Top Of The List

by dudenotactive

What's A Kansas?

In a land called earth, in a place called Canterlot, one girl was rudely awakened by a beeping menace. She jolted up and off her bed and earned herself a harsh awakening. Thud, it was the noise that met her as she hit the ground. With a tired and pained groan she rose to her feet groggily.

Her hair was still disheveled and her pajamas were wrinkled. So her first task of the day was to freshen up and get into some comfortable clothes. She wasted no time preparing and brushed her hair to perfection. After that she wore a much lighter amount of clothes, black shorts and a regular pink t-shirt as well as some boots good for a long walk. Today was the day for her to finally spend some quality time with her friends. Next she grabbed her bag with all of her stuff, wallet and other things she may need.

Such as some snacks, bug spray, sunscreen, compass, and an umbrella. Of course she wouldn't forget her tent and sleeping bag. Everything she needed for camping with her friends. They had been planning this all week, nothing like the great outdoors to broaden your perspective.

Once Sunset was sure she had everything needed she headed straight to the door where she picked up her brand new bike that she had recently bought for a low price. Then she made her way out of her home and locked the door until she returned after an exciting weekend of camping. With all things taken care of she mounted up on her bike and zoomed down the sidewalk.

She then entered the main street and went straight towards the east, where the closest forest to Canterlot is located, the Everfree forest. Sure there are some memories that she made in the forest and would rather forget, but this weekend she will make some new ones. Sunset made sure to relax during the ride to save up some energy for the fantastic fun that Pinkie would surely give to Sunset and the rest. And just as she breezed down the main road, her eyes finally set upon the forest just ahead.

And once her surroundings were replaced with nothing but trees, she took in that forest air, nothing like some green for your eyes. As Sunset was leisurely riding on her bike she took a sharp turn into an untouched dirt path just to the left, one that she and her friends had recently discovered. It was not used for so long that the dirt path that used to be there was covered in grass, weeds and other shrubs that exist in the Everfree. There were even some berry bushes in the middle of the path causing Sunset to swerve around it.

There were some other obstacles such as a random deer, but Sunset had no other problem on her way to the spot Dash had chosen. And just as she arrived she was met with... nothing. It was a clearing in the forest with no signs of her friends, and right in the middle of it was the perfect place to make a campfire. And of course there was nothing and nobody, Sunset was here earlier than the rest and it goes to show, being the early bird isn't as good as it sounds in some cases. Nonetheless, she went on ahead of her friends and set up her own tent. It didn't take that long to bring it up, the stakes she hammered down with a rock was solid.

The tent was ready before she even knew it. Now she wouldn't have to worry of getting soaked by the rain, not that it would, the weather forecast said it would be sunny for the whole weekend. And that's what they wanted. So with everything ready, and the campfire prepared for some sweet marshmallows, Sunset Shimmer waited for her friends to arrive. Best part was, it was just 10 in the morning. She got all the time in the world.

Seeing that she did, Sunset decided to go on ahead and take a little walk. Not before leaving a note in case her friends get here. With that taken care of, off Sunset went for her little stroll through this mystical forest rumored to have mysterious anomalies. But enough about that, there was nature to take in.

There were a lot of interesting sights to behold, weird things you just don't see in the city. Especially the strange dirt road that was untouched for so long. And since curiosity got the better of her, Sunset had decided to follow it to wherever it may lead. As she silently trekked through the forest, she couldn't help but recall a few things, such as her time back at Camp Everfree. Fun times.

And just as her trip down memory had just begun, it came to a screeching halt as she entered another clearing. Her eyes widened, shocked to discover what lies in the forest.

"Woah." She said as she stared upon what lies hidden in the forest.

Because right in front of her was something she had not expected to see today. In the Everfree forest is an abandoned airfield.

A single rusty and old hangar sat in the distance, and the runway was full of cracks and potholes. There were shrubs and weeds all around as well as some old planes parked around, they were damaged by time and nature. Worn out, definitely unable to fly at this point. Older models if she had to guess since these planes had propellers instead of the modern engine ones. She approached the airfield curiously, she had read of these before and sometimes Sunset wondered how the humans would fare against the ponies of her world.

And sometimes she was impressed with what humans are capable of.

But just as she neared one of the rusty planes, she heard a loud clunking coming straight from the hangar. And against her own judgement, she decided to investigate. Upon closer look, the building was covered with moss in various areas. From what she could tell the hangar had holes everywhere as well. But further inspection of the hangar was halted as the clanging returned. Off to her left was a hole big enough for her to peer inside. And what she saw this day would be etched on her mind forever.

---

"You fool!" Shockwave struck Starscream across the face with his cannon, sending the seeker sprawling on the ground.

