Friendship is More Than Meets the Eye

by Tumbleweed

Chapter 2

When confronted with danger, most creatures fall back to 'fight or flight' instinct. Rainbow Dash was a rare exception, in that she preferred 'fight and flight.' Or, as she liked to call it, 'air superiority.'

"RAAAAAAH!" Rainbow Dash's voice cracked as she let out her war cry. With a telltale whoosh, she flung herself madly at the metal monster menacing the other mares. She struck the grey metal hard enough to shake every bone in her body, and a deafening 'CLANG' sounded throughout the confines of the spaceship.

"What." The enormous face pulled back out of the hatch, more out of confusion than any apparent pain. "How come tiny blue thing am on me Grimlock nose?"

"Because I'm gonna beat your face in, that's why!" Rainbow Dash said. She wheeled around in the air and kicked both her hind legs right onto the stretch of gray metal between the monster's blank blue eyes. Her hooves didn't even scuff the armor, but it still got the armored dragon's attention.

"You too small to hurt me Grimlock," he rumbled

"Wanna bet?" Rainbow Dash continued to circle around Grimlock's head like a very angry hummingbird. She rapped the robot on the back of the head- and by the time he turned around to face her, she was easily able to circle around and flank him. At which point, Rainbow Dash began to taunt the metal monstrosity. Professionally.

"Lookit you!" She gloated. "Too big, too slow, too ugly, and too DUMB! Nyah nyah!"

"Me Grimlock say YOU am dummy!" Grimlock growled. While his jaws and claws weren't able to come anywhere near to Rainbow Dash, a quick flick of his tail caught her unawares, and sent her streaking through the air and into the tree canopy.

"I'm okay!" Rainbow Dash said, and thrust a hoof skyward, "this tree broke my fall!"

By this time, the ponies still inside the spaceship pulled themselves back together.

"What n' tarnation is that thing?" Applejack stared at the beast in shock. The teeth, the claws, and the tail all pointed to 'dragon,' but instead of scales, there was only slate grey metal.

"I have no idea." Twilight Sparkle said, "I think it called itself a 'Grimlock'...but I always thought those were a race of albino subterranean apes...shoot! I knew I should have brought a copy of the Monstrous Manual with me!"

"Ain't no time for researchin' anyway," Applejack said, "we'd better help Rainbow Dash 'fore she goes n' gets herself hurt!"

"I know!" Rarity said, pushing her way past the cowpony, "Let me talk to it! I have a way with dragons, you know."

"You sure do," Spike said.

"Right!" Rarity said, "Just let me turn on the charm, and-"

"ME GRIMLOCK NO LIKE TINY PONY. ME GRIMLOCK CRUSH TINY PONY!"

"On second thought, perhaps negotiating can wait."

"Looks like we're gonna have to improvise," Twilight said, glancing around, "there's got to be something in here we can use...aha!" She smiled, locking her eyes on the glowing bricks in the corner. "Applejack, do you have your lasso?"

Applejack produced the lariat from her hat. "Yeah, but I don't think it's gonna be strong 'nuff ta hogtie that big fella-"

"You won't have to! Just hold one end and give the other to Pinkie Pie. Rarity, grab one of those big glowy block things." The white unicorn obliged, and Twilight soon directed the others into position. With the two earth ponies holding the line taut, Twilight fit one of the glowing pink cubes into the middle, and pulled it back. "Right, just need to get the right trajectory, and....ha!"

Twilight released the rope, and it snapped taut like an enormous slingshot, sending the pink cube tumbling end over end in the air. It hit the metal monster's side (not that he was a hard target to hit) and exploded in orange flame. Rainbow Dash sailed upwards on the ensuing flush of hot air, and looked down at her friends in the hatch.

"Wow! That was cool! Do it again!"

"You heard her, girls. Rarity, reload!"

"On it!" Rarity levitated another cube over.

"Hnn. Me Grimlock felt that." the dragon-thing growled, and turned to face the hatch again. He thundered forward, opening its very, very large maw.

