The two royal sisters strolled through the Canterlot garden, unwinding from a hard day’s work. Mist covered the garden in a thin grey shroud, and the air chilled them through their coats. “So, Nightmare Night is coming up. Do you plan to visit Ponyville again?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t see why not, besides, it would disappoint the fillies and colts if  “Nightmare Moon didn’t give them a scare” Luna told her as the both chuckled. “What about you? Do you have any plans for my holiday?”

“I wasn’t going to do much,” Celestia paused, leaning in closer to her sister. “except maybe a little trick-or-treating” she whispered.

“You do have a sweet tooth, don’t you sister?” The elder alicorn opened her mouth to speak, when Luna pointed her front hoof to the sky. “Do you see that?” she questioned. Celestia squinted, looking into the night sky, spotting two small, orange objects falling towards them with great speed. The two bright spheres grew larger, as they soared towards the palace. The orange flame that surrounded the masses faded, revealing the Jackhammer and the Nemesis. The sisters dove for cover as the two ships flew over them. The Jackhammer passed over the city, leaving it unharmed, while the Nemesis nicked the top of the palace, creating sparks as it ground against the metal tower.

They watched as the now smoking warship slowly fell through the sky, landing on the forest just outside Canterlot. Both alicorns stared at the glow over the hill, their mouths wide open. They glanced at each other, then back at the wreck. "Sister...what was that?" Luna asked.

"I...I don't know" she answered. After a little more silence, one of the guards entered the garden.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, are you alright?” he asked.

“We’re fine” she assured him as they walked into the castle.

“Gather the other guards, and make sure no-pony goes into the forest. Luna and I will investigate” she ordered.

“Princess, I must object. This is far too dangerous” he said. Celestia stood closer to the guard nearly half her size, her normal princess smile traded in for a look of annoyance..

“Rest assured: Luna and I are capable of defending ourselves. Now go, take care of our subjects.” The guard saluted, but just before he left, the turned back to the princess.

Celestia and Luna reunited on the edge of Canterlot, both clad in armor. Celestia wore a gold colored helmet with two spikes flanking one long blade extending just past the end of her horn. A golden breastplate, decorated with a likeness of her cutie mark with a purple crystal in the center, protected her heart. Three curved plates, the center one having a notch to allow her wings to be free, lead to a flank-plate with another likeness of her cutie mark laying over her mark. A razor ran up the front either wing, turning both appendages into lethal weapons. Grieves protected all four of her legs, each with a crease running up the center of the plates. Her upper legs and underbelly were defended by lavender chainmail leading to shoulder plates on her front two limbs. Four interlocking metal bands safeguarded her neck, and while they were extremely strong, they were also extremely flexible. Her face was protected by the two pieces of her helmet flanking her muzzle and the single piece extending the length of her face.

Luna’s armor was very different from her sister’s. he wore no helmet, her grieves were shorter, and dark purple chainmail protected most of her body. Aside from her grieves, only her breast, neck, and flank plates remained. Her breastplate was adorned with a glowing, silver likeness of a crescent moon. “Are you ready, sister?” she asked. Celestia gave Luna a nod, and they entered the forest.

They were both careful as they entered the woods, unsure of what lay ahead. They slowly crept through the forest for what felt like an eternity, until a voice drew their attention. “Look out.” Luna saw a large, red ball of light flying toward them, and grabbed her sister and pulled her to the ground. The red bolt flew over them, burning through a tree before disappearing from sight.

Another soldier, identical to the one that had just fallen, entered the gardens. The blue and red titan retracted the cylinder, this time calling forth some sort of blade. He ran at the second of the two attackers, dispatching him with a slash through the chest. A reddish-orange crease appeared as the halves of the trooper slid apart.

Optimus leapt from the treeline, as did two vehicons. They attacked Optimus, though he shot one of them before he reached him. The second soldier shot at Prime just as he reached him, but he overshot. Optimus elbowed in the face, stunning him, before shooting him through the chest at point blank range. “Are you alright?” he asked the sisters. They both backed away from Optimus, pointing their swords at him. Celestia was only half his size, and she was one of the largest, if not the largest pony in all of Equestria. “I don’t want to hurt you” he told them.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Luna asked.

“If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have told you to duck” he pointed out. The sisters exchanged a glance, before lowering their guard.

“What are you, and are there more of you?” Celestia asked.

“We are a race of Autonomous Robotic Lifeforms; Autobots for short. There are six of us on this world: Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Arcee, and Smokescreen” he told them.

“Who were those that attacked us?” Luna questioned.

