The Darkest Hour

by TheClownPrinceofCrime

The Epilogue: Friendship to the End

Starscream widened his optics at the sight of the magical explosion. As he gazed on the dazzling light show, the explosion finally faded and everything was back to normal. The sky was blue, the dark clouds vanished, and the sun was shining bright once again.

“By the AllSpark, that was... fascinating. Those organics are truly that powerful. Ha, at least Megatron is finally offline for good. That leaves me as the new leader of all Decepticons!” Starscream exulted. But as he glanced toward the torn field, he gasped at the sight of the burnt remains of the Decepticon army.

Twitching his right optic, he nervously smiled at the grisly sight. “I guess... I can gather any remaining Decepticons who are out there somewhere.”

“I think not, Screamer,” said Lout, carrying Shockwave and Cyclonus who were still in stasis cuffs.

“YOU! Release me at once! This is unlawful imprisonment! I am your commanding officer!” Starscream screamed, spitting oil.

“Geez, no wonder you’re called ‘Starscream’. Looks like you need to be taught a jolly good lesson,” added Discord, snapping his fingers. A giant rocket appeared in front of the Seeker.

“What? What is that for?” Starscream asked.

“Duh, it’s for the fireworks, silly! Want to jump in?” Pinkie asked, smiling.

Starscream looked on in horror as Lout threw Shockwave and Cyclonus inside the rocket ship. “No! NO!! You wouldn’t! I’m too young to go offline like this!”

“Oh, be quiet, Screamy. This forest is no place for babies. In you go,” Lout mocked. He forcibly grabbed his legs and tossed him inside the rocket ship.

“Would you care to do the honors, my little pink friend?”

“Don’t mind if I do, Lout,” Pinkie mischievously grinned, pressing the button.

After ten seconds, the rocket launched into the sky with the Seeker screaming out loud inside. Once it reached to the highest point in the sky, it exploded along with all the fireworks. Discord put his 3-D glasses on as he watched the fireworks whereas Lout and Pinkie feasted their eyes/optics on the light show.

“Oooooooohhh... aaaaahhhhhh,” they both muttered.

Meanwhile, Rumble, Spike, Thunderlane, Skywarp, Red Alert, and Rodimus Prime lowered themselves to the ground where their friends were waiting for them. As soon as they touched the earth, the Mane Six hugged Rumble while everybody else cheered for their heroes. “You did it, Rumble! You saved us! You saved Equestria!” Twilight said.

“It wasn’t just me, guys. It was them too,” replied Rumble, smiling at his five companions. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have defeated Megatron and his army.”

“This feels so strange yet so... fulfilling. I feel like my spark just grew much more positive than ever before,” Skywarp said.

Suddenly, a magical ring appeared and surrounded his arm. It suddenly grew larger until it engulfed him entirely. Once the brightness disappeared, his color scheme was altogether different.

“Whoa! Skywarp, your colors!” Fluttershy notified.

The ex-Seeker gasped as he saw his new colors. His wings, legs, and arms were indigo whereas his chest, torso, and helmet were tan with orange stripes. His face and neck turned to bright gray while his optics were blue. He was even more amazed to see his insignias as Autobot instead of Decepticon.

“I... I didn’t expect this! I am an Autobot now?” Skywarp wondered, gazing on his new flashy appearance.

“I guess the Magic of Friendship is the reason why you have a new paint job,” Rumble chuckled.

“Hmmm, perhaps you’re right.”

“I believe an expression of gratitude is in order,” spoke Ultra Magnus. “Rumble, young pony and citizen of Equestria, I want to thank you for the brave act of heroism and leadership you displayed. Not only did you and your friends manage to destroy our greatest enemies but also managed to restore balance and peace throughout the cosmos. For that, I want to personally thank you on behalf of Cybertron and the Elite Guard.”

“We also thank both of you for your courage and outstanding work on behalf of Equestria. We owe you one,” Celestia added, bowing her head along with Luna.

Rumble blushed as he received high praise from both leaders. “It was nothing much.”

“Nothing much? Yeah right, after helping us save both our worlds? Sure, nothing much,” Spike remarked, playfully rolling his eyes.

Once he and Rumble had their brief laugh, Red Alert and Rodimus stepped forward. “I am so proud of you, young Rumble. Seeing you conquer your doubts and uniting us to defend our homes encourages me to be as strong as you are.”

“Thanks, Red Alert. I did what I had to for our families and friends.”

“You’ve really grown up, little brother. Ever since you defeated Soundwave last year, you’ve been more eager to learn more about your new cutie mark and your inner strength. It seems like you’ve found out your true power,” Thunderlane smiled.

“Hehe, I guess I did. Rumbling wings with bolts? That really suits my name and cutie mark,” Rumble said, rubbing his mane. Both brothers hugged each other.

“Nice work, little buddy!” Bulkhead complemented.

“Knew we could count on ya!” Bumblebee added.

“Yeah, we won’t have to worry about Megatron and his shenanigans anymore!” Ironhide said.

“You got that right!” Applejack agreed.

“Only time will tell when other Decepticons might show up. Besides, they’re still more of them out there,” Ratchet noted.

“Don’t worry. If they’re looking for a fight, we’ll be waiting for ‘em!” Hot Shot grinned cockily.

“Waiting to crush them. That’s for darn sure,” added Brawn.

“Autobots, let’s head back home. The victory has been won,” Ultra Magnus ordered. With that, all the Autobots transformed in their alt modes and drove back to their respective ships they flew in.

However, Magnus and Optimus lingered for a bit as they both eyed Rodimus and Red Alert. Nodding to each other, they went down to both subordinates.

“Hey, bro. How are you... hanging in there?” Optimus asked.

