Operation: Patriotism

by Darkryt Orbinautz

XII: The Hydra and Its Heads

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy went into Twilight's office.

"You wanted to see us, darling?"

"Yes, I did." Twilight nodded. "Thank you for coming, girls."

"Well, yeah." Dash shrugged. "We're your friends. What do you got for us?"

Twilight rotated the Harmony Box on her desk, shifting its sides so the girls could see the key now set into the side of it. "Take a look at this. I was talking with Susan when I bumped the box with my hoof. It fell onto the quill Sunset Shimmer gave me, and then the quill turned turned into a key and inserted itself in! I was hoping maybe one of you might have an idea."

"Hmm." Rarity levitated the box into the air to give it an up-close and personal inspection. "Does this quill have any special properties?"

"Other than being sentimental to Sunset Shimmer, not that I know of."

Rarity narrowed her eyes. "Yes, well, given Sunset Shimmer's duplicity … it wouldn't surprise me if there was perhaps more to this quill than meets the eye."

"Let me see." Rainbow Dash grabbed the box and shook it. There was a rattling noise as the key key jiggled inside the lock, but nothing happened. Rainbow Dash attempted to peer inside the keyhole. She grabbed the key and tried to pull it out, only succeeding in straining her hoof. "Wow. That key is stuck in there good."

"Rainbow Dash, be careful!" Twilight, displeased with Dash's careless shaking of the box, used her magic to take it away from her. "We don't know how fragile this box is! You could have broken it." Twilight placed the box between her hooves, inspecting it for any signs of damage.

Rainbow Dash crossed her legs, uncaring.

Twilight set the box down on her desk and rested her knees on the desk. "I don't know why the Tree of Harmony gave us this box … but if we had to give up the Elements to get it, I'm sure it must be important! It has to be … right?" Twilight looked over at her friends.

Everypony looked uncomfortable, avoiding Twilight's gaze.

"Well, darling ..." Rarity said. "Speaking from my experience as a fashion expert, sometimes … you don't always get an equal trade."

"Hmm." Twilight looked at the box again before noticing someone standing outside the door of her office. "Come in."

It was a human. One of the volunteers Twilight and Magnum recruited to form the Imperials. He was carrying in his hand a blue and black plate which would be a perfect fit for his chest – his Vehicon-styled exosuit, in its compacted form.

"Hello … commander." The man said, soon joined by two other men.

"Please." Twilight stepped out from behind her desk. "Call me Twilight. What can I help you with?"

The man looked to his companions. "We're … retiring."

"Retiring?" Twilight tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"After yesterday ..." The man explained. "We … we realized how serious this was. We didn't – we didn't think we were actually fighting in a war. A real war." The man laughed. "Well, I guess we knew, but we just pretended like we weren't. But we couldn't pretend anymore. Not after what happened."

"After the E.M.P hit, and we were stuck inside those suits ..." Another one of them said. "It was terrifying. I thought I was going to die." He lifted the exo-suit disc up. "I can't do that. I can't do this, everyday, knowing that every step I take could be my last. That I could go on a mission at any moment where I could die. I can't live like that. So … I'm quitting active duty." He placed the disc on Twilight's desk.

"I didn't know at the time." The first man said. "I don't think anybody knew at the time, but when the news about aliens went out, and the full list of the Autobots' deeds was made public, I realized … the Autobots had saved my son's life. So when Galloway starts making this big dramatic speech about how Optimus Prime was planning on betraying us all, I knew something was up. That was why I volunteered for the Imperials. But this … fighting, going out, risking my life, getting trapped inside that – that metal coffin … I can't do that." He also placed the disc on the desk, on top of the other disc, making a neat little pile.

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded. "I understand. How many of you feel this way?"

The man shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't exactly take a vote on it. There's like, maybe fifty or a hundred?"

Twilight walked over to her desk. "Tell them to turn in their exo-suits, and I'll relocate all of you to the civilian district."

"The civilian district?" One of the men asked. "We want to go home. We want to go back to our wives and daughters, our families and friends!"

"I know you do." Twilight said with utmost sincerity. "Believe me, I know what it's like to want to go home again. But I can't let you leave."

This resulted in protests and boos from the men.

"Please, you have to understand. What if one of Galloway's agents finds you? What if a rogue agent from a Decepticon splinter cell sees you? Our position would be compromised, and it would be a serious step backwards to what we're trying to accomplish here. I'll bring you all back to your families as soon as we've accomplished our goals."

"And … how long will that take?"

Twilight looked at him. "I don't know." Seeing his expression turn glum, Twilight longed to say something to reassure him. "How about this? We'll be done by the end of the year. I promise."

The men did not seem to believe her. Hanging their heads low, they walked out of the room. The remaining member tossed his exo-suit onto the pile.

Applejack walked up to Twilight and placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twi, it was sweet of ya to try and promise they could see their families again so soon, but didn't yer mother teach ya about not making promises ya can't keep?"

Twilight looked at Applejack with concern and doubt. She walked away from her friend without a word.

---

The estimate they gave Twilight proved to be inaccurate. It was closer to the range of two-hundred humans. This was a large enough number to cut deeply into her ranks. While she may have able to whip up an army almost overnight, it was far from a large army – around 1500 troops, not counting the ones she was letting go. Made up of dissatisfied Vehicons, humans grateful to the Autobots, and Royal Guardsmen from Canterlot who thought Celestia's actions to appease Galloway and prevent war were a sign of weakness. And they were sick of Shining Armor's inability to do anything right.

Twilight realized she needed more recruits to make up for the loss, and fast, before she needed to mobilize her forces in any significant capacity.

"That's the last of them." Twilight waved off as the last of the humans were escorted by a Vehicon to the civilian district of the city.

"Twilight, darling, are you sure the district is going to have enough room to house all of them?" Rarity walked up and asked.

"I appreciate your concern, Rarity, but there's no need to worry." Twilight explained as she and Rarity walked down the hall. "Thanks to the Omega Lock's power, I can simply go into a control room and rearrange the city at will. I can make it 'transform,' if you will, and reassembly the district until it has enough houses for everypony. Er, everyone." Twilight went silent, and she looked distracted.

The circumstances of Twilight's discovery of the Omega Lock were suspect, Twilight knew that. An ancient Cybertronian device known only to the most dedicated of Cybertronian scholars, with the ability to initiate the regeneration of Cybertron – something the Autobots and Decepticons had coveted for the last four million years - and Twilight Sparkle, an Equestrian, had it practically handed to her on a silver platter. She had caught Alpha Trion, one of Cybertron's most respected sages and a valuable potential ally to have. He told her about the Omega Lock before pulling a Houdini on her. Why? And right as Galloway's, COBRA's, and Lazerback's schemes were coming to a head?

"Are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked. "You seem to have something on your mind."

Twilight shook her head. "It's fine. Just … thinking about the Omega Lock."

"And the exo-suits that are now no longer without owners?" Rarity asked, interrupting Twilight's thoughts before she could get any speculation going. "What will you do with them?"

"I don't know. Maybe refit them to fit ponies. Maybe I'll just store them in case we get new recruits. Or maybe smelt them down and use the materials to make weapons or – or drones, or something."

Rarity looked confused. "But … aren't the Vehicons drones?"

Rarity winced as Twilight glared daggers at her. "Rarity, I thought we covered this already."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I guess it's still a little much for me to wrap my head around ..."

Twilight looked at the floor. "Still … I'm not sure suddenly introducing two-hundred humans into my social experiment is a good idea." Twilight perked up and smiled – the kind of smile Rarity learned to recognize as the beginnings of Twilight Sparkle's many and famed freak-outs. "But it'll be good, though, right? Because sudden increases in population is something that can happen in any society, and it will test how an Equestrian/Earthling/Cybertronian community deals with both increased population and sudden change!" It was obvious to the point of transparency Twilight was deluding herself to try to make this sound positive.

Twilight laughed before sighing and lowering her head. Even she could see how she was trying to fool herself. Rarity patted her on the back. The pair looked up as Fluttershy, smiling, walked past them.

"Hey, Fluttershy." Twilight rose her head. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I thought I would go say hi to Grimwing." Fluttershy answered. "I haven't heard from him in awhile, and, well … you know how I feel about animals." Fluttershy blushed. "I want to make sure he feels comfortable here."

"Grimwing's not an animal. He's a Predacon." Rarity said.

"Well… he’s still very animal like,” Fluttershy said, “you know, like the Insecticons are. They can talk, sure, but they’ve made it clear to me they prefer to register as animals, not machines.”

"Hmph! Be that as it may, he’s not like the bunnies and cows on Equestria you’ve bonded with, Fluttershy." Rarity said. "He's a Predacon. A wild, vicious, raging Predacon!"

"Grimwing is actually pretty calm and civil," Twilight said. "Which is more than I can say for some Predacons..." Memories of Lazerback and Goradora flashed through her mind. "Why don't I join you, Fluttershy? I could use something to get my mind off things..."

Twilight joined Fluttershy in visiting Grimwing in the chambers Twilight had set aside for him. Bales of hay were set around the room, along with a perch for Grimwing to nest on, as he was doing now. Twilight had tried to put him in the same room as Grimlock and the Dinobots, but Grimwing insisted on nesting alone. Which was probably for the best, as the Dinobots weren't likely to appreciate a plus-one anyways.

Grimwing's Mini-Con was scurrying across the floor, running back and forth and squawking. It screeched and flew into the air before divebombing into a haystack. It amused Fluttershy when his beak poked out from the pile.

"Hello, Grimwing." Fluttershy said. "How are you?"

Grimwing converted to robot mode to speak. "Hello, Fluttershy. I am quite well, thank you." Grimwing spread his wings and descended off the perch.

While Twilight watched the Mini-Con run around, Fluttershy continued to talk with Grimwing. "How is everyone treating you?"

"They treat me well. " Grimwing put a finger to his chin. "Though I suspect that is because they are afraid of me." Grimwing's Mini-Con stopped and began to glare at Twilight.

"Well, who wouldn't be?" Fluttershy walked up to Grimwing and rubbed his leg, making some faux-seductive motions. "You're so big and strong and muscular!" Fluttershy pretended to swoon.

Grimwing laughed at Fluttershy's joke. "On a more serious note, Grimlock, in particular, seems to hold some sort of animosity towards me."

"Grimlock has animosity towards everyone." Fluttershy said. Grimwing's Mini-Con flared up its wings and threw itself into the air, pouncing on Twilight and engaging her in a tussle, forcing her onto her back as they wrestled. Fluttershy and Grimwing remained oblivious.

"I suppose … still, I can't help but feel as though there is something about me he resents." Grimwing said. He stroked his chin. "And as nice as some of the Imperials are, it would be nice to see my fellow Predacons again … I consider them my friends, Predaking chief amongst them."

Hearing this caused Twilight to perk her head up. She ended her wrestling match with the Mini-Con by bucking it off, where it scurried to Grimwing's feet. Twilight rolled over onto her hooves and her horn lit up in excitement, conjuring a light bulb over her head as she had an idea.

"I have an idea!" Twilight announced. She noticed the conjured light bulb and tossed it aside. "We'll go to Cybertron and recruit Predaking and the other Predacons! We'll have Grimwing act as a mediator." Twilight clapped her hooves together. It was a brilliant idea. Grimwing would have Predaking to talk to again, and they would strengthen up their forces and more than make up for the humans who resigned earlier. One Predacon was easily worth a hundred human soldiers. Imagine if Twilight had multiple Predacons following her orders! And if their strength was combined with the Dinobots, they would be almost unstoppable.

