MLP FIM Season 11 Episode 1-The Great Beast Wars Part 1
"The Beast Wars are over…for now," Optimus Primal declared to all who would listen, and with the transwarp sequence in place the time had come. "Let's go home."
The Autobot Shuttle lifted off from Prehistoric Earth where for the past few months, a war had taken place between the Maximals and the Predacons. Now the war was over, and the Maximals were heading back to their home planet, Cybertron.
"In the spark of an enemy," The Maximal leader spoke up, turning around towards his fellow Maximals: Rhinox, Cheetor, Rattrap, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt. "There will be salvation, and in the darkest hour there will be a light."
"Yeah, from an unexpected source," Rattrap, the Maximals' wisecracking demolitions expert declared. "Old Chopper face's clone. Who would've thunk it?"
"And let us never forget those other brave bots," Optimus continued, as the Autobot Shuttle headed farther and farther away from Earth. "Whose sacrifice safeguarded past, present and future."
"And you know what the best part is?" Rattrap finished, kicking up his legs in relaxation. "We don't have to see Mega Butt's ugly mug again 'til we get back to Cybertron." The Maximals had a prisoner tied to the top of the shuttle: the leader of the Predacons, Megatron. He was being taken to Cybertron to face justice for his crimes.
At least that was what the Maximals all thought. Fate would have different plans.
…
Running as fast as they could, Masquerade, Tirek and Romeo dashed with a group of donkey soldiers towards the site where the object had crashed in front of Darkblade's castle.
"Hey," Romeo panted, trying to keep up with the ninja and the lord. "Slow…down! I... don't have four legs…like you!"
"Too bad! Move faster, you sluggish oaf!" Sombra roared back! "Whatever that object is…it will be Darkblade's!"
Soon, all came towards a ledge where they saw smoke coming from the crash site.
"What is that?" Tirek wondered as the Storm King came up to them. "It looks like…something that lives in Equestria."
"You are correct, centaur. Your powers of observation do not deceive you," Masquerade remarked, looking over at Tirek. "But we need to examine it more to confirm."
Directing four of the soldiers to follow them, Masquerade and Tirek carefully approached the crashed object. Upon further inspection, however, they saw something that shocked even Tirek: It was an unconscious red dragon with gold wings that had holes in them, and with patches of brown and silver all over its body.
"It's a dragon!" Tirek gasped!
"I am aware it's a dragon, centaur!" Sombra coldly retorted. "Though it's no dragon I've ever seen before. Why would a dragon end up here on the moon? It doesn't make sense. Where did it really come from? Could this be…?"
"Hey, guys," Romeo called, jumping down from the ledge, and catching up to them. "Did you find…whoa?!" Taking his blaster, He lightly shot the dragon with it in an attempt to wake it up. But the creature didn't move. "What's a dragon doing up here?" He pondered, looking towards his comrades. "For that matter, why does it seem like he's made of metal? Is he a machine of some sort? I didn't think dragons had access to such advanced technology."
Gesturing several donkey soldiers to come forward, Masquerade decided that there was only thing left to be done. "Soldiers, throw a net over this creature!" He ordered them. "Our emperor will make a decision on what to do with it."
Doing as they were told, the knights through a net over the metallic dragon while Masquerade supervised. However, they couldn't pull the dragon back to the castle. "Romeo, use your Anti-Gravity Ray to assist the fools in carrying the creature." He ordered.
"Look, guys," He protested. "Why should we even bother? He…he's probably dead anyway. Besides, I only use this baby to conjure up storms and…" The impatient tapping of ninja's foot interrupted his response.
"O-okay okay, if you say so," He muttered and used the staff to lift the dragon up with ease. "There? Happy?" Masquerade nodded.
"Let's go." Tirek called, motioning for all of them to go back to the castle, while Darkblade waited for them to return with the dragon.
…
…
Standing at the front doors of his castle, Darkblade waited for his minions to bring the object in question to him. A few moments later, he saw them with the metallic dragon in the net.
"It's some sort of dragon, my emperor," Masquerade addressed as Darkblade went over to inspect the creature. Using the powers of his bell, Darkblade detected to see if there was any life in the dragon. After a few moments, he heard a faint buzzing sound deep in the dragon's chest, much to his delight. "We found him not too far from here. Though how or why he came here we don't know."
"Shall we dispose of him…my emperor?" Tirek asked. "He already doesn't look like he's in the best of shape. Why not put him out of his misery?"
"No!" Darkblade replied, stepping back from the dragon. "If anything, I detect a spirit inside this great beast…even though they may not even be a beast to begin with. Take it to the dungeons for the time being! I'll decide what to do with him when he awakens. And he will awaken."
Doing as they were told; the three members of the Legion of Doom brought the dragon down to the dungeons of Darkblade's castle.
"Why does he want us to bring this dragon to the dungeons?" Romeo muttered to Tirek. "If anything…he's probably already dead. Doesn't seem likely that he could recover from such wounds."
"You saw what Romeo did," Tirek whispered back to him. "He detected life in this creature and might have a use for him. As my pathetic excuse for a father once said, there's always more than meets the eye. No doubt that's the case with this dragon."
Approaching the dungeons, the three villains and their soldiers placed the metallic dragon in a large cell big enough to hold an army.
"Well?" Tirek asked Masquerade.
"I suppose we see what the master wants to do with him." He replied and then they all left the dungeons, leaving two soldiers to guard the dragon.
…
…
Meanwhile in Equestria, Twilight and Spike raced out of the Castle of Friendship to find the source of the loud crash they'd heard out in the distance!
"Your highness, where are you going?" A voice called, and Twilight stopped and turned to see Tempest Shadow and several of Twilight's guardsponies racing out of the castle. "Let us handle this. There's no need for you to risk yourself again so soon."
"No, Tempest," Twilight protested. "I'm going with you. No arguments! Something like this demands a response from the top, and that includes me!"
"What she said," Spike added. "So follow us and be on your guard!"
Reluctantly letting them go, Tempest and the guardsponies allowed Twilight and Spike to accompany them to the crash site. Taking to the air, Twilight and Spike could see smoke billowing from out in the distance, near the site where they fought the Legion of Doom, followed by the tips of a very large flame. The intense heat from the fire caused Twilight and Spike to stop flying and land immediately.