“The pain of missing a leg is intense, but it’s not as intense as the fear of almost losing my friends... even you, Optimus. Other than that, I’ll still function. You?”

“Well, I’m a little exhausted but fine overall. I mean, leading my own crew is a big thing in and of itself. Still, I wish you were by my side to fight threats on Earth. It would feel a lot different if you were at home.”

Rodimus smiled briefly as he looked up to his brother. “I can see that in your optics. Always the protective sibling, eh?”

Optimus chuckled. “Right. You know me well on that.” He cleared his throat and was silent for a moment. After briefly seeing Magnus and Red Alert talk as well, he casually bumped his brother’s shoulder. “Sooo... ever thought about coming back to Earth?”

“I would love to but... Equestria seems more like home to me. I’ve always wanted to be a part of the magic that surrounds this place. All the friendship, the emotion, the serenity, everything. You see what I’m saying?” Rodimus explained, observing Twilight, her friends, and the rest of the surviving ponies being happy and saying goodbyes to the Autobots.

“I see. Whatever choice you follow, I’ll support you fully.”

“Thanks, Optimus. Bro hug?”

Grinning, Optimus hugged him while lifting him up. Then they gave each other a bro fist before Optimus left with the rest of his crew. Then Magnus approached him after he finished speaking with Red Alert.

“Ultra Magnus, Sir!” he saluted.

“You have done well, Rodimus Prime. Despite the fact you disobeyed a direct order earlier, I nonetheless owe you my life in helping our little friend save Cybertron and Equestria. If you like, I can still have you as my first lieutenant while you can come and go as you please.”

“I appreciate that, Sir. But I prefer to stay here; this is my new home now.”

“I thought you might say that. Red Alert expressed the same sentiment. It appears Rumble made a positive impact on your lives. On that, I can perfectly understand,” replied Magnus.

Rodimus glanced toward Red Alert who smiled to him in return. He then gave his final salute to Ultra Magnus who likewise saluted back. The latter transformed and drove off with the rest of the departing Autobot citizens. Rodimus, Red Alert, Rumble, Skywarp, and everyone else waved as they saw the Autobot ships depart from the planet.

Rumble then noticed Dead End sitting by himself in a distance. Curious, he flew over to him. “Hey, Dead End. Is everything alright?”

“(Sigh) Sort of. I’m satisfied that my dumb Stunticon ‘buddies’ are gone, but... for some reason, I just feel so lonely now. With no one to be with me, I just feel so... alone. And a part of me hates it.”

Rumble sadly smiled at him as he laid his hoof on his hand. “You have new friends now—REAL friends. You won’t ever have to feel alone again. If you ever need anything, I’ll be right here to help you.”

Dead End gave a very small smile in response. He stood back up and transformed to car mode. “I’m just gonna travel the world for a while. I need to expand my experience in this planet and learn more of its magic. This kind of friendship is just so... new to me. It will take time for me to adjust to it. So... I’ll see ya around, kid.” With that, he left the field and began his journey.

He waved as he saw him leave. Suddenly, Thunderlane flew down and picked up his little brother. “Hey, Rumble, what do you say we fly around for a bit? Have some fun now that we saved the universe?”

“Sounds like a plan! Lead the way!”

“Nah, nah, you lead the way! You’re our savior here! So you go first!”

“No, you’re the older brother, so you get to go first.”

“Rumble.”

“Thunderlane!”

“How about you both lead the way since you two worked together to defeat the bad guys?” Rainbow suggested, stepping in between them.

Thunderlane and Rumble looked at each other until they smiled. “Works for me!” they said in unison. Thus, both Pegasi flew up to the sky with fierce velocity. Smoke followed along as they flew around in a zigzag manner. They formed a large Autobot insignia in the sky until Rumble burst through with a large grin.

“WOO-HOO!” Rumble shouted. Primus himself smiled in the sky as he saw Rumble happy and with his family. Both worlds were saved; the universe was finally at peace.

---

Blurr landed hard on the black screen. As he groaned in pain, he looked around and saw nothing but a glass in front of him. He tapped it out of curiosity. “Hello? Is anyone here? Where am I? Where am I?!”

“You’re at the end of the story, pal! Now come help us clean up the field before you get bombarded with closing credits!” Lout shouted. He grabbed Blurr through the fourth wall and disappeared.

“Welp, that’s all, folks!” Pinkie waved.

THE END

Author's Note:

Thus marks the end of another trilogy!

Thank you, guys, for sticking with me through this whole journey and for reading this story and commenting. I really appreciate your feedback and your enthusiasm in seeing this story progress. It means a lot to me.

I do want to briefly announce that I will be writing a very important blog in regards to my future stories and what I want you guys to expect from me in the future in regards to my fanfics. So please keep a look out for that tomorrow. But until then, I hope you all have a great evening!

Stay safe and take care, everyone! Roll out! ✊🏼

EDIT: Here is the blog.

Comments

[ChazMLPFIM]

Nice. And Skywarp is now a Autobot.

[Darth Wrex]

(FIRE CELEBRATION ROUNDS) WHOO-HOO! But wait, does Skywarp now have a real Spark or does he still have the Allspark piece?

[TheClownPrinceofCrime]

10915894
It’s the latter. The magic only affected his color scheme.

[Darth Wrex]

10915908
Oh, rats. I thought he'd deserve a real one.

[nightshroud96]

I finally managed to read the final four chapters on here.

It was a epic end there.
Really surprised how Spike is a bearer now pretty much when he and Rumble with the other 4 came together.

Still disappointed on how Luna and Celestia were handled though..(especially since that mark of humiliation from the previous chapter still burns).
The first story handled them best, second story was mixed while this one honestly didn't handle the royal sisters well..

That's what I got to say so far.

[TheClownPrinceofCrime]

11042453
Thanks for reading and for the feedback.