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, and looked around. "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 like a slingshot. "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-

-and 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 dissapeared 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 said, and 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."