Till All Are None
-CHAPTER XXIX: TILL ALL ARE NONE-
"One shall stand..."
"One shall fall."
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When Twilight first heard Optimus say those exact words, she couldn’t believe her ears.
“No…the portal is going to destroy the planet…including us.” Optimus Prime muttered, even his blue optics showing obvious signs of fear and worry.
Twilight didn’t know what to think. So she just said the first word that came to mind.
“WHAT?!”
Turns out she wasn’t the only one who said that. Several Autobots gasped, taking several steps away from the portal. Her friends, along with the crystal ponies began to murmur and shake in fear. Other ponies screamed.
Perceptor stepped forward passed Optimus. He looked towards the Decepticon scientist. They both shared a brief moment with one another. Scientist to scientist.
“Is there any way we can prevent the portal from inflicting damage on this planet?” Perceptor asked the purple Cyclops.
Shockwave thought for a brief second. He shook his head. “No. The portal will not stop until all Cybertronian life is vanquished and eradicated from this pony world. The only true way to stop it…is…” He stopped there and turned towards his master, even his purple eye showing signs of worry.
Megatron stood there, confused for a few moments before he finally understood Shockwave’s blight. He may not have remembered all that has transpired over the previous days, but he certainly got the vibe of what was actually going on around him at that point in time. He shook his head quickly, snarling in apprehension.
“Shockwave! Do you really think any of us, besides the Autobots, would do something so foolish?! And for what?! Those wretched equines?!” He bellowed with his anger now focused on Prime as he began to speak.
“W-what’s he talking about, Optimus?” Fluttershy quietly asked just loud enough for the Autobot leader to hear.
The six mares turned their heads towards Prime, waiting for an answer. Optimus Prime closed his optics and lowered his head. The dreaded silence returned, which was the last thing Optimus wanted. He lifted up his head until it was facing upwards towards the sky.
“You all must understand,” Prime began, not to his fellow Autobots…but to the equines, “There is no victory without sacrifice. Like Shockwave explained, the Space Bridge portal will not stop until we are erased from your planet…for good.”
They finally understood. Twilight and her friends gasped. The violet unicorn approached Prime until she was right under his feet. Gently pressing a hoof against his giant foot, fresh tears began to burn in Twilight’s eyes. She began to speak.
“…Optimus…please…there has to be a-another way. You can’t do this.” She begged, closing her eyes to let the tears fall. Optimus bent down and stroked the top of her head. Twilight opened her eyes and found herself lost in Prime’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, there is no other way. All of us,” Prime motioned his other hand towards the Autobots and Decepticons, “we have to do what is absolutely right. For the sake of this planet and the survival of the Equestrian race….we are going to enter the portal…to close it.”
That was the last thing Megatron wanted to hear.
“Prime,” Megatron shouted, grabbing the attention of everything around him, “I should’ve known you would give up your life so recklessly for these insects! NOT US! The Decepticons will never sacrifice anything for these ponies!”
Optimus stood back up while Twilight backed away, standing next to her friends instead.
Megatron continued with all eyes focused on him. “Your constant beliefs of peace and prosperity will prove to be your downfall! You are the plague, I am the cure! This! This moment right here will finally prove who is stronger! Autobots, who have soiled the lands of Cybertron and turned it into the wasteland it now is, or the Decepticons, who will save the race of all Cybertronians by sucking this planet dry of energy! This day it all ends, Prime, for you and your Autobots!”
Megatron pulled out his long sword, slashing at the air in front of him to prove what a threat he was. The Decepticons mimicked his moves but with firearms. The air was now filled with the cocking of weapons, only from the Decepticons.
“Autobots, prepare for battle.” Optimus sternly ordered, whipping out his own long sword to rival that of even Megatron’s. “Clear the streets! Get the civilians out of here!”
Once that order was given, Ultra Magnus got in front of the crowd of crystal ponies and shouted, “Each of you, get to your own housings and stay there! Get out of here NOW!” He motioned his hand away from the battle that was soon to commence.
In a panicked rush, the crowd of crystal ponies quickly fled the scene with Ultra Magnus motioning them away from the battle. In a matter of very tense minutes, the large crowd of crystal ponies was gone…the only equines there being the six Elements of Harmony. They stood their ground, be it fear or bravery that pledged them to do this, something told them that they needed to watch this.
With the crystal ponies gone and the streets cleared, Optimus Prime glared at the Decepticon army, his own army by his side. Ratchet, Ironhide, Warpath, Perceptor, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Blaster, Jetfire, the Aerialbots, Arcee, Ultra Magnus, Kup, Springer, Blurr, and Hot Rod had their weapons at the ready. Swords, blasters, shotguns, every weapon of size and scale were held in their grasps. Grimlock growled.
Megatron and his Decepticon army were almost like opposite mirrors to the Autobots. Onslaught, Brawl, Swindle, Vortex, Blast Off, Motormaster, Dragstrip, Wildrider, Breakdown, Dead End, Barricade, Sharpshot, Hardshell, Kickback, Shockwave, Soundwave, Ramjet, Thrust, Dirge, Thundercracker, Starscream, and Skywarp stood with their weapons at the ready, their faces set in stone. Megatron growled.
Twenty-one Autobots….twenty-three Decepticons.
The lightning broke across the skies.
The two leaders glared each other down.
The ponies watched in awe.
The skies were infected with lightning and thunder.
The end…has begun.
All hell broke loose in a matter of seconds.
Bullets and missiles rained through the air as both armies charged each other. The bullets bounced off everybody’s army, causing little damage to their chests and legs. Rockets soared for their intended targets, knocking a few Autobots and Decepticons on their backs. Optimus Prime and Megatron cared not for the bullets scratching their armor, they cared not for the missiles flying right passed their heads, they only cared for the devastation they could bring to one another.
When the two factions collided, Optimus jumped in the air and brought his sword down on Megatron. The Decepticon leader reared downwards with his sword and sliced up right where it connected to Prime’s chest.
Once the two armies were all fist and sword, the two leaders flew away from the battle and had their own little skirmish in the far ends of the streets.
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-IDENTITY: CONFIRMED-
TELETRAAN RECOGNIZES ORION PAX – ERERERERERER – OPTIMUS PRIME
I did what I must…as we all do.
When Megatron used his sword and his strength combined it pushed both of us back and away from the battle at hand. We flew back and landed many yards into the far ends of the street, farther away than where the others were battling. I pushed Megatron off of me.
Once we were both standing and well, we had this short moment. Our optics locked, our swords gripped, our distance but a few feet apart. We were studying each other, figuring out who would strike first and when. A sudden clash of thunder and lightning brought my head right to see the space portal growing bigger with each passing second. It wouldn’t be long now.
“No one can stop me!” Megatron shouted, lunging towards me.
I blocked his melee shots at first, but he counterattacked by swiping lower. His blade grazed my leg, sending a helpful of Energon to splatter across the crystal ground.
“Worthless! You are by far the most irritant of all Primes I have crushed over the years! Your spark is mine!” Megatron gloated, moving on me while I was injured.
I pulled my sword up right as he brought down his, clashing both of ours in a loud cracking sound. Be it the lightning or not. Using my strength, I pushed Megatron off of me and ran forward while he backpedalled. I brought my sword forward and sliced down on Megatron's chest, sparks flew everywhere as I continued the fight.
“My spark…is my own!” I shouted in retaliation, punching Megatron across the face while he was still dazed by the sword hits.
He quickly recovered, charging with his sword raised. I did the same until we met face to face, sword to sword clashed together, our optics locked again as we pushed each other back. Megatron grunted in anger and pain as I pushed harder on him. He pushed harder back. It was now a test to see who was stronger. Autobot or Decepticon? Good or evil? Hero or villain?
When Megatron almost had me, I broke contact and pushed him off. When he was dazed, I sliced my sword right for his face. The blade struck the side of his head with a loud clank and several sparks emanating from his helmet.
He retorted back with another swing. With enough of strength I knocked his sword out of his grasp; the blade flew away and stuck itself in the side of one of the many crystal houses. Megatron looked at his hand as if he couldn’t believe what just happened.
While he was distracted I swung my sword right for his chest. The blade cracked against his skull instead, sending him backpedalling yet again towards a far crystal house. I tackled him, sprawling him until his back was against the crystal house behind him.
With his mind in a daze from the sword impacting his head, I took this time to deliver a volley of punches to his mid-section. I could only hear him grunt in pain from every devastating blow I gave him. Punching him across the face, I lifted Megatron up by his chest and slammed his body against the house, shattering it in seconds.
He looked in pain, and he should feel that way.
Grunting myself, I lifted Megatron over my head and tossed him across the battleground. I grabbed my sword that I somehow had dropped once I tackled Megatron; my hated brother did the same. He ripped his sword out of the crystal house it stuck to.
He had the moment again. Our optics locked as if we didn’t know what to do now, as if we were about to stop this aggression. But I saw the hunger in his optics. He wanted more.
