The Inner Conflict

by TheClownPrinceofCrime

Chapter 6: Trip to Cybertron

IN CANTERLOT

“Where do you suppose this Soundwave fellow is at?” Brawn asked. “If he is not in Equestria, then how are we supposed to find him and Rumble?”

Twilight and the princesses pondered on that question. After thinking it over, Twilight got an idea. “Hey, how about we all visit your planet Cybertron? Maybe your friends over there may give us some clues as to where they may be!”

Hearing her suggestion instantly reminded Rodimus of something. “Scrap! I almost forgot to report back to the Elite Guard! I’m sure they’re worried about us since we haven’t spoken to them in a couple megacycles, so we have to inform them of our current predicament.”

Twilight and the others were then confused by the term. “Elite Guard? Why does that sound familiar? Wait...” Suddenly, it rang some bells in her mind... and also over her head. Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance at the draconequus’s antics. “Discord...”

“What? It’s finally being refreshed in your memory, right?” Discord innocently asked. He snapped his fingers which made the ringing bells fly away with eagle wings.

“I think Megatron mentioned something about the Elite Guard being formed by... Ultra Mag—Mager... Magnus! Ultra Magnus, I think,” Twilight recalled. This amazed the Autobots as they heard her mention his name.

“He told you about him? Oh wait, let me guess,” Hot Shot said, rolling his optics. “He lied about Ultra Magnus being the big bad dictator and oppressor over Cybertron, abused his power, wrongfully exiled the Decepticons, blah, blah, blah. That stuff, right?”

“Yeah... pretty much,” replied Spike.

“Like we haven’t heard him say that a billionth time already. He never thought of anything creative, did he?” Hot Shot groaned.

“At least he won’t be spewing lies anymore, Hot Shot. For that, we should all be grateful,” said Rodimus. “Hmmm, perhaps a trip to Cybertron for you all would be alright. You will learn many things about our culture and our home planet. Autobots, we are heading to Cybertron! Transform and roll out!” Rodimus and his team all transformed back in vehicle mode and revved their engines in anticipation.

“Wait! You guys can just use this!” Pinkie Pie shouted from afar, holding Shockwave’s portal device. “You can return to Cybertron by activating a portal!” After she said that, she pressed the green button which created a large portal before the group.

“Oh, really? I was just going to teleport us to their home, but whatever...” Discord remarked, having a disappointed look.

“Where did you get that?!” Ironhide asked, shocked to see a Cybertronian device in Equestria.

“Oh, we got it from Shockwave after he and his friends were defeated,” Pinkie nonchalantly replied. “Now we can use it anytime we want!”

“Huh... impressive work! Now we can all return to Cybertron with no difficulty. Hop in, ponies!” Rodimus said. The princesses, Thunderlane, Spike, and Starlight rode inside the vehicle forms of the Autobots whereas Discord snapped his fingers to summon his taxi car. He hopped inside and followed the Autobots into the portal. Once they entered therein, the portal closed.

“Have fun! Take some pictures! Wait, robots can take pictures, right?” Pinkie asked before looking towards the sky. “Right, author? Readers?”

ON CYBERTRON

A portal opened in the middle of Iacon City; from there came five Autobots in their alternate modes. After the ponies and dragon exited their doors, the team transformed back to their robot forms. Discord exited his taxi car and allowed it to disappear. Then the portal closed behind them. Both groups looked around and saw all the tall buildings surrounding them and all the Autobot citizens walking around, doing their own business.

“Wow... we are really on Cybertron!!” Starlight exclaimed. “I... It is amazing!”

“Your planet does look wonderful, Rodimus Prime,” Celestia observed. “My sister and I have always wondered what your home looks like and how it would feel being here... touching its Cybertronian grounds.”

“Indeed,” Luna nodded. “To think that those Decepticon tyrants tried to ruin your home is truly terrifying.”

“Don’t be so comfortable, princesses. Cybertron may appear peaceful, but it is far from being safe... not while there are still more Decepticons on the loose.” Rodimus warned.

“But as long as we work together, we can still beat them all, right?” Spike asked, confidently smiling. Red Alert softly grinned at the dragon’s optimism.