"Are you certain that is wise, Twilight Sparkle?" Grimwing asked. "Predaking did not seemed pleased when I made my decision to join your Imperials."

"We have to try." Twilight told him. "I'm going to assemble a team. Let's see, who do I want to take … Smokescreen? No, he's too impulsive. Bumblebee, maybe, he's good with people … Magnum, Magnus, and Grimlock, in case things get hairy. Yeah, that should do it. Grimwing, get ready. We head out for the Sea of Rust in thirty minutes. Pack your sunscreen."

Twilight ran out of the room.

Grimwing knelt down, picked up his Mini-Con up, and petted it as he held it in his arms.

Twilight Sparkle traveled by Space Bridge to the Sea of Rust on Cybertron. Accompanying her was Magnum, Ultra Magnus, and Grimlock should a skirmish ensue. Grimwing, to bridge the gap between pony and Predacon, and Bumblebee, to help Grimwing. The Sea of Rust earned its name, as there was nary a Cybertronian building in sight. Everything was either sand or rusted hunks of once-great metal. Strong wings blew huge amounts of sand or peeled-away rust around, some of which could get into Cybertronian bodies and spread the corrosion to their joints. The Predacons had to be hardy to make this their home.

"Can we get this over with?" Grimlock asked. "I don't want the rust here getting into my servos."

Twilight Sparkle walked a few paces ahead of the group. Trying not to show any sign of weakness, she scanned the area with glaring eyes before shouting.

"PREDAKING! I know you're here. SHOW YOURSELF!"

Twilight's voice echoed through the empty desert. For a moment, no one appeared, prompting Grimlock to turn around. Soon, though, the sound of footsteps reach their ears. Predaking arrived, walking through the desert in his robot form. He made no reaction to a rust-covered breeze as it sprayed against his shoulders.

Predaking stopped a few paces in front of Twilight Sparkle. He gave Grimwing a bitter glare before turning his attention to Twilight. "Why have you come here, Twilight Sparkle?"

"To talk to you." Twilight said. "To try and convince you to join the Imperials."

Predaking scoffed. "When Grimwing decided to join you, I said nothing. I allowed him to do as he wished. But I will not be a part of your conflict. Your crusade against the humans has nothing to do with me." Predaking turned around and prepared to walk away.

"Wait!" Grimwing held his hand out. "We fight more than just the humans, Predaking. There are villains out there whose vile schemes threaten all of us. With your help, my brother -"

Predaking whipped around. "You forfeit the right to call me brother when you left our people to join with them!" Predaking pointed at the Autobots.

"That's it. I'm taking him down." Grimlock banged his knuckles together. Grimwing held him back.

"When that rampaging Driller threatened Cybertron, you and Grimlock were quite an effective team." Grimwing said. "Why do you choose not to ally with him now?"

"I have no conflict on Earth," Predaking said, his optics never moving away from Grimwing. "There is… nothing of interest to me there."

Before Grimwing could say anything further, the party was interrupted by an uninvited guest.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this!"

"Lazerback." Predaking greeted him with contempt. Twilight glared at Lazerback while Magnum and Ultra Magnus readied their weapons.

"What are you doing here?" Twilight snapped at him.

Lazerback gave a mocking bow to Twilight, waving his hand. "I'm just here to see if I might … persuade Predaking to join my side."

"You have nothing to offer me." Predaking told him. "You abandoned my kingdom. You mean nothing to me."

"No?" Lazerback said. "Not even the promise of an Earth where you're free to do as you wish? To destroy to your Spark's content?"

"Everything I desire can be found here." Predaking gestured to the Sea of Rust around them. Predaking glanced at Grimwing again. "Almost everything ..."

"What about a place by my side when I win the Cybertronian election? Hmm?" Lazerback offered.

"I have no use for power in politics." Predaking crossed his arms. "One of you had best offer something I desire, and you'd best do it soon. I tire of wasting my time with you both."

"I have friends, Predaking." Lazerback said. "Powerful friends. Friends who have an interest in seeing Cybertron – indeed, the entire Cybertronian race – brought to heel. Made to bow to their masters. Take my advice, Predaking. Start currying favor with them now. It's only a matter of time before they get what they want, and you don't want to be on their bad side when that happens."

"You overestimate the ability of your … friends." Twilight Sparkle said. "The Imperials will stop them."

Lazerback leaned over. "Is that so, little pony?"

"Enough!" Predaking shouted. "Neither of you has anything of value to offer me. This meeting is adjourned." Predaking turned around and walked away, heading into the Sea of Rust.

"What a shame. We would have been great, you and I." Lazerback muttered, watching Predaking departed. Twilight and the Autobots began to walk away as well. Lazerback's smirk returned. "Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well ..."

Lazerback reached behind his back, pulling out his Toxic Strike Blaster. He aimed it at Twilight Sparkle. One shot from this angle would be enough to melt through Twilight's armor and reach the fragile, fleshy pony inside the metal casing, removing Twilight Sparkle from the playing field.

Grimwing and Predaking both stopped, hearing something with their keen Predacon senses. Predaking turned around and saw Lazerback taking aim with his weapon.

Predaking roared and charged Lazerback, tackling him and causing the acid from the blaster to shoot into the air and hit the ground, a safe distance away from Twilight. Twilight gasped. She wondered how she could be so stupid as to expect Lazerback to depart peacefully from neutral ground.

Predaking and Lazerback went tumbling, Predaking holding Lazerback in a headlock before releasing him.

"You dare to strike your opponent while her back is turned? On neutral ground? Your conflict does not belong here!" Predaking raised his fist and struck Lazerback, knocking him backwards. "Coward!"

Predaking continued to pound Lazerback, alternating fists as he pummeled Lazerback's head, sending Lazerback staggering with each blow. "You have no honor! You are a disgrace to our entire species!"

Lazerback didn't care for Predaking's lecture. Why did he ever think trying to recruit this honor-bound fool to his side? The side which, Lazerback would admit, was dedicated to random chaos? Lazerback steadied himself enough to aim his Blaster again and fired, shooting out a spray of acid which hit Predaking in the stomach, melting his frame.

"Let me give you a hand with that." Grimlock came to Predaking's aid. He blindsided Lazerback, punching him square in the cheek.

"There's no need to go it alone." Grimwing ran up, sending Lazerback backwards with a single, yet well-placed punch.

"Gah!" Lazerback shook his head to clear his disorientation. He prepared himself for a fight, pulling out a flail-like weapon with an axe-head on the end of it. He swung the flail around for a bit before taking another look at his opponents and reconsidering his odds. Twilight's team had joined in and taken fighting positions, Magnum and Ultra Magnus training their weapons on Lazerback. Two Predacons, a Dinobot, an Elite Guardsman, a Wrecker, a super-powerful Princess unicorn with a grudge against him, and a bug.

One on one, Lazerback was confident he could take Predaking in a fight. But the odds were against him now. While he thought he could get away with taking out Bumblebee and maybe Twilight, the combined efforts of the rest of them would tear him apart.

Before Predaking and the others could launch their assault and give Lazerback a much-deserved beating, a screech echoed from the sky. A red Predacon appeared overhead, this one with wings. It swooped down, snatching its talons around Lazerback's shoulders, and carried the flightless Predacon away. It was moving too fast for anyone to make out any details on it, other than it had a tail and wings.

Predaking was joined by the others as he watched Lazerback be ferried to safety, out of the range of their wrath. He might have given pursuit, but he did not want to risk agitating his injuries from the acid.

"Predaking ..." Grimwing said.

"Lazerback must be made to pay for his treachery." Predaking cut him off. "Of that there can be no doubt."

"You know, Predaking, if you joined the Imperials, you would get plenty of chances to punish Lazerback ..." Twilight said.

Predaking turned to Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight Sparkle, after some careful consideration, I have decided to join your Imperials after all."

Twilight smiled.

Elsewhere, in the Nevada desert on Earth, a portal manifested. It was a strange portal. It appeared to be either a GroundBridge or Space Bridge, but colored in dark blue rather than the proper green.

A man hopped out from the portal, landing on his feet with his knees bent. He stood up, a grim look of determination on his face. He surveyed his surroundings before sprinting towards the direction of Jasper, Nevada.

Inside the Imperial base, Jack drummed his fingers on the desk. Raf played a video game on his laptop and Miko chewed on some Japanese candy Twilight had been kind enough to get for her.

Jack stopped drumming his fingers, causing Miko and Raf to look towards him.

Jack sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. "How long are we going to be doing this?"

Miko and Raf looked at each other. Miko took the candy out of her mouth. "Doing what?"

"This." Jack gestured around the room. "We're still doing this after so long. After three years of helping the Autobots, we're still … helping the Autobots. We should have been done with this by now. I should be filling college application letters and dating Sierra. And so should you, Miko. And Raf should – Raf should be at M.I.T or something by now!"

"Ha!" Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee appeared.

"Welcome to my life." Arcee crossed her arms. "You think I envisioned myself four million years ago fighting in a war that seemed to never end on some small, water-covered planet?"

"Arcee … " Jack said. "You know human lives are shorter than Cybertronians. Three years is a lot bigger deal to us than it is to you. Three … years." Jack balled up his hands into fists. "Three whole years, and the war is over … and then Twilight Sparkle, the peace-loving Equestrian, starts up another war because she happens to have a problem with the way Galloway is running things!"

"Don't you?" Miko asked. "Galloway is a jerk. And he wants to make the Cybertronians slaves of the government! Do you want a life like that for Arcee?"

Jack calmed down a little. "I'm … sorry, Miko. You're right. I guess I'm just … looking for someone to blame." He rubbed the back of his head. "But … do you really follow up a war with another war? Is that the best way to create change in the political system?"

"Ha." Bulkhead laughed. "You don't know your own history. It's true on Cybertron and on Earth. Six times out of ten, someone's starting a war because they're unhappy with the way the last war ended."

"Twilight Sparkle isn't forcing you to stay," Arcee said. "If you want, you can move to the civilian district. Withdraw from the war effort. You have that option. You're not the one being persecuted by Galloway and his cronies for being aliens. For being … different."
Jack looked up at Arcee. "Arcee, I'm sorry … I didn't think ..."
"If Optimus were here, I bet he’d say something like 'people fear what they don't understand.'" Bulkhead said. "And the humans, bless their hearts, don't understand us. Not yet, at least. Someday, things will be better,, and things like what's happening now won't develop." Bulkhead looked at his forearm, where his weapons were stored. "But I guess until that day, we're going to have to keep fighting for our freedoms."
Jack's cell phone rang. "It is alright if I ..."
"Go ahead." Bulkhead said. "Twilight told me she has this placed shielded to the nines, so your phone shouldn’t be totally untraceable, as long as you keep the call inside the force field."
Jack opened the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, Jack," a smooth male voice answered. "I don't think we've met before. I'm your uncle, Johnson. Johnson Darby. I would like to meet you."
"I didn't know I had an uncle," Jack said.
Laughter emitted from the phone. "That's my brother for you. He never did like to talk about much. Can we set up somewhere to meet? Maybe go out for lunch?"
"Y-yeah ..." Jack said. "Yeah, okay. I'll call you back." Jack closed the phone.
"Who was it?" Miko asked.
"He say he's my uncle." Jack tried to find the phone number, but there wasn't any. "No number? That's weird... what is going on here?”