But something stopped us both.
The ground shook violently, causing both of us to fall to our knees. Once we recovered back to our own two feet, Megatron and I both looked around to see small pieces of scrap and metal being sucked right off the ground and towards the air. We followed the small scrap pieces until we both saw the black hole growing dangerously close to the planet now.
The scrap pieces were from dead Decepticons.
That didn’t stop Megatron.
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-IDENTITY: CONFIRMED-
MEGATRON’S WILL IS THE FATE OF EQUESTRIA
Prime got a couple of good hits on me…but that wasn’t going to stop me.
After watching the space portal suck up what remained of my fellow Decepticon loyalists, I turned back towards Prime to see him standing there, completely immobilized and focused on the portal. Idiot.
I ran forward, my instincts telling me what to do when Prime finally saw me charging him. He swung his sword forward but I ducked under and came from behind him. I slashed my sword hard on Prime’s back, chuckling heavily as Optimus grunted in pain.
Optimus spun around and actually caught me with a sidearm across the face. I staggered back a few feet but recovered quickly right as he was about to attack again.
“Let’s finish this!” Prime shouted right as he charged at me.
“Let’s!” I finished for him, dodging his sword strikes with ease. He reared forward with weaker melee attacks, but I either blocked or dodged them. Prime looked as if he had enough and jumped in the air. I looked up to see him spin and bring his sword down.
My mind quickly played out the thoughts of how to reverse this attack. I dodged the strike, but the sudden shockwave created from Prime’s sword almost made me lose my balance. Almost. I kicked Prime across the face which caused him to drop his sword. Taking advantage of that, I sliced upwards and struck Prime against the throat. A very painful hit.
Optimus flew back and landed only a few feet away. Once he regained and got back up, I grabbed his sword and tossed it towards him. He caught the sword with ease. I wasn’t meaning to hurt him with it, I wanted a challenge.
“Your hope for this planet is as weak as the planet itself! Once the equines fall I will rebuild the Decepticon empire here over the tattered bones of the ponies!” I shouted to possibly scare Prime. I knew those equines meant a lot to him and threatening their lives would’ve done a number on him.
But it didn’t.
“Your empire resides on Cybertron, Megatron! And it has fallen just as you will today! This planet does not and will not belong to you, nor will the equines ever surrender to your tyranny! I believe in them! They will never back down!” Optimus Prime retorted, causing my anger to explode.
I screamed, charging forward with my sword raised. Prime copied my moves exactly and we impacted together. Our swords met and once again we pushed against each other to determine who was stronger.
This time…Prime faltered.
As he continued to push on me, I dug my sword and weight on him until his legs soon gave out from the pressure. I slapped his sword away with my own and punched him across the face. Prime recoiled heavily as I moved in for the kill.
I tackled as he once did to me. But instead of ramming him into a building I decided to crush him to the ground. Once he was sprawled out and defenseless, I straddled right on top of him and reared my fist up and laughed. I laughed so hard as I punched Prime across the face.
With every devastating punch I gave him, Prime’s head reared back and forth as if he was lifeless. He was soon to be any way. I continued to punch him, several sparks erupting from Prime’s forehead. Hopefully I hit something important.
Knowing he couldn’t do anything, I laughed again, “HA! HA! HA! The Matrix has chosen poorly! For even the great Optimus ‘Prime’ cannot simply defeat a gladiator from Kaon! How do you expect to protect this planet’s entire race when you cannot even protect your-!”
Optimus smacked my fist away right as I was going in for another punch. I looked at him with bewilderment until he grabbed my throat. Optimus brought his head upwards and head-butted me. I fell flat on my back with my vision in a daze.
As I slowly got back to my feet, I heard Prime talk.
“The Matrix will light our darkest hour. I have given up my life for the equines and I’m not afraid to do it again!” Optimus Prime bellowed, picking up his sword from where it laid. I did the same and soon we were stuck in our places, our optics entwined with one another’s.
A massive tremor erupted from all sides.
We both fell, me on my knees and Prime on his back. Once we recovered, I looked up to see several bodies of dead Decepticon troopers flying passed us and jetting up into the atmosphere. To my surprise, a Decepticon dropship embodied in the ground was ripped out. The massive piece of Cybertronian scrap flew upwards to where the portal waited to devour it.
The sky was filled with lightning and thunder. Hundreds of dead Decepticons flew over our heads along with a dropship or two.
I couldn’t quit now…Prime was to die this day.
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END TRANSMISSION
-IDENTITY: UNKNOWN-
Twilight and her friends watched to the bitter end.
They watched as the forces of Autobot and Decepticon clashed between one another. The most elite of both factions either duked it out fist to fist or blasted each other with their firearms. It was a terrifying fight.
Suddenly, Ultra Magnus and Onslaught’s battle fell away from the group and closer to the six mares. Onslaught reared forward with his scatter blaster and shot at Magnus, but he dodged the shot and nailed the Combaticon right in the face. Seeing this, Vortex and Brawl charged for him. Ultra Magnus got in front of the Element Bearers and fired clip after clip of his photon burst rifle at the other two Combaticons.
They were closing in and Ultra Magnus pulled out his blade.
To their surprise, both Autobot, Decepticon, and equine, a four-legged beast rammed the two Combaticons, sending both of them crashing into houses. A closer inspection saw it to be Slug, the Dinobot.
“Get out of here now,” Slug yelled with his dino head turned towards the six ponies, “Find Cliffjumper and Bumblebee! They’ll get you all to safety!”
Ultra Magnus nodded and turned his head back towards the shivering equines. “Follow me! I’ll cover you!” They all nodded, not losing any second they could use to escape. With Ultra Magnus covering them from the front, the six of them galloped or flew right behind him.
“Over here!”
Magnus looked away from the battle to see a red Autobot hiding inside a building waving towards them. It was Cliffjumper. Ultra Magnus sprinted right towards the house with the ponies hot on his trail. Twilight, however, stopped in her tracks.
A large insect had blocked her path.
“Twilight!” Her friends screamed in unison, immediately turning back to help her. But another insect, this one much fatter than the first one, cut off their route and hissed at them. The five mares backed away. Ultra Magnus turned around.
“Insecticons!” Magnus screamed, pointing his burst rifle towards the insects. Before he could even let out a bullet, another Insecticon tackled him, pushing him farther away from the endangered ponies.
Twilight continued to back away faster and faster once the large grasshopper-like insect hissed at her, hunger in its bug eyes. She screamed when it lunged for her.
“Get away from her!”
Twilight looked right to see the Dinobot Commander dash right for the Insecticon, kicking it right in the face. With one of them down, Hardshell looked back from the five other ponies. Sharpshot looked back from biting at Ultra Magnus. They hissed in unison, both lunging for the Dinobot. Grimlock prepared himself and pulled out his sword. Something caught him in the back, forcing Grimlock to rear forward right as the others attacked.
“Grimlock!” Rainbow Dash screamed.
The Dinobot had three Insecticons on him. He slashed and punched at each one but they still wouldn’t let go. Knowing the ponies were in danger if they stayed, Grimlock turned towards them while still fighting the Insecticons.
“Get…out of here…NOW! Don’t worry…about…Twilight! I’ll protect her! NOW GO!!!” Grimlock screamed, punching Sharpshot right in his pinchers. The Insecticon was dazed, allowing Grimlock to finish him off by ripping his pinchers right off his mouth.
Sharpshot screeched in pain. Grimlock knocked him off and attacked the other two still attached to him. With this battle still going on, Twilight looked passed Grimlock and on her friends, worry strewn across their faces.
She nodded, her face set in determination.
Nodding as well, the five mares turned around and galloped right for the house where Cliffjumper was. Ultra Magnus slowly got back to his feet. He watched as the ponies safely got inside the house with Cliffjumper and the others. He instantly turned back towards Grimlock and fired at the Insecticons on him.
“Hold still! I’ll get them off of you!” Magnus shouted, shooting very carefully at the Insecticons still biting his skin. Grimlock roared in pain and fell back once he lost his balance. The unicorn screamed and teleported away right when Grimlock landed where she just was.
When she reappeared, Twilight breathed in heavily.
‘Why? When will it ever end?’ She thought to herself just as the tears slowly began to grow back. A large clanging sound caught her attention.
Spinning around, Twilight Sparkle gasped. Only about a hundred feet away from her was Optimus Prime and Megatron having a battle for the ages. They both had swords, each of them slashing at each other with no remorse.
Twilight looked passed them and saw the space portal still growing. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the debris from several dead Decepticons flying right over her head and towards the portal to be destroyed. She gulped.
Slowly, Twilight Sparkle got closer to the battle taking place right in front of her. She hid behind a large piece of debris. Quickly thinking that she should stay here considering no Decepticons knew where she was and she was also well hidden, Twilight stuck her head out only slightly to see how Optimus was doing.
It wasn’t good.
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Cliffjumper motioned the five equines inside with open arms.
