Friendship Is Magic: Prime

by Darkryt Orbinautz

Tinker, Tailor, Gamer, Spy Part 1

Darkryt Orbinautz presents...

---

Aboard the Harbinger...

Starscream and Twilight in the Commandbot, with Doctor Morocco walking by the robots' feet, tromped their way through the harbinger until they found the room where the cloning laboratory was. A control panel was set up with a series of pipes leading from the bottom of it to the bottom of test tubes containing silvery-yellow robots in them that resembled Vehicons in shape, if not color. Twilight didn't understand what they were at first.

"What are these?"

"Protoforms." Starscream answered, clasping his claws on the panel. "They're here to be used for the cloning process..." he started noting the details on the panel. "Let's see...transference of binary bonding...molecular transfusion...the formula seems straightforward enough..." He crouched over and examined the side of the panel and tapped on it. He looked over at the Commandbot. "I must say, Twilight Sparkle, using these protoforms to clone a...non-sentient robot seems...a waste."

"And you want more you's running around?" Twilight questioned.

Starscream raised his finger to answer, but retracted it. He knew himself well enough to know if he got cloned, one of the clones would probably mention something that would give Twilight reason to question him. "...Not really."

The Commandbot put it's claw on the panel to examine it. "Now where do I put in the schematics?"

"This cloning process requires an infusion of Energon." Starscream explained.

The Commandbot snapped it's claw in frustration. "Urrgh...Fine. We'll get back to this. I need to run some experiments with the Dark Energon. The Commandbot took off on it's rockets through the ship. Starscream transformed and followed, leaving Morocco alone.

The sharp-dressed scientist looked at the Protoforms. "What I am supposed to do with these on my own, hmm?" He stuck his nose in the air.

Starscream rushed back and forth through the Harbinger, unable to find where Twilight had gotten off to. Recalling Twilight's words, Starscream set out for where the Dark Energon had been stored and found himself alone in a room with the huge cluster stood there. He transformed back into robot and stood by the door, so as to avoid Dark Energon's strength-sapping radiation. Somehow, he had managed to beat Twilight there.

"Oh. Hello again, Starscream." Twilight greeted through the Commandbot, walking into the room with something cradled in it's arms.

"Hello." Starscream replied with a hint of sarcasm. Then he saw what was in the Commandbot's arms.

"Is that Airachnid!?"

"Yes. Fluttershy was so kind as to..." Twilight turned silent for a second. "Donate her."

"Twilight Sparkle, please, for the love of the AllSpark, tell me you're not going to use Dark Energon on that wretch!"

The Commandbot's head turned towards him, then back to the Dark Energon cluster. It dropped Airachnid's body before the cluster. The Dark Energon gave off a huge pulse of light, which must have carried it's energies to Airachnid's body, as the green 'Con started hissing with her eyes aglow and struggling to get to her feet. Once there, she hissed at the Commandbot.

The Commandbot's chest panels folded open for Twilight Sparkle to show her Dark Energon through. Twilight's became highlighted with the D.E's effects, resonating with Airachnid.

"Airachnid, stand down!"

The Terrorcon slurred, then hung its head in complacence.

Twilight scrutinized her for a minute, then teleported herself out of the Commandbot and by the Dark Energon stock. She reached her front hoof out and jerked a shard off it.

"Twilight, what's that for? The Dark Energon's energy was enough to animate Airachnid, wasn't it?"

"Yes..." Twilight answered. "But a recent event concerning a human has me convinced that I don't know enough about the Dark Energon..."

"So you're going to stick another piece in yourself!? That does not seem... sound."

Twilight appeared to think over Starscream's concern, looking at the Dark Energon in her hoof. She put it down on the floor. "You know what, Starscream? You've made something clear to me."

"Oh? What exactly have I made clear to you, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight turned around bucked the Dark Energon cluster, causing at least 11 more pieces to fall off.

"One more won't be enough."

"WHAT!?"

Twilight levitated all twelve Dark Energon pieces into the air, quartered them off into two half-dozen groups, stabbed one group just above her left shoulder and the other into her right. She started shivering as the violet crystals penetrated her flesh.

"Hnugg...eeeeugh...EEEAAAAAAUUUUGGH!"

---

"Each of us has only a quantum of compassion. That if we lavish our concern on every stray cat, we never get to the centre of things."

Friendship Is Magic: Prime: Act III

Chapter X (Box Set Chapter 22) : Tinker, Tailor, Gamer, Spy Part 1

Episode Synopsis: Twilight Sparkle's establishes herself as Megatron's superior, but sends the Autobots and Decepticons scrambling in the process.

---

Optimus bent over and waved his hand soothingly around Fluttershy's cheek. "Take your time in this decision, Fluttershy. I know that we are asking a great deal of you."

Fluttershy nodded. "Mh-hmm, mh-hm..." she looked at the Insecticons with concern.

"Something wrong, Fluttershy?" Ratchet asked.

Fluttershy scraped her hoof/clamp. "Well, it's just that...I would kind of like to see my friends again...but Ratchet said you didn't have enough space for my kids."

"Kids?" Arcee questioned. "Interesting choice of words there, Fluttershy."

Optimus confirmed this. "It is true we do not have the room required to permanently house all of these Insecticons...I might suggest you order them to stay here and wait for your return."

"Oh, um, okay...Ummm..." Fluttershy flew up off the ground to get a better look at her Insecticons' face. "Nanny has to go now, okay? Wait here. I'll be right back. I promise, and um, don't leave the cavern for anything!" That last command was giving quite some sternness in tone-of-voice. "Please." not so much in that one.

The Insecticons all transformed and flittered about the room like a swarm, indecisiveness where to place themselves as they awaited Fluttershy's return. Ultimately, they all settled on different parts of the mine's walls, sticking their arthopodic legs to them. Bob stuck with the Autobot group.

Optimus put his finger to his head. "Rafael, reactivate the Bridge."
The instantly recognizable portal appeared behind them with a pcchscssnuuuu. Optimus headed the way through on the warphole with everyone behind him. Once they had reached the base, the first thing Fluttershy noticed was the sullen moods of her fellow ponies.

Pinkie and Dash sat on an viewing platform, drolly rolling a ball across the ground from one to the other without much enthusiasm. Rarity idly waved some knitting sticks on some thread she had somehow acquired, pretending to, but not really making anything. Applejack was the worst of the bunch; She was just lying down not doing anything.

Raf, from behind his laptop, studied Dash's and Pinkie's game. Seeing a non-human entity engage in such human-like behavior was (as he so accurately put it) "Fascinating."

Optimus and Ratchet departed from the group and took up their usual posts by the main terminal. Arcee waved at Fluttershy, then took off to do...whatever she does in her own time. Fluttershy now alone amongst her friends' depression, she moved forward, her hoof/clamp fusions making the cuuutest little popping sounds. Like the tromp-tromp-tromp sound made by Optimus' footsteps had been run through some manner of 'Fluttershy filter'.

Seeing as Applejack was the most upset, since she wasn't moving, Fluttershy resolved to go to her first when Miko suddenly popped into her field of view.

"Whooooaoo!" Miko gasped. "What happened to you?" She poked at Fluttershy's recently developed breastplate. Fluttershy muttered and tried to hide behind her mane, but Ratchet was kind enough to answer for her.

"She was adopted by the Insecticon Queen and as a consequence, was turned into a technoorganic Insecticon...Pony fusion."

"Really?"

"Yes, she might've been turned into a full-fledged Insecticon had..." Ratchet cleared his throat. "I not interrupted the process."

Miko looked at Fluttershy like an investigator for a minute, something which made Fluttershy very uncomfortable. "Hey, Ratchet, Can I-"

"No."

"Oh come on! You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"You were going to ask to be adopted by the Queen so you could be an Insecticon too." Ratchet put one hand on his hips and flicked the other in the air. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Miko crossed her arms and lowered her neck. "You're wrong..." though Ratchet was probably right and she was just being Miko, as she walked off after saying as much.

"Um...right." Fluttershy was about to resume her approach when she noticed Raf looking up from his laptop at Pinkie nervously. He kept looking back down at the mobile computer, presumably so somepony wouldn't notice, but it was too late; Fluttershy had. She flitted up and stood herself besides. "Hello, Raf."

Raf acknowledged her presence with a lazily flick of his arm. "Hey."

Fluttershy averted her gaze away from him. "...Could I see what you're doing?"

"Not much." Raf answered, turning his laptop so Fluttershy could see all the bits and pieces of binary filling the screen up. "Just playing around with code."

"Uh-huh." Fluttershy nodded her head, trying not to offend him with the fact she didn't understand a single thing on the screen. "So...I noticed you were looking at Pinkie Pie a moment ago."

Raf slapped himself against the neck. "...Oh...you saw that, huh?"

"Mh-hmm." Fluttershy nodded. "What's the matter?"

Raf pushed his laptop away and clasped his knees. "Well, it's just that...you know that beeping way that Bumblebee talk?"

"The...deeiit...weeeeeeee...ooooo-?" Fluttershy pronounced onomatopoeia for the sound effect of BUmblebee's speech. "That?"

"Yeah...up until Pinkie got here, I was the only non-robot who could understand him. But now that she's here, Bumblebee really likes talking to her..." Raf turned away from Fluttershy. "Since she can talk back..."

Fluttershy pouted, unsure what to say. "Ummm..." she put her hoofamp on Raf's shoulder. "I'm sure if you ask her nicely, she'll be happy to teach you how to do it."

Raf looked at her hopefully. "Really?"

"Y-" Fluttershy stopped mid-sentence. It just wasn't in her to lie. "Maybe."

"Mmm." Raf jumped up from his seat and pitter-patterd towards Pinkie. "Hey, Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie rolled the ball at Dash, then slowly turned her head to face him.
Raf circled his foot on the ground. "Well, um... You know that beeping thing Bumblebee does? I can understand it, but I can speak it like you, so I was wondering...c-could you teach me?"

That seemed to distract Pinkie enough from whatever it was that was depressing everypony.

Beep booop beep.

Raf pumped both his fists into the air. "Yes! Thank you so much, Pinkie!"

Dodo-eeeo dodo eeeee?

"Uh, yeah." Raf answered. "I know one room in the hallway where we can practice. Come on, I'll take you there."

"Remember not to touch anything." Ratchet reminded them. Pinkie Pie got up and followed Raf out of the room.

Dash sourly pawed her ball. "Now who am I supposed to play with?"

"I'll play with you, Dash." Fluttershy offered before a whhhuum came from her stomach. "...right after I eat something." She galloped off.

Dash tucked in her cheek, not amused. She smushed the ball in her hooves, shook it, then tossed it at at Applejack, getting a bulls-eye that knocked Applejack's Stetson right off her head.

"HEY!" Applejack shouted, swiping her hat off the floor and putting back in its rightful place.

"Oh come on!" Dash protested, falling backwards so that she was on back. "That was funny and you know it."

Applejack couldn't maintain her angry expression. "...Yeah, ah guess."