Twilight shot a glowing pink cube right into it.

This one didn't explode, however- it lodged between Grimlock's jaws. He made a brief "Whuh?" sound...and then tilted his head back. The liquid pink within the cube sloshed around and drained down Grimlock's gullet, leaving only the glowing outline of a transparent cube behind. That is, until those jaws snapped shut, and Grimlock scarfed that down as well. "Mmmm! Tasty!"

Twilight Sparkle watched the display with a mixture of fascination and horror. "That's what those cubes are for? They're food?" she paused, glancing briefly at Spike. "Though, given that the typical dragon is a geovore-"

"Twilight!" Applejack barked, "That thing's gonna eat us iffin' we ain't careful!"

"Oh!" Twilight shook her head. "Right- gimmie another food-brick thing, Rarity!"

"I'm already ahead of you." Rarity fit the cube in, and Twilight drew the slingshot back for a third time. She drug the cube down low and lobbed it in a high arc- it tumbled through the hatch, over Grimlock's head, and into the forest beyond.

"Hey! You miss!" The metal monster said, and trundled around, stomping after the flung cube. Jaws flashed, and the glowing cube disappeared quicker than the first.

"Now what?" Pinkie Pie asked, peering over the edge of the hatch. "I think he really likes those cotton candy cubes!"

"Run!" Twilight said. She grabbed Spike by the scruff of his neck and swung him up onto her back and scrambled out of the spaceship as fast as her hooves could take her. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were not far behind.

"Wait!" Spike said, tightening his fingers in Twilight's mane. "Where's Fluttershy?"

"You're right, Spike!" Rarity skidded to a halt. "We can't leave her behind! What if Fluttershy's hurt? Who knows what that big brute did to her?"

"Um. Actually. I'm right here." Fluttershy poked her head out of a tree. "Is the big scary thing gone yet?"

"Nope," Applejack said.

"Okay." Fluttershy shivered, and drew back into the underbrush. "I'm sorry. I'm a terrible lookout. I tried yelling a warning to you guys, but it was too late, and then the big metal dragon was right there! Is everypony okay?"

"Yep," said Applejack, sounding vaguely like her brother.

"I'm fine, now that you're safe, darling!" Rarity said, relieved.

"I'm good!" said Pinkie.

"Me Grimlock good too!" Branches rattled and broke as that long, toothy maw stuck its way through the trees. Rainbow Dash struggled within one of Grimlock's claws, held fast by the unyielding, otherworldly metal.

"Little help?" said the Pegasus, too embarrassed to be properly terrified.

"Everypony freeze!" Twilight whispered. "Large predators often have movement-based sight reflexes...I don't think it can see us as long as we stay still."

"Me Grimlock see you."

"So much for that theory." Twilight squeaked.

"Hnf. Here." Grimlock extended one spindly arm and dropped Rainbow Dash in front of her friends. "Take you friend and go away! Next time me Grimlock no be so nice!"

Rainbow Dash blinked, and rubbed at where the claws had gripped her moments before. "Wait, that's it? Aren't you going to try to eat us?"

"Not. Helping. Dash." Applejack dragged the blue pegasus back.

"What? Why me Grimlock do that? Him Optimus keep telling me Grimlock be nicer to little animals that no am robots." He snorted, and a wisp of yellow flame rolled briefly from his mouth. "'Sides, you am too small and too weak and too squishy! Me Grimlock could crush ALL of you, but it not worth it."

"Optimus? Who's that?" Adrenaline still pumped through Twilight's veins, but the rush was already merging with her natural, insatiable curiosity. Multiple sets of hooves reached out to pull her back, however.

"What n' tarnation are you doing?" Applejack hissed into the purple unicorn's ear.

"What we should have done earlier! We're making first contact with an extra-Equestrian race, and so it's our responsibility to learn as much as we can." She shrugged her friends hooves off, and tilted her chin up (a necessity, given Grimlock's colossal stature). "If he wanted to hurt us, he would have already- just let me talk, okay?"