---

Agent Fowler walked through the army base building. He stopped in front of the door leading to Bryce's office and took in a deep breath. Bryce had called him, saying he wanted to 'chat,' and Fowler had a good feeling he knew what Bryce wanted to chat about.

Fowler turned the doorknob and walked inside. "You wanted to see me, General Bryce?" Fowler tried to keep up a pleasant disposition, but it disappeared when he saw Attinger sitting next to Bryce. "What's he doing here?"

"Come in, Bill." Bryce gestured to the chair. "Sit down. Attinger and I just want to talk, that's all."

Fowler sat down, though not without making his displeasure clear through his facial expressions.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Your … connection with the Autobots." Attinger leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk. "I know you fought with the Autobots. I know you and Optimus Prime were … close." Attinger said. "That kind of friendship, that kind of devotion ..." Attinger shook his head. "It can blind a man."

"What are you implying?" Fowler squinted at Attinger.

"All right." Attinger sat back. "I can see you're a man who likes it fair and simple, so I'll just straight-up ask you. Agent Fowler, do you have any sympathy for the Autobots Imperial terrorist group?"

Agent Fowler took in a sharp breath. He had to calm himself and make his answer seem as natural as possible. He couldn't give Atttinger one hint. The slightest tell, the dilation of his eye, the way he breathed, might have been enough to clue Attinger he wasn't being honest. "No."

Attinger pinched his fingers around his glasses and lowered them, looking at Attinger with his steely eyes.

"What?"

"For some reason, Agent Fowler, I'm not sure I believe you." Attinger said. "Care to change your answer?"

Fowler shook his head. He hunched forward, putting his hands on his knees. "Look …" Fowler stalled for time before raising his head up. "I fought by the Autobots' side against the Decepticons for a few years. They saved my life a few times. And I saved theirs. They were my fellow soldiers, as much as the next Army Ranger. You can't fight on the battlefield without getting to grow close. You can understand that, can't you?"

Attinger smiled. He tried to make it a reassuring smile, but Fowler thought of it more like the kind of smile a shark would give if it was trying to tell Fowler it wouldn't eat him, right before trying to eat him. "Of course. And when Galloway's new laws went into effect, and the Autobots were mostly rendered criminals, how did you feel?"

"Honestly?" Fowler said. "I felt betrayed. These 'bots have been protecting us from the 'Cons for years without asking anything in return."

Attinger nodded. "Let me ask you a follow-up question. Agent Fowler, where do your loyalties lie? With America or with the Autobots?"

Fowler chuckled, playing it off. "If I had to choose between the two, I would always pick -"

The Autobots. Fowler thought. The Autobots are people. America is a country, and countries will take you for granted a way the Autobots won't.

"America," Fowler said. "Maybe I do have some sympathy for the Imperials. If you ask me, they have a good point. Their hearts might be in the right place, but at the end of the day, I can't overlook that what they're doing is illegal."

Attinger chuckled. "Now that is an answer I can believe. You're free to go, Agent Fowler."

"But before you do," Bryce reached over the desk and held up a slip of paper to Fowler. "Would you mind going out and getting us some doughnuts? The staff here does good work, and they deserve a treat."

Fowler laughed. "Okay." He took the paper and looked up at Attinger. "By the way, Ghost ..." Fowler used Attinger's nickname to push his buttons. "How's Cobra Commander doing?"

Attinger's face contorted into a scowl and it was obvious he was holding back the urge to hit Fowler. "If you are referring to the terrorist Adam DeCobray by his alias, last I knew he was doing fine in his cell. And Fowler, please. Don't justify these terrorists' egos by calling them the lofty titles they endow themselves with."

"Really?" Fowler said. "I heard DeCobray was found dead in his cell. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Attinger cricked his neck. "No."

"Okay." Fowler got out from his seat. "I guess that's an answer I can believe."

Attinger looked ready to jump out of his chair and strangle Fowler.

Fowler, chuckling, left the room. He closed the door and unfolded the paper, expecting to find a list of what kinds of doughnut Bryce wanted for his men and perhaps some money for the purchase. He was not expecting to find two pieces, a pink one folded inside the white one. Fowler grimaced as he read the white one. It was written in call caps and messily scrawled, as though the writer was pressed for time.

BILL,

I KNOW YOU AND JUNE DARBY ARE CLOSE.

ONCE ATTINGER HAS A TARGET, HE DOESN'T LET GO; HE'S LIKE A BLOODHOUND, BILL. HE WILL TRY TO USE JUNE TO GET TO YOU IF YOU LET HIM.

SPEAKING AS YOUR FRIEND, THIS IS A CONTACT. HE'S A FRIEND OF MINE WHO OWES ME A FAVOR. CALL HIM, AND HE CAN KEEP JUNE SAFE FROM ATTINGER.

PROTECT HER, BILL.

P.S. Make sure you come back with the doughnuts. Attinger will get suspicious if you don't. He notices details like an ant notices food.

Signed, Bryce.

Fowler, grimacing, pocketed both letters.

"Fowler."

"Gyah!" Fowler almost jumped out of his skin when Attinger appeared behind him. "You really are a ghost."

"I just wanted you to know…" Attinger put his hands on Fowler's shoulders in comfort, but it made Fowler's skin crawl. "I've been working this gig for a long awhile, and I know what you're going through. I've had friends of mine turn out to be terrorists. And I received orders from my superiors to put them down." Attinger patted Fowler on the side. "It's tough. I know it's tough. But we'll get through this. Together."

Fowler nodded. "Sure."
Fowler turned away. "But I know the Autobots, Attinger. You don't. They're not terrorists." Fowler looked down at the doughnut order.

---

Ratchet pushed a series of buttons Vigil's controls before pressing down on one large button. Vigil responded with a beep and an error message. Ratchet growled and slammed his fist onto the keyboard.

"Please don't do that," Vigil said. "It's very uncomfortable."

Ratchet raised his eyebrow. "Right. I'm sorry, Vigil. I'm just not used to Earth technology having anything close to a decent artificial intelligence." Ratchet bared his teeth.

"I will make a note of that," Vigil said.

Ratchet punched in the command he was attempting to run a second time, getting another beep and another error message. Ratchet threw his hands up in frustration. "OH! Why you won't work, you slag-metal computer?" Ratchet realized what he said. "I'm sorry, Vigil. I didn't mean that. I'm just losing my patience with this blasted code won't work..."

"If the code will not run on my system, perhaps you should consider adjusting the code," Vigil said.

"Don't you think I would have thought of that?" Ratchet asked.

"I am detecting some hostility in your voice and body language," Vigil said. "Would you like to relax with a distracting game? My databanks suggest humans will often use this technique when a task proves too frustrating for them." Vigil's screen turned into a display of a chessboard with red and blue pieces. "Chess, in particular, has become one of my favorites from the footage I've reviewed so far."

Ratchet leaned forward. "Chess with a primitive Earth A.I?" Ratchet shrugged. "Fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

Ratchet soon found Vigil was not as primitive as he thought, as Vigil proved an excellent chess player, often coming close to winning and maneuver Ratchet into checkmate multiple times through the multiple matches they played.

"I must say, you are quite good at this game." Ratchet said. "For an Earth computer."

"Ah." Vigil said. "I take it this is what my databanks refer to as a back-handed compliment?"

Realizing what he said, Ratchet looked at the floor. "I'm … sorry, Vigil. I didn't mean it that way."

"Shall we play another round?"

Ratchet smiled. "Sure. Uh ..." Ratchet twiddled with his fingers. "Would you like to change colors?"

"No thank you."

There was a long silence.

"Ratchet?"

"Yes?"

"I accept your apology."

"Heh." Ratchet chuckled, and they continued playing. Time passed.

"Ratchet!" Galloway barged into the room. "I hope you're not doing anything important with Vigil at the moment, as I've decided you'll be more useful elsewhere for the time being."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, yes." Ratchet mumbled, more focused on playing chess with Vigil. "Oh, you tricky -! I should have seen that one coming, honestly ..."

Galloway inspected Vigil's screen. "What, uh, what are you two doing?"

"We're playing chess, obviously." Ratchet said. "I've been considering uploading a patch to change it to the Cybertronian version ..."

"Cybertron has its own version of chess?"

Ratchet turned towards him. "We have a game like chess, at the very least."

"And ..." Galloway paced around, kicking his legs out. "How long have you been playing chess?"

"Not that long." Ratchet said. "Maybe thirty cycles?"

"12 matches over 50 minutes, Ratchet." Vigil said.

Ratchet scratched his head. "That long?"

"Yes, well ..." Galloway said. "If you're not making any progress with Vigil – and you're clearly not – we'll be relocating you for a little while. Relax, it's only a temporary thing. That's Business 101; Allocation of Assets. You understand, don't you?

"Oh?" Vigil said. "That's a shame. I thought Ratchet and I were making rather good progress of a different sort ..."

Ratchet pulled himself away from Vigil. "And where we will be going?"

Galloway smiled. "You'll find out."

A GroundBridge opened, right on cue. Galloway motioned for Ratchet to enter, and followed behind him.

"Ah, freaking Bridge ..." Galloway grumbled, lurching over and clutching at his stomach. "Gets me every time."

"Huh." Ratchet was amused. "Fitting. A weak constitution to go with your weak morals." He observed where the Bridge had transported them; there was a fountain, a parking lot, and a huge skyscraper building. Huge metal letters were mounted to the front of the building, spelling "Gould Enterprises."

"Gould … Enterprises?" Ratchet questioned. He clenched his fist. "Galloway, you can not expect me to work for that pompous blowhard Dylan Gould!"

Galloway glared at him. "Actually, I can. Or did you forget the terms of our little arrangement? Hmm? Or are you so set against the idea of working for Mister Gould – who I consider a good personal friend of mine – that you would rather die and not give your friends the chance to rescue you alive?"

Ratchet remained silent.

"Ratchet?" Galloway growled with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm weighing my options." Ratchet closed his optics and shook his head. "Let's go inside."

"Good choice." Galloway walked towards the entrance. Another GroundBridge opened up for them, and they walked in to find themselves inside the building on one of the higher floors. It was quite a spacious floor – there was even enough room for Ratchet to walk without having to crouch.

Ratchet examined the room. There were lots of plants, benches, employees walking around in lab coats and security guards standing watch, including Harold Attinger himself … and a Morbot, painted in red.

Ratchet chuckled, going up to the Morbot. "A Morbot. Huh. You know, the last time I saw one of these, Morocco was still around to control them himself."

"And indeed I am." A posh, accented voice said from within the Morbot. Its chest opened up to reveal Morocco inside. The Morbot deployed a platform from its chest which carried Morocco to the floor.

"Morocco!" Ratchet stepped back in surprise. "How are you still alive? Twilight Sparkle watched you die!"

"Amazing what one can do with a simple sleight of hand, isn't it?" Morocco said, examining his gloved hand. "Oh, I do so love a good magic trick, don't you?"

"Doctor Morocco is a friend of a friend of mine." Galloway said. "You two will be working together."

"But … Twilight Sparkle …" Ratchet stammered.

