Transformers: Equus

by LordLycaon

Discovery, Part 2

Ours was once a proud and peaceful world. A place where we lived in harmony with one another. Cybertron was a beautiful world once…

Fire erupted all around him, bolts of every color flying past his head, barely missing him and instead striking his comrades. He fought back against the urge to flee and returned fire against his aggressors, taking down at least two of them before having to take cover again. This was a losing battle, and he and the others knew it the moment they heard the plan, but it was their only hope if they wanted this accursed war to end someday.

His thoughts were interrupted by a light tink by his feet. Looking down, he saw what it was.

“Scrap!” he cursed as he leaped away from the grenade just before it blew, sending fragments scraping across his chassis. He screamed in pain as small chunks of metal blasted into his left leg. He found cover again behind a few old crates, fortunately, but his leg was rendered virtually useless. He checked his weapon’s charge level. It was low. Very low.

He leaned back against his cover, listening as he heard the enemy draw closer, firing almost blindly into what was left of his squad. Low charge, a worthless leg, and near-hopeless odds? Nothing was looking good at the moment.

“This ‘Ark’ thing better be worth it,” he thought aloud as he fired a few shots over his cover, hoping by the Allspark that he hit at least one of the ‘Cons beyond.

“Seekers inbound!” one of his fellow soldiers cried just before being butchered like livestock by enemy fire. He turned his attention to the sky. Sure enough, there were Decepticon Seekers up there, all heading towards his squad to get to the Ark.

One, however, stood out from the rest, being larger, and with bigger guns. He instantly recognized the flier with dread realization.

“Primus, help us all,” he muttered as he reached to his comm-link. “Optimus! We’ve got a big problem here, and I doubt he’s here to make nice!”

“I read you, Ironhide,” the voice of his leader replied over the link. “Hold your position. My team and I will be there to assist soon.”

Ironhide could only groan as he heard some of the Seekers land. “Make it fast, Prime! I don’t know how much longer we’re gonna last out here! We don’t—”

He was interrupted as a nearby explosion nearly deafened him. He could only hear a hideous ringing as somebody walked closer to him, their shadow draping over him with dark authority. He turned his head up to see who it was. He mentally cursed his own misfortune as the much-feared leader of the Decepticons himself readied his melee weapon, a large, viciously curved blade.

-o-

The Ark was our last hope. With Cybertron rendered inhospitable, even to us, we were left with no choice but to flee our homeworld.

“Optimus, we’ve lost contact with Ironhide’s squad!” a fellow Autobot exclaimed. “Sir, we have to go, now!”

Optimus looked out over what little remained of what was once a proud and beautiful world, scanning the devastated landscape with a deep sense of shame and remorse. For eons, Cybertron had been a world of peace, prosperity, freedom... and now all of that had been uprooted completely. Reluctantly, he turned away from his homeworld and faced the small yellow Autobot who had spoken to him.

“Send word through all channels, Bumblebee,” he ordered. “All Autobots are to immediately retreat to the Ark. We launch within the hour.” The bot nodded and spread the word to as many others as he could, while Optimus made his way to one of his last lieutenants.

The bot in question was busy coordinating last-minute adjustments to the Ark’s immense engines, barking orders at other Autobots who hurriedly obeyed. He turned to face his leader, to whom his nodded in acknowledgment. “The ‘Cons are getting close, aren’t they?” he said more than asked.

Optimus nodded grimly. “I fear we may not get as many Autobots off-world as we originally planned, Ratchet. The enemy is drawing too close.”

The medic sighed, almost sounding defeated. That had been a fear they had both shared since this project began. They had both doubted that they could’ve saved every possible Autobot on the planet. With the Decepticons just behind them, banging on their door, those fears only seemed that much more real. Countless good soldiers had fallen at this point, whether in battle or by the underhanded tactics that the Decepticons had employed – viral warfare, suicide bombers, sleeper agents. The list was almost endless.

