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Chapter One: Crashing: Bad2,955 words
Chapter Two: New Places, New Faces2,259 words
Chapter Three: Crusaders and Explosives1,887 words
Chapter Four: Meet the Family1,796 words
Chapter Five: Introductions and Interruptions2,347 words
Chapter Six: Confrontation2,723 words
Chapter Seven: Disharmony2,190 words
Chapter Eight: Explanations1,444 words
Chapter Nine: Joke's on Who?1,810 words
Chapter Ten: I'm Not Laughing2,950 words
Chapter Eleven: Skybreaker and Royalty2,173 words
Chapter Twelve: The Royal Treatment3,077 words
Chapter Thirteen: Crusaders and Communications3,681 words
Chapter Fourteen: Cutie Marks and Race Courses3,558 words
Chapter Fifteen: Discourse on Energon2,709 words
Chapter Sixteen: Bug Brain2,806 words
Chapter Seventeen: Deadly Discoveries3,105 words
Chapter Eighteen: Hidden Strength3,214 words
Chapter Nineteen: Changing Perspectives3,200 words
Chapter Twenty: Landfall4,075 words
Chapter Twenty-One: Snowblind2,178 words
Chapter Twenty-Two: Secrets2,747 words
Chapter Twenty-Three: Ancient Legacy2,743 words
Chapter Twenty-Four: Findings3,045 words
Chapter Twenty-Five: Wake-Up Call2,638 words
Chapter Twenty-Six: Breakout3,363 words
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Brawl2,256 words
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Crusaders and Killers3,112 words
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Six Feet Under2,743 words
Chapter Thirty: Clouds on the Horizon2,015 words

Chapter Fifteen: Discourse on Energon

Chapter fifteen: Discourse on Energon

The cannon fired, and both pegasi rocketed forward, quickly disappearing from view. Applejack let out a low whistle.

"Wow. I've never seen anypony manage to keep up with Rainbow Dash before. Ya'll think he can keep that speed for the entire race?" She looked to Dark Lance for an answer. He was sitting, and thought for a moment before answering.

"That depends on whether or not he takes it seriously. He has a tendency to get over-confident when he does well, but if he doesn't start getting lax in his flying, he should be able to win. I guess we'll find out when they get back." The other members of the group made their own predictions, and Burnout started up a conversation with Bunker.

"So you found out how magic on this planet works, right?" Bunker nodded.

"Yes. The bodies of these ponies are capable of absorbing Energon radiation. The horns of unicorns and alicorns allow them to directly harness it." He was about to continue before Applejack interrupted.

"Now hold on a second. Ya'll are sayin' that the same thing that makes you guys work, gives us magic? Yer kiddin', right?"

"No. In fact, I'll even prove it to you." He opened his head and pulled out his tool bag, causing Fluttershy to faint as Spike nearly vomited, and the others gave him looks of revulsion, except Pinkie Pie, who cocked her head, wondering why he didn't just use the dimension holes that were everywhere.(Surely a transforming robot from space could see them, right?) He rolled his eyes in response. "Is everyone going to do that every time I need to carry something around?" Without missing a beat, they all answered together.

"Yes." Bunker sighed and shook his head, before returning to the task at hand.

"Anyway.... Applejack, come here for a moment." She stepped up to him as he pulled a rather plain-looking device out of the bag. "I'm curious as to whether the Energon absorption is unique to unicorns. I would actually like to get readings from all of you, if that's alright." The present ponies debated for a moment, but none of them were able to come up with any reason not to. While they were talking, Fluttershy recovered from unconsciousness. They finally turned back toward Bunker, and nodded in agreement. He activated the device, and it emitted a small whine. The end lit up green for a moment, and the device beeped once. He then turned to Burnout, and the same thing happened. Once it finished, he turned it around so the others could see. On the screen was a small image of Burnout, with different colors in various areas.

"Alright. So, this is Burnout's reading. The different colors are as follows: Green is insignificant, blue is unthreatening, yellow is low-speed buildup, and red is high-speed buildup. This also only measures the radiation, not the Energon itself. You can see that the highest radiation level is in the center of her body, near her spark. Even there, though, it only reaches yellow, and except for the parts directly adjacent to her spark chamber, it's all green." There were nods of understanding, and Bunker turned the device back to face himself. As he did so, they were momentarily distracted by Rainbow Dash, then Skybreaker taking short stops right next to them to deposit their collected flags after the first lap. "Well, that was fast. Anyway," he pushed a couple of buttons. "Here's the scan from Applejack." He turned the device towards them again, and there was a collective gasp.