No sooner did Twilight land than did Rainbow Dash and Sonic arrive on the scene along with several pegasus ponies, pushing clouds filled with rain towards the crash site.
"Thank Celestia you two are here!" Twilight remarked as Rainbow Dash landed in front of her.
"Yeah, we heard the crash from all the way in Cloudsdale," Rainbow Dash commented while eyeing the smolder wreckage. "Looks pretty bad. Should we check for survivors?"
Gesturing their forces to follow them, Twilight and Spike followed Rainbow Dash and Sonic to the crash site. Already several citizens of Ponyville were gathering on the scene to try and help out in any way possible.
"Step back, all of you!" Twilight commanded. "Your concern is appreciated, but we'll handle things from here."
Standing back, the group watched as Twilight carefully lit her horn to clear away any remaining smoke. What all saw before their eyes was a large, gold spacecraft of some sort with wings. Going around to the front of the vessel, Twilight saw what appeared to be a group of animals inside the shuttle.
"Captain Tempest, have somepony bring an ax over here!" She ordered. "There are occupants trapped inside, we must get them out!"
"Yes, your highness!" Tempest replied, and a guardspony promptly brought an ax up to the shuttle. Using the ax's blade, the guardspony began to break through the windshield and Twilight peaked inside to see the group of animal occupants, all unconscious.
"Do you think they might be…?" Spike asked, looking over at Twilight who immediately shushed him when she heard what appeared to be light moaning from one of the occupants…a gorilla.
"Where's Fluttershy?!" Twilight cried out! "There are animals in here, and I think they're dying! They need medical attention, stat!"
But Fluttershy was nowhere to be found amongst the small crowd.
"I'll go and get her!" Rainbow declared! Acting fast, she zoomed her way over to Fluttershy's cottage at the edge of Ponyville.
"Big Mac," Twilight called out, gesturing the stallion to come forward. "Can you help me try and get some of these animals out? It'll be easier to treat them out here."
"Eeeyup. Hang on, princess!" Big Macintosh cried. Using his strength, he attempted to pull open the roof of the strange vessel. But it refused to budge. "I need some more ponies helpin' out! COME ON!" Heeding the stallion's call, several other ponies attempted to try and force the roof open. But even with a large group present, the heavily damaged craft's roof proved too difficult to budge.
At that moment, Rainbow Dash returned with Fluttershy to help with the rescue. "Any luck?" Rainbow asked Twilight.
"It's too crumpled up," Twilight sighed, desperation deep in her voice. Then she got an idea! "Hang on, I'm going to try and use a spell to break through this metal! Stand clear, everypony! I don't know what will happen!"
Using her magic, she cast a spell to try to get the roof open. After a few moments, she succeeded.
"Why are there animals inside?!" Fluttershy wondered with a look of horror on her face.
"We're going to need to have everypony pull them out one creature at a time!" Twilight commanded. "Let's get the gorilla out first, it'll require the most effort!"
Acting together, the ponies worked on getting the gorilla out first, followed by a large gray rat with a long pink tail which was easy to move. Then they proceeded to pull out a cheetah and a large black widow spider with eight orange legs.
Finally, they managed to pull out another creature…a rather strange looking creature to Twilight. "What is that?" She thought. "Fluttershy, do you know what that creature is?"
"I don't, Twilight," Fluttershy replied as she bent down to check the creature's pulse. "But it does have a pulse…so it must be alive, barely."
Suddenly, all began to smell a strange odor. Upon investigating, a horrible substance was found leaking from the shuttle.
"Twilight, there's gas leaking!" Spike cried! "We've got to get out of here before this thing blows sky high!"
"Wait!" Tempest cried out, looking down into the vehicle and discovering what appeared to be an unconscious rhinoceros stuck down at the bottom of the cockpit. "There's a rhino in here too! We've got to get him out!"
"Big Mac, come here! You help us as well, Bulk Biceps!" Twilight shouted, calling the two strong ponies over. Then she watched as they carefully removed the rhinoceros out of the destroyed vehicle.
"We got them!" Bulk Biceps grunted, carefully lowering the rhino onto the ground as several more guardsponies used a foaming spell to extinguish more fires emerging.
"Now what, Twilight?" Rainbow asked, walking over to her and Spike as she looked down at the injured animals.
"Take them back to the castle," Twilight ordered. "And have Dr. Fauna come right away!"
"Yes, your highness. I'll get right on it!" A guardspony replied and flew towards Ponyville to retrieve the town's only licensed veterinarian.
Looking down at the six animals they had rescued, Twilight only had one question for herself. "Who are these strange animals? And where did they come from? It couldn't be Equestria."
…
…
…
Back on the moon, it had been a full two hours since the metallic red dragon was found and there were more questions than answers amongst the Legion of Doom.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Cozy Glow gasped as she put her eyes on the dragon for the first time. "Golly!"
"This was the object that crashed here?" Inferno remarked. "Why does it look like a metallic dragon? Give me an answer to that!"
"Could it be related to that pesky dragon of Twilight's? The one whose wings I threatened to pluck?" Chrysalis asked.
"It might," Infinite commented. "If it's even from Equestria to begin with."
"Silence, all of you!" Darkblade snapped, looking sharply at his legion. "I detect that this creature is much more than a dragon, and I intend to find out what he really is. All we need to do is wake him."
This suggestion caused several of the legion to back away in shock.
"You sure about that, my lord?" Jason reluctantly asked, but Darkblade said nothing. Instead, he activated his powers inside his bewitching bell that swayed back and forth as he attempted to wake the beast before them. The rest of the legion watched nervously as his gem began to shine.
Finally, after a few moments the dragon's eyes began to open with yellow irises locked onto the legion. Growling lightly, he studied them carefully while several knight soldiers pointed their spears at the dragon.
"Welcome," Darkblade announced to the dragon. "I am Emperor Darkblade of Equestria, and this is my palace."
"Dark…blade?" The dragon asked, much to the shock of the legion!
"It...it talks?!" Cozy Glow shrieked! She tried to run away but to no avail, Tirek grabbed her legs to prevent her from fleeing.
Once again, the dragon looked around and tried once more to rise back onto his feet, but was unable to do so. "Is this…Cyber…tron?"
"What?" The Storm King asked, pointing his staff at the dragon's head. "What is this Cyber…tron you speak of, and how come I've never heard of it?! Explain yourself!"