“Hurry! Inside now!” Cliffjumper grunted just as all five mares galloped passed him. He saw Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. Where was Twilight?
Once they all sat down, Fluttershy was the first one to gasp at the scene.
Bumblebee was sitting on a crystal stone, his breathing sounding very weak. He was clutching his throat which had a deep hole in the center of it. Energon leaked out of both his mouth and the opening in his throat. The entire room they were in was similar to the other ones except this one had no roof, lightning scattered across the skies above them. Jazz was laying his back against the far wall of the room directly next to Bumblebee.
He wasn’t moving.
Pinkie Pie rushed forward instantly, praying that Makeshift was just lying to them all along. When she got by his legs, Pinkie pressed her hooves against his shin and looked at his face expectedly. Nothing. No signs of life were present. Jazz’s visor was as dark as the life in his spark.
Accepting the fact that he was gone, Pinkie whimpered hard and pressed her forehead on Jazz’s abdomen. She cried silently for several seconds. Eventually, Applejack and Rarity came to her side to calm her down. They tried their best.
Pinkie Pie sniffled and pressed her cheek against Jazz’s limp hand, nuzzling it affectionately. Jazz did not move.
Fluttershy dashed over to Bumblebee and looked up to him. “Oh Bumblebee, are you alright?” She asked timidly, her eyes scanning Bee for any other signs of damage.
Bumblebee gurgled a few seconds and slowly shook his head. “No…” He said.
While Fluttershy tended to Bumblebee’s torn throat, Rainbow Dash turned back to face Cliffjumper, her eyes quickly softening at the scene. Cliffjumper just sat there by the opening, his face holding the definition of heartbroken. In his right hand was a long red stick. He lifted up the stick and stuck it on the tiny nub where his right leg once was.
Rainbow Dash gasped.
It was his leg.
Cliffjumper winced in pain once the leg locked in place. His hand transformed into what appeared to be a small silver pointer. Rainbow Dash saw as he pressed the pointer on his leg. To her surprise, the pointer lit up and a bright fire glowed at the end. She watched as Cliffjumper slowly repaired his leg, reattaching the severed limb until it was fully on.
Moving his leg a bit, Cliffjumper looked down to the cyan pony and gave her a sad smile. Rainbow Dash huffed and smiled back, feeling a little bit more respect towards the Autobot.
Cliffjumper stood up on his own, testing out his leg to see if it was still good to walk around in. He stumbled a bit the first time, the next time it was a hard step forward, and the last time was perfect motion. He fixed himself up pretty good.
Chuckling a bit at that, Cliffjumper looked back to Rainbow Dash. She was trying hard not to laugh. “Hey, it’s harder than it-“
He was interrupted by a hail of gunfire raining from behind.
Rainbow Dash yelped in surprise and took off. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper looked up to see the cyan mare fly right out of the opening above them and out of sight. The remaining mares gasped.
“Scrap!” Cliffjumper screamed. Rainbow Dash was now in clear sight for any Decepticon out there ready to hunt her down. He should’ve told her to stay here when he had the chance. More gunfire broke through the upper walls.
Bumblebee quickly grabbed Fluttershy and shielded her with his body once the bullets began to hit him. Cliffjumper got in front of Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. He turned back towards them and shouted, “Take cover under Jazz! I’ll take care of these ‘Cons!”
They showed obvious signs of a rush and hid well behind Jazz’s body. Cliffjumper grunted when more bullets hit his back. He dashed forward and got behind the side wall. Activating his subsonic repeater, Cliffjumper looked out from the wall and saw the Stunticons Dead End, Dragstrip, and Motormaster shooting right at him. Motormaster wielded a scrapmaker while the two others had assault rifles.
“Oh great…Stunti-goons.”
Motormaster began to reload his scrapmaker once he had hit empty. He turned towards his fellow comrades and shouted, “Move in for the kill! There are only injured Autobots in there so they can’t take you all! It’s the ponies we want!”
Cliffjumper heard several whimpers resounding from behind him, along with the roaring sound of footsteps quickly approaching from the front.
“Scrap!” Cliffjumper bellowed. The entire wall exploded and Dead End and Dragstrip piled inside. Cliffjumper, who had fallen from the explosion, quickly got back to his feet and shot away at the invading Decepticons.
Dead End was the first to attack. Replacing his right hand was a long, jagged orange blade. He charged for Cliffjumper and drove the blade right for his neck. The Autobot was quicker and kicked out Dead End’s legs. The sudden momentum created from that sent the Stunticon in the air only slightly above Cliffjumper’s head. To finish him off, Cliffjumper jumped up and brought his elbow down on Dead End’s back, sending him sprawling face-first to the hard gravel.
Dragstrip began to advance with Cliffjumper immobilized. He did a front flip with his legs twirling madly in the air. One of his feet smacked Cliffjumper across the face, the other foot hit him square in the chest, sending Cliffjumper into the far wall.
Rarity screamed.
The Stunticon brought his gaze over to the other half of the room. There laid an injured yellow Autobot with something quivering in his grasp. The other Autobot was dead…and behind him were the target ponies, three of the six Elements of Harmony.
“There you are.” Dragstrip growled as he slowly approached the three equines. He whipped out a long yellow blade, much like Dead End’s. Applejack looked back and forth, her emerald eyes locating a quick exit.
She tapped Rarity’s shoulder and quietly shouted, “Look! There’s an exit! Let’s make a run for it while we still can!”
Rarity was going to intervene but Dragstrip was now directly above them, his shadow covering them in darkness. Applejack had made her decision and booked it out of there. Dragstrip looked over to see the orange mare duck under a small gap in the far wall, quickly making her escape.
Mentally cursing, Dragstrip looked back at the only two ponies that were too afraid to run. But before he could take another step closer to them a blurry figure rose from behind his head.
He couldn’t react to the looks of shock on the ponies’ faces. Dragstrip felt a sharp pain from behind him and looked down to see his abdomen ripped open, a red blade right in the center. The blurry figure reappeared right behind Dragstrip, revealing it to be Cliffjumper.
In one swift move, Cliffjumper screamed and used his strength to toss the Stunticon as far away from the ponies as possible. Once Dragstrip had hit the far wall and slipped into unconsciousness, Cliffjumper breathed out and turned back towards the only two ponies. Rarity and Pinkie.
He bent down to them and asked, “Where’s Applejack?”
Rarity was about to answer. Instead, she screamed and pointed her hoof when something big came from behind Cliffjumper. The Autobot quickly spun around to meet the end of Motormaster’s scrapmaker pointed at his face. Motormaster grinned and revved up his chain gun.
Cliffjumper didn’t have enough time to fire.
But he didn’t need to.
A loud bang followed by several streams of bullets flew passed Cliffjumper’s head and impacted against Motormaster’s face. Sparks flew everywhere and Motormaster’s head jerked back like someone had just punched him. The sudden blast from the shotgun sent Motormaster on his back in a matter of seconds. The Stunticon Commander was out cold.
Cliffjumper breathed in and out. He hadn’t fired that shot…and he knew Rarity wasn’t responsible…nor was Pinkie Pie. Bumblebee was still in pain across the room….which meant…..
Cliffjumper slowly turned his head back. He saw the two mares staring up in amazement. He saw blue Energon leaking out from Jazz’s exterior. But best of all…he saw the red Autobot symbol flickering on Jazz’s chest, accompanied by the scatter blaster shotgun pointed right passed his nose.
He wanted to laugh. But all he did was smile. He smiled for what felt like the first time in many, many years. Cliffjumper knew Jazz couldn’t be taken out that easily.
Jazz breathed in.
And he breathed out.
“You can’t kill me.” He muttered.
"You can't kill me."
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Rainbow Dash zoomed through the air, panic running rampant through her mind.
Her first thoughts were to get the hay out of there as quickly as possible. Now she realized what a mistake she had made and tried to find a way back. But it was already too late.
Rainbow glanced upwards, her magenta eyes growing wider when she caught view of the black hole. It had to be the size of Luna’s moon on a summer’s night. The outer rims of the black hole were spinning with such raw intensity that Rainbow Dash almost didn’t catch the massive battle unfolding below her.
She looked down from where she was hovering in place. The battle with the Autobots and Decepticons was still in full-swing. She could see Grimlock and the rest of the Dinobots arrive to the scene, the Combaticons merging into Bruticus, and Tartarus itself arising in its wakening.
Something caught her eye.
Something small...and orange.
“Applejack?” Rainbow Dash muttered in shock. Behind her, racing at super-sonic speed, were three jets. The leader of them chuckled when he got a lock-on on the cyan Pegasus.
“Burn, Rainbow Dash. Burn before Starscream.”
He fired.
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Applejack dodged visions of Autobot and Decepticon titans racing passed her vision.
Running straight out into the battle was a stupid idea from the start, but she didn’t know it at the start. Fresh tears flowed passed her eyes when she finally realized she had just abandoned Rarity and Pinkie to let that Decepticon finish them off.
