Top Of The List

by dudenotactive

Trust Issues

Sunset awoke with a jolt, she shot up from her sleeping bag as the ground quakes. Quickly, she gathered her thoughts and left her tent to investigate the cause of this strange anomaly. She shielded her eyes as she got out, the morning sun was glaring right at her as it rose over the treeline. Then everything that had transpired yesterday had returned to her memories, Sunset remembered that she had met some extraordinary people from beyond the stars. The two Autobots who uphold peace and justice, Arcee the quick and skillful warrior who fought alongside other Autobots in a war that lasted eons. Smokescreen, the youngest of the group but older than Sunset by a million years, maybe more.

Then there were the Decepticons, she barely knew them but from what she had learned from the Autobots is that Starscream was a conniving liar who would kill anyone who opposed him given the chance. In short, he is a Decepticon. Lastly was Shockwave, the biggest one in the group, from what she knows, Shockwave is a bot of science. He is cold and calculative. His crimes were inhuman, something that Sunset knew too well in the history of this planet. The cyclops did not like it that the Autobots shared his projects to Sunset, a mere human who would never understand. And from what Sunset did understand was that Shockwave was playing with things he should not be tampering with.

And speaking of the bots, they were currently inside the hangar with the doors wide open for all to see. Inside, the two Autobots and Shockwave were gathered around Starscream's sleeping body, or as they had called it "recharging". It was a strange sight, the seeker was on his stomach and Shockwave was tinkering with something.

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

The two Autobots quickly shushed her to which Sunset complied, then Arcee simply motioned her over and Sunset walked over to them as quietly as possible.

"So what's up?" Sunset whispered.

"Shockwave is fixing Starscream's wing." Arcee explained and Shockwave was indeed fixing the seeker's wing. The scientist was putting a newly built wing onto Starscream's back using a series of tools, not just a simple blowtorch. Shockwave was sure to be as careful as he could as he guided the blowtorch down, fusing the wing and the seeker.

"Then why is he asleep? Is it like operating on a human?" Sunset asked the Autobot.

"No, not really. In some cases, yeah, but we just wanted him to be out cold for..." Arcee stopped, her eyes glanced between Sunset and Starscream, she was reluctant to explain their true intention but she feared Sunset would never understand.

"For a fail-safe." Shockwave finished for the Autobot.

"So I had to hit him with my issued taser!" Smokescreen gleefully waved the object in the air, a giant taser which crackled to life. If a human were to be on the end of this taser, Sunset was sure they would be fried from the inside.

"Wait, fail-safe? What exactly do you mean?" She asked Shockwave to explain.

"Starscream is not one who should be easily trusted, it is only logical to make sure that he does not turn against us." Shockwave gave her their reason. "So that is why we will plant an explosive deep within him, close enough to destroy his spark."

"But that's wrong!" Sunset snapped at him, shocking the Cybertronians. She took on a horrified face as she stared upon the machines in front of her. Never had she thought of something like this, especially from someone like the Autobots.

Arcee kneeled in an attempt to be on Sunset's level. "Listen, you may not have known him as long as we did, but Starscream is the kind of bot that would sacrifice his own troops to save himself. I just want to be sure that he would never try anything against us. And trust me, when the chance comes, he will stab us all in the back."

"But what if he doesn't!?"

"Then we remove the bomb if he ever shows any improvement, but I'm not gonna risk it." Arcee sighed as she rose back to her feet. "And I will make sure of it that Starscream will be brought to justice for all the crimes he committed in the war."

Sunset looked away, unsure what to think about this whole thing. She knows that he was evil in many ways, but everyone deserves a second chance, just like her.

"You shouldn't worry about it Sunset," Smokescreen spoke, trying to assure the human girl that everything is alright. "Starscream is the kind of guy that is always scheming. Heck, I'm sure he's scheming in his sleep right now! Listen." Smokescreen leaned close to Starscream's face and listened closely to the unconscious seeker.

Shockwave paused his work to glare at Smokescreen for playing around, especially near him while he was doing something important, but he continued after. Not caring about the Autobot and his antics.

Sunset sighed, she sat down next to Smokescreen to join him on this silly moment. She stared at Starscream's face, it was so passive and normal, just like a human's. Sunset never thought about it for the first time since they all met, they are almost alike in this scenario. She and these machines are in a world not their own, but Sunset had come to accept this world as her own. Yet she was still an alien among these humans.

