My Little Shockwave: Friendship is Logical

by Stalin with Da Spoon

2: Shockwave Superior, Predators Inferior

Three hours...

Three lonely hours...

Shockwave had been walking for approximately three hours now, or at least in terms of Cybertronian time, as it was difficult to tell the time zoning and estimations of this planet's time frames, so he simply had to apply his own time scale until he could properly measure it. The sun appeared to be rapidly lowering over the horizon, indicating the approach of nightfall, which did not truly bother Shockwave, as his optic had built-in night vision to allow to see through the darkness.

And if any predatory beast attempted to assault him, believing him to be prey, he could very easily show them their fatal mistake. However, said predator would have to be either large enough to match his size, very stupid, incredibly desperate, or a type of pack animal. Regardless, Shockwave doubted that anything within this forest could pose a physical threat to him, considering his reinforced chassis had survived being crushed, shot, bashed, and more. Plus, with the added bonus of his massive arm-mounted plasma cannon, he would easily eradicate his foes.

Though, Shockwave still questioned if the trade off of a large cannon for a lack of a left hand was worth it. Ever since that foolish failed experiment Grimlock tore his arm off and then brought his entire tower down on top of him, he had been forced to entirely re-construct his frame into a grounder type chassis, and replace his arm with the large cannon. Though Shockwave had to admit, this cannon was his greatest weapon he had ever produced, as long as the Predacons, Dinobots, or the Forged did not count.

Shockwave looked up to the moon slowly rising into the sky, accompanied by the stars slowly revealing themselves. Although, upon closer inspection of the moon, he swear he could almost see... A face of something... Chocking it up to an illogical optical glitch, Shockwave ignored it and continued on his path. As he looked forward, he saw he was currently on a set path for the tall mountain in the distance, which was approximately a kilometer away. As Shockwave observed the mountain, he noticed a small cave entrance at it's peak, and decided it would be logical to stay there for the night, or even potentially build his lab inside.

Soon, the faint sound of crickets, the croaking of frogs, and other nighttime noises began to fill the air, with fireflies faintly hovering by. What was surprising was how much light the moon was producing, as it illuminated the entire forest in it's bright glow. Shockwave would likely have to look into how it produced so much light as a side project. However, what remained on Shockwave's neural processor, was that unceasing feeling of being watched, as he constantly shifted his gaze to the tree lines beside him, the metal antenna on his head twitching as they listened for any possible movement.

Yet all he heard were crickets and his own heavy footsteps. Usually he would be fully at peace with this serene silence, but now he was feeling highly unnerved, as he was far out of his element here. He needed to get to that cave as soon as possible. Thus, Shockwave decided it would be logical to slightly pick up the pace, going from a slow walk to a light jog, keeping a somewhat steady pace, which caused the ground and trees to shake and rattle slightly more, as birds were displaced from their nests and took to the sky in a flurry of caws and crows.

"I find myself reconsidering whether it was logical to switch to a heavy ground based chassis from my previous aerial form." Shockwave said as he cursed his massive stature, regretting having constructed such a heavy weight chassis for himself instead of going for a design more closely related to his original flyer chassis, which was not only much more leaner and would have allowed him to move faster, but would have also given him the ability to just fly up the mountain.

Though this heavy duty chassis had saved him from destruction on several occasions, including a space bridge collapsing right on top of him and jumping down from the very top of Megatron's citadel, so it would be illogical to be ungrateful for it's power. Plus, he had to admit that his tank mode had it's uses.

Not to mention without the strength and power of his current form, he would not be able to support his massive cannon which had dispatched many of his foes, even managing to damage the elite team Prime, even if for brief moments. Though only having one servo to work with was a notable drawback, however now that Shockwave had all the time in the galaxy to research and develop, he could theoretically rig up some method of providing him with additional servo's, perhaps a tendril design similar to those used by his late comrade Soundwave. Perhaps he could even revive the old avatar project and construct an advanced clone of himself, with a different model that could assist him in his lab work.

After all, the only true genius Shockwave could trust, was himself. It's not that he believed he was superior in every way and was simply trying to inflate his ego, but every other self proclaimed genius he had followed simply failed to either keep his loyalty or to keep their head. Or both. Plus, it was likely that he was now the only genius on the entire planet, so no other real options to choose from even if he wanted to.