She stopped.
Applejack turned her head back and glared back at the house she was in only moments ago. She pushed her hat forward, a grim look of determination frozen on her face. She started off at a slow trot before it exploded into galloping. She galloped right back for the house. She galloped to stop that Decepticon from hurting her friends at all costs.
Autobots and Decepticons battled over her, either as dark shadows or bright flames from the explosions pouncing off their chests. Applejack only kept her focus forward; her galloping increasing to a speed she never thought was possible. The adrenaline flowing through her veins with the thought of her closest friends dying at the hands of an alien only increased her speed even more.
A giant foot landed right in front of her.
Applejack didn’t have time to evade, unless she wanted broken ribs. The farm pony tried to stop but eventually ran face-first into the massive foot, hard.
With her mind in a daze, Applejack fell on her back with her eyes landing on the red visor above her. She tasted blood trickling down her nose. The blurry vision focused and only Soundwave stood before her.
Soundwave made a deep frequency noise and pointed his Techvolt at the injured mare.
Suddenly, a black fist impacted Soundwave’s jaw, sending the Communications Officer flying over several other Autobot or Decepticons heads. Applejack turned her head over to see a familiar face smile down at her.
“Miss me?” Ironhide said.
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-IDENTITY: CONFIRMED-
OPTIMUS, YOU ARE THE LAST HOPE
Megatron made his advantage…and I deflected it.
With each powerful blast he sent my way I dodged it to the best of my abilities. Megatron was in his vehicle mode several feet away me. After he continued to rain upon more blasts, I finally began to lose focus.
“The Autobots…will never…stop!” I shouted to possibly anger him, and hopefully to make him stop this aggression. Megatron transformed back into robot mode. Wielding his sword, he charged me and soon we were at it again.
I slashed upwards and managed to knock him off balance. He recovered quickly and smacked me across the face. Dazed, I shook my head and stood my ground. To my surprise I looked up to see Megatron hovering a few feet above my head. Holding his sword right out in front of him, Megatron created a whirlwind affect and moved towards me, the deadly blade getting closer.
I backed off until Megatron had enough. He soon found out that this wasn’t going to work in his favor. Once he had his two feet on solid ground again I moved in on him while he was getting back up. I jumped.
Megatron looked up and quickly moved out of the way. My blade impacted the ground where he was but a few seconds ago. Ripping it out, I swung my sword right for Megatron’s head to my left. I felt another hard surface and found it to be Megatron’s sword protecting him.
We pushed against each other yet again. Our strengths were put to the test to see if I could pull it off again and injure Megatron, hopefully more this time. Megatron growled in anger as I began to push down on him, but he retaliated and doubled his strength. I fell back with him right over me, laughing.
I had to make this quick.
I jumped out of the way, causing Megatron to fall forward. Bringing up my knee, it collided hard against Megatron’s forehead, sending the Decepticon leader back several feet. When he was injured I charged to finish him off. But he was ready for me.
Before I could slash at him, Megatron punched me cleanly across the face. While I was dazed, I looked up to see Megatron holding his sword directly over his head to finish me off for good. I jammed my fist into his gut.
Megatron fell backwards and I took quick advantage of the moment. I threw me sword. The blade impaled itself directly in Megatron’s leg, causing him to bellow in pain. I rushed him and punched my brother across the helmet. When he was beyond hurt, I ripped my blade out of his leg and booted him right in the chest.
I watched as Megatron fell back but quickly regained his stance, I as well. Another explosion rocked the grounds we stood upon. I looked up to see Megatron in the position I was in: on the ground.
Once we both stood up again neither of us attacked each other just yet. We were both entwined with the environment around us: Megatron confused, and I terrified.
Without warning, the larger pieces of deceased Decepticon soldiers flew over our heads, all of them being sucked towards the portal as if it was a gigantic magnet. Dropships were ripped out of the grounds they morphed with once they had crashed; all of them were thrust into the black hole. I looked down at my sword and saw it quivering, wanting to be released from my grasp. It wouldn’t be long now.
The portal was to grow so strong it would suck each of us off the planet.
To an unknown fate.
____________________
-IDENTITY: CONFIRMED-
HOW MAY I SERVE YOU, LORD MEGATRON?
Prime never stood a chance from the very beginning.
We both watched as the space portal began to devour what remained of my disciples. If only I knew how they would’ve gotten here. Victory would’ve been a certain thing if I was to lead them.
I was beginning to feel strange. My body began to lift off the ground. I knew what was happening. Stamping my feet on the ground and focusing all my weight to the lower portion of my body I held my ground, knowing that the portal was trying to suck me into its vacant darkness.
Never….never again.
Prime rushed me, but I was ready this time. He did something very similar to what I have done: a whirlwind attack. Using his sword, Prime charged forward while his upper half span out of control. I dodged to the right, shifting the balance back to my feet so I didn’t trip up and fly into the portal.
“WHY WON’T YOU DIE?!” I screamed. My anger had reached an entirely new level. Optimus Prime wouldn’t falter, he wouldn’t surrender! His constant beliefs and hope for these ponies must’ve fueled him with a power I never thought would be possible.
“Give up, Megatron! You caused enough turmoil on this planet!” Optimus responded.
“Never,” I shouted, “this is just the beginning, Prime!”
I lunged at Prime, but he counterattacked with a quick dodge and a jab with his right hook. He punched me in the back of the head, causing the throttling migraine to grow only more intense. I grunted in anger, spinning around quickly and activating my riot cannon.
Prime wasn’t ready for that and I shot him.
The ball of energy collided against his chest, causing Optimus to take several steps back. He touched his chest and found a large hole where the blast had hit. I had almost laughed at the expression on his face.
When he was distracted, I lunged again and this time it worked. Blasted! Almost worked!
I drove my blade intended to go straight through his chest. But Prime thrust his blade upwards and knocked mine away from his chest at the last second. He reared with his left hand and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards him. With my balance off, Optimus tossed me right in front of him, at the same time he stole my sword.
Sneaky little cuss.
I reared around but didn’t have enough time to react when Prime drove my blade into my own abdomen, the entire sword going straight through. Optimus had that look of triumph on his face when he saw me in pain. I’ll teach him some manners.
Pulling him towards me, I brought my fist towards him and pounded Prime’s face in. The sword dug in even deeper through my chest, which was the last thing I wanted. I repeatedly smacked Prime against his face over and over again, but he wouldn’t let go. Having enough of this I activated my riot cannon again and aimed right under his chest.
Optimus flew back once the blast had hit him in the opening on his chest yet again. Getting the willpower, I grabbed my own sword and ripped it out myself, the pain quickly subsiding.
“I’ve had it with you!”
Another tremor.
This one was by far the strongest out of all of them combined. I fell flat on my back and Prime on his chest once this earthquake crashed through the grounds. Once it passed, we both got up to observe the portal again.
It was undeniably close now. Starships began to rise out of ground and fly for the black hole from its intense gravitational pull. I was still surprised at how we remained on solid ground.
“Look at what you’ve done, Prime!” I shouted as he turned his head away from the portal and onto me.
“What are you talking about?!" He questioned, “This is all your doing, Megatron! Your armies have invaded this planet! You single-handedly brought about the darkest hour this planet will ever face! And you’re blaming ME for this?! I thought you made of sterner stuff, Megatron!”
As another tremor came and passed, this one smaller than the others, I approached the last Prime and shouted, “I am made of the most powerful substance this galaxy has ever known! And it has only taken you this long to figure that out! I am not some simple Cybertronian gladiator, Prime! I am Megatronus! I am Megatron!”
At that instant, lightning clashed and decimated the grounds between us, followed by the constant shaking coming from our rights. We both turned that way, my optics growing wide with surprise to see a massive piece of dead Cybertronian metal fly up into the air.
I recognized the anomaly instantly….
….Trypticon.
The massive Decepticon titan flew right over our heads, its dark shadow enveloping over all of us. His lifeless form took flight from the pull of the vortex and soon dissolved into the darkness of the portal.
He was gone.
Trypticon was gone….just like that.
At that moment when Trypticon vanished…I could hear a tiny gasp come from behind me.
I turned my head away from the vortex and on a small pile of rubble. A tiny purple head quickly ducked underneath it, possibly trying to hide from me. Or my gaze. I knew what it was hiding behind there…Optimus wouldn’t stand a chance now.
For how could he fight me…if I threatened the life of one he loved?
Turning back towards Prime, I grinned.
I grinned wide.
“You really think you stand a chance against the leader of the Decepticons,” I asked as I slowly began to back away from him, “We won the war for Cybertron after millions of years of conflict. Do you believe it will be just as hard on this planet, a planet full of colorful, talking, ponies?”
I could see Prime getting uneasy as I continued to back away from him. That’s exactly what I wanted.
“I swear to you this day….you will bow before me…” I muttered at him.