“Those were our counterparts, the Decepticons. They started a civil war that forced us from our home planet” he explained quickly, periodically looking over his shoulder.“It would be in our best interests to find them, before-” A massive silver mass smashed into Optimus, carrying him back into the treeline. Celestia and Luna jumped as Prime was knocked off his feet.

Optimus wasn’t sure what hit him, but whatever it was, he delivered a sturdy kick to part of it. The thing let go of him, but he kept moving, until a tree stopped him. “Greetings, Optimus” said Megatron.

Optimus drew his sword, sliding on his battle mask. Megatron charged him, whirling around furiously.  “Their swords met, sending sparks flying as metal ground against metal. He slashed again, and again, Prime blocked his attack. Then he grabbed Prime’s head, slamming it against the dirt.

Celestia and Luna were watching the battle, protected by a magic shield. Celestia began to move, but Luna stopped her. “Sister, what are you doing?” she asked.

“We have to help him” Celestia said.

“Why? How do we know we can trust him?” Luna asked again. Megatron stabbed Optimus, but Prime broke free at the last second. However, he wasn’t fast enough, and Megatron’s sword impaled his arm. He howled in pain, struggling and thrashing, as the cold steel dug into the ground. Celestia broke free from Luna’s grip, running toward Optimus. Before she reached him, Megatron removed his sword from Prime’s shoulder. This gave Optimus an opening, to grab his foot. He swept with one of his own legs, knocking Megatron off balance, then threw him with all his might.

The Decepticon was sent flying, crashing through trees and brush. As he skidded to a halt, swarms of Vehicons came to their master’s aid, lead by Starscream. Starscream was silver with a few red highlights on his head. His legs and arms were disproportionately slender compared to his chest, and he wore two large, gunmetal grey shoulderpads. Each of his fingertips were very sharp, sharp enough to kill a ‘bot. He had a red missile on either arm, which he could fire in robot mode, or when he changed into a jet. His feet looked a lot like high heels, which baffled most every other Cybertronian.

“Are you alright?” Celestia asked Prime.

“Yes. We need to move, we’re outnumbered” He told her. Celestia and Luna began to run, but suddenly Optimus grabbed them. He threw them into the air, changing forms under them so they could ride him out. Starscream also transformed, taking flight and following them. “Hold on to something” Optimus ordered. Starscream fired a missile, which Optimus swerved to avoid, but just barely. Seeing how close his last shot came, Starscream fired his second missile, which catapulted Prime in the air. As he and the princesses flew, he grabbed both of them, pulling them into his chest. He slammed into the ground, pulling up grass as he skidded to a halt.

With both of his missiles gone, he strafed Prime, but Optimus rolled to the side. As he rolled, he placed the sisters under his body, protecting them from Starscream’s next pass. Moment’s before the red energon blasts hit Optimus, blue energon bolts flew out of the woods, striking Starscream and knocking him to the ground. He changed forms just before he smacked the dirt, landing flat on his face.

      Bulkhead rushed a Vehicon from another street, dispatching him with his mace. Wheeljack was right behind him, leaping over Bulkhead and slashing a Vehicon across the chest.

“Prime, you alright?” Wheeljack asked.

“Fine” he answered as he stood up. The Decepticons retreated, as Bulkhead and Wheeljack pursued them.

“No, wait” Prime ordered.

“Why?” Wheeljack asked.

“We need to regroup. Do you know where they are?” he questioned.

“The crash knocked out the central computer; all the com-links are down” Bulkhead answered.

“Good news though: there’s energon on this rock, and the refinement kit’s undamaged” Wheeljack added.

“Good, we’re going to need all the energon we can get ahold of” Prime told them.

As the Autobots talked, Celestia and Luna had a conversation of their own. “Luna, did he just protect us?” Celestia asked.

“It seems he was telling the truth. He really does come in peace” she said. Then, the felt the ground vibrate. Neither of them noticed before, but the Cybertronians shook the ground when they walked. It didn’t shake enough to be earthquake-like, but it was a noticeable vibration.

“Excuse me, I’m afraid I didn't catch your names” Prime said.

“I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna.”

“I am Optimus Prime, and these are my friends, Wheeljack and bulkhead” he told them.

“Hey Prime, we should probably get moving. I hear jets” Wheeljack said.

Optimus nodded, changing forms, and turning on his headlights. The other Autobots also changed forms, Bulkhead into a truck, and Wheeljack into a Tesla. “Need a ride?” he offered. The Two alicorns climbed on top of Prime, and they drove off into the night.