"Fair enough." said Rarity. "But the moment he tries something...we're going to grab you and run away as fast as we can."

"You not know Optimus? Hn. Well, new planet." Somehow, even with his tiny arms, Grimlock managed a shrug. "Him Optimus am in charge of all Autobots. But him back on Cybertron, so that mean me Grimlock am in charge!"

"There's...more of you?" Twilight said with a wince.

"Uh huh! Well, right now only one of me Grimlock's friends am on planet. Spaceship not very big." He stood up straighter and scanned the treetops. "But friend fall out when spaceship crash. Me Grimlock need find him!"

"Is your friend like you, Grimlock?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah! Him am metal and tough like me Grimlock! Not as strong, though, but that 'cuz me Grimlock strongest there is!"

"Oh! Well, uh. We'd be happy to help you find your friend, Grimlock."

At this, more hooves dragged Twilight back into the huddle of horrified horses.

"What do you think you're doing, Twilight?" Rarity scowled. "I mean, learning is one thing, but we've got to draw the line somewhere- I mean, that...thing is a complete brute."

"That may be true," Twilight frowned, "but weren't you listening? There's ANOTHER one of him out there...and what if the other one gets to Ponyville? What if the other one's even meaner?" Twilight pushed away from her friends. "Let's just give him a chance, okay? I think we just got off to a bad start. I mean, he said it himself that he doesn't want to crush us."

"I hope you know what you're doin', Twi." Applejack said.

"So do I." Said Twilight. "Now then, Mr. Grimlock." Twilight trotted towards the tyrannosaur's toes. "We'll help you find your friend, but we'd just like you to answer a few questions."

"And not eat us," Fluttershy murmured.

"Hn." Grimlock scratched at his head. "What kind questions?"

"Ooh, I know!" Pinkie Pie raised a hoof. "I've got all kinds of questions! Like, what's your name? Where are you from? How come you're all covered in metal? Is it a suit of armor? Oooh, are you a knight! I thought knights fought dragons, not, uh...were dragons? Or are you, like, some kind of super-special Dragon-Knight guy? " Pinkie Pie bounced onto the end of Grimlock's tail, and made her way up the length of his steel spine. "But if you were a dragon knight, wouldn't you have to have a really big sword? Like, a protagonist sized sword?"

"Um." Grimlock turned his head around awkwardly to peer at the pink pony. "Me Grimlock have sword?"

"That's a start!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Me Grimlock...confused."

"Honestly, that's a pretty common response when you first meet Pinkie Pie." Twilight said. "Maybe we're not all that different after all!"

The titanium therapod turned to Twilight. "Um." he said. "Me Grimlock pretty sure us different. 'cuz me Grimlock am totally stronger and tougher and bigger than you."

"Says you!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah, sez him." Applejack bit down on Rainbow Dash's tail and yanked her back before she could start another fight. "And, since we've only now gotten him ta not wanna eat us, I s'pose we should let 'im say so, right?"

"Psh. Fiiiine. But I could totally take him!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Sure you can, sugarcube. But I'm hopin' ya won't have to."

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie continued to bounce all around (and, quite frequently, over) Grimlock. "Oh hey look!" Pinkie Pie said, and pointed to the red-faced sigil in the center of Grimlock's chest. "He's got a cutie mark! Sort of."

"Wait," Rarity said, "I thought only Ponies had cutie marks? Or at least, you know, other equines? Besides, it's in the wrong spot."

"Oh, that's okay!" Pinkie Pie said from her perch atop Grimlock's head. "I mean, he's not a pony, so it's not going to be in the same place! Why, I heard one time about some bears that all had their cutie marks on their bellies! Isn't that neat? So, Mister Dragon Knight guy, what's your cutie mark mean? See, mine's a bunch of balloons, 'cause I love to party! And it's not a party unless you have balloons. Unless you had a party, like, in a balloon. Oh! I know!" She looked down at Twilight Sparkle, "Think we could have a party on your hot air balloon thingie? I mean, it'd be kind of cramped with all six of us crammed inside, but that would be part of the fun!"