Optimus swung his sword at the air in front of him. He shouted, “I will never bow to a tyrant such as you!”
I knew Prime would say that.
“Not even if I did this?”
I spun around on the small piece of rubble. My grin grew wider as I reached down with my left hand and scooped up the pony that hid underneath it. When I turned around, Prime gasped in fright as I showed him what I held in my left fist.
The purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle screamed in my grasp.
____________________
END TRANSMISSION
-IDENTITY: UNKNOWN-
Cliffjumper could see the look of absolute joy in Pinkie’s face return.
It was almost like a dream. Jazz dies. He returns and saves Cliffjumper before he could get killed. And the happiness from Pinkie Pie made for one heck of a happy ending.
“JAZZ! YOU’RE ALIVE!” The party pony screamed and leaped for him. She clutched the side of his face and placed several kisses right on his cheek. Pinkie Pie was so cute when she did that, Cliffjumper thought.
Instead of embracing the pink mare, Jazz winced in pain and grunted. Pinkie Pie stopped and looked at Jazz, her eyes hurt as if she thought she had done something wrong. Jazz only shook his head and forced a smile.
“I’m still kinda hurt, Pinkie,” He wheezed, “Please get off me.”
“O-oh…sorry.” She apologized and jumped off his chest and onto the floor below him.
Cliffjumper acted fast and looked down at Jazz, kneeling to his level. Rarity, jumping out of her state of confusion, made way for Bumblebee with Fluttershy in his grasp. Bumblebee fell to his knees, his eyes growing wide along with Fluttershy’s.
“How did you-?” Fluttershy was beginning to say until Cliffjumper interrupted her.
“Does it even matter,” Cliffjumper shouted too loud, his optics softening once Fluttershy jumped in surprise. “Sorry,” He faced Jazz, “Welcome back, buddy, I knew you wouldn’t leave us just like that.”
Jazz chuckled softly and coughed hard. “I wouldn’t leave this world knowing I could’ve done better.”
Cliffjumper nodded with his smile remaining the same. Suddenly, his smile vanished and only a confused look remained on his face. Everybody bore the same amount of confusion as their eyes locked on the red Autobot.
He was floating.
No…not floating….he was being taken away.
Cliffjumper grabbed the floor and held on tight, but the powerful force grabbing his body refused to give up and pulled harder. Rarity quickly approached him, her eyes scanning over him with worry.
“Darling, what’s happening to you?!” She screamed.
Cliffjumper held onto the ground tighter until he finally looked up. His optics grew wide with horror when he spotted the Space Bridge portal handing dangerously above their heads, its massive presence growing bigger and bigger.
He knew what was happening….he didn’t want to accept it.
“The black hole is trying to suck me inside!” Cliffjumper shouted to everyone around him. Soon enough, both Jazz and Bumblebee slowly began to rise from the ground. Bumblebee shook his head quickly and stamped his feet hard.
“I gotta get outta here! We have to get away from that portal!” Bumblebee screamed and ran out of the house…with Fluttershy still in his grip.
Jazz breathed in heavily and coughed, “We can’t run away from it…it won’t stop until we’re all gone and inside of it.” He began hovering slightly above the ground. Cliffjumper would have none of it and placed his hands over Jazz’s body, pushing him down hard.
“You’re not going anywhere! We’ll get through this toget-!”
At that moment, a massive tremor shook the ground, causing Cliffjumper to lose his grip on the floor. He flew upwards like a bullet with the two ponies screaming at him.
“CLIFFJUMPER!!!” Rarity screeched in fear.
Using his last amount of strength, Jazz lifted up his fist and fired his grappling hook at Cliffjumper. The blue beam struck his left hand, holding Cliffjumper in mid-air.
“I gotcha, Cliff!” Jazz shouted. The two mares paced back and forth, both of them biting their lower lips and hoping that Jazz wouldn’t break off. They couldn’t get sucked in. They weren’t Cybertronian.
It wasn’t long before Jazz was pushed upwards by a force known as gravitational pull. Rarity quickly spun around and enveloped Jazz’s body in a light blue aura. She held Jazz’s body with all her strength, Pinkie cheering her on from behind her.
It was now a mental marathon. Rarity was holding Jazz. Jazz was holding Cliffjumper. And Cliffjumper was holding onto Jazz’s grappling hook. Rarity wouldn’t let go. If she did…they would be gone forever.
Sweat poured down her face. Rarity breathed in heavily right as her horn began to fizz out. Pinkie Pie screamed.
Rarity’s eyes popped out of her head. Her magic was depleted.
Both Jazz and Cliffjumper flew upwards, each of them screaming in unison. Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked up, their eyes stained with tears to see their friends being sucked into the black hole hanging above their heads.
They wept together.
Jazz and Cliffjumper were gone…forever.
____________________
Bumblebee raced through the sounds of pain and sorrow, a terrified pony in his grasp.
Everywhere he looked, Autobots and Decepticons no longer battled each other to the death. All of them were trying to grab something so they couldn’t be sucked into the portal. Bumblebee looked up. The Space Bridge vortex had to be at least a mile or two away from the planet.
Bumblebee looked down. Fluttershy held onto his chest for dear life.
The yellow Autobot continued to run. All around him, Autobots and Decepticons were either hanging onto the ground or were already flying away.
He already began to keep count.
Wheeljack was the first to go, he tried to run but the force of the portal denied him that. He was sucked in with little fight. Perceptor, Warpath, Sideswipe, and Slingshot were the next ones; all of them were trying to hold onto the ground. A few of the Stunticons; Breakdown, Wildrider, Dead End, and Dragstrip were gone without a fight. They all transformed into their vehicle forms and tried to drive away. It was useless.
Blaster, Air Raid, Skydive, Brawl, Motormaster, Fireflight, and Kickback were next in that order. Bumblebee had to dodge their bodies as they flew slightly over his head. He felt himself losing his balance as more and more Autobots he fought side by side with for millions of years were being sucked away. Ultra Magnus and his team were soon gone as well. All Bumblebee could do was run passed them.
He couldn’t help them.
Bumblebee shut his optics…his mind began to count the amount of guilt he felt.
‘Perceptor. Warpath. Sideswipe. Slingshot. Blaster. Air Raid. Skydive. Fireflight. Silverbolt. Ultra Magnus. Springer. Blurr. Hot Rod. Arcee. Kup. No…I’m so sorry…please forgive me.’
He opened his optics for a short second before closing them again. Every drop of sound was fading away, except for the constant clomping of his footsteps across the grounds as he tried to flee from the portal.
The three Dinobots were all in their alternate forms, each of them trying to claw at the ground for some kind of support. Grimlock was nowhere to be seen. Swoop was airborne but not for long. Soon enough, nature took its course and all three of them were gone, sucked into the portal to an unknown destination.
The Decepticons he fought for millions of years all played through his memory core. Bumblebee watched as the Combaticons all faltered against the power of the space portal. Each of them was sucked away. He counted the death ratio.
‘Breakdown. Wildrider. Dead End. Dragstrip. Brawl. Motormaster. Kickback. Ramjet. Thrust. Hardshell. Sharpshot. Dirge. Barricade. Blast Off. Swindle. Onslaught. Vortex. Primus, have mercy on their sparks.’
Bumblebee’s optics opened wide. He looked up to see Jetfire in his jet mode trying to fly away from the black hole. He was stuck in mid-flight.
“SCRAP! SCRAP! SCRAP!” Jetfire bellowed right as his engines gave out. All Bumblebee could do was watch as he disappeared from sight. Giving the portal a side-long glance, Bumblebee turned around…only to run face-first into Soundwave.
The Communications Officer was obviously struggling to hold his ground, the vortex trying with unlimited power to devour him. Soundwave stumbled forward and still tried to fight Bumblebee off.
But Bumblebee was too nimble and ducked under Soundwave’s fist. Fluttershy watched as Bumblebee transformed one of his hands into an assault rifle. He aimed and fired.
Soundwave’s body made several twitching motions once the bullets impacted his face and chest. He lost his balance and the rest of him was gone, sucked into the portal to go Primus knows where.
Transforming his hand back to normal, Bumblebee turned back around but found himself ducking again. Fluttershy squeaked loudly from the sudden maneuver. Her eyes scanned the area until they landed on a certain Decepticon she did not like.
Shockwave.
The Decepticon was clawing at the ground with his one good arm, his blaster just flying behind his back uselessly. Shockwave looked up to Bumblebee and Fluttershy; he pointed his blaster towards them. Bumblebee instantly shielded Fluttershy with his body.
He felt no pain.
“Please! Assist me! Grab my blaster and pull me forward!”
Bumblebee turned back around to see Shockwave’s blaster only a few feet away from him. He looked at Shockwave’s face for a few moments until he came to a decision.
He grabbed his blaster and pulled.
Fluttershy could only watch in Bumblebee’s other arm as the Autobot tried to save the Decepticon. It was still hopeless. Shockwave was lifted up and off the ground. Bumblebee’s grip around his blaster was quickly loosening.