Slightly irritated, Darkblade pulled the Storm King back and gave his full attention to the dragon. "I'll ask the questions, Storm King. So guard your tongue," He declared to his legion and then turned to the dragon. "I detect that you are not a creature of Equestria…but of a different world. Who are you?"
Groaning, the dragon slowly got to his feet and roared loudly while also breathing out fire at the ceiling. The dragon's roars caused several in the legion to cower in fear! "I…am…Megatron," The dragon declared while looking intently at Darkblade. "Leader of the Predacons, descendant of the Decepticons!"
"Descendant?" Cozy Glow nervously blinked.
Snickering, Megatron let out another loud roar!
"Megatron, Terrorize!" With the legion watching in shock and amazement, Megatron transformed from a dragon into a robot on two legs, with his dragon head on his left arm!
"Incredible!" Drake gasped while Darkblade looked up at Megatron in eager excitement!
…
Back at the Castle of Friendship, the six animals recovered from the shuttle were brought in for examination by Dr. Fauna, who had set up a make-shift hospital in the castle's lower level.
"So they were just found in a what?" Starlight Glimmer asked.
"Some kind of strange flying object," Twilight commented as she watched Dr. Fauna and Fluttershy examine each animal. "But I don't understand. Who are these animals and why are they here?"
"Maybe they escaped from a zoo or something!" Pinkie Pie spoke up. "Or maybe even from Fluttershy's animal sanctuary! You never know."
"And where…pray tell…" Rarity remarked while looking at the pink party pony. "Did we ever see a strange flying object at Fluttershy's animal sanctuary? Let alone see creatures that looked so… metallic?"
"Somethin' tells me that they might be more of those rogue changelings that forced us to free Chrysalis," Applejack suggested, looking intently at Twilight. "Perhaps you might need to use some kind of a spell to get 'em to turn back into changelings, Twilight."
Rather than answer her co-princess' question, Twilight slowly walked up to the six tables that the animals were lying on. To Twilight, there was something about these animals that left her with more questions than answers.
"Well, I'm flummoxed," Dr. Fauna, looking over at Twilight. "Are you sure these animals are from some kind of flying craft and not from a zoo? I can't seem to find anything wrong with them aside from being knocked unconscious. Though their bodies feel strangely metallic to the touch."
"No," Twilight answered as she walked up to the gorilla. "I have a hunch that these animals may not be what we think they are." She looked down at the gorilla's face and lightly activated her horn, trying to cast a detection spell to see if the gorilla was only a disguise.
"What are you doing, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, but Twilight wasn't distracted from her task at hoof. For the next few moments, Twilight kept her eyes locked on the gorilla, trying to find out who he really was. Suddenly, she began to get a strong vibration out of the gorilla soul! Sharply gasping, Twilight also began getting detections from the other animals!
First from the rat, then the cheetah, then the rhino, then the spider and finally the wolf/eagle hybrid.
"Twilight, what is it?!" Starlight cried as she came rushing over! "What's the matter?!"
Feeling a sharp pain in her ears, Twilight suddenly stepped back, causing some of her nearby friends to rush to her side!
"It's…it's the animals," The young alicorn gasped, walking back up to the gorilla. "They…they aren't who we think they are. They are…much more." Suddenly, as quickly as the ringing began in her ears, the ringing stopped. Twilight could sense life from underneath the animal forms and she was more than determined to find out who they were.
"Since when did you start developing the 'Pinkie Sense'?" Pinkie Pie wondered.
"I…I don't know, Pinkie, I don't even know if it's 'Pinkie Sense'" Twilight nervously replied. "But it's like the true soul inside the gorilla's body was talking to me. Trying to reach out to me."
"And what did the gorilla tell you?" Starlight asked. "I also have a detecting spell that I can use to see if any of the other animals are trying to communicate."
Activating her horn, Starlight attempted to discover similar findings from the other animals. She detected another vibe from the rhinoceros. Walking over to the rhino, she hovered over the creature until she finally heard a voice that only she could hear!
"What did you hear, Starlight?" Rainbow Dash asked as Starlight turned to the group. "What does it say?"
"He says…" Starlight replied. "That they all come in peace and that they call themselves…Maximals."
All Twilight and her friends could do was stare in disbelief over what was happening. As far as they were concerned, they were dealing with a possible new race that they had never heard of before.
…
…
Racing to the castle's library, Twilight attempted to find a book that would explain more of the supposed creatures residing in the basement of her castle. "There's nothing in here!" She cried, throwing another book on magical creatures onto a pile of books that she had already used. "Nothing about these so-called…maximals."
"Well, nopony or creature has ever heard of Maximals," Spike replied as he flew against a section of books. "They might be a new race or something."
"Yeah, we've sure had an influx of new creatures lately," Pinkie remarked. "Changelings, Yaks, Dragons, Griffons, Hippogriffs, you name it."
"Look, Twilight," Starlight sighed as she walked over to her former mentor. "You've already had a long day as it is, and you're about to have a long night. Why don't you get some sleep while it's still dark out?"
Sighing, Twilight accepted Starlight's suggestion and stopped her research. "It's just as well," She yawned. "Maybe after a nap, I can start to build a bigger picture. Wake me and let me know if there are any more noises from the animals."
Yawning loudly, she left the library, leaving her friends alone with the mountain of books she had left behind.
…
Back on the moon, Darkblade and the Legion of Doom stood before the caged Megatron. While some of the legion cowered before the leader of the "Predacons", He was deeply interested in getting to know him more. "Leader of the Preadcons, you say?" The old goat remarked. "So are you a powerful race?"
"We were…yes," Megatron answered. "Sadly, I am the last Predacon standing in the Beast Wars."
"The Beast Wars?" Tirek asked. "What are... the Beast Wars?"
"Our war with the Maximals," Megatron explained. "A war they haven't won yet…and they never will, nooo…"
Just then, Darkblade began to get himself an idea on how to help this potential new ally of his. "You say that your kind has been destroyed, Megatron," He remarked, placing his front right hoof on the bars of his cell. "But, I have a way to bring them back to life…all of them."
Megatron smiled in eagerness with his suggestion. "How?" He asked him. "How can you bring back my lost Predacon forces?"
