapnel galloped in his direction, leaving the Autobots and the other changelings on the farm.
Once at the castle, he reverted to his robot for, before entering the large doors. Inside he found Twilight and Luna standing next to her “Cutie-map,” moving small models around the table, along with a small group of guards. The younger princess was surrounded by charts and papers of all types that danced in her magical aura, each of them containing information she’d deemed relevant, while the older alicorn stared at the map, cold and calculating. Spike stood next to her, holding more books and documents. Suddenly, Celestia dashed past the Autobot, forcefully embracing Luna.
She fussed over her little sister, carefully checking over her body for any injuries. “Sister, I told you I’m fine” Luna said.
shrapnel was not far behind, sliding past Optimus and claiming a space next to Twilight. Finally, Prime stepped forward, standing on the other side of the table.
“I cannot express how glad I am neither of you are hurt,” he told Luna and Twilight, managing to muster a slight smile.
“Who is this?” Luna asked, motioning to Shrapnel.
“This is Shrapnel, Chansellor of the Free-Love Enclave,” Celestia explained, before casting a spell on the queen to allow her to be understood.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesties,” she said with a polite bow, inadvertently causing Twilight to blush.
Optimus knelt next to the table, observing the crude Nemesis model that floated over Canterlot. “What has Megatron been doing?” he asked.
The youngest princess set down her data, stepping forward as she prepared to speak. “Megatron’s ship is hovering over Canterlot right now. He’s had his soldiers secure every entrance to the city, but two trains managed to escape before that. When we interviewed them, they said Megatron demanded we turn you over to him in three days, or he’ll level the city. As a side note, this seems to indicate he thinks the sisters are in the city still,” Twilight explained.
Optimus raised his hand to his jaw, slowly stroking it as he thought. “Is there anything else?” he asked.
“No. Luna and I have been trying to figure out a way to take Canterlot back, but…”
“We have been unable to find a way of keeping him from using his ship. If he were to unleash the weapons aboard that craft...I’ve been too afraid to fathom what the casualties could be,” Luna finished.
Prime humed, staring down at the map in front of him, and the tiny model of the Nemesis. “Then it seems we have no other option,” he said, lowering his hands as he bowed his head. “Celestia, you must turn us in,” he told the alicorn.
The princess stepped back in shock, Twilight, Luna, and Shrapnel mirroring her motion. “What?” Celestia asked.
“I refuse to see another organic life taken. You must give us to Megatron,” he told her.
“Optimus, do you really think Megatron is going to just leave us in peace?” she questioned.
“Our sacrifice may buy you time at the very least, time you can use to retaliate,” he answered.
“The moment he has you he will destroy the city without hesitation. Then what?” Luna asked harshly.
“I...I do not know,” Prime said, visibly flustered.
Shrapnel stepped closer to the table, taking a closer look at the transparent model of Canterlot. “Princess Twilight, what are these?” she asked, pointing to the place where the city met the mountain.
The younger princess squinted, looking closely at the image. Suddenly, she gasped, before embracing the chansellor. “You’re a genius! I could kiss you!” she shouted excitedly.
Prime, Celestia, and Luna cocked their heads in confusion.
Twilight released the changeling, moving back to her place at the table. “The caves under Canterlot! If we could sneak the Autobots in there, and surprise Megatron, it might just give us a fighting chance” she explained.
“What about the Nemesis? It will still kill hundreds,” Optimus questioned.
“What about the weapons on your ship? Could they damage the ship?” Celestia asked.
Prime’s hand returned to his chin as he hummed quietly. “Perhaps, if we could attack the engines,” he said as he cracked a slight smile.
“I see one problem with this plan. The entrance to the tunnels were sealed up long ago. Only an alicorn could teleport the Autobots through the rock, but I believe Megatron would be suspicious if one of us were absent,” Luna pointed out.
“I actually have an idea to fix that. You get the others ready,” Twilight told them as she began to walk off. “Come on Spike.”
---------------
Ratchet and Wheeljack loosened the last bolts on the Jackamer’s engine, letting it to fall to the floor. “Alright princess, take it away,” Wheeljack said. Celestia grabbed the weapon with her magic, lifting it and carrying it to a thick metal frame.