"Oh, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight! Don't you ever talk about anything that isn't related to ponies?" Morocco sneered. "If you must know, Galloway and Gould set the whole thing up. Let my old age catch up to me, invite Twilight Sparkle to my cell, and fall victim to a coughing fit. It makes Twilight Sparkle and her Equestrian friends look bad … and everyone none the wiser when Gould's associate pull me from my cell and help me to my Chamber of Youth to rejuvenate."

"That's what this was? Ratchet asked. "This was all … some sort of trick, so you could make Twilight Sparkle look bad?"

"Yes." Morocco said. "And it worked beautifully, did it not?"

"Do you have any idea how that affected her? How watching you die affected her? It devastated her. It rattled her. I had never seen her so shaken up. In fact ..." Ratchet looked around at the employees going about their business. He leaned in close to Morocco and spoke in a hushed tone. "If it weren't for the all the humans and agents around, I'd kill you myself, right here, right now, on her behalf. If only so I wouldn't have to tell her what really happened."

"Yes, well … aren't you charming?" Morocco quipped.

Ratchet drew himself up and turned to Galloway. "Galloway, you said Morocco and I will be working together. What we will be working on?"

"I can answer that." Dylan Gould made his presence known with a clap. "You two will be working together … on that." Gould pointed his fingers at a workstation which was further back in the room. Mechanical arms and pincers were mounted to the edges of platforms and ladders, arranged in a circle around a robot. A robot who, at a casual glance, appeared to be Bumblebee, painted over in a striking, vibrant shade of red. His head lacked Bumblebee's features, though, instead having a green visor for a face.

As he walked up to the display, Ratchet was disgusted. "What sort of cheap knock-off is this?"

"This is Stinger." Gould said. "Inspired by Bumblebee, but better in every way. He's the end result of our project to reverse-engineer Cybertronian robots to fight for the good old United States of America." Gould smiled. "Obviously, we haven't be able to work out all the little … kinks. Trying to scratch-build our own Cybertronian has resulted in … eh, a few glitches."

Gould pointed at Ratchet.

"That's where you come in. With your understanding of Cybertronian biology, you'll be able to help us to determine what's causing those glitches. and have this thing run smoother than a Ferrari."

Ratchet crossed his arms, admitting a begrudging respect for Gould's ambitions. "Why Bumblebee? Why not a more … imposing, more powerful Cybertronian? Like – like Optimus Prime or Megatron?" Admittedly, Ratchet didn't think he'd like looking at a cheap Optimus knock-off anymore than this Bumblebee knock-off, but he wanted to know.

"Pfft." Gould scoffed. "Yeah, model our design after Megatron, THERE's a good idea … but to answer your question, our tests found Bumblebee's small body was the most economical to duplicate. We want to put Stinger here into mass-production, and our projection models showed Bumblebee was the most cost-effective on an industrial scale. The most bang for our buck, if you will. He's just the right size. Not as expensive as, say, a Bulkhead knock-off, would be, but more room for custom, personalized modifications than an Arcee-sized drone would be."

Ratchet scoffed. "You want to make more of these abominations?"

"Oh, yes." Gould said. "A lot more." He snapped his fingers and walked off. "Now get to work! Time is money, you know."

"And Primus knows you need to conserve your money ..." Ratchet grumbled at Gould's pompousness. He crossed his arms. "No."

"N-no?" Gould stuttered.

"That's right. No." Ratchet said. "I won't help you with your war machines. Creating a knock-off like this for a piece of slag like you ... it goes against almost everything I stand for, both as a medic and as an Autobot."

"Ratchet ..." Attinger walked up to him. "Listen to me. It's cute that you, as a robot, can pretend to have 'beliefs.' But let me remind you that this building is guarded by both mine and Gould's agents. They will take you out through whatever means necessary the second I give the order. So let me ask you this; are you willing to die for your beliefs?"

Ratchet narrowed his eyes at Attinger.

"Are you?"

Attinger stared at Ratchet, his eyes stoic and devoid of emotion.

"Attinger?" Gould bit his lip and put a hand on Attinger's shoulder. "Why don't you come join me for some coffee?" He hoped to defuse the situation without violence. Attinger and Ratchet were both valuable assets to him, and losing either one would be a setback to his operations.

"Sounds good," Attinger agreed, nodding while still glaring at Ratchet. Gould walked him out of the room.

Ratchet, seeing no other choice, began to examine Stinger. He tapped on its visor before moving on and poking at its shoulders.

---

In the city of Canterlot High, Sunset Shimmer walked to an empty grass field. She had her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around herself.

"Everyone hates me now." Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes to the sky. "I should have never listened to Celestia … I should have gone through with my plan."

Sunset heard the grass crunch behind her. She turned around to see three girls she'd never met before standing there.

"Did – did you follow me?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"Yes," one of the trio said. "But it was for a good cause. We wanted to talk to you." She approached Sunset Shimmer, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm Adagio Dazzle. These are my friends, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk."

"Hey!" Sonata protested. "How come Aria's name is first?"

"Shut up, Sonata." Adagio snapped.

"Interesting names." Sunset Shimmer said. She looked at Adagio's neck. "That necklace you have is pretty. Where did you get it?"

"Er ..." Adagio clutched at the necklace as though afraid Sunset was going to steal it. "They were made for us."

"Exclusively for us." Aria Blaze said.

"Uh-huh."

"We heard you talking and thought we could come help."

"You did?"

Adagio nodded. "We did. See, we have some … experience when it comes to being hated. We thought we could help you." Adagio began to walk in circles around Sunset Shimmer, trailing her hand along Sunset Shimmer's shoulders. "We know all about you, Sunset Shimmer … in fact."

Adagio cupped Sunset's chin and tilted her head up.

"We may know some things about you don't know about yourself."

It was at this point Sunset began to feel a little uncomfortable, especially given how little regard Adagio had for her personal space.

"We can help you." Adagio said. "And you can help us."

"I-is that so?" Sunset hoped Adagio wouldn't catch onto her stutter. She also heard a noise in the distance, which she hoped wasn't Adagio using some sort of magic on her.

"Mm-hmm." Adagio nodded. "We can make it so that everyone doesn't hate you. We can make them love you. All you have to do is put in a good word for us every now and then … and maybe suggest to Principal Celestia some sort of … musical showcase?" Adagio fluttered her eyelashes. "What do you say?"

"Uh-huh. And how would you be able to make everyone … love … me?" Sunset's speech paused as the noise grew louder and louder.

Wait a minute … Sunset thought. That's not magic.

"What's that noise?" Sonata Dusk asked.

"Maybe it's the ringing inside of your empty skull?" Aria suggested.

Sonata glared at Aria, not appreciating her comment. They both scattered when they saw what the noise was – a news van which was coming straight at them. Aria and Sonata both hit the ground to get out of the way, and the van rolled up to behind Adagio before stopping.

The van had the emblem of a cobra, painted in red on its side. The door opened up, and a man in blue costume wearing a riot helmet stepped out. He pointed an assault rifle in the air and fired a few shots before aiming it at Adagio and barking orders. "GET ON THE GROUND, NOW!"

"Do as he says!" Sunset Shimmer shouted, recognizing the assault rifle for the lethal weapon it was – something Adagio didn't seem to understand. Sunset got onto her knees and put her hands on her head. Adagio Dazzle followed Sunset Shimmer's example, and Aria and Sonata followed Adagio's lead.

"You, you, and you," the man pointed at Adagio, Aria, and Sonata before pointing inside. "Get in the van."

"Uh, why would we do that?" Sonata asked.

What is wrong with this girl? Sunset thought. Doesn't she realize this man has a gun?

"Don't ask questions!" Sunset Shimmer shouted. "Just do what he says and pray he lets you live!"

"You know what?" The man said. He pointed a finger at Sunset Shimmer. "I like you. You're smart. Just for that, I think I'll let you live." His voice was dripping with cruelty. "Now get in the van!"

"What if we don't wanna?"

He fired another round into the air to let them know he meant business. "GET IN THE VAN, NOW!" The deafening sound of the rifle's rapid fire was enough to convince Adagio and her friends to obey, climbing into the van. "That's it. That's it. Keep your hands behind your heads." Sonata Dusk was the last girl to go inside.

"Go go go GO!" The man shouted at the driver, pulling the van's door shut. Sunset heard the van's engines turn over as the driver hit the accelerator and swerved around, almost running over her as the van drove off the grass and onto the road.

Tablet. Sunset Shimmer thought. I need my tablet. As Twilight said she would, she had gotten Raf to set Sunset up with an electronic tablet which could contact the other dimension at any time, allowing Sunset Shimmer to call Twilight and her friends for anything she needed.

Like reporting an abduction, for example.

---

At the Imperial base, Jack and Miko stood outside the GroundBridge control room, anxious about Jack's uncle.

Jack’s phone kept ringing.

“Aren’t you gonna answer it?” Miko asked.

“I don’t know,” Jack said. “Someone claiming to be my ‘uncle’ just shows up out of the blue one day? And after everything that happened with

Lazerback and all? I mean, why didn’t he call sooner?”

Miko took the phone from Jack’s hand.

“Hey!”

“Listen, dude, if you’re not willing to bite the bullet, leave it to a girl who actually has some brass to do it,” Miko said.

“Miko, I don’t think this is a good idea!” Jack shouted, trying to reach and take his phone back, but Miko kept him at bay by pushing on his solar plexus.

“Hello, Jack’s Uncle? This is Miko speaking,” Miko answered the phone. “Hello?”

A GroundBridge opened up next to them.

“Uh,” Miko lowered the phone, “is that normal? Jack, does your phone have a Bridge button on it?”

“No.”

A man stepped out of the Bridge, tall and resembling Jack, with an amount of unshaven scruff on his face.

“I’m sorry about this,” the man said. He grabbed Jack and Miko by the heads and bashed their skulls together, knocking them out.

“Now, where to start?” the man muttered to himself. He walked along, passing two Vehicons. “How do you do, officers?”

“Good, good, how are you - hey, wait a minute,” the Vehicon and his partner stopped to look at the man. “Do I know you? You don’t look familiar. Are you a new recruit?”

“Uh, yeah, something like that,” the man replied.

“Mmm. I’m gonna need to see some form of ID, sir,” the Vehicon.

“Oh, well, I, uh, I lost mine. Dropped it near a water drain, you know,” the man said.

The Vehicons looked to each other. They primed their integrated weapons and trained them on the man. “Why don’t you come with us, sir? I think we need to ask you a couple of questions.”

“Why don’t you take it up with my E.M.P generator?” the man asked, reaching into his ratty coat and pulling out a round device which resembled a doorbell. He pushed the button, and a pulse of blue energy shot out from the device, electrocuting the two Vehicons and turning them temporarily offline.

“Now, where was I?” the man asked, putting the device back in his pocket while the unconscious Vehicons fell down behind him, their bodies clanging against the floor.

---

Elsewhere, Twilight, completely unaware of the intrusion, went to discuss a few things with her new recruit Predaking.

“Hey, Predaking! How are you liking the Imperial life so far?” Twilight asked.

"I already grow weary of your talk." Predaking declared with a stomp. "When do we begin the hunt for Lazerback?"