“Don’t release me!” Shockwave shouted.
Bumblebee had no choice.
His grip around the blaster was broken and Shockwave was gone in a heartbeat.
Bumblebee fell back and turned around. Fluttershy fell out of his grasp and landed only a few feet from the yellow Autobot, her eyes filled with horror. Bumblebee repeatedly began to claw at the ground to find some kind of lifeline. But he couldn’t.
“BUMBLEBEE!” Fluttershy screamed.
The Autobot lost his grip and he flew.
Something stopped him. Bumblebee looked at his left hand and saw it gripped by a red one. The friendly face of Ratchet appeared, pulling hard on Bumblebee’s arm.
Ratchet pulled Bumblebee back to the ground right in front of Fluttershy. He turned towards the Autobot medic, his optics wide with surprise when he heard him speak.
“Say goodbye, Bumblebee...”
And with that said, Ratchet was pulled away as he rocketed straight for the portal above them all. Bumblebee held onto the ground as hard as he could but still felt his grip loosening. So he turned towards Fluttershy to see her long, pink mane flowing wildly passed her face.
They shared a soft moment together. Friends. Bumblebee opened and closed his optics slowly as Fluttershy did the same with her eyelashes. The timid Pegasus approached the Autobot. She placed her hoof on his cheek and sniffled loudly.
“Please…” she whimpered, “please don’t leave me again.”
All Bumblebee could do was one final thing.
He lifted up his free hand and placed a giant finger on her cheek.
“I’m never gonna leave you…I’ll be with you forever…”
Bumblebee let go.
____________________
Ironhide pushed through the lines.
Applejack quickly made her way underneath his massive legs and hid behind the largest piece of debris that Ironhide had led her to. She turned her head up back towards the Autobot.
“Ironhide! What are we gonna do?!” Applejack screamed with the thunder drowning out her voice. All around her, Autobots and Decepticons were being violently ripped off the ground and torn away from the earth, their bodies flying upwards as if gravity reversed itself.
Luckily, Ironhide caught her question and looked down at her.
“Just stay here and-AHHH!”
A massive explosion came from behind, causing the farm pony to hunch her shoulders in surprise. Ironhide was not so lucky and he was blasted back, immediately losing his balance from the explosion. Ironhide fell back, his hands trying to grab something.
“Ironhide!” Applejack screamed and approached him. She pressed her hooves against his hands and tried to pull his body toward her. It wouldn’t work no matter how hard she tried. The red Autobot continued to grunt in pain, even when Applejack was right in front of his face. “Ironhide! Get up! You can do it! Please!”
The Autobot smiled at her, his pain vanished once they locked gazes,
“It’s okay, AJ,” Ironhide quietly said as his grip loosened quickly, “it doesn’t’ hurt anymore. Be good, girl….be strong.”
He let go.
Applejack gasped when his entire body disappeared from sight…eventually falling into the center of the black hole above her head. Even with the utter confusion in her mind, Applejack knew that what he did was to protect her…to save her home and everypony she loved.
She took off her hat and placed it on her chest, a small tear falling down her face.
Ironhide had earned it.
___________________
“....aaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
A cyan blur landed with quite a loud crash in the streets of the Crystal Empire. When she finally stopped skidding, Rainbow Dash breathed in heavily, her lungs begging for air.
Scratch and burn marks were spread across her coat, showing small signs of skin underneath the burnt feathers. Blood was coated across her nose, hooves, wings, and mostly her chest. Small pieces of ash and soot remained on her coat as was the throbbing pain in her chest.
She had to of broken a couple ribs, along with her foreleg and maybe her wing. Rainbow Dash could not rely on her nose for breathing since it was now bent at an odd angle. Every time she breathed in it hurt, obvious signs of broken ribs.
Three loud crashed came from behind her.
Rainbow didn’t even turn around. Starscream landed head-first on the hard ground, his legs quickly following him to hit the crystal ground. Thundercracker and Skywarp quickly followed, Thundercracker in his jet form while Skywarp in his robot mode. Each of them made a crash-landing.
It was grueling battle from the airs. Rainbow Dash fought valiantly and somehow managed to defeat all three of them. Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp did get a couple of good hits on the pony, but Rainbow’s speed and agility were too much for the Seekers to take on.
The entire area was pretty much a graveyard now. No living things were around except for the Seekers and Rainbow Dash. Starscream forced himself up on his two feet, the pain in his body almost made him forget about the deadly vortex behind him.
“You will suffer for this, Rainbow Dash.” Starscream hissed. His once flourished armor was dented and scratched beyond repair. Energon leaked out from all possible areas on his body, mostly his mouth and head. One of his optics was cracked and his left leg was barely functional. One of his wings had fallen off.
In shorter words, Starscream got his assets handed to him.
When he was only a few feet away from Rainbow, Starscream fell to his knees, his body slowly being dragged farther and farther away from her. He looked back and saw the Space Bridge portal becoming stronger.
“NO,” Starscream bellowed and turned back towards the Pegasus. He reached forward and grabbed her hind leg, pulling both of them back now. “If I go down I’m taking you with me!”
Finally coming to her senses, Rainbow Dash turned around and tried to shake Starscream’s strong grip off. She snarled and kicked at him but he still wouldn’t let go. Rainbow turned her around and saw that if Starscream was sucked into the portal….she would too.
“GET OFF ME!” Rainbow Dash screamed and kicked him harder and harder.
Starscream smiled. He was going to die…and he would take this pony with him.
A wicked pain from his back made him lose his grip. Rainbow Dash backed away as quickly as possible and looked up to see Grimlock, his blade jabbed into Starscream’s back. Grunting, Grimlock ripped his blade out and picked up the injured Seeker. Starscream’s fears only intensified once Grimlock began to speak to him.
“Next time I crush you…stay dead!”
He reared back and chucked Starscream right towards the portal, sealing his fate for good.
Thundercracker and Skywarp quickly followed Starscream into the portal from the gravitational pull, their unconscious bodies smacking against each other as they flew higher and higher until they were both gone.
Rainbow Dash sighed, her smile growing back.
It faded.
Grimlock was being sucked in.
Instantly, the Dinobot Commander smashed his sword directly into the ground, the rest of his body flying wildly in mid-air. Rainbow Dash stepped forward to help him, to do anything to try and stop the inevitable from happening.
It was too late.
“Rainbow Dash! I can’t hold on! I…I…AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”
To her horror, Rainbow Dash stared into the vortex until she couldn’t see her friend anymore. Even if she wanted to, Rainbow couldn’t fly up and save him, her wing was broken.
She sat down hard, the tears quickly falling from her eyes. She had just saved his life…and it was for nothing. Grimlock may have changed the tide of the battle but even he wasn’t strong enough to survive this. Never in all her life had she thought anything could take down that big guy. Never. But now she knew….
He was gone…for good.
And Rainbow Dash cried for him.
____________________
“Optimus!” Twilight screamed as Megatron tightened the grip around her body.
Optimus Prime stopped dead in his tracks, his optics looking over to Twilight and back to Megatron. He clenched his fist in anger as he slowly began to approach the two.
“Not so fast!” Megatron yelled with his left fist tightening. Twilight screamed out in pain.
“STOP!” Optimus begged with both his hands forward. Megatron loosened his grip so the pony could catch a breath. Twilight looked over and gasped when Megatron’s cannon replaced his right arm, the end pointing at Optimus.
“I’ll stop if you bow down to me!” Megatron told him, the end of his cannon glowing bright.
Twilight shook her head quickly as Prime’s gaze shifted towards her. “Don’t do it, Optimus! Don’t listen to him! OW!” Megatron continued to squeeze her, threatening to break her spine.
“You have no say in the matter, insect!” Megatron roared, still squeezing.
Optimus approached again but only slightly so Megatron could hear him. His voice was hurt and very meager to see Twilight’s tear-stained face. “Megatron! Stop! Don’t hurt her anymore…. I’ll do it.”
Twilight opened her eyes once Megatron stopped crushing her. She gasped when Prime backed off and put his hands up. Megatron chuckled, his mouth formed into a toothy grin.
“There…now….stick your sword into the ground.” Megatron began, motioning his gaze towards his riot cannon pointed towards Prime. Optimus obeyed and jammed the tip of his sword into the crystal ground, lightning shocking right behind him.
With that done, Megatron smiled bigger and said, “Now…get on your hands and knees.”
Twilight was forced to watch as the leader of the Autobots fell to his knees in a defeated manner. She had never seen him like this, nor had she ever thought Optimus Prime would act like this. There was only one plausible explanation for this: he was doing it for her safety.
Once his hands hit the ground, Optimus lowered his head, his optics shut. Megatron dared not take the cannon off of him, but Twilight could still hear his laughter growing louder.
“There…was that so difficult?” Megatron asked Prime while he was bowing at his feet. Optimus lifted himself up where only his knees were touching the ground. The rest of him was facing upwards. Twilight could see a big hole on Prime’s chest, possibly from his battle with Megatron.