“Really grinds my gears we have to rip up the old Jackhammer this way,” the Wrecker said as he followed Ratchet out of his ship.
“It’s not like we have many other options,” Smokescreen reminded Wheeljack as he and Bumblebee carried the port gun.
“Yeah yeah, I know,” Wheeljack said dismissively.
Finally, Bulkhead and Luna brought the starboard gun. Each laborer put their pieces into their proper position on the harness, awaiting Ratchet’s careful hand to weld them together. They watched patiently as the doctor fused the weapon’s components together, before connecting the power core to the two guns.
“There we go,” Smokescreen said, taking a step back to admire Ratchet’s work. “Try it on Bulk’.”
Wheeljack and bumblebee picked up the harness, allowing Bulkhead to step under it before they lowered it down on him. Then knelt on his hands and feet as Ratchet dismantled the back ends of the guns, replacing the ship’s firing system with a pair of triggers, one for each gun. As soon as his welds cooled, Arcee stepped up, taking the guns in her hands. She moved them around on the joint Ratchet had installed, then angled them down and fired a shot. The twin Energon struck their target, which was a small tree on the outskirts of the Everfree forest.
“Excellent work doctor,” Luna commented.
Bulkhead gleefully remove the heavy harness, joining his fellow Autobots as they dispersed, leaving only two figures at the wreck of the Jackhammer: Celestia and Ratchet. As the Autobot went inside to ensure he hadn’t broken anything, Celestia followed. Curious, he turned towards her and asked “What do you want?”
“Do you know where Optimus went off to?” she questioned.
“I think you might want to leave him be,” he told her.
“Why?” she asked.
Ratchet knelt on one knee, lowering himself to eye level with the princess. “When Megatron took the Matrix, he didn’t only take a valuable relic, but also a part of Optimus,” he explained. “You see, the Matrix of Leadership contains the collective memories of the Primes that came before him, and allows him to call on those memories when he needs guidance. It is a sort of...guide for him, one he has now lost.”
“Oh my. That’s terrible,” Celestia said.
“It is. If you still want to talk to Optimus I saw him wander off with...what was her name? Flutterby? The small yellow one,” he told her as he stood.
“Ah-ha! That solves my mystery. Thank you Ratchet,” she said before giving a polite bow and leaving.
---------------
Celestia wandered towards the outskirts of Ponyville, turning a corner, allowing her to finally see Prime. Enthused, she began to gallop toward him, stopping only when her muzzle collided with something hard and metallic. She stepped back, casting her gaze skyward to find a pair of burning red eyes staring down at her. A gasp escaped her lips as she realized to whom the eyes belonged.
Then, without warning, a blade pierced Megatron’s spark chamber. As it did, the Decepticon’s leader turned into a flurry of bubbles, all of which popped soon after. Optimus turned quickly, slicing through Megatron’s chest again. Suddenly, three Megatrons leaped onto Prime, two grabbing each of his arms and one grabbing his back and grappling with them as they forced him to the ground.
Finally over the shock of seeing Megatron, Celestia lunged forward, horn down, ready to render aid to Prime, when she was suddenly teleported away. She landed softly on a blanket, with a cup of tea and a piece of cake in front of her.
“Ah-ah-ah, no cheating.” The princess turned her head to find Discord and Fluttershy sitting on the same blanket next to her, the pegasus eating tiny sandwiches off a floating platter while Discord drank grape soda from an upside down glass through an orange curly straw.
“Discord, what’s going on here?” Celestia asked in desperation.
“Eep!” Fluttershy squealed as she realized the princess was sitting next to her. She jumped backward, falling behind Discord’s long body. As she fell, she knocked over the platter of sandwiches, though Discord’s magic set them back instantly.
“Ugh. Shame on you princess, don’t you know it’s rude to startle ponies,” Discord said, spawning a second mouth to speak so he didn’t have to interrupt his drinking. Celestia rolled her eyes playfully, before activating what she called “mom mode.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Fluttershy,” Celestia apologized with a kindly grin, much to Discord’s dismay.