“Optimus,” Bumblebee spoke up. “The message is sent. Now… what? We just wait for them?”

“Go board the Ark, Bumblebee,” Prime stated, dodging the question. “Ratchet and I will handle things from here. Tell the rest of our team to meet you at the ship’s bridge. We will join you momentarily.” The young bot nodded and hesitantly obliged, making his way onboard the enormous vessel.

Once Bumblebee was out of earshot, Ratchet said, “I’m not going to lie, Optimus; I don’t like our odds. Chances are, the Decepticons will get to us long before the Ark breaches the atmosphere.”

“We will simply have to have faith, old friend.” Optimus turned away from the old medic and looked off to the direction in which the Decepticons were storming in from. He would never say it out loud, but he hated this plan. He would rather be out there, fighting by the sides of his brethren, ensuring that everyone else had a shot at making it off Cybertron. He truly and utterly despised the idea of running away, but he had been left with only one other option: risk the complete extinction of the Autobots. And he wasn’t about to let that happen anytime soon.

The two of them stood there, waiting for more of their people to arrive. They had at least twenty squads guarding all possible routes to the Ark, all commanded by soldiers that had been handpicked by Optimus himself. They were among the best of the best that the Autobots had to offer.

Only nine squads returned. Some of them had only a third of their original number; those were the lucky ones.

As the minutes ticked away, Optimus could gradually feel his hopes trickling away with the time. He had prayed to Primus and any other deity that might have been looking down at him that his people would be safe. Indeed, some of them were. But not enough. Too many had died. Or worse.

Soon, the allotted time ran out, and Optimus and Ratchet went to join their comrades aboard the Ark.

-o-

“We managed to break the atmosphere and headed for the nearest space bridge,” Optimus said as he gradually grew closer to the end of his people’s story. They had since moved from the caves and out into the gardens, where Celestia had ordered her guards to form a perimeter so that no civilians would see the Autobots and possibly incite a panic, and had set up an illusory barrier as a precaution. The Autobots didn’t argue. In fact, Optimus had agreed that it was likely for the best that their presence be kept a secret until further notice.

“The bridge would have allowed us to escape to anywhere else in the known galaxy,” the leader of the Autobots continued. “However, the Decepticons had foreseen our use of it, and sabotaged it. Once we entered the bridge, it detonated, flinging us far off of our original course. The residual energies of the space bridge had warped many of our comrades and supplies off of the Ark, and to places yet unknown to us. With supplies drastically limited, we were left with no choice but to enter stasis to conserve our remaining resources.”

“Until we woke you,” Luna said, feeling genuine sympathy for the towering aliens. “It must have been hard for you all to leave your world. I cannot imagine what that is like.”

“It wasn’t easy,” the blue Autobot, apparently a female named Arcee, said, seeming somewhat distant. “We lost a lot of good bots along the way. Most of them were our friends.”

Optimus nodded with a grim expression, then faced Celestia again. “We apologize for causing your people any concern. If necessary, we will remain in hiding until we are able to leave this planet.”

“I see,” the Solar Princess said. She turned to the other ponies briefly, thinking on what to do next. Here, she had five giant, sentient, alien robots when nopony, not even Celestia herself, believed that aliens truly existed except in works of fiction. She returned her focus on Optimus Prime, who was patiently waiting for her response. She then looked to the other four aliens.

The red and white one, Ratchet, claimed to be their field medic. She wasn’t sure if repairing damage to a robot could be considered a practice of medicine, but she assumed that “field medic” sounded much more appealing than “repair bot.” He seemed to be older than the others, bearing several scratches on his metal plating, and missing small bits of his armor. He was clearly a war veteran, if the look in his eyes (?) was any indication. He had seen things that most creatures should never see.

Arcee was the smallest of them, and apparently the only female of the group. She had the look of a career soldier, but certainly lacked the experience that Ratchet must’ve had. Something about her reminded her of Luna; she seemed to have some kind of chip on her shoulder that clearly still bugged her to no end. Hopefully, she would be able to put whatever it was in the past before she did something she’ll inevitably regret.