"Me Grimlock have no idea what pink pony am talking 'bout."

"That's okay, Mr. Grimlock." said Twilight, "most of the time, we don't either. Anyway...we'd better start looking for your friend, before he can do much damage- er, I mean, before he gets too damaged."

"Hnn. That best idea little horse have all day!" Grimlock nodded (causing Pinkie Pie to bobble a bit) and stomped towards the treeline. "Me Grimlock think friend am in forest!"

"Actually," Twilight Sparkle said, "if your friend's in the Everfree Forest, I think I know just who we need to see."

It took Twilight Sparkle some time to find the right trail to Zecora's hut; she was used to coming to the zebra's abode from a far different direction. She tried not to dwell too much on the thunderous footsteps of the giant metal creature following behind her.

"Okay-" Twilight said, and looked over her shoulder towards Grimlock. "Why...why don't you wait out here, Grimlock? Zecora's pretty knowledgeable about...well, everything, but I don't want to scare her. Not right away, at least."

"Hnf. Okay." Grimlock said. "Me Grimlock say hurry up! Me hate waiting." Grimlock's massive tail swung from side to side behind him, already restless from the pause.

"Don't worry," Twilight said, "we won't take long!" She walked over towards the door.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Twilight?" Applejack fell into step beside the purple unicorn, while the other ponies (and baby dragon) stayed back to keep an eye on Grimlock.

"No." Twilight said. "But the Everfree Forest is dangerous enough without a grumpy metal dragon following us around. Besides, Zecora knows everything that goes on in the forest. With her help, we'll be able to find Grimlock's friend in no time." She knocked a hoof on the door.

"And then what happens?" Applejack said. "Then we'll have two of those things to deal with."

"We'll deal with that later." Twilight said.

"Someone's here, that's for sure. I hear them knocking at your door." A voice said from within the hut.

Applejack frowned. "That weren't Zecora."

"Zecora must be having company." Twilight said. "Maybe we'll be able to get some extra help."

"Well, if this isn't a welcome sight." Zecora opened the door. "Please come in, my friend Twilight."

"Thanks, Zecora. I know you're having company, but-" she froze in her hooves as she saw Zecora's guest.

The creature was slim and bipedal, looking like some kind of long limbed primate. Instead of fur, its body was plated in scuffed orange metal. Blue optics looked out of an expressive grey faceplate- which, thankfully, happened to be smiling. The orange creature hunched over a bit, trying to avoid hitting its head on the ceiling. Twilight guessed it would've been about twice as tall as she was if it were standing up straight. There was a red sigil on it's chest too, identical to Grimlock's.

"That's the dern funniest lookin' Zebra I ever seen," Applejack said.

"Today's surprises are without end!" The orange thing chirped. "Zecora, who's your purple Friend?"

"Um. Hi." Twilight shook her head to clear it of her shock. "My name's Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?"

"Wheelie is my given name." He waved Twilight closer. "Now don't look scared, I'm really tame!"

"Y'know, I reckon ain't none of these metal critters gonna talk normal-like." Applejack whispered to Twilight.

"Quiet, Applejack." Twilight said, and gave her friend a meaningful nudge. She then turned to Zecora and Wheelie, smiling. "Well, uh, nice to meet you, Wheelie. What are you doing here?"

"I found Wheelie in a tree," Zecora said, "from a rust monster, he did flee."

"That bug set a cunning trap." Wheelie held up one arm and unwrapped a cloth tied around it. The orange metal was marred by an ugly streak of brown rust. "If it weren't for her, I'd be scrap!"

"Wow." Twilight Sparkle's eyes went wide. "You are lucky. A metal-eating rust monster would be pretty much the worst thing you could run into, wouldn't it?" she glanced over her shoulder, "We should warn Grimlock-"

"Did you just say Grimlock's here?" Wheelie sprung to his feet, eager, "That's the best news I've heard all year!"

"Yeah," Twilight Sparkle said, "he's waiting outside. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you-"

A bone-rattling roar echoed from outside, loud enough to shake the rows of bottles on Zecora's shelves.