The pegasus quickly calmed down quickly, soothed by Celestia’s motherly smile, and climbed back into her spot. “It’s okay princess. Please don’t be mad at Discord, he didn’t do anything wrong” she pleaded.
“I’m not angry, but I would like to know what he is doing,” she told her.
“Well, Discord came by to see if anything interesting was happening. When Optimus saw him floating, he started to talk to him, and eventually asked if Discord could help him get stronger,” Fluttershy explained.
Finally finished with his beverage, Discord finished the pegasus’ story. “Of course, I helped him out of the kindness of my heart (but really because the plot demanded it). Honestly, I thought it was going to be boring, but he’s been going at this for a long, long time. At this point, I just want to see how long he can go,” the draconequus said.
Calling upon all his strength, Optimus grabbed one Megatron’s neck with his free hand, pinning him down and stabbing him. Then he punched the one clinging to his back, before elbowing him off. Finally, he grabbed the last attacker’s head and slammed it into his knee.
“Discord, can you give him a little time out, please,” Celestia asked.
“Well, since you asked so nicely…” Discord snapped his fingers, causing the two remaining Megatrons to freeze in place.
Prime looked at his frozen adversaries, confused. He turned towards Discord, finally noticing the princess; though he had his face mask on, his face seemed to soften upon seeing her. “Celestia? What are you doing here?” he questioned.
Celestia hopped up, striding over to the confused Prime. “Mind if I join in?” she asked playfully.
“I see no reason why not,” he said. With that, she took up position behind Prime, spreading her wings and raising one of her front legs.
They both gave Discord a nod, who snapped his fingers, spawning ten new Megatrons surrounding the pair.
Celestia spread out her legs, panting as huge beads of sweat ran down her body. Prime stood behind her, panting in unison with the princess. A few Megatrons lay dead around them, their bodies evaporating into bubbles just as the others before them had done.air.
As the copies of the Decepticon warlord charged the two, Celestia used her magic to slay three. Clearly, these were nowhere near as skilled as their real counterpart. Prime drew his second sword, locking the blades of two more Megatrons. Celestia followed his example, using a spell to turn the feathers of her wings into a pair of sleek, white metal blades.
Optimus spun around, pivoting on one foot. He kicked one Megatron in the face, knocking him into another two, and slashed yet another across the chest. Meanwhile, Celestia ducked under him, then shot back up and stabbed another Decepticon with her wing. Prime slid backward, elbowing one of the Megatrons behind him, giving Celestia an opening to stab him in the chest.
Suddenly, they were overwhelmed by a flood of Decepticons. At least two dozen copies of Megatron materialized, all of them piling atop the Prime and the Princess. Despite their strength and ability, each was only able to kill a few Megatrons before they were buried.
Both warriors could feel each other as the Megatrons continued their assault. Using each other as leverage, they thrashed against the horde, but any progress they made was quickly taken away by the phony Megatron clones. In desperation, an idea entered Celestia’s head.
She channeled as much magic as she could to Optimus. As she did, Prime felt a sudden rush of energy, as though he was reborn a thousand times over. The strength was invigorating, intoxicating even. Using his newfound power, he pushed back against the swarm around Celestia and himself, casting the Megatrons out all at once. They flew through the air like toys a spoiled child had chosen to discard, instantly evaporating as they smashed into the dirt.
With the threat eliminated, Celestia withdrew her magic. Suddenly, Optimus felt the strain that accompanied his recent feat. He knelt to the ground, groaning in discomfort.
“Optimus, are you alright?” Celestia asked, putting a hoof on his shoulder.
Prime’s groaning stopped abruptly as he removed his faceplate, smiling at the princess. “I am sore in places I was unaware had the capacity to be sore, but aside from that, I am fine,” he said, using an odd, humorous tone.
“Oh boy, was that ever fun,” Discord said, cheering from the sidelines as he literally tied himself in a knot. Beside him, Fluttershy calmly clapped her hooves, genuinely impressed by the pair’s display. Prime smiled, standing. He put a hand on Celestia’s back as a sense of pride filled them both. “I hope you’re both ready for round two,” he added in a sinister tone. He snapped his fingers, causing even more Megatrons to appear.
Suddenly, that sense of pride disappeared.