Stepping back from the cage, Darkblade motioned for the knight soldiers guarding Megatron to free him. Stepping out of the cage, Megatron looked out amongst the Legion as Darkblade led him away.
"Follow me to my throne room," Darkblade laughed, looking back at Megatron. "And I will show you."
Once Megatron and Darkblade were gone, the rest of the Legion reflected on the experience.
"He seems to be a source of evil on our levels," Inferno remarked. "Still, we should keep an eye on him."
"Why would you even suggest that, hothead?" Chrysalis wonders, looking back at the fire demon. "Because he breathes fire like a normal dragon? Personally, I would entice him to join our ranks. Nothing will satisfy our goals more than to have someone as powerful as Megatron on our side. I could care less about his army. If they weren't powerful enough to survive with him, they're not worth our time."
Flying away, Chrysalis continued to picture Megatron within their ranks. To her, Megatron was possibly the ally that she was looking for to help her get back what was rightfully hers.
"She must…really like him, Tirek," Cozy Glow commented. "Maybe a little too much."
"Perhaps," Tirek replied, trying to sound quiet and out of Sombra's hearing. "But she is mine and mine alone! If that shapeshifter ever makes advances on my love…whatever power he claims to have won't be able to save him from my wrath!"
…
Approaching Darkblade's throne room, Chrysalis transformed into a donkey soldier and stood at attention while she listened to the two warlords of evil converse.
"You do have a nice throne room. Almost as good as mine." Megatron impressively remarked, looking around the throne room and taking in his new surroundings.
"It isn't as nice as my previous home," Darkblade said, turning around to look back at Megatron. "When I ruled my rightful kingdom in Equestria, the castle I had was much nicer than this abandoned one. But with enough time, I will launch my attack on that accursed Twilight Sparkle and her friends and take back what is rightfully mine!"
"Indeed," Megatron chuckled, admiring his determination. "If you don't mind my asking, how long have you been here on the moon?"
"Over a thousand years," Darkblade answered in a bitter tone. "King Cosmo and Queen Galaxia stripped me of my powers and banished me here! So I figured that if I couldn't have my kingdom, then neither would they! I kidnapped them and for over a thousand years I held them prisoner. All was going well until some pesky do gooders dared to get in my way!"
"Let me guess," Megatron guessed, catching on what was in Darkblade's mind. "The prisoners escaped?"
Rather than answering, he proceeded over towards his crystal ball and focused on helping Megatron recover his lost Predacons. However, while he was trying to help Megatron search for what he was looking for, Darkblade suddenly was looking at the six animals being treated at Twilight's castle.
"What is it?" Megatron asked, walking over to him. "WHAT?! The Maximals?! So, they managed to survive the fall after all? BLAST! Those Maximals are a stubborn bunch!"
"What are you talking about?" Darkblade inquired to Megatron.
"The Maximals were taking me back to Cybertron as a prisoner of war," Megatron answered, slamming his fist on his desk. "But then, a random explosion hit the Autobot shuttle and caused it to fall back to Earth, yesss…"
…
Meanwhile, on a planet not far from "Earth", a small group of robots were awaiting the long-awaited return of Optimus Primal and the remaining Maximals. Among those waiting were a yellow and red colored robot.
"Rodimus," A young blue and brown colored robot called, catching the yellow and red robot's attention. "We…we just lost contact with Optimus and the other Maximals!"
"Are you sure about that, Nightscream?!" Rodimus asked, a look of distress on his face. "Have you tried contacting them again?"
"There's nothing we can do to get them to respond," The young robot replied. " Megatron must have done something to the shuttle before they could get here!"
But Rodimus refused to believe the truth. "Was their transponder still on, Nightscream?"
"Yeah, but it showed the shuttle spinning wildly down back to Earth," Nightscream reported. "There's no doubt that they'll just go back to where they've been, and that's if they survive the crash."
Looking over towards a brown colored female robot with a distressed look on her face, Rodimus felt that something needed to be done. "Send a message to Ratchet and a few other willing volunteers," He ordered to Nightscream in a commanding voice. "I want to find out what happened to my brother and the rest of our comrades, understand?!"
"Okay, okay! Don't go bananas on me, Rodimus!" Backing away in shock, Nightscream did as he was told.
Meanwhile, Rodimus walked back over towards the brown colored female robot. "Is it true, Rodimus?" She asked him. "Is Optimus really…?"
"We can't be sure if he and the others are still online, Elita," Rodimus glumly told her. "But I've asked for Nightscream to get Ratchet and a few others, and we'll go out and look for them. We must have hope!"
Rodimus was just about to leave the platform, but Elita stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Wait!" She pleaded. "I'm going with you."
"It will be a dangerous journey, Elita," Rodimus cautioned, pulling his arm out of Elita's grasp. "Besides, we won't be long."
"Optimus is my husband, Rodimus! He needs me just like you need him as a brother!" Elita protested.
Not wanting to argue with his sister-in-law, Rodimus had very little choice in the matter. "All right," He sighed. "You can come. But I won't be responsible if anything were to happen to you, Elita."
With the decision standing, Elita followed Rodimus off the platform to prepare herself for the journey ahead.
…
Back in Equestria, Twilight was trying to catch on her sleep when she suddenly felt another summons in her horn.
"What's... happening?!" She cried, suddenly waking up with a start! "Why is my horn…" Feeling the force of the magic pull at her, Twilight got out of bed and proceeded to make her way down to the basement of her castle!
"Twilight, what's happening?!" Spike shouted in distress! "What's with your…?"
"-I don't know, it just started acting up!" Twilight interrupted! She began walking down the stairs to the basement just as Starlight was approaching as well. "You feeling the same thing, Starlight?"
"Yeah," Starlight added, looking back at Twilight. "It must be the animals being treated."
Soon they both found themselves back in the makeshift hospital. The energies pulled both Starlight and Twilight towards one of the animals.
"It's coming from the gorilla." Starlight whispered.
And at that very moment, both mares watched in shock as the gorilla opened his eyes, looking right at them causing Twilight and Starlight to gasp loudly. The two mares, for the first time, were about to come face to face with Optimus Primal and the rest of the Maximals.
…
…
Twilight and Starlight watched with amazement as the gorilla opened his eyes and rose up. Looking down at his hands, the gorilla sighed deeply and spoke a simple sentence: "Well, that's just prime."