---

Megatron was tapping his foot impatiently on the bridge, waiting for Dreadwing to return from the mission he was given, when he suddenly felt something...or rather, quit hearing something in his head. He was savvy enough to know that whatever happened, he couldn't hear Twilight's thoughts anymore...but that didn't necessarily mean she was dead. On the contrary, it could mean she enough control of the Dark Energon now to block him from her mind...

---

Silas crooned his head back imperiously. He hadn't been expecting the sight before him, but as a master of self-control, he wasn't surprised. "How long has she been like this."

"Ehhm...some odd amount of mega-kliks." Starscream answered. "I tried to warn her, but it appears my message was...misconstrued."

Silas 'hmm'ed. "Is she still...functional?"

"Hard to say."

The two of them took another glance at Twilight Sparkle, lying down on her belly unconscious. The Dark Energon crystals she had stabbed into her sides jutted upward out of her shoulders in some twisted mockery of royal regalia.

Starscream scraped one of his exceedingly long nails against his hand. "I do hope she recovers soon...It would be such a shame if we had to...put her out of her misery."

Silas 'hmm'ed. "Yes. Her capabilities with technology have proven far too valuable to MECH for her to leave us like that." Silas raised his eyebrow at Starscream. "And some others." He rubbed his knuckles against his side.

Starscream, seeing what he was getting at, clutched his claws against his side. "Ehhehheh...I do so hope you feel well soon, Twilight Sparkle."

A electric arc traveled from one crystal to another crystal on the same side of Twilight's shoulder. Twilight gasped for air. "...cace..."

"Cace?" Starscream parroted. "What do you mean, cace?"

"...cace...rrrr..."

"The Tracers." Silas deduced. He reached into his belt and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Silas to available operative. Collect the Tracers and bring them to my position."

Twilight's eyes twitched, but did not open.

The door to the room slid open. A MECH agents wheeled a trolley with a trash can on top of it into the room. Twilight's Dark Energon began reacting, glowing and highlighting her veins. All of the Tracers in MECH's possession began swimming upwards out of the trash can and flocked over to Twilight Sparkle, nestling themselves on her body like young pups or hatchlings trying to comfort their mother. It was kinda disturbing, actually.

Twilight weakly raised her front hoof and shook it at the air, presumably trying to convey something to the mechanical bugs on her. They seemed to catch her meaning, as a detachment of them got off and started balling themselves up into some of solid cloud. Twilight put her hoof down on it, and it started raising her upwards as much it as could. The rest of the Tracers followed suit, forming clouds until their mistress had one under each of her hooves. Once they had got her stomach off the floor, they rearranged themselves into a much larger, single cloud that Twilight could either lay or stand on at her discretion. She gasped for air again.

"Uk...cd..."

"Ukcd? The MECH agent questioned.

"Uck...ck...Duck!" Electric arcs traveled on the Dark Energon in both her sides and her horn started glowing, seemingly against her will. A huge sphere of white, purple-rimmed energy formed, then rocket upwards at the ceiling in the form of a laser beam. It traveled across the ceiling, then down the wall until was on the floor. Starscream leaped from the corner of the room while the agent hid himself inside the trash can. Silas calmly remained where he was, only taking a few steps backwards when the beam got too close for comfort. The beam, once having left a scorch mark on nearly every part of the room, dissipated.

"Hoo!" Twilight squealed, standing up on her Tracer cloud platform. "I feel much better now."

"How so, Twilight Sparkle?" Silas asked.

Twilight gestured to the crystals in her shoulders. "The Dark Energon...yeah, just...just tried to take in a liiiiittle too much all at one time, but I'm fine now." Twilight cast her eye upward at her horn worriedly. "I might...discharge again though." Twilight wobbled slightly with a dreamy expression.

Silas noticed. "Are you...certain you're well, Miss Sparkle? I'm sure the siege could be postponed until you're completely well."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's just-ooooooh...it's really sad humans are allergic to Dark Energon, Silas...you should be able the feel the power I'm feeling."

Silas smiled at her, not keen on the idea of him having Dark Energon installed into himself. "There are...other ways to experience power, Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm sure there are." Twilight agreed chipperly, hopping off the Tracer cloud. She waved them off dismissively. They all teleported out of the room.

"Aw man!" The MECH agent complained, climbing out of his trash can hiding place. "You guys have no idea what I had to go through to all of those!"

"They'll come to me when they are called." Twilight told him imperiously. "Now, where's the Commandbot?"

"Uh, still in the Dark Energon storage room." Starscream told her. "Where...Airachnid has been so loyally awaiting your return."

"Well?" Twilight snarled.

"...Well what?"

"GO GET THE COMMANDBOT!"

Starscream wheeled out of the room at Twilight's unexpected volume.

"Honestly..." Twilight muttered, shaking her head. "Some ponies you just have to explain everything, right SIlas?"

Silas shrugged his shoulders, no doubt pretending to be an actual human for the sake of conversation. "Nothing that can be done about it, sadly."

Starscream came back, pushing the Commandbot on it's ankles into the room. "Here-hufff-it-huff-is." Starscream made a motion that resembled wiping sweat from his browplates, but as his species didn't sweat...

Heedless, Twilight's horn began giving a set of three purple rings. The same set appeared on the Commandbot's head antennae. Having received her orders via magic, the construct transformed into it's vehicle mode.

Twilight raised her leg up and brutally sliced it with her horn. She only had so much blood, but she had enough for...whatever it was she was about to do. She let it bleed out on the floor for a little while then used her magic to levitate the fluid off the floor and through the air, the blood sloshing around in her magic's grip like a snake. She telekinetically opened the Commandbot's gas tank and poured her blood in it. Starscream covered his mouth with his claws in disgust, and probably would've barfed had his biology supported it.

Twilight used her hoof to close the gas tank, and the Commandbot hummed and whirred before transforming into robot mode without being commanded. It looked at her as though it was waiting for something.

"Go to the cloning lab." Twilight instructed. "Plug in some of your fuel and activate the switch."

The Commandbot nodded before rocketing out of the room. Starscream barely managed to duck out of the way in time. Starscream also saw Twilight looking quite pleased with herself.

"I thought about what you said about wasting protoforms." Twilight explained. "So I made a workaround."

"A workaround? More like an impending cataclysm!" Starscream shrieked. "The cloning recipe calls for Energon, not Dark Energon! There's no telling what could happen! Trying to substitute Dark Energon could cause the tubes to blow out, or explode, or create some shambling horrors that are utterly uncontrollable-"

Starscream barely had time to duck as six, bright red colored, slightly larger then the norm Morbots rocketed into the room and lined themselves up in front of Twilight.

"Or... go exactly as planned." Starscream quietly added.

"Or it could do that, yes." Twilight agreed, teleporting herself inside one of them. "You want in one, Silas?"

"No thank you." Silas turned her down. "I prefer to work behind the scenes, if possible."

The Commandbot nodded. "Okay. I understand."

"Twilight Sparkle." A MECH agent called urgently through a comm. "We have arrived at the location of the crashed Autobot ship, but there's a problem..."

"What? What is it?"

"I think you should see for yourself..."

The Commandbots, Starscream, and Silas all navigated their way through the Harbinger to the bridge room.

"What is it?" Twilight asked the Morbots piloting the bridge.

"Decepticons." One replied, pushing a button that showed the view on the Bridge's screen.

Dreadwing and a multitude of green jet Vehicons were marching around the ship. Black plates were on their mouths and clear visors were on their faces, and all of them seemed to be holding a large, grey-with-purple-accents, pump-shaped devices that were probably some form of Cybertronian smokers, like the kind humans used to kill wasps.

"What are they doing?"

"If I had to speculate, Twilight Sparkle, I'd say they're here to either purge the ship of the Cybonic Plague and destroy the corpses."

The Commandbot's head looked at Starscream dubiously. "...Couldn't they just blow up the ship?"

"Perhaps." Starscream answered. "But it's not unreasonable to think that the shrapnel from the explosion could spread the Plague within."

The Commandbot turned from the controls. "We're going down there." She beckoned the other Commandbot's with the claw on hers.

---

The Plague ship stuck out of the sand dunes, its coloration brown and aged to the point where if it was like that originally or not didn't really matter anymore.

"Move quickly!" Dreadwing urged. "I can hear an active ship approaching. A sample of the Plague's Anti-Virus must not be acquired for study by anyone; The secret is Megatron's alone."

"I'm sorry, Commander." A Vehicon apologized. "It is a big ship. Covering every inch of with the spray will take some time."

Dreadwing grimaced. "Time we-"

"Do not have?"

Dreadwing and the Vehicon looked up see brightly-colored robots with rockets in their feet descending down towards them.

The Vehicon prepped it's blaster. "Identify yourselves!"

"What, you don't recognize me with my shiny new clothes?"

Dreadwing snorted. "Twilight Sparkle. What exactly are theses misrepresentations of the Decepticon army?"

"Command Morbots." Twilight answered. "And the only thing they represent is that you.." Her's and the other Commandbot's pointed their blasters quite emphatically. "(This a phase I'd never thought I'd say) are going to get away from my corpses!"

The Vehicon raised his free hand into the air. "Um, I have a question."

"Make it quick." Twilight and Dreadwing growled.

"Wouldn't they be Optimus Prime's corpse? Cos'...they're Autobots, see?...and Optimus is the leader of the Autobots, right?"

Dreadwing tapped his chin. "He bears a valid point, Twilight Sparkle. Would these corpses not belong to Prime?"

"...I don't have an answer to that. So, I'll just do this!" Twilight's Commandbot lunged at Dreadwing and raised it's blaster-arm to bludgeon him, but Dreadwing whipped out his Gatling gun and used it to block Twilight's attack.

The Vehicons stopped what they were doing to wait for orders.

"Resume the mission!" Dreadwing screamed, batting Twilight's Commandbot away with his large gun. "I will hold off Twilight's contingent!"

The Vehicons nodded in understanding and kept on spraying.

Dreadwing started putting the pressure on Twilight's Commandbot, smacking and batting with his heavy gun, which he swung around as though it was as light as his sword. From within the red Morbot's cockpit, Twilight focused her magic intently, eventually succeeding in levitating Dreadwing's gun of his hand and tossing to the battlefield's side.

"Ha!" Twilight laughed. Then she just nearly avoided a screaming bullet whizzing by her head. She looked at the Commandbot's visor to see Dreadwing with a smoking pistol in his hand.

"...Well played." Twilight complimented.

"You flatter me, Twilight Sparkle." Dreadwing then pocketed his pistol and tackled the Commandbot to the ground. It kicked him off, but he grabbed it by it's legs and hurled it, deactivating it. Inside, Twilight uselessly pounded on the controls.

The other Commandbots surrounded Dreadwing. Dreadwing whipped out his sword, twirled it around for a little bit, then plunged it straight throuhg one of the red Morbot's chest. He used the shish-kabboed construct as a bat on it's fellow models til no Morbot was left standing. He shook the one on his sword off his sword, twirled the blade around some in victory, then sheathed it. He had beaten all five of the Commandbots.

Wait...weren't there six?

