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Prologue1,800 words
Chapter 1: A Stranger Arrives.1,755 words
Chapter 2: First Contact1,705 words
Chapter 3: Race Day2,028 words
Chapter 4: Dragonfire.2,163 words
Intermission: Dark Schemes608 words
Chapter 5: Memories3,223 words
Chapter 6: Energon2,119 words
Chapter 7: Call to Post.2,535 words
Chapter 8: Nightmares3,003 words
Intermission: Dogs of War1,308 words
Chapter 9: Code of Honor2,446 words
Chapter 10: Revelations2,415 words
Chapter 11: Lair2,747 words
Chapter 12: Darkness Rising2,112 words
Chapter 13: Broken Arrow3,691 words
Chapter 14: Prime2,278 words
Chapter 15: One Shall Rise, One Shall Fall2,364 words
Chapter 16: Changes1,885 words
Epilogue: Breaking News706 words
Voice Among the Stars260 words
Sequel: Queen of the Predacons770 words

Chapter 3: Race Day

Chapter 3

Race Day

LOCATION: Ponyville
TIME: Early Morning

As the Sun rose over the Whitetail Woods, the citizens of Ponyville began to stir. Fluttershy, having made sure none of the animals in her care would wander out onto the track, was enjoying a light breakfast before making her way to the grandstands erected in the Town Center. Rainbow Dash actually managed to get up early for once and began psyching herself up. Applejack had gotten up long before dawn, and was working hard setting up the concession stands. Rarity had planned on watching the race from her shop, so she decided to sleep in after having her sleep interrupted last night. Pinkie Pie had spent the whole night putting the finishing touches on the fruitcakes for the winners of the race, and hadn't been to bed at all.

At the Library, Spike woke up, ready to begin a new day. He had a lot of chores that needed to be done, and if he hurried he'd be able to watch the race. Opening the bedroom door, he noticed that Twilight had left him a note.

Spike:

Our quest's name is Gyvon. He will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. When you have finished your usual chores, please move the spare bed to the basement. He should have plenty of room down there.
Signed: Twilight Sparkle.

Sighing at the added work, Spike headed for the stairs. I hope he likes pancakes he thought to himself. As he walked downstairs, spike's jaw dropped in disbelief. The downstairs are was a complete mess, with books strewn all over the floor. "WHAT THE HEY?! I JUST CLEANED THAT LAST NIGHT!" yelled Spike, searching for the cause of this mess.

Sitting in the corner of the room was Twilight's guest from last night, looking up from a book. "Who are you?" he asked, having been disturbed from the copy of "101 Equestrian Myths and their Origins" he was studying. Spike, in an indignant tone, replied "The name's Spike. I'm Twilight's assistant. Now, are you the one who made this mess?" Gyvon blinked, and looked around, noticing for the first time the mess that he had made searching for an interesting book. "Oh, I am so sorry about that." he said. "Don't worry about the mess, I'll clean it up myself." Spike shook his head "No, it's my job. I'll do it." Gyvon waved his hand in a negating fashion "I insist. It's my mess, and therefore my responsibility."

Spike sighed, resigned to letting Twilight's guest clean up. "Alright you win. I have to make breakfast anyways." Spike said, admitting defeat for the moment. "Do you like pancakes?" Gyvon smiled. "Love 'em." he replied.

As Spike went into the kitchen to make breakfast, Gyvon went to work. Thanks to his Cybertronian brain, he had no problem finding where the books belonged. "Hey," Gyvon called to Spike, "ya'll have any coffee?" Spike poked his head out. "Of course. How do you take it?" he asked. "Black, no sugar." replied Gyvon. Spike nodded as he popped back into the kitchen.

Just as Gyvon re-placed the last book on the shelf and Spike had finished his cooking, Twilight Sparkle came downstairs. "Good morning, Gyvon." she said cheerfully. "'Morning Twilght." he replied. Twilight looked around. "Where's Spike?" she asked. "Don't tell me he's still asleep." Gyvon laughed and shook his head. "No, he's in the kitchen, making breakfast." As the words left his mouth, Spike reappeared, a small bit of flour still clinging to his scales. 'It's ready." he called out. "Come and get it while it's hot." Twilight and Gyvon followed Spike into the kitchen

Twilight and Gyvon followed Spike into the kitchen. There, Gyvon saw a massive stack of pancakes piled high in the center of a table. As they all sat down and served breakfast, Gyvon spoke up. "I... forgot to say thank you last night, Twilight. I appreciate everything you've done for me." Twilight looked up from her plate. "No need to thank me. I was just curious about what happened. First there was lightning with no clouds, and then you just fell out of the sky." she said while using her horn to manipulate her knife and fork. "What was that, by the way?"

"Space-bridge." replied Gyvon, digging into his plate of pancakes. "Basically, what it does, is tear open a hole in the space-time continuum, allowing someone to travel between two points near-instantaneously. Don't ask me about the details. I'm a soldier, not an quantum physicist." Twilight was intrigued. "Why would you use such a device?" she asked. Gyvon had finished his pancake and was pouring a cup of coffee by this point. "Didn't have much of a choice. It was either take the bridge or die in a fire." he said, noticing Twilight's confused look at this statement. Gyvon began telling Twilight the story about how he had arrived. The way they had tracked Galvatron, to when the trap on the Decepticon ship had been sprung, and how he was forced to make a jump to an unknown location in the galaxy. Gyvon left out a few details, such as the fact that Galvatron and his unit were non-biologic organisms. There would be plenty of time to tell her the full truth later. He took another sip of coffee as he finished the story.