Getting off the table, the gorilla approached Twilight and Starlight, his eyes locked on them.
"What's just prime?" Starlight nervously gulped. But the gorilla said nothing. "And for that matter, who are you? You're not from this world, are you?"
"And what are you?" The gorilla asked. "Are you Maximal, or Predacon?"
"Neither I don't even know what those are! I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, Supreme Ruler of Equestria," Twilight nervously but firmly answered. "And this is Starlight Glimmer, a former pupil of mine. Now, who are you?"
"Hmm," The gorilla remarked, proceeding to turn around and look back at the other animals on the tables. "I guess I'm not the only one to lose my transmetal body. Interesting. Wherever this 'Equestria' is, it clearly isn't bound by the same rules of Earth or Cybertron."
"What are you talking about?" Twilight blinked. "And what's a 'transmetal body', some kind of armor?"
The gorilla didn't answer and instead proceeded to turn all of his attention to the other animals.
"Um, excuse me," Starlight loudly spoked up. "Twilight here just asked you a question, gorilla! Where we come from, a princess is entitled to answers when she asks questions."
Almost as if he became slightly offended, the gorilla turned around and looked sharply at Starlight.
"My name…" He said slowly. "Is Optimus Primal and these," He gestured to the other creatures. "Are my fellow Maximals. My comrades, my friends and my family."
At that moment, the rat slowly opened his eyes and rolled over on his back. Optimus walked over and looked down at him.
"Eeeh…looks like we ain't back on Cybertron yet," The rat guessed. "Fearless Leader…youse alive?"
"Barely," Optimus Primal declared. "As far as I am concerned, we're in a land that calls itself Equestria."
"Too bad it's not Cyber…ow!" The rat started to say, but felt a sharp pain in his body. Suddenly, he looked down at the pink paws of his feet and realized something. "Hey, where's…what happened to my transmetal body?! I ain't gorgeous no more!"
"Just be thankful you are alive, Rattrap," Optimus replied. "This is Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Equestria. And beside her is Starlight Glimmer, a former pupil of hers."
The Maximal rat carefully studied the two ponies as they approached him.
"Oh really? Well not that it's any concern of yours, but the name's Rattrap," The smart talking rat declared, trying to smile at Twilight and Starlight politely, but painfully. "Maximals' demolition expertise…if youse get my point." Then he groaned and winced anew.
"Easy. It's going to take some time for our bodies to do internal repairs, Rattrap," Optimus cautioned. "So if I were you, I would continue lying down on that table."
"You the boss, boss monkey." Rattrap declared and lay back down.
A few moments later, the cheetah opened his eyes and looked up at what was going on. "Hey, Big Bot," He groggily commented. "I guess... we're alive, somehow."
"This is Cheetor, my maximal scout," Optimus introduced as the spider and the rhino began to open their eyes as well. "Over there are Blackarachnia, combat specialist and Rhinox, subcommander in waiting."
"Oh great," Blackarachnia sighed, rolling her eight eyes upon realizing that her transmetal body was gone too. "I'm back to being a plain, ordinary, eight legged bug now, aren't I?"
"Better that than the scrap heap, sister," Rattrap remarked. "Downside is... we ain't back home yet!"
But Optimus was not going to put up with his subordinate's wisecracks. "Shut up, Rattrap!" He ordered and Rattrap complied.
"How the heck did you find us?" Cheetor asked Twilight, looking over at her.
"You were all in a crash," Twilight explained. "Several citizens of Ponyville along with myself managed to rescue you all from your wrecked ship. But where were you all headed towards?"
"Cybertron, our home," Rhinox replied, slowly getting off the table he was laying on. "Or at least we were until that explosion happened."
"Speaking of which," Cheetor groaned, who was still too slow to get up. "Whatever happened to Megatron? Obviously, he's not here with us."
"Hopefully he's somewhere floating in space after all he did, if he's lucky," Rattrap remarked. "Personally, I hope he's dead now."
But Optimus had his suspicions. For he knew Megatron well and part of him could only imagine that the leader of the Predacons was still alive…somewhere.
Just then, the wolf/eagle hybrid opened his eyes and weakly groaned. "Where…where are we? Are we back on Cybertron?" He quietly asked, trying to shake off the pains of the crash.
"No, Silverbolt," Blackarachnia remarked while getting off of the table. "We're…whatever this place is."
"Equestria," Twilight corrected. "You're in Equestria."
"Equestria?" Silverbolt blinked. "I've never heard of such a place."
"You'll have to excuse him," Blackarachnia appeared to apologize. "This is Silverbolt, the love of my life. He can be a little bit delirious after trauma inflicting accidents." She ignored the growl from Cheetor.
Just then, Dr. Fauna walked in and was surprised by what she was seeing.
"Um, why are they all walking around?" She wondered, her voice filled with confusion. "Don't tell me they healed that fast already!"
"Apparently, they did," Starlight told the veterinarian, before turning back to Twilight. "Look, I'd love to stay, but I think I'll leave you guys alone for the time being. It doesn't look like I'll be of much help right now."
Stepping out of the room, Starlight left, and Twilight was now alone with the Maximals, who continued to feel slight bouts of pain.
"What is the meaning of this?" Dr. Fauna asked. "You're all awake and moving, yet you still seem to be in pain. Never in all my life have I seen creatures as strange as you."
"Our internal system must have been severely damaged in the crash," Rhinox answered. "It's going to take some time until repairs are complete. I'm afraid you won't be of much help to us unless you're well versed in Cybertopia technology."
"Well, can we still maximize, fearless leader?" Rattrap asked, looking at Optimus.
Optimus nodded and took a deep breath. "Optimus Primal, Maximize!" He cried out, but he felt an incredibly sharp pain that caused him to fall on one knee! Rushing over to his side, Twilight helped the Maximal leader to his feet. "I…guess we can't transform after all."
"What do you mean?" Twilight inquired. "You mean, you can change forms?"
"Back when we had transmetal bodies," Rattrap sighed, standing on his hind legs. "We could change into various modes. But I guess it was either these old fur coats or we go offline…permanently, like an unfortunate comrade of ours. Gave his life to protect others. Won't lie, it was a truly selfless thing, and I miss having him around."
