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[Prologue] Chapter 1: Fall of Cybertron1,150 words
[Prologue] Chapter 2: The Friendship Games1,413 words
[Pilot] Chapter 3: First Contact3,529 words
[Pilot] Chapter 4: Adjusting2,492 words
[Pilot] Chapter 5: Power3,702 words
[Pilot] Chapter 6: Secrets3,068 words
[Pilot] Chapter 7: Confrontation Part 12,329 words

[Pilot] Chapter 3: First Contact

Location: Planet Earth
Decepticon Warship, Nemesis

Dropkick and his sister, Shatter, entered a dark room with nothing but a small computer, and their Autobot prisoner, Cliffjumper, bound by chains from his ankles and his remaining wrist. The red scout looked up and smirked. "You 'Cons back for some more Cliff, huh?" He chuckled to himself a little bit, before Dropkick delivered a heavy punch to his chest.

"Enough games, Autobot." Dropkick grabbed Cliffjumper's head tightly, forcing the two of them to meet eye-to-eye. "Either you tell us what Orion Pax intends to do on this mudball, or I will force you to watch as I tear you apart, circuit by circuit!" Dropkick tightened his grip before being pulled away by his sister.

"Take it easy, brother...beating him senseless isn't going to get us any closer to learning Orion Pax's plan, is it?" Shatter sneered as she turned to face their prisoner. "We'll leave him be, for now. Lord Starscream can find a way to get it out of him." She faced her brother once again, who shook his head, but eventually nodded.

Cliffjumper looked up weakly at his captors. "Just one question....why do you call him Orion Pax? His name is Optimus Prime..." As he finished, Shatter turned around to face her prisoner.

"He never deserved to become a Prime. The only reason he got his position was because he was a teacher's pet, constantly earning Sentinel's favour until he was given the chance to ascend the ranks." She sneered, as Cliffjumper scoffed.

"And you think that Starscream would be a better candidate for a Prime? HA! Your processors must be even more fragged than I thought!" Cliffjumper remarked as his captors left the room.

Shatter and Dropkick walked into the primary chamber of the Nemesis, where several Decepticon troopers were hard at work, monitoring their surroundings for energy spikes and potential areas of interest. The two siblings approached a single computer, connected to a large screen, where a large Decepticon stood silently. The Decepticon turned around to face them. "Shatter, Dropkick, report. Has the prisoner revealed Orion Pax's plans yet?"

Shatter bowed slightly and shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Lord Starscream. The Autobot refuses to give out any information." She nudged Dropkick's shoulder, prompting him to bow as well.

"If you ask me, I say we just scrap him. All he does is mock your leadership, it's a waste of time getting anything out of him. If you would allow me that opportunity, Master." Dropkick added.

Starscream turned around to face them fully. "In time, Dropkick. However, as long as Soundwave insists on copying Megatron's methods, we have to keep him alive." Starscream grimaced, before turning back around. "I've sent the Constructicons to a nearby area, somewhere close to the crash site of the Autobots' ship. They'll be scouting for survivors, though, I found another article of potential interest." He pressed a button on the computer, and the monitor displayed an image of a cave located in a dense forest. Shatter and Dropkick looked up at the monitor.

"It's a cave. Doesn't seem all that interesting to me."

"Silence, Dropkick. Anyway, a recent surge of energy was detected in this cave a few days ago. The energy output was extreme, beyond even raw Energon. I want you two to go to this site and secure the source of this energy, whatever it may be." Starscream smirked as Shatter stood up from her bow.

"Won't we need prior authorisation from Soundwave before engaging in such a mission? Last time you sent us to do something, we had to answer to him." Shatter frowned and looked at a deep scratch on her shoulder. "Thanks for covering for us by the way, Lord Starscream." She spoke sarcastically.

"Forget about Soundwave. Megatron may have placed him in temporary command on Cybertron, but we are off-world now, and the ranks dictate that command over the Decepticons falls to me. Now get to it, before Soundwave has any tme to try assert himself over us.' The siblings nodded before running toward the launch bay at the roof of the ship, as Starscream wore a devious smirk, returning to his post.

Meanwhile, in another chamber of the ship, Soundwave is kneeling before a statue of a mighty Decepticon commander, when another Decepticon enters the room. "Officer Soundwave?"

Soundwave looked up slightly. "What is it, Lugnut? Can you not see I am paying tribute to our Master?" The other Decepticon nodded and stood back a bit.

"Of course, I apologise. But...word of mouth has gotten around the ship, that Starscream is assuming command over our forces whilst we are off-world. Shall I put him in his place, on Lord Megatron's behalf?" Soundwave stood up, and turned around to face Lugnut.

"No." Soundwave's modulated voice reverberated in the chamber. "Since our arrival to this planet, I have been experiencing visual hallucinations...of Megatron. He is on this planet, somewhere, calling out to all those loyal to him."