"Commander!" A Vehicon screamed at the entrance of the crashed ship. "We have removed every last trace of the Plague from the ship, but-"

His sentence was cut short, but Dreadwing knew what he was going to say. The mostly-red, blue-chested Autobot with nothing indicating any kind of vehicle mode with glowing eyes and mouth that jumped on him and wrapped its arms around his neck was telling enough.

Dreadwing brought his sword back out and rushed to the Vehicon's aid, slicing the Terrorcon Autobot's arms off at the shoulders.

"Get everyone out of there! Now!" Dreadwing barked.

The Vehicons, having heard Dreadwing's commands, marched right out of the ship while Dreadwing stood guard.

"Is that everyone?"

"No, sir." The last Vehicon out answered.

Dreadwing stole Heatwave's catchphrase of "Hrrrn..." and ran into the ship in search of the remaining Vehicon. Dreadwing found him on the edge of the hall, being waylaid by the Terrorcons.

"Get away of my soldier!" Dreadwing screamed. He came streaking through the hall, sword a-swinging until the Vehicon could get off the floor.

"Thank you, sir."

"You may thank me when we are safe. Go! There is something I must do..."

The Vehicon put his together humbly, muttering some grateful words as he ran out of the ship. Once his soldier was gone, Dreadwing reached into his backpack and pulled out his trademark bomb. He placed on the ground and set it to detonate, then transformed and jetted out of there. His plan? Of course, it was to blow up the ship, depriving Twilight of her Terrorcon warriors. It was a good plan, as Terrocons were too primal, too bestial to understand the threat of explosives. But the Commandbot that had snuck into the ship in the first place was the opposite: Advanced. Hearing the ping of Dreadwing's bomb, the Commandbot scooped the bomb off the floor in it's claw and rocket booted out of the ship. It flew into the sky and tossed the still-ticking bomb at Dreadwing's fading silhouette. The bomb went off in the sky, but too soon to consume Dreadwing in it's fire, let alone shake him in it's shock wave.

Twilight's personal Commandbot had recovered enough that she could make it stand and look up at the sky where the explosion was only now finishing.

"Ha! I see what you were trying to, Dreadwing, but you didn't take into account the Morbots awesome intelligence! Oh, and good work, Commandbot!...Now, bring my soldiers to me."

The Commandbot in the sky saluted, then jetted itself back to ground level and into the ship. It came marching back out with a number of Terrrocons behind it.

Twilight's Commandbot approached the Terrorcons. "Excellent, excellent..."She pushed a few buttons on the Commandbot, sending remote controls to her squadron to scan the ship. Triangular red lasers emitted from the Commandbot's visor and swept across the shop.

"Uh-huh...no trace of the plague." Twilight nodded at the results. She activated the Commandbot's comm. "Starscream, Silas! Lower the Harbinger so my Terrorcons can board."

---

Megatron stood with his arms crossed, watching Soundwave work on the files. "Nnnrgh..."
Megatron's attention was caught by the door to the room hissing open. Dreadwing and the Vehicons who had accompined him came in

"Well?" Megatron growled, turning around. "Did you succeed in purging the plague and blowing up the ship as I instructed?"

"...Yes and no, master." Dreadwing bowed humbly, trying to excuse himself. "While we were able to remove all traces of the Cybonic Plague and prevent a sample of the Anti-Virus from being recovered, Twilight Sparkle succeeded in raising the Autobots within the ship."

Megatron's spiky shoulderplates sprung up slightly. A sure sign of agitation on his part. "And whose...fault...is that?"

All the Vehicons started rubbing their hands together uncertainly and looking at each other. Dreadwing stepped forward and took credit.

"Mine, master...I was unable to both detonate the ship and dispatch Twilight Sparkle's Morbots."

Megatron's interest in scolding his troops seemed to fade. "...Dreadwing, Tell me more of these 'Morbots'."

"Unthinking robots equipped with the power of flight in their robotic modes. Built by either Twilight Sparkle or her human allies, no doubt."

Megatron tilted his vision back over to Soundwave's work. "If Twilight Sparkle has access to robots capable of flight in their non-vehicular forms, then her raising the Autobot's departed ranks will be the least of our worries...Especially if, as you claim, you removed all traces of the plague."

A Vehicon stepped forward and bowed. "We did, sir."

"I will hold you to that. If Autobots start raining on our halls spreading death through the air, it will be on your head!"

A peep-peep came from the computer where Soundwave was working. Soundwave's head bobbed as he thoroughly scrubbed the unexpected development. He unplugged one tendril and snaked it over to Megatron, tapping him on the shoulder.

"What is it, Soundwave?"

Soundwave pointed his spidery finger at the computer screen. Megatron tromped over and glared at the contents.

"A high-frequency signal..." Megatron noted. "With an embedded message!..." Megatron read the message out loud. "Come to these coordinates..."

Megatron tilted his neck downward while his lips curled the opposing directions.

"To find the Autobot base."

---

Fluttershy sluggishly climbed up the platform where Rainbow Dash was waiting, a slice of apple stuck to her lip.

Applejack couldn't help getting concerned with her slow movement. "Fluttershy, are ya all right there, pardner? Y'all don't look so hot."

"Oh...I still feel hungry." Fluttershy answered. "But...I said I would play ball with Dash after I ate. I ate, so now I'm going to play ball with Dash."

"Are you sure, Fluttershy?" Dash tenderly rubbed the ball. "Applejack's right. You don't look like you're up for anything."

"It's just...rolling a ball." Fluttershy muttered. "It can't be...that hard..." Fluttershy fell to her stomach with a whump and a woooooonn. She pushed herself back up. "Can it?"

"Well, no but...urgh." Dash groaned in frustration and just pushed the ball along, rolling it towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy grabbed it in her clamps, then fell back down again.

"All right, that's it." Applejack declared, getting up and walking over to Fluttershy. "We're taking y'all someplace ya can nap." She attempted to pick Fluttershy up, to no avail. Being a half-Insecticon made her heavier then Applejack was expecting. But now that Applejack was expecting it, she was prepared for it this time and tried to lift Fluttershy again. Fluttershy made another wooooonn.

By now, Ratchet's attention had been drawn. "What's wrong with Fluttershy?"

"We don't know." Applejack answered as she tried to make Fluttershy lift off the ground.

Ratchet scratched his chin, then snapped his fingers. "Wait here." He ran out of the of the room and quickly came back with a glass delicately placed between his index finger and thumb. "Make her to drink this. If I'm right, it'll heal right back up."

Applejack cautiously took the glass. "And if yer wrong?"

Ratchet shirked. "It'll make Fluttershy feel worse."

Applejack leered at the glass. "Well, here goes..." She forced Fluttershy's mouth opened and started slowly pouring the glass' contents in it.

Fluttershy whirred back to life, with a literary emphasis on the 'whir'. "Oh...I feel so much better now!" She stood up and took the glass from Applejack's hoof and poked her tongue-...her glossy, brown proboscis into the glass and started sipping it up. The proboscis was transparent, so that everypony could have the misfortune of watching the liquid being suctioned inside it.

"...Fluttershy, ah love ya, darling, but seeing y'all with that thing sticking out of yer mouth is just plain wrong."

"Applejack!" Rarity scolded. "That's Fluttershy you're talking about!" Rarity took a glance at it. "...All right, forget what I just said: That thing is rather disturbing."

"'Arr'ee." Fluttershy apologized through her proboscis for grossing her friends out. Once she totally drained the glass, she signed in relief. "That was good, Ratchet. What was it?"

"Energon." Ratchet replied causally.

"... ... ... I'm sorry, Ratchet, I thought you said this was Energon."

"I did. Because that's what it was."

"Now why would y'all feed Fluttershy Energon? We told y'all what stuff does to ponies, didn't we?"

"You did." Ratchet admitted. "But I think you should keep in mind that Fluttershy is no longer a Pony...uh, don't take that the wrong way, Fluttershy."

"I know what you mean." Fluttershy assured.

"I'm...afraid I'm not quite up to speed." Rarity admitted.

Ratchet held his hand out as he explained. "Fluttershy was converted into an Insecticon. Insecticons, different from most other Cybertronians as they might be, still run on Energon. Fluttershy, now being a part-Insection-

"Partly runs on Energon." Rainbow Dash finished. "So does this mean Fluttershy, will like, stop eating normal pony food?"

"Hard to say for certain." Ratchet answered. "While she's clearly shown she can eat, whether or not she needs to is...going to require more research."

"Research?" Rarity squeaked. "Pardon me, Ratchet, but I do not like the sound of that."

"Nothing too invasive." Ratchet quickly assured her, waving his hands across the air. "Just...documenting her behaviors."

All the ponies got sad again.

"...Twilight would've loved helping with that sort of thing."

"Yeah...Twilight's always been a big fan of that science stuff."

Jack walked and put a comforting hand on Dash's shoulder. "If anyone can find a way to fix Twilight, it's the Autobots, right Optimus?"

"Your faith in our abilities is appreciated, Jack." Optimus answered in that not-actually-answering-the-question way that old people always seem to like answering in.
A peep-peep came from the computer. Optimus's browplates furrowed in concern.

"Optimus?" Ratchet asked.

"Ratchet, examine this signal." Optimus gestured to the computer's screen.

"A high-frequency-" Ratchet pouted. "You know what? I'm not even going to finish that sentence. What does it say?"

"'Come to these coordinates to find the Autobot base.'" Optimus read out loud.

"What!?"

"You mean the Decepticons know where you are now?" Jack exclaimed.

"What are ya gonna do?" Applejack questioned. "If the Decepticreeps-"

"At ease, my friends. The Decepticons have not located our base." Optimus informed everyone. "If they had, they would not have broadcasted a message including coordinates mistaken for the coordinates of our base."

Ratchet eyed Optimus and took his position by the computer.

"Mistaken?" Applejack questioned.

"Yes...mistaken." Ratchet answered. "I don't know where these coordinates lead, but they are not the coordinates of our base."

"So, the 'Cons don't know where we are." Jack said. "That's good, right?"

"While the location of our base remains a secret, I fear we have only traded one cause of concern for another. If they have not located, then who would broadcast this message displaying these false coordinates...and why."

"High frequency signals are something of a tool of Starscream's." Ratchet pointed out.

"And we know that Twilight Sparkle has acquired an large quantity of Dark Energon, in addition to the Morbot and their replication of myself."

Ratchet looked around the base in disbelief. "Optimus, I doubt even Starscream would be so bold or Twilight so incautious as to set a trap for the Decepticons with only themselves, a copy of you, and some inadequate human-built flying trash can!"

"Perhaps they have acquired something else to assist them in their goals." Optimus punched in the coordinates in the GroundBridge's controls and pulled the lever. "I would appreciate your company in investigating this, old friend."

Ratchet nodded. "Of course, Optimus."

Optimus and Ratchet entered the GroundBridge, coming out on the other end to see themselves on a bunch of rocks some distance away from a military base, shelters in rows, all overshadowed by something.

"What could be casting such an immense shadow on this base?" Ratcheted questioned.