The entire image was yellow and red. Most of the red was in her legs, but there was quite a bit through the rest of her body as well. Applejack blinked a couple times, then looked at Bunker.

"Yer tellin' me I have more of this Energon in me than she does?" Her face at this point was a mix of amazement and fear, and her voice was the same.

"No. If this were pure Energon, you would probably be dead. This is just the radiation given off by the raw material. As expected, though, you have less than Twilight does. The fact that most of it is in your legs is what I find intriguing. I would guess that you subconsciously direct the radiation into your hooves and leg muscles, giving you greater strength and endurance. I'll have to test it at some point to be sure, though. Anyway, let's move on. Rarity?" She walked up to him, and he repeated the procedure. Again, the entire image was yellow and red. This time, however, most of the radiation was near her horn and hooves.

"So what does this picture mean?" She asked.

"The same thing as Twilight's. Most of the radiation is centered around your horn, due to your magical capabilities. Most of the radiation is used there, so your horn has natural buildup. I have a hypothesis about why your hooves also turn up red, but I'd like to get a scan of Fluttershy first, if she doesn't mind." They looked to her, and she squeaked a little as she hid behind her mane.

"Um, no... That would be alright, I guess... As long as it doesn't hurt, anyway." Bunker nodded his assurance, and she stepped forward. He once again repeated the procedure, but when his scanner beeped this time, he raised an eyebrow.

"Well that's interesting. I honestly don't know what to make of this." The others gave him curious looks, and he turned the screen to face them. "First, though: As I thought, your hooves appear to be made of similar material as a unicorn horn, so they have some amount of radiation control as well. I would guess that this allows you to use your hooves in ways that shouldn't be possible, such as grabbing and picking up objects. Also, your wings have radiation control capabilities, which probably make up a large part of your flight capacity. The part I don't understand is this." He pointed to the head of the diagram, which had red where the eyes were. "For some reason, your eyes have a high concentration of radiation. I don't suppose any of you know what this could be?" The others thought for a second, before Rarity perked up and started speaking.

"I'd care to bet it's the Stare." She said matter-of-factly. The other ponies gave sounds of agreement, but Bunker raised an eyebrow as Burnout and Dark Lance tilted their heads in curiosity.

"Care to explain that?" the white Autobot asked. Rarity turned to Twilight, knowing that she would be better suited to explaining it. Before she started, Skybreaker came to a screeching halt to drop off his flags. Just as the group was about to start wondering where Rainbow Dash was, she also came skidding to a stop in front of them before taking off in a blur from where she came.

"Huh. Skybreaker is actually winning. I honestly didn't expect that. Anyway, the Stare is something Fluttershy can do to influence other creatures. She actually used it on a cockatrice once to save the Crusaders and myself. She's able to make just about anything listen to her when she uses it." Bunker rubbed his chin in thought, and then nodded.

"That would probably explain it, then. If it's alright, though, I'd like to get a scan of it in use. Burnout, would you be willing to test this for me?" The medic nodded and stepped forward, but Fluttershy didn't seem too sure of this plan.

"A-are you sure about this? I mean, I don't think it will even work on you, and I don't want to hurt you if it does." Burnout smiled reassuringly at the pegasus.

"Don't worry. I'm sure this will work just fine. Besides, if you do manage to do anything to me, it probably won't be enough to put me in any real danger. I promise." This seemed to calm Fluttershy a bit and she nodded in agreement. Bunker pulled a new instrument out of his bag, this one with a larger screen and control surface and a larger scanner area. He fidgeted with it for a second before returning his attention to Fluttershy.

"Alright, whenever you're ready, Fluttershy. Go ahead." She nodded her understanding, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she suddenly snapped them all the way open, leaning forward slightly as she stared at Burnout. Bunker's scanner started beeping as Burnout froze, a slightly concerned expression on her face. As Bunker busied himself with the readout, Dark Lance came to Burnout's side, still unconvinced there was no danger.

"You alright, Burnout? You look worried." The medic's throat emitted a short whirring, followed by a single click. Dark Lance tilted his head as he realized what it was. "Cybertronian? We only use that when we can't use our vocal components. Bunker, what's going on? How is it possible for Fluttershy to disable Burnout's vocals?" The white Autobot pressed a couple of buttons, then studied the screen for a moment before answering.