Lugnut looked shocked, but nodded. "I see his face as well! Lord Megatron must be close! He has to be!" He protested. Soundwave nodded in agreement and laid a hand on Lugnut's shoulder.

"Then you and I shall set out to find him. Rally up Barricade and the other Megatron loyalists, send out a search party. We will start by searching the nearest city. Our master will be retrieved."

Canterlot High School

A yellow school bus pulled over across the street from the school, as seven girls emerged from the door and walked to the other side of the road. Sunset Shimmer and her friends looked to their left to see six green and purple construction vehicles working on the ruined section of the school, clearing away debris and exposing more and more of the unknown ship that landed. The girls all looked on in shock at the wreckage.

"That ship looks like it's made from pretty advanced technology. I gotta get a closer look, maybe even a sample..." Twilight giggled as she began to walk foward, before a familiar hand pushed her back.

She stepped backwards, looking up at a police chief. "Not so fast, Twily. Can't let you in there yet, it isn't safe." The chief gave Twilight a friendly wink as she gave a surprised glare.

"Shining Armour? Y-You're the Chief of Police in Canterlot City??" The girls all asked in unison, as Shining simply chuckled.

"Indeed I am. I'm also head of the SWAT Team, Investigative Department, Forensic Team, Bomb Disposal...pretty much the entire force." He smiled as the girls merely gawked in awe. "And yeah, it's advanced tech. The city's made the greatest technological advances in the world following a meteor crash around 50 years ago. The ship seems to be made of similar technology. At least, that's what all my guys are saying..."

One of the girls, wearing a cowgirl hat, stepped forward. "Hang on just a second. Ain't nobody else noticin' how those vehicles are driving all by their lonesome?" She gained confused glances from her friends, and Shining Armour.

The well-dressed member of the group chimed in. "Applejack, really? That hideous wreckage has completely destroyed my fashion studio, and you're worried about the construction machines being lonely? Even by our standards, that is most certainly odd."

Applejack sighed and pulled her hat over her face for a second. "No, Rarity, I mean that none of them have any drivers, so how the hay are they doing any work?!" She raised her voice slightly as Shining looked between the group, and then at the crash site.

He walked over to one of the vehicles, a front-load shovel-dozer, and realised that there was, in fact, no driver. "What the..." Before he could finish, another vehicle suddenly swung around its hook, sending Shining Armour flying back a few feet and crashing to the ground. The girls all stood back as the vehicles each began to shift, their forms changing into six giant robots, each bearing distinct features from their vehicle forms.

The robot that had once been the shovel-dozer bent down and looked at the seven girls. "Are you the seven 'magical girls' situated at this facility?" It asked, as Sunset Shimmer stood forward.

"W-Who wants t-to know?!" She asked, trying to sound as tough as she could make herself be.

Another robot, which had emerged from a crane, laughed and also looked down at the girls. "We are the Constructicons. We were sent by our leader to find you, and to take you to him."

"We Constructicons are peacekeepers, patrolling the cosmos in search of war criminals from our home planet, Cybertron." The dozer-bot stood up and pointed to the wrecked ship. "This ship belongs to a Cybertronian terrorist group, who destroyed our home during a civil war. We followed them here in fear that they intend to spread their path of destruction to your world." The girls all looked shocked, with Sunset chiming in once more.

"But why us specifically?"

The dozer-bot smiled, as some of the other Constructicons began chuckling behind his back. "When we arrived on Earth, we did some research on recent history so we could blend in to assist our investigation. We learned of this high school, and a group of girls who helped to protect it from otherworldly evils." He looked at the ship once again. "We fear that these terrorists crashed their ship here, in the hopes of using your abilities to destroy us, and the rest of this world." He suddenly blinked and stood up straight. "Oh! Do forgive me for not formally introducing myself. My name is Scrapper, and this here is my associate, Hook." He smiled, gesturing to the crane-bot behind him.

Sunset looked at Scrapper suspiciously, before considering everything he had just said. "Right....normally, I'd hate to involve me and my friends in war, but if our world is at stake, we'll come with you."

Scrapper smirked. "Excellent." He pressed a button on the side of his head, activating his communications device. "Lord Starscream, female humanoids acquired. Returning to the Nemesis no-" Scrapper was cut off by the sounds of his fellow Constructicons panicking.

"Autobot energy signatures detected, sir! They're coming in fast!" Hook called out.

"Scrap! Constructions, form on me and combine to form Devastator!!!" The Constructions once again began to transform, this time taking on the form of a much larger, singular robot, comprised of all six smaller Constructicons. Just as they finished combining, two more vehicles pulled over and transformed into two robots, one pure red and the other red and blue.

"Ironhide, get these civilians out of here! I'll distract Devastator!" The red-and-blue Autobot spoke as he pulled out his blaster and began to fire. "Roll out, solider!"