"Uh, right now, in fact," Twilight said. "You see, it's not that simple, Predaking. We do things a little differently here. We have sensors and satellites imaging constantly active. Whenever we detect one of our enemies making movements, we mobilize and respond. And we have a lot of enemies. But don't worry. We're going to keep responding from one target to the next and eventually, one of them will lead us to Lazerback, and I promise, you and I will be the first ones to take him on." Twilight gave him a big smile.

"We'll get to work setting up your quarters. We'll put you in the same room as Grimwing."

"Hmph." Predaking glared at Grimwing, which caused Grimwing to look concerned. "What makes you think I want to share a room with Grimwing?"

"I …" Twilight was upset, thinking she had hurt Predaking's feelings. "I'm sorry, Predaking. I assumed, since you were both Predacons, you would have similar needs ..."

"You assume much," Predaking said.

"Um, okay... " Twilight cupped her chin. "I guess I'll put you in with the Dinobots, then?"

Predaking sniffed the air, his keen Predacon senses detecting the slightest change. Grimwing picked up on it too. Grimlock balled his hands into fists.

"Grimlock, are you alright?" Grimwing asked. "You seem tense."

"RRAAAHH!" Grimlock roared, flailing his hands in the air. He struck Predaking, knocking him down to the floor.

"Hey!"

"Aaah ..." Predaking groaned, pushing himself up. "Grimlock? I do not understand. I thought when we fought the Driller together, we earned each others' mutual respect!"

"Sorry." Grimlock said. "Lost my temper." Grimlock walked towards the door, at first without any sign of regret for his actions. He stopped in front of the door and turned around.

"I just didn't like the idea of sharing a room … with him." Grimlock gestured towards Predaking before leaving.

"Wow. That's the first time I've seen Grimlock apologize for his random outbursts of violence. You must be special, Predaking." Twilight looked back to Predaking and Grimwing. Predaking attempted to push himself off the floor. When Grimwing offered a hand to help Predaking up, Predaking swatted it away.

"Hmm." This provoked Twilight's curiosity. Before she could act on her curiosity, though, she was called upon.

"Commander?" A Vehicon poked his head into the room. "I have something I think you'll want to see."

"Of course." Twilight nodded and gave Predaking and Grimwing a silent look before following the Vehicon into the communications room. A news broadcast was playing, announcing "AUTOBOT BASE OPEN TO PUBLIC."

"President Galloway has stated that as of this afternoon, the ruins of the Autobot base, Outpost Omega One, are now open to the public. Our viewers will recall that following Omega One's destruction, the area was sealed off while the authorities combed through the wreckage. The exact cause of the destruction remains a mystery, thought some Autobot supporters claim it was done by Galloway himself, as part of a ploy to … "

Twilight turned the television to mute, unable to bear hearing more the newscasters' non-committal commentary. "I know what's really going. Galloway sealed the base off so his men could look for Cybertronian artifacts and technology, and the fact they're opening the base up only means they're done looking. Let's hope Galloway's hounds didn't find anything important ..."

A light beeped and blink on Twilight's armor.

"What's that?" A Vehicon operator asked.

"Oh!" Twilight pressed down on her armor, silencing the blinker. "That means I have a call coming in! Where did I leave it?" Twilight paced around the room. "Ah! Here it is!" Twilight pulled out an electronic tablet from a hidden compartment. The tablet's screen filled with static before bringing the image of Sunset Shimmer's face. "Sunset Shimmer! How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Sunset said. "You know, especially considering I just saw three girls get kidnapped and came out alive."

"Oh no!" Twilight expressed. "What happened? Don't leave out a single detail."

"I was on a walk, and these girls came up to me." Sunset said. "They tried to talk to me, said they could help me … they were kinda creepy, too. Then this van showed up and this guy with an assault rifle starts shooting. I think it might have been semi-automatic. He told the girls to get into the van, and then once the girls were inside, they drove off."

"Can you describe the van?"

"Uh, yeah." Sunset said. "It was a news van. It was tan color and it had this, like red cobra detail painted on the side of it."

"COBRA!" Twilight shouted.

Sunset Shimmer's eyes widened. "What? Where?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, not an actual cobra. COBRA is the name of the terrorist group who kidnapped these girls. Their logo is a bright red cobra icon. Subtlety isn't their strong suit. Did you see anything else?"

Sunset shook her head. "No. That's all I saw. I wish I could be more help ..."

"You got away alive and reported it to somepony who can help. I'd say you've done enough." Twilight assured her. "Don't worry. I'll take it from here. Oh, but I'll need their names."

"I'll text them to you." Sunset pushed a button the side of her tablet.

Twilight nodded and ended the call. She set about getting her forces organized. She activated her comm. "Okay, people! We have a hostage situation on our hands! Report to the communications room at once for a briefing! Where's Raf? I need him on the satellites!"

It took them most of the day, but Doctor Morocco and Ratchet finished making adjustments to the prototype Stinger drone. Gould watched them, a coffee mug in his hand. Attinger had left before nightfall.

"Test run of the drone, code-name 'Stinger,' in three … two … one." Morroco pushed his finger on a button.

The sound of robotic whirring filled the air. Stinger lifted its head up, the ratchets in its neck clicking with every movement. Its visor become illuminated with a green light. It tensed its shoulders and lifted its leg, preparing to step off the platform it rested on.

It shut down. The visor's light faded. Its neck sagged and all of its joints lost tension.

Morocco slammed his fist onto the keyboard. "Curses! Why won't this infernal machine work? What went wrong?" Morocco poured over the date. "Was there a glitch we missed? Is there a wire disconnected?"

"Maybe it's the fact you're trying to recreate a lifeform without the 'life'." Ratchet muttered.

"Did you say something, Ratchet? Speak up." Morocco asked.

Ratchet looked at him. "No."

"It's getting late." Gould shook his coffee mug around. "Why don't you two call it a night and we can come back tomorrow?"

"Excellent idea." Morocco said.

"Come on." Gould threw his arm around Morocco's shoulders. "Can I buy you a drink?" Morocco wasn't sure it was a good idea to introduce alcohol into his body, considering how he used the Chamber of Youth to slow aging. "You coming, Ratchet?"

"Hmm? No, I'll stay here, thank you very much." Ratchet swiped his finger along a touchscreen. "That is, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." Gould said as he and Morocco walked to the elevator. "Just remember: Attinger and I have agents everywhere. You won't be able to escape without someone noticing."

"Perish the thought." Ratchet rolled his optics. He waited to hear the hiss of the elevator doors closing shut. Once he heard the whir of the elevator going down, he set about tinkering with Stinger.

"Seems it's just you and me now, my silent friend." Ratchet approached Stinger, his face reflected in Stinger's visor. "Wouldn't it be something if you could talk? If you could tell us what was troubling you and keeping you from functioning properly? Wouldn't it be something if you had the will of a Spark to hold yourself together? To keep your limbs aloft?"

Ratchet began to search through the supplies Gould had given him and Morocco. He shoved tools and items around, making a mess of the crate the tools were stored in. "Ah-ha!" Finding what he was looking for, Ratchet reached in and grabbed it – jumper cables. What Gould wanted him and Morocco to do with jumper cables was anyone's guess, but Ratchet wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Let's see how well Gould's scientists replicated Cybertronian biology ..." Ratchet tapped his finger to Stinger's chest in a particular spot with a particular amount of pressure. On a real Cybertron, this would active the chest panels, causing them to rise up and reveal the Spark housing chamber.

Stinger was close enough to the real deal. Its chest split into two pieces before splitting further into four, each piece rising up on sleek, angular hinges. Exposing an empty chamber where a Spark would be on a Cybertronian.

Ratchet smiled at his good fortune, tossing the cables into the air. "Wouldn't it be something if you could talk, my friend? The stories you could tell … the things you could accomplish if you were alive, not some piece of machinery ..."

Ratchet clipped one end of the cables into Stinger's chest. He knocked on his own chest, which divided panels which slid to the side to reveal his Spark. He took the other end of the cables and shoved them inside of his chest, clasping them to his Spark.

"Wouldn't that – urk! - be something?" Ratchet asked, leaning on Stinger for support as the jumper cables did their function, siphoning power from one source – Ratchet – to another – Stinger.

The next day, Gould, Galloway, and Morocco came into the office to observe Stinger's progress. They were surprised to find Ratchet still hard at work, messing around on a touchscreen tablet.

"Ratchet?" Gould asked. "Have you been up all night working on Stinger?"

Ratchet turned around to him with a devious smile. "You … could say that."

Galloway saw right through Ratchet's poker face. "What did you do?"

"Oh, nothing." Ratchet crossed his arms, idly letting the touchscreen hang over to one side. "I just gave him the one thing he lacked – a true Cybertronian Spark."

"You gave him a SPARK!?" Gould screamed, grabbing at his overly-greased hair. "He's supposed to be a military drone, not a person!"

"Oh. Oops. Guess I wasn't too clear on that." Ratchet wore a smile which made clear he was clear on it and did what he did anyways.

"Calm down, calm down." Morocco said. "This may have just what our project needed. The advantages a living Spark has over an unthinking drone … well, there are good things and bad things about it."

"How do you even have a Spark to give it?" Galloway said. "I thought you couldn't make Sparks without your – your Allspace thingy."

"Allspark." Ratchet corrected him. "And how did I was I used the radiation from my own Spark to give Stinger his own. A sort of … mini, splinter-Spark if you will."

"Ratchet, would you care to demonstrate how different Stinger's behavior is with a Spark?" Morocco asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Ratchet said. "I've had him in sleep mode the entire night, so he could rest and be ready. Even I don't know what his personality is going to be."

"But you used your Spark. Shouldn't he be similar to you?" Galloway asked.

"Well, of course, Galloway." Ratchet said. "After all, when you humans contribute your DNA to the making of more humans, they always come out exactly like the paternal progenitor, don't they?"

"Point taken."

Ratchet wrapped his fingers around Stinger's head and flipped a minuscule switch on the back of his head. Stinger's visor lit up, and his body made many of the same whirring noises as the night before. Only this time, when he moved to step off the platform, he succeeded, taking another step after that.

"Stinger." Ratchet said. "Would you be so kind as to … dispose of every human in this room?" Ratchet gestured to the trio of Gould, Galloway, and Morocco.

The three humans were shocked. For one, they were shocked an Autobot could be so devious, and were frustrated they let this happen right under their noses. Was this Ratchet's plan along? Give Stinger life, and have him kill them so Ratchet didn't have to get his hands dirty?

Stinger looked at the humans for a long while. After several tense minutes, he looked up at Ratchet. He got into Ratchet's face, poking Ratchet's chest with his index finger and pushing Ratchet back.

"What's it in for me, old man?" Stinger asked in a youthful-sounding voice.

Ratchet sighed. " … Nothing. Nothing at all."

Stinger humphed and walked away. He looked around, observing his surroundings and becoming familiar with the environment.

"Did … did you plan for him to kill us?" Gould asked, approaching Ratchet tensely, understandably ticked Ratchet had come this close to killing him. "Is that what your plan was? You meant for him to kill us and then you two would … ride off into the sunset?"

"Or was it, perhaps, some sort of test of his morality?" Morocco asked, walking more calmly. "You could have told him there was something in it for him to murder us. You could have offered him something. You could have lied and found your way to freedom. But you didn't. Why?"

Ratchet gave them all filthy looks.

"Hope springs eternal," Ratchet said before walking off, leaving the humans no more understanding of his motives than they had walked in with.