“I like your spirit, Spike. If only our other allies had the same motivation...” she said.

“Hey, look! There are organics here!” an Autobot citizen alerted. The rest of the Autobot people looked straight at Team Athenia before looking down on the Equestrian creatures next to them. They all gasped in amazement.

“Uhh... why are they staring at us like that?” Thunderlane wondered.

“What do you think?” Ironhide asked.

Some of the citizens screamed in terror at the sight of the equine organics. They ran away for their lives while the others slowly walked towards them and Team Athenia. “What are those organics? Where do they come from?!” one of the bystanders asked.

“Are you actually that afraid of us?” Discord asked. “What? You’ve never seen a creature like me before? Look at me!” He snapped his fingers to summon many trumpets around his friends and himself as well as a banner with the words “Team Equestria” on it. “Behold! We are TEAM EQUESTRIA—working together to defeat the evil Soundwave and rescue Rumble!!” he shouted with a microphone. The trumpets blew loudly around them.

The citizens looked astonished to witness a creature’s magical powers being displayed flawlessly and at will. Seeing their stupefied silence, he grinned in satisfaction. “Quite impressive, huh? No need to praise me; I’m just that kind of a powerful draconequus and Lord of Chaos,” he smugly remarked. The ponies and Spike rolled their eyes in annoyance whereas Rodimus and his team were confused at the turn of events.

“Is he always like this?” Hot Shot asked.

“You have no idea,” said Spike.

Suddenly, a white earth-based car arrived in the midst of Iacon. Seeing his fellow Autobots and strange, unfamiliar organics with them, he drove right next to them and transformed in robot mode. “Team Athenia! Never thought I would see your faces again!” he gladly welcomed.

“Jazz, sir! Glad to see you as well!” Ironhide saluted.

“Greetings, Jazz. We apologize for not reporting to the Elite Guard earlier,” said Rodimus. “We were waylaid by some... unexpected turn of events. However, it eventually revealed to us a new problem that should concern all of us.”

“No problem, bro. It’s all good,” Jazz waved off. “I’m just glad to see ya still online. And... who are those organics supposed to be?”

Celestia, Luna, and Twilight stepped forward to introduce themselves. “My name is Celestia, and this is my sister Luna, co-rulers of Equestria. This is my former student Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship.” Twilight nervously smiled and waved at Jazz. Luna nodded her head in acknowledgment.

“Whoa... rulers of Equestria? Well, that’s new. Wait... y’all look like those horses I’ve seen back on earth! But for some reason... you can talk?” Jazz wondered.

“Well... we’re ponies to be precise,” Twilight replied. “We come from Equestria, and Team Athenia were willing to help us find one of our own who has gone missing. A Decepticon named Soundwave has captured him, and we need to know where to find him! Can you help us?”

“Soundwave? Never heard of that dude before,” Jazz said. “Nonetheless, I don’t think I can help you since Ultra Magnus has gotten us busy lately with all that Energon gig.”

“Jazz, this is serious. This Soundwave may pose a threat to not just Equestria but possibly even Cybertron as well,” Rodimus warned. “We have to do something in order for that threat to never happen. An organic is in grave danger, and we cannot allow any sentient being to be harmed by a Decepticon no matter what they are.”

Jazz then thought on those words before he looked down to Thunderlane. “Please... we need to find him! My brother... needs me! PLEASE!!” the pegasus begged with tears in his eyes.

“Hmmm... I’ll see what I can do. In fact, why don’t y’all meet with Ultra Magnus? I know he will give ya an idea or two,” Jazz suggested, smiling.

Rodimus nodded approvingly. “That’s good enough for me. Come on, team, we’re heading to the Elite Guard!” Thus, Team Equestria and Team Athenia walked together to Metroplex City with Jazz guiding them.

“Why do I have a feeling this Ultra Magnus fellow won’t be that helpful and generous?” Discord rhetorically asked.

OUTSIDE DETROIT

During sunset, Lockdown’s ship landed in the middle of a field and disguised itself as an old factory. Its front doors opened, allowing Soundwave, Lockdown, Rumble, and Team Chaar to exit from the ship. “(Whistles) Wow... planet earth. Never expected this place to be so... primitive.” Oil Slick observed.