Optimus looked upwards. "...I believe we know what else Twilight Sparkle has acquired."

Ratchet creaked his neck backwards to see what Optimus was looking at. "By the AllSpark..."

In the sky above, the Nemesis warship hovered ominously a radio tower's height above the base, facing forwards at a green ship that resembled it, but it was different in exact shape. Like the mighty citadel of the Decepticons was looking at itself in funhouse mirror.

Optimus activated his comm. "Agent Fowler, I request that you evacuate a military base at my current location."

"Sure thing, Prime- oooh scrapping hay." Agent Fowler answered.

Optimus, concerned as always, asked Fowler for a check-up. "Is something wrong, Agent Fowler?"

"That's General Mad Dog's base. I hate talking to that guy...hold on for a minute, Prime. I'll see what I can do."

---

Agent Fowler, from where ever he was when he wasn't running interference for the Autobots or chewing them out for making him have to run interference, dialed Madison's numbers.

"General Madison." Agent Fowler called, making no effort to hide his contempt.

"Fowler," Madison sneered back through the comm. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We've detected a, ehhhh...energy spikes at your base! Get your people out of there and I'll come there with a specialized team to deal with it."

"Ooooh! A specialized team? Oh, gee, I guess I'll just go ahead and evacuate my entire base- NOT! You listen here, Fowler! I got a squad of Walkers that itching to fire, and two SPACESHIPS in MY airspace! I'll deal with them, my way...unless, of course, you'd be willing to explain said spaceships?"

Fowler rubbed his temples. "...No." He switched the comm back to Optimus' signal. "Sorry, Prime. Mad Dog's thicker then your hide. Now, I don't like the guy, but try to keep him from getting hurt."

"Understood, Agent Fowler."

---

In the Harbinger, the Commandbots, one of them with the good Doctor Morocco inside, examined the position of the Nemesis.

"Why isn't he attacking?" Morocco asked with a panic.

Twilight's Commandbot shrugged.

"Commander Twilight, we're being hailed." An agent's Morbot told them.

"Respond." Twilight instructed, walking to observe the controls.

"So, Twilight Sparkle!" A miniature screen the size of a computer chip showed vibrating pink, green and blue lines that bounced and fluctuated to the pitch and tone of Megatron's contemptuous voice. "You think just because you can get the Harbinger back online you can challenge my ship directly with coordinates claiming to lead to the Autobot base?"

Twilight's Commandbot motioned for the agent's to move aside so she could answer. "No, Megatron. I think because I got the Harbinger online, lead you here with false coordinates, have an army of Morbots and a squadron of recently-disinfected Autobot corpses, plus alllll the information your former second-in-command has to offer that I can challenge your ship!"

"Hmph." Megatron huffed. "Very well. I will show you firsthand, Twilight Sparkle, why it is called a WAR ship!"

A dial tone suggested that Megatron had ended the transmission.

"Just one more preparation..." Twilight muttered. The sound of extremely intense magic being cast was audible from within Twilight's Commandbot. So extreme that when it was finished, it sounded a little like an explosion inside of it.

Starscream hesitatingly showed something that kinda resembled concern. "Err...are you-"

"I'm fine." Twilight answered. "Let's go."

In the purple war cruiser, Megatron began dictating his troops to their battle stations. "Control the sideguns! Man the stasis beam! activate any offline cannons you find! And above all...keep...Soundwave...WORKING!"

---

2 dozen helicopters began flying out of the base. Four of them each had towlines hanging from them and connected to huge metal crates the size of the ones in the shipyard Wheeljack and Rarity first met in.

"Agent Fowler," Optimus asked, "There is a convoy of helicopters removing crates from the base. Do we know the nature of their cargo?"

"...We might." Agent Fowler answered a moment's silence. "Walkers."

"Walkers?" Ratchet looked up at the crates. "I don't like the sound of that..."

"We should return to base and gather our forces. Optimus to base. Requesting GroundBridge."

---

Beep eeep eeep.

Raf attempted to repeat Pinkie's beeping, but the noise that came out of his mouth was more like that of a horse who swallowed a fly. Or a gun with something stuck in the barrel. Or any number of things that weren't bleep speech.

Eeep doot-doot-

Pinkie, hearing herself speak more in bleep then English, cleared her throat and wrapped her leg around Raf's shoulders. "Ahem, what I meant was keep trying Raf. You'll get it eventually."

Raf wasn't really assured, as evidenced by the way he slumped down onto the floor. "Are you sure? I mean, you do it just fine without any practice."

"I have had lots of practice making weird noises!" Pinkie told him. "Bumblebee's beeping is just another bag in the mix!...Or is that 'mix in the bag?"

Pinkie curled her hoof under her chin, trying to think of what it was she was thinking of. "...Nut in the bowl? Nut in the bag? Bag in the bowl?"

Raf decided to take the opportunity to ask about something that had been bugging him... "Hey, Pinkie?"

"Balloon in the-yeah?"

"You know how you're from Equestria, and the Autobots are from Cybertron?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Well...Earth English is a language that took years to develop, with hundreds of different etymologies from a dozen totally different languages like French and Latin."

"Go ooonn..."

"So how come all you aliens speak it perfectly!?"

Pinkie raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "...I dunno."

"Autobots, Little Ponies!" Optimus Prime's voice suddenly came soaring through the halls.
Raf lagged behind Pinkie to the main control where Optimus and Ratchet were waiting, along with Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bob, Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity. Jack and Miko were there too...

"Care to explain the unscheduled meeting?" Arcee said dryly.

"A rare opportunity has arisen." Optimus answered. "Twilight Sparkle has restored the Harbinger to full functionality."

"Whoa, hold on. The Harbinger?"

"That wreck the Immobilizer was on?" Bulkhead asked. "That thing was torn clean in two!"

"Twilight and her MECH allies have succeeded in making it one again." Ratchet somewhat crankily answered, clearly thinking this went without saying.

Optimus began briefing everypony.

"The MECH alliance has lured to the Decepticon warship to a set of coordinates. For what reason is unknown to us at this time, but it seems clear that they intend to siege the warship. This presents us with a rare opportunity to achieve a goal we have been waiting for quite some time now."

"You mean attacking the warship in the middle of a firefight between the 'Cons and MECH duking it out?" Arcee balked. "Optimus, maybe if we had more firepower, but as it stands, there's no way we could get in, grab what we want, and get out."

"We have the aid of the Ponies. They have proven capable of handling the Decepticons on their own." Optimus turned away from Arcee and tromped towards Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, It grieves me to rush such a momentousness decision on young shoulders, especially ones as tender yours, but it is rare that an opportunity of this caliber to appear more then once. You must decide whether or not you will allow your Insecticons on the mission I asked of you, and you must decide now."

Fluttershy pawed at the ground, then looked up at Optimus' face.

"We will think no less of you if you say no, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy looked around the room before closing her eyes and nodding. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Thank you, Fluttershy. I know better than some what it's like to send close friends out as soldiers. Autobots, Ponies, prepare to roll out!"

"Optimus, we don't have wheels..." Applejack attempted to point out, only to be undercut by Pinkie rolling herself into a ball, tucking her hind legs in and making her tail wrap around herself. She looked like giant two-flavored gumball. She started bouncing down the stairs and rolled over to the GroundBridge entrance.

Ratchet looked at the rest of them expectantly, almost like he was waiting for them to do the same thing. As if they could match up with Pinkie's contortionist abilities.

"Wut?"

"Hey!" Miko interrupted. "How come we can't go this time!?"

"Cause y'all can't do this." Applejack answered, bucking a counter behind, putting dents in it...and causing a bunch of tools to clatter to the floor.

"APPLEJACK! I NEEDED THOSE!"

"Sorry!"

Optimus cut the conversation short with the order to activate the GroundBridge so they could go fetch Fluttershy's subjects.

"Additonaly, there is something I wish Bulkhead to do."

Bulkhead happily curled his hands into fists and smilled with grit. "I know what you mean, Optimus..."

For Celestia's AllSpark knows what reason, Bulkhead's tone sent a chill up Rarity's spine.

Raf reached over to activate the GroundBridge with his laptop, but Miko pulled his hand away. "Allow me." She put her finger on the trigger key.

Everyone but the humans started going through, though Bob hit his knee on the computer, which made something fall off onto the ground. Seeing as the Autobots were pressed for time, he just swept it up with claw and pocketed it before marching to join everyone else.

---

Two-barreled guns on stands began popping out of the Nemesis' side, aimed for the Harbinger. The Harbinger mimed the motion as way of arming itself.

There was a somewhat eye-searing contrast of colors between Starscream's jet mode amidst the rocketeering red Commandbots and black Morbots heading straight for the Nemesis' top.

A sea of black broken up only by the Commandbots began forming on the back of the warship, clouds and water vapor easily visible in the high altitude. Starscream transformed into his robot mode by Twilight's Commandbot.

"All right, Starscream. How long can we expect before Megatron knows we're on top of him?" Twilight questioned.

"Well, based on the fact we were hailed, so I would say that..." A jet engine noise alerted the lot of them. "Not very long!" Starscream aimed his arm-rocket, trying to find the source of the noise.

"...Starscream, what's that?" Twilight's Commandbot pointed it's claw at the direction they had come flying in from.

Starscream rotated his neck around to see what Twilight was looking at. A giant flying vehicle of indeterminate model was hurlting at them. It kinda looked like a sports car, but with no wheels, thrusters on it's back and blade-like protrusions on it's sides.

And it really was hurtling at them

Starscream's eyes widened at the realization it was about to barrel them over, too late to react, as the ship started scraping against the Nemesis' back and bowled Starscream and all the Morbots over.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AAAH BABY!"

The black windowscreen at the front of the vehicle lifted open. Wheeljack jumped out of it and onto it's back, throwing his arms into the air. "WHOO! Take a note, Pinkie Pie: THAT is how you throw a party, Wrecker style!"

The buzzing of Insecticons hearled the approach of the Autobots and Ponies, riding atop the backs of the bot-beetles. The Insecticons landed on the Nemesis and allowed their rides off before transforming into their hulking robot modes.

Pinkie waved her hoof to Wheeljack's direction. "Okay!" using her unique powers of being Pinkie, she somehow pulled Rarity's notebook and quill out of Rarity's saddlebag without actullay touching the bag, and wrote down a note to include 'Morbot Bowling' in the event she had to throw a party for a Wrecker. Then as mysteriously as she had taken out, she put it back the writing instruments back in the bag.

"Looks like MECH help build Sparkle a few more trash cans..." Bulkhead commented on seeing the Morbots.

"And some new types of trash cans." Arcee added with a hard optic at the Commandbots.

Twilight's Commandbot stood up before the rest of the Morbots followed and aimed it's cannon at Optimus Prime. "What are you doing here, Autobots?"

"Oooohn, what's the matter, Sparkly Butt?" Wheeljack taunted from his perch on his ship, the Jackhammer. "Can't stand it when someone shows up to the party uninvited?"

"Well, knowing Twilight..." Rainbow Dash muttered. "Probably not."