---

Adagio Dazzle and her friends were bunched together on a bench inside the van. It was the kind of set-up a prison transport used, with two benches and flimsy seatbelts. The man who kidnapped them sat on the opposite bench.

"Where are you taking us?" Sonata Dusk asked him.

"Shut up and be quiet," was the answer she received from him.

They were several stops and starts along the way. One stop involved the man sending his partner out to get "gas," whatever that was. Adagio figured they must have been traveling for at least a day when the van at last came to their final stop.

The man got up from the bench, keeping a firm grip on his weapon. He handed them each a small piece of cloth. "Put these on."

Adagio stretched the cloth in her hands. Sighing, she wrapped it around her head and covered her eyes. The other girls followed suit. They heard a click.

"Out of the van. Hands behind your heads."

Adagio and the girls did as instructed. Adagio could feel the sunlight beat on her skin for a brief moment before they went inside a building. She could feel tile beneath her feet. They were made to walk a long distance before being the man said they could stop.

"Sit on the chairs."

The three of them felt their way until they fingers found their way to the backs of the chairs. They sat down, and found themselves tied up with rope around their torsos and arms bound to the chair. Once they were bound, someone slid the blindfolds off them. They were in a small, small, room, surrounding by several men in the same blue outfits.

There was one man in a different suit, with red trim on the shoulders and a COBRA logo on the front. His head was encased in a glass dome, protecting his face.

"Greetings. I am Doctor Venom, acting head of COBRA. I have brought you three here for a reason."

"A reason?" Adagio giggled. "What reason? We're just a bunch of ordinary girls!"

"Do not try your tricks on me." Venom walked towards one of the other COBRA soldiers. The solider handed him a electronic device. The device played footage of the mob shouting at Sunset Shimmer. "My agents in the alternate dimension observed what you are capable of. Your ability to manipulate and influence the emotions of those around you. Such abilities could come in useful for COBRA's goal of taking over the world." Venom made a fist.

He turned around to face Adagio.

"I understand, being Equestrians, you may not understand how we Earthlings carry out our business." Doctor Venom produced a small pistol and twirled it around, presenting it towards Adagio Dazzle. "This device is called a gun. It is designed to inflict pain. If you do not cooperate with our goals..."

Doctor Venom spun the gun around again. He turned around and fired the gun, shooting one of his own men in the knee. The agent dropped to the floor, clutching at his legs in pain and groaning.

"That will happen to you, only much worse. Do you understand?"

Adagio Dazzle grimaced and nodded. She couldn't help but look back to the wounded agent as he cried out in pain and writhed on the floor.

---

Twilight Sparkle grimaced, her hooves going up and down as she paced in one spot. It had been twenty-four hours now already, and they still hadn't found any sign of Adagio Dazzle or her kidnappers. Twilight knew her Earth crime statistics; the chance of finding a kidnap victim still alive took a sharp turn downward after twenty-four hours passed. If they got up to forty-eight hours, their chances would become almost non-existent.

"Raf?" Twilight placed herself behind Raf, looking at his laptop screen over his shoulder. "Do you have anything?"

"No." Raf slumped into his chair. "I don't understand it. After twenty-four hours of footage from every satellite I can hack into, I should have something."

"Keep looking." Twilight instructed him. "Adagio Dazzle and her friends are counting on us. Counting on you."

Raf shook his head. He rose up from the chair and resumed typing instructions into his laptop keyboard. "I'll start reviewing the footage. See if there's something I missed the first time."

Twilight nodded. "Raf?" Twilight wrapped her leg around his shoulders, cradling his body with her neck. "I just wanted to say thank you for getting back to work so soon after waking up."

"Uh-huh." Raf put a hand on her neck. "Twilight, I could really work better if you would give me room to breath."

"Oh. Sorry." Twilight unwound herself from Raf. She took another look at the laptop screen before walking off to attend to other matters.

"You know ..." Raf rested his head on his palm. "This would be a lot easier if I had my own team who each had their own laptops …"

Twilight walked down the hallway and into the lobby, her head darting left and right in the hopes of finding a distraction. Something to take her mind off the three girls whose lives were resting on her hooves and Raf's technical skills. Not a burden most people would envy, to be sure.

She got what she was looking for when she came across Grimwing. The sight of Grimwing triggered Twilight's mind to go back to the scene she observed yesterday between him and Predaking. "Grimwing! Perfect!"

"Is it?" Grimwing said. "According to fellow Imperials, I believe Grimlock may have assaulted Predaking again."

"We'll deal with Grimlock," Twilight said. "Right now, I want to deal with Predaking and you."

"Hmm?"

"If nothing else, I pride myself on my ability to repair friendships." Twilight gestured proudly to herself. "And you, my beaky Predacon friend, have a friendship that is in serious need of repair. Do you know where Predaking is?"

"He informed me of his intent was to visit a balcony. Somewhere near the east wing of the upper levels, I believe."

"Come on!" Twilight told him, galloping towards the elevator.

Grimwing scratched his head, confused. He followed Twilight Sparkle nonetheless.

Predaking was on the balcony. He rested his arms on the guardrail and swept his gaze across the city, taking in the sights. The civilian district, the two-layered force-field, the giant sentry towers equipped with fusion cannons …

Predaking made no move as heard the door hiss open and shut behind him. He could sense it was Twilight Sparkle walking onto the balcony to greet him.

"There is much I understand about your ... rainbow city-state." Predaking spoke without prompting. "And ... much I do not. You claim it to be a haven where humans, Equestrians, and Cybertronians can learn to live in peace and harmony ... yet, I look around, and I see only Cybertronian construction with a tiny smattering human and Equestrian decorations. I struggle to reconcile the idea behind the city when such... obvious preference is clearly visible."

"I’ve been working on that," Twilight said. "I have something for you." She reached into the back haunch of armor and produced a tablet. "It's part of an ongoing project I have. I'm trying to translate great works of literature from each planet into the language of another. This one is an Earth poem, translated into Cybertronix. I thought you might like it."

Predaking took his arms off the guardrail before turning around. He crouched down to take the tablet from her, but it wasn't necessary, as she levitated towards him with her magic.

Predaking held the tablet in both claws. Twilight could see he was engrossed by it. Seeing her cue, Twilight waved at the door, and it opened to show Grimwing. Seeing Predaking, Grimwing paused before stepping onto the balcony with them.

Predaking turned away from them, his optics going over the tablet. He dropped his arms down, holding the tablet by his hip. "'Respite – respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore! Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this Lenore! Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'" Predaking quoted from the book.

"Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven." Twilight said. "It's one of my favorite Earth poems I've read so far. After what I saw yesterday, I figured it… kinda reflected your situation with Grimwing, doesn't it, Predaking?"

Grimwing, gaining some confidence, moved to Predaking's side. He rested his hand on the guardrail. "What is it, Predaking? What's troubling you?"

"When you left..." Predaking said. "I felt… horrible. I felt like had I lost my council. My adviser. My conscience. My… my friend. The only one of the Predacons who talked to me like a person and not as royalty. When you left the Predacons to join the Imperials, I felt as if … I had lost my best friend."

Twilight put a hoof on Predaking's ankle. "You did lose your best friend."

Predaking glared at her, before realizing she was right. "I learned about you, Grimwing. I bonded to you. It was almost as if a part of me was being taken away with my consent. Still… I could not bring myself to stop you. It was your choice to make, not mine."

"Why didn't you say something?" Grimwing asked. "If you had said something, anything… I would have stayed."

"I do not wish to be known as a tyrant who keeps his citizens under lock and key." Predaking said. "I'd prefer for you to be free to do as you wish, knowing in my Spark I had done the right thing… even at great personal cost to myself. Even if meant you... leaving."

Grimwing put a claw on Predaking's shoulder. "I'm here now and I promise, I will not leave you again."

Predaking looked shocked for a moment before smiling.

"Aww." Twilight patted both them of the ankles. "Come on, you two, hug it out. That's it, that's it ..." Twilight waved her hooves up and down like an air traffic controller as Grimwing and Predaking embraced each other, wrapping their arms over the other's' shoulders. Grimwing and Predaking separated from the hug.

"Now that we've cleared the air between us, we should see if perhaps Grimlock would be willing to discuss his resentment against you." Grimwing suggested. "Before either of you go out and his rage comprises a mission."

Predaking nodded. "Yes. Twilight Sparkle, will you escort me to Grimlock?"

"Mm-hmm!"

Twilight Sparkle led Predaking and Grimwing through the building to where Grimlock was. As it turned out, he was on the balcony on the opposite wing of the building.

She knocked on the door. "Grimlock! Grimlock! I know you're there. I have a visitor for you!"

Grimlock opened the door only wide enough for him to peek outside and see who this visitor was. When he saw it was Predaking, he shoved the door open the rest of the way. "What do you want?"

"I merely wish to talk." Predaking answered calmly.

Grimlock glared at Predaking. Under his gaze, Predaking did not flinch once, so Grimlock decided he could believe him. "Alright … I guess you can come in." Grimlock moved to the side.

Predaking went inside. Twilight Sparkle and Grimwing attempted to follow.

"Just him," Grimlock said.

Twilight was offended. Didn't he realize, under the Imperial command structure, which he agreed to, she outranked him?

"Please." Predaking raised his claw towards Twilight. "This is between he and I, and I sense he wishes it to stay that way. Go. We'll be fine." Predaking smirked. "I can handle him if he proves rowdy."

Twilight chuckled and nodded.

Predaking pushed a button on the wall, and the door closed, sealing him and Grimlock in the room.

"So." Grimlock crossed his arms. "What did you want to talk about?"

"About your resentment of me, as of late." Predaking said. "Grimwing was correct when he said you and I worked well against the Driller together. Why then, do you resent me now? Why do you feel the need to strike me, to lash out against me?"

"You talk funny."

"Says the blunt Dinobot." Predaking replied.

"Heh. You got me there." Grimlock turned and walked away from Predaking, resting his arms on the guardrail. He looked up, admiring the sunlight beaming down through the force field. Predaking raised his brow, curious to know what Grimlock was thinking.

"I wasn't always a Dinobot," Grimlock said. "I didn't always turn into a T.rex. I used to turn into a tank."

Grimlock's curled his fingers around the rail, his grip tightening.

"Shockwave," Grimlock said. "Shockwave captured me and my team. He strung us up. He cut into us. He dissected us. He dug into our innards and rooted around. He tore our bodies apart and put them back together, only the way he liked them. He spliced our genetic code with that of dinosaurs from Earth's past. Not unlike you."

Grimlock ran a hand across his face. "He… broke me. Because of what Shockwave did to me, I can't transform unless I go into a rage. I can't do one of the basic abilities of my species without becoming furious. Imagine if – if Rainbow Dash could only fly when she was crying, or Bumblebee could only talk normally while he was happy or Arcee could only shoot while she was calm! I can only transform as raging monster!"

Grimlock roared and pounded his fists into the guardrail, causing its top half to crumble.

"When Shockwave… made… me." Grimlock turned around towards Predaking. "He was trying to make you. He took what he learned from me, and used it to create you. You are the end result of the research and torture he did on me. You are everything he wanted me to be …"

"I see," Predaking said. "So you begrudge me, because I represent everything you resent about yourself. I represent the end stage of Shockwave's experiments. I represent… what you could have been, and struggle not to become every day. You fight to control your rage. To control your beast mode. Whereas I am the master of both my rage and my beast mode."