She looked over to Smokescreen, he reminded her of Rainbow Dash, young and energetic. Eager to be the best, yet Smokescreen was not easily swayed by the opinions of others. He was calm and collective, and most importantly, skillful.

Shockwave, he was a hard one, the 'Con was smart and cold hearted. His intelligence was beyond her, he could even be smarter than Twilight, and that's something Sunset was afraid of. She would wonder about what if these two brainiacs would come together, perhaps Shockwave would simply see Twilight as an inferior species that does not deserve his time and logic.

Sunset could tell that Shockwave never liked her at all.

Then her mind wander over to Arcee, the femme proved too hard to read with her rough exterior and emotionless expression, as if she was trying to out do Shockwave with his style. Only showing her truer self whenever she speaks with Sunset. The human could only wonder about what was running in that Autobot's mind right now.

Lastly, there was Starscream.

"Please Windblade..." The seeker stirred a little and was currently talking in his sleep. "I don't want to be queen of Cybertron... why are you king...?"

Smokescreen stifled a laugh and tried not to fall as he shook with delight. Shockwave simply ignored the ramblings coming from the seeker and continued with his work. As for Arcee, she silently chuckled a little from how ridiculous the words that came out of Starscream. It was at this moment that Sunset felt a bit much closer to these cold machines, how they acted was a sign that they were practically human. But there was this thought, the idea of placing an explosive in another is what separates her and these automatons who have fought in a war.

---

Arcee zoomed through the highway in her alt mode with Sunset right on top of her, both heading straight back to Sunset's town. "Thanks again Arcee!" Sunset said as they drove by a few cars, Arcee was just quicker than Earth automobiles.

"No problem kid. Besides, it was me who blew up your bike." Arcee snickered. "Just my way of saying sorry."

Sunset shook her head. "Nah it's fine, I got that bike for a cheap price."

"Still... If there's anything I can do, just say the word."

"Well," Sunset paused for a bit. "maybe you can let me come by and hang out?"

"Hang out with giant robots? Sure why not, I could use the company. Smokescreen is great and all, but sometimes he's just a bit too energetic. And don't get me started with those 'Cons."

"Awesome! Hey, you can drop me over there, I can walk back to my place after." She pointed at an alleyway just ahead, away from curious eyes.

"Sure kid," Arcee swerved towards the sidewalk, she pretty much did the driving herself seeing as Sunset had no skill with the motorcycle, and the fact that she did the driving when she was with Jack.

"Hey Sunset!" And just as Sunset was about to hop off of Arcee, someone called out to her from the mouth of the alley.

Arcee became silent, Sunset was afraid of turning to see who spoke, but from the voice alone she already knew who it was. "Hey Flash! What are you doing here?" An awkward smile now on her face as she greeted him.

Flash Sentry of Canterlot High. Not a very great title like Trixie's, but it's what most people knew him of. "Oh, I was heading to this new fast food shop called KO Burger, but then I saw you." His eyes then wandered away from hers and went down, down to the beautiful blue machine in front of him. "And this sweet ride."

"Y-yeah! Sweet ride..." She stuttered.

"So where did you get her? This bike of yours seems like it cost a lot." Flash hand ran across the dashboard, inspecting the bike with a fascinated look.

"The bike? Well... I kind of got it from... a friend?"

"Awesome, you should let me have a spin with it sometime."

"Sure, I'm free tomorrow after class!"

Flash smiled. "See ya then, Sunset." He said before leaving.

Sunset watched as he left, her eyes concentrated on that blue head of his. Once he was gone, she finally exhaled all the air she was keeping in.

"Who's that, your boyfriend?"

Sunset flinched once Arcee started talking, scared out of her own shoes if possible. She was quick to shoot down Arcee's question with a big "No!"

Sunset flushed red a bit and cleared her throat, straightening herself. "He isn't. Well, he was, but... Uh..."

"Easy kid, I get it." Arcee chuckled. "Was he a jerk or something?"

Sunset sighed weakly. "No, he was honestly... great. It was more like he broke up with me because I used to be... mean to others."

"But seeing how he acted earlier, seems like you and him are fine now, and you're much nicer than a lot of humans I met."

"Yeah, we're friends now, and both of us are behind all that."

"One problem though, you kinda promised him a joyride tomorrow."

She gasped upon learning what she did. "Oh no... Arcee, I'm really sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. Reminds me of the old days with a friend of mine." The Autobot reassured her.

"You don't have to show up, I can just say that you had a flat or something."