Then there was the yellow and black one. He called himself Bumblebee. An odd name for a robot, but she wasn’t about to argue. Their own names would likely sound strange to the Autobots. He was taller than Arcee, but he had a much more optimistic air about him. He was, without a doubt, the youngest of them, the least experienced, and the most naïve. That actually comforted her a little. A little optimism despite the situation was always welcome.

Lastly, there was Bulkhead. He bore a dark green color scheme and was taller than the rest, shorter only than Optimus himself. This Autobot lived up to his name as well, being larger than the others, not only in height, but in width as well. She didn’t know whether she could call it muscle or not, but whatever it was, Bulkhead had it in spades. She also got the sense that he was a lot smarter than his name and appearance let on.

Celestia thought on what she should do for a few moments more. She considered every option until one in particular came to mind. She smiled and looked up at Optimus as she finalized the idea in her mind. “Optimus Prime, we welcome you and your fellow Autobots to stay here in Equestria for as long as you need. However, I doubt that we’ll be able to keep the five of you a secret forever.”

Optimus looked around at the castle garden, likely analyzing the area, and eventually nodded. “I agree. This place does not seem advanced enough to have machines that we could impersonate. Although I believe it would be for the best to reveal our presence slowly.”

“Agreed,” Luna replied with a nod. “We do not want the citizens of Equestria to panic.”

“And how can we not cause a panic?” Arcee inquired in a slightly snide manner.

“Perhaps you could all reveal yourselves one at a time,” Twilight suggested. “You’ll show up at varying intervals. We could then claim that we’re working on helping the first Autobot to restore the others. It’d be easier for civilian ponies to accept it that way. I hope.”

Celestia nodded. “That could work. We’ll just need to decide which Autobot to reveal first.”

“Optimus is our leader,” Ratchet pointed out. “He should be the one to make contact with your civilians.”

“No. He’s much too imposing a presence. No offense, Optimus.”

Optimus nodded. “I understand. Besides, I have an idea for who should make first contact.” He turned and motioned to Bumblebee. “Our scout here shall be our first ambassador to your people.”

The yellow bot stared at his leader and looked to his friends, then pointed to himself. “What, me? You want me to be the first one to meet their people?”

“Well, he’s at least far less intimidating than the others,” Rarity whispered to the others, which Pinkie Pie giggled at.

Optimus placed a hand on Bumblebee’s shoulder. “You are the best option. As Celestia said, I am too imposing, as is Bulkhead. Ratchet and Arcee’s personalities are too distant to set up good relations with the native creatures of this planet. You, however, are not just a warrior, but a peacemaker as well. We will need to be on friendly terms with the peoples of this world for as long as we remain.”

Bumblebee was silent for a while after that. He seemed to be contemplating the responsibility that Optimus had just placed upon him. Celestia could see the conflict in his expression. She could understand what he must’ve been thinking. He was definitely young, and was already being saddled with such an immense responsibility as introducing his race to another, vastly different civilization. Not an easy task; she knew this from personal experience.

Eventually, Bumblebee nodded. “I’ll do it.”

“And, of course, we’ll aid him where we can,” Celestia assured the other Autobots. “We will inform him of anything he’ll need to know.”

“Your assistance is very much appreciated,” Optimus said with a calm gratitude.

“It’s our pleasure,” the Solar Princess replied. She faced Bumblebee. “Princess Twilight here will answer any questions you may have.”

“Wait, what?” said Twilight with a disbelieving shake of her head. “I mean, not that I wouldn’t want to, but—”

“Twilight, you’re currently the most qualified. Luna and I have too many duties to attend to in order to properly advise our new friends.” She leaned in fairly closely. “Besides, I thought you would jump at the opportunity to learn about a culture that has never been documented by any pony scholars?” Twilight’s mouth hung open for a few moments, her brain processing the information she had just received. She beamed.