The red one, Ironhide, transformed back into his vehicle mode and opened up his doors. "You guys better get in now!" Shining Armour and the girls quickly got themselves into Ironhide as he closed his doors and drove off. "Optimus, I got them away. You need to get out of there, you can't take Devestator alone!"

Optimus jumped onto the roof of the school's remnants, pulling out an axe and leaping forward, slashing Devastator's right arm before being thrown back into the ground. He activated his communications device. "Wheeljack, do any of the Ark's weapons systems still function?" Optimus looked up just in time to roll out of the way as Devastator stomped his foot into the ground.

"The missile system is online, but we only got enough for one shot!"

"One shot is all we need. Fire the missile at Devastator!" Optimus dodged another one of Devastator's stomps, as the massive Constructicon took sight of Ironhide escaping with the girls. "Wheeljack, there isn't much time! Fire the missile!"

Within the ruins of the crashed ship, a port opened on the side to reveal a large missile launcher. "One missile headed for big, green and ugly now!" Wheeljack spoke over the comms as he fired a single missile from the ship, which collided with Devastator's torso, promoting the large robot to separate into the component robots, who all crashed to the ground as Optimus transformed and drove off to meet with Ironhide.

"That was a close one, Optimus. Where are we gonna take these girls? The Ark ain't gonna be safe for 'em..." Ironhide expressed his concerns, as Shining Armour looked out the side window at Optimus.

"There's an abandoned military base not too far from here. If you're looking for a place to hide, you could try there." He suggested. Despite not being able to currently show it, Ironhide and Optimus smiled on the inside.

Optimus began to slow himself down. "Ironhide, follow the male's instructions and go to that base. I'll gather the other Autobots and meet you there." Ironhide continued to drive as Optimus made a U-turn and began heading back toward Canterlot High. As they approached the military base, a young male clad in SWAT armour stood to the right side and knocked on Ironhide's window.

Shining Armour looked out. "Officer Garrison, I'm gonna need full access to this facility. We have some...unexpected, guests arriving shortly. Which hangar bay is the largest?"

Garrison pointed toward a large hangar bay, labelled 'Hangar E'. "Right there, Captain Shining Armour. When are these guests coming through?" He asked, as Shining smiled, and he and the girls stepped out of the car, which transformed into Ironhide. Garrison stood still, his jaw dropped in shock and awe.

"You'll know when you see 'em. Name's Ironhide, by the way. Now, Hangar E was it?" Ironhide asked as he walked over to the hangar, with the girls and Shining Armour following on, leaving Garrison alone, still with his jaw dropped.

30 Minutes Later

Optimus drove along the road, as several other vehicles surrounded him at all angles. A yellow Beetle drove directly to Optimus' left, as well as a pink and blue motorcycle on his right. Several other makes of vehicles, including an ambulance, drove behind Optimus, as a fighter jet flew in the skies above. Garrison saw the oncoming traffic and opened the gates to the military hangars. The land vehicles all pulled over beside Hangar E, with the jet landing on a nearby helipad.

The other vehicles all transformed into their robot forms and looked at Ironhide and the humans he brought along. Optimus Prime was the last to transform, and he walked over to the girls and Shining Armour. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are the Autobots, autonomous robotic organisms from a distant planet called Cybertron. We are a peacekeeping resistance group, currently at war with a tyrannical faction called the Decepticons."

"But those Constructicons told us you were a terrorist group, and now you're saying that they're the evil ones?" Twilight tilted her glasses and looked up at Optimus. "Which one of you is telling the truth?"

Another Autobot, yellow and black, walked over to Optimus' side. "They're the liars! We fought endlessly to protect our planet, and you're gonna assume we're lying just because some stupid Cons got to you first?!" He tried to walk closer, but was pulled aside by Optimus.

"Take it easy, B-127. We need to protect these humans from the Decepticons, especially now that they have discovered the location of their school." B-127 mumbled something under his breath and backed away from the girls. "Apologies for that, humans. He's still new to our cause, and he feels very passionately of it." Optimus looked down at the girls and his eyes widened a bit. "Oh! Do forgive me for introducing myself. I am Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots."

"I'm B-127, the Autobots' scout. Looking forward to getting a real name someday." The yellow Autobot spoke quietly.

A red-and-white Autobot looked toward the humans. "I'm Ratchet, medical officer for the Autobots." Ratchet looked at a particularly dark corner of the hangar. "That seems a good spot to set up my equipment." He walked over to the dark corner.

A pink-and-blue Autobot looked over at the girls. "I'm Arcee...Autobot soldier and recon officer..." Her tone seemed as though something was troubling her, and she remained quiet before saying anything else.

"Bulkhead, former Wrecker and space bridge technician." A large, dark green Autobot proudly spoke, raising an arm and pointing to himself as he did.