Trying to process all the information she could muster in her fragile mind, Twilight declared. "There is a lot we're going to have to learn about each other, Optimus. Right now, I think it might be best if I show you and the others around my castle. Is that okay with you?"
Nodding, Optimus and the rest of his Maximals followed Twilight out of the basement and up into the castle's main level. Soon they would all be getting acquainted with their new surroundings.
…
Back on the moon, Darkblade was still trying to understand Megatron better. "These Maximals you speak of," He asked, trying to take in what Megatron was saying. "They were bringing you back to this Cybertron as a prisoner of some war?"
"Yes. The Beast Wars as we took to calling them," Megatron answered. "On Cybertron, the justice system is straight and to the point. If they convict you, they destroy you. But thanks to that explosion, I get to live another day!"
The mention of an explosion caused him to remember the blast that had killed his ally Grim (and the minions serving under him) aboard the Dark Fortress.
"What explosion are you speaking of, Megatron?" he asked, walking over to the Predacon leader.
"Because there was an explosion not too long ago that destroyed my previous ally, thanks to those accursed Pillars of Equestria."
"Pillars?" Megatron wondered. "They must be like the Tridepicus council on Cybertron. Judges who decide the fate of the losers on behalf of the victors."
Darkblade gestured him back towards his crystal ball. Activating it, he showed Megatron various pictures of the six Pillars of Old Equestria.
"They are indeed judges, and threats to my power, Megatron," He explained. "Along with the six princesses who now govern the land that is truly mine. If I am to take it back, I must defeat and destroy them all! Unless" He chuckled to himself as an idea came to his mind. "I can offer you a position within my ranks, mighty Megatron."
"What can I do to help?" Megatron asked, feeling slightly confused. "All my loyal servants have been destroyed or have abandoned me. It's just me, I'm but an army of one."
"I have ways of rectifying that," said as he walked over to his cauldron and using the powers of his gem, reached into Megatron's mind with a devious grin on his face.
"What are you doing?!"Megatron cried as he felt the magic go into his mind! "What is this sorcery?!"
Having obtained what he needed, Darkblade placed the collected magic into the cauldron. Chanting an incantation, Megatron watched as Darkblade tapped into the powers of his bell, causing the inside of the cauldron to blow slightly.
"I have the power to resurrect the fallen," Darkblade said as magical vespers emerged from the cauldron. "Including those who have died before you, Megatron. Behold, the return of your loyal servants!"
Watching in astonishment, Megatron saw a cobra sticking out that hissed profusely, followed by a pair of yellowish-orange scorpion claws, and the body of a scorpion with red eyes.
"Yee haw! I'm back, baby! Back!" The scorpion/cobra hybrid cried out. "I'm…"
Suddenly, the hybrid saw Megatron smiling down at him, and shivered slightly as he climbed out of the cauldron.
"Well, if it isn't the no-good varmint who fired me, literally!" He bitterly remarked. "Quickstrike, Terrorize!"
Transforming into a two-legged robot mode, Quickstrike attempted to charge Megatron, only for Darkblade to pull him back with his magic and throw him against the doors of the throne room!
"Amazing," Chrysalis thought to herself from the other side of the throne room doors. "He's recruiting more of Megatron's forces! Oh, this is going to be good! Just you wait, Starlight! You and that pesky Princess Twilight will finally get what you've long deserved for interfering with my plans!"
Being thrown back against the doors to the throne room, Quickstrike was forced up to his feet by the donkey soldiers as Dark looked at him with scorn and contempt. "You shall know your place in the presence of me, Emperor Darkblade!" He demanded with a roar!
"I don't care, you old goat!" Quickstrike growled and groaned. "Megatron over here killed me and his most loyal servant, and what happened afterwards? Those dirty humans used me as props and toys! It's a humiliation I'll never forget!"
"Perhaps you also forget, Quickstrike," Megatron advised, grabbing Quickstrike with his dragon head. "You are still charged with conspiring to murder me with Tarantulas!"
At that moment, another creature emerged from the cauldron, revealing itself to be a tarantula with a purple body and black legs with green bottoms.
"Speaking of the treacherous spider," Megatron growled in annoyance. "Not looking so tough without his transmetals, I see?"
"Tarantulas, terrorize!" The tarantula cried out, transforming into a humanoid form and looking over at Megatron with devious intent in his eyes. "I may not have my transmetal body, or the assistance of the aliens, but I can still…"
Not wanting to hear any more of his whining, Megatron fired a ball of flame from his dragon head, striking Tarantulas' back as he yelled in pain! "You'll have to excuse my former lieutenant, Darkblade," Megatron declared with a rare look of remorse on his face. "He was and always will be a treacherous spider. Though in the end his plan did temporarily rid me of Optimus Primal, yesss…."
Just then, another creature emerged from the cauldron in the form of a blue scorpion with red eyes. Right away, there was a sense of mutual respect between Megatron and this scorpion. "Megaton!" The scorpion cried out. "Is it really you?!"
Megatron nodded in reply with a smile, confirming the scorpion's excitement.
"Scorponok, terrorize!" Leaping out of the cauldron, Scorponok transformed into his two-legged robot mode and dashed over to Megaton, bowing down at his feet. "Oh great Megatron," Scorponok cried. "How I have longed and missed your leadership so! How can I be of service to you?"
"You can start by joining your fellow resurrected Predacons," Megatron suggested, much to Scorponok's glee, before he turned back to Darkblade. "Scorponok is one of my most loyal servants…and a major suck up to me."
Just then, amidst the sounds of screeching, out of the cauldron emerged a red pterodactyl! He soared high into the air.
"Terrorsaur, terrorize!" He screeched and began to activate his shoulder guns, aiming them at Megatron only to be stopped by Darkblade. He was sent flying across the throne room and landed on the deck.
Snarling, Megatron stormed over and picked up Terrorsaur by his head. "Even with a second chance at life you still haven't learned your lesson, Terrorsaur," Megatron remarked bitterly before showing Terrorsaur off to Darkblade. "Watch him, he is a treacherous one. Second only to the ghost of Starscream, who I learned was more underhanded than Terrorsaur could ever hope to be."
Suddenly, yet another creature emerged from the cauldron. A large red fire ant came out roaring loudly, and Megatron smiled with eagerness upon knowing who he was seeing.