"Hey!" Smokescreen rushed over and pushed Shockwave back.

"You..." Starscream seethed with anger as he stood back up. "You dare to strike me, Shockwave!?"

Arcee was quick to hold Starscream in place, though their sizes were different she was strong enough to keep the lanky seeker still.

"Release me!" Starscream demanded.

"Easy Screamer, let's not do something we would regret." Arcee tried her best to convince Starscream to turn the other cheek.

"If it weren't for these cuffs Shockwave, I would have ripped you apart!"

Shockwave glared at him. "You are welcome to try, you imbecile."

"That's it!" Starscream glared at Arcee and raised his servos up. "Take these off me now, Autobot!"

"They stay on, final decision." Arcee glared back.

Shockwave scoffed snidely. "You may take away his bonds, as long as he has no wings, then he is easier to watch over." Shockwave said as he rested the sword which was Starscream's remaining wing over his shoulder. This gesture was a sign of dominance, and it insulted Starscream so much that he seethed under the cyclops' glare.

The seeker growled and Arcee, against her better judgement, took away Starscream's cuffs and allowed the seeker the feeling of freedom returned to his wrists. Starscream glared back at Shockwave and flexed his claws at him, he was not backing down at all. The cyclops was right, Starscream would be unable to fly again unless his broken wing is repaired. But that didn't mean he'd allow Shockwave to keep his wing.

With a mighty roar he jumped at Shockwave and dug his sharp claws into Shockwave's chest. The cyclops grunted as the sword slipped out of his hand, he struggled to pull the seeker off but Starscream's claws were just in too deep.

"Hold on now!" Smokescreen tried to pull the seeker off the cyclops but was only awarded by a cannon to the face thanks to the larger mech. The young Autobot could only groan in pain as he dropped to his knees with his hands on his face.

"This is just getting ridiculous!" Arcee groaned as she picked up the sword off the ground.

As the two Decepticons struggled, Shockwave had accidentally backed into Smokescreen's hunched body and fell right through the old rusty wall of the hangar. Both 'Cons were separated as Shockwave tumbled out. Shockwave stared at the blue sky which replaced the ceiling of the hangar. He grumbled something as he sat up, but then he heard a soft gasp coming from his left.

His head slowly shifted towards the sound, and he simply froze there. Starscream had recovered and was about to continue his assault, but he became confused as to why Shockwave was just sitting there like a statue. Then his optics followed Shockwave's example and landed them upon a small orange girl.

"Seriously you two," Arcee stepped through the hole that was just made and glared at the two culprits. "if your lives weren't in danger then I would have shot you both myse-"

The three titans stared at the human girl, and she stared back. It was as if the world itself was frozen and time was nonexistent. No noise was made, only the wind shuffling the forest and a regular woodpecker pecking away on a tree.

"Hey, why's everyone being so quiet?" Smokescreen asked as he pokes his head out of the hole. "Oh sweet, a human! Dibs!"

With that, the human screamed and bolted towards where she came from.

"We've been compromised!" Shockwave quickly straightened himself and took aim at the fleeing human. Only for his weapon to be knocked off target and blasting the old plane close to the human instead.

"You idiot!" Arcee scolded Shockwave. "We do not just shoot at humans!"

Starscream raised a digit in the air. "I have a better idea! Smokescreen, run her over!"

"I should've worded it better!" Arcee nearly hit Starscream on the face. "Smokescreen, watch these two while I go get the human."

"On it!" Smokescreen saluted.

Arcee quickly ran after the human who had just entered the treeline, she only hoped that she would catch the human in time. And as Arcee disappeared into the forest, Smokescreen glanced over to Starscream with a disappointed look.

"'Run her over'?" He repeated what the seeker ordered him to do.

Starscream rolled his optics at the Autobot. "I wasn't the one who called 'dibs' on an organic life form."

"Hey, Arcee and most of team Prime had human buddies. I just wanted my own."

---

Sunset leaped over a bush that was in the way. Fear and confusion filled her mind and heart as she dashed through the forest. She had no idea of what those four were, but it was obvious that they were not friendly, it was evident when one of the planes on the airfield was reduced to a smoldering piece of metal. And what's worse was that one of them, the one who sounded female, was after her.

She risked a glance back to see the giant slicing away at the canopy with a gigantic sword. Especially when Sunset made an attempt to lose the giant in the denser side of the forest only for it to cut through like butter. As Sunset ran, she pulled her phone to call for help, but much to her horror she had forgotten to charge her device the night before.

"Stop!" The giant ordered her, but Sunset knew better than to do what some alien wants. Who knows what she'll do if Sunset ever did stop.