"Yes. That, Predaking, is why I hate you. That is why I envy you."

Grimlock walked away from the guardrail and towards Predaking.

"That is why I fear you."

"Grimlock..." Predaking placed his claw on Grimlock's shoulder to comfort him – a gesture which Grimlock didn't seem to care for. "I understand. I hide it well, but truthfully, I sometimes struggle with things Cybertronians take for granted as well." Predaking made a fist in his other claw. "I can teach you, Grimlock. I can teach you to control the animal inside of you. To control your transformation and your beast mode, so that you transform only when you will it. And you… can teach me, what's it like to be a robot -a Cybertronian – rather than a beast."

Grimlock raised his head up. Looking at Predaking, he raised his arm and… shook Predaking's claw.

"Deal."

The door hissed open behind them and Twilight walked in.

"Is this a good time?" Twilight asked. "Raf's been going through the satellite footage, and he's found the COBRA van. He thinks he can triangulate where it was heading. Assuming he does … do you two want to be part of the rescue mission? Your first mission together? What do you say?" Twilight gave them a wink and a big smile.

Grimlock and Predaking looked at each other. Grimlock wore a faceplate, so it was up to Predaking to smile on behalf of the both of them.

---

At the facility, two COBRA agents were making their usual rounds. Equipped with assault rifles, they felt confident they could take on any comers. They heard a thumping noise from outside.

"What was that?" one of the two asked.

"How should I know?" the second shrugged before noticing another agent coming up to them.

"The feed to the security cameras just went off-line," a third agent told them. "All I'm getting is static. Someone must have gone outside and sabotaged it."

"So? What do you want us to do about it?"

"I want you to go outside and shoot anybody who's not wearing a COBRA uniform! Don't you realize someone could be setting up an attack?"

The two agents nodded. Holding their rifles close to their chests, they moved towards the door, stopping when they heard the sound of gunfire and shouts coming from outside. Realizing they needed to move fast, they ran towards the door to address the problem.

Which was too bad, as this about when the problem came to address them. The lights went out – someone was disabling the electricity feed into their base. The wall in the front section of their base was blown in, collapsing into a pile of useless plaster. Amidst the smoke and rubble emerged Grimlock, Grimwing, and Predaking, soon followed by an Autobots Imperial squadron, including Smokescreen, Vehicons, and the War Princess herself.

Grimlock was the first to step inside.

"ON YOUR KNEES FOR THE KING!"

"Grimlock," Predaking said, "you and I cannot be both kings."

"We'll talk about this later." Grimlock and the Imperials engaged the enemy. The sound of the explosion drew COBRA troopers out in force, each of them taking up firing positions and firing their assault rifles at the Cybertronians in a suicidal attempt to inflict damage. The bullets bounced and pinged off their Cybertronian armor, thicker and denser than most armors on Earth.

"Go home to your planet, Equestrian!" A trooper shouted. "We were here first!"

Hearing his taunt, the War Princess made her way towards him. She picked him up with her magic and flung him into the wall.

"Ah!" Another trooper shrieked. "I thought you Equestrians were supposed to be peace-loving pacifists?"

"Peace-loving? Yes. Pacifist?"

The Princess turned around and bucked the trooper in the stomach, making him crumble to the ground.

"Not necessarily."

The Vehicons marched forward, moving and acting as one, making up a solid phalanx of Vehicon troopers. They returned fire to the COBRA troopers, their weapons set to only electrocute human bodies rather than cause any lethal damage. One by one, troopers struck by red beams of energy dropped not unlike flies. Some Vehicons, feeling confident, charged forward and send the troopers flying away, punting them or picking them up and tossing them into a wall.

"Hey, what are we doing? We should know how to beat these guys by now." One trooper wondered, wising up. He tossed his rifle to the ground, ran back inside the base, and returned with a rocket launcher slung over his shoulder. He aimed it at the Vehicons and fired.

Two Vehicons saw the missile and ducked out of the way. The missile kept going and exploded the wall, sending out plaster which pelted the Vehicons and the rest of the Imperials, distracting them and costing them precious time which could have better spent ripping through enemy forces.

"This is why they teach you to mind where you're shooting!" the Vehicon said, marching up to the rocket trooper who almost hit him. The Vehicon reached down, took the rocket from the trooper, and pistol-whipped him over the head with the launcher. Though it was more like being hit with a baseball bat. Made of metal.

"What is going on out there?" Doctor Venom demanded, hearing the commotion. He stepped out of the room with the girls and gasped when he saw his base was being invaded by Cybertronians.

Venom turned to a nearby trooper. "Is he ready?"

"Ready enough. Enough to handle this, at least," the trooper said before running off. Venom saluted the soldier for his willingness to serve and risk his life. Venom turned his attention back to the chaos before walking back into the room with an eerie calm.

"I''ll find the targets!" Smokescreen attempt to run further into the base. His way was barred when a Decepticon-esque Cybertronian descended from the sky, landing right in front of Smokescreen. He was tall, large, and broad, with wings on his back which made him look even bigger. The wings, and turbines on his shoulders, suggested he turned into a jet. His colors were a shiny gold on his upper body with green on his legs, and he wore a helmet reminiscent of a cobra's open mouth.

"Uh ..." Smokescreen wasn't sure how to react. "Hey there, guy!"

The mystery robot glared at him, leaning over and reminding Smokescreen how much bigger he was.

"What's up?" Smokescreen asked as the robot leaned further and further. Smokescreen leaned backwards, playing some twisted game of limbo. "How's the weather up there?" Smokescreen whimpered. "Yo, Joe?"

It was this question which prompted the robot to react. Growling, he struck Smokescreen in the head, sending him flying across the room.

"Please." Doctor Venom returned to the room. "Allow me to introduce you to Serpent O.R, the fruits of Percy's labor. Rest in peace. Combining COBRA's technology with Cybertronian biology, he will be our new leader and lead COBRA to victory!"

"Really?" The War Princess asked, skeptical.

"That's a bit of a mouthful. How about just "Serpentor?'" Grimlock suggested before attempting to tackle the robot. Serpentor proved too agile and too quick for Grimlock, catching him mid-charge and whirling around, tossing Grimlock into the wall. The wall collapsed around him.

"Ugh ..." Grimlock groaned. He grabbed the sides of the wall for support as he rose from the hole in the wall. "Not bad, for a cheap knockoff."

Serpentor scoffed. "Knockoff? Very well. Perhaps I am. But cheap? I'll have you know that I was quite expensive to make."

Serpentor turned to face the rest of the Imperials. Seeing the size of the force assembled before him, he reconsidered taking them on by himself.

"I do believe I need some backup." Serpentor pushed a button on his wrist.

Soon, an army of smaller robots marched into the room. They were only a little larger than human, brown, silver, with bits of red and yellow optics. Their mouths were zigzags, and their arms ended in missile launchers.

"Ooh!" The War Princess expressed delight. "What are these?"

"B.A.T.s." Serpentor answered. "Battle Android Troopers. Standard COBRA equipment."

"Interesting." The War Princess tilted her head in curiosity. "I'm intrigued."

"Perhaps I can make them even more intriguing for you." Serpentor waved his hand, and the B.A.T.'s attacked, firing missiles across the room. The missiles crossed paths in the air, firing above or below the Vehicons, almost hitting them more than once. The room was effectively turned into a minefield.

"Raah!" Predaking instinctively wrapped his wings around himself as a shield from the explosion. Putting his wings down, he saw Doctor Venom walking towards one of the many holes left in the wall from the B.A.T.s' missile barrage. He also saw another human trooper, attempting to crawl away unnoticed from the scene of the battle.

Torn between chasing down his foes and his true objective – which he remembered was the rescue of the three girls, Predaking found himself immobilized with indecision.

He made his decision. Reverting to beast mode, Predaking spat out jets of flames, melting several B.A.T.s and taking them out of the fight, making things more even for the rest of the Imperials.

Predaking skittering towards the crawling trooper, cornering him against the wall. The trooper saw Predaking's jaw looming over him and scrambled backwards in a desperate attempt to get away. Predaking roared before converting to robot mode, grabbing the trooper in his claw. "Tell me where the girls are and I will let you live!"

"AAAH!" The trooper shielded his face. Cowering in fear, he pointed to a room.

"Thank you." Predaking laid the trooper down on the floor before running into the room.

He charged into the room, crashing through the wall and tearing it down to bypass the tiny fact the door was too small for him. There, he found the three girls, all tied to chairs. They were frightened by him, each of them grimacing and shivering in fear.

Predaking, seeing these weak, vulnerable girls be afraid of him when he had come to rescue them, felt humbled. He walked towards them and got on one knee to speak to them. It would help ease their fear if he could make himself look smaller.

"Please. Do not be afraid." Predaking said. "I have come to rescue you." Predaking flexed his claw. Adagio Dazzle's eyes widened in response.

"My claws are not delicate enough to untie your bindings … and they are too large to cut them without also cutting you." Predaking realized. He looked at the girls and their chairs in frustration.

Figuring there was little else he could do for them, Predaking scooped the chairs up into his arms, with the girls still tied to them.

"You are safe now." Predaking told them before walking out of the room.

Inside the main interior of the building, Grimlock and Serpentor continued to clash. The Vehicons would try to intervene and help, but more often than not, they were waylaid by a missile from a B.A.T hitting them square in the chest and scorching their armor. On the few occasion they avoided the missiles, Serpentor turned around and dispatched them with ease with either a roundhouse kick or knocking their legs out from under him before turning his attention back to Grimlock.

"Serpent O.R!" Doctor Venom shouted. "I have set the base to self-destruct! The Imperials will not get their hands on our data, and if we can take them out … so much the better. Now get us out of here!"

Serpentor pressed a button on his wrist again. The B.A.T.'s ceased all combat activity and worked on retrieving the human troopers, picking them up and dragging them out of the building.

Serpentor rushed towards Doctor Venom. He transformed into a stealth bomber and let his landing gear dangle. Doctor Venom jumped on, grabbing the landing gear as Serpentor blasted a hole in the ceiling and flew off into the sky. Meanwhile, Doctor Venom did his best to let the Imperials know they hadn't won, shouting "COBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" at the top of his lungs as he and Serpentor retreated.

"Come on!" The War Princess ordered. "You heard what they said! This place is rigged to self-destruct! Everybody out!" The Imperials ran out of the building. Grimlock was kind enough to pick up Smokescreen and sling him over his shoulders before joining the rest of the group in retreating.

Whether through skill or luck, everyone got out in time before the building went sky-high, exploding into a pillar of fire. The shockwave knocked some of the less-sturdy Cybertronians and other beings onto their backs, but nothing they couldn't recover from.

Predaking laid the chairs with the girls inside on the ground. He stood up and looked up to the sky and growled. "I have cost us our victory. If I had chosen to pursue the COBRA leader when I had the chance ..."

Grimwing placed a claw on Predaking's shoulder, smiling. "You have rescued three innocent girls." Grimwing gestured to the ground, where Twilight Sparkle and Smokescreen were working to untie Adagio Dazzle and her friends from the chairs. "I'd say that's victory enough. Wouldn't you?"

Predaking looked down at the trio of girls as they were comforted by Twilight Sparkle. Adagio Dazzle gave Twilight a hug.