"Royalty! At long last I have returned to you!" The fire ant declared. "Burner, Terrorize!"
Transforming into his robot form, Inferno loudly roared as both Megatron and Darkblade were astounded to see the power that this Predacon had.
"Hey, hothead!" Quickstrike called before Inferno could bend down and swear his loyalty to his superior. "How can you still swear yourself to him after he barbecued us with that Deception warship?"
"The royalty is the royalty," Burner declared. "No matter what happens!"
With most of his forces returned, Megatron realized that there was one more Predacon missing from his ranks.
"Uh, yes," Megatron spoke up, clearing his throat. "Um, Inferno and Quickstrike, the last time I saw you, I sent you two and Glitch to seek out a new base for us. Whatever happened to him?"
"He is a traitor!" Burner retorted. "He quit our ranks, saying that he was done being destroyed all the time!"
"Treacherous bug!" Megatron snarled. "I'll find him and force him to serve me again if it's the last thing I do. If there's one thing I don't tolerate lightly, it's those who betray the Predacon cause for any reason!"
Stepping up to his throne, Darkblade gathered all of the reformed Predacons together. "That will have to wait, Megatron," The knight declared. "For there is something of great importance that I need you to adhere to first."
…
Having heard everything from the other side, Chrysalis dashed away, intending to meet the other members of the Legion of Doom to explain what had happened.
"Take those slackers to Scarface," Tirek commanded to several donkey soldiers after their daily training was over. "What weak and pathetic donkeys! My father's soldiers were better than they are. And they call themselves soldiers."
At that moment, Tirek saw Chrysalis as he walked towards his quarters.
"What are you looking at?" He quipped. "You'll notice I had to take over when you were nowhere to be seen. You'd better have a good reason."
"Tirek, you and the others are not going to believe what I just overheard," Chrysalis said with a gleeful smile on her face. "It's about Megatron."
Thinking that Chrysalis had feelings for the Predacon leader, Tirek walked past her.
"As if I care about that overgrown pile of junk. Metallic or not, he's still a dragon. And we have no need for that in our alliance."
"I'm serious, Tirek," Chrysalis protested, her face frowning while flying right in front of him. "Darkblade brought back some of Megatron's servants to help us in our cause. We're going to need the help if we're to finish what we started before."
"I feel that the only reason he came here was to challenge me for your love," Tirek huffed, pushing Chrysalis aside again. "Remember that only I and I alone love you, Chrysalis. And Megatron would be wise to remember that too, for his sake."
"Do you think I would love someone like Megatron?" Chrysalis quietly retorted. "I just barely met him; we all did. And you know I love you, Tirek. Don't forget that."
Tirek became conflicted with Chrysalis' pledge and decided that he needed more time to think about what was really going on. Part of him wanted to believe Chrysalis, but another part of him was concerned about having to compete with Megatron as a possible suitor.
…
…
Meanwhile, the ship carrying Rodimus Primal and several of the Maximals from Cybertron travelled through the cosmos of space, searching for any sign of the Autobot Shuttle they all were on.
"Ratchet," Rodimus asked the Maximal piloting the ship. "Any trace of my brother and the rest of his troops?"
"Nothing, Rodimus," The overweight Maximal sighed. "We've checked the entire galaxy, but there's no trace of them."
"Optimus, where are you?" Elita One asked while looking out a window of the shuttle. "I miss you, my love. But I'll find you no matter what it takes."
Rodimus could feel the distress in Elita One's voice. She was longing for her husband, and he was longing for his brother. "Never give up, Elita," He said to her. "That goes for all of you too."
"Um, what do youse mean we'll never give up?" A green maximal sitting at a computer screen asked.
"Searching for Optimus and the rest of our comrades, Skids." Rodimus muttered, planting his face into a hand.
"Hey, Skids was just being silly, Roddy," A reddish brown maximal sitting at another computer remarked. "We're going to find them! Don't forget, Rattrap is one of our brothers-in-arms, if you get what I mean."
Just then, a bluish white Maximal came racing up into the cockpit, panting profusely!
"Ironhide, what is it?!" Rodimus frantically asked.
"We…we have a ship on our tail," Ironhide panted, causing Rodimus to jump into action! Dashing over towards the computer Skids was sitting at, he saw what appeared to be a Predacon ship coming towards them. "The Predacons must have sent a ship after us!" Ironhide informed the group.
"They must be looking for Megatron!" Rodimus cried in realization, and then started barking out orders! "All power to weapons! I want those Predacons off our tail right now!"
"Yes sir, Rodimus!" Ratchet obeyed, turning the shuttle's guns on the Predacon ship! "Firing now!" With the press of a button, the Maximal ship opened fire!
Aboard the Predacon ship, the commander in charge ordered a counterattack. "Those Maximals must be stopped!" The commander said in a deep voice! "Blow them out of the galaxy! I want their hides!"
The pilot of the Predacon ship, a greenish robot with one eye, did as he was told and returned fire on the Maximals.
"We're approaching Earth's atmosphere!" Skids cried just as the Maximal ship was hit by a blast from the Predacons! "Oh, dang it!"
"We're hit!" Elita One shouted as the force of the hit knocked her onto the ground!
"Engine one is out!" Ratchet shouted! "Engine two is out!"
"Hang on!" Ironhide replied as he looked up at one of the computers. "We've hit the Predacon ship!"
"They must be no better off than we are!" Rodimus realized as they felt their ship falling faster and faster. "Everyone, hang on!"
Aboard the Predacon ship, the same issues were being experienced. "Predacons, brace for impact!" The commander shouted, and they all did as they were told.
Down and down the two ships went and where they would land, no one knew.
…
Back on the moon, Darkblade was giving Megatron and the resurrected Predacons the backstory of Equestria and the rulers in charge. "Hmm, it appears from what I see," Megatron guessed as he deactivated his crystal ball. "That these…ponies took your kingdom from you. But what, pray tell, does any of that have to do with us?"
"Simple, I am putting together an army the likes of which Equestria has never seen before," Darkblade explained. "And it seems like you will all be the perfect minions."
"Minions?" Quickstrike snarled. "Uh, we only serve Megs here. Right, boss?"
But Megatron gave the fuzor a hard stare and a low growl, for he was more than willing to get help in return for serving Darkblade.