"Aw hell," Applejack said, "Rainbow Dash must be tryin' ta pick a fight again!"

"I dunno, Applejack." Twilight Sparkle peered out the window, "I don't think that sounded like Grimlock- the roar was a little too high pitched. It sounded more like a-" the purple unicorn felt her mouth go dry as she saw a serpentine green form wind its way through the trees.

"Dragon!" Fluttershy said as she bolted through Zecora's window at Rainbow Dash like speeds. Pinkie Pie and Rarity scrabbled through the open window soon afterwards, dragging a struggling blue pegasus along with them. Spike came in last, and slammed the window shut behind him

"Agh!" Rainbow Dash kicked her legs indignantly. "Lemme go! I'm not scared of some lame-o dragon!"

"The metal one, or the scaly one?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Either!" Rainbow Dash broke free. "Or would it be neither? Or, uh...well, I bet I could take them both."

"I assure you, Dash," Rarity tried to keep her voice steady, with some degree of success, "you do not want to be out there, not with those two brutes." The other ponies crowded around Zecora's windows and peered outside, where Grimlock and a green dragon even bigger than he was circled around each other, wary.

"Don't worry, it's alright!" Wheelie said. "Grimlock's sure to win this fight!"

"Wow." Pinkie Pie looked over at the orange metal monkey-thing. "That's the weirdest zebra I've ever seen."

"That's what I said!" said Applejack.

"I'll make introductions later." Twilight rushed over towards the door. "Right now, we've got to think of a way to help Grimlock so nopony gets hurt!"

"I'm telling you, help's not needed!" Wheelie sat casually upon a large, iron-banded trunk. "Listen well- my words should be heeded."

Before Twilight could argue any further, the two titans outside began their battle.

The green dragon bellowed a hateful challenge to Grimlock, and spat a stream of hellish flame at the creature that dared to step into its territory.

Fire licked over Grimlock's grey armor, and the dinobot looked down at himself. "Hnf. That best you do?" he said. "Maybe me Grimlock need show you how burn stuff!" Grimlock opened his jaws, and a column of flame roiled out, striking the green dragon dead center. The ponies watching from the theoretical safety of Zecora's hut shielded their eyes against the heat.

"No way!" Spike climbed onto Twilight's back for a better look. "That dragon's still standing!"

"Makes sense." Twilight said. "Dragonscale is known for its fire resistance, and the bigger and older a dragon is, the tougher it'll be."

"So someday I'll be that fireproof?"

"Let's talk about that later, Spike." Twilight shot the baby dragon a meaningful Look, and then returned her attention to the melee outside.

With both combatants' flame weapons out of play, the fight became a purely physical one. The green dragon launched itself into the air with a few beats of its wings and lunged at Grimlock. He snapped his razor-edged jaws at the dragon, but the green beast was able to fly out of the way just in time. The dragon wheeled around for another pass, slamming Grimlock hard enough to make him stagger, and then soaring out of the way before the mechanical monster could sink claws or teeth home.

"Oh man, Grimlock's screwed," Rainbow Dash said, "there's no way he can win against someone who's got wings!"

"'cuz that did ya a lotta good." Applejack said.

"I know!" Rainbow Dash beat her wings a few times and peered out the window. "I mean, he didn't eat me, and he's like a jillion times bigger than me. If he's fighting a guy who's the same size as he is, and has wings? Game over man! Game over!"

"Are you listening, or are you thick?" Wheelie frowned. "'Cause Grimlock's got another trick!"

"Somepony tell that zebra to shut it!" Rainbow Dash said without taking her eyes from the brawl outside.

"Um. I'm not sure if zebra's the right word." Fluttershy murmured.

Before anyone could tell Rainbow Dash how wrong she was, the dragon swooped down for a third attack on Grimlock. Grimlock turned, calmly staring down the diving beast-

At the last moment, Grimlock transformed.