“I have done as you asked, Megatron,” Optimus quietly muttered, “Please stop this aggression and let her go….she is not of your concern.”
Twilight looked up to Megatron. All she saw was that wicked smile as he continued to laugh.
“Have you already not figured it out yet, Prime,” Megatron asked as the end of his cannon began to glow. “These ponies are my concern…and they always will be until I’ve killed them all.”
He fired.
Twilight screamed as the purple ball of energy flew over to Optimus Prime. It struck the exact hole that remained on his chest, a mixture of Energon and sparks flying out from the impact. Prime’s chest exploded and what remained of the Autobot leader fell backwards….dead.
Megatron laughed.
A tear fell from Twilight’s eye.
He was tricked. Optimus Prime just bowed down to Megatron in hopes that he would release Twilight. He lied…and killed him. Twilight shut her eyes and let the crying begin. The entire time she wept she could still hear Megatron laughing.
“I’VE DONE IT,” Megatron screamed, “I HAVE FINALLY DEFEATED OPTIMUS PRIME! Who can stop me now?! WHO?!?!”
Twilight opened her eyes, a rare intensity growing inside of her. She clenched her jaw with her tears disappearing. Her face no longer bore the look of sorrow; it bore the look of hatred. Her face began to burn, her mane felt as if it was on fire. The amount of rage plastered on her face told the tale that Twilight Sparkle had lost it. She was no longer the innocent unicorn from before…this was a beast…that wanted blood.
Flaring up her horn, her magic doubled with the amount of rage she felt in her heart. Megatron stopped laughing and brought his gaze down to the small unicorn clenched in his left fist. She was glowing red, a spiral of magic forming around her.
“What is this?!” Megatron screamed. She exploded in his fist.
To his great surprise, Megatron actually fell back from the force of the explosion. He felt a singing pain in his arm and looked at it. He was shocked to see his left hand completely gone, nothing but a black stump remaining, wisps of smoke trailing from the tip.
He looked from where he was lying to see Twilight Sparkle appear in front of him. She was descending to the ground in a bright fire, her tail and mane a blistering flame. Her purple coat was gone and only a bright yellow light remained. Her eyes were the worst, though. They were red...both of them glaring at the Decepticon leader with the hunger to evaporate him.
Megatron was terrified…not out of fear…but out of shock and confusion.
“I-impossible,” he shrieked, “How can you manage to inflict pain upon me?! You’re nothing but a weak, worthless pony!”
Twilight Sparkle bared her teeth, her flame-filled mane glowing bigger and brighter than before. The ground around her was enveloped by a circle of fire, her rage accommodating that. When she spoke, it was a whole other Twilight speaking.
“We are NOT worthless!” Twilight Sparkle screamed, her horn sending several bolts of electric fire on the Decepticon leader. Megatron quickly stood back up, trying ever so hard to dodge the deadly blasts that somehow hurt once they hit him. The entire time he was still wondering how this pony was hurting him. He had completely convinced himself that these creatures could not fight back, they couldn’t defend themselves. But he was wrong.
Oh, was he wrong.
The bolts did more than send several volts of electricity coursing through his circuits, it burnt him. This pony somehow managed to keep at it…and Megatron could barely do anything.
“Enough!” Megatron shouted as he charged the unicorn. Twilight Sparkle wasn’t afraid.
He pulled out his sword and jumped to where the pony was. When his sword hit the ground, however, she wasn’t there. Nothing but a dark circle remained from the intense heat this unicorn was creating from her body.
Suddenly, Megatron felt as if his entire armor began to melt. He screamed in agony when a red aura of energy was cascaded across his entire body, slowly lifting him above the ground. He was turned around to see his destroyer firsthand.
Twilight Sparkle clenched her jaw and let her magic do the work.
She repeatedly smashed Megatron against the hard gravel underneath him with her telekinesis. With each powerful smash, Megatron grunted in agony until Twilight had enough of this. She lifted his entire body over her head, ignoring his intense weight, and dropped him right on his head directly behind her.
It took a few seconds for Megatron to finally get back up, but when he did he was met with a horrific sight.
Twilight Sparkle spread her forelegs out. Her mane and tail grew into a blistering flame. Her eyes shined snowy white as her horn began to glow bright red. Megatron fired several blasts from his riot cannon at her but it did nothing, the blasts merely evaporated before they could reach her. With her horn fully charged, Twilight Sparkle unleashed the blast she kept inside of her. All of her rage and hatred she held towards Megatron was focused on that intense blast…and she cooled down.
Megatron’s optics grew wide once the bright fire hit him square in the chest, destroying it.
The Decepticon leader flew back and did a triple backflip before landing flat on his face. He didn’t move. Twilight breathed in. She breathed out. Her mane began to simmer down to its original purple color along with her tail. Her coat returned to normal color as well as her eyes.
When she finally came to, Twilight shook her head and pressed a hoof against her temple. She dragged her hoof across her face until her eyes finally caught the wreckage.
Megatron was still getting up, a large hole where his chest once remained.
“You think…you can defeat me…? This is mere child’s play…with what I dealt with over the years! YOUR HEAD IS MINE!!!” He stood back up and pointed his riot cannon right at her. Twilight’s eyes shifted to something coming from behind him, a tiny gasp escaping her lips.
He was alive.
Optimus Prime came from behind and smacked Megatron’s cannon away just in time. He still fired but it was away from the violet unicorn. Megatron recoiled and fired several more shots at Prime as he continued to attack him. Optimus dodged several more blasts. He finally got close enough to where he grabbed Megatron’s right arm. Optimus attached himself to the riot cannon and snapped it like a twig. Megatron didn’t react in time when Optimus used the shattered pieces to smash them against his face.
Megatron staggered back. Optimus still moved in on him, his path blaster and sword in tow. He fired three shots from his path blaster, each one impacting against Megatron’s head. He then moved in for the permanent kill.
All the while Twilight watched in awe, not at the battle but at what she saw. The Matrix of Leadership was completely visible from the smoldering hole in Prime’s chest. It shined brightly against the darkness Prime was dealt to face. Once again, Twilight felt a calm feeling when the Matrix’s light touched her. It was as if it was telling her that everything was going to be okay.
Megatron still swung with his right fist but he was weakened this time. Optimus dodged with no effort whatsoever. He appeared behind Megatron’s back and brought his sword back.
“Megatron….BE GONE!!!”
He drove his blade right through his brother’s back, the sword going straight through his chest. Megatron screamed in agony as Optimus dug the sword in deeper. Optimus was going to do it…he was going to kill Megatron.
“AHHHHHHHHGRAAAAAAAAGAAAAAAA!!!!!” Megatron bellowed.
Twilight gasped. Not at the battle scene in front of her…it was at what was behind them.
The Space Bridge portal.
A powerful tremor made its way through the shattered husks of the Crystal Empire, sending both Optimus prime and Megatron skidding back and closer to the unicorn. Twilight took several steps back once both leaders landed right in front of her, Optimus on her left and Megatron on her right.
With the sword out of him, Megatron looked back at the portal, his optics growing wide with terror. It was only until now did the portal break through the planet’s atmosphere. There was no escaping from it now.
“No, the portal!” Megatron screamed as his hand dug into the earth below him.
“The vortex is ripping the planet apart!” Optimus Prime shouted, his entire body being lifted off the ground. Both he and Megatron were being sucked in…and they grabbed the earth to hold on. This scene was so familiar to both of them. It brought back wretched memories. But now, both Prime and Megatron knew that this portal would not send them to an uncharted planet….they didn’t know what lied on the other side.
Seeing this, Twilight gasped and galloped for Prime. The portal would not suck her in for she wasn’t Cybertronian.
“Optimus!” Twilight screamed with her horn lighting up. She used her magic to grab Optimus’ hands, thus holding him down.
“Twilight!” Optimus shouted back once the unicorn stood right in front of him, her magic and willpower keeping him strained to the planet. “Hold on, Twilight!” Optimus shouted as the rest of his body was lifted off the ground.
Twilight opened her eyes to see the vortex behind them covering at least half the entire skylines. Lightning and high winds were covering the entire area around them. The air was filled with thousands of dead Decepticons, dropships, and starships being devoured by the black hole.
She wouldn’t let go of him.
“NOOOOO!!! I WILL NOT BE DENIED YET AGAIN!!!!!" Megatron shouted with his final words. He had lost his left hand to that wretched unicorn…he lost his grip.
Twilight Sparkle watched as Megatron was lifted off the ground. She followed his body until it was gone, sucked away into the bowls of the black hole. He was gone. Megatron was gone forever. Twilight or anypony else was never going to see him again.
But the portal just didn’t give in… It wouldn’t quit until ALL Cybertronians were eradicated.
That was the last thing Twilight wanted.