"You'll have to excuse the boob here," The crafty Predacon leader apologized. "I'm sure that my fellow Predacons and I will be more than interested in serving you, Emperor. You've given me my army back, and they in turn owe you their new leases on life. So if you ask to serve you as compensation for that deed, we shall oblige."
"Good, because I'm going to need you to start laying the seeds for my arrival," He explained, leading them away from his crystal ball. "Follow me to the war room."
"War room?" Scorponok wondered to Tarantulas. "What's he talking about?"
Following Darkblade, the Predacons were led into a large room similar to Twilight's friendship map in her own castle.
"This is Equestria," Darkblade explained to the Predacons. "A land once made up of farms and pastures, until I declared myself emperor. But that land was taken from me!"
"Is it all…four legged creatures?" Quickstrike wondered as Darkblade snorted at him. "I mean… uh, sure…g-go on."
"The land of Equestria is not only made up of ponies, but a variety of creatures," Darkblade continued. "Each of these creatures have now vowed to aid the ponies in the defense of their land. And the ponies have, in turn, pledged their services to help protect and further the development of the kingdoms these other creatures come from. Which is why I need someone like you, Megatron, to weaken the defenses of Equestria and thus give me and my minions the advantage. I had hoped my alliance with Grim would provide that, but sadly it was not meant to be thanks to those accursed Pillars!"
The more he explained, the more eager Megatron became in getting started on his important mission.
"And with Optimus and the rest of the Maximals out of the way," He declared as a smile crept across his face. "I can assure you that there will be no interference. These ponies seem considerably less durable."
"Who is this 'Optimus'?" Darkblade blinked.
"Optimus Primal, my dear master," Megatron simply replied. "Our sworn enemy and leader of the accursed Maximals. As far as we are concerned, they're probably floating around as space debris after that explosion."
"Good, then there shall be no interference on their end," He gleefully declared, before he cleared his throat. "Now, you and your Predacons are to go to Equestria and begin the first wave of my conquest. I don't care how you do it, but I expect you to get it done. If you fail me, I shall send you all back to the darkness from which you were summoned. Is that clear?!"
"Yes, my emperor." Inferno replied and promptly bowed to him, much to Megatron's annoyance.
Activating the powers of his bell, the goat transported the evil group of transforming robots to Equestria. "Do not fail me, Predacons. You may well be my last hope."
Darkblade thought to himself as he returned to the business at hand in his castle.
…
Meanwhile, Rodimus Primal was just coming to following the crash. Opening his eyes, Rodimus suddenly felt himself feeling far more different than he normally was. He found himself no longer standing on two legs, but on four and he felt a strange feeling around his head.
"What…what has happened to me?!" He gasped, hoping for an explanation. "Why do I feel so different? Has my body taken on a new beast mode?"
Rodimus then looked around and saw that the ship his rescue party had been travelling in was completely destroyed!
What's more was that his comrades were no longer within his range. "Ratchet?!" He called, pushing away a piece of debris. "Elita One?! Ironhide?! Where are you all?! Say something!"
Stepping out of the wreckage, Rodimus found himself standing in a forest clearing and then proceeded to walk over towards a lake, looking down at his reflection.
"By the matrix!" He gasped, seeing that he now indeed had a new beast mode. "I'm a…lion! But, how did I become one?" Suddenly, he went over and saw a large moose lying against the base of a tree.
Opening its eyes, the moose raised its head and looked back at Rodimus. "B…boss?" The moose asked. "What in the allspark…happened to you?"
"Skids?" Rodimus asked back. "What's happened to you? You're a moose."
"Ugh, what do you think I am…a stinkn' squirrel?!" Skids groaned. "Where's Mudflap?"
"Get yo butt up!" A voice weakly cried out, and in stepped a whitetail deer. "Get yo butt up, Skids."
"Mudflap, help your brother up, now! I'm going to look for the rest of our crew, stay here!" Rodimus ordered, as he went off in search of his missing comrades. "Ironhide! Ratchet! Elita! Please, say something!"
Just then, Rodimus heard a loud trumpeting groan from a nearby swamp. He ran over to see an elephant trying to get itself out of the muck. "Ugh, Rodimus," The elephant groaned. "You look…different."
"So do you and the rest of us, Ironhide," Rodimus replied as the elephant Maximal slowly trudged out of the swamp. "The twins are with me…so we just need to find Ratchet and Elita…if they're still online."
…
Meanwhile, not far from the Crystal Empire, the destroyed Predacon ship burned in the wreckage. And as luck would have it, a group of royal guard ponies led by Shining Armor approached the scene at that very moment. "Reports say it just fell out of the sky, all of a sudden," One guard said to Shining Armor. "What do you think it could be, Captain?"
"I'm not sure, but we must be prepared. There might be survivors, and they may not be friendly," Shining Armor replied, holding a sword in his aura.
Suddenly, the group heard low growling from inside the wreckage. "Shh, listen!" Shining instructed.
Listening carefully, the group kept their focus on the growling and as one of the ponies cautiously pushed the wreckage back, they were startled by the sudden appearance of a black panther, snarling evilly at them!
"What is that?!" The guard pony shouted, holding the sword at the panther, who merely growled and snarled as it advanced on the group!
Acting quickly, Shining Armor fired a blast of magic at the panther, which it quickly deflected.
Just then, all heard another growling from the wreckage and at that moment, a green alligator roared loudly!
"Who are they?!" Another guard pony shrieked. "We should run!"
"Soundwave terrorize!" The panther roared, transforming into a two-legged robot form.
"Shockwave terrorize!" The alligator roared, also transforming into a two-legged robot form, much to the horror of Shining Armor and his troops!
Realizing they were up against a force they couldn't hope to defeat, Shining Armor immediately ordered a tactical retreat as Shockwave and Soundwave fired their weapons at the retreating Prince of the Crystal Empire and his forces. The ponies barely managed to avoid the blaster fire raining down around them.
Just then, the two Predacons saw a blaze of light streaking across the sky! And as quickly as they saw it, the light landed in front of them and engulfed the horizon in flashing light!
Once the light cleared, Shockwave and Soundwave looked up to see Megatron and his group of Predacons standing in front of them.
"Megatron!" Soundwave whispered as Megatron laughed evilly.
The Predacons had arrived in Equestria.
…
…
To Be Continued