Like the pieces of some enormous puzzle, Grimlock's form split, folded, and re-arranged itself entirely within seconds. Grimlock took the form of a hulking, solidly-built biped.

The dragon's eyes went wide in surprise, and it tried to halt its dive with a few beats of its wings, but it was too late. Grimlock smashed the dragon out of the air with a coal black fist. The green beast screeched in pain and bounced off the ground, but Grimlock kept up his relentless assault, raining blow after savage blow on the writhing dragon.

Grimlock reached forward and caught the dragon by the neck, holding it effortlessly at arm's length with one arm. He reached back with his other hand, and drew a glowing red sword the size of a barn door from behind his back. The dinobot twirled the sword into a downward-pointing grip and raised it high for a killing blow.

"Grimlock stop!" Twilight Sparkle said as she rushed out of Zecora's hut, "don't kill it!"

"Huh?" Grimlock turned his featureless faceplate towards the little unicorn. "Why not? Stupid monster try hurt me Grimlock, so me Grimlock destroy!"

"Er, did it hurt you, Grimlock?"

"Nope! Me Grimlock too strong!"

"And...did it hurt any of my friends?" Twilight looked over her shoulder at Zecora's hut, where five ponies, a zebra, a baby dragon, and a...whatever Wheelie was watched.

"Uh." Grimlock shrugged. "No? Me Grimlock wasn't paying much attention."

"And you," she pointed to the stricken dragon. "Have you learned your lesson, not to bother giant metal things or the ponies that hang out with them sometimes?"

The green dragon managed a nod, then spit out a few of its teeth.

"I thought so." Twilight tilted her head upwards. "So Grimlock...why don't you just let the dragon go? Didn't your friend Optimus tell you to be nice to smaller, weaker creatures?"

"Hnf. Probably." Grimlock grumbled, but still lowered his sword. He released the dragon, and the beast immediately flapped its wings as fast as it could, fleeing like a startled bird. "Him was too squishy for fun fight anyway."

Slowly, Twilight's friends crept out from their hiding places. "Is it over?" Fluttershy squeaked. "It was just so scary, I couldn't watch."

"Be glad Twilight was able to talk this brute down, or else things would get a bit...messier." Rarity shuddered at the thought.

"Grimlock, yay!" Wheelie pushed his way past the ponies and rushed over to the larger mechanoid. "We've made lots of new friends today!"

"Wheelie!" Grimlock crouched down and offered his free hand to the orange one. Wheelie immediately clambered up the length of Grimlock's arm and perched comfortably on his shoulder. "Me Grimlock glad you okay."

"I'm hardly even shook. You know I'm tougher than I look!" Wheelie beamed.

"So..." Rarity began, and pulled Twilight aside. "We've helped him find his friend, so that means we can go home now, yes? Lesson learned, letters sent, and all that?"

"Not yet, Rarity." Twilight shook her head, and waved the rest of her friends over. "But you're right about the letter. I should've sent one earlier, but I never had the chance. Spike, go get a pen and some paper, and fill Princess Celestia in."

"Got it!" Spike rushed off into Zecora's hut.

"Paper and pen, he will bring." The zebra said, "But I'll make sure he doesn't break anything." She trotted off after the baby dragon.

"Now then...I know Grimlock and Wheelie are kind of...odd, but this is Equestria's first contact with otherworldly aliens, so it's our responsibility to make sure it goes well." She paused, then looked over at the furrow in the earth the dragon made when Grimlock slammed it to the ground. "Or, uh...at least not-terribly. I don't think it's a good idea to leave them alone in the Everfree forest."

"Why?" Pinkie Pie said. "Didn't you see that? Grimlock can take care of himself!"

"It's not Grimlock she's worried about." Fluttershy mumbled. "It's the rest of the animals! Who knows what kind of damage he'll do on his own?"

"Exactly, Fluttershy." Twilight stroked at her chin. "But it's not like we can take Grimlock into Ponyville. He'd cause too much of a panic. What we need is someplace far enough from Ponyville, but still without any other giant monsters to deal with. Preferably somewhere with a large building or something we could hide him in..." She trailed off.