And just as she entered the clearing where she set up camp, her eyes landed upon her bike. Her only chance to escape was just a few feet away and she needed to hurry. But just as she was half way, a blue light flew past her and decimated her bike, leaving nothing but a single smoking wheel that just bounced off to who knows where.

"My bike!" Sunset exclaimed.

But her concern for her property was replaced for the concern for her life as the giant finally caught up with her. The titan loomed over her, it was almost as tall as the trees that surrounded them. Sunset could only watch as the giant planted her sword down and kneeled to a lower level.

"S-stay back!" Sunset warned the titan.

"Easy now," The giant raised her hands in the air. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I just want to talk."

"You're not gonna attack me? Like your friends?"

The giant machine frowned. "For your information, those two scary looking mechs are not my friends. Anyways, the name is Arcee."

Sunset recoiled back a little when Arcee brought her robotic index finger towards Sunset. But she gathered up the courage and wrapped the tip of Arcee's finger and lightly shook it.

"I'm uh... Sunset Shimmer..." She introduced herself to the giant.

"Alright Sunset, nice to meet you." Arcee smiled as she raised herself back to her feet. "Why don't we talk back at that old airfield so we can straighten this out?"

"I don't know..." Sunset did not trust Arcee just yet, it was common sense to be doubtful around such an anomaly.

"I understand how you feel, I mean, even I would be cautious around some aliens from another planet." The way Arcee spoke was soft and understanding, it was as if Sunset wasn't talking to a machine but a living creature just like her.

"Aliens?" Sunset received a nod from confirming Arcee. "Alright... But you guys won't... lay eggs in my chest, are you?"

Arcee smirked. "If I was gonna do that, then I would've done it by now. Now Hop on."

"What?" Sunset was confused even more.

But confusion turned to amazement as Arcee's body shifted into a blue motorcycle.

"Woah!" Was all Sunset could say as she stared at the outstanding bike that now stood in front of her.

"Well kid?" Arcee waited for an answer. To which Sunset wasted no time and accepted the offer. "Hold on, this will be a lot quicker than your bicycle!"

---

"So," Sunset sat on top of an old metal desk inside the hangar, she glanced over to the larger bots curiously. "You guys are from a race of advanced mechanical life forms and all four of you are war veterans."

"Correct." Shockwave simply answered.

"And you guys were in a war with each other? That's just crazy, I mean, wow."

Smokescreen nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot to take in. And I was asleep for most of it."

"I understand that it's a lot to take in, and it may be something you might not have expected before, but I assure you that we mean no harm." Arcee assured Sunset.

"Then if you guys restored peace and order to your home, then why are you all here on earth? And why exactly are you four together?" Sunset wanted to comprehend the whole thing.

Starscream scoffed. "You may know from your puny little human history that not every soldier is loyal, and there were hundreds of Decepticons who chose to run. That's where the Decepticon Justice Division comes in. They punish and execute any Decepticon that is on their list."

"And you two are on it?"

"A mistake that Tarn must reconsider." Starscream growled. "For you see human, my master had left the Decepticons and surrendered Cybertron to those filthy Autobots. Allowing me to take over the Decepticons as the rightful ruler! I am lord Starscream, you may address me as such."

Shockwave palmed his own face once Starscream was done with his little speech while Arcee rolled her optics at him. Smokescreen only found it amusing.

"Then why is this Tarn guy after you?"

Smokescreen quickly raised his servo in the air. "Oh, it's because Starscream had tried to kill his boss numerous times but always failed terribly!"

Starscream sent a glare at the Autobot.

"And now that Megatron is no longer in control, the DJD had seen it as an opportunity to eliminate Starscream for all the crimes he committed." Shockwave added.

Sunset had many more questions to ask, but then her mind reminded her about Twilight and the rest of her friends. She pulled her phone to check if she had any messages but was again reminded that her phone was out of batteries.

Starscream became aggressive when he saw Sunset's phone. "Put that down human!" Starscream demanded as he aimed his missile at her.

"Starscream!" Arcee stepped in the way and glared at the seeker.

"Wait!" Sunset stood up and raised the phone away from her. "I was just gonna check to see if my friends contacted me!"

"That's how it starts!" Starscream snarled. "First they learn about us, then it spreads like wildfire. And finally Tarn could easily pinpoint our location once he comes to your planet!"

"I'm sorry," Sunset tried not to be intimidated, but it was hard when someone has a missile pointed eight at you. "and it's alright, I forgot to charge my phone anyways."

"Here, let me help you with that." Smokescreen offered to help and transformed to his alt mode. "Hop in and just use the charger port, I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I have some energon to spare."

"What are you doing!?" Starscream exclaimed.

"Starscream." Shockwave spoke.

"What!?" He snapped at his fellow Con.

Arcee took a step forward, making sure she was right in Starscream's face. "He's saying that maybe you should try and be a bit trusting towards Sunset."