“Well, what are waiting for?” the young alicorn said as she flew up excitedly to Bumblebee, a broad grin on her face. “I have to get some things to write notes, set up some flashcards to test each other on what we’ve learned, get books on history and culture!” She released a barely contained squeal of joy. “Guard! Somepony get me all those things I just mentioned! This is going to be so great!” One of the guards nodded and headed off.

While Twilight had her nerd-out, Bumblebee gave Celestia a confused look that made her giggle. Something told her that life in Equestria, on all of Equus, was about to get a bit more interesting.

-o-

About an hour after their meeting, Ratchet was overjoyed that he could get back to the Ark and start on fixing the damaged systems without the distraction of the tiny organic creatures that were now infesting this once proud vessel. Sparks flew as he welded several broken components back into place, then recalibrated them so that they would get back into working order.

Unfortunately, since the Ark was buried underground, almost two miles beneath any form of civilization, they wouldn’t be able to just take off. The engines were practically beyond repair, anyway. Worse yet, the on-board space bridge was completely fried. He could possibly get it back into working order, but its range would be significantly limited until he could get his hands on some working equipment, which he doubted he could find on this primitive world. They didn’t even have automobiles of any kind here, let alone parts for a working space bridge!

Still, this “ground bridge,” as he decided on calling it, would be better than nothing. At the very least, they would be able to get anywhere on this planet with relative ease. All they would need is a steady supply of Energon. But where in the name of Primus would they get Energon on a planet inhabited by organics?

As he worked, he didn’t notice a little shadow creeping up on him, climbing upon numerous cables with ease until it was just a few feet away from him. Suddenly, a cannon blast roared throughout the room, and a ball of confetti slammed right into his face, actually throwing him off balance and putting him on his guard, his wrist-mounted blades active and ready. He dropped his war face when he saw one of the organics, the pink one, specifically, beaming at him from behind a primitive cannon that was smoking at the barrel.

“Surprise!” she squealed in a grating, high-pitched voice.

Ratchet stared at her and shook his head. “Who in the name of Primus and all things holy gave you a cannon? And how did you even get it up on that ledge in the first place?”

“It’s my Party Cannon!” she exclaimed happily. “I use it to help set up parties and make ponies happy! Or giant alien robots in this case.”

Ratchet stared at the little pink pony for several moments before shaking his head and groaning, pinching at the point between his optics. "Look... what was your name?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" she said with an enthusiastic grin. "But all my friends just call me Pinkie!"

The old medic sighed. "All right, look. I'm working on something very important, and I need peace and quiet to get it done. Do I make myself clear?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" the young mare replied with a nod as Ratchet got back to work. "By the way, I just thought I'd let you know that there's a weird blippy thing on the monitor thingumajig."

"What?" He looked to the monitors, which, sure enough, showed that they were picking up a particularly large energy signature. His optics widened. “By the Allspark... that can't be right.” He ran a few numbers on the console. The source of energy was unmistakable. He quickly opened a comm channel.

"Optimus, it's Ratchet. I've found something you need to see."

-o-

"My liege," a nameless drone said from behind his master. "We've picked up a potent energy signature near the planet's north pole. It appears to be a massive Energon deposit."

"Energon?" the overlord questioned. What was Energon doing on a planet inhabited by organics? It didn't seem to make much sense at first. Perhaps this was one of many worlds used as stockpiles during the war? He activated a nearby console. "Change course. Take us to the source of the Energon signature."

"At once, Master," came the reply of one of his top lieutenants. The overlord nodded and dismissed the drone who had informed him of this development. Already, this world was beginning to show promise.

Comments

[Discordigan]

Another great chapter you posted, with Autobot and pony alike acting in character.

[Ink Sword]

“Who, in the name of Primus and all things holy, gave you a cannon?

She is Pinkie, do you really need to ask that.