"It's okay." Twilight assured Adagio, rubbing her back. "You're safe now. You're safe now."

Predaking turned to Grimwing. Predaking's expression softened before blossoming into a full smile.

"Yes." Predaking answered, looking back to the girls. "I suppose it is."

"If you ask me, you're a bunch of saps," Grimlock said, arms crossed. Although even he looked fondly on the girls.

"Commander!" A Vehicon shouted, running out from the exploded base.

Twilight raised her helmet up. "Yes?"

He and another Vehicon carried with them a human in their arms, wearing a blue business suit. Further examination of his facial features indicated he was of Chinese descent.

"We went back inside the base to see if there was anything we could salvage," the Vehicon said. "As it turned out, we found this human inside a safe room, which withstood the explosion. We suspect it was designed to do as much."

"Put him down." Twilight, in her War Princess disguise, approached him. "Who are you, and what were you doing inside COBRA's base?"

The man, feeling defiant, attempted to punch Twilight across the face. He succeeded only in injuring his knuckles.

After dealing with COBRA and a self-destructing base, Twilight wasn't in any mood to deal with his games and retaliated, striking him on the head with an ironclad hoof. He fell to the ground, still defiantly glaring at Twilight.

"I have the means to hurt you." Twilight told him. "Do not make me use them."

The man spat in her face, getting saliva over her visor. Twilight gestured at the Vehicon, who put his foot on the man's back and began to apply pressure.

"All right!" The man exclaimed in English, though his accent was thick. "Please, I have a wife and a child on the way!"

"Oh? Well, congratulations, though perhaps you shouldn't have thought before you spat in my face." Twilight growled, her voice distorted and her face hidden behind a mask. "Why are you here?"

"I work with the Chinese Ministry of Defense." The man answered. "We were able to lean of COBRA being able to make its own Cybertronian. I was sent to broker a deal for them to give us the means to make our own."

"More knockoff Cybertronians." Twilight rolled her eyes, wondering how many of these knock-offs she would have to deal with. Returning to the interrogation, she got into his face. "Why? Why does the Ministry need its own Cybertronians?"

"To defend ourselves," the man answered. "From the likes of you. Or have you forgotten the temple that was destroyed as a result of your conflict?"

"Straxus." Twilight recalled. "Oh, yes. How could I forget? I was only next to when it exploded. A Decepticon named Straxus commandeered your temple to use as a base and set it to explode rather than put on trial."

"Yes," the man growled. "On that day, several of us in the Ministry, myself included, swore we would never allow another priceless piece of our history to be destroyed by Cybertronians again."

Twilight turned away from him.

"I suppose I can understand your motives. However, I cannot condone your willingness to consort with criminals like COBRA. Were you successful in acquiring the means to manufacture artificial Cybertronians?"

"No."

Twilight paused. She turned around and clocked him in the head, knocking him out. The Vehicons bent down to pick him up.

"Let him be." Twilight said. "As I said, I can't condone working with COBRA… but resorting to an alliance with terrorists for the sake of protecting his homeland… I can't help but ask myself, is he really so different from us?" Twilight walked away from him.

The two Vehicons shared a groan before one spoke. "I don't want a philosophy lesson right now ..."

The Imperials went through a Bridge. They left the man lying there, to wake up in a few short hours and make his way back to civilization on his own.

The Imperials returned to base, and Twilight helped guide Adagio Dazzle and her friends through the base.

As they walked through the Bridge, Grimwing and Grimlock went up to Predaking, both of them giving Predaking a pat on the back.

"I must admit, I am impressed," Grimwing said. "You've adapted to being an Autobot quickly."

"Hmph." Predaking huffed, but he smiled.

"Yeah. This is hard for me to say, but..." Grimlock looked at Adagio Dazzle as Twilight led them through the base. "You did good work out there."

"And..." Grimwing grabbed Predaking and turned him around so they were facing each other. "Thank you. For giving the Imperials a chance. For giving me a second chance."

Predaking averted his optics from Grimwing, not sure what to say. "You're… welcome." He and Grimwing hugged, while Grimlock continued to mock them under his breath for being saps. The three of them watched Twilight take Adagio Dazzle and her friends somewhere to relax.

"We'll get you home soon, but I imagine, after all that excitement, you'd like somewhere to rest for awhile." Twilight said.

"Oh, yes." Adagio Dazzle tapped her fingers together, observing the inside of the base. "We would love to stay here and learn more about you … and the Autobots. Isn't that right, girls?" Adagio grinned, and Aria and Sonata did the same.

"Well, you can learn plenty about them here!" Twilight said. "Here at the Rainbow Principality, our goal is to promote peace, harmony and understanding between all species. If you have any questions about the Autobots, just ask around!" Twilight smiled at them.

They entered the lobby, where – aside from Magnum, Ultra Magnus, Arcee, and the rest of the Beast Hunters team. Raf was relaxing on his machine.

"Oh!" Twilight ran up to the humans, standing behind Raf. "I imagine you'll want to meet Raf. It was thanks to him we were able to come rescue you!"

"Really?" Adagio stroked her chin. She and her friends gather around Raf. "This cute little boy is our hero?"

Twilight nodded, not noticing how Raf was blushing. "Yup! If it weren't for him and his satellite skills, we might have never found where you were."

"Well then..." Adagio Dazzle ran a hand through Raf's hair. "I guess we have a lot to thank you, then, don't we Raf?"

Raf retreated into his chair, moving his hair away from Adagio's touch. He attempted to hide behind his laptop screen, trying to push the faces of three attractive ladies who were crowding him. "My mother told me if I ever found myself surrounded by very attractive women, I should scream and run away in the opposite direction."

Adagio Dazzle laughed, not catching on to Raf's discomfort. "Oh, you humans are so funny!" While she, Aria, and Sonata continued to fawn over him.

“Twilight!” Jack and Miko ran into the room, panting and out of breath.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Intruder in the base, my… uncle or something, I don’t know,” Jack said. “He called me on the phone, hacked the Bridge, and he’s been going
through the base since after he knocked Miko and I out!”

“What? Where is he now?” Twilight asked,

“Right here,” Jack’s so-called uncle entered the room, drawing the attention of all eyes.

“Who are you, really?” Twilight asked.

“Jack,” he answered. “Jack Darby.”

“What?” Jack said. “I’m Jack Darby. You can’t be Jack, unless you’re me, and you can’t be me… unless…”

“Yeah, time travel. I’m you, from the future,” the older Jack said, “and you listen to me now. The future I came from, it’s bad. Way bad. Seriously bad. The war is over, every war is over - and the Decepticons won. The Decepticon insignia has been permanently etched into the face of Cybertron's moon. Earth is nothing but a hunting ground. Equestria's just a planet-sized Energon factory. Something happened, something… horrible, and it let the Decepticons cause an insurgency and slaughter Autobot and organic alike. Almost all of the organics are dead. The few survivors are either released into Earth to be hunted down as sport, or put to work in Equestria mining artificial Energon deposits. A few of them survive by allying themselves with the Decepticons. There's very few of us left. There's a resistance, but it's small. Me. Bumblebee. Starlight Glimmer. A few others."

"Starlight Glimmer?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.

Future Jack laughed. "Oooh, time travel! You haven't met her yet! But you will. So many of us are dead. Including you, Twilight Sparkle. And Magnum. And Crosshairs and Bulkhead and even … Miko." Johnson's gaze affixed itself to Miko. "You were … so brave." Future Jack's voice cracked, and tears streamed down his face. "Even right up … to the very end!" Jack teared up, but he cleared his throat. “My team sent back in time, in the hopes that I could discover what went wrong and alter the course of history so that the future wouldn’t be the awful Decepticon dystopia that is today.”

“Hmm,” Twilight said, “well, it’s certainly a terrifying thought, but do you have anything to prove your story?”

Future Jack scoffed. “I’d knew you feel that way. I knew this was a waste of time.”

“Don’t say that, Jack,” Twilight said, “I’m willing to believe you, just not on good faith alone, especially after you’ve infiltrated my base and knocked out my friends.”

“Traitors,” Future Jack muttered, “Traitors and quislings everywhere, weak-kneed, spineless, whelps, cozying up to the ‘Cons so they could eat whatever scraps the Decepticons decide to feed them… because they think it’s better that way, because they think resisting is useless… selfish cowards.”

“Jack?” Twilight asked. “You keep rambling about something that I can only half-guess at. If we’re going to help you, I need you to focus.”
Future Jack looked at Twilight, and she immediately reeled. There was something in his eye, something dangerous and crazy, as if he’d been robbed off all light, hope, and reason.

Demonstrating he was truly cracked and in the grip of paranoia, Future Jack grabbed the nearest person - Adagio Dazzle, and put a knife to her neck.

“Stay back!” Future Jack shouted. “I’ll kill her!”

The Imperials drew their weapons, but Twilight motioned for them to stand down.

“Whoa, whoa, there, Jack!” Twilight said. “There’s no need for that. Let her go. There’s no need for violence. No one has to go get hurt today. She’s innocent.”

“Nooo!” Future Jack cried, waving the knife aimlessly in Twilight’s direction. “You don’t believe me, you don’t believe me, do you?”

“I never said that, Jack. Please, put the knife down,” Twilight said.

“No!” Future Jack snapped. Adagio bravely tried to reach for Future Jack’s wrist, but he put the knife back to her throat before she could. “No, I want - I want a Bridge out of here.”

“Okay,” Twilight said, taking care to treat the hostage situation with the delicacy it deserved. “Where do you want the Bridge to go?”

Future Jack paused.

“Jasper. Jasper, Nevada. My home town. It seems a good place to start as any…” Future Jack muttered, some semblance of sanity coming back to him.

“Okay. Okay. Just let the girl go, okay?” Twilight said. “One Bridge to Jasper, Nevada.”

“Twilight…” Magnum said, “we can’t do that. He’s dangerous. What if he hurts someone?”

“He’s about to hurt someone, and I’ll take an ‘if’ over a definite any day,” Twilight answered. “Did I stutter? Somebody open that Bridge!”
The Imperials scrambled, and a Bridge opened behind Future Jack and Adagio. He looked at the Bridge, then to Twilight, then let Adagio go, pushing and shoving her away. Twilight caught her, and Future Jack jumped into the Bridge, the Bridge closing behind him.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, making sure Adagio was unscatched. Adagio nodded and rested her head on Twilight’s chest, crying.

Twilight let her go. While Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk, and some Autobots went to Adagio Dazzle's aid to check her over and make certain she was unhurt, Twilight turned around and contemplated this turn of events to herself.

To learn, if she was to continue the path she was on, it ultimately wouldn't matter in the end unless something changed – something which she had no idea of, and therefore was directionless and powerless to change ...

It was deflating, to say the least.

Author's Note:

It's occurred to me this story would probably have to have been around 30-40 chapters, really, like a small book, to have the pacing it really needed to be a good story and do the things I wanted it do. The way the story is structured, the chapters are too large and too stuffed full of content in order to fit in all of the elements and plots and story arcs I want to accomplish in the space I've given myself. But I don't think I could edit to be like that without a full rewrite from the ground up, and I'm not willing to do that.

Comments

[Darkryt Orbinautz]

7822215

I already went over this with Troubleshooter, and he could only do so much, and frankly, I just kinda don't care anymore. I want to over with, finished, done, ended.