"Once I finally reach the cave, I will be able to begin planning the construction of a new laboratory and analyze the surrounding area-" Before Shockwave could finish, a loud piercing howl pierced his hearing actuators, leaving Shockwave clenching his antenna and attempting to recover from the brief shock of the un-expected noise. Quickly deducing the source of the sound to be further along the path, Shockwave failed to stop his natural scientific curiosity from taking control, as he quickly transformed into his tank form and rapidly sped down the path towards the source of the sound, directing his audio sensors forward to detect any more sounds, until he finally heard something.

"Get behind us, Applejack!" As Shockwave detected the voice, he quickly began analyzing it's wave patterns and frequency, attempting to pick any viable information.

'Masculine tone, indicating adult male in origin, heavy traces of fear and anxiety detected, stress levels around 77%. Faint Southern-American accent. Likely in small group as the subject shouts to 'Applejack' to get behind them and presumably one other subject.'

"Get back ya wooden varmints, leave us alone!"

'Feminine tone, adult female origin, also possesses fear and anxiety, stress levels around 90%. Southern accent more prominent. Possibly said other subject beside male subject in front of 'Applejack'. Subject also refers to 'Varmints', likely source of howl, as 'Wooden'. Will need direct observation to further understand.'

Sounds of snarling, growling, and barking filled his sensors, accompanied by the occasional whimper of fear, likely from 'Applejack'.

'Intense barking and growling accompanied with snarling, indicating intense anger and tension, possibly due to either hunger or territorial instinct. Estimated around three subjects emitting sound. Similar to canine, specifically wolf sound pattern in origin, though some distortion is present.

Shockwave began to increase his speed, until his tank mode's optical scanner managed to focus in on the source of the sound... First diverting his attention to the source of the voices.

'Three biological subjects, similar to breed of Equus ferus caballus, aka the pony. Two of said equines appear around adult equine height and size, standing in front of one more teenage sized adolescent pony and possibly child of the two adults. First pony is likely a source of masculine voice, with Red mane and tail, accompanied by yellow coat of fur, and complete southern Stetson hat positioned atop it's head. Second subject is likely source of feminine voice, with orange mane and tail with lighter butter colored coat of fur. Last subject has bright orange fur and yellow mane and tail, with mane and tail braided using red ribbons. Signs of claw and bite marks on adults. Likely from hostile creatures. Subjects also seem to have been dragging behind them a small wooden cart.'

Turning his attention to the predators, Shockwave was quite surprised by their appearance.

'Three unidentified entities confirmed, similar to breed of Canis lupus, aka the Wolf. One wolf ahead of small pack, likely designated pack leader. However, various traits differentiate them from standard canines. Green eyes, and somehow an exterior formed entirely out of wood, with claws and teeth merely sharpened wood chipping. Will require subject to examine...'

Now having fully observed the situation, Shockwave had three options.

One, simply go around.

Two, watch and observe what occurs.

Three, intervene and halt predator assault.

Shockwave then did what he did best and weighed the factors. If he were to intervene, it would give himself away to the equines, but the wolves would likely be deterred by both his size and power. If he observed, he could easily gain large amounts of scientific data about the behavior of the predators, however it could be argued that intervening could provide more data, as if he intervened, he could gain more accurate and direct data on both parties. Simply going around was invalidated due to it lacking any potential to learn.

A potential factor of support for intervention was being able to leverage his assistance as a form of debt from the ponies, where their gratitude to him for saving their lives could be paid in various ways, some of which could be very beneficial. This was assuming they were willing to accept the type of demands Shockwave was likely to make. After some deliberation, Shockwave decided, as his cannon began to slowly charge up and take aim, before firing a single dark purple burst of energy towards the leader of the wooden wolf pack.

---

Bright Mac, for the first time in his life, was deathly afraid right now, but the only thing that mattered to him was protecting his daughter, as he looked to his loving wife, Pear Butter, her face full of determination telling him she felt the same way. He didn't want to risk taking his eyes off the wolves, but he could sense Applejack's immense fear as she cowered behind them. Bright mac audibly groaned at the pain he felt from the massive gash in his right leg, barely managing to stand, only sheer will allowing him to continue standing defiant.