Twilight's Commandbot aimed it's cannon and repulsed Wheeljack off the Jackhammer.

"All right, you Decepticreep wannabes: Let's throw down!" Wheeljack pulled out his two katanas and struck them agaisnt each other.

"Let's, Autopunk!" Twilight replied.

Wheeljack shirked his neck. "...Really?"

"What do you mean, really?"

"'Punk' doesn't with a 'B'. 'Creep' starts with a 'C'. "

"Oh, you want something that starts with a 'B'?" Twilight snarled with a slight unhingedness. "I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING THAT STARTS WITH A 'B'!" Twilight's Commandbot jumped over the Jackhammer and grabbed Wheeljack by the head in its claw.

"LET'S DANCE, AUTOB***H!"

Twilight's Commandbot lifted Wheeljack and threw him, landing him on his back.

Ratchet rushed to his aid. "Wheeljack, are you hurt?"

Wheeljack started blankly upwards at the sky. "...She called me a b***h!"

"He's fine." Bulkhead concluded. "...and you were kinda asking for it, Jackie."

Twilight's Commandbot started approaching Optimus, and was almost in punching distance when Rainbow Dash flew up with her front legs spread wide.

"Hold on, Twilight! I don't want to fight you, but I will!"

Twilight's Commandbot seemed to relax. "...I don't want to fight you either, Dash."

The Commandbot launched its claw arm, swinging over Rainbow Dash and straight into Optimus' face.

Dash blinked her eyes, taking in what just happened. "...T-That's cheating!"

"Oh, cheating, is she?" Morroco sneered through his Morbot. "Tell me, Rainbow Dash, how can she cheat...when no one's established rules?" Morroco's Commandbot grabbed Dash in it's claw.

Twilight became upset at the maltreatment of the pegasus. "Morroco, what are you doing? That's my friend!"

"Er, yes..." Morrco's Morbot cautiously let Rainbow Dash go. "Forgive me, Twilight Sparkle...it was...the heat of battle."

"Hmm."

Pinkie suddenly appeared the two Commandbot's feet. "Hey, Morroco! Are you voiced by Tim Curry?"

"...What!?"

"Your voice is really hot."

"...I'm not even going to dignify that with a response!"

Gunfire suddenly rained down on them. All combatants looked up see the helicopters Optimus and Ratchet witnessed leaving the base and their cargo. The tow-lines unhitched from the crates, making the steel boxes dropped down onto the ship with them. A explosion went off in one crate, blasting the side wide open to reveal a huge machine that stepped out. As tall as Insecticon, and looked like it was made of various spare parts from other military vehicles. The cannons of an armored jeep replaced the arms. Lights from said jeep adorned the abdomen. Where was it should've been a Cybertronian head was instead a buff human in a large seat, strapped down by buckles.

"All right you bozos! I don't know you are or what you want, but you're in MY airspace, and General Mad Dog doesn't LIKE people in his airspace!" the human shouted in third-person. The other crates followed his lead, their sides being blasted by the Walkers in them.

"I'm guessing he's not a friendly." Wheeljack remarked, getting up. Bulkhead nodded. Wheeljack backflipped into a handstand, then front flipped from that onto the Jackhammer's back, subsequently sprinting across until he was back in the cockpit of his ship. The car-like aerial vehicle then made it's way off the Nemesis and into the air around to give the Autobots some air support.

An Insecticon claw batted Dash, sending barreling against the air. "Ow! Fluttershy, can't you control your Insecticons?"

Fluttershy scraped her hoofamp, like she was trying not to tell Rainbow Dash something. "I can control...mine."

Green beetle after purple tank after purple car were pouring out of the garage door-like entrance that no doubt led into the Nemesisproper.

Optimus looked up, having recovered from the Commanbot's punch. "The Decepticons have detected us and mobilized." Optimus' Ion Blaster made it's way out of his arm. "Autobots...BRING THE RAIN!"

"Ooh! Ooh! You know what would help?" Pinkie questioned.

"What?" Rarity asked.

"A song! Everypony was Kung Hoof Fighting-"

"No!" Dash growled. "No Kung Hoof Fighting!"

Pinkie Groaned. "Fiiiine! I'll come up with something original."

---

FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC: PRIME TRACK 5:

The Laser Light Show:

Length: Medium: 2:00- 2:30

Performers: Pinkie Pie. Background Singer.

Pinkie Pie:
The blasters are shooting

and the punches are grooving

all across the back of the ship

Come on, fembots and gentlecolts!

Don't you know?

Deep-voiced BG Singer:

Everypony wants to go to the Laser Light Show
The Laser Light Show
The Laser Light Show

Pinkie Pie:
Every'bot's gun is a rooten-tootening

The siege is- a-moving

Falling through and giving the Cons' the slip

Move it, MECH goons!

You're taking it way too slow for the

Deep-voiced BG Singer:
Everypony wants to go to the Laser Light Show

The Laser Light Show

The Laser Light Show

(Music fades)
(Spoken)
Optimus: Ratchet, what's going on?"

Ratchet: ...It appears the laws of time and space are distorting to allow Pinkie to sing and fight at the same time.

Arcee: Ratchet, I know you're one of the best medics we've ever had, but that is the biggest piece of-

(Music picks back up)

Pinkie Pie:

Weeee'''rreee in the warship now

The Autobots are roving

Plowing right through the Decepticreeps

And the Decepticons are knowing that

We are gonna wreck the place!

Then when we're done,

We'll totally mess up Megatron's face!

And Althoooough

You might wish it was longer, it should an awesome way to end off the-

Deep-voiced BG Singer:

Everypony wants to go to the Laser Light Show

The Laser Light Show

The Laser Light Show

(Now starting to fade in volume)

Everypony wants to go to the Laser Light Show

The Laser Light Show

The Laser Light Show...

---

'Laser Light Show' was not an remiss description. Beams of purple Morbot repulsion cannons, Autobot blue lasers, Decepticon red lasers, not to forget the sparks of Madison's Walkers guns all added to a very varied effect of lasers across the Nemesis back. Megatron's Insecticons grappled with Fluttershy's Insecticons, shrieking out accusations of treachery.

Arcee madly sprinted through the clashing armies, balancing her the heels of her feet just so that she was missed by all lasers, so that she could make a straight grab for Starscream. Once she had a clear shot at him, she jumped into the air and prepped her blades, but was knocked by an Decepticon blast into a Walker. Her thudding against his vehicle made the walker's pilot panic and blindly shoot at everyone, everywhere. His freziend shots blasted Twilight's Commandbot down just as she/it was about to blast Optimus. Instead, the Commandbot's laser repulsed a Tank Vehicon right into Bulkhead, causing Bulkhead's shot to hit the Walker, thus returning the misamed lasers to their originator.

Twilight's Commandbot transformed to let Twilight herself out. Bucking the door shut behind, the Terrorpony narrowed her eyes at Madison.

"Aw, scrapping hay." Applejack swore, taking note of Twilight's movements while bucking a dent into a chopper Vehicon's ankles.

"What?" Dash quesioned, shooting a Morbot's visor out with her rifle.

"Y'all remember Twilight's spell that gave Rarity them fancy wings?"

"Yeeeeah?" Dash questioned, leery of where this was going. "...Don't tell me she used it on herself."

"She done gone and used it on herself." Applejack told Dash agaisnt the rainbow pony's wishes.

Translucent, glittery blue wings with intricate green, pink and purple patterns that were larger then her body stuck out of Twilight Sparkle's back. There was also a faint pattern in them that wasn't there when Twilight had used it on Rarity. Likely caused by the same Dark Energon infusion that had let Twilight cast the spell without being as drained as she was when doing it on Rarity. The pattern itself looked a very, very faint trace of black sketchs that vaguely resembled the skeleton of a bat's wings.

Twilight Sprakle charge at Madison, blaming him for the disruption in her plan. Ignoring her new wings she galloped around the battlefield, then clung onto the side of the Walker's canopy after a huge jump. Madison and her locked eyes. Twilight adjusted herself so that Madison was looking at from the back.

Madison cocked his head back, thinking Twilight was...mooning him.

Of course, she wasn't. Twilight's tail hairs split apart and began brutally tearing through the Walker's driver seat in a rather horrific fashion that brought a variety of colorful phrases to mind, such as "undead abombination!" "demon" and "damn tentacles."

After tearing up the protective coating enough, Twilight's tail hairs started wrapping around Madison himself and tore him out of the Walker. She shifted her tail to slam the general against the side of his own vehicle. Afterwards, she bounded off from the Walker with Madison still coiled up and started scraping and sweeping him up against the Nemesis floor. A full 180 degress, and Twilight decided he had suffered enough. She catapaulted him from her tail over her head to a good distance away.

Twilight Sparkle was blissfully unaware of how lucky she was Optimus didn't notice. She put her hoof to her earpiece- A MECH-issued one, so it was notiacly different from the ones her friends had. The ones her friends were white clips with a red and green light slipped onto the the back of thier ears and tiny enough to not really be noticed under their manes. Her's was black and circular with a antennae that poked through her mane that hugged tightly to the inside of her ear.

"Silas, it's time to activate phase two! Silas? Can you hear me, Silas?"

Silas and his servants stood on the Harbinger's computer keyboards, having gotten up there via still-attached stepladders. They were taking particular note of one of the things that were documented in the Harbinger's computer. They may not have been able to read Decepticon script, but they could make out schematics.

"Copy this all down." Silas ordered darkly. "This...neuron refractor is exactly what we need to successfully complete Project: Mechanoid."

The agent nodded, and started picking up the pace in his writing.

"Silas, can you hear me? Silas?" Twilight's voice questioned with worry through the comm. "I said activate phase two!"

Novo, sitting at a set-up card table with a huge -Cybertronian- remote on it, was quick to answer. "Sorry, Twilight. Silas is...preocupied. I hear you loud and clear. Phase two commencing." Novo hung up and pushed a button on the remote. He had to use his whole arm to press down the circuit.

A GroundBridge portal opened up some distance behind them.

"A remote control access to the GroundBridge." Novo commented. "Gotta love Decepticon scienetests."

A GroundBridge opened up in front of a pair of Vehicons, left behind to guard the ship's interiors specifically against just such an intrusion.

Nemesis Prime slowly walked out of it, arming his blade and blaster. "I am here to defeat Megatron. Stand down, and I will spare you."

Had the Vehicons proper eyes and not just visors, they probably would've rolled them. The Vehicons were espically trained soldiers, fearing more what Megatron might to do them for allowing an enemy to pass then whatever the enemy would do to them for attacking. They armed their blasters.

"So be it." Nemesis Prime coldly shot his blaster twice, blasting craters into both the Vehicons' chests.

"Now come!" Nemesis Prime directed at the still-open Bridge. Airachnid's zombified corpse lumbered through, followed by the reanimated Autobot plague victims.

Soundwave, moved to a secluded room to continue his work unperturbed by the siege. Nearly all of his tendrills were plugged into the computer there, so that he could have extra acesss to the vantages points of secruity cameras across all the ship. One camera alerted him to the presence of Nemesis Prime's and his gang. Reacting cooly, Soundwave pushed a button.