"Aw hell, why's everybody lookin' at me?" Applejack took a step backwards.

"I'm sorry, Applejack- but it's the only way!" said Twilight.

"Fine, fine...but we're gonna haveta get my family outta there, first. Maybe Granny Smith can go n' visit Apple Strudle or somethin'."

"Of course!" Rarity said, "and I'll have my sister invite Applebloom over for a sleepover-"

"And Big MacIntosh can crash at my place, right?" Rainbow Dash chimed in, entirely too loudly. Five ponies (and a zebra) stared at her, silent. "Oh, wait." Rainbow Dash said. "No wings, right. Well, Twilight, you just need to do that spell thing on his hooves, and-"

"Big Mac can take care of hisself." Applejack said, and continued to glare at Rainbow Dash.

"Oh." Rainbow Dash cringed, just slightly. "Alright."

"'sides, I told you 'bout my brother n' the mailpony."

"I just thought he wrote a lot of letters!" Rainbow Dash said.

"GIRLS." Twilight glared at Applejack and Rainbow Dash both. "Stay focused. The last thing we need right now is to get sidetracked."

"Twilight!" Spike ran out of Zecora's hut, clutching a scroll. "Princess Celestia sent you a letter! It's got the special seal on it!"

"You mean..." Twilight gasped, and her eyes went wide. "The one with the gold wax?"

Spike nodded.

"Well, you'd better give it here, Spike." Twilight levitated the scroll in front of her, and, taking a deep breath, she broke the seal.

"Oh," Twilight said, very quietly, "oh no." She read the short letter a second, then a third time, just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" asked Pinkie Pie.

Twilight lowered the scroll and shared a worried glance with her friends.

"Princess Celestia wants to meet Grimlock."

Comments

[nemryn]

Those are Morlocks you're thinking of, Twi. Not Grimlocks.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

So, who's the friend? Also, great first meeting there. Dash, no. This isn't Starscream here. this is the guy that beats Starscream up while mostly standing around.

[Squeaky Toy]

184589 eeeeeeyup!

I was actually a bit sad this was G1 Grimlock. Every other version is actually smart, just hidden under his brutish exterior.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

184637 Thanks. Although seasons one and two were more brutish than stupid, IMHO. He only really got dumb in season three.

[Agai_Lazen]

184637

You obviously haven't seen this episode.

[Cabooceratops]

Dumb Grimlock is pretty great, his badassification in recent series is kinda lame, if you ask me.

[Cabooceratops]

185430

Oh and I guess in Marvel too. Still.

[LadyMoondancer]

Man, I love this story! You've done such a great job of keeping the ponies (and Grimlock) in character and pacing their first interactions, not just tossing in an abrupt "Welp, here's the Autobot and here's the ponies--oh, now they are best friends in the third paragraph of the first chapter!" I can't wait to see where this is going!

[wanderingbishop]

184040 No no, it's grimlocks - they're from D&D, subterreanean race of blind humanoids.

[Liquid Squid]

But who's the friend? Is it Kup? Rodimus Prime? Springer? Another Dinobot?

I cannot wait for more.

[Bronyzilla]

Oh Grimlock, you'll always be my favorite transformer.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

185430 Grimlock was always a badass, just not always very intelligent outside of combat. 184637 They're ALL G1 Grimlock and even the cartoon one was smart when he focused.

Wheelie and Zecora? Oh HELL yes. Somebody actually did it, and for this I am happy.

[JetstreamGW]

As man this was so promising... Then he-who-must-not-be-named joined the cast. Damn orange rhyming jackass...

[theanonymousbrony]

How come Rainbow Dash's legs didn't break the moment she kicked all that metal?

[SpyketheRAWRCat]

this can only end in disaster oh boy

[Shadowshame]

4684457
Umm if you mean that as in the only male transformer to sound like a girl then I guess thats right but there is in fact female transformers such as RC who in transformers prime us a bike

[Redwolf777sg]

"Game over man! Game over!"