Disclaimer: Transformers is Hasbro's. The OCs are mine. Set.

For the 'Around the World' Challenge.

Steps in the Sand

The two Autobots were never prepared for the sight before them. They stood, gaping at the drastic change of environment they faced. It was about an hour since they left the city behind and started to trek on difficult ground.

But this, this was… eerie.

A petite woman in a grey windbreaker, astride on a bay, nodded at them.

"What do you think?"

The accented English from their guide pulled Hound out of reverie.

Elianna was the guide that was assigned to their tour in Mongolia, part of an international trip organised by the leaders of Earth countries and the Autobots. Hearing that Mongolia had some fantastic landscapes, Hound and Trailbreaker decided to visit Mongolia, though the other Autobots wondered why they wanted to travel so far to see something that was at their doorstep.

But the other Autobots were proven wrong.

For a good while, Trailbreaker and he were trekking on the cool grass of the temperate grassland, with the guide riding her horse by their side.

They did not push her when she declined her offer to sit in air-conditioned comfort.

But as she let her short black hair puff and billow as her horse galloped with grace and stride, they understood that this native of the land would not like to be enclosed in metal with recycled air blowing at her face, killing the thrill of a good ride.

She took the lead after her horse had a water break and they a good rest, and turned them southward.

There they saw the sight.

At where they stopped was where the steppes ended and the desert began.

Even if there was not much to look at on the drive, Hound and Trailbreaker exchanged in their comm. frequencies that the steppes were gorgeous, with the wildflowers in bloom and the occasional marmoset, the native rodent-mammal of the prairie, popping its fawn-coloured head out of the ground from the scattered holes on the hills they passed. The sea of natural green, violet and sienna did not end – until here.

Here, it just suddenly… died. It gave in to a harsh auburn texture of earth that covered the land for miles, as far as their optics could see.

"It's… startling, isn't it, 'Breaker?"

"I'd say. Where'd the grass go, Eli?"

"That's a long story, which I can tell you later. I hope you don't mind driving in sand, Hound and Trailbreaker."

"No worries! It'll be like that beach-sport they have – what's it called – ah yes! Dune buggy!"

"The Mini-bots sound more suited for the job than big bulky us, though, Hound."

"Or we could do some desert hiking, human style."

Hound transformed, much to the shock of Elianna's bay. The horse neighed when the jeep changed into a giant metallic being and shied away. Elianna, not startled in any manner, comforted her steed until it quietened down. When Trailbreaker transformed, it did not panic, but merely stomped its hoof in the sand with impatience.

The large black form of Trailbreaker laughed at the equine's sentiments.

"Let's trek!"

Setting out on their walk, Hound and Trailbreaker found it easy to tread on the sand. The ground shifted under their large feet, but only slightly.

"You both came at a good time. Spring, so there won't be much heat or strong winds, but expect a few gusts now and then," Elianna called out from below, her horse walking at a slow and steady pace, "and be prepared. The desert doesn't bode well at times."

The warning did not suffice for the two Autobots. They were travelling on a hill, and Trailbreaker's foot shifted uneasily in the sand and sent him sliding down its slope. Hound followed soon after, tumbling down after his friend.

Elianna went after them, her horse seeking purchase down the sandy hill to where the Autobots sat, shaking their heads and releasing sand particles from joints. Hound looked up to the worried rider.

"Sorry, Eli, just had a slip – WHOA!"

The 'hill' turned out to be a very large sand dune, easily much larger than Trailbreaker and Optimus Prime stacked on top of each other. The curved form of sand towered over them, hiding the three beings in its shadow.

Elianna laughed as she came to a halt next to the two seated figures.

She looked up, and breathed.

"Ah, the gobi gave you two something truly memorable. Take a look behind you, Autobots."

In good nature, Trailbreaker turned around – and a beautiful landscape revealed itself to him.

Before him were the hills of the desert – many dunes, similar to the one they just 'met', almost like a turbulent sea of sand that had frozen in time, the crests of the 'waves' traceable to the optic and spreading a distance from each other, far out of reach and leading further than sight allowed.

"Whoa…"

"I'm taking a hologram of this. The others would love to see this!" Hound could not hide the incredulity from his voice, much to the amusement of their guide.

"Mongolia's better known for the Gobi desert and the Steppes, two of its largest natural landscapes. However, we're in a small desert just a short way from the pastures."

"Small?" Trailbreaker echoed, "This desert looks much larger than our home city!"

"Maybe we should take our break here. Why don't you tell us what you mentioned earlier, Elianna? The thing about the desert."

"All right."

She dismounted her horse and beckoned the horse to lay itself down. It obliged, much to the amusement of Trailbreaker.

"You've got a nice horse there, Elianna."

"Thank you," she replied as she leaned against the resting creature, "She's mine, a gift from my grandfather when I turned ten. I'm twenty now, but Narantujaa is still strong."

"Na-ran-tu-jaa? What does that mean?"

"Sunbeam," she replied, as she petted the alert filly that heard its name.

Hound chuckled, "We have a friend called Sunstreaker, close enough but a different colour. A little more yellow than red."

Black slapped Green on the shoulder, "All right, all right. Enough joking. Let the nice guide here tell us a story."

Hound ceased his chatter, and Elianna started her tale.

"This was actually the same grassy plain that we've travelled through before we came here."

Hound's optics glowed, "Really?"

Elianna nodded, "And people dwelt here. This particular desert was home to a clan of Mongolians who lived here peacefully. However, as China started to expand into Mongolia, this village was threatened to move out or else they would be 'forcibly removed'.

The villagers did not want to leave their ancestral land, so they sent their elders to the front of their village to plead on their behalf. When the Chinese soldiers came with their rifles, they shot down the elders."

She paused, and continued.

"The women and children fled, the Chinese soldiers chasing them and shooting. The Mongol men took up their arms and attacked the Chinese machine guns as well as they could, but were chased out too, losing many."

She turned and pointed out back to the dunes behind them, "There was where the final confrontation was held, at a lake. And there did they slay the last man of the tribe. A woman and a few children made it out alive, and they carved out this history on old tablets of stone and set it at their final resting place. The tribe died out, desertification took place, and an irreplaceable part of Mongolia's history was lost to the desert."

The silence that followed was palpable.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Elianna."

"Don't be, Hound. We have thrived still. Mongolia was filled with many tribes at that point in time, and we have thrived, haven't we? The city is bustling, and other tribes still exist. We're going to visit one very soon, so you can see some authentic Mongolian culture – wrestling, horse races, falcon hunting and tracking."

"Yeah, but it's a sad thing, nonetheless. Our home… well, I hope it doesn't end like that tribe," Trailbreaker said.

"I understand. It's the war, isn't it? I'm sorry to hear about it."

"Don't be," Hound gave her the biggest smile he could, "We live with it, and we're fine."

"So as long as you do your part to keep your 'tribe' alive, it will be fine," Elianna concluded.

The two Autobots and human stared back at the dunes, silently watching, as a gust from the south blew forward, tossing the sands and hurling them at the dunes, crashing like the sea spray, and setting the ocean of sand in movement.

AN: The tale of the Mongolian tribe is believed to be true, and I came to hear, or more accurately see, of this tale by a Mongolian movie and understood by its Chinese subtitles. Hooray for subtitles. I left out many details to make it not overwhelm the story, and slipped it in. And the horse's name is Mongolian, and not made up. Check Wikipedia for your proof.

And Sunstreaker may like it to be named after a horse... a red horse. Heehee!