In the Nemesis' bridge, Megatron stood with his hands crossed behind his back in front of the computer. A ping-ping grabbed Megatron's attention. Soundwave had sent him a message. Megatron skimmed through it, and, realizing that Twilight Sparkle had planned to dispatch her Optimus knockoff into his ship's deeper corners while the majority of his troops were on the outer deck distracted by her Morbots. Megatron wasn't adverse to taking his risks, but to him, the put-there-specifically-in-case-of-something-like-this guards being able to take down the collection of Terrorcons was more of a gamble then a risk, and Megatron was not prone to gambling.

He slammed his fist on the bridge's controls, activating a speaker that was audible through the entire ship.

"Attention, all Decepticons on the outer deck! We have been infiltrated! Retreat and deal with the sabotuears!"

The Decepticons heard Megatron's command and obeyed them instantly, immediately falling back through the entrance to the ship.

The Jackhammer touched back down on the ship. Wheeljack hopped out, curious to know what happened. "Wonder what made the 'Cons decide to get out of dodge?"

"Didn't you hear?" Arcee questioned, high-kicking a Morbot aside. "Ship's been infilitrated from the inside."

"How?"

"Don't know. Are we going to check it out, Optimus?"

"We are." Optimus answered.

"NO ONE'S going ANYWHERE until I have ALL of you rounded up and ready for questioning!" Madison screamed, shaking his fist while lying on his belly.

"Uuh!" Twilight groaned. "That's enough out of you!" She used her wings now, raising herself up to the apex of the sky, then shot off short purple laser beams in a spreadshot way reminiest of bosses from video games. The lasers sprayed through all of the Walkers, putting holes in them until they were longer able to move properly. "Now that's done..." Twilight pointed at the door. "Transform and roll out!"
The Morbots and Commandbots all converted and started driving through the entrance after the retreating Decepticons.

Bumblebee stopped what he was doing and could only stare, transfixed in digust, at Twilight for taking Optimus Prime's trademark phrase and twisting it into her own.

Bee-be beep... beep deee-dee-deeeet!

"No, I heard that too." Bulkhead told him.

"Soooo..." Wheeljack rubbed his fingers together. "Are we going after her?"

"Naturally." Optimus answered starkly. "Autobots...chase that pony!"

The Autobots all transformed and started speeding through into the entrance, belatedly joining the party that was all too likely to be brewing between the Morbots and Decepticons. The ponies galloped just behind them, neglecting their offers for a ride while Fluttershy's Insecticons buzzed above them, not daring to go ahead of Fluttershy.

They reached the entrance without any trouble, but as they were rolling down the halls, Wheeljack was suddenly kamize'd by a black aircar that pushed him against the wall.

"JACKIE!" Bulkhead screamed, hitting his brakes.

"Go on without me, Bulk." Wheeljack instructed, transforming back to robot mode. "I can take this clown."

The aircar transformed itself, unmasking Fearstorm. "You sure about that, Wrecker? I'm not your average Trooper; I was a gladiator in Kaon before signing up for Megatron's cause."

"And I was...pretty tired of your talking after "sure"." Wheeljack punched Fearstorm in the face, staggering him. Fearstrom recovered quickly and attempted to punch him back, but Wheeljack side-stepped out of the way, drew his sword and attempted to slam it down on the scarred Vehicon, but the bulk of Fearstorm's arm was an effective enough shield.

By now the other Autobots and ponies had left Wheeljack to fend for himself. They came across a fork in the hallways, narrowly catching sight of Twilight, but also the sound of fighting from the adjacent hall.

"Eeee..." Fluttershy squeaked. "What do we do?"

"Split up!" Optimus answered. "Autobots, with me. Ponies, pursue Twilight Sparkle."
Team Prime turned to the right hallway, clearing their vehilce modes out of the ponies' way to Twilight in the hall directly in front of them. On Fluttershy's orders, her Insecticons headed with Team Prime, their bulk and power allowing them to tear an easy way through the clashing Morbots and Vehicons in there. The Insecticons on the other side proved to be of difficulty though.

"Twilight!" Dash shouted, rocketing upwards to meet the unicorn in the air. Twilight willingly turned around at the sound her name.

"Hey, Dash!" Twilight greeted. "What's up?"

"What's up is that either you're going to come with us to the Autobots' place to drain the Dark Energon of you, or I'll buck some sense into you!" Dash snarled. "You got two options, Twilght."

Twilight looked at her with a werid expression, like she just didn't understand what Dash was saying due to being in a different language. "Only two?"

"Only two!"

"You sure?"

"...What are you saying?" Dash demanded, impatient as ever.

Twilight disappeared with a teleport spell.

Dash floated there limply in the air, taking in what just happened with eyes wide open. "...CHEATER!" she screamed, shaking her hoof in the air in fury.

"I'll go after her." Fluttershy voluteered. "My sensors are still picking her Dark Energon readings."

"Y'all have sensors now? Good gravy, girl, why don't we just paint an Autobot logo over yer Cutie Mark and call it a day?"

Fluttershy didn't answer Applejack's question, as she had already taken off down the hallway.

Twilight was calmly gliding, flapping her wings only every once in a while and prefer to let the air currents take her where she wanted to go. She became tense instead of calm when she found a collbariton of Tank Vehicons and Insecticons standing guard in front of a door.

"All right, you oxydization-sensentive ramrods! Let's get this over with." Twilgith baited them.

"Megatron gave us very clear orders not to move from this door unless someone was attempting to get through." An Insecticon told her.

With that in mind, Twilight could look at them in a different light. They were rather tightly packed together, like whatever was inside the room was super important.

"Are you trying to get into this room?" The Insecticon questioned.

"No." Twilight answered uncertainly, rubbing her head confusedly. "I mean, I guess not."

"Then you are invisible to us." The Insecticon informed her. "Continue on your buisness."

That made Twilight's curiosity spike greatly. What could be so important to Megatron that he would order his troops to pretend intruders were invisible unless they were very speifcally going after that door?

She flapped her wings forward a step's length worth, and got an idea what. The Dark Energon in her shoulders and chest suddenly flared up, sending intense waves of pain through her. Was the Decepticon's Dark Energon storage perhaps, resonating with her? No...resonating with her wouldn't have been this painful. It had to be something else, but what? ...A weapon! A weapon meant to somehow terminate her from the inside out.

Twilight resolved to simply fly past the guards until she was out of earshot, then activated her commincator again.

"Twilight to Morrco. Do you read? There's something in a room just behind my position. Trace my signal, bring a brigade, bust down the door and take whatever's inside back to the Harbinger!"

"...As you wish, Lady Sparkle." Morroco answered.

Twilight resumed flying through the hallway, the sounds of the sudden arrival of a Morbot squadron unexpectedly dropping in on the guards behind her.

Fluttershy was thankful for the cover the Morbots provided her, unaware of the precise nature of the Decepticon guard's instructicons.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Could I talk to you?"

"Of course!" Twilight landed and turned around to face Fluttershy. "What do you need?"

"I, uh, well...um. Twilight, please just come back with us to the base!" Fluttershy begged. "You can keep working with MECH and Starscream and Silas, but let Ratchet take the Dark Energon out! It's evil, Twilight!"

Twilight looked at her sadly. She signed. "Oh, Fluttershy...you and everypony else didn't have it in you for long enough to know how wonderful it really is."

"Wonderful?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Yeah." Twilight answered. "I mean...it brought me back from the dead, Fluttershy! How can you say a substance that can do some something like that is evil?"

Fluttershy hid behind her mane, unable to come up with a good answer.

Twilight started flying juuust above Fluttershy ever so slightly. "Fluttershy, I have an idea!"

"What?" Fluttershy asked in surprise. Snakes of Twilight's tail hair wrapped around her neck and front legs, keeping from her moving. "Twilight!? What are you doing!?"

"Trust me, Fluttershy." Twilight gently assured her in a glaring contrast to the motions she was making, "When you wake up, you'll see the Autobots are fools. Fools!"

"...W-wake up?" Fluttershy stuttered.

One of the Dark Energon shards in Twilight's front thighs sunk into her, disappering completely. A...concering noise that sounded like boiling cooking water came from Twilight.

"Twilight what are you-MPPH!" Fluttershy was unable to protest when Twilight's lips were suddenly on hers. Processed Dark Energon started pouring out from Twilgiht's mouth into Fluttershy's. Excess of the purple liquid started cascading down Fluttershy's cheek. On the technoorganic's back, the insect legs of her ladybug mode folded out and formed pincer arms not unlike Airachnid's extra legs, that started banging on Twilight in an effort to get her to stop. In vain however, as the Dark Energon seemed to have made Twiligth's dermological tissue and kerotin harder then rock. Fluttershy whimpered in meek protest until she was overwhelmed, falling unconcious to the floor.

"You'll feel great when you wake up." Twilight rubbed her hoof on Flutteshy's chest caringly. "I gurantee it."

Now having properly reintroduced to Fluttershy to Dark Energon, Twilight took off through the hallways to finally confront Megatron and establish, once and for all, who was the real Dark Energon master.

Twilight didn't see behind as the Morbot squardron pulled out whatever was in that room- A hugh-normous white hammer with gold trim...

---

The other ponies, having left Fluttershy to deal with Twilight, joined the Autobots and faction-opposed Insecticons in the hallway.

Reinforcments for the Decepticon side arrivied in the form of helicopter and jet Vehicons led by Breakdown and Knock Out.

"Breakdown!" Bulkhead shouted, using his mace to punch aside an Insecticon.

"Bulkhead." Breakdown duefully replied.

Applejack noticed their attitudes toward each other, looking back and forth between them. "Uh...you two got somethun' against each other or somethun'?"

Bulkhead spat. "That's a polite way of putting it."

"You could say that." Breakdown turned both his hands into warhammers and adopted a fighting stance.

"HUUP!" Arcee yelled, jumping over her Bulkhead and aiming for an high jump kick to Breakdown's head. Breakdown reacted quickly and smacked her out of the air. Arcee landed gracefully for someone who had just been smacked in the heel by a huge hammer, but Breakdown sandwhiched her torse area between the heads of his hammers, giving a nice good crack running her down her side.

"Hey!" Bulkhead protested, arming his maces. "Don't you know you're not supposed to hit the ladies!?"

Breakdown smiled and chuckled lightly. "Hey...that's what I said to you when me and Airachnid were-" Breakdown's bemusment was cut short by Bulkhead's mace being applied to his head. Bulkhead then turned the tables on Breakdown by sandwhiching his head between both maces. The still-Wrecker-at-Spark then lifted his blue rival up with his maces and threw Breakdown against the wall. Bulkhead smirked in triump, only to by dogpiled by a mixed assortment of Vehicons. Rarity got to work hurling off them with her magic.

Ratchet sliced a Morbot open, then hurried on over to Arcee to examine her. "Ack...Breakdown hit her hard. Bumlebee, can you drag her back outside?"