"Like I said, kid, it's fine. You and that Flash guy should have a little fun sometimes. And even if you did meet a bunch of aliens, I'm sure your weekend was boring. Some wind behind your back would really be an exciting moment."

Sunset couldn't help but feel a little warm inside, she couldn't just decline anymore, the Autobot insisted with that ride. If Arcee doesn't mind, then why not, Sunset could hang out with Flash tomorrow and maybe she could learn more about Arcee after.

"And if you ever want to, you can visit us back at that old airfield whenever you feel like. Just give me a call so I can pick you up."

"Thanks Arcee, but..."

The bike shifted a little. "What's on your mind?"

"Can I tell my friends about you guys?"

There was a minute of silence before Arcee could speak. "Sorry Sunset, but Starscream wouldn't like that, he's already tense around you. Maybe next time, when the chance comes."

Sunset sighed, but then smiled. "Thanks, guess I'll see you tomorrow." She said before hopping off of her.

"See you too, kid."

With that, the two went their separate ways, both making sure that no one would see them as they leave the alleyway.

---

An ear piercing beeping screeched through the air as a purple monitor blinks alight continuously in a dark room. This goes on for minutes before the door opens, flooding the room with a red light. And in came a mech who had the Decepticon badge displayed on his chest. The 'Con's other features was covered in shadows, but the two square lenses on his face glowed deep purple giving him an intimidating aura.

Slowly and sluggishly, the Decepticon dragged his feet towards the monitor and groaned tiredly as he approached it. "Honestly if that's you Astrotrain, then I'm gonna have to cancel all of your energon orders and watch you starve!"

His hands hovered above a console and began tapping away with a few buttons until the screen stopped blinking.

"Now... who's the wise guy that woke me up?" Suddenly the screen flashed the Decepticon logo, and the bot in front of the screen was shocked to find what was the cause of the pesky beeping. "Decepticon life signals? Close by!?"

Quickly, he investigated further into this event trying to understand who was behind all this. He gasped upon learning of who these signals belong to.

"Starscream and Shockwave?" At first he was shocked to find them so close to his current location, but then a mischievous grin formed itself on his face. "Guess I got myself some customers."

The Decepticon chuckled as he peered out the nearby window, what greeted him on the other side was the vast sea of darkness of space, and the big blue planet which many would call Earth. As it would turn out, this 'Con's current location is inside his very own ship that orbited the planet, and right now, he was thinking of landing just to earn some profit today.

Comments

[Frazikar]

First guess - Swindle, second guess - who was the other snake oil sales-Con ??

[The Voice in the Water]

Hmm…while I can't see Twiggles getting along with Shockwave, I could see Midnight finding him fascinating. Hopefully she's been fully purged from Twiggles at this point, or we might have demon vs. con on our hands.

My energon's on that being Swindle.

[redmar]

The Decepticon in orbit is going to cause problems and might just lead the DJD to Earth unless he's on the list himself of course.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

10466633

I think it's after the Everfree Forest Camp Movie. So Midnight is ALREADY gone. And even if she is still here. Midnight will REGRET on ever metting with Shockwave in the first place. Shockwave is vastly Superior than Twilight/Midnight in the brain department. And is more Eviler than the evil demon counterpart. And his Experiments will make even Midnight horrified and sick.

Midnight should WISH she have NEVER met Shockwave. Otherwise, Shockwave will do Inhuman Experiments on Midnight/Twilight. That will make Midnight herself very traumatized, and Suicidal.

Plus, how can a Evil Demon counterpart knockoff of Twilight face the Cons???!! They are MORE LEAGUES AHEAD of her in being Evil. And have live and killed their enemies for MILLIONS of Years, and are Veterans in Combat and War!!! How can Midnight Sparkle top the Decepticons??!!

[MikiStenbeck]

Sunset looked away, unsure what to think about this whole thing. She knows that he was evil in many ways, but everyone deserves a second chance, just like her.

some just doesn't deserve a second chance, Star Scream is one of them, Now if Megatron came and asked for a second chance, i'd give it to him, simply because he is the lesser of two evils and disbanded the Decepticons in the end of TP which this is obviously a continuation from by now, (Chuckles) i know it sounds absolutely preposterous that i would give Megaton, the Former leder of the Cons and Warlord a second chance, and not the Second in command, but that's again because Megtron is the lesser of two evils.

also

His intelligence was beyond her, he could even be smarter than Twilight, and that's something Sunset was afraid of,

(i know it's soundwave, shush, it still counts.)

[Arcticlizard52]

Loving this so far