So she held on. She held on to Optimus Prime’s hands with her magic, dare not letting him go. Optimus slowly turned his head back towards the Space Bridge portal. It was massive. A loud explosion came from the center of it, signaling that Megatron had entered inside. But it wouldn’t stop.
The portal wasn’t going to stop…
Unless….
Optimus knew what to do. And if it meant what he thought it meant…then he had no choice but to accept his fate and begin anew. The hard part would have to be convincing Twilight. Making up his mind, Optimus turned his head back towards Twilight Sparkle, her face covered in sweat from holding him back and away from his fate.
It would be hopeless.
“Twilight…” Optimus spoke in almost a whisper.
Twilight shook her head, biting her lip hard. “Don’t…worry, Optimus! I won’t let go of you!”
“Twilight…”
“I won’t let go!!!”
“Twilight…”
This time she opened her eyes. Optimus Prime was hanging in mid-air with his palms pressed against the earth. Behind him, the space portal was still hanging above their heads, wanting the last of the Primes inside of it.
They both locked eye contact. Twilight’s mane flowed wildly passed her face.
Optimus was the first to speak.
“Twilight…let go.”
“Are you crazy?!” Twilight responded, her eyes drifting back towards the portal.
Optimus slowly shook his head. “I’m not. Trust me, Twilight Sparkle. The portal will not stop until it takes me with it. Let me go…I must stop the portal before it destroys your planet.”
Twilight responded with a quick shake of her head. “Never! I’m never gonna let you go, Optimus,” She closed her eyes, several tears falling down her cheeks, “I…I-I…I can’t lose you again!”
“Twilight, listen to me,” Optimus quietly said. The unicorn looked at him with big teary eyes, pleading him not to do this, begging that he doesn’t leave her a second time. Optimus didn’t want this to happen…but he had to…it was the right thing to do.
“Ask yourself this,” he began with his voice soft, “Which is more important, the entire survival of your planet’s civilization, your friends, family, everyone you’ve known and loved…...or me?”
Twilight stopped breathing.
She dropped her head low, finally realizing what Optimus Prime meant. If she didn’t let him go the portal wouldn’t stop and continue to obliterate her entire planet. Everypony would die. The Equestrian race would seize to exist. Equestria would become the second Cybertron.
But if she did let him go that would mean letting go one of the nicest, closest, bravest, and most reliable friends she had ever met for him to face his demise in that unforgiving black hole. She would never see Optimus Prime ever again. All their adventures they had together, their relationships with these Autobots, all of it would remain a mere memory for the rest of their lives.
Twilight lifted up her head again, her eyes slowly opening. Optimus was still holding against his will as Twilight’s magic held his grip down on the earth. She had felt like this before. Applejack standing over her, holding her so she wouldn’t fall off the cliff in the Everfree Forest. She told her to let go and everything will be alright. Applejack was a friend she could trust…and so was Optimus.
“Let go, Twilight. Everything will be alright. Please…I beg of you, for the survival of your planet’s race….let go…please…..let go.”
Twilight closed her eyes tight. The entire survival of the Equestrian race lied on this decision: save Optimus Prime and let the portal tear apart her home, or let him go to destroy the vortex but also destroying him in the process.
It would be selfish of her not to let go.
She breathed in…
She breathed out…
Once she opened her eyes, Optimus Prime could see the hurt and sorrow that gaze gave him. He knew what she had decided.
“I’m sorry, Optimus….I’m so sorry.”
She let go.
The magic surrounding Optimus Prime’s hands had faded away. His grip was gone and the last of the Primes flew away from the Element of Magic. Twilight Sparkle couldn’t even watch her horrid decision-making take place. Her eyes were shut tight with the tears flowing down her cheeks.
Optimus Prime flew towards the darkness of the space portal. He closed his optics when his body began to evaporate on the inside. He had reached his destination. He felt nothing.
'I'm coming home.'
____________________
Deep within the Everfree Forest, Omega Supreme began to tremble.
The Space Bridge portal was not yet finished. Not every Cybertronian had been taken away.
With his entire body being lifted upwards, Omega Supreme was like a ragdoll as his massive body was lifted out of the forest and towards the skies. The last of the Cybertronians on all of Equestria was forced into the vortex without any forms of fighting.
Omega Supreme had vanished…as did the black hole.
It shook at a violent pace. The vortex began to break apart with its victims now inside of it forever. With one final go, the portal began to shrink until it released a powerful shockwave from the essence of its core.
It vanished.
____________________
Twilight Sparkle sat down hard.
Her eyes burned, her bones ached, her stomach was tied in knots, and the wrenching feeling of guilt stabbed her in the heart, breaking it into several bite-sized pieces.
When the portal disappeared, she didn’t even smile. The decision she had made and committed had shocked her into silence, the soft sound of crying being the only noise in the quiet wasteland of the Crystal Empire.
The sun began to return.
Twilight kept her head in her hooves as she cried into it. The clouds quickly departed and the sun shined brightly, filling the Crystal Empire with life yet again. Dead and shattered pieces of crystal glimmered in the sunlight. The tattered husks and sorrowful wasteland was immediately covered by a nice warm presence as Celestia’s afternoon sun filled the empire.
The Element of Magic cried her heart out.
Soon enough, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance emerged out of the confines of either large pieces or crystal or simple houses. They all came together where the battle scene was just but a few minutes ago. They were all looking for somepony…and they found her.
“Twilight?”
The unicorn lifted up her head at last, her eyes red and puffy from the amount of tears she had shed this day. She turned her head back to see her friends, her brother, and her sister in law. She forced a small smile, relieved to know that her brother was alive.
“Twily…” Shining Armor softly said and hugged his little sister. Twilight returned the hug with little effort. Next, Cadance approached the heart-broken mare and gave her a big hug. She returned it very weakly.
Applejack took a calm step forward, the hurt in her eyes almost as similar to Twilight’s.
“Twilight? Are you okay?” She asked sincerely.
For several times before, Twilight Sparkle didn’t know. She didn’t know if she felt good or if she felt bad. She did save her entire planet’s race from extinction, the Princess would be proud of her. They managed to make the mission a success and stop King Sombra, even Queen Chrysalis had retreated back to the Badlands…hopefully forever.
But at what cost?
The cost of the Transformer’s race? The cost of every Autobot’s life? The cost of her friend….Optimus Prime?
She didn’t know if she felt good…or if she felt bad.
But Twilight did know one thing….they won.
Turning her head back towards her friends and family, Twilight Sparkle sighed heavily and faced the setting sun. Her eyes bore no emotion whatsoever, every tear had faded away from her eyelids right as she began to walk away.
And she didn’t look back.
“Come on, everypony. Let’s go home.”
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I haven't felt so much dread since the death of bumblebee in prime.
3067229 You're a pretty fast reader.
But seriously good choice of music.
The chapter should have been named till all are gone, it's the line that shattered glass Optimus Prime says
3067277 You already took that chapter title in your story.
3067302
It's a universial quote (shattered glass wise) I would not have sued
I died....again.
There's not going to be a happy ending is there?
Heroes are remembered but legends never die
3068338 Sandlot reference. LOVE IT!
3067927 There were a lot of forms of entertainment that didn't have happy endings. The Fog didn't have a happy ending. The Woman in Black had a piss poor ending. But this....this is not one of them.
3068671 How many more chapters do we have left?
3072993 There is just one chapter left. You guys gotta stick with me on this because the last chapter is pretty long.
3073069 Phew. When do you think you can get it on the site?
3073079 Hopefully Wednesday. It'd be my only day off.
3073092 Whoa.
*phew* finally made it here. This chapter was SO EPIC that I cant find a picture to express myself.
And I thought that Discord would show up fix everything.(boy was I wrong.)
3081576 Chapter 7 won't be the only chapter we see Discord in...
Such an intense chapter
I felt so moved by this chapter. It was bittersweet for Transformer and pony alike.
I feel this fits song this chapter.
And I feel this fits the saddest part at the end.
wow i gotta say lesson learned don't ever piss off twilight at all shes scary when shes like that
and YAAY SHINING ARMOR AND CADENCE ARE STILL ALIVE I THOUGHT THEY WERE DEAD BUT THEY WEREN'T I'M SO HAPPY 
Wow, that was pretty intense. The Autobots and Decepticons are gone once again, but they sure put on one amazing brawl. I was actually surprised to see Jazz was still alive, and his "You can't kill me." line was badass! Too bad it was quickly followed by his apparent death again with him being sucked in.
Though the best part was Twilight helping Optimus against Megatron. Not only did Twilight nearly decimate Megatron herself, before Optimus managed to get in some good shots himself, Megatron’s fate and ending line seemed to call back to the ending of Fall of Cybertron. Optimus telling Twilight to let him go so her friends, family, and planet could survive is exactly the kind of sacrifice Optimus would make. I am doubtful that the Transformers died though since there is still one chapter left and an entire story too.
Are the Transformers dead?
10603972
NOOOOOO!!!!
It can't be true...