Bumblebee dealt with his opponents then hopped over like a grasshopper to pick Arcee up and wrapped her around his shoulders.

Beep beep wheeeeeooo.

Bumblebee ran back down the way they came with his passenger.

Pinkie Pie aimed her party cannon, mounted ontop of her rump like she was some kinda pony gun-turret, and blinded a Morbot with a properly aimed shot of cake. Her victory was cut short by a kick from Knock Out, who tore off her party cannon and pinned her against the wall with his hand. He converted his free arm into its drill and started bringing it towards her.

"Time for your check-up!"

"Are you sure you don't want a second opinion?" Ratchet punched Knock Out in the face, throwing him backwards and freeing Pinkie from his grip. Pinkie floated down from the wall with her body flucating like paper.

"Enough distractions!" Optimus ordered, firing off a huge blast that sent all the Decepticons and Morbots flying down the chambers. "We must do what we came here to do!"

Optimus, Ratchet and Bulkhead transformed to strat speeding through the hallway. The ponies followed behind.

Up aheard, Nemesis Prime and his Terrorcons had just come out of another hallway when all of sudden the flying Decepticons and Morbots started slamming into them, making a great big pile of darkly-colored robots. An Insecticon landed on Nemesis Prime.

The Insecticon and Nemesis Prime recovered from the blow and exchanged confused glances. The Insecticon dismissed it and readied a blow on Nemesis Prime that would've surely been fatal. Optimus jumped up and rammed the Insecticon, forcing him off of Nemesis.

As Optimus sped past, unperturbed by what just happened, Nemesis Prime watched him go...fairly certain that Optimus had just saved his life.

Ratchet drove alongside Optimus, able to keep up with the pace, but the piles of Morbots, Terrocons, and Decepticons had started recovering and got in Bulkhead's and the ponies way.

Bob shrieked in shock at the sight of Airachnid's body lumbering. He was unprepared when one of the Megatron-aligned Insecticons suddenly slugged him across the jaw, causing the thing that Bob had so impatiently taken with him to fall out.

A Vehicon noticed the thing. "Hey! Someone grab that canister!"

It was indeed, a canister of green liquid. Bob, seeing that the Decepticons were for some reason highly interested it, picked it back up and started backing away. He swatted one Vehicon, then kicked away another before decideding he'd rather inject the liquid into himself then let the Decpeticons have it. He plugged the canister into a port underneath his arm, then once it had been fully drained...fainted.

Bumblebee was carrying Arcee on his shoulders, simply going back the way he came, when he found Wheeljack and Fearstorm still going at it. Somehow, Fearstrom had liberated one of Wheeljack's swords from him and the two were engaged in a fierce duel.
Eventually, it became clear Fearstrom was getting tired of it, for the hard slams he was doing with Wheeljack's sword were incredily forceful, succeding knocking the sword still in Wheeljack's possession out of it. That done, Fearstorm punched a hole into Wheeljack's shoulder, removed his claw from it, converted it to blaster mode, shoved it back in, and fired, exploding Wheeljack's shoulder. The Wrecker fell.

Beep beep beep eeeep!

Fearstorm turned around to face Bumblebee, who realized maybe he should've stayed quiet.

Fearstorm transformed into his vehicle and rammed through Bumblebee, knocking Arcee off his shoulders and him to his back. Fearstorm didn't bother to check behind him, beliving his ramming had been enough to deal with the scout.

Bumblebee quickly got back to his feet, his first reaction being to check on Arcee.

"I'm fine." Arcee told him. "Well, as I was before that 'Con tackled us..." Arcee looked over sadly. "I'm not sure about Wheeljack though...looks like Fearstorm hit him hard."

Bumblebee nodded, draped Arcee over him again, then rushed along to help Wheeljack to his feet, supporting the Wrecker on his other one.

"Just...threw my shoulder out punching a 'Con." Wheeljack assured them, in spite of what they witnessed.

---

Well...Twilight thought as she approached the door. This was it. She had known Megatron for long enough to have overcome that unatchuaral fear facter that Megatron emananted. But still, she couldn't help feel uneasy.

Perhaps it was because the door had been open, like Megatron was expecting her to come in for a spot of tea and Energon.

Twilight cleared her throat and entered the door. Granted, she and the other ponies had helped rebuild the Decepticon ship so they could get off Equestria, and then Equestria's scientists- herself included amongst them- built a tiny-scale replica of the ship.

Inside the bridge of the Nemesis, there was a literal bridge with Cybertronian-sized railings keeping any clumsy Decepticons from falling over to the stands below. Said stands were empty. Twilight knew it was probably because all the troopers were out and about the ship, but it...it felt more like Megatron didn't want anyone witnessing his and Twilight's match.

Megatron himself hadn't moved from his post at the bridge's control, his back to Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight Sparkle." Megatron greeted without turning around. "I think we both know why you're here...Dark Energon can only have one true master, after all."

"I'm sure Celestia would so proud of me if I came back with you as a student of my own!" Twilight quipped.

Megatron actually seemed to find this funny. "Hahahahahahahaha...I appreciate your camaraderie, Twilight Sparkle..." Megatron turned around finally. "But you and I both know there is only way this can end. To think, Twilight Sparkle, that despite our biological differences we now share the same blood. Blood of Unicron, that is."

Twilight cocked her head. She knew enough about the way things worked to know that Unicron probably wasn't, as the name suggested, a unicorn named after his bad hoofwriting.

"Who's Unicron?"

"The Cybertronian God of Chaos." Megatron answered. "Rest assured, Twilight Sparkle. Unicron's power makes Discord seem a paltry worm in comparison. It would not suprise me if having the Dark Energon in you makes you immune to his 'greying' magic."

"Huh." Twilight remarked, taking out a silver canister with Morroco's logo on it. "You know something, Megatron? What you said about us having the same blood of...Unicron, or whoever, I can't help but wonder...maybe we're not so different in other ways."

Megatron's gritted his teeth. If Twilight didn't know better, she might say she had just...offended him.

"Not so different?" Megatron repeated. "I am aware of your life story, Twilight Sparkle. You lived with your noblepony parents before being taken by Princess Celestia herself for your education of magic!" Megatron's shoulderplates springed, and little puffs of steam starting huffing out of his back. Twilight seemed to have a struck a diode. "Are you aware of mine? You know who I raised by, Twilight Sparkle? NO ONE! I had no connections to fame or wealth like you did! I didn't even have a NAME! SO I TOOK ONE! I took the name of Megatronus, the most powerful of the Thirteen Original Primes! It was shortened to Megatron so that the the crowds at the gladitorial matches I took part in could chant my name! I CREATED the Decepticons, not out of want, but nessicity, because the Council needed to be decived to realize the extent of their lies! So, Twilight Sparkle, tell me...do you still think we might not be so different?"

"No." Twilight answered coolly. A human-sized remote was levitated in her magic, along with the canister that was now open. "But pretty soon, it won't matter anyway!"

A swarm started pouring out of the canister. Tiny, cone-shaped nanomachines only visible because of the sheer volume of them. They seperated and started entering Megatron through tiny ports on his body meant for Cybertronian...stuff that was not whatever these things were.

Megatron's body started sparking, and he got one knee in a rare show of weakness. "What-is-happening?"

"Nanites!" Twilight explained with a devilish smile.

Megatron grimaced and grunted, struggling to get up. He grabbed the railing on the side and pushed himself upwards.

"But-but-" Twilight stuttered, pushing her hoof on the remote. "Morroco said the nanites would let me control you!"

"This...Morroco lied!" Megatron proclaimed, standing upright, an electric arc traveling across the length of his chest as all the nanites in him short-cicruited. "NO ONE CONTROLS ME!"

Megatron fired his fusion cannon. Twilight avoided it by flying upwards. Now airborne, Twilight conjured her Cybertronian-sized blades of magical energy. Megatron shifted out his armblade and silver knuckle in response.

Twilight levitated one blade above Megatron's head, which he naturally blocked with his sword, allowing Twilight to lower her other blade and gut him...or at least that was her plan. Instead, Megatron shoved the first blade off himself, then twirled around and batted aside the other one. Twilight got frustrated, bucked him in the face, leaving a horseshoe-shaped imprint into the side of his helmet, then flew over Megatron's shoulders and perched herself on his back, driving her horn into it his armor. Megatron yelled in pain before reaching over his shoulder, grabbing her by the tail and slamming her back against the railing (ouch!) hard enough for some purple blood to leak from her onto the bars. Twilight appeared unconsous on the railing, her legs flopped acrosss the bar limply. Megatron wasted no time in trying cut her in half, but she was faking. Twilight cartwheeled out of the way, causing Megatron's blade to stick itself into the bar. Megatron realized he'd been had and started trying to jerk the blade back out while Twilight prepared a spell.

Megatron got his blade out just in time for Twilight's spell to be finished. The spell launched from her horn, blasting Megatron through the opposing railing, covering it in his corrupted blood, and crashing him to the stands below, which crumbled under his weight

Twilight flew down from the railing she was on to the edge of the hole in the other railing she had just made and looked down to see Megatron lying on his back.

"...Well, I guess that makes me the master and you the student after all!" Twilight declared. She looked around, unsure what to do next. Her victory meant she was the master, right? ...So she should call off the siege, right?

A wrrrreeeoo distracted from that thought. Twilight looked at the terminal, then flew up and on it to see what was on the screen. The wrreo was an error message from whatever program was running- or trying to run on the computer.

"Encrypted files..." Twilight concluded. She started walking across the keys to see if she could undo the encryption. She succeed, bits and fragments of the blue code on the screen turning to red as her hooves pushed down the buttons.

In his secluded room, Soundwave noticed the same change in colors on his screen, which was displaying the same thing that was on the bridge's terminal. In seconds, more red and less blue was on it.

Soundwave, seeing whatever was going was making more red, moved his pinky finger to a key and pushed it, causing a screen to appear.

RELINQUISH CONTROL?

Y/N

Soundwave pushed Y.

The bridge screen suddenly filled up with a thousand more bits of blue code.

Twilight got a mischevious idea. "If these files are encrpted, and in the Decepticon databanks...then clearly they don't want ponies to know what's in them!" With this conclusion, Twilight more then eagerly started bouncing and hopping along the keyboard.

"Uuuuun..." with a groan, Megatron rose up out of the broken stands. Rubbing his sore head, he looked around the room and saw Twilight Sparkle still there. He aimed his cannon at her, charging it quietly so she didn't hear it, but then saw what was on the screen.

"Huh?...Ah!...Yes, good work, Soundwave." For some reason, seeing whatever Twilight was doing seemed to please Megatron. He laughed silently, then laid back down, pretending to still be incapicated so that Twilight's work wouldn't be disturbed by him watching. It was visible taxing on Megatron the effort it was taking not to smirk.

---

Optimus, now in robot mode, was doing some serious blasting to get all his enemies downed so they would quit interrupting him.

Rainbow Dash had just cannonballed herself through a copter 'Con when she saw Bob lying unconcious. "Hey, somepony should check on Bob!"