"It would appear that Fluttershy is capable of focusing the radiation in her body through her eyes. It's a very thin ray, but it has the same effect as a stasis beam. The only difference is that the energy fluctuates slightly, allowing a certain level of control over the affected individual. This is fascinating, though. If we could figure out how to replicate this ability, we could make a nonlethal weapon capable of incapacitating almost any Decepticon we come across. This could actually end the war!" Bunker was excited now, and Dark Lance was almost reeling with the idea of seeing the war's end. Bunker nodded to Fluttershy, and she ended the Stare. Burnout blinked a few times, and wobbled slightly back and forth before finding her balance again as the pegasus turned back to Bunker.

"So, um, do you need me anymore? It's alright if you do, I'm just wondering." The scientist didn't even look up as he shook his head.

"No, I've got all the data I need. You're fine." Fluttershy visibly relaxed at this, before returning to her spot behind her friends as Pinkie Pie bounced up to Bunker.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me next! Me next!" Bunker rolled his optics, but picked up the original scanner anyway to check the pink mare's radiation. When he scanned her, though, instead of the usual high-pitched beep that was emitted for the others, the device let out a honking sound, not unlike an alarm. Bunker stared in confusion for a moment before shaking his head.

"That can't be right. Hold on a moment." He pushed a couple of buttons, then did another scan. Just like before, the device let out a low honking. Bunker made a disapproving sound, and Dark Lance came up behind him to see the screen. When he did, his optics went wide.

"What in the name of Primus?" he whispered incredulously. This got the attention of the others, who moved forward a step as Twilight asked the obvious question.

"Is something wrong?" In response, Bunker turned the screen around, receiving gasps from the ponies. Unlike the previous diagrams, this one was neither red nor yellow. It was black. Twilight was shocked to the point of stuttering. "Wh-what... What does this mean? You didn't even say it could GO black! Is she in danger? Will she be alright? What's going on?" Dark Lance stepped forward as Bunker turned the screen back around so he could study it further.

"She'll be fine. These readings are only showing what's already there. If it were dangerous to her, the effects would already be apparent. A more likely outcome is that she can do things that don't appear to make sense. Would that seem logical?" At this point, every pony there, as well as Spike, went wide-eyed before turning to Pinkie, who looked at them quizzically. Suddenly, Twilight jumped to her hooves and starting gesticulating wildly.

"That explains everything! The Pinkie Sense, the sudden appearances, the strange abilities, EVERYTHING! It finally all makes sense!" She gave a cry of joy and stood up on her hind legs before falling onto her back with a happy sound. Dark Lance waited a moment to make sure she was done before continuing.

"Anyway, what the diagram means is that she has enough Energon radiation in her body to put a full-size Autobot or Decepticon into stasis lock." Twilight got back up at this point to look at him with a curious expression.

"What do you mean, 'full-size'? You make it sound like you're smaller than normal or something." Dark Lance then remembered that he had never explained his size difference.

"Ah, yes. Twilight, do you remember when I said that we normally have vehicle-based alt-modes?" She nodded. "Well, how useful would that be in my current size?" She thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, probably not much, considering that you couldn't carry very much more than you could normally. And, you wouldn't be able to carry any of your teammates because your propulsion wouldn't have enough torque or surface area because it's too small. So, not at all, really."

"Correct. Now, with all of that in mind, why would we have evolved to be able to transform if it would only allow the individual to move faster without carrying anything else?" She put a hoof to her chin in thought for a moment, before her eyes widened and she snapped her head back up to look at the Autobot, who raised an eyebrow. "Figured it out?" She nodded.

"You aren't the same size as the rest of your species, are you?"

"No. In fact, Burnout, Bunker, and I aren't even the same size we used to be. When we first came online, we were approximately twenty times our current size." The ponies stared at him with slack jaws at that, before looking up, trying to imagine a being that large. Dark Lance chuckled at their reactions before continuing. "Obviously, we were extremely large. When we were chosen to be deep space explorers, we had to get new, smaller bodies built so that we wouldn't terrify any life forms we came across. Our original bodies are in storage underneath the spaceport, back on Cybertron. Until we find a new world to inhabit, though, they'll stay there." Twilight appeared to be about to say something before she cocked her head to the side and looked past Dark Lance.

"Is that Rainbow?" Everyone else in the group turned to look in the same direction, and they all recognized the multi-colored blur coming closer. "Why is she coming from the wrong way?" Dark Lance suddenly became uneasy as he zoomed in his optics and noticed that she was injured. He did a systems check of himself, and prepared himself for fast movement. As the pegasus neared, the others could see her ragged state, and it became apparent she was breathing heavily. They all moved towards her, and as she came within speaking distance, she landed, panting. When they were close enough, she finally caught her breath and spoke.

"Skybreaker got captured by a changeling!"

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