"Well, I'm glad that you managed to survive." said Twilight. "You're more than welcome to stay here as long as you want." Gyvon smiled and finished his coffee. "As long as I have access to this fine brew, I'm not complaining." Just then, there came a loud crash from the other room. Twilight quickly got up to go see what it was. She saw that one of her windows was broken, and sprawled on the floor was the culprit, Rainbow Dash, having muffed yet another landing. "What the heck are you doing here, Rainbow Dash? Don't you have a race today?" asked Twilight. Rainbow Dash looked sheepishly up at Twilight and said "Eh, I've got plenty of time. Fluttershy told me you've got a strange creature visiting and I wanted to see for myself."

Gyvon, having been listening from the doorway, walked around the corner, visibly annoyed. "I thought you said that Fluttershy wouldn't tell anyone!" Twilight was taken aback by his sudden outburst. "I thought so too. Oh, I hope she isn't spreading rumors. That's so unlike her!" Rainbow Dash picked herself up off the floor. "Don't worry. She only said anything because I mentioned Pinkie Sense." She looked over towards where Gyvon was standing. "So you're what set Pinkie Pie's radar off. What are you anyways?" Rainbow asked, with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Human." replied Gyvon. "Or, rather, I used to be." Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were confused by that statement. "What do you mean 'used to be'?" asked Twilight. "It's... a long story." replied Gyvon, turning away with a pained look on his face. "I'll explain the details later. I'd rather only tell the story once." After a few moments, he turned back, a smile on his face. "Name's Gyvon, by the way." he said. "Rainbow Dash. Pleased to meet you."

"Well, I better get going" said Rainbow Dash. "Don't wanna be late for the race!" and with that, she flew out the broken window. "Are all your friends that..." Gyvon began to inquire. "Eccentric?" finished Twilight. "I was gonna say 'nuts' but eccentric works." Twilight laughed. "Yeah, they all have their quirks." Just then, there came a ringing of ten bells from the clock tower. "Oh, look at the time. I need to go save my seat at the race." Twilight said, and looked up at her guest. "If you want to watch, you can see the whole race course from the balcony."

"Sounds like a good idea. I've got some studying to do in the meantime." replied Gyvon. With that, Twilight turned and walked out, heading for the town center.

LOCATION: Ponyville Town Center.
TIME: Just before noon.

The Town Center was bustling with activity. Ponies from all over Equestria had shown up for the inaugural running of the "Fruitcake 500". Twilight headed for the grandstands, searching for Fluttershy. As she passed by the concession stalls, she saw Applejack busily selling various snacks to the assembled crowd. "Hi Applejack!" called out Twilight. "Howdy Twilight!" responded Applejack, having finished serving a spiky maned stallion with an hourglass cutie mark. "How ya doin'?" she asked. Twilight moved towards the stand, taking care not to cut in front of the line. "I've been fine. Are you busy after the race? There's someone staying at my place that I want you to meet." Applejack looked away from the pony that she was serving. "I'll see what I can do, sugarcube. I don't know how long I'll be cleaning up after the race, though."

"Alright, Applejack. Just try to be quick. He's very interested in meeting everypony." Twilight said. "Speaking of which, have you seen Pinkie Pie?" As if on cue, there came a loud snoring from behind the counter. Twilight peeked over, and saw Pinkie Pie sleeping on the ground. "She's been like that since she showed up." said Applejack. "I don't think she got a wink of sleep last night." Twilight couldn't help but smile. "Well, when she wakes up, tell her to come by the Library after the race. See you later, Applejack."

"Later, Twilight" called Applejack as Twilight left. On her way to find Fluttershy, Twilight caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a massive pile of Fruitcakes. Next to the stack was Pinkie Pie's party cannon. I wonder why Pinkie brought THAT, thought Twilight. In the distance, she saw Fluttershy sitting in the only empty section of the grandstands. Calling out to her, Twilight made her way to where Fluttershy was sitting.

LOCATION: Library Balcony
TIME: Noon

"Hurry up, Spike. It looks like the race is about to start!" called Gyvon down the stairs. "Hold your horses!" replied Spike. "I've got a lot of snacks to carry." As he said it, there came an amplified voice from the Town Center. "Hello, race fans! I am proud to welcome you to the first running of the Fruitcake 500! I'm your announcer, Darrell Coltrip." As Spike finally made it up to the balcony, in the distance, Gyvon could see a shaggy maned stallion with a checkered flag cutie mark speaking into a megaphone.

"Today's race is about to begin! All racers report to the starting line." There appeared to be thirty racers, all of them Pegasi. Gyvon could make out Rainbow Dash's distinct multicolored mane near the front of the starting grid.

"Racers, Are you ready?" said the announcer. There was a cheer from the assembled pegasi. "Fans, ARE YOU READY!" The assembled crowd exploded in cheers, both from the grandstands and the viewers lining the rest of the track.

"Racers, on your marks!" The racers assembled in formation. "Get set!" All of the pegasi tensed up, waiting for the command to go. It would never come.

ROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!

Everyone, Gyvon, the racers, and the fans all looked up in fear, only to see a great, black dragon, descending on the assembled crowds, aiming for an easy meal.

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