“Kaon City looks much more appealing than this mud ball of a planet!” Strika yelled. “Why are we here, Lockdown?”

“A friend of mine invited me for something... special. Of course, you’re all welcome to join me.” Lockdown replied. As if on cue, a dark tan SUV with purple windows and windshield drove out of the abandoned factory and drove up to them. He transformed to robot mode and opened wide his arms.

“Hey, hey, hey!!! Lockdown, pal, how’s it going?! It’s been like what... forever? Anyway, happy to see my favorite business partner still intact!” Swindle greeted.

“You have got to be kidding me...” Strika groaned, face palming herself.

“Who are you, Decepticon?” Soundwave asked. Swindle raised his metal brows at the new guy amusingly.

“My, my, my!! Another customer awaits my generosity? Great! The name’s Swindle! I’m what you call an intergalactic arms dealer! Lockdown and I share a history of working together to bring about new upgrades, mods, and weapons for our... mutual benefit. Anyone who needs some weapons can just come right to me, baby! Now, what is your name? I’m digging your vocoder voice by the way.”

“I am Soundwave. I now lead the Decepticons. With my lackeys by my side, I will carry out the ultimate revolution mankind has never seen. The human terrorists shall be destroyed, and the Autobots will pay for their wickedness.”

Swindle stood there with the look of surprise and excitement on his face. “THAT’S GREAT! A new warmonger is on the table here!! It turns out you’ll become my second favorite customer! We’ve just met, and I’m already liking you! However, I’m not sure if I follow your second sentence. I thought Megatron was the big bad of the ‘Cons?”

“Unfortunately, Megatron kicked the bucket. He’s not going to do you or I any favors anymore,” Lockdown informed. Hearing those words both shocked and saddened Swindle.

“Seriously?! No! That means... I lost my number one customer. (Sigh) Just when I thought my career would be a tremendous success, I hear this. Well... at least Mr. Soundwave here would be a great replacement. Care to accept my offer?”

“What do you propose?” Soundwave asked.

“See, I have something which neither of you bots can refuse,” Swindle began. He pulled out the time piece from his chest drawer. “You see this? This is my new addition I recently got from some humans I encountered. I call it the time piece. It contains an Allspark fragment that can slow any machine down to a temporary stasis. Once the victim is in this stasis, he can see and hear everything around him. However, he can neither move nor speak. It is a fate worse than going offline, don’t ya think?”

The Decepticons were intrigued as they listened carefully to his words. “So, what do you think, Soundwave? You might want to add this to your master plan because this could be the very thing... to defeat and destroy your Autobot enemies.” Swindle evilly smirked.

“I wish I can wear that thing as a necklace,” said Lockdown as he gazed at it. “This could be the best trophy yet.”

Soundwave considered his offer for a few seconds before slowly nodding. “Proposal accepted. Operation: Decepticon alliance.” Lockdown and Swindle shook hands together before Swindle shook Soundwave’s hand. Rumble grinned happily at seeing how it was played out.

“The three of us will do great together! The ultimate trio this planet will deal with!” Swindle bragged. “Soundwave, Lockdown, and me!” He then wrapped his arms around Lockdown and Soundwave.

“Don’t even think about it, Swindle. We’re not gonna be that close. Stop being so dramatic about it,” Lockdown scowled.

“Come on, Locky, you know you’ll enjoy it,” Swindle smirked.

“United we stand; divided... WE FALL!” Soundwave declared. Team Chaar shouted their battle cries while Rumble gleefully jumped up and down.

“Those Autobots are so going down now...” Rumble whispered.

Author's Note:

RIP Fred Willard. You were excellent as the voice of Swindle.

Comments

[Darth Wrex]

“Whoa... rulers of Equestria? Well, that’s new. Wait... y’all look like those horses I’ve seen back on earth! But for some reason... you can talk?” Jazz wondered.

Are you talking about the Element or the Planet?

[TheClownPrinceofCrime]

10520585
Planet Earth