Rarity volunteered, galloping to Bob's head and gently rocking as best she could. "Bob? Are you all right?"

Bob chittered, coming to. His visor seemed to change from blue to green. He looked straight at Rarity in a...disturbing way.

"Bob?" Rarity cooed.

Bob shrieked and swatted Rarity aside into the wall. Getting up, Bob threw his claws into the air and shrieked again, charging at all the Vehicons, Morbots, and Insecticons in the hallway...including the ones belonging to Fluttershy.

"Dude, what are you doing? I'm on your team!" one of Fluttershy's Insecticons questioned when Bob came after him.

"Ratchet, what's happened to Bob?" Optimus questioned.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say..." Ratchet looked around and saw the discarded container. "Synth-En."

"I though you said you perfected that stuff!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

"I was in the process of perfecting it!" Ratchet corrected.

"How did this occur?"

Ratchet shook his head. "I don't know, Optimus, but if Bob's injected it into himself, then I'm not sure what we can do other then just wait for him to tire out."

"Time is one thing we do not have." Optimus told him darkly.

"Commander Optimus, sir!" One of Fluttershy's Insecticons said with a salute. "Princess Fluttershy's being infected with Dark Energon against her will!"

"How were you made of aware of this?"

"Hive mind, Commander. Sensed Fluttershy coming to just now."

"What?" Dash exclaimed. "How does that work?"

"Didn't Fluttershy go after Twilight?" Applejack questioned.

Everypony shifted uncomfortably, understandbly incredible disturbed by the all too obvivous conclusion of Applejack's question. Jack said that if anyone could save Twilight, it was Team Prime...but was Twilight still even in there to be saved?

"Oh dear..." Ratchet said with concern. "We may have a problem. Dark Energon is a...disturbing substance. Considering Fluttershy's half-Insecticon nature..."

"The Dark Energon will react towards her the same it would any of us." Optimus finished.

"And as the Dark Energon was injected unwillingly..."

"It will sense her that she doesn't want it in her...and..."

Fluttershy suddenly came roaring through the hallway, mangling Applejack-on purpose- and shrieking murder.

"...cause problems..."

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, grabbing Fluttershy by the shoulders. "Snap out of it!"

Fluttershy shrieked and aimed her hoof-clamp, which transformed into a tube-like device not dissialmir to a wasp's stinger.

"Oh great." Dash thought. "Now she has arm-cannons too."

Fluttershy fired her stinger-device at Dash's face, but instead of a red laser, webbing shot out that envolped Dash's face. Dash's struggling thankfully kept her out of the wat of Fluttershy's swiping back-mounted claws.

Bob's battle cries got Fluttershy's attention. The technorganic transformed into ladybug and charged straight at him. Bob caught whiff and turned around to face. He raised his normal claw and swiped at her, knocking her into the wall as the same a laser escaped her bug mandibles and burrowed into his chest. Dark Energon splatted from Fluttershy onto the wall while Synth-En leaked from Bob's chest.

The injuries proved enough to flush their systems to the point they were aware of themselves again.

"Oh, Bob! I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy squealed, converting back to show the tears in her eys. "Can you forgive me?"

Bob repeated the question in Insecticon. Fluttershy smiled and nodded. Bob lunged forward and scooped Fluttershy into a hug. He was so preocupied with showing that they were no hard feelings he notice his shoulder-spike hit a control panel on the wall.

The control blinked it's lights, then a portion of the wall slid away in the form of a door.

Bob bashfully drew back from Fluttershy in embarassment.

A Tank Vehicon, recovered enough to push himself up into a push-up, saw an oppurtuniy and fired his shoulder cannon at Bob, sending a torpedo out that shoved Bob out the open window and into the sky for parts unknown.

"BOB!"

Bob squealed out he'd be fine, for Fluttershy to focous on the mission...and that he still forgave her, as the rocket pushed out of eyesight.

Fluttershy looked ready to jump out the door after him, but Pinkie grabbed her before she lift off.

"He'll be okay, Fluttershy." Pinkie assured her.

Fluttershy turned her head towards Pinkie. "You sure? I mean, what if he-"

"Stop that thought right there, missy." Pinkie interrupted. "That's quitter talk."

"Oh-okaaaaa-a-a-a..." Fluttershy started gasping and wheezing.

"Fluttershy?" Pinkie rightfully questioned. "What's wrong?"

"A-a-a-a-AIRACHNID!" Fluttershy pointed over at Airachnid's lumbering corpse.

"Chill out, Fluttershy. She's just a zombie." Dash attempted to calm her, to no avail. It didn't matter who or what it was; seeing someone who was most quite certainly dead-without-a-doubt walking about again was disturbing to the person who had been that someone's killer. Fluttershy wasn't excempt from this, and she immeaditly went delilours, imaginging all sorts of horrible variations of her nightmare about Airachnid earlier. Seeing Rainbow Dash's face still holding some of the webbing Fluttershy had blasted her with...did not help the poor yellow pony.

"Oh!" Fluttershy jumped out the door with her tears in her eyes before Pinkie Pie could grab her again.

"We'll go after her. Hopefully find Bob while we're at it, too..." The Fluttershy-Insecticon who had reported earlier voluneteered, leading his brethen out the door, all of them transforming to fly, rather then fall down.

"Well, we better back to helping Optimus and the others." Applejack concluded, only to turn around and see Optimus, Ratchet, and Bulkhead gone. "Where they'd go?"

---

Twilight lifted her hind hoof to push a button behind, turning one more piece of blue text to red.
"Hmm-hm-hm-hmm-hmmmm..." she hummed to no particular tune as she got ready to convert the last of the text...

"Annnd...done!" Twilight triumphantly declared after changing the colors of the last line of code. Her ears twitched at the sound of tromping whipped around, horn ready to start blasting.

Optimus, Bulkhead and Ratchet appeared in the doorway, armcannons and blowtorches prepared for the same.

"Ah, Optimus!" Twilight greeted. "I don't what you want, but I won't give it to you, for as long as I-...hey, are you even listening to me?" Twilight noticed that the Autobots were looking behind her at the screen.

The Autobots disarmed thier weapons and approached the bridge's computer, putting their hands on it in awe. Twilight visibly tensed.

"Amazing..." Ratchet said, awed. "Simply amazing...that a pony would be able to do this in such a short amount of time."

"Do what?" Twilight questioned.

"Decode the Database of Iacon." Optimus answered. "Eons ago, the Decepticons raided the Halls of Iacon. Numerous items in the Vaults beneath the Halls were jettisoned into space, varied in diversity from Decepticon doomsday device to simply technology no side has the right to claim. This Database recorded the landing locations of each one for the day when it would be safe for them to be unearthed."

Twilight stared back at the screen, taking in what she had done. The location of every potential doomsday weapon, right at the Decepticons fingertips. The gravity of the sitchuation even prevented Ratchet's normal bigotry in Cybertronian fields from commenting on how Twilight had decrypted one of the biggest files in Cybertronian creation in a script she didn't understand.

"...Should I restore the encrptions?" Twilight asked.

"Noooo." Megatron's voice rasped. Everypony looked over the bridge to see Megatron standing in the hole made in the stands. "Those weapons WILL belong to me again, Twilight Sparkle." Megatron jumped up from the stands and landed on the bridge with a thump, his sword at the ready.

"Twilight Sparkle, I wish to propose an exchange of services." Optimus offered.

"You mean...like a deal?"

"Yes. You and Ratchet will attempt to make it so that the decrypted coordinates are in our possession while at the same time not in the Decepticons..."

Megatron screamed a warrior's scream and lunged at them. Optimus raised his blade and blocked Megatron's.

"While Bulkhead and I keep Megatron busy!"

"How do I know you won't try to use the weapons against Earth!?" Twilight shouted.

"I shall Pinkie Promise that-" Optimus shoved Megatron off and pushed him backwards with a laser shot. "-momentarily."

As Bulkhead rushed ahead to keep Megatron preocupied, Twilight realized she didn't really have a choice. With a sign, she looked at Ratchet. "How do you want do this?"

"Decoding the Iacon Database is one thing." Ratchet answered, a blue lightbar forming from the side of his arm. "Downloading it is another." A trapezium-shaped beam shot from the light bar and started sweeping across the computer screen. "As I scan the coordinates, re-encrpt them."

"Got it." Twilight nodded, then started messing with the buttons prematurely.

"What are you doing?" Ratchet grilled her, supsicous.

"Preparing something...just keep scanning." Twilight curtly told him.

"Mmmh." Ratchet didn't look totally satisfied with the answer, but did so, eventually getting three coordinates down into his arm.

Megatron pounded Bulkhead in the side, producing some friction sparks. He then took notice of Ratchet's and Twilight's activites on the computer and activated his comm.

"Soundwave! Twilight is attempting to undo her contribution to our work! Do something!"

The coordinates Ratchet had already scanned slowly started disappearing, returning to Soundwave's computer from the bridge's.

"Neah!" Twilight exclaimed. Using her magic, she conjured a quill and parchment from the void, and started multi-tasking, writing down the coordanites on the paper while still...preparing whatever it was.

Ratchet mangaed to scan two more coordinates before Soundwave's reclaimation matched pace with them, graduating into an even pace on the next set after that.

"Twilight, whatever you're planning, do it now!"

"But you said-"

"Better neither side has the coordinates than the Deceptcons reclaim their stolen weapons."

Twilight nodded. "Mh-hm. Right, so that thing I was preparing? I made it, just now. I think I'm going to call it..."

Twilight pressed a hoof against a button, which turned every last bit and byte on the screen red again.

"An encryption bomb."

Ratchet stood there, openmouthed in awe at Twilight's expert programming. "That's...brillant. I'm sure Celestia would be proud of you, Twilight Sparkle."

"YAAAH!" Megatron screamed. "DECEPTICONS! TO YOUR MASTER!"

A navy blue jet followedd by green ones soared into the room and transformed, arming their blasters.

"Optimus, we should go." Ratchet said. "We're outnumbered and we can't acheive what we came here to do."

"Agreed, old friend." Optimus agreed, attempting to prevent Dreading from giving him a new ventilaion chute. "Rafael, activate the GroundBridge."

The Autobot GroundBridge appeared with all haste. Optimus, Bulkhead and Ratchet fell through it. Ratchet attempted to scan as many more coordiantes as he could, even they were reencrypted under the heavy fire.

"Twilight to MECH. Reciveed new perogitave. Retreat! Retreat!" Twilight ordered through her earpiece.

Dreadwing attempted to fire at her, but as she teleported, all he did was shoot an easily-replaced computer key.

Megatron stalked over to the computer and set about giving correspeode through it to Soundwave. Soundwave obeyed the order and put the coordainates that he was able to salvage on the screen.

Megatron slammed his fist on the loudspeaker. "Decepticons! Return to the bridge! The enemy is retreating...and I...want...those...RELICS!"

---

Author's Note:

... I am so sorry.

Uh, anyway, Megatron knows Twilight's backstory because of the scan Soundwave took waaay back in Act 1.