"Really Shockwave? You would trust an organic like a filthy Autobot!?"

Shockwave sighed weakly. "I have promised that if our original plan fails, then I will join your alliance with the Autobot for the sake of survival. In numbers we have a stronger chance to succeed against Tarn. And it would be best if we follow their example, it was with the human factor that helped them against us during our battles on earth."

"Right." Starscream growled. "Fine, be that way. Wait... where's my wing?"

Back with Sunset, she was currently regretting not charging her phone. As she sat there in the passenger seat of Smokescreen's alt mode, she read a message on her phone with dread in her heart. The message which came from Rainbow Dash read "Hey Sunset, I'm really sorry but the rest wouldn't be able to make it, same with me. So we have to cancel our camping trip. Hope you can fill in your free time with something awesome."

She sighed deeply and leaned on the dashboard, as she did so she did nothing but listen to the conversation the machines were having. She was curious to learn more about them and wanted to find out what made them tick.

"You know, Bee would have really loved it to be here right now!" Smokescreen was talking to Arcee.

The femme nodded. "Yeah, Bee would kill to be here, even just for a week. Well maybe not kill I guess."

"You know, Knockout would also feel the same." Starscream added to the conversation. "As much as he despised the inhabitants, he was fond of street racing and humiliating the humans. Where is Knockout anyways?"

Arcee shrugged her shoulders. "Last I heard he was pursuing a medical profession as well as entering local car shows. He was honestly well respected back at the capital."

Starscream hummed. "Makes me wonder what he is up to now."

---

Knockout was slammed into the wall by two hulking giants. "Hey, watch the paint!" Knockout snarled. He stared at his assailants and felt a nagging feeling that he knew them from somewhere. He never thought that he would be cornered in some alley in the city by some two behemoths.

"That is the least of your concerns." Knockout's optics widened as they landed upon the Decepticon symbol which glared intently at the medic.

"Tarn!" He exclaimed. "W-what are you doing here!? I thought y-you were dead!"

"I am very much alive, Knockout. As for you, there could be a chance that you will not be." Tarn approached Knockout with quiet steps which scared Knockout with the way Tarn walked.

"Wait, I am innocent! I didn't do anything!"

Tarn scoffed. "History says otherwise."

Knockout started to stutter as he feared for his life. "Please, don't kill me!"

Tarn clicked his tongue. "Knockout, there is no use in begging. But I do have a proposition for you."

"Y-you do?"

Tarn only grinned as he motioned Helex and Tesarus to release Knockout. "Yes, and if you accept then I will remove you from the list."

"Really!? Then of course! I'll take the offer!" Knockout was quick to accept, but he was blind jumping too quick. It was all in the name of self preservation.

"Good." Tarn smiled as the Peaceful Tyranny flew over their heads and hovered just a few feet away from the mechs. That was one Decepticon, Tarn would need a few more, and he has a list of all the crew members of the Nemesis.

Comments

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

A single rusty and old hangar sat in the distance, and the runway was full of cracks and potholes. There were shrubs and weeds all around as well as some old planes parked around, they were damaged by time and nature. Worn out, definitely unable to flay at this point. Older models if she had to guess since these planes had propellers instead of the modern engine ones. She approached the airfield curiously, she had read of these before and sometimes Sunset wondered how the humans would fare against the ponies of her world.

We probably WIN! Just as long as we have a "Anti Magic" Weapons. But, I personally like Us ( Humanity) and Ponykind be Best Friends and Allies. And having NO WAR what so ever!

Now Knockout is a "Hostage" to the DJD. And what does Tarn will do with the list of the Crew Members of the Nemesis?

I mean Megatron/Galvatron is LONG Gone. Soundwave is still trapped in the Shadowzone. Breakdown and Dreadwing are Dead. Airachnid is "Not right in the head", and is already a traitor, and with the Insecticons. And Predaking is NOT a Decepticon! And most of them are just Vehicon Soldiers.

Unless, we bring in other Decepticons and we can finally see their Prime Versions.

[dudenotactive]

10445629
im putting brawl in because I liked him as kid, and I like tanks

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

10445757

Onslaught: Combaticons! Combine into Bruticus!!!

Brawl, Swindle, Blast Off, and Vortex.

I WAS thinking about the Constructicons, Stunticons, Seacons, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Octane, Other Insecticons, Predacons, Lockdown, Doubledealer, Sixshot, and The Scavengers.

But that is probably WAY too much!

[dudenotactive]

10445779
Yeah that's too much, especially when there's only four protagonists.

And some humans

[redmar]

This is an interesting story and I'm looking foward to reading the rest.

[Status L]

Why do I hava a feeling Knockout was not on that list?