"Name's Jazz. Autobot trooper, and self-titled Autobot with taste" A white Autobot with shades over his eyes spoke, a grin being worn on his face.

Two Autobots were left unintroduced. A white Autobot with differently-coloured stripes and two square-like structures on his cheeks was the first of the two. "I'm Wheeljack, the Autobots' technology expert and enginner!" He spoke in an almost boastful tone.

"Guess that just leaves me, I'm Jetfire, recon officer and air support" The final Autobot spoke out.

The girls all exchanged glances with one another, before deciding they would also introduce themselves. "I'm Sunset Shimmer." She smiled and waved her hand slightly. "We don't really do rankings in our group, but I guess I'd be considered the leader?" She chuckled nervously.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, newest member of the group, heh..." Twilight tilted her glasses as she noticed Wheeljack was particularly focused on her.

Wheeljack checked a small computer monitor located within his forearm, before looking back up at the girls. "You were the one who transformed into that demonic creature breaking up the dimensional barrier, right?" A tone of genuine curiosity emerged in Wheeljack's voice.

Twilight began to stammer slightly. "W-Well....uh.....y-y-yes..." her smile faltered, and she simply nodded before shying away.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" She emerged from the group, bouncing on the spot. "I'm the party-planning expert in CHS, and I'm just SUPER EXCITED to be meeting real-life, talking, transforming giant robots who have come from another world because they lost their homeworld to a civil war!" She squealed with excitement, prompting a small chuckle from Bulkhead.

Rarity was next to be introduced. "I am Rarity, professional fashionista. I get that it's a war and all, but PLEASE try and not allow me to get my wonderful dresses ruined!" The other girls all rolled their eyes, with a couple of them even letting out disgruntled sighs.

"Let's just wrap this up already. I'm Applejack, I help run a farm, the one with the rainbow hair is Rainbow Dash, our school's sports captain, and the one tryin' to hide herself behind everyone else is Fluttershy." Applejack sighed softly, as Rainbow Dash waved at them, and Fluttershy awkwardly peaked out from behind Twilight and Sunset, waving nervously.

Shining Armour walked over to a flight of stairs leading to the platform where the girls are. "That just leaves me. I'm Shining Armour, captain of this city's law enforcement and a military officer. I've talked things over with my superiors, and they have agreed to grant you complete access to this abandoned facility."

Optimus nodded his head. "Thank you, Shining Armour. We would like to request assistance salvaging the remaining functional equipment from the wreckage of our ship. In the meantime, may I ask that the human females stay here, so that we may get better acquainted with one another."

"Of course. If one of you would like to accompany me, I'll call in a salvaging team to go through the ship." Shining Armour left the hangar bay, with Wheeljack transforming into his vehicle mode and following his lead.

Decepticon Warship, Nemesis

"I cannot believe that you failed to squash TWO Autobots!!!" Starscream yelled out in a state of rage as he slammed his fist down. "How did you let this happen?!"

One of the Constructicons, Long Haul, was laying down on a table, as Scrapper was attempting to remove a missile piece from his chest. "With all due respect, Lord Starscream...I'd like to see you taking a missile as a Combiner..." He grunted in pain as Scrapper pulled out the missile chunk.

The room's door opened up, as Soundwave slowly walked over to Starscream. "Starscream, where are Shatter and Dropkick? They were due to report to me two Earth hours ago."

Starscream grinned, and pulled up the co-ordinates to the energy surge he had found earlier. "Scouting the site of a nearby energy surge. Hopefully they return with the source." Soundwave's visor began to glow a brighter red as he forcefully grabbed Starscream by the head and twisted it so he was facing him.

"I did not authorise this mission." Soundwave proceeded to fling Starscream across the room, slamming the air commander into a wall, before walking over and kicking him. "Lord Megatron has given you more second chances for your deception than you deserve. I will not be as tolerant." As Soundwave left the room, he turned to face Starscream once more. "If you repeat these mistakes, I will not hesitate to remind you of your place."

Scrapper looked down at his leader. "Why do you just let Soundwave beat you down like that?"

"I'm just biding my time, until the tides of fate begin to weigh in my favour." Starscream got onto his feet after struggling to get up for a minute. "And once they do, a new age will begin for the Decepticons...the Age of Starscream!"

Author's Note:

Fun Fact: Officer Garrison is based off a dear friend of mine, GaryTheNeutral (check out his profile here: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/256245/GaryTheNeutral)

This story is based off of roleplays that we had spent years working on together, and largely follows the same storyline, though I've added in certain elements (the Cybertron sequence in Chapter 1, the inclusion of Shatter and Dropkick, and Bumblebee's alternate mode) to tie-in to the recent Bumblebee movie. So, basically, give 50% credit to Gary for helping bring this story to life!

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