If he was going to die, he would die standing. However, as the timberwolf leader leaped towards him and he closed his eyes ready to be struck, the most un-expected thing happened.

A bright burning ball of violet energy slammed right into the timberwolf as it shattered into thousands of tiny wooden pieces, before said pieces were burnt to ash from the intense heat of the blast. As Bright mac turned to the source, he saw an unknown object rapidly speeding down the path using it's wheels before it came to a complete stop, kicking up large amounts of dust and temporarily impeding his vision. As the dust settled, sounds akin to the grinding of steel and metal with shifting plates was heard, as a massive figure then loomed over them in the place of the original object.

As it faced the wolves, it's metallic armor was painted a dark shade of purple and chrome, it's back having massive metallic spines jutting out of it's back, as well as a large coil of some kind coming out of it's back and connecting to the massive cannon on it's arm as neon purple light flowed through it, which Bright mac assumed to be some sort of energy for the cannon, as the metal giant slowly raised it's cannon towards the wolves, who quickly whimpered in fear, before slowly backing away and finally breaking out into a full sprint back into the tree line.

As the wolves retreated, the titanic being slowly turned to face Bright mac and his family, as it stared down at them with it's singular red eye, and then spoke in a metallic and emotionless voice.

"I recommend you make haste to leave these woods before more of those... Predators arrive. Remaining in this area where you are exposed and vulnerable is highly illogical." A shiver of fear ran down Bright mac's spine, as he looked to both Pear butter and Applejack, who both shared his expression of fear, before he looked back into the beings one red eye and replied.

"Uh, ya got it, partner... And uh, what's yer name, mister..."

"Exchanging of names is irrelevant and not necessary in this situation, however you may refer to me as Shockwave. Now then, I would advise you ditch your cart, as it appears impossible to repair and would be illogical to haul it behind you while it is damaged and unusable. I theorize you should be able to vacate these woods before daybreak. Now move, to make sufficient use of your allotted time window."

Rapidly nodding and tipping his hat, Bright mac turned to his family as they quickly set off down the path, attempting to distance themselves from both the wolves and the titanic creature.

Whatever it was, it was merciful enough to pity them, and Bright mac was not going to waste his chance.

Meanwhile Shockwave watched as the little ponies ran away in fear, unable to suppress a little chuckle at their expense.

"Below average strength and combat effective, unable to stand up to these strange wooden canines..." Shockwave turned to the remains of the pack leader he had disintegrated, picking up a lone scorched branch in his servo as he analyzed it with his lone red optic.

"Once I have my lab, we shall see what illogical science spawned you, won't we?" Shockwave then stowed the lone branch in his sample containment compartment, before continuing along the path, knowing that when he reached the mountain...

He would have a long climb ahead of him.

Comments

[Fetch]

errors spotted:
going from a slow walk to a light job (jog)

If he observed, he could gain large amounts of scientific data, however it could be argued that intervening could if he intervened, he could gain more accurate and direct data.
(I can't quite make sense of this sentence)

[Fetch]

I was wondering why the Alt Universe tag. Now I see. Pre Episode 1.

[Stalin with Da Spoon]

11316012
Errors corrected, thank you for bringing them to my attention comrade.

[Skyblazer9]

Loving this story more and more after reading this chapter, keep the awesome work.

[Black--Soul]

Antro story

Well shit... But to good to pass up so far

Nice chapter!

[Black--Soul]

Shockwave then did what he did best and weighed the factors. If he were to intervene, it would give himself away to the equines, but the wolves would likely be deterred by both his size and power. If he observed, he could easily gain large amounts of scientific data about the behavior of the predators, however it could be argued that intervening could provide more date, as if he intervened, he could gain more accurate and direct data on both parties. Simply going around was invalidated due to it lacking any potential to learn.

data

"While exhanging of names is irrelevant and not nesscary in this situation, just call me... Shockwave. Now then, I would advise you ditch your cart, as it appears impossible to repair. I theorize you should be able to vacate these woods before daybreak. Now as the kids say these days... Move it, or lose it."

necessary

A good deed might give seed to something beyond calculations.
He might just lay the foundation